I’m not sure how else to make sense of it:
BREAKING NEWS: President Trump, who has been under fire for not aggressively confronting Russian President Vladimir Putin over election interference, said Russia is no longer targeting the United States.
“Thank you very much, no,” Trump said in response to a question about whether Russia is still targeting the United States.
Last week, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats said that Russia and other countries are continuing to target American businesses, the government and other institutions and that “the warning lights are blinking red.”
Being a slobbering authoritarian fanboy and wannabe may explain some of Trump’s behavior. Being captive to Putin’s will due to compromising information and/or debt to the Russian mob, etc., is a plausible explanation for many of his actions. But this ping-ponging back and forth shit? The absurd back-to-back performances Monday and Tuesday? And now this? It doesn’t make sense in any universe. Earlier today:
So many people at the higher ends of intelligence loved my press conference performance in Helsinki. Putin and I discussed many important subjects at our earlier meeting. We got along well which truly bothered many haters who wanted to see a boxing match. Big results will come!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2018
But there WAS a boxing match, and Putin knocked Trump on his ass in front of the entire world. Big results will come, all right. Just not the results this deranged schmuck in expecting.
Now, we can let this drive us nuts too. I’ve felt detached from reality more than once during this shit-show. But for now, at least, I’ll just take care of what I can do, i.e., do things to get more Democrats elected in November, and enjoy the fact that propping up this nutcase must be driving some of the very worst people in America insane.
schrodingers_cat
Can someone answer me, what was the purpose of meeting with Putin in Helsinki?
Yarrow
It makes total sense for a narcissist. Mnem explained it last night. The Hoarse Whisperer twitter account explained it yesterday too.
@schrodingers_cat: Performance review. Putin needed to remind him just how much he’s owned.
Carolina Dave
Also too, why does the US need to defend NATO members?
MisterForkbeard
I hope the Republicans that accepted his “walkback” yesterday are feeling awfully proud of themselves and the damage they keep inflicting on our country.
Especially given the recent Axios/Media notes that their sources are all willing to say they think Trump is crazy and/or compromised, but don’t care because they’d rather make sure they keep their cushy jobs.
Corner Stone
Does this mean people who are wicked smaht, or IC Directors?
kingweasil
“So many people at the higher ends of intelligence loved my press conference “performance” in Helsinki”… unnamed sources donnyboy? I bet Dan Coats wasn’t thrilled with your PERFORMANCE… funny he would call it a performance, still in reality TV mode
The Moar You Know
He’s not nuts. He’s fucking terrified. Vlad is his motherfucking owner, that was made obvious to all this week, and he is not performing to the standard his owner expects. And we all – even Trump, perhaps especially Trump – knows what happens when you disappoint Vlad.
Wapiti
Where in the name of Liberty, Justice, and Columbia is Mike Pence?
The press needs to be asking Pence hourly if Trump is *now* nutty enough be to be removed.
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@Carolina Dave:
I read that Tucker Carlson was asking Trump that question too. “Why should my son die for Montenegro?”
Sounds like a lot like why die for Danzig or why die for Paris.
Lapassionara
I saw the most recent deficit numbers, and it looks like we are screwed again.
We need some grown ups in office, and soon.
SFAW
He was talking about “at the higher ends of intelligence relative to my own stable genius. I call them the common clay of the New West.”
Wapiti
@The Moar You Know: Could be. He looked way out of his depth in the joint photo.
Corner Stone
@MisterForkbeard:
It’s a wonder that any of the R’s will still go on camera and say anything about Trump. Just anything. This was so predictable as to be a tragic comedy. If I were an R Senator (***shutter***) I would hire a track coach and start working on my 40 yd dash times so I could better sprint away from any non-Fox News reporter. Or Chuck Todd. He’s always good for a sympathetic, “we’ll have to leave it there” soundbyte or two.
LAO
I used to joke about my dog — before she was socialized (ie. schooled by other dogs), she took every interaction with other dogs to 11. There was no back down in her, even when it was clear she was not going to win. Trump is my idiot dog, he simply cannot see or understand that he’s wrong. The only difference is Maggie was capable of learning and ultimately became a good doggy citizen. Trump’s a fucking lost cause.
MattF
Trump is the 3-year old who gets attention by announcing at the dinner table that he just poopied. “Donnie’s a good boy.” It doesn’t even qualify as bullshit, it’s just shit.
schrodingers_cat
@Yarrow: Well I meant the ostensible reason. The face saving reason.
Betty Cracker@top
He is not nuts, he is beholden to Putin.
Death Panel Truck
The two words I always use to describe him to people who want to know what I think of him.
Tilda Swintons Bald Cap
Anyone else seen this quote from LGM:
chopper
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:
“my son’s not dying for some country with ‘negro’ in its name!”
schrodingers_cat
@Wapiti: Has he been a naughty boy caught with the Russkie honey pot and then grounded by mother. It would be irresponsible not to speculate.
Immanentize
@Tilda Swintons Bald Cap: Linky?
schrodingers_cat
Calling him nuts or a toddler is giving him an out, saying that ultimately he is not responsible for his actions. I am not that generous.
Immanentize
He meant to do one of those double negative things all the cool kids talk about — “No — Not.”
Enhanced Voting Techniques
“Big results will come!”
Like what Donny?
This twit runs on underpants gnome logic
Summit + ? = America is great again.
And never has an answer for what “?” is.
cmorenc
Yesterday, CNN’s Chris Cuomo aggressively interviewed Rep Chris Collins R-NY, a Trump-summit defender. Rep. Collins’s attempt to piece together a defense of Trump and his objectives is a mind-boggling study in how insistently wearing rose-colored glasses as thick as welder’s goggles produces some truly convoluted wilful stupidity and obliviousness. How does Collins not have constant migraine headaches from all the mental contortions and stress it must take maintain such an twisted interpretation of events?
I hope Collins isn’t from a congressional district with the sort of demographics that keep idiots like Louis Gohmert safe election cycle after election cycle.
Gin & Tonic
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: Ask yourself why, out of 29 NATO members, Fucker Carlson singled out Montenegro.
Wapiti
@schrodingers_cat: :nods: Manafort wanted Pence as VP, instead of Christie, so it would be irresponsible not to speculate why.
ruemara
He’s not nuts. He’s a conman. The story changes based on who he’s around. When no one is around to tell him the negatives, he reverts back to what he wants to have out there. It’s the conundrum of being not that smart, but immensely clever. That’s Trump.
The Dangerman
@Tilda Swintons Bald Cap:
I’m so over being shocked; literally nothing this POS did can shock me any longer. I think Helsinki and the walkback and the walkback of the walkback has done me in.
pat
He’s also terrified of Mueller, as are most of the people in his family and administration. I can just hear the rage from Ivanka, Jared, etc,. “You just HAD to run for president! Now look what’s happening!”
Immanentize
@Gin & Tonic: Because the invasion plans are already finalized and the date chosen….
To add, the Russians are always looking for a warm water port….
Duane
Thirsty Lil’ Marco said today that yes, Russia interfered with the elections, not to help republicans but to so discord. So calling out trumpov’s treason is sowing discord and aiding the Russians. So shut up liberals!
Rubio has officially joined Team Traitor.That’s good to know when the tumbrels start to roll. Or heads.
Elizabelle
Will someone please release the tax returns for Trump personally and his organizations and businesses. A lot of the answers will be in there, although not all, because he’s a greedy and amoral moron who thinks himself above the law and who knows what other evidence people have on him.
Duane
No edit function. Sow, not so.
Elizabelle
@ruemara:
That’s a good take. He’s got some shrewdness, but not enough. (Again, coupled with no morals, ethics or concern for others …)
The Dangerman
@Gin & Tonic:
From Wikipedia:
different-church-lady
Harry Frankfurt: Liars have regard for the truth and try to hide it. Bullshitters do not care about the truth at all; they will say anything at all in the moment if they think it will give them an advantage, with no concern whatsoever about contradicting themselves.
Trump is the biggest bullshitter the world has ever seen.
Kay
@schrodingers_cat:
There was no purpose, other than Trump thinking “summits” put him a good light.
It’s a good point. They don’t even have to put forth some plausible reason or goal anymore. It’s 100% bullshit from the get-go.
different-church-lady
@schrodingers_cat:
An instrument of surrender requires an in-person signature.
efgoldman999
@schrodingers_cat:
Not mutually exclusive
MJS
@different-church-lady: But he’s also a pretty big liar. Hiding his tax returns, obstructing the investigation, all the NDAs, etc. are prime examples of trying to hide the truth.
efgoldman
Previous comment in moderation for idiocy. Please and thank you
different-church-lady
@The Moar You Know:
Not mutually exclusive.
Gin & Tonic
@Immanentize: The date *was* chosen. October 16, 2016.
different-church-lady
@efgoldman: What pills were you trying to hawk this time?
trollhattan
Pruitt out yet the plunder continues.
“You’ll drink the poison and you’ll like it, fuckers.”
West of the Rockies
@schrodingers_cat:
A quick little reach-around?
Betty Cracker
@schrodingers_cat: I agree he’s beholden to Putin, but I’m convinced he’s nuttier than a squirrel turd as well. His party holds all levers of power and has demonstrated repeatedly that it will put up with anything he does to appease his cult and loot the treasury. A rational person would be able to use these facts to his advantage and get Putin what he demands without coming across like a concussed wombat with dissociative identity disorder. Not Trump.
It’s not just this pickle he’s in this week — he keeps doing this shit! For example, if he weren’t a compulsive moron, the Mueller investigation never would have been triggered, and he’d almost certainly have got away with conspiring with Russians to swing the election because the Republicans sure as hell weren’t going to seriously investigate it. Now, there’s a decent chance he — and they — will be exposed. All he had to do was keep his goddamned mouth shut! He’s not right in the head.
Roger Moore
Not exactly on topic, but I encountered this on the Twitters:
(The second tweet is quoting the first, FYI.) It does seem strange that Trump would start having problems with something basic like paying property taxes on time. My personal theory is that his business is having serious problems. If we accept that the main business of the Trump Organization is money laundering, the Mueller investigation has to be about the worst thing ever for it. Who wants to launder money through a business that everyone knows is being investigated by a special counsel/former head of the FBI?
I think this helps to explain part of the reason Trump is so eager to shut down the investigation. It’s not just that he’s worried about the risk of prosecution. He may genuinely think he’ll be able to pardon himself or otherwise weasel out of whatever legal trouble he’s in, but something that severely interferes with his business could ruin him even if he’s never prosecuted. I think this is why he called his personal finances the red line in Mueller’s investigation.
Kay
It seems like they have to arrest US Person 1 in the latest Trump Russia indictment just by what’s in the spies charges, so I guess that’s next. They arrest the GOP operative. Maybe he’s negotiating. I bet he knows a lot. He “cohabitated” with the spy, although she thought he was disgusting and was only doing it on orders from the boss, Putin.
Imagine being that guy. His Russian girlfriend was only with him so she could gain access to GOP leaders and bring them in. I bet he found out the same time I did, reading the indictment.
Immanentize
@Gin & Tonic: Well the trial begins soon… So I assumed a second attempt?
encephalopath
Everything both Trump and Putin say about that meeting is going to be assumed to be a lie because they held the meeting in fucking secret. There is no agreement. There is a black box full of bullshit.
geg6
@The Dangerman:
I also think I read somewhere that some Russians and Nazi-types are about to go on trial there for trying to assassinate the president or prime minister or whatever head of state they have (can’t remember where or I’d link). It’s not a coincidence, that’s for sure.
drylake
Agent Orange not “clever” or “shrewd,” just possessed of a certain low cunning; in Chinese, 小聰明 xiao congming, or “minor smarts,” the xiao a distinct pejorative in this context. Actually the Chinese have all sorts of words for Dolt45’s sort of cunning, having pretty good chronicles over 3000 years of assholes behaving assholishly.
Peale
@Gin & Tonic: O.K. before we jump around – its because Montenegro is about to become a member. It could have been about anyone. Montenegro also as the adavantage as an example because no one over 30 learned about it in schoold.
schrodingers_cat
@Betty Cracker: He has gotten away with doing whatever he wants and skating free after that. He thinks he can continue to do so.
Barbara
@pat:
You have it wrong. If they feel rage the last place they will direct it or at least dare to voice it is at Trump himself. Their particular form of Stockholm Syndrome includes blaming the rest of the world, in this case, Mueller I would bet, maybe Comey and maybe even Manafort for their woes. A rational person would have understood how unsuitable Trump was as a president and not encourage him, which Ivanka apparently did.
ruemara
@schrodingers_cat: Girl, I think he was into underage girls & beating them up. There’s probably bodies involved. And that’s not including his finances being a scandal.
lollipopguild
@Betty Cracker: Trump cannot help himself, he constantly tells you stuff that most people would never talk about. His need to tell people that he is a “stable genius”. Really? It’s like a person you just met who keeps telling you how “honest’ they are, it tells you right away that they are dishonest.
Gin & Tonic
@geg6: This is true.
Barbara
@Kay: I would guess they are working on a plea bargain in exchange for testimony.
Gin & Tonic
@Peale: You’re confusing Montenegro and Macedonia.
trollhattan
@drylake:
A fun take that rings awfully true. I grudgingly credit him with the ability to probe for and exploit people’s weaknesses and desires (a sociopath’s specialty). Those rare times he’s flattering somebody not named Donald Trump one is well advised to find the nearest exit.
rikyrah
The Vatican’s shot across the bow to evangelicals
https://twitter.com/AP_Politics/status/1019614551417991169
Wapiti
@Kay:
Sucks to be him. I expect he’ll have his interview time with Mueller’s team soon enough.
schrodingers_cat
@ruemara: Pence? or his boss?
A Ghost To Most
I’m nuts. He’s a fucking megalomaniac who would destroy the world to avoid facing justice.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@The Dangerman: @Gin & Tonic: Rikya posted this in an earlier thread. Russia is trying to install a Putin-friendly government there (surprise!). So this talking point clearly originated in Moscow. Donnie’s a traitor, doing Putin’s bidding, and most Republicans don’t seem to find that problematic in any way.
Brachiator
This is fucking delusional. All of Trump’s neuroses are leaking out. The obsession with IQ. The reduction of acceptable reactions to those expressing love and loyalty. The frankly homoerotic yearnings in his unhealthy need to be accepted by a strong authoritarian man (“Big results will come!”).
Most of all, note how Trump is once again over-reacting to attempts to get him to pull back from a bonehead error in so blatantly kissing up to Putin, and in his disparaging US intelligence agencies. Trump cannot help himself. He will not be restrained or admit error. Watch when he goes on the road or holds another rally. He will go wild.
What’s craziest of all, is that the more Trump unravels, the more his supporters defend and cling to him.
Things may get better in the end. But before that, it’s going to be a hell of a lot worse.
A Ghost To Most
@Wapiti: I hope they gave each other STDs.
trollhattan
@rikyrah:
Fundys hate papists other than those on the Supreme Court tasked with ending Roe v. Wade. They’ll happily take the criticism and use it to help keep on griftin’. “Do you see what we’re up against? Now dig deep down and give, give generously so our ministry can survive against these unwarranted attacks. Can I get an ‘amen’?”
jacy
@Betty Cracker:
I think it’s a dessert topping, a floorwax, and a bottle of vodka. First, he’s a malignant narcissist (and so untethered from reality, and unable to tell what is true or not) and I believe he must be severely compromised by Russia because as a malignant narcissist, he would turn on Russia unless it was vital to his self-preservation not to. And then, I believe he’s suffering from dementia. If you compare his affect and speech patterns through time, it is stark. There is something organically wrong with his brain. It’s a perfect storm of crazy.
The only positive out of that is that if he continues to deteriorate, he’ll be out of there long before his first term is up. I predict that things are just going to spin out of control faster, and faster. We ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
jl
Apologize, but this is an excuse to repost part of a comment I made in a earlier thread:
I think Trump’s statements since the butt kissing session with Putin indicate that they sat around BSing about ways to shut down (edit: or at least slow down) the Mueller investigation. Putin probably doesn’t understand that by design or chance, a lot of the legal machinery can’t be shut down now by shutting down Mueller. Putin may have given Trump some good ideas, but Trump, a butt ignorant fool is blathering them out almost at random. So we have Trump randomly blathering that
1) he, the greatest deal maker ever who ALONE can make the US feared around the world, can’t get anything constructive done with Russia because Putin is ticked off by the Mueller probe,
2) he has Putin’s word that the Russian’s didn’t do anything and why isn’t that good enough?
3) relationships with Russia are both the greatest they’ve ever been because of Trump and also the worst they’ve ever been because of effing Mueller, and Putin is so ticked off about it, that nuclear war might break out if the probe doesn’t stop.
That last is a kicker. Trump is shaking down the whole country, in fact, world civilization, with a veiled threat of nuclear war between the US and Russia if he doesn’t get what he wants. That alone is an impeachable offense worthy of conviction and removal, IMHO.
Edit: So, what is Trump. Let us anatomize his heart: malicious, nuts, narcissistic, incompetent. Take your pick. One of those comes to the fore in any particular mess of the day he cooks up.
BruceFromOhio
Open thread? I’m not giving in, not one bit, and neither should you: there are still plenty of good, decent people in this world, and they are worth fighting for.
Immanentize
@Gin & Tonic:
MONTENEGRO BEGINS TRIAL OF PRO-RUSSIAN COUP PLOTTERS. (Reuters)
ETA I mixed up Geg6 and Peale — this is the article about the coup plotters….
Corner Stone
@Kay:
I would hazard a guess that it was somewhat transactional for him as well.
Aimai
@Betty Cracker: not nutty. A personality disorder does not make you nutty. He is not psychotic and he is not erratic or unpredictable. Everything he says and does follows a very predictable internal logic.
gvg
@cmorenc: It will be a breakthrough when some exasperated Congressman or T administrator responds publicly to such a question, after he has already gone on record defending something Trump said or did, and Trump reverses himself yet again, by saying “I have no idea what the President means and I won’t defend him. Go ask him what he means”
Nobody knows what T means but T. No point in hounding all the others. With them the only question is what are you going to do. We know the military is trying to slow walk the stupider orders. Some agencies are using bureaucracy and saying we haven’t received the right forms yet.
The Thin Black Duke
Thing is, I think Putin made a big mistake. When push comes to shove, Donnie’s puppet master is a thug who imagines himself to be Don Corleone, but he’s not. By so blatantly and sadistically castrating Trump in front of the whole world, Putin let his personal feelings get in the way of business, and that gave his game away. Even worse, Putin took a sledgehammer and slammed Trump’s slowly-eroding facade of masculine authority. The bigoted yahoos who voted for Trump don’t care that he pals around with Nazis and throws children in cages, but they do care that Putin made Trump look weak. That’s embarrassing, and that’s intolerable.
Jeffro
@rikyrah: LOVE IT!
Glad to see at least some part of Christianity acting in accordance with Jesus’ teachings!
NotMax
We left nuts behind over a year ago,
Teddys Person
@schrodingers_cat: According to Trumpco, the US and Russia are the most powerful nuclear forces and should “get along.”
jl
@schrodingers_cat: God only knows, but then, He is forced to know by nature of His job description, so I guess its a rough job.
I see in TPM blog today that Rosenstein let the Trump pick the announcement date for the 12 indictments against the Russian agents. So, Trump’s own choice of timing seems very odd to me. Why not tell Rosenstein to delay it and play it somewhat tougher with Putin? I think Trump could have made a claim to a more successful butt kissing session, er, I mean, summit. Corporate media would pounce on a chance to claim the trip had, once again, made him ‘presidential’. Trump could have played an announcement after the trip to his advantage, if, for some mysterious reason or other, groveling in front of Putin were not a very important task to do right away. Putin may be wondering the same thing, and contemplating (ruefully or gleefully, I dunno) how stupid a flunky his meddling brought him.
Before Or After Summit? Rosenstein Let Trump Pick Timing For New Russia Charges
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/rosenstein-let-trump-pick-timing-for-russia-indictment-release-re-summit
LAO
I — hand to heart — burst out laughing.
Jeffro
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:
I’ve rarely died for Danzig, but I’m dyin’ for some Descendents right about now.
Corner Stone
@Gin & Tonic: Which one is the one with the very aggressive people?
trollhattan
@Aimai:
Partly agree. He’s extraordinarily compulsive and thus, erratic (difficult to predict beyond the expected impulsivity). A high-profile example was agreeing to meet with Kim, which I believe was a decision made on the fly in an eyeblink. Bet he didn’t even clear that with Ivanka.
Tilda Swintons Bald Cap
Here’s another quote in the comments section. When asked if he can divulge what he’s seen:
Makes you wonder why the journalists are sitting on this.
Link
trollhattan
@LAO:
Natasha no like jumpsuit? “I am autumn, this is spring…bad color!”
JMG
At this point, I am firmly convinced that little GOP legislators’ July 4 trip to Moscow was to beg for interference in the midterms. There’s a slight chance they were begging Putin to let Trump go, but a very slight one.
Brachiator
Fuck, I barely even know where Montenegro is, and Trump is creating a freaking international incident. From BBC News.
jl
@The Thin Black Duke: Question is, does Putin see Trump as a long term investment? Would you want to be Trump’s handler, and for how long? At some point, Trump’s usefulness to some important interest group or other will be ended. Could be Putin, Could be critical mass of GOP Congress after primaries are over, could be big business who have decided they have gotten what they can out of him. Who knows when that time will come, and who it will be.
Teddys Person
@Betty Cracker:
Hey, no one puts (Trump) baby in a corner!
Jeffro
@jl:
Trying to figure out Trumpov’s thought processes, if one can even call it that, is a fool’s errand. However, my best guess would be something like, “Ok, so these indictments will drop, and then I’ll swoop into Helsinki, make nicely-nice with Putie, and voila, Nobel Peace Prize here I come!”
Never once did it occur to him that the scope, the detail of these indictments would make it a (PR if nothing else) necessity to swoop in and slap Putin around for what he directed his agencies to do to our democracy. He did the opposite, the contrast could not have been clearer, and here we are. I’m 110% certain that was the outcome expected at DOJ all along.
Dupe1970
@schrodingers_cat: Quarterly review?
gvg
@schrodingers_cat: No. Trump said ask me afterwards. I kid you not. this has been hinky from the get go.
Bill Arnold
@Corner Stone:
DJT, our vapid, willfully ignorant, malignant narcissist POTUS, is saying that anyone who didn’t love his “press conference performance in Helsinki” is stupid. Approximately. Give him a day or two and it will be cemented into his “mind” as 100% revealed Truth, made pure by virtue of his belief in it. His main supporters were Fox people, and they had to work for hours to doctor up a spin that they think his supporters will swallow. (Like embedding Russian intelligence agents into the Mueller investigation being an “interesting idea”?)
Meanwhile,
Seychelles meetings probed by Mueller included several Russians: exclusive
Repeating that, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and the U.S.. (Thread those beads into a convincing narrative, that is not horrifying. Unless one believes that “Syria, energy and sanctions” were actually the primary topics.)
PIGL
@Immanentize: they have a warm water port, at Sevastopol. Which is why Crimea was not going to be in a NATO state no matter what anyone else said.
jl
At least this kerfluffle seems to be taking Trump’s mind off his mindless trade war. Wonder when he’ll remember that sucker IS ON, rest of the world milking the US dry!
Teddys Person
@A Ghost To Most: or keep the knowledge that he’s not quite a rich as he claims going public.
prostratedragon
@Roger Moore: Ah, yes, money laundering would be a cash flow business, wouldn’t it? Even if the emolument graft would cover the ongoing for a while, that would have to get there under some sharp eyes.
Redshift
Also striking in the Tucker interview was both of them jumping from common defense to “they’re very aggressive, if they do something, why should we have to help?”
In addition to the fact that the seed of that was probably planted by Putin, it’s just nuts. If you have to pretend defense is the same as attack to justify your objection to defense, you’re just babbling.
The Midnight Lurker
@The Moar You Know: I second this.
jl
@Jeffro: Rosenstein briefed Trump on the indictment. So Trump knew, he just couldn’t understand that his goofy plan, if that is what it was, was ridiculous.
MisterForkbeard
@Tilda Swintons Bald Cap: It’s probably suggestive of extreme blackmail… but they don’t actually know what the blackmail is.
Republicans in congress are likely trying to stifle investigation into it, and since its not iron-clad no Democrat is going public with it (other than leaking to some reporters).
Not sure why the reporters themselves aren’t doing anything about it. If this was recent, maybe they’re doing their own verifications.
West of the Rockies
@BruceFromOhio:
Thank you, Brucewise…
smintheus
Just another opportunity for Trump to get further credit from the news media when he once again walks back his inane comments. Playing journalists with this devilish back and forth dance was pioneered by Hitler, and it was surprisingly effective for years on end.
Redshift
@Teddys Person:
And also, anyone who on to him “getting along” with Putin wants war with Russia, because those are the only two alternatives.
RedDirtGirl
@Roger Moore: Ooh. That sounds very plausible. I had seen the article about the late tax payments, but hadn’t made that leap. Well done, sir.
MisterForkbeard
@Jeffro: The reporting indicates that Trump wanted it to drop before the summit so he had leverage with Putin on negotiations.
Given that apparently Putin wanted Trump to give him Browder and people that worked on the Magnitsky Act as “criminals”, maybe Trump wanted to push back on that OR to have people to trade so it’s not completely onesided. But this presumes more ability and goodfaith from Trump than is likely.
Teddys Person
@BruceFromOhio: Thank for posting this. I’m a bit of a teary mess.
Nettoyeur
@Aimai:There is a loose wire, there, though. Within 36 hrs after each extreme outburst, he pretends he did or said the opposite.
SFAW
@The Thin Black Duke:
But, as they have demonstrated in the past, they’ll get over that PDQ.
chris
@The Dangerman: Montenegro just joined NATO, shitgibbon signed the papers. The Russians did not want this to happen and tried to mount a coup. Make of this what you will.
Tick tock, Tucker.
Just One More Canuck
It wasn’t a boxing match – it was more like the fight scene between Bob Barker and Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore
SFAW
Meanwhile, Devin “Not a traitor, but I play one on — oh, who am I trying to kid? Of course I’m a traitor” Nunes is apparently talking up how the DoJ is hoping for a Dem wave in November, because then they won’t have to divulge all their self-incriminating info. Or something.
He and Rohrabacher — the Russkies’ best friends on the left coast. I hope to see them in orange jumpsuits some day.
Mary G
@Roger Moore: Fahrenthold has been collecting receipts again. Why would a real estate company pay property taxes late and incur penalties? Are they that short of cash? Why is the WaPo the only news organization to notice?
And it’s so random:
Whatever it is, I’m sure Mueller is on it.
jl
@Roger Moore: A business that was personally pardoned for whatever, anything and everything by its own boss is unique. They need to work that pitch into the branding, get that side of the business up and running again.
@Bill Arnold: Trump has managed to be flunky to so many foreign powers at once, it’s hard to keep track. There were news reports that Netanyahu, Saudi Arabia and UAE really pushed for the meeting in order to get a deal on Syria that helped them reduce Iranian influence in the area. There were some peeps about some policy on Syria being made at the summit, but maybe Trump’s mind has wandered, and he’s consumed by the entirely self-made and unnecessary PR disaster he cooked up for himself.
Edit: what does Kavanaugh think about Congress’ power to impeach convict and remove for treason, if its hard to figure out who Trump did the treason with? Might be a good question for his hearings.
Tazj
@Brachiator: “They’re very aggressive people”, according to Trump. He wants Americans to be scared of defending another country belonging to NATO, but fails to mention soldiers from Montenegro are in Afghanistan because of us. Every day another set of dangerous lies said by Trump.
schrodingers_cat
@Mary G: Because Treason Times’ MAGA Habs is back spinning for T.
jl
@MisterForkbeard: “The reporting indicates that Trump wanted it to drop before the summit so he had leverage with Putin on negotiations.”
That must be about some parallel universe Trump. Let’s assume we are close to that universe, just for fun. Does Putin realize Trump can’t unilaterally deliver anything like that?
smintheus
@chris: Also the fact that it was the PM of Montenegro that Trump very publicly shoved aside on at his first NATO meeting.
Corner Stone
@chris:
Well, I can make a hat, or a brouche, or a pterodactyl!
Barbara
@Formerly disgruntled in Oregon: Montenegro used to be reliably pro-Russia because it was part of or basically controlled by Serbia. We visited last year. It is incredibly small, and borders Croatia and, I think, Albania, and is a little playground for wealthy people. I would guess that Putin’s main issue is that Montenegro not become part of the EU, because that is Putin’s obsession.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
I go along with a lot of the people here. He isn’t nuts—or at least it isn’t only that he’s nuts. He’s scared. Scared and angry. This was all supposed to be fun, God damn it. Fun and easy, and he was going to make shitloads of money, and everybody was going to love him, only it isn’t going that way at all. People hate him, they’re flying mean baby blimps, and nobody is making them stop doing it, and people are asking all kinds of questions about him, and his boss, who already thinks he’s a stupid, worthless turd, is beginning to wonder whether it’s even worth keeping him on. He was told there would be fun, God damn it! He was told this would be fun and easy!
When the fuck does the fucking fun begin?
He just doesn’t understand any of this. He doesn’t understand how this is all turning out so fucking badly, and he feels like it’s a betrayal. We’ve all betrayed him. Everybody has betrayed him. Life has betrayed him. Reality has betrayed him. And he’s angry and resentful and scared, and nothing, nothing that he can do is changing that. So he’s lashing out. It’s all he knows how to do. All his life, when he lashed out, somebody would make things better for him. All he had to do was scream and throw shit and threaten people, and they’d make everything better. It’s all he ever knew how to do. And it always worked, until now, but it’s still all he knows how to do, so he keeps on doing it, and if it doesn’t work, he’ll just have to do it harder. It’s all he knows how to do..
And it’s all he has left. Don’t look for this to get any better. It’s going to keep getting worse. Until it ends.
Immanentize
@PIGL: The Black Sea is easily sealed off — one must go through two major narrow straights to get in our out — controlled by Turkey (a nominal NATO ally). Of course, one of the Russian interests in Syria was port access.
Wyatt Derp
@Corner Stone:
I wondered that too. I think it’s more like the Emperor’s New Clothes, where only the foolish couldn’t see his beautiful new robes.
Aleta
I want the headlines to maintain focus and use words like disloyalty, anti-America, subversion, NRA laundering, crimes, treason, cooperating with spies. Not soften this with language that comes close to reality show themes.
Discord over Donno’s humiliation
Donno defends his performance
Craziest theory for why Donno didn’t stand up to Puty
Is Donno coming undone?
Corner Stone
Sarah just confirmed there was talk of possibly letting Russia have McFaul, Bill Browder, et al for investigations.
But they haven’t made a decision yet.
Immanentize
@Mary G:
So what happens to holes 12-18?
Teddys Person
How do these people even remember to inhale and exhale:
Elizabelle
@Mary G: Cash flow woes. Interesting. Very interesting.
jl
@Tazj: Whatever line gets Trump though the next ten seconds is good enough.
On the taxes, aren’t Trump’s sons in charge of that now? If so, that would explain a lot. The nanny’s in charge of those, and put the bills where her parrot could get to them and eat them, or something.
trollhattan
@SFAW:
California only sends our best, believe me.
Timurid
@Corner Stone:
What. The. Actual. Fuck.
Teddys Person
How do these people even remember to inhale and exhale:
The Midnight Lurker
Trump isn’t crazy. You could run him through a chorus line of shrinks an not one of them would throw a net over him. And he’s not clever. He’s a fucking moron who will say or do anything for a buck. This is how Putin got his hooks into him.
Trump is finished. Anybody with a TV knows this. He probably went to Helsinki to ask Putin for help to get out of this mess.
We’ve got to keep our eye on the ball. Putin is trying to upend our midterms. He needs the sanctions lifted and that’s never going to happen with a blue wave.
Ninedragonspot
@drylake: I would go for 昏君 ，hunjun, “a fatuous and self-indulgent ruler” – not much in use today but frequently used in 封神演義。
germy
http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2018/07/trump-goes-fourteen-words-tucker-carlson-throws-nato-alliance-overboard
Teddys Person
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): Frankly, I’m glad he feels all that, just wish so many of us didn’t have to suffer because of his ego.
Elizabelle
You all have had much smarter and more accurate comments on Trump’s stability — actually, lack thereof — than any of our paid press darlings.
@The Midnight Lurker:
Going to a protest outside our GOP congresscritter’s office this evening. His opponent has outraised him.
Dev Null
@Kay: Roll up that network!
First serious GOP fixer to be indicted (OK, OK, I’m sure I’m forgetting someone, but Cohen was Трамп’s fixer; Manafort was Russia’s fixer; Stone has yet to be indicted; Flynn isn’t a GOP fixer; and Papa is a n00b.)
This guy might be able to bring down the upper echelon of the GOP!!
(I know I’m hallucinating, but a guy can dream!)
opiejeanne
@Brachiator: This article was interesting, drawing parallels between Donnie and Kaiser Wilhelm II.
What Happens When A Bad-Tempered, Distractable Doofus Runs an Empire
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
@Corner Stone:
Holy Christ. Is there a link for this yet?
stan
They won’t get one in Montenegro. Bar, their largest port, is tiny.
NotMax
@Immanentize
Those are Fake Holes.
:)
Dev Null
@Peale: I’ve been waiting for someone to say what I think: a) it’s tiny; b) no one has ever heard of it; and c) it has “negro” in the name.
trollhattan
@Mary G:
Actually sounds like typical Trump tactics–stiffing creditors with non/late/partial payments and then negotiating his way out of ever paying the full amount. Believe it’s called the “Trump tax” or somesuch, it’s so common. That he lumps governments in with upholstery companies seems a bit of a tell.
jl
@opiejeanne: been thinking about WWI lately. A charming little war. Run by the best people, all top, high quality people.
If you like top wars, you like WWI. But this time, with nukes!
Corner Stone
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): It’s still ongoing so I doubt it. She said something to that effect two three times in response to a question and I’m fairly certain I heard her answer clearly that it had been discussed but with no decision. I may rewind or look for a transcript later to confirm my hearing.
Dev Null
@rikyrah: When they promote Chaput to a ceremonial position in Vatican City, I’ll take their critiques of evangelicals seriously.
A Ghost To Most
@MisterForkbeard:
Too many plausible theories.
jl
@encephalopath: I do think Putin spent considerable time BSing with Trump about how to slow down that damned Mueller. No way Trump could come up with all this toxic BS so quickly, even if he is making a hash of it.
Corner Stone
@stan:
Is that a franchise offshoot of the nightclubs that used to be everywhere? Bar Houston, Bar Austin, Bar Los Angeles, etc.
Bar Montenegro, and party like it’s the end of the world!
lollipopguild
@Mary G: This strikes me as one of two things. First the people who work for trump are not very good at doing their job, (I know, he hires only the best people).Second, there is a cash flow problem in the trump org., where they do not have enough ready cash available to pay the bills on time.
tobie
@Corner Stone: Browder’s a British citizen, so there’s no way Trump can compel him to to go Russia for interrogations. I’m assuming if he tried to do so with McFaul, now a private citizen, that would be tantamount to kidnapping but, as the refrain goes, IANAL.
Meanwhile Bernie and Ocasio-Cortez are trying to foment a civil war in the Democratic Party but getting involved in primaries nationwide (a Kansas congressional race and now the gubernatorial race in Michigan). This is such a waste of time, energy, and resources. Maybe Keith Ellison can get them to muzzle it. This is not the time for the party to be divided.
Corner Stone
@Dev Null: They pissed off Pootie and they have to be made to suffer for that indignity. It’s simple as that.
The Ancient Randonneur
Corner Stone
@lollipopguild:
Even though the Trump Org is a closely held company, surely there are enough people who have to actually process payments and do the books that at least *one* of them could be leaking to the press.
Teddys Person
I missed the memo. Does anyone know the password?
WereBear
I’ve thought the same thing. This win will be a huuuuuge loss.
Aimai
@Nettoyeur: thats just bog standard narcissism , though. He doesn’t care enough about reality to be held to the standard crazy/not crazy.
Corner Stone
@Teddys Person:
Last I heard it was “Rafalca Rides!”
Teddys Person
JFC
Gin & Tonic
@Corner Stone: “Let them have”?? Bill Browder isn’t even a US citizen.
jl
@Teddys Person: That’s the postponed July 4th coup? What does Alex say?
Can I buy some violent coup survival gear off this guy’s website? That’s what I want to know.
Brachiator
@opiejeanne:
I knew a little about the Kaiser, but damn! The Trump parallels are amazing:
In theory, a total fool would not be elected president, since the political parties would filter out obvious charlatans. And even if a fool were elected, a strong Congress could rein him in. These are the supposed advantages of a democracy. The wisdom of the masses.
And yet, we have Trump. Oh, the irony.
Great article about the Kaiser. Very much recommended.
tobie
@Teddys Person: That’s some wink, wink, nudge, nudge where you get to say something and deny it at the same time.
Teddys Person
@Corner Stone: Thanks, I’m brining chips and dip in case we need snacks.
germy
Bullshit.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
@Teddys Person:
I think it’s “green balloons”.
Dev Null
@Aimai:
IANAPsych, so caveat emptor and “pay no attention to anything I say”, but the best / shortest / most intuitive functional definition I’ve read of “personality disorder” is that a person who has a PD acts in ways which are extremely and obviously self-destructive in the eyes of everyone else. The ‘spleigner added “the narcissistic prefers his internally generated “reality” to objective reality.”
That isn’t precisely “nuts”, but if you’re untethered to reality, your behaviors will appear to be nuts to others, even if those behaviors are generated by an internal logic, as you say (and I agree with you about “internal logic”.)
There’s a good read, How Aggressive Narcissism Explains Lance Armstrong, in the Jan-Feb 2013 issue of the Atlantic Monthly. I found it illuminating. Among other choice quotes:
Pop psych is cheap, but this fits Трамп very well.
Bill Arnold
@Corner Stone:
There’s this as well: https://www.rferl.org/a/browder-says-trump-may-have-agreed-help-russian-prosecutors-pursue-him-hermitage-magnitsky-/29373329.html
But that’s just speculation.
The Ancient Randonneur
@lollipopguild:
Apparently this is the first time they’ve ever been late paying property taxes. My guess would be cash flow problems. I suspect runway was fairly short (6-12 months) and any disruption of cash flow rolls up on you pretty quick. But I have no evidence to support my argument so it really is just speculation.
The Midnight Lurker
@Teddys Person: One can only hope. See you at the barbecue after.
germy
chris
Daniel Dale on PQ’s presser.
Shana
I know it’s a small point, but in that last tweet was Trump saying “people in the intelligence community” or “people who are highly intelligent”?
Jeffro
@MisterForkbeard:
“leverage”…on Putin?
“push back”…from Trumpov to Putin??
Whomever was reporting that particular ‘take’ – which reeks of Kellyanne Conway’s kind of BS – surely takes ‘gullible’ to a whole new level.
Bill Arnold
@Teddys Person:
The usual. “PassW0rd” (They’ve upped their game, no longer use “password”.)
Jeffro
@Immanentize: @stan: They’ll all be warm-water ports in just a few years, at the rate we’re going…
jl
@germy: They’re glancing at the lifeboats.
cwmoss
@ruemara: As to sexual kompromat, I think I t’s either humiliation of Trump himself (eg he like to be pissed on) or very underage prostitutes (sex slave prob a better term) or violence/death of a prostitute at Trump’s hands.
Jeffro
@Teddys Person: Sounds like Mr. End Times has read too much AUTHORITY and ULTIMATE X-MEN recently…or re-watched “Olympus Has Fallen”…or has just had too many Cheetos or something. Or all of the above.
Mary G
@The Ancient Randonneur: Severe cash flow problems might explain why he goes to golf every weekend – they needed that $68,000 from the weekend at Turnberry to make payroll.
sukabi
@schrodingers_cat: trumps annual performance review or alternatively an exchange of our Intel for the promise of a trump branded hotel in Moscow.
zhena gogolia
@Corner Stone:
Oh, no, that is Horrible!
The Midnight Lurker
@Jeffro: FUCK, YEAH! When are we going to START to talk about GLOBAL FUCKING WARMING?!! I’ve got grandchildren!!!
Corner Stone
Ok, just rewound the DVR. At 1:47PM CT MAGA Habs asks SHS about if it had been discussed that Russia wanted Browder, McFaul and other US persons. Habs then asked a follow up to confirm. This is a very rough back and forth of it:
Maggie Haberman: RU authorities named several Americans they want questioned, involved in Bill Browder’s “crimes” including McFaul. Does Trump support that idea? Is he open to it?
SHS: The president is going to meet w/ his team and we’ll let you know when we have an announcement on that.
MH: Is that a topic that came up in their conversation? Was this something Putin raised?
SHS: There was some conversation about it but no commitment made on behalf of the US. The president will work with his team and we’ll let you know if there’s an announcement on that front.
jimmiraybob
@jl:
I’m thinking extra deep trenches. And, if I remember my Reagan era survival instructions,
Easy Peasy.
sukabi
@Shana: what he means is anyone willing to swallow his load of crap without blinking.
Bill Arnold
Another possibility is somebody who very closely resembles his daughter Ivanka as she looked at the time.
(People have suggested this, pretty sure.)
And there are other possibilities, but this is (or appears to be sometimes) his most obvious kink.
And the hold could be something else entirely, e.g. some sort of mortal threat.
Elizabelle
@Mary G: OMG. You might be on to something. He golfs so he can bill the government. Especially for the secret service and staff!
Roger Moore
@jl:
My guess: he cares more about his relationship with Putin than with anyone in America. Announcing the indictments and then going to grovel before Putin makes him look weak, but it makes Putin look strong. Talking with Putin and then going home to the announcements makes him look treacherous and Putin look weak. If you care more about staying on good terms with Putin than anything else in the world, you’ll accept looking like a mug at home to protect Putin’s image.
LAO
Judge orders Butina detained pending trial. Not super surprised.
Teddys Person
Trumpov wants to change the subject
The Ancient Randonneur
@Mary G:
The late property tax payments are a real head scratcher because they represent a very tiny dollar amount even for the golf course as a standalone business.
Elizabelle
@germy: Kneepads and mouthwash Maggie Haberman.
She get that from Ivanka and Jared?
rikyrah
@The Moar You Know:
tell that truth.
Dev Null
@Nettoyeur:
This is characteristic of extreme narcissists. 15minute turn-around time is not unheard of, from what I read (admittedly, in the pop psych lit.)
I posted a bunch of links last week, but I’ll repeat one of them here. Quote:
Ashmun focuses on emotional connections, but I gather from this and other (pop psych) essays that “contradictions” is true generally.
Again, IANAPsych, so you should ignore me completely. You’ve been warned.
In the unlikely case that anyone is still reading, a relevant question is “why should anyone care whether it’s extreme narcissism or greed or low cunning or 0-dimensional bloviation”.
I think the answer is that “extreme narcissism” provides both a basket of symptoms and a basket of characteristics which give one a clue about the extreme narcissist’s behavior in most situations. That is, “extreme narcissism” provides predictors. You could call it “the Joe condition” … the same basket of symptoms and behaviors will give you the same predictors whatever you call the condition.
different-church-lady
@germy:
Again, not mutually exclusive.
Gin & Tonic
@Corner Stone: Any response to such an overture from Putin from a US President other than “are you out of your motherfucking mind?” would have been inconceivable prior to November 8, 2016.
ewrunning
According to Wikipedia, Carlson has 4 children. Is there any evidence that any of them is currently serving in the Armef Forces? I’ll be amazed if the answer is yes.
Bess
@lollipopguild:
It’s hard to believe that routine payments wouldn’t be scheduled by some lower level accountant. It’s the sort of thing that gets entered into the automatic payment system and only modified as the rate changes. Someone would almost certainly have to make a decision to not pay a bill due.
There’s no reason for a billion dollar business to not pay a $21k bill unless there’s an active dispute as to the validity of the bill (multiple property taxes in various locations?) or the money isn’t in the account and there’s no line of credit to back up an overdraft. The brothers dense are not writing checks.
LAO
different-church-lady
@Teddys Person: It’s just amazing how often this man says things he didn’t mean to say, isn’t it?
Roger Moore
@Just One More Canuck:
ITYM the wrestling fight between Sacha Baron Cohen and Ken Davitian in Borat.
Gin & Tonic
@LAO: Yeah, if she hadn’t, Butina would have just had time to get to IAD for the 5:20 Lufthansa to Moscow.
jl
@Roger Moore: Well, I’d say “Look here, pooty-poot, we both care more about getting business done than some BS news cycle shit. Here’s a civics text on how the courts work in the US, so you’ll know what I can deliver on short notice and what I can’t. Don’t worry, in a week the US media will be slobbering over both of us.”
OTOH, if Putin is smart enough to know Trump is too incompetent to get anything done, and he is just happy to slow down what he think are the US’ sinister plans and have some giggles in the meantime, that might not work.
James E Powell
@Nettoyeur:
He does that to get the press/media off the story. It works.
rikyrah
@Betty Cracker:
They are all compromised, BC.
I don’t know why this is so hard for folks to take. I just saw that woman from the NYT, with the jet black bob FINALLY bring up the possibility on Hayes’ show last night. It’s about damn time!
It’s the ONLY thing that makes sense.
But, I disagree with you, BC.
He is not crazy.
Amoral.Disgusting.Unethical.Sociopathic.
Yes.
Crazy?
No.
different-church-lady
That face Wile E. Coyote makes when he sees the train approaching:
Dev Null
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.):
OK, another quote from another writer (no idea who she is):
Again, IANAPsych. I am saying that I found these articles helpful in understanding the behaviors of several individuals I have encountered in the past 30-odd years.
James E Powell
@germy:
Does Haberman realize that she will never be known as anything but Trump’s fluffer? Or does she just not care?
stan
Sevastopol doesn’t really count, hemmed in as it is by the Bosporus and Dardanelles, both controlled by NATO member Turkey.
The Ancient Randonneur
https://mobile.twitter.com/JohnJHarwood/status/1019656008208134145
different-church-lady
@James E Powell: What more could she wish for in life?
Teddys Person
@different-church-lady: That’s good : D
trollhattan
@LAO:
Was she holding a copy of “What Color is Your Jumpsuit”? Lots of time to catch up on reading. It would be sweet if she and Manafort were in the same guest facility.
Dev Null
@jl:
from here.
Surprisingly, Sir Douglas Haig didn’t say that, or so the essay suggests, which kinda undercuts my point. News to me.
rikyrah
@Wapiti:
BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
Kay
I maintain that a lot of people are afraid of how big this could be:
It’s going to be really difficult to get the full story, let alone do anything about it. A lot of very fancy people are doing very well with the Republicans holding all levers of power. Take the Trump Administration resistance to transparency on this story and multiply by 100.
This is the next big hump we have to get over- where the scandal starts to reach congressional Republicans. We’ll go thru the same denial we went thru with Trump, but bigger, because this is the entrenched power structure of all conservative politics that is at risk, not just Trump.
They bet it all and they could lose it all. High stakes. They’re not protecting the President. They’re protecting themselves.
Dev Null
@A Ghost To Most: So many plausible theories. So few people willing to testify on the record.
At this point it’s little better than shock pr0n.
I want the fscker nailed, not to be titillated (if that’s the right word) by putative Трамп abuses.
Jesus Christ, there’s enough material in the record to impeach him, already, if the Republican Congress weren’t in the tank.
hueyplong
On top of everything else this week comes the awful news that Tucker Carlson has been allowed to produce spawn.
Took the other stuff OK. This is a tough one.
danielx
@different-church-lady:
Dick pills. It’s always dick pills.
J R in WV
@Carolina Dave:
Because that’s how a military alliance works, everyone vows to help defend each other. NATO was the major ally in Afganistan and Iraq War I (Bush the First) and (at least at first) Iraq War II (Bush the Second).
Where you from you don’t know that?
St Petersburg or Vladivostok?
hueyplong
At this point I think the only thing that could make the Republicans act would be if Trump were threatening to come clean publicly.
Shana
@Teddys Person: All their parents will be so happy.
germy
@Kay:
Yes, I doubt Nunes has that much loyalty to 45. I think it’s his own hide he’s protecting. Like the rest of them.
danielx
@Betty Cracker:
Not right in the head is correct, and I’m betting there is something wrong organically.
Doug R
@schrodingers_cat: Magnitsky Act.
Doug R
@Carolina Dave: Because it’s in the charter?
Tokyokie
@Barbara: The spawn of the Orange Fartcloud and Blonde Eastern European Wife No. 1 also realize that it doesn’t take much to piss off the old man, and that if he’s pissed off, whoever pissed him off will be written out of the will. Eventually though, one of them (my guess is Cruella) will figure out there is no estate to inherit and will roll over on the entire family.
germy
Some good news:
Our cat made a nice big poop in her cat box. Her constipation problems seem to be diminishing. Thanks to a laxatone treatment Schrodinger’s Cat recommended, and an occasional teaspoonful of pumpkin mixed into her feed.
cwmoss
@Corner Stone: Also too, Leon’s getting larger…
Dev Null
@Kay: from your link:
Much more frightening indeed… but hardly a surprise.
burnspbesq
U.S. Person 1 is widely believed to be this guy.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-news-maria-butina-paul-erickson-russia-ties-20180718-story.html
I’m betting that the individual other than U.S. Person 1 was LaPierre, but a friend put his money on Dana Loesch.
The Midnight Lurker
@danielx: Inbreeding.
Dev Null
@J R in WV:
I was wondering that myself.
germy
@burnspbesq: What about Rohrabacher?
hedgehog the occasional commenter
@Teddys Person: To quote the great efg, fuckem.
The Midnight Lurker
@Kay: AMEN! And traitors all!
Aleta
@The Ancient Randonneur: At the very least Trump-Putin is intimidating him (just as Daniels was) to smear his strong criticism of the summit (in the Wa. Post), damage sales of his book about Russia (just published), and threaten him into shutting up. If few speak out, it will go further.
Dev Null
@burnspbesq: Hasn’t US Person #1 been id’d as Paul Ericsson? Or am I thinking of some other indictment?
Aleta
Brachiator
@James E Powell:
She’s got a book deal locked down to be published after Trump is done. She doesn’t have to care.
burnspbesq
@germy:
Not a bad thought, but LaPierre was better positioned to give her a job with the “interest group,” which is what she was allegedly willing to trade sex for.
germy
@burnspbesq: Makes sense now.
I assume Mrs. LaPierre is packing.
germy
@Brachiator:
Another book I won’t be buying.
rikyrah
@The Ancient Randonneur:
Just came to post this.
rikyrah
@Kay:
it’s already there, Kay.
That’s what this NRA case is.
trollhattan
@germy:
Packing? Heat or suitcase?
rikyrah
@germy:
Let’s repeat it..
Nunes’ business partners ARE RUSSIANS WITH CLOSE TIES TO PUTIN!
germy
@trollhattan: Perhaps both.
Gin & Tonic
That McFaul/Browder non-denial really really scares me.
jacy
@Dev Null: I lived through it. That’s exactly right. And in addition to believing their own contradictory lies, they make up elaborate stories where you are the villain. I cannot describe how horrifying it is adequately. But once you know it, you immediately recognize it.
Aleta
Republicans reframing:
He’s not wrong–he’s lying to cover up, and so are they.
trollhattan
Really, guys, you’re now just coming around to what a flustercluck Trump and especially Wilbur Ross are?
Thank god you helped stop that she-devil.
Gex
@trollhattan: It’s not like the RCC is going to stop teaching that abortion and gays are deal breakers anyhow. They can prattle on and on about economic justice but they have been a GOTV arm for the GOP.
I remember the year the marriage amendment was on the ballot in MN. The local diocese sent out 500k DVDs explaining to people how they should never vote for politicians who would support marriage equality. Straight up GOTV for Emmer.
dr. luba
From Foreign Policy (FP) website:
Article here.
Quaker in a Basement
That’s right! David Dennison, for one, was over the moon about it.
Gelfling 545
@LAO: Lost cause, indeed. He’s had 70 some years to learn and hasn’t learned one damn thing.
J R in WV
@LAO:
So, is Ms Butina a modern incarnation of Natasha Fatale, boon companion of Boris Badenov ? It was a long time ago, I probably have their names spelled wrong. So I looked it up and fixed Boris’s last name.
It is funny, some of the little details. I wonder if Ms Butina is embarrassed by appearing to be Putin’s girl for hire, ie prostitute for Russia, or if that’s just part of the job she knew about from the beginning.
BruceFromOhio
@West of the Rockies: Most welcome, West.
@Teddys Person: I know, right?? Totally caught me off guard, and now my “allergies” have been acting up again.
cain
@cmorenc:
If we allowed GOP to enact their policies most of those would no longer be safe because he would have killed off his base.
hueyplong
Not sure it’s cool in Putinland to let yourself be caught.
trollhattan
@Gex:
Two biggest contributors to California’s Proposition 8 were the Mormon and Catholic churches. Guessing Pope Frank might have “Had a word” had he been in office but I don’t know how these things work.
When the court threw Prop 8 out I had a happy moment wondering how they liked squandering all that money for nothing other than being openly mean to others.
Teddys Person
@BruceFromOhio: Gives a whole new meaning to “the kindness of strangers.”
rikyrah
NSA, Cyber Command to counter Russian meddling without White House guidance
Gelfling 545
@cmorenc: Collins has an opponent for NY 27. His fundraising has not been stellar. He could use a boost from anyone so inclined. https://www.votemcmurray.com/
He kind of is from that sort of district. Really rich people & rural not so well off. Not quite as bad though. Hochul had the seat not too long ago.
cain
@trollhattan:
Fuck em, if they die. They get the government they voted for. I believe all of this is by consent of the governed.
BruceFromOhio
@Brachiator:
@Yeah, well, there’s a reason why Dept of Education was a target of the Reaganites. You can’t fight stupid, but you can grow it by the metric tonne.
The Midnight Lurker
@Aleta: This is what I’m talking about. When it comes to Russian influence, I believe Trump is a relative newcomer. Clearly Putin has had some key politicians in his pocket for a very long time. It’s easier just to assume the whole party is rotten. And…. given the scope of this thing… maybe… (edges towards the exit)… a few…. democrats. (Rushes out door, slams it shut, barricades it from the other side then yells out “VOTE BLUE IN NOVEMBER ANYWAY!” Ducks bullets as they whizz through door).
Gelfling 545
@ruemara: He is a conman but he is also nuts. Listen to him if you have the stomach for it. Something just isn’t right there. Probably many things.
J R in WV
@Brachiator:
Tucker: “Why should my son go to Montenegro to defend it from attack?”…
How about because his Commanding Officer told him to, jerk wad! Because the President asked the Congress to declare war — oh, wait, we don’t do that so much any more, do we? So just because Dolt45 says so, Tucker.
Millions of American sons have enlisted at the point of a gun, it was called the draft, to fight wars in less interesting places than central Europe. As in Iraq, as in Viet Nam, as in Afganistan. As in Guam, and , as in Korea, Sicily, and North Africa….
Tucker Carlson evidently doesn’t know how the military works, or NATO, or the roots of WW I, WW II, or the Cold War, still underway. Ignorant of everything, and proves it every day for money.
Quinerly
@Gin & Tonic: Me too. Just walked in and heard it on MSNBC.
MisterForkbeard
@The Midnight Lurker: I think there probably ARE some dems that have been compromised or at least are russian friendly. It’s been pretty clear that Russia has been targeting conservatives pretty hard, and sort of made allies of convenience out of the leftier-than-thou types.
I don’t believe it’s anywhere near the scale and complicity of the Republican Party.
Aleta
Another reframing that conservatives repeated online immediately after the summit, to tell Republicans what to say (as Rand Paul did):
Trump was wrong to praise Russia over the US, but he’s right that the United States and Russia should improve their relationship, for the sake of common interests like terrorism, stabilizing Syria, and helping Israel feel secure by stopping Iran’s attempts to use Syrian chaos. We need to find common ground with Russia to deal with North Korea and to work on non-proliferation.
Because that will (supposedly) return us to our destiny as the #1 world power, holding Russia and China in balance and selling US products throughout the world again.
So look to the future!
The Midnight Lurker
@MisterForkbeard: No. Neither do I. Nowhere near.
p.a.
J M Marshall is keeping up with some of it, but besides possible fear of trumpist primary challenges I think lots of Rethug support for trumpov is because his obvious imbecility distracts from the top-to-bottom corruption of this rethug kleptocracy.
hueyplong
The two we strongly suspect are Wilmer and Stein, but they aren’t Democrats.
There aren’t too many votes out there in which a Dem stands out as having gone the wrong way, Russia-wise. So I’m cautiously optimistic.
I’d welcome the news that Holy Joe Lieberman was on the take, having chalked him up as a political (though not national) traitor years ago.
Kathleen
@ruemara: I think you’re right.
Mary G
@BruceFromOhio: I hope a front pager puts that up. Not only is the young man admirable:
The Alabama cops that picked him up bought him breakfast and gave him rides instead of tasing or beating or killing him. That’s not what I would have expected to read, especially since he was carrying a knife. It was great.
rikyrah
@ruemara:
I don’t think you’re wrong.
Remember, Luther Campbell – OF TWO LIVE CREW!!
said that he had to leave a party held by Trump – back in the day.
When you are too crazy for TWO LIVE CREW…
come on, now.
Aleta
@trollhattan:
Wa Post I think
Quinerly
Let’s send this guy back home after November.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/18/politics/kfile-jason-lewis/
MisterForkbeard
@hueyplong: Stein absolutely. Wilmer, probably more in the ‘useful idiot’ category. Tad Devine might be compromised, but if so I can’t tell. His connections to Manafort are super worrying.
Quinerly
71% of Republicans approve of Trump’s handling of Russia following his Helsinki summit with Putin, compared to 14% of Democrats. Overall, 55% of voters disapproved of Trump’s handling of relations with Russia while 37% approved. (Reuters)
The Midnight Lurker
@MisterForkbeard: I think you and I are on the same page.
Gelfling 545
@jl:
Such considerations would never occur to him. If suggested he would disregard the suggestion. Trump knows less than nothing about statecraft or diplomacy. I say less than because he believes he knows things which just makes matters worse.
Quinerly
28% of young adults ages 18 to 34 say they are “absolutely certain” that they’ll vote in midterms, compared to 74% of seniors. (Vox)
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@MisterForkbeard: its just too much of a coincidence for me to believe the he goes from the Corzine campaign to Wilmer bellowing about WALL STREET SPEECHES, by way of Ukraine and Manafort. I’m sure most professional aides/consultants, especially at that level, have some weird names on their resume, but Wilmer wound up being advised by Jeff Weaver, okay, Michael Moore, inevitably, Cornell West, of course, and… Tad Devine?
SenyorDave
@hueyplong: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) is urging voters in the general election to vote for Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) instead of Democratic nominee Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who upset him in the party primary.
Don’t worry, Joe is already on the case (from the Hill website):
Former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) is urging voters in the general election to vote for Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) instead of Democratic nominee Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who upset him in the party primary.
zhena gogolia
@Gin & Tonic:
It’s the Khodorkovsky moment.
Quinerly
Eric and Trump Jr. cost taxpayers nearly $250,000 in Secret Service protection for two business trips. In February 2017, the two traveled together to Dubai to open a golf club under the Trump brand. Eric also traveled to the Dominican Republic in February 2017 to potentially relaunch a Trump resort. (Politico)
Jeffro
This whole thing about McFaul and Browder looks ready to blow up overnight and into tomorrow…GOOD. One more thing he can try to explain/spin/lie about (hopefully on live TV) so that even more folks will wake up about what this guy will do to protect himself/appease Putin/same thing: ANYTHING.
Jeffro
@Gin & Tonic: @zhena gogolia: With you on this.
California Stars
Watched the video and I’m not really sure. It seemed like more of a “No, I heard your question but I don’t want to talk about it” than a “No, I disagree.” But probably ambiguously framed on purpose, if he’s capable of that…
The Midnight Lurker
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Ahhhh… Bernie. No matter how you chase this thing, somehow there’s always a dangling thread that leads back to Sanders. Sorry Sanders supporters. And for the record, I agree with a LOT of Bernie’s policy positions.
DissidentFish
@The Dangerman: It’s a triple play — “Montenegro” actually is a half-muslim population. It also has the word negro in it, and sounds kinda “Mexican.” (actually is a spanish surname). If you could pick a country for the right to hate based on stupid ass reasons, it’s high on the list, racist-wise.
Homophobes hate “Chad” the most.
Steeplejack
@J R in WV:
Where you from that you don’t recognize snark? Hooterville?
jl
@Aleta: ” he’s right that the United States and Russia should improve their relationship, ”
I agree with the best thing to do is forge ahead, saying what we think is right. Important not to let Trumpsters and media BSers force you into false dilemmas.
You can doubt the wisdom of some of the recent NATO expansions, but that doesn’t mean that the way Trump is (supposedly) dealing with consequences is not BS insane and dangerous. You can have serious objections to US international finance and trade policy over last 20 years, but that doesn’t mean that the Trump method of trying to unilaterally blow up the world trading system in favor of impotent US bluster is a good idea. So, if you get that nonsense, shut it down asap.
And if you see the mindless media going on a gotcha hunt over things like that, send them a strong complaint.
It’s like there is a problem with the furnace in the basement, and you are trying to persuade your spouse to pay to get if fixed. The toddler in the family wants to blow up the furnace. He thinks that would a fun and effective way to fix things up fast. Just because you think the furnace has problems, doesn’t mean you think your toddler has any great ideas about how to fix it.
Kathleen
@Mary G: Unlike the sycophantic stenographers at FTFNYT, Fahrenthold does report-y things like “gathering evidence”, “writing it down”, “providing context” and “publishing”. I do believe that of the “major” dailies, LA Times has also done excellent reporting.
Kathleen
@Corner Stone: Ho. Lee. Shit.
Teddys Person
@California Stars:
It seems to me that this has been his negociating strategy for a very long time. Out bullshit everyone until they settle for pennies on the dollar just to get away. Unfortunately, presidenting doesn’t work that way, and the dementia seems to limit the thoughts he can hold in his head. So, a life-long strategy is no longer working for him, and his enablers have to scramble after him with the pooper scooper.
The Midnight Lurker
@Kathleen: Fahrenthold is a REAL reporter.
Steeplejack
@Carolina Dave:
Yeah, those
MontenegroesMontenegrins are pretty aggressive people, I’ve heard. Push one of them out of the way at an international conference and boom!—World War III.BC in Illinois
@Brachiator:
@J R in WV:
Tucker Carlson:
Tucker Carlson was born in 1969. At the time of the first Gulf War, he was 21. He didn’t seem inclined to enlist then — to defend Kuwait from attack — to “proudly stand up next to you, if you stand up next to me.” *
* The guy who wrote that piece of drivel never spent a day in uniform either.
[ Semi-full disclosure: I enlisted in 1969, age 20 and served without distinction. I have no beef with people in general who did not enlist, who did not go to Vietnam (as my brother and cousin did), or who even actively avoided the military. That is, “in general.” I don’t have a lot of love for people who avoided the service for themselves and then talk military for others. (Examples can be provided.) ]
VOR
@Gex:
Yes. My church’s priest kept peppering his sermons with discussions of what a moral person Mitt Romney was. And yet it hugely backfired – there was big Democratic turnout which overwhelmingly voted down the proposed amendment banning Marriage Equality. And the Legislature took that as a sign and then legalized it a few months later.
raven
@BC in Illinois: I got OUT in 69 at the age of 19!
jl
@BC in Illinois: Regardless of whether admitting Hungary or Montenegro or whoever to NATO was a good idea. fact is, they are in now. If that creates problems, there are always better, worse, and disastrous ways to deal with that. Trump and the Trumpsters have immediately gone to irresponsible and disastrous ways. Just as with problems with US international finance and trade policies.
The GOP has surrendered any credibility on being the serious daddy party on national security. The Democrats need to howl from the rooftops about this very dangerous, very irresponsible talk, which is important talk, not because some reactionary bigot TV babbler is saying it, but because he is saying it in league with the US president. It is shameful and can, should, never be forgotten, excused, or forgiven. Ever.
Edit: because WWI scenarios pop up, except this time with nukes.
Bill Arnold
@Quinerly:
28% is pathetic. Betcha the 18–34 numbers would change if they were informed of the “74% of seniors” statistic as a preamble to the question.
BC in Illinois
@raven:
Explains your attitude toward LBJ.
I spent all my time in, under Nixon.
Fuck Nixon.
The Midnight Lurker
@BC in Illinois: Amen. Nixon keeps trying to erase tapes in hell.
The Midnight Lurker
@BC in Illinois: Oh, please… please can I take Carlson on a weekend get-a-way to Ft. Benning? I know a black DI that would just LOVE to make his acquaintance.
jl
@Bill Arnold: I think turnout of that age groups was under 20% in last two midterms, 18 to 24 closer to 10%. So, in a way, that is good news.
raven
@BC in Illinois: He got elected a month after I shipped to the Nam!
raven
@The Midnight Lurker: Fuckin blanket party. . .maybe with an entrenching tool!
Kathleen
@The Midnight Lurker: I’m so glad there are a few left. David Corn is another one. And I’m sure on a local level there are reporters doing some excellent work.
Bill Arnold
@Aleta:
Has anyone (other than conservatives) mapped out in detail how they do this so reliably?
(e.g. is it that conservative (thought)networks have fewer key nodes?)
[off to google scholar to see if any such thing has been found in the last year or two]
BC in Illinois
@raven:
I was a Hospital Corpsman at Bethesda in ’72, when I first read of the Watergate break-in.
In the Washington Post.
cain
@tobie:
I don’t know, moving Democrats to the left seems like something I would like to see. Whlie I like Ocasio-Cortez, I’m not a fan of Bernie who I think is a schemer and is out looking for power for his own gratification.
Gin & Tonic
@DissidentFish: Not a Spanish surname, it means “Black Mountain” – Monte Negro. It’s Crna Gora if you’re over there (won’t do the Cyrillic because FYWP.)
The Midnight Lurker
@raven: OUCH! Are you sure you’re not a Marine?!
James E Powell
@Quinerly:
If those numbers are fair to generalize and they hold, we are well and truly fucked.
I can kinda sorta forgive the lower 25% of that age group. Being an “I don’t care” shithead is part of growing up. But once people turn 22, they have got to be held to adult standards. “I don’t care” and “But what about . . . ” are no longer acceptable excuses for inaction.
Gozer
@raven: In his post-Benning life (after encounters with DIs, Black Hats, ARTB instructors and other fun wildlife) someone should be paid to randomly scream “Half-right FACE!!” at him for the rest of his life.
jl
@James E Powell: Even a moderate uptick can make a bid difference. I think that is higher than in previous midterms, and still early for most people in campaign cycle.
Uncle Cosmo
@DissidentFish: Which is utterly stupid, since the actual name of the nation is Црна Гора / Crna Gora (pronounced [tsr̩̂ːnaː ɡɔ̌ra]). “Montenegro” is just a latinitsa-Romance Language translation (“Black Mountain”).
I spent several days there in 2013, visiting the lovely walled town of Kotor at the head of the Boka Kotorska, the old capital at Cetinje (& the royal palace known as the Biljarda for the billiards table that Archbishiop-Prince Petar Petrovic-Njegos installed there in the 1800s), and Petrovic-Njegos’s tomb at the peak of Mt Lovcen. In transit to the overnight train for Belgrade, I spent a week in Podgorica one Sunday afternoon (which is on my list of “European cities only their mothers could love, & maybe not even them,” along with Catania in Sicily & Kalamata in Greece)…
Pro tip: Crnagorski (i.e., Montenegrin) wine can be very nice – if you ever run across a bottle of Vranac for under $12, buy & drink it.
Gelfling 545
@germy: She’s put up with the old looney this long and I assume already knows he’s done worse things.
Just One More Canuck
@Roger Moore: thanks for the nightmares
Joseph A. Miller
@Tilda Swintons Bald Cap: Could you post a link? I am VERY interested.
Dev Null
@Brachiator: And she’s a FTFNYT Vichy Times Pulitzer Prize winning reporter.
If you’re a journamalist, life doesn’t get better than that. Integrity is optional.
The Midnight Lurker
@Gozer: Are you kidding? You couldn’t measure Carlson’s lifespan at Benning with a stopwatch. That walking 4F is the kind of guy that busts out crying BEFORE the bus even gets there.
Dev Null
@rikyrah: More than the NRA, I think. Paul Erickson (I misspelled his name in earlier comments) is a Big Deal, if what I am reading about his connections is correct.
Dev Null
@rikyrah: Wait, wut?!?
Rikyrah, I apologize for contradicting you, but I’ve looked everywhere for evidence of Russian connections to Nunes’ winery investments ever since the Palmer Report’s initial, well, reports. Yeah, there are a few connections, but they are so strained as to be not-credible.
I know I’m a wet blanket at times, but I don’t think we win by this sort of accusation when we don’t have credible evidence. Heck, insinuations … I don’t care. But “credible” is the ticket.
If-and-when there’s better evidence, I will apologize and credit you with being way smarter than I am, which we knew anyway.
And if you have evidence, please put it on the table, OK?
Tokyokie
@Dev Null: And it’s named for a second-rate film-music composer. They could have at least decided to call their country Morricone.
Dev Null
@Gin & Tonic: I second this.
I am utterly gob-smacked that the Admin didn’t reject this out of hand.
hey, “None Dare Call It Treason”.
Tearing down the administrative state, for sure.
The Midnight Lurker
@Dev Null: Jump to next thread, Bro. Erickson is the hot topic.
Dev Null
@Tokyokie: Fans of Hugo Montenegro will be burning a sound track on your lawn tonight.
Don’t get me wrong … I agree with you.
I’m just sayin’.
ruemara
@tobie: Like that’s not their goal. Benefit of the doubt is over. She could’ve been a model for a progressive takeover in areas that were perfect for it, but, nope.
Dev Null
@The Midnight Lurker:
What is with you peeps?!? I go off to read news, and you’re onto some other meme. I thought I was the commenter with ADHD.
I am not sure that I will pass the BJ commenter qualification test… I simply cannot keep up …
(For the snark-challenged: this is a joke. It is snark, OK? Gimme a break …)
The Midnight Lurker
@Dev Null: Come on! Keep up with an old man. Kisses.
Dev Null
@jacy: I’ve been fortunate, never had a family member nor a really really close friend with this condition.
But one of the tribe tried to get me fired because I didn’t live up to his metrics. Three months or so later he screwed over the customer and shorted me after I delivered my half of the product. He whiffed on his half. Wanted me to create his half of the product, but wouldn’t provide me with input for his half.
Yes, once you know the symptoms and have sufficient evidence / experience, the condition is immediately identifiable. Whether you call it Joe’s Condition or NPD.
Thanks for sharing.
raven
@The Midnight Lurker: My birthday is November 10 and I went in on my 17th, Nov 10 66. They were drafting into the croch, going down the line Army, Marines, Army, Marines. . . my cousin was 1/26 at the Hill Fights and my old man was a Navy mustang. So it was dogface for me all the way!
Dev Null
@rikyrah: I guess Paul Nakasone will be hawking his resume soon.
joking-not-joking
Dev Null
@The Midnight Lurker: I’ll bet I’m older and more bit-decayed than you are.
Propose a test, Old Man. I can fail your test more failfully than you, Ah betcha. :-)
[signed]
An Even Older More Bit-Decayed Man
Dev Null
@The Midnight Lurker: This.
I’m trying to keep up, ML… gimme a break.
Gozer
@The Midnight Lurker: Another casualty of the Battle of MEPS…
The Midnight Lurker
@Dev Null: You’re on, old man. Last one to crawl across the finish line buys the first round of Ben Gay & Metamucil.
Dev Null
@J R in WV: Fvcker Carlson is an idiot, a bigot, and a git.
I have no idea why Faux Propaganda Network pays him … anything.
Oh, wait … he’s a bigot.
Never mind.
Dev Null
@SenyorDave: could Joe Lieberwhore be lined up with College Republicans and shot as a traitor?
As is always the case, I am asking for a friend. I don’t own a gun, nor would I condone anyone but LE executing the sentence, and then only after a trial by
his peersAmericans.Dev Null
@Jeffro: I damn well hope so.
We are ruled by traitors.
Dev Null
@Steeplejack: Sometimes a snark tag is useful.
Speaking as one who snarks a lot and backwalks my snark … a lot.
I don’t take the OP comment as snark, perhaps because I don’t recognize the commenter’s nym.
Dev Null
@Steeplejack: Montenegri, dude.
er, /snark
No need to tell me my Latin sux. Anyone who knows anything about Latin knows that already.
Dev Null
@The Midnight Lurker: Next BJ post, you mean?
“Threads” is sooooo 1960s …
Dev Null
@The Midnight Lurker: Nononononono, you have it backwards.
First one over the finish line buys …
Bobby Thomson
He’s not nuts. He’s owned.
Procopius
Hello? I’m sorry, but I’m feeling gaslighted here. What boxing match? To me the metaphor seems to imply there were violent, noisy hostilities with a public blow-up at the end. I did not see that. I am puzzled. I really don’t see what Trump is supposed to have given up or how he is supposed to have been bested. I don’t really care if he was or not, I dislike the man and hate his cabinet appointments and policies and believe the Republicans (and some Democrats) are purposely working to impose an authoritarian oligarchy on us, but all this stuff about Trump “surrendering” to Putin is just nuts.
Jaker
@schrodingers_cat:Putin has dirt on Trump so Donald obeyed Putin’s orders to meet up so that they could be alone, one on one. Putin also asked Trump when is he going to start dropping the sanctions against Russia. Putin also asked him (Trump) if he’d keep quiet if he starts another invasion of another former Soviet State i.e. Montenegro maybe or even Poland?!
Then another important matter Trump probably talked about is would Putin help with the mid-term elections but more important than that, that Putin go on keeping helping Trump with going forward to be the Dictator of the US. That’s (Trumps) goal to be a great dictator & rule for as long as he can then hand over to another member of his family to continue etc, etc, etc, & with the help of the far right. Trump hates Democracy, Far Right hate freedoms.
So can you imagine it these two Dictator’s Putin & Trump & cronies ruling the world? I can. They have both started already, these two are probably the worlds worst psychopaths/sociopaths & alter-egos ever. 2018 mid-term elections needs everyone who loves their freedoms to vote against Trump & lapdog Congress, this is your last chance at it. So “Go Vote” & stop the Russian Donald in his tracks.