Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Let there be snark.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

T R E 4 5 O N

John Fetterman: Too Manly for Pennsylvania.  Paid for by the Oz for Senator campaign.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

The willow is too close to the house.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

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

“But what about the lurkers?”

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

Battle won, war still ongoing.

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

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

You are here: Home / Economics / Free Markets Solve Everything / NO MORE BAILOUTS

NO MORE BAILOUTS

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Someone get Rick Santelli on the fucking horn:

The U.S. Agriculture Department on Tuesday plans to announce a $12 billion package of emergency aid for farmers caught in the midst of President Trump’s escalating trade war, two people briefed on the plan said, the latest sign that growing tensions between the United States and other countries will not end soon.

You ask me, this is thousands of times worse than bailing people out with their mortgages (which never happened anyway because all the fucking money went to the banks- the greedy fuckers who caused the mess). They couldn’t pay their mortgages because they were sold predatory mortgages to cause the crisis and then lost their jobs because of the crisis.

This is just a bunch of douchebags who are getting EXACTLY what they voted for. This is a payoff before the midterms. I don’t want to be paying some farmers bills, do you Rick Rantelli?

Reader Interactions

279Comments

  4. 4.

    Manyakitty

    @Cheryl Rofer: There’s definitely a greater sense of urgency lately. Like the republicans are desperately trying to destroy as much as possible before they’re removed from power, kicking and screaming.

  5. 5.

    JPL

    The farmers are getting bailed out. What about me? I am spending 1/3rd more to rebuild my wall and steps. We are talking about real money, so just f.k him. He wants to bail out wealthy agri companies, but leave the rest of us in the lurch. I hate him.

  6. 6.

    The Moar You Know

    Family farmers don’t exist in numbers that even remotely matter anymore, so this, like the “mortgage bailout”, is just a huge bribe to agribusiness to keep them silent and in line until at least after the midterms.

    I doubt 12 billion is anywhere near the amount they’re going to lose in this trade war, but I’d bet anything they’ll shut up and do what they’re told anyway.

  7. 7.

    Luthe

    Bribery was good enough for Boss Tweed, so of course it’s good enough for the GOP.

  8. 8.

    Raoul

    Trump’s poll numbers look like shit. Moar farm subsidies!

    Quinnipiac: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as
    president?
    Aprv – DisAprv – lol, whut
    7/24/18 | 38 – 58 – 4
    7/03/18 | 40 – 55 – 4
    6/20/18 | 43 – 52 – 6
    6/06/18 | 40 – 51 – 8
    4/25/18 | 39 – 54 – 7
    4/10/18 | 41 – 52 – 7
    3/21/18 | 40 – 53 – 7
    3/07/18 | 38 – 56 – 6
    2/21/18 | 37 – 58 – 5
    2/07/18 | 40 – 55 – 5
    1/25/18 | 36 – 58 – 6
    1/17/18 | 38 – 57 – 5
    1/10/18 | 36 – 59 – 5

    Down 5 on the Approval since late June (aka Before Helsinki). Doin’ great!

  10. 10.

    kimp

    Exactly. That nail factory in SE Missouri that is being hurt by policies instituted by this President? They were bought out in 2012 by a Mexican firm. The company just took out a full page ad in the hometown newspaper , pleading for Trump to exempt them, as they overwhelmingly support him and his efforts. I just marvel at the disconnect.

  11. 11.

    Doug R

    Yes, but helping farmers, especially corporate farms strikes the right tone* don’t you see?

    *skin tone

  12. 12.

    TenguPhule

    The funds will come through direct assistance, a food purchase and distribution program, and a trade promotion program.

    It will rely in part on a Depression-era program called the Commodity Credit Corporation, a division of the Agriculture Department created in 1933 to offer a financial backstop for farmers.

    Soy prices have fallen particularly hard in the past few months, though Trump has tried to deflect blame and promised to somehow take care of these farmers, many of whom are from politically crucial states like Iowa and Wisconsin.

    The new plan at the Agriculture Department would advance emergency funds for these farmers but likely not provide a long-term solution if the trade disputes with China and other countries persist.

    Because the program was created during the Depression, it does not rely on new congressional approval. It allows the CCC to borrow up to $30 billion from the Treasury Department to “stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices.”

    Still, some Republicans several months ago had warned against using the CCC as part of a trade-war related bailout, saying it could distort market forces and pay farmers for products they don’t produce.

    Reposted from the previous thread.

    This is how Trump is getting around Congress.

    $30 billion credit line. He’s tapping $12 billion of that just for this year.

    Next year will be worse. And that’s assuming no actual natural disasters happen to agriculture in the meantime.

  13. 13.

    Raoul

    @John: Rick Rantelli is a morally bankrupt bag of salted prunes. I’m sure he couldn’t care less about first principles or free markets.

  15. 15.

    Corner Stone

    this is thousands of times worse than bailing people out with their mortgages (which never happened anyway because all the fucking money went to the banks- the greedy fuckers who caused the mess).

    Hmmm…wonder how that happened?

  16. 16.

    Luthe

    @TenguPhule:

    Major Major’s father was an outspoken champion of economy in government, provided it did not interfere with the sacred duty of government to pay farmers as much as they could get for all the alfalfa they produced that no one else wanted or for not producing any alfalfa at all. He was a proud and independent man who was opposed to unemployment insurance and never hesitated to whine, whimper, wheedle and extort for as much as he could get from whomever he could.

    Joseph Heller was a motherfucking prophet.

  17. 17.

    Corner Stone

    Personally, the price of pork has yet to decrease around this locale. I don’t eat a lot of pork but with the price of chicken being sky freakin high I was looking forward to some pork stir fry.

    ETA, fresh Olathe corn is on a good sale but that’s seasonal, not really a byproduct of outside market actions. Milk was recently at a multi year low but has ticked up slightly. Still reasonable, IMO.

  19. 19.

    mad citizen

    Fuck these people. Start a trade war and bail out the losers, WTF? Totally bass ackwards. You’re supposed to engage in beneficial worldwide trade, and provide retraining or compensation for those who lost due to the increased trade that benefitted the nation as a whole.

  20. 20.

    Cheryl Rofer

    This is amazing, and perhaps encouraging. Now we have to see if they actually do something.

    Pro-free trade Republicans were already furious with Trump’s escalation of tariffs against U.S. allies and China — a multi-front trade war they say is hurting U.S. farmers and manufacturers. But the administration’s response Tuesday — sending $12 billion to farmers hurt by retaliatory tariffs to ease the pain — is the precise anathema of conservative, free-trade orthodoxy, they said.

    “This is becoming more and more like a Soviet-type of economy here: Commissars deciding who’s going to be granted waivers, commissars in the administration figuring out how they’re going to sprinkle around benefits,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). “I’m very exasperated. This is serious.”

    “Taxpayers are going to be asked to initial checks to farmers in lieu of having a trade policy that actually opens and expands more markets. There isn’t anything about this that anybody should like,” said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 3 GOP leader. He suggested the new spending might need to be offset by cuts in other funding areas.

  21. 21.

    TenguPhule

    @Corner Stone:

    Personally, the price of pork has yet to decrease around this locale. I don’t eat a lot of pork but with the price of chicken being sky freakin high I was looking forward to some pork stir fry.

    2.5 Billion pounds of pork, beef and chicken currently in domestic cold storage.

    Yes, you read that right. Billion with a B. The suppliers are trying to ride this out in hope that it will be a short victorious trade war.

  22. 22.

    Corner Stone

    @Raoul:

    Rick Rantelli is a morally bankrupt bag of salted prunes. I’m sure he couldn’t care less about first principles or free markets.

    I really enjoyed seeing Rick on straight news segments being consulted as if he were some kind of svengali of wisdom.

  23. 23.

    mad citizen

    Over at CNN: This is very funny: “Ivanka Trump has decided to shut down her company after deciding to pursue a career in public policy instead of returning to her fashion company.”

  24. 24.

    TenguPhule

    @mad citizen:

    You’re supposed to engage in beneficial worldwide trade, and provide retraining or compensation for those who lost due to the increased trade that benefitted the nation as a whole.

    But this doesn’t make Trump any money.

  26. 26.

    Brachiator

    @TenguPhule:

    Because the program was created during the Depression, it does not rely on new congressional approval. It allows the CCC to borrow up to $30 billion from the Treasury Department to “stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices.”

    So, Trump is using a program created by Democrats to help people who refused to vote for Democrats?

  27. 27.

    TenguPhule

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    Now we have to see if they actually do something.

    Narrator: A strongly worded non-binding bill of protest was delivered to Donald Trump. He wiped his ass with it.

  31. 31.

    Corner Stone

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    He suggested the new spending might need to be offset by cuts in other funding areas.

    One wonders what other “areas” those might be that face a cut? I am pondering it deeply but just have no idea what they might possibly be.

  32. 32.

    NotMax

    The next question is how will they screw this up?

    Funneled only through banks which have a history of throwing money exclusively Republican PACS?
    Handling and processing fees which eat up the bulk of anything which finally trickles down?
    Require recipients first sign a loyalty oath to dear leader?

    From your link:

    The plan will rely in large part on a Depression-era program called the Commodity Credit Corporation, a division of the Agriculture Department created during the Great Depression in 1933 to offer a financial backstop for farmers.

    New Deal! New Deal! Socialism! ‘Principled’ Republicans in Congress will, of course, quash this as soon as possible.

    In a pig’s eye.

    As to the CCC,

    The CCC has the authority to borrow up to $30 billion from the US Treasury to carry out its obligations. Net losses from its operations subsequently are restored by the Congressional appropriations process. It issues payments in the form of commodity certificates.
    [snip]
    Most of the domestic programs are operated out of a revolving fund, in which the CCC has a permanent indefinite borrowing authority, as defined by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-11, Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the Budget. Borrowing authority permits the Corporation to incur obligations and authorizes it to borrow funds to liquidate the obligations. Source

  33. 33.

    Cheryl Rofer

  34. 34.

    jl

    I wouldn’t mind if Cole checked into whether there was a backyard mater program he could qualify for.
    If he’d put in some pawpaws like he promised he would, he could tap into the Pawpaw Emergency Stabilization Fund.

  37. 37.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Cheryl Rofer: These fucking morons are Senators. US Senators. All they have to do is grow a fucking pair of balls and exercise their Constitutional responsibility. It could not be clearer:

    The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises,

    All they have to do is say “tariffs? no fucking way.”

    Idiots.

  38. 38.

    jl

    @NotMax: John G Cole, is ‘heartland’ if anyone is. If he can get some of that agricultural stabilization money, I trust him to plow it back into the economy.
    Did he plant any soybeans next to the snaps?

    Edit: Cole, go out an check what you planted. I’ll look for the garden pix and status report later.

  39. 39.

    Corner Stone

    @NotMax:

    Funneled only through banks which have a history of throwing money exclusively Republican PACS?
    Handling and processing fees which eat up the bulk of anything which finally trickles down?
    Require recipients first sign a loyalty oath to dear leader?

    Some combo of this is my best guess. They will pay people a fortune to vet potential recipients, then funnel the money through crony owned (read Russian mobbed up) to get their cut, and end up lining the pockets of a few R PAC lobbyist types.

  40. 40.

    Yutsano

    @NotMax:

    Most of the domestic programs are operated out of a revolving fund, in which the CCC has a permanent indefinite borrowing authority, as defined by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-11, Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the Budget. Borrowing authority permits the Corporation to incur obligations and authorizes it to borrow funds to liquidate the obligations.

    WHAT COULD POSSIBY GO WRONG???

  41. 41.

    Jeffro

    @Cheryl Rofer: These tariffs – their cost to actual American companies, that is – are going to mount up quickly. In addition to the hit on almighty profits, they could definitely help get a recession going. GOP’s in charge of all three branches of government. Not hard to figure out why Johnson and Thune are upset.

  42. 42.

    rikyrah

    @kimp:

    The company just took out a full page ad in the hometown newspaper , pleading for Trump to exempt them, as they overwhelmingly support him and his efforts. I just marvel at the disconnect.

    What disconnect. That’s the epitome of who they are. They voted for him because they thought that he would hurt THOSE people.

    Going to take away healthcare?
    Sure….
    But but but…I thought that you were going to take THEIR healthcare away….

    That is who they are.

  44. 44.

    momus

    Attention, Attention Russian Mob and 1%ers — Wealth Transfer Opportunity Alert!! Attention, Attention!!

  52. 52.

    germy

    Question @realDonaldTrump -The $12bn in emergency aid for farmers will come in a direct assistance program created during THE DEPRESSION (no need for Congressional approval)

    If our economy is STRONGER THAN EVER- why are we using depression era emergency support?

    — Stephanie Ruhle (@SRuhle) July 24, 2018

  53. 53.

    NotMax

    When it comes to the Dolt 45 supporters who farm, “reap what you sow” cold not be any more applicable.

    All those evangelical and fundamentalist voices will be on the stump urging them to refuse participation in 3 – 2 – never.

  56. 56.

    HeleninEire

    I lost my shit when I saw this. I have no more can’t evens. Also saw someone else say on Twitter “I don’t have enough middle fingers.” Yeah that’s me.

    Applications are still open, but oh holy hell the price is going up. ;)

  59. 59.

    TenguPhule

    “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”
    – Donald Trump, 2018

  60. 60.

    Corner Stone

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: We have a few highlights – very good museums and a pretty darn nice zoo. NASA is a little bit of a drive but worth it if that’s your thing. Minute Maid Park is a beautiful place to catch a ballgame, never had a bad seat there.
    But if you’re going to spend much time here you’d better like to eat and drink adult beverages because that’s really the backbone of the whole place.

  62. 62.

    matt

    There’s always money in the banana stand to pay members of the Rent Seekers Party.

  64. 64.

    TenguPhule

    @Corner Stone:

    But if you’re going to spend much time here you’d better like to eat and drink adult beverages

    I like a hard drink as much as the next person, but that might be a little too stiff for me.

  66. 66.

    Mnemosyne

    @Raoul:

    Funny, some infrequent commenters were telling me just a few weeks ago that Trump’s numbers were on an inexorable upward trend.

    What a difference a month makes.

  69. 69.

    smintheus

    @Luthe:

    Joseph Heller was a motherfucking prophet.

    Brutal reality checks of right-wing BSers used to be common in American literature in the early to mid 20th century. I forget which novel or story of Ring Lardner (?) began by mentioning that the protagonist’s father, an up-by-ones-bootstraps midwestern leather magnate who grew rich on government contracts during WWI, died of a heart attack when the armistice was announced, allowing the subject of the story to live a life of leisure.

  70. 70.

    Doug R

    You know, if minimum wage were a LIVING WAGE, everyone could afford to pay slightly more for food and farmers could get fair prices.
    You know, like a FREE market.
    Plus tax revenues would go up without raising rates.

  72. 72.

    TenguPhule

    @Doug R:

    Plus tax revenues would go up without raising rates.

    That’s crazy talk, everyone knows tax revenues rise when you cut the rates! //s

  73. 73.

    Jeffro

    @germy: That’s an excellent question. How about it, national media types? Can y’all throw that one at the Possum Queen and see what she says?

  78. 78.

    TenguPhule

    @Jeffro:

    Can y’all throw that one at the Possum Queen and see what she says?

    She’s still playing zombie.

  81. 81.

    Jeffro

    @Leto: Eh, Pops is a Fox fanboi but he’s no Alex Jones fan. I know there is some overlap in those sets, he’s just not in that part of the diagram.

  82. 82.

    TenguPhule

    @Mnemosyne:

    But apparently we have $12 billion just laying around to send to corporate farmers.

    Its a credit line of $30 billion. Or as Trump put it about his actions affecting the stock market “Its the bank’s money!”

    Please note he’s pissing away almost half of it in the first year and this trade war is not going to be short.

  83. 83.

    The Dangerman

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    He suggested the new spending might need to be offset by cuts in other funding areas.

    Let’s see, Puerto Rico or Houston? Lessee, which one …

  89. 89.

    rikyrah

    @Corner Stone:

    Personally, the price of pork has yet to decrease around this locale. I don’t eat a lot of pork but with the price of chicken being sky freakin high I was looking forward to some pork stir fry.

    I’m waiting for my cheap bacon. I keep on hearing about the glut of pork..where’s my cheap bacon?!?!?

  90. 90.

    The Dangerman

    @Gin & Tonic:

    All they have to do is grow a fucking pair of balls…

    I see (thankfully, DON’T SEE) the problem.

    Eunuchs all the way down.

  92. 92.

    TenguPhule

    @rikyrah:

    I’m waiting for my cheap bacon. I keep on hearing about the glut of pork..where’s my cheap bacon?!?!?

    2.5 billion pounds of meat in US cold storage. The meatpackers are trying to ride this out, assuming it will be a short victorious trade war.

  93. 93.

    jl

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Houston has bayous, of a special kind. When I was there they were ‘in the air’ as it were. You have a pic of the Houston bayous?

    And thanks for another nice pic. I love those gardens, nice to see them again.

  95. 95.

    jl

    @smintheus: pawpaws are our biggest and bestest native tree fruit.. Trumpsters must have some sweet MAGA moolah for them someplace. America first! Just gotta look.

  96. 96.

    Leto

    @Jeffro: Well that part’s good to hear. Though I think there’s more overlap than we care to admit. Also during his divorce proceedings, he claimed he was an “entertainer”. Now he’s a “journalist”. I hope the parents take it all.

  97. 97.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Mary G: The new camera helps, but it’s the same sensor as the old one. I’m just getting better at taking the pictures and processing them. I did learn one important thing, expose so the highlights are never blown even if it leaves the rest of the frame underexposed.

  98. 98.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    @Mnemosyne:
    TBF, that’s just one polling outfit. An aggregate of multiple polling outfits over a stretch of time is the most accurate.

  99. 99.

    Mnemosyne

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    If you watched teevee, I would alert you that a large number of scenes of the first 2 seasons of “The Good Place” are filmed at the Huntington. It’s one of the stand-ins for (ersatz) Heaven.

  102. 102.

    Ruckus

    Did anyone here expect anything different from the shitgibbn? Like anything that wasn’t stupid reactions to stupid shit he said, five minutes after something else stupid he said. And so on..,.

  103. 103.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @jl: Good news about the Chinese Garden, it’s going be getting bigger soon. From the email I get from The Huntington, they’re pretty close to their fundraising goal to finish phase 2 of the garden.

    ETA: I never took a camera to Houston; Alaska, now that’s a different story.

  105. 105.

    TenguPhule

    A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the Second Amendment protects the right to openly carry a gun in public for self-defense.

    The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that Hawaiian officials had violated George Young’s rights when he was denied a permit to openly carry a loaded gun in public to protect himself.

    The decision reversed a lower court ruling that sided with officials who said the amendment only applied to guns kept in homes.

    “We do not take lightly the problem of gun violence, which the State of Hawaii ‘has understandably sought to fight,’” Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain wrote. “But, for better or for worse, the Second Amendment does protect a right to carry a firearm in public for self-defense.”

    Whelp, Heller is working out so well for the USA. //S

    9th Circuit Court of Appeals rules 2nd Amendment allows right to carry guns in public

  106. 106.

    Mnemosyne

    Also, anyone NOT watching “The Good Place” needs to get caught up on it before Season 3 starts. It is a fucking amazing show that manages to make ethical philosophy entertaining. Plus there’s eye candy and great acting to everyone’s taste.

  107. 107.

    NotMax

    FYI, from Jeff Sessions. DOJ gonna police school curricula?

    “Rather than molding a generation of mature and well-informed adults, some schools are doing everything they can to create a generation of sanctimonious, sensitive, supercilious snowflakes. We’re not gonna have it,” he said…. Source

    The alliteration is more than evocative of one S. Agnew’s speech writers.

  109. 109.

    TenguPhule

    @NotMax:

    Rather than molding a generation of mature and well-informed adults, some schools are doing everything they can to create a generation of sanctimonious, sensitive, supercilious snowflakes.

    Also known as Young Republicans.

  111. 111.

    sherparick

    @Raoul: In June he got is Summit with Kim bump. He has been grinding it down ever since. This bailout of the agribusiness farmers is such a joke. Most of these folks are millionaires as farm policy and concentration have eliminated most family farms in regard to wheat, soybean, corn, and cotton farming and this is where almost all the subsidies go. I expect with the nut jobs in the Freedom caucus, Ryan and Trump are going to need Democratic Votes. They can add an extra 6 Billion for SNAP and make it linked with steel to the Farm Bill for the next five years and in the Senate this gets to be called the Heitkamp-McCaskill-Donnelly Bill.

  112. 112.

    NotMax

    Jackal kibble presented sans further comment.

    Ivanka Trump is shutting down her clothing company and laying off 18 employees after some stores dropped her line and she decided ethics restrictions were holding back its ability to grow. Source

  113. 113.

    TenguPhule

    During a Monday event at the White House featuring American-made goods, Trump displayed a green hat that read, “Make Our Farmers Great Again.”

    MOFGA.

    MOFO Go Away.

  115. 115.

    TenguPhule

    @NotMax:

    and she decided ethics restrictions were holding back its ability to grow.

    Says it all, doesn’t it?

  117. 117.

    Brachiator

    @Mnemosyne:

    Remember, Trump proposed cutting children’s healthcare (CHIP) by $7 billion because we couldn’t afford it as a country. But apparently we have $12 billion just laying around to send to corporate farmers.

    Farmers work hard. Children are freeloaders who deserve nothing. Or something equally dumbass.

  118. 118.

    Jeffro

    So I was thinking more about the midterms, and about Trumpov’s fantasy tweet that Russia is pulling for Democrats to win because he’s been so tough on Russia…

    …I think it would be a pretty good idea for our Helsinki translator to weigh in, and soon, on whether or not Trumpov got that idea from Putin.

    For him to float the idea, now that there’s such a huge public perception of/so much evidence out there regarding Russia as an election-meddler for him and the GOP, it’s more evil genius than I think he’s capable of on his own.

    “Yeah, okay, they meddle: and LOOK! They’re doing it to help those traitorous Dems!”

    It helps Trumpov throw off chaff and benefits him in multiple ways
    – it turns election meddling into a “both sides” issue, meaning that with the public (not Mueller) it has the potential to defuse dimwits’ minds about who is really guilty here

    – it makes anything a new House Democratic majority tries to do look like partisan warfare instead of justice

    – it keeps the fighting going strong and prevents any unity in our country

    Remember how that last month before the election (pre-Comey interference, anyway) it was looking like Hillz was going to sweep things, and Trumpov started only giving speeches with his hat on, pulled low over his eyes? When all he would talk about was the election being rigged and illegitimate (unless, of course, he was elected)? He’s going to do that again.

    Nothing is working for him (not the tax cut, not North Korea, not Iran, not Helsinki, not the tariffs, not even the stupid “MS-13!!!!GAHH!!!” stuff) and so now it’s going to be “Dems are the real traitors”, and when they win, it’ll be “Russian COLLUSION by Democrats!!”

    I just hope our Dem campaigns know how to avoid being set up with offers of data and dirt on their GOP opponents.

  120. 120.

    Ruckus

    @NotMax:
    They only want moldable school kids, that don’t know better than to work for far less than a living wage, doing manual farm labor in the cornfields, that no one needs.
    They thought that the best and the brightest was a cautionary tale and the want no part of it.

  121. 121.

    TenguPhule

    @Jeffro:

    I just hope our Dem campaigns know how to avoid being set up with offers of data and dirt on their GOP opponents.

    For better or worse, our people run ethical campaigns.

  122. 122.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Cheryl Rofer: Senator Brown blocked R efforts to gut the tariffs. He supports them.
    From his official website

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) successfully blocked an amendment on the Senate floor that would have ended President Trump’s steel tariffs against China. Sens. Bob Corker (R-TN) attempted to call up the amendment by unanimous consent and Brown objected, effectively stopping the amendment from moving forward. In addition to ending the current tariffs on China and other countries, Corker’s amendment would have gutted the Administration’s authority to use what’s known as “Section 232” to enforce trade laws moving forward.

    .

  124. 124.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Jeffro: 1) she was an interpreter, not a translator and 2) she will never talk – that’s not their role.

  129. 129.

    Jeffro

    @TenguPhule: Thanks, I’m aware of that. It’ll only take one campaign taking one meeting – not even accepting dirt or data, just the meeting – and we’ll be in False Equivalence Hell forever and a day.

  132. 132.

    Gravenstone

    @Cheryl Rofer: Yet we know you won’t do a fucking thing, Ronnie boy, because WI farmers will be among the beneficiaries of this largesse.

  133. 133.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    Too lazy to look right now but a poll came out today that said 51% of voters believe Putin has something on Twitler. Tick Tock.

  134. 134.

    Brachiator

    @Jeffro:

    So I was thinking more about the midterms, and about Trumpov’s fantasy tweet that Russia is pulling for Democrats to win because he’s been so tough on Russia…

    Is the second Trump-Putin summit supposed to happen before or after the mid-term elections?

    Simple Question. President Trump, you said that Putin told you that Russia did not interfere with the presidential election. But you say that they are trying to interfere with the mid-term elections. Did you tell the Russians to stop? If they don’t stop, will the consequences be as strong as those you threatened Iran with?

    Simple Question 2. To Putin. President Putin, did President Trump tell you to stop meddling in the midterm elections? Are you going to stop?

  135. 135.

    TenguPhule

    @Gin & Tonic: Yes, but she’s also the only reliable witness to what actually happened. This is what happens when Trump is allowed to circumvent the mandatory record keeping of actual presidents.

  137. 137.

    TenguPhule

    @Jeffro:

    and we’ll be in False Equivalence Hell forever and a day.

    Did you see Trump’s tweets this morning? We’re already there. Evidence not necessary.

  140. 140.

    hueyplong

    You are clinging to more hope on that point than am I.

    Turning the entire nation into Deadwood is a long term goal of theirs.

  141. 141.

    Jeffro

    @Gin & Tonic: There is this word I am thinking of, “pedantic”, that just seems so appropriate for both points #1 and #2 there…

    Let me a little more clear: I think the president* of the United States is, and increasingly will be, promoting the idea that the Democratic Party is the one working with a hostile foreign power to win illegitimately this November. I think he may have gotten that “plan” from the very same hostile foreign power. That’s beyond alarming. Whether the trans…excuse me, interpreter…talks or not is beside the point. I’ll take a Finnish recording. I’ll take some Five Eyes SIGINT magic. Whatever. I want to know what they said and I want to know where he got the idea from and I want people knocking it down, HARD, or we really will be at a grave point in this country.

  143. 143.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    @Mnemosyne:
    I watched a bit of the Good Place and I have to say I have a serious problem with the whole system in that show. I’m probably supposed to be opposed to it, but what gives whoever or whatever (God) the right to morally judge and punish people? Who is God accountable to? Where’s the due process?

    Enlightenment ideals like popular sovereignty and due process don’t tend to mesh very well with omnipotent gods. This is my atheistic humanism speaking.

  144. 144.

    TenguPhule

    @Jeffro:

    or we really will be at a grave point in this country.

    I think you’re looking at “point of no return”. We’ve been in a grave since January 2017.

  145. 145.

    lynn

    Trump is just bailing out Tyson…corp food business. The people that move the meat/soy to ports will not get a bailout. The truckers, barge operators, rail workers, and the longshoremen (the real good paying jobs) are going to get laid off.

  148. 148.

    Mary G

    Welp, buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy ride:

    RED ALERT: One of biggest takeaways from Q poll: Trump slipping badly with his blue-collar white base.Was at 57/36 (+21) approval last month; down to 49-47 (+2) this month.https://t.co/HELPn6IyUr— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) July 24, 2018

    ETA: I really like Senator Schatz at least for his Twitter game:

    1) It’s just one poll and 2) We haven’t had it confirmed by anecdotal reporting from any diners. https://t.co/2jZ5CiUo3u— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) July 24, 2018

  149. 149.

    TenguPhule

    @lynn:

    The truckers, barge operators, rail workers, and the longshoremen (the real good paying jobs) are going to get laid off.

    Coincidently, many of them are traditionally union members.

  150. 150.

    jl

    @Cheryl Rofer: Putin smart enough to know a scheduled appearance in the new provinces would not help his side in the midterms?

    Or he doesn’t want to think about the Trump/Putin baby blimps that will be following him around? Probably not that, Putin doesn’t care about that kind of nonsense, at least over here.

  151. 151.

    gvg

    This administration is too incompetent to administer anything this big. they are going to screw up and it will also turn out to be cheap skated to nonsense. Promise what they can’t deliver. Farmers are going to get a close up view of nonsense while their income burns.
    I think democrats should also run on the slogan “competence does matter” and “If they say Government doesn’t work, don’t elect them”

  152. 152.

    Major Major Major Major

    This is worse than TARP, not even for any moral reason, but just because it’s a completely unnecessary handout to butthurt idiots.

  153. 153.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I spent a month in Houston one night, in August 1970.

    In the bus to the airport the next afternoon I remember noticing how the interstate was rising up gradually on concrete pilings, until finally there was enough ground clearance for the lower part of a cloverleaf interchange. I had never seen land that flat, & abruptly I thought, Now I know why they call it topographic relief.

  154. 154.

    zhena gogolia

    @Mary G:

    You’ve given me an opportunity to air my latest brilliant insight: When Bette Davis in All About Eve (1950) says, “Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night,” she must be talking about AIRPLANE seatbelts. Cars didn’t have seatbelts yet, for the most part. When this hit me, it just turned my world around.

  156. 156.

    TenguPhule

    One of Donald Trump’s lawyers is using the Trump administration’s scrutiny of Planned Parenthood to raise money for his conservative activist group, which has directed millions of dollars to his law firm and his family.

    Jay Sekulow, a personal attorney to Trump, has contracted telemarketers to collect money from the public for his not-for-profit organisation using a script that highlights the justice department’s examination of foetal tissue transfers by groups including the women’s clinic network.

    “Planned Parenthood is under full investigation by the Department of Justice for aborting babies and selling their body parts,” the script states, between references to anti-abortion litigation brought by the activist group, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ).

    It was unclear from the ACLJ script whether Sekulow was merely repeating past media reports of preliminary inquiries made by the justice department, or if the president’s lawyer had learned of a previously undisclosed full investigation.

    Trump lawyer uses government action on abortion to raise cash for own group

    Its seems nothing can get a Trump lawyer disbarred. Absolutely nothing.

  157. 157.

    TenguPhule

    @Major Major Major Major:

    This is worse than TARP, not even for any moral reason, but just because it’s a completely unnecessary handout to butthurt idiots.

    And it taps funds meant for an actual emergency.

  158. 158.

    Yarrow

    @gvg:

    I think democrats should also run on the slogan “competence does matter” and “If they say Government doesn’t work, don’t elect them”

    Yes! It’s about time we got past the whole “the nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help'” bullshit.

  164. 164.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Major Major Major Major: well, I always thought Aslan was kind of smug

    ETA: And whoever created the Good Place owes Albert Brooks some kind of royalty for Defending Your Life, but I think there are some hat tips in TGP

  165. 165.

    trnc

    So, 12 billion bribe for the base, but we couldn’t afford more than 200 mil for highways, bridges etc?

    Infrastructure week is so confusing.

  167. 167.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @tobie: Schatz is really good on twitter. I’m guessing he’s one of those many, many camera-shy senators who doesn’t get on TV even though they ask all the time.

  169. 169.

    AnonPhenom

    @lynn:
    If we all weren’t the savvy cynics we are in regards to general strikes, I would say this situation is developing in a way that would make a (general) consumer strike very effective.

    Ah fuhgeddaboudit, who would wanna go vegan for a few weeks anyway, amirite? …too much like work.

  170. 170.

    hueyplong

    The only person I’ve ever heard of with baby parts in his house is a Republican (Rick Santorum).

  171. 171.

    smintheus

    @Mary G: It’s interesting that Trump’s overall approval in the latest Q-poll (38%) is below the 40% of crazies who still are saying that the Mueller investigation is a “witch hunt”.

  172. 172.

    Hobbes83

    Welfare for white people; how apropos. They vote for a person who fucked them over for no goddamn reason, and then they receive a bribe for it. You really can’t make this shit up.

  173. 173.

    trollhattan

    @hueyplong:
    Yeah, literally. I wonder how badly scarred that Santorum brood is after all the parental maltreatment. Got yer next generation of WH press officers at the ready.

  174. 174.

    TenguPhule

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I’m guessing he’s one of those many, many camera-shy senators who doesn’t get on TV even though they ask all the time.

    He’s a Democratic Senator from Hawaii. They don’t ask him on.

  176. 176.

    TenguPhule

    @AnonPhenom:

    If we all weren’t the savvy cynics we are in regards to general strikes, I would say this situation is developing in a way that would make a (general) consumer strike very effective.

    I’m sure a boycott on food would work out well. //s

  177. 177.

    hueyplong

    My reaction to the flyover freeload is a little different. I’m mildly surprised at how quickly they have hit the panic button so early in the Great Triumphant Trumpian Tariff War. They must think fecal matter is about to hit the fan in a big way.

    Kind of fun watching these rugged individualists squeal like the pigs they are.

  178. 178.

    catclub

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    “This is becoming more and more like a Soviet-type of economy here: Commissars deciding who’s going to be granted waivers, commissars in the administration figuring out how they’re going to sprinkle around benefits,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). “I’m very exasperated. This is serious.”

    But Ron Johnson will still vote for all of trump’s nominees. Almost serious enough to do something against trump.

  181. 181.

    TenguPhule

    @hueyplong:

    I’m mildly surprised at how quickly they have hit the panic button so early in the Great Triumphant Trumpian Tariff War. They must think fecal matter is about to hit the fan in a big way.

    It already has.

    Soybean prices are down 10% for the year. That pretty much wipes out the profit margin for the farmers.

    This goes into next year or gets worse, farmers start going bankrupt.

  182. 182.

    NotMax

    If it turns out that Kushner owns interests in any affected farming operation, I may end up splitting the desk with my forehead.

  184. 184.

    TenguPhule

    @NotMax:

    If it turns out that Kushner owns interests in any affected farming operation, I may end up splitting the desk with my forehead.

    Use Kushner’s head instead.

  188. 188.

    catclub

    @TenguPhule:

    And it taps funds meant for an actual emergency.

    When you apply tariiffs on Canadian steel and claim it is for national security, bogus excuses are already in the mix. Anything that hurts Trump is a national emergency.

  189. 189.

    Raven

    @Yarrow: we have a special gig at 8 th wonder tonight. I don’t drink but I may go. Lots of homeless folks by Irma’s. What about Cajun down here?

  190. 190.

    smintheus

    @Yarrow:

    It’s about time we got past the whole “the nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help’” bullshit.

    Or just go with the nine most terrifying words in the English language:

    “I’m President Donald Trump, and I’m here to help.”

  191. 191.

    Jager

    Cut the crap about Corporate farming, the vast majority of farms in the US are Family owned. There are certain crops, like strawberries produced by actual corporate farm operations owned by big diversified companies. The real change came because family farms have gotten much, much bigger. In my family the original farm was a smaller medium sized operation (owned free and clear) until the mid 70’s. Today the owned acreage consists of land that at one time was 8 other family farms. By my math that means 8 farm families moved to town. In addition to the owned land, the family rents another 1,000 acres from people who have no desire to farm it themselves. It’s a big operation and it’s a family corporation, with millions invested in machinery, etc. The days of the hayseed in bib overalls are long gone and have been for decades. In California if you drive up I-5 you see huge ag operations, building after building, guess what they are family farms. My MAGA relatives are going to get an ass kicking from the tariffs and it pisses me off they may get a bailout, but s big as they are, it’s still a family owned farm. Maybe they’ll only go to Vegas once this winter and blow off the Hawaii trip, my baby Aunt may have to drive her Escalade for another year.

  195. 195.

    TenguPhule

    @Jager:

    My MAGA relatives are going to get an ass kicking from the tariffs and it pisses me off they may get a bailout

    on the bright side, the bailout is probably not going to be even remotely close to what they could have earned if they hadn’t decided to fuck themselves out of their biggest markets.

    And the bailout will be temporary, the lost international markets will be till the day they die and probably longer.

  198. 198.

    J R in WV

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    You caught the “golden hour” smack dab at its most golden, didn’t you!??!!!

    Wonder color because of the wonderful evening light! Keep up the good work!

  199. 199.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    @Major Major Major Major:
    Well, I did enjoy Narnia when I was younger. I read the final book later on and I was pissed that Lewis made it obvious that Aslan was the Christian God instead of leaving it ambiguous.

    I also enjoy stories that bash the concept of omnipotence and portray the ugly consequences that can result from it, like It’s a Good Life.

    The bottom line is I don’t trust anything that’s power can’t be checked. Omnipotence and omnibenevolence at the same time is a paradox IMHO.

  200. 200.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    They’ll slash heating assistance, EBT, education and science grants to make up for the payment to Our Heroic White Farmers.

  201. 201.

    Brachiator

    @Jeffro:

    Hill story on Trumpov’s “Dems are the real Russia colluders!” is here.

    Shorter: This is just a typical Trump Reversal.

    This attempt at misdirection is a thing that Trump does. He takes something he has done, or is guilty of, and flips it.

  203. 203.

    J R in WV

    @rikyrah:

    … where’s my cheap bacon?…

    The problem with bacon is that when fresh ripe tomatoes come in, demand for bacon rises a great deal. On the commodity markets they call that the BLT effect, and it’s a real thing in Chicago. So not until late fall…

  204. 204.

    trollhattan

    Cue up “Go Your Own Way”

    In a historic vote, the administration of Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday approved spending $2.5 billion to help fund eight new large water projects across California — four new dams and four underground storage projects — including two in the Bay Area. The funding came from Proposition 1, a water bond approved by voters in November, 2014, during California’s five-year drought. It is believed to be the largest commitment of state money to construct new dams and water storage projects in California since 1960, when voters approved a bond to build Oroville Dam and the State Water Project.

  205. 205.

    TenguPhule

    Trump received one of his loudest and most sustained applause when he attacked the news media for its reporting on his trade policies and other issues.

    “Stick with us,” Trump said. “Don’t believe the crap you see from these people, the fake news.” As he gestured at the press riser on the floor of the Municipal Auditorium, veterans in the stands took their cue from the commander in chief and pointed, booed and hissed at journalists.

    “Just remember,” Trump told the crowd, “what you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening.”

    All of those veterans should immediately have their honorable discharges retroactively revoked into dishonorable discharges for turning into Nazis and betraying their oaths.

  206. 206.

    Mary G

    I’m calling it – The Texas Tribune will get all the Pulitzers for their coverage of the immigrant children scandal:

    Editor’s note: Some language in this story may not be appropriate for the faint of heart. Consider yourself warned.

    In a chaotic bid to reunite separated migrant families by Thursday’s court-imposed deadline, an adult-only detention center in deep South Texas wound up holding children overnight and later kept their parents in a bureaucratic limbo where they were denied access to phone calls and medical care, sources and advocates told The Texas Tribune.

    The Port Isabel Service Processing Center, designated a primary “reunification and removal” site, also went on lockdown for several hours Sunday after losing track of a male migrant, according to two lawyers and a Salvadoran woman released from the facility Monday.

    “It was a clusterfuck,” said another source with knowledge of the reunification efforts. “There’s no normal right now, I don’t know what normal looks like.”

    and:

    In the meantime, migrant parents at Port Isabel have been waiting for days — many of them cut off from the outside world in a bureaucratic limbo that lawyers and advocates say began last week at the facility.

    Given back their regular clothes and no longer considered detainees, parents awaiting reunification were stuck in a holding pattern that left them stripped of recreational time, access to phone calls — even towels and medication, according to interviews with advocates and migrants.

    “We felt like we were kidnapped because our families didn’t know anything, we couldn’t call them,” said Claudia, the Salvadoran woman released from the facility and reunited with her 7-year-old son Monday. “And our families called and they couldn’t get any information.”

    This is the textbook definition of cruel and unusual punishment and Secretary Nielsen is going to hell if there is one. The LA Times is doing pretty good with local stories, but the major papers don’t seem much concerned as we await the Thursday deadline.

  207. 207.

    Brachiator

    @Jager:

    Cut the crap about Corporate farming, the vast majority of farms in the US are Family owned.

    A recent 538 article maybe also sheds some light on this issue: Big Farms Are Getting Bigger And Most Small Farms Aren’t Really Farms At All

  209. 209.

    TenguPhule

    A cache of documents released by the Commerce Department overnight provides further evidence that Secretary Wilbur Ross was pushing to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census far more actively, and much earlier, than his later sworn testimony indicated.

    The documents, released as part of a multistate lawsuit against the addition of the question, also reveal deeper involvement of senior administration officials in pushing for the question than earlier indicated, and attempts to drum up support from experts in the face of overwhelming criticism from former Census Bureau directors and the bureau’s own chief statistician.

    In a May 2, 2017, email to Earl Comstock, director of the department’s Office of Policy and Strategic Planning, Ross wrote: “I am mystified why nothing have [sic] been done in response to my months old request that we include the citizenship question. Why not?”

    Comstock responded the same day, promising to “get that in place” and adding, “We need to work with Justice to get them to request that citizenship be added back as a census question, and we have the court cases to illustrate that DoJ has a legitimate need for the question to be included.”

    This appears to contradict Ross’s testimony in March before the House Ways and Means Committee saying that the Justice Department had initiated the request for the question.

    These assholes keep lying under oath without any consequences.

    Its all going to come apart at the seams.

  210. 210.

    Major Major Major Major

    @J R in WV: Fun fact: McDonald’s brings the McRib back when the price of pork, relative to beef, drops to a certain point.

  212. 212.

    TenguPhule

    @Mary G:

    “There’s no normal right now, I don’t know what normal looks like.”

    I vaguely remember what normal looked like back in 2016.

    Seems like a lifetime ago now.

  213. 213.

    Mary G

    More craziness to come tomorrow a.m.:

    Oof. Yesterday VFW announced last-minute that Trump's speech was being moved out of the convention center and into the auditorium. Appears they couldn't fill the auditorium, either. https://t.co/JptvT0Z0Gz— Christina Wilkie (@christinawilkie) July 24, 2018

    ETA: The VFW stands up for what’s right:

    NEW: The VFW has issued a statement saying it is "disappointed" with audience members who booed and heckled members of the press during the president's speech today –> pic.twitter.com/oiu69AZ95G— Alex Mallin (@alex_mallin) July 24, 2018

  214. 214.

    Jeffro

    @Brachiator:

    Shorter: This is just a typical Trump Reversal.

    This attempt at misdirection is a thing that Trump does. He takes something he has done, or is guilty of, and flips it.

    Ok, thanks. I’m aware of the projection and the Rove-ian (Goebbels-ian?) aspect here. I’m saying this is different because of both the magnitude of his/his campaign’s crimes against this country, and the incredible importance of us winning the House at a minimum this November. Also possibly avoiding some serious civil strife if and when he incites his base against “traitor” Dems.

  215. 215.

    TenguPhule

    @Mary G:

    Appears they couldn’t fill the auditorium, either.

    Biggest Turnout! Best Turnout! Believe you me! //

  216. 216.

    Brachiator

    @Mary G:

    The LA Times is doing pretty good with local stories, but the major papers don’t seem much concerned as we await the Thursday deadline.

    Sigh. I remember when the LA Times was considered to be a major paper.

    That aside, you’re right, there is good coverage on this issue. And the letter of resignation you noted earlier is stunning. There are people who will not be part of this administration of cruelty.

  217. 217.

    California Stars

    Are there actual economists recommending this bailout with some kind of logical/historical precedent, or is this just trump spitballing ideas to try to bribe his base? Has anyone seen pundit offering a cogent theory about why this is a good idea, beyond the obvious/dumb “they’ll be thanking us once we WIN the trade war” AKA “we’ll give ’em some money and hope they keep voting for us”?

  218. 218.

    Dan B

    @schrodingers_cat: WTF? Brown in favor of tariffs? Is there some cockamamie plan to destroy the economy to make the GOP look bad? It diesnt sound like there could be anything else bad in an amendment, or was there?

  219. 219.

    Shell

    pissed that Lewis made it obvious that Aslan was the Christian God instead of leaving it ambiguous.

    Oh, c’mon! He made it obvious in the very first book!

  220. 220.

    JPL

    @Jager: @Brachiator: The family farm that I purchase from is thriving, because there chickens are truly cage free, and all their vegetables are organic. They sell eggs and produce to local restaurants. Before that they could not compete with the corporate farmers. There are still family owned farms in GA, but they tend not to be big exporters of their products.

  221. 221.

    KSinMA

    @Mary G: Great letter … and, as the Twitter thread points out, that was no “employee”–that was Elizabeth Holtzman!

  222. 222.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Dan B: Left-populists are often in favor of tariffs. (They’re more often opposed to free trade agreements, but it comes from the same place)

  224. 224.

    TenguPhule

    @Mary G:

    The VFW stands up for what’s right:

    Weak tea. Its their own members and that’s the most stern they can get?

  225. 225.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @J R in WV: Thanks, I really do love The Huntington’s evening stroll; but you can only go if you’re a member. They also have member’s evenings for “upper members”, we had a nice picnic about a month ago and are going again next month.

  226. 226.

    Chyron HR

    @AnonPhenom:

    That’s right, the American people are all yearning for a great progressive revolutionary to declare a general strike, but you can’t do it because a handful of miscreants on this random blog are insufficiently devoted to the cause.

  227. 227.

    Brachiator

    @Jeffro:

    Ok, thanks. I’m aware of the projection and the Rove-ian (Goebbels-ian?) aspect here. I’m saying this is different because of both the magnitude of his/his campaign’s crimes against this country, and the incredible importance of us winning the House at a minimum this November. Also possibly avoiding some serious civil strife if and when he incites his base against “traitor” Dems.

    The press is trying to make sense of Trump’s intellectual gibberish. This is a waste of time. The Republican leadership is play acting at taking action. For example,

    Meanwhile, Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) have co-authored a bill that would hit Russia with additional sanctions if it is found to have interfered in future elections. The senators have requested a committee vote on the legislation by early next month.

    Hasn’t Trump failed to act on sanctions already imposed? And what does this mean is Trump is still committed to sucking up to Putin?

    The president has also frequently told reporters that he believes improved relations with Russia would be a positive development, and said prior to departing for Europe earlier this month that he hoped Putin could someday be a friend.

    This is childish. There is no foreign policy being done here. “Won’t you be my neighbor?” is fine for Mr Rogers Neighborhood, but has got nothing to do with relations between nations. What concrete policy (aside from lining his pockets) is Trump advocating?

    I agree with you big time that winning the House, and hopefully the Senate, is essential.

    Trump may be crazy enough to try to cause mischief with his base no matter what. He is unhinged, and unfortunately, the GOP refuses to rein him in because they still perceive him to be useful.

    But it says something unpleasant that Trump is stuck on his Putin love and dismissal of domestic intelligence despite all attempts to get him to walk this stuff back. He does not seem capable of changing his mind or recognizing reality. And he is really obsessed with this empty “Russia, friend!” thing.

  228. 228.

    Jager

    @Brachiator:

    My grandfather’s farm (other side of the family) was 3/4’s of a section. The one mile stretch of county road the farm was located on had 5 similar sized family farms. There is now 1 big farm. My baby Uncle sold one of the extra farm houses he owned to a retired B-52 pilot, he bought the house and 5 acres. Under the USDA rules, the retired Colonel is a farmer since he sells eggs and veggies at a farmer’s market. Baby Uncle and 10-12 other big operators do group buying of fuel, seed, fertilizer, like a mini coop. It’s interesting, the original Homestead Act was for 160 acres. It didn’t more than 30 years until most of the homesteaders sold out and moved to town. My home county in ND has 71.000 people, only 700 farms.

  229. 229.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @trollhattan:

    It is believed to be the largest commitment of state money to construct new dams and water storage projects in California since 1960, when voters approved a bond to build Oroville Dam and the State Water Project.

    Hmmmm, who was Governor in 1960?

  230. 230.

    J R in WV

    I spent quite a bit of time in Houston while my brother’s family was there, and my dad started out spending winters there to be with his only grandkids.

    Then dad was diagnosed with a very rare form of leukemia, which interested the M D Anderson Cancer Center, which proceeded to get him into a clinical trial, which beat the leukemia, but the side effects of old-fashioned chemo required to make him eligible for the clinical trial caused COPD which killed him pretty quickly.

    There is great Cajun and Creole food in Houston, great Asian food, great Latin American food. My first visit to Houston, we saw these huge concrete gullies running around the city, and I wondered what for?

    The next day was all thunderstorms all day, and those giant concrete waterways overflowed instanter, with water lapping at the thresholds of the stores we were visiting to kill time before the bowl game, in which WVU beat TCU by scoring the first several times they had the football. Quite a while before family moved there.

    Won’t be visiting Houston again for fun or family, ever. Nor Texas in general.

  232. 232.

    tobie

    @KSinMA: Yay for Liz. Love the closing of that letter. In lieu of saying Abolish ICE, maybe we should be saying Abolish the Dept of Homeland Security. The agency was only created after 9/11 and the name has always had a nativist air. Under Nielsen leadership it’s become a human rights violator.

  233. 233.

    debit

    @Chyron HR: It reminds me of the time my cat slept in the sink and I used to tub faucet to brush my teeth and, according to a comment here, it was somehow my fault that democrats couldn’t get anything passed in the senate. Because I didn’t want to move my cat.

  234. 234.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Yarrow:

    If this were an episode of Supernatural, we’d dig up Reagan’s bones to apply salt and flames.

  235. 235.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    @Major Major Major Major:
    I mean, I can usually turn my brain off to enjoy fantasy stories that involve supernatural elements; even ones that involve them in “real world” setting. What I don’t like is when the author denigrates skeptics and turns them into strawmen.

    However, in my own writing, I have a hard time writing god-like characters as good guys for the reasons I’ve layed out.

  237. 237.

    Miss Bianca

    @Mnemosyne: D and I just finished Season 1. Wasn’t sure at first whether it was going to make “the cut” – usually takes him longer than me to warm up to a new show like that one – but we got some genuine LOLs out of him so I think we’ll go on to Season 2. Plus, Kristen Bell, DUH!

  238. 238.

    Yarrow

    @Raven: I’m way out of date on restaurants, but since you’re downtown try the Zydeco Louisiana Diner. It’ll be several blocks from your hotel but you can walk there. I was always fond of the Ragin’ Cajun, but it’s out on Richmond and that would be a drive for you.

  239. 239.

    JWL

    I’m a Californian, and I’m OK with our tax dollars helping Americans scattered over the other 49 states. I’m conservative on that score, however. I expect that money to be spent wisely. But however easy it would be to cast political stones at those Trump voting fools that got themselves (and us all) in this mess, it does looks like they’re soon need all the help they can get. Again, that’s OK with me. Not every American in those red states is a republican voting fool who deserves to eat shit. Remember, too, the sins of todays political schmucks should not be visited on the next generation. In other words, Californians will never turn their backs on their fellow Americans however badly they fuck up. God knows we’ve too much history to do anything other than speak in the humblest of terms when offering political advice, too, having bequeathed the nation Nixon AND Reagan (and, just for laughs, Schwarzenegger). But those farm folks in the red states need to take a long, hard look in the mirror today. Like Californians did, when we finally snapped out of it and ran republicans back into the sewers after they gang raped our Aunt Millie (even then, we first suffered years of Schwarzenegger’s shuck and jive act as a direct consequentce of our own faults and follies before wising up).

  241. 241.

    Miss Bianca

    @zhena gogolia: It never occurred to me that it could be anything *but* airplane seat belts. The “bumpy night” thing seemed like a pretty obvious reference to turbulence.

  242. 242.

    zhena gogolia

    @Mary G:

    Trump is not going to love how many empty seats there are for his speech at the VFW convention. Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City is about half full.

    Haha, that’s where my high school graduation was. It ain’t a very big hall.

  246. 246.

    zhena gogolia

    @debit:

    Oh, you sound like me! The gyrations I’ve gone through to accommodate the quirks of a cat!

  248. 248.

    Jager

    @JWL:

    As a non-native Californian I agree with you. I left ND when I was 18, I go back for family events and that’s it. At one time ND was one of the most progressive states in the Union, it has a state bank, low interest, school, farm and business loans. It has a state owned mill and elevator. The RWNJ governor and legislature won’t go near the bank or the mill. The last governor, now Senator Hoeven wanted to move the state bank into the commercial banking world and got his fingers burned. Never the less they vote for wingnuts and for trump

  252. 252.

    NonyNony

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:

    I’m probably supposed to be opposed to it, but what gives whoever or whatever (God) the right to morally judge and punish people? Who is God accountable to? Where’s the due process?

    I’m pretty sure that those are questions the show is raising intentionally. The existence of Mindy St. Claire’s Medium Place alone could fuel years of discussion about the nature of the Celestial Bureaucracy that must exist in that universe…

  253. 253.

    debbie

    @TenguPhule:

    Recent weekly reports show pork exports to China at zero.

    To see what a trade fight can do to exports, what’s happening with pork is pretty dramatic. Mary Lovely, an economist at Syracuse University, says that after two rounds of retaliatory tariffs by China, U.S. ham and various other pork products now face massive tariffs — between 62 and 70 percent.

    “In recent weeks, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has reported zero weekly export sales of pork to China,” Lovely says. “So our exports to the country have pretty much collapsed.”

  254. 254.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Yarrow:

    I was always fond of the Ragin’ Cajun

    Completely O/T, and honestly I don’t really care, but whatthehell ever happened to James Carville (and Mary Matalin, for that matter)? I feel as though I haven’t heard of either of them in ages and ages.

    ETA: Which is fine.

  256. 256.

    Patricia Kayden

    This is a payoff before the midterms.

    This is definitely a quid pro quo situation because White farmers aren’t the only people who will be heavily damaged by Trump’s stupid and unnecessary trade wars. The rest of us chumps will be paying more for our good and yet we’re not getting any funds from the Trump regime.

  259. 259.

    NotMax

    @SiubhanDuinne

    Last century’s flavor of the month.

    Actually, Carville occasionally still shows up. His accent has gotten so thick, and his affected countrified speech slurring so pronounced, that it requires subtitles to figure out what he’s saying most times.

  263. 263.

    Bill Arnold

    @Jeffro:

    These tariffs – their cost to actual American companies, that is – are going to mount up quickly.

    Are there any think tanks or similar organizations that are set up to do rapid and updated (and respectable) analyses of economic consequences of [stupid shit] like trade wars? Better that they not be particularly partisan. (Serious question, actually. E.g. the NYTimes occasionally does this sort of analysis but it would need to be maintained over time as new news hits.)

  264. 264.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Mary G: This one of those mob things then, someone starts cheering and then everyone is cheering without realizing what’s being cheered?

  265. 265.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @SiubhanDuinne: Completely O/T, and honestly I don’t really care, but whatthehell ever happened to James Carville (and Mary Matalin, for that matter)? I feel as though I haven’t heard of either of them in ages and ages.

    She made a great show of leaving the Republican Party, declaring herself a Libertarian, when trump won the primary, and was later revealed to be working for some pro-trump astroturf group. I resist the urge to condemn by association, but after 2000 and even more so after Iraq, I could never quite trust Carville.

    Beagle strikes me as smart and canny and on the right side, but I don’t see much of him because he shares a network with Wolf Blitzer and Ari Fleischer

  266. 266.

    J R in WV

    Goku,

    I have to admit, I tried as a youngster to read those C S Lewis books, but ran out of steam on most of them. They were preachy and boring, and the more I realized how phony and xtian they were the less motivated I was to keep plowing, looking for something interesting.

    So we aren’t always on opposite sides of the fence!

  267. 267.

    MoxieM

    @lgerard: That’s hilarious…it’s freakin’ BJ’s in Seekonk…. not like it’s Northampton or Concord or some other blueblooded lefty town. I guess we would be expected to have a bacchanal and tear him limb from limb. These guys are all chickenshits.

  273. 273.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    @schrodingers_cat:
    @Baud:

    A lot of the comments to the tweet are critical of him (Wilmer), accusing him of being a Russian asset. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised. I mean, why couldn’t the guy release his tax returns if he had nothing to hide?

  274. 274.

    Viva BrisVegas

    @J R in WV:

    those C S Lewis books

    You mean those books where a main protagonist is exiled from the group for becoming a woman and therefore impure.

    Where the happy ending is that a group of heroic children are killed before they can become morally polluted adults, in order that they may go to heaven.

    Those books weren’t creepy at all.

  275. 275.

    Aleta

    the latest sign that growing tensions between the United States and other countries will not end soon.

    So insulting. This is how you describe a drought when no rain is forecast. All we can do is wait passively because the cause is external, not something we did.

    Growing tensions? They’re not storm clouds we can only watch. Caused by the GOP, they can be ended by the GOP.

    “…, the latest sign that Trump-Pence will not end their irrational policies that damage farmers.”

    Keep the focus on 3 things: Trump-Pence chose to hurt farmers, they’re choosing to increase taxes on the middle class by borrowing 12 b (from whom? from the Chinese?), and everything they do requires people at the bottom to subsidize those at the top.
    And ask the press to retract the “populist movement” stories.

  278. 278.

    Bill Arnold

    @Jeffro:

    Ok, thanks. I’m aware of the projection and the Rove-ian (Goebbels-ian?) aspect here.

    You are however right to be concerned that there is sometimes tactical messaging competence (of the evil sort usually) displayed by the administration. It’s not (just) DJT. (Probably not him at all IMO; he’s increasingly addled, and an intellectual diet of pure one-sided propaganda is not compatible with a reliable political intuition.) Start by trying to distinguish the voices on https://www.twitter.com/realDonaldTrump

    Edit: also see “his” latest tweet:

    “The Russia Hoax, The Illicit Scheme To Clear Hillary Clinton & Frame Donald Trump” is a Hot Seller, already Number One! More importantly, it is a great book that everyone is talking about. It covers the Rigged Witch Hunt brilliantly. Congratulations to Gregg Jarrett!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2018

  279. 279.

    catclub

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:

    accusing him of being a Russian asset. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised. I mean, why couldn’t the guy release his tax returns if he had nothing to hide?

    I would ask why you could expect to find evidence of being a Russian asset in tax returns. Wouldn’t that kind of thing be omitted in tax returns?

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