Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

I would try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

If you can’t control your emotions, someone else will.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

“But what about the lurkers?”

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

Those who are easily outraged are easily manipulated.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

He really is that stupid.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / Russiagate Open Thread: COMPLICIT

Russiagate Open Thread: COMPLICIT

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But it’s not just Trump who’s acting just like someone whose career relies on keeping a foreign oligarch happy…

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159Comments

  2. 2.

    trollhattan

    Possibly Tony Bourdain’s last interview. It’s lengthy, interesting (for anybody who enjoyed him) and takes an unexpected turn to discuss the NYT op/ed crew with unbridled savagery. A sample:

    If you could strangle one of them, which one would it be?

    I would say Friedman.

    Really?! More than Bret Stephens?

    That’s low-hanging fruit. Somebody else’ll get to it.

  3. 3.

    p.a.

    I wish I was a space alien: this would be a fascinating time but for the fact it affects me and the whole fucking world for the worse.

  6. 6.

    hueyplong

    Don’t care, because I think either would get the message after the first one got strangled.

  7. 7.

    Teddys Person

    @trollhattan: Today it would be MAGA “my book deal is more important than the role of journalism in a functioning democracy” Haberman

  9. 9.

    Yarrow

    McConnell: “The Russians need to know that there are a lot of us who fully understand what happened in 2016, and it really better not happen again in 2018.”

    Or what? Strongly worded letter? Maybe even–gasp!–a stern talking to?

  11. 11.

    Eljai

    I like headlines that are to the point.

    US Officials ‘at a Fucking Loss’ Over Latest Russia Sell Out

    The current U.S. diplomat said the openness to turning over McFaul capped off a shocking week for U.S. geopolitics.

    “The president has first and foremost his interests at the top of his mind, as opposed to the government’s. That’s very clear over the past week and a half, between shitting on our NATO allies and kissing Putin’s ass,” the diplomat said. “He cares more about himself than the nation and any of us who serve it.”

    The diplomat continued: “Either he’s compromised by Putin or he’s a pussy, in which case he should grab himself.”

  13. 13.

    Teddys Person

    @Yarrow:

    More McConnell: You’re just lucky the president at the time was blackity, black, black, black, black or we would have really showed you.

  15. 15.

    SFAW

    @Eljai:

    The diplomat continued: “Either he’s compromised by Putin or he’s a pussy, in which case he should grab himself.”

    Day-um.

  16. 16.

    debbie

    Don’t see Tim Scott ever standing up and being all defiant like our Nancy does, day after day after day.

  18. 18.

    SFAW

    @Yarrow:

    Or what? Strongly worded letter? Maybe even–gasp!–a stern talking to?

    You left out the “with brows furrowed ever-so-deeply” part.

  20. 20.

    nymofnyms

    It would be great if the Democrats started pushing a clear message NOW:

    “We are under attack. The President is not protecting us. He is compromised and has joined the enemies of the US. The Republicans in the Senate and House are not protecting us. They are compromised and have joined the enemies of the US. Only the US voter can save this great country. Vote. Vote in every election, from city to county to state to nationally. Get registered. Confirm your registration. Vote.”

    Then let the Republicans whine about how unfair and mean Nancy Smash is.

  21. 21.

    Teddys Person

    @nymofnyms:

    Then let the Republicans whine about how unfair and mean Nancy Smash is.

    ’cause they’re going to anyway.

  22. 22.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)

    They’re all in on it. Unless they prove otherwise, they’re all in on it. We must take down these people. We have no choice here. They have to fall, and fall far and hard. We may not have a country otherwise. It’s going to be hard, because they’ve worked hard to tilt things toward themselves, but that doesn’t make any difference. We need to take these people down, however hard it is.

  26. 26.

    Teddys Person

    Trump is going after his critics:

    Wednesday, Trump told CBS that he has “no confidence in Clapper.”

    “You know, Clapper wrote me a beautiful letter when I first went to office and it was really nice and all of the sudden he’s haywire,” Trump said. “Because they got to him and they probably got him to say things that he probably doesn’t even mean.”

    He also called former CIA Director John Brennan a “low life.”

  27. 27.

    Viva BrisVegas

    McConnell: “The Russians need to know that there are a lot of us who fully understand what happened in 2016, and it really better not happen again in 2018.”

    McConnell: Or I’ll be forced to keep it secret from the American people once again.

    When he says “fully understand what happened”, he is telling the Deplorables that Russia interfered to help Hillary.

  29. 29.

    Dev Null

    @A Ghost To Most: Great minds think in the same rut.

    Not a sexual double entendre. I save my sexual double entendres for appropriate venues.

    “It’s your dirty picture, Doc!”

  30. 30.

    Dev Null

    @Teddys Person: Reminds me of the old joke:

    Q. You see your conductor and your opera company’s soprano in the middle of the road in front of you.

    Which do you take out first?

    A. The conductor. Business before pleasure.

    Or perhaps it’s the other way around. Seriously, either one works.

    Note to The Youngs: back in the day, orchestras really were A Thing.

  33. 33.

    Teddys Person

    The minority in Congress trying to do their jobs:

    House Democrats took turns Wednesday requesting a vote on an amendment to fund election systems protection, saying the money is needed to “prevent Russian interference” in future elections.

    The procedural moves from Democrats come ahead of a vote on a Republican-led spending bill (HR 6147) that would zero out election security grants that help states to fortify their systems against hacking and cyber attacks. The Election Assistance Commission is funded at $380 million under the fiscal 2018 omnibus spending bill enacted earlier this year.

    “News flash, Mr. Speaker,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., “I hope my Republican friends are listening: Russia was just caught meddling in our election. In fact, meddling is not strong enough. They attacked our country.”

    More than a dozen Democrats lined up in the House chamber to insist on a vote on the election security amendment. Harold Rogers, R-Ky., banged the gavel repeatedly and denied the requests.

  35. 35.

    Miss Bianca

    OMG! I just got this call from Scott Tipton, CO(3), inviting me to a “live town hall”. What question should I be asking Republican Scott Tipton??

  36. 36.

    Yarrow

    @Chip Daniels: They didn’t just know it, they were actively involved in it and benefited from it themselves. They are traitors. They are going down.

  38. 38.

    A Ghost To Most

    @Dev Null:

    Note to The Youngs: back in the day, orchestras really were A Thing.

    I’m not a young, but orchestras have never been part of the soundtrack of my life. The Beatles took care of that.

  39. 39.

    Chip Daniels

    @Miss Bianca:
    Tell him you are from glorious nation for benefit of Kazahkstan, and you wish to provide arms to kindergartners in his district.

  46. 46.

    The Midnight Lurker

    Democracy Dies in Darkness so Jim Bennett should take the entire opinion pages staff over to Lamps Plus and have a millennial show them what a fucking light looks like!

  47. 47.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Miss Bianca: Are you one of the Republican officials that Mariia Butina had sex with as indicated in the Federal grand jury indictment?

  50. 50.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Miss Bianca: More seriously, I have no idea. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t pay much attention to your member of Congress.

  51. 51.

    tobie

    @Miss Bianca: Ask him whether he’ll return all NRA contributions to his campaign and pledge not to accept any contributions from super-pacs if he’s really committed to draining the swamp and this is not just an empty slogan. Throw is faux populism back at him.

  52. 52.

    Miss Bianca

    @Adam L Silverman: No, I got it. I’m just betting that they are screening the questions. I want to ask something about whether he thinks the President has committed impeachable offenses.

  53. 53.

    Yarrow

    @tobie: That’s a good question that may actually get through. It includes both the dead children part and the treason part of the NRA.

  55. 55.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Miss Bianca: Actually, ask him whether he supports preserving and increasing support for ensuring the integrity of elections in the US. Including his position on House Resolution 6147 that strips the election integrity grants, as well as his position on whether election infrastructure – from voter registration systems and databases/rolls to the machines and processes used to vote to how we count and then report election results to how we vet and verify donations to candidates and for ballot initiatives – should be considered critical infrastructure that is necessary to be protected in order to ensure and enhance national security. And if not, why not? As in why does he want to make it easy for both domestic bad actors and hostile foreign states to meddle with and influence our elections?

  57. 57.

    Yarrow

    @Miss Bianca: More seriously, what’s Scott Tipton known for? Does he have particular favorite issues or something like that? If so, you might frame a question around one of those issues.

  59. 59.

    Miss Bianca

    @Miss Bianca: Oooh, ooh, someone’s already asking this question!

    ETA: Aaaannnddd…weasel words. I am totally going to ask about the quid pro quo proposed by Putin – arresting American diplomats as a tit for tat for the GRU indictments.

  65. 65.

    Yarrow

    @Davebo: Note: that’s a link to RT, in case anyone wants to avoid it. I’m not clicking through so what did he say that’s so bad this time?

  66. 66.

    Miss Bianca

    @Yarrow: Oh, it was unfortunate that he slagged our intelligence guys, and….OOHH TRUMP IS GETTING SLAGGED BY A VETERAN RIGHT NOWW!! Oh, yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah!

  68. 68.

    Davebo

    @Yarrow: Not sure why one would avoid it. Here’s a snippet.

    G.G: There are definitely differences between Obama and Trump and I could go through a lot of those differences. But most of the controversies that had been the greatest and most intense ones under Trump are really continuations of American political culture and not departures from it.

    Even the immigration controversy. President Obama deported more people from the United States than any president in history. The agency that deports people is ICE, which was created under George W Bush and expanded under President Obama. Families were often separated, children were put into cages under President Obama. So you can go down the list and see many of the same policies that get so much attention under Trump that got very little under Obama.

    Interestingly, where Russia is concerned, despite all the claims that Trump is a puppet of Russia, in many ways Obama was more cooperative with the Russian government than Trump was. Obama refused to send lethal arms to Ukraine whereas Trump did that. Obama refused to bomb forces of the Assad government – Trump has done that. Trump has expelled more Russian diplomats that Obama did.

    So in the cases where they are different, they are often different in a way that is the exact opposite of the way it is described.

  69. 69.

    dmsilev

    @Davebo: I’m not clicking over to RT to read GG. Can you give a taste of what he said?

    Edit: Never mind, looks like you already did. Thanks.

  71. 71.

    TS (the original)

    @Yarrow:

    This Michael McFaul stuff is terrifying. I hope he’s got good, trustworthy security.

    Horrendous and ghastly – trump will do anything to attack President Obama and anyone who worked for him – fascism has arrived in the US wearing an orange face.

  72. 72.

    Starfish

    @Miss Bianca: Is it one of those phone live townhalls? I am not an optimist when it comes to those. They answer softball questions from people who do not seem to be all there or softball questions from their friends. Ask what he is doing to assure that we have free and fair elections in 2018 that are not interfered with by foreign governments maybe?

  73. 73.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @Baud: Aren’t the folks who read GG either vote third party or not at all? And if that’s the case, then why should we care what this hack types?

  74. 74.

    Mary G

    @Miss Bianca: Looking at Wikipedia, pretty much anything you want, he doesn’t, but I found this the most objectionable:

    He does not support efforts to provide veterans access to medical marijuana, if legal in their state, per their Veterans Health Administration doctor’s recommendation.

    ETA: Oh, God. November can’t come too soon:

    This guy distributing plans to 3D-print semiautomatic rifles was losing in court—until suddenly the Trump State Dpt decided to settle and paid back his legal costs. Print-at-home guns go online Aug 1. Your tax dollars at work, folks. https://t.co/afE9cO5xLw— Ben Wikler (@benwikler) July 18, 2018

  75. 75.

    Dev Null

    @SFAW:

    Friedman? Brooks? Stephens?
    Screw that shit: Pinch and Pinche Sulzberger

    Yes, I realize they’re technically not Op-Ed “writers.” So?

    If we can add Habs and the other White House fellators fluffersstenographers and reporters of deep sads from Trumpkin voters in Red States, I’m in.

    Where do I sign?

  78. 78.

    Hobbes83

    @debbie: Some people are willing to sell their souls for a tax cut, the repeal of some regulations, and good old fashioned DC power. It really is that simple. I still remember him sharing a story about being pulled over for driving while black. He did fuck all after that to push any legislation or call for more oversight to alleviate what many of us have to deal with on a day to day basis. Fuck him with a rusty chainsaw.

  79. 79.

    Miss Bianca

    @Starfish: He’s had a couple comments on the Trump thing, one from a veteran who basically reamed him for supporting Trump. So, maybe. I’l definitely leave a voicemail if I don’t get to ask the question.

    ETA: And you’re right, I’m not gonna get to ask the question live. I sure will leave a voice mail, tho!

  80. 80.

    Dev Null

    @Eljai: No shit, we’re all at a fucking loss. WTF do I care about White House staffers?!?

    Good catch, Eljai …

  83. 83.

    Chip Daniels

    Then there is this:

    In April 2018, Alexander Torshin, a Russian politician who reportedly worked with Butina and closely matches the description of an unnamed “Russian official” in the affidavit, was sanctioned by the U.S. government, but only after he spent years forging alliances with American leaders — including religious ones.
    According to Yahoo News, Torshin initially set up a meeting with Trump before the 2017 prayer breakfast on Feb. 2. But White House officials canceled after learning that Torshin, who is also a close ally of Putin, has suspected ties to organized crime and a money-laundering ring.
    One year later, Russian interest in the National Prayer Breakfast only strengthened. Some outlets reported that an atypically large delegation of Russians — as many as 60 — planned to attend the 2018 event.

    This predates Trump. Torshin was grooming the evangelicals for years before Trump even ran, to the point where he was sanctioned by our government for it.
    And yet these fucksticks still welcomed him in with open arms.

  84. 84.

    Dev Null

    @A Ghost To Most: The Mustache of Wisdom is a random idiot. David Brooks is a guided idiot.

    Well, and then there are the publishers and the stenographers, as others pointed out.

    I think you must have me mistaken for someone else. I would always run over Brooks before running over Friedman, on the chance that some random traffic cop would stop me after the first takedown.

    er, that’s what a friend told me, anyway; I am merely stenographering my friend’s comments.

    Perhaps I could be a stenographerreporter at the Vichy Times. I seem to have the qualifications.

  92. 92.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: I muted it, but I wonder who it is at MSNBC who thinks their viewers want to watch their, as a rule, too-polite anchors stammer through a spin session with Republican back-benchers. Ideology aside, how is that good or interesting TV?

  93. 93.

    Shell

    what does a soul go for these days?

    At least when Tommy Johnson sold his soul, he got the talent to play the guitar “real good.”

  98. 98.

    Dev Null

    @Uncle Cosmo: Works for me. :-)

    Srsly, why does anyone read Yale professor of humility David Brooks?

    Granted that David Brooks has much to be humble about, why reward him for his failures?

    Oh, wait, we’re talking about the Vichy Times.

    Never mind.

  102. 102.

    James E Powell

    @chris:

    Chief Nance remarked that it sounds like Mariia had KGB training. Some guy here was talking about penetration at all levels…

    Are we on full-time double entendre alert now?

  105. 105.

    B.B.A.

    Ya know, if Republicans came out and said, yes we colluded with the Russian government, but it was worth it to keep Hitlery out of the WH, I’d have a modicum of respect for them. Evil as fuck, but at least it’d be forthright about what’s totally fucking obvious to everyone with a pair of brain cells to rub together.

    But noooo. Either they think we’re dumb enough to buy “no collusion, you’re the collusion” or they’re dumb enough to buy it.

  107. 107.

    Dev Null

    @Yarrow: I have no reason to think that RT is a phishing site, but it could become one at any moment. (Benevolent overlords, Cheryl and Adam, correct me if I am wrong.)

    I clicked on the link, saw it was RT, and immediately deleted the window.

  108. 108.

    Teddys Person

    @chris: What I hate about this timeline is the cartoonishness of the villians. Don’t get me wrong, they’re doing damage, but when you read about them, you can almost hear the mustaches twirling.

  110. 110.

    Bill Arnold

    @Chip Daniels:
    This (thinkprogress) piece includes a little material on Alexander Torshin. As you say, the relationship between the American and Russian Christian religious right is … strong. The Russians are now held up as an example to be admired; harsh laws on the books.
    Russians and the American right started plotting in 1995. We have the notes from the first meeting. (June 19, 2018)

    As Preston was using his religiosity to bring the NRA and Torshin together, Allan Carlson was busy working with his Russian partners to create an anti-LGBTQ empire. In 1997, WCF held its first international conference in Prague, followed by additional gatherings around the world: Geneva, Mexico City, Warsaw.

  112. 112.

    A Ghost To Most

    @Dev Null: Classical music doesnt speak to me. At all. Not relevant. Orchestras don’t have pedal steel guitars. Or lyrics that speak truths..

    YMMV.

  114. 114.

    Dev Null

    @The Midnight Lurker:

    You crack me up

    We aim to please! (and so does Louise, so don’t hide arms, buy sidearms … er, where am I? And when is … this. Oh, wait, is this really the 20-teens?)

    (If you don’t recognize the quote, never mind, it’s a form of Elder Pron.)

  115. 115.

    Platonailedit

    If the traitorous thug’s corrupt regime, with the usual silent abetment from the treasonous gop, throws the ex-ambassador to the wolves, will the courts step in?

  117. 117.

    The Midnight Lurker

    @Dev Null: I like you too much. I say we stop this senseless in-fighting and join forces. You+Me v Bobo & The Mustache = Thunderdome. I’ll bring the Ben-Gay. You bring the chainsaws.

  118. 118.

    Bill Arnold

    @Dev Null:
    Re “guided idiot”, intuition has suggested more than once that D. Brooks has lurked here occasionally, especially threads that mention him.
    I love your informal pundit taxonomy.

  120. 120.

    Yarrow

    @Davebo:

    Not sure why one would avoid it.

    Because it’s Russia Today and I will not willingly give the Kremlin mouthpiece a click.

  121. 121.

    Dev Null

    @B.B.A.: Wait, wut?!?

    Republicans have said exactly this.

    Admittedly, I suspect we’re talking about my deranged far-right prepper sister; whom I suspect of calling in under a nom-de-radio, but still. I have a link somewhere from commentary on the 2016 election which says, “Thank you, Russia”.

    Here. Not the one I had in mind, but it works.

  122. 122.

    Adam L Silverman

    @The Thin Black Duke: Because a number of progressive icons are tight and/or supportive of him. From the Doyenne of the Progressive Blogosphere Digby, who is largely excellent to Emptywheel to others even farther to the left. And they have significant influence. And their readers and followers will take him more seriously given their support of him and what he does.

  123. 123.

    Chetan Murthy

    Re: Mariia Butina. She’s an agent of our enemy. And as a spy, she deserves only the protections of any other -person- on our soil. But still …. you gotta wonder who she had to … (ahem) boink in her job. I mean, maybe she’s -earned- her Order of Lenin medal? B/c shit, some of those critters …. {shudder}

  125. 125.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Mary G: Given John Sipher (great name for a member of the National Clandestine Service), former Chief of Moscow Station, is in agreement on that, we’ve got the top CIA Russia hands in line that we have a problem.

  126. 126.

    Jay

    @B.B.A.:

    Booman and a bunch of others have noted that there are a bunch of ReThugs who in private, are appalled, but,

    they are scared shitless of their base.

    Booman, probably being overgenerous, or forgetting how wingnuttia works, thinks that they “need” Meuller’s report to come out, to first convince their base, before they can stand up,

    It’s funny how people can note at one moment, how f’d up and cray-cray the ReThug base actually is, and then, moment’s later, think there are Bush41 Republicans in the ReThug base.

  127. 127.

    Miss Bianca

    @Chetan Murthy: y’know, I keep forgetting that you and I and others on this blog have had the benefit of Adam’s (and Cheryl’s!) insights into all these connections for months and months, and so I’m afraid I’ve been rather impatient with some people who are all like, “ZOMG, treason!!” when before they’ve been more like, “oh, you and your Russia conspiracy theories” – and I’ve been yelling, “oh, NOW your hair’s on fire? NOW??”

  131. 131.

    Dev Null

    @A Ghost To Most: No kidding.

    My relatively sane sister (hey, it’s all relative, no double entendres intended, except those that are) posts only on FB, so I go to her links. Otherwise, almost never.

    I also use half a dozen mutually conflicting ad blockers, on the theory that anything that can get thru my ad blockers is unlikely to cause problems.

    Yeah, it’s a probability argument.

    I’d do better to run in a VM with no sharing with the host, but …

    … there are many security improvements I should make to my home network. This is the least of my security suboptimalities.

  134. 134.

    J R in WV

    @A Ghost To Most:

    Classical music doesnt speak to me. At all. Not relevant. …

    Have you ever been to a live orchestral performance? Perhaps doing a piano concerto? I love modern blues, Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raite, Gov/t Mule, but a good symphony can make me cry.

    Maybe you should try it out… Live orchestral music even in a small town like mine can be great.

  137. 137.

    Bill Arnold

    @Dev Null:
    A woman on C-SPAN, ranting about Hillary and thanking the Russians? (Link if asked.)
    I have a low-priority project now to get such a confession out of one my wingnut friends. Would take just a little nudge. They’re pretty close, just need a bit more Russophilia; the rest is in place.

  139. 139.

    Adam L Silverman

    @chris: I saw Ioffe’s article when it first came out, as well as Nance’s tweet. She’s obviously had significant tactical firearms training, whether it was KGB/FSB is another matter. I certainly haven’t seen enough about her actual life history to say one way or another. What we know, what has been published, is very limited.

  140. 140.

    Dev Null

    @Adam L Silverman: Wait, wut?

    You and I disagree on emptywheel, but almost all of the leftie blogs have abandoned GG. Even EW.net. I don’t recall a positive mention of GG on digby in ages. nor WashMo, which is hardly an extreme leftie site.

    t was just smeared by a commenter on emptywheel.net for asking for evidence for a claim which I suspect is true, but if it’s true, where’s the evidence? Because I’ve seen no compelling evidence.

    Site admin backed up the slagger rather than me, so I am having second thoughts about my defense of the integrity of EW.net.

    Imagine that. ~dryly~

  142. 142.

    Dev Null

    @The Midnight Lurker: @Bill Arnold: Aw shucks. Thanks, guys…

    Even if the human behind the Midnight Lurker nym is David Fsckin’ Brooks.

    er, Midnight Lurker: I need new chainsaws. Oddly enough, my el-Cheapo Home Depot chainsaw is getting to hard to start, or I am losing muscle mass, as befits the Eldrich cohort.

    Set the time and location, and I’ll be there, chainsaws akimbo.

    Or sumpthin’. (Not sure what akimbo means, but it sounded appropriate.)

  144. 144.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Dev Null: If they’ve abandoned him, then that’s all to the good. I’ve not been over to Digby’s in a while as something she did with the formatting won’t load the site properly with the VPN I use.

  145. 145.

    Dev Null

    @Adam L Silverman: Adam, srsly. That was the joke.

    No offense intended. I’m running on four glasses of Sauvignon Blanc, as is probably obvious to everyone. Please make allowances, since clearly I am beyond that point.

  149. 149.

    Dev Null

    @J R in WV: I’m thinking music by cross-over performers like Yo-Yo Ma and Keith Jarrett. Jarrett’s performance of Handel’s Keyboard Suites is … beyond description.

    Or the Borodin Quartet’s performance of Borodin’s string quartets.

    Or Domus recordings of Brahms and Dvorak.

    Well, OK … 2 & 3 aren’t cross-over.

    But y’know, mebbe it’s like foreign languages. People who know more about this than me (ie basically everyone) are welcome to set me straight, but for many years the CW has been that if you don’t learn a 2nd language by age 10, you’ll never be fluent in a second language .. the part of the brain that somehow specializes in distinguishing odd sounds atrophies.

    Could be the same with different species of music, I s’pose.

    Just speculatin’, not layin’ down doctrine for the Church of Nothing.

  150. 150.

    Jay

    @Adam L Silverman:

    They are scared to death of being primaried by the wingnuts.

    From the axios e-mail thingy,

    “Yes, almost every elected Republican we talk to privately thinks President Trump’s warm embrace of Vladimir Putin was unexplainable, unacceptable and un-American. Yes, they wish they could say this publicly. No, they won’t — not now, and probably never.

    They see no upside in speaking out — and fear political suicide if they do, numerous Republican officials tell us.”

    GG’s been abandoned by the reality based community, which is why he’s selling his sticht on RT and Faux.

  153. 153.

    Dev Null

    @B.B.A.:

    I mean Repubs with power, like Cocaine Mitch.

    Good luck with that. Fvckem.

    GOP delenda est, before they delenda the country.

    I’m a milquetoast, guilty as charged, Officer … but seriously, the upper echelon of the GOP comprises traitors. How can this possibly be in dispute?

  154. 154.

    Dev Null

    @Bill Arnold:

    A woman on C-SPAN, ranting about Hillary and thanking the Russians? (Link if asked.)

    Yep, that’s the one. No need for links.

    I’m joking about my sis, well, kinda sorta … she’d never call in under an assumed name. That would be too subtle. Cowardly, even.

    I have a low-priority project now to get such a confession out of one my wingnut friends. Would take just a little nudge. They’re pretty close, just need a bit more Russophilia; the rest is in place.

    You’re a better man than I am. And have more rational wingnut friends. I jettisoned most of mine years ago, because they were such blatantly racist misogynistic dicks. And yeah, I’d noticed, but I kept pushing back …

    … until I snapped.

    I gave up on my deranged sister after she told me that HRC should be prosecuted under the Espionage Act of 1917 … you know, the clause which has never been employed because it is widely considered unconstitutional. And she was a DA. I pointed her to multiple contrary opinions…

    ~crickets~

    And then she told me not to send her political links because she was on the road with limited bandwidth.

    Since then have talked to her only when not talking would have been outright rude.

  156. 156.

    Dan B

    @SFAW: @Bill Arnold: This is creepy stuff, especially if you’re LGBTQ. It seems that most of the ink flows about Roe v Wade but I wonder how extreme the “Religious Liberty” could get. Probably not Handmaid’s Tale gender traitor but probably ‘attacking family’ level.

  158. 158.

    A Ghost To Most

    @Dev Null:
    “My relatively sane sister”

    You got me there. My entire family (and most of my wife’s) went over to the dark side over a decade ago. We keep an entire timezone between us and them.

  159. 159.

    A Ghost To Most

    @Dev Null:
    Get back to me when you have absorbed the relevant wisdom of “American Band” by DBT, or “The Nashville Sound” by Jason Isbell, or “Call to Action” by Sturgill Simpson.

    Dead people’s music isn’t relevant to me.

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