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You are here: Home / Politics / America / Secretary Pompeo Testifies Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Secretary Pompeo Testifies Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

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The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has just begun its hearing with Secretary of State Pompeo. He is expected to address concerns regarding the President’s recent summit with Putin, his own recent remarks and the President’s tweet about Iran, as well as US relations with NATO and the EU. Here’s the live feed.

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

267Comments

  2. 2.

    germy

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday the United States will never recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea as he sought to fend off charges from lawmakers and others that President Donald Trump and his administration are being soft on Russia.

    In a statement titled “Crimea Declaration,” Pompeo said the U.S. will continue to insist that Ukraine’s territorial integrity be restored. He said the U.S. would hold to its long-standing principle of refusing to recognize Kremlin claims of sovereignty over territory seized by force in violation of international law. And he called for Russia to respect principles it claims to respect and “end its occupation of Crimea.”

  3. 3.

    Cheryl Rofer

    Pompeo issued a statement on Ukraine equivalent to the Welles Declaration on the Baltic States after the Soviet Union incorporated them. Wonder what his boss thinks?

    This business of having a Trump foreign policy and a government foreign policy isn’t going to end well.

  6. 6.

    Corner Stone

    He is expected to address concerns regarding the President’s recent summit with Putin

    What could he possibly testify to? He wasn’t in the room and Trump is an unreliable narrator, to say the least.

  9. 9.

    jl

    Does Trump ever catch up on what his government is doing?
    Half-serious question. Does he have time between watching Fox and Friends and Hannity, and throwing re-election rallies?

  10. 10.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    This business of having a Trump foreign policy and multiple government foreign policy isn’t going to end well.

    Fixed it for you.

  11. 11.

    Cheryl Rofer

    And now I’m gonna be offline for a couple of hours. See you later!

  15. 15.

    trollhattan

    Every day is a good day for Donny.

    A federal judge Wednesday said a lawsuit against President Trump that accuses him of violating the Constitution’s foreign emoluments clauses can continue, despite attempts by his lawyers to have it thrown out of court.

    The suit focuses on Trump’s interest in the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., which has seen a flood of activity from foreign governments since his inauguration. The attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia contend that payments from these governments violates a Constitutional clause that forbids federal officials from accepting payments and gifts from foreign governments.

    In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte wrote that public records make it clear that foreign governments have patronized the hotel “precisely because of the president’s association with it.” Given Trump’s refusal to remove himself from the Trump Organization, payments from those companies could plausibly be considered emoluments, Messitte wrote.

  16. 16.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    @Adam L Silverman: I’m not sure I agree 100% with your police work there, Lou. Trent Lott was forced to retire after waxing poetic about segregation at Strom Thurmond’s birthday party. Frist succeeded Lott as speaker and left the Senate voluntarily. Bob Corker followed in his seat.

  18. 18.

    germy

    WaPo headline:

    Trump pushes 25 percent auto tariff as top advisers scramble to stop him

  20. 20.

    Betty Cracker

    Curiouser and curiouser:

    My guess is that even an idiot like Trump realizes hosting a state visit for Putin prior to the midterms will step on the newly rolled out “Russia wants to help the Democrats” nonsense.

  23. 23.

    Mary G

    @Cheryl Rofer: WaPo says he’s determined to put a 25% tariff on foreign cars, despite everyone telling him what a bad idea it is.

    Several of President Trump’s senior economic advisers believe he plans to push forward with 25 percent tariffs on close to $200 billion in foreign-made automobiles later this year, three people briefed on internal discussions said.

    Trump wants to move forward despite numerous warnings from GOP leaders and business executives who have argued that such a move could damage the economy and lead to political mutiny.

    But Trump has become increasingly defiant in his trade strategy, following his own instincts and intuition and eschewing advice from his inner circle.

    He probably thinks it’s going to distract from all the other bad news. Winning!

  25. 25.

    Gin & Tonic

    @germy: The Congress has the Constituional power to impose tariffs. They could simply take it back, if they had any balls, and nobody could do anything about it.

  31. 31.

    TenguPhule

    @Mary G:

    WaPo says he’s determined to put a 25% tariff on foreign cars, despite everyone telling him what a bad idea it is.

    Trump: You’re not the boss of me!

  32. 32.

    Duane

    Better Pompeo than me. Of course, he signed up for it. He let ambition out weigh good sense. Today may be the day, as he faces his former colleagues, he truly feels the shitmidas touch.

  34. 34.

    TenguPhule

    @Gin & Tonic:

    The Congress has the Constituional power to impose tariffs. They could simply take it back, if they had any balls, and nobody could do anything about it.

    Republicans in Congress.

    Gotta avoid the bad habits of the fucking feckless media.

  35. 35.

    Ella in New Mexico

    Boy Pompii gets really arrogant and pissy when he’s confronted with Trump’s bullshit behaviors.

  36. 36.

    rikyrah

    @trollhattan:

    A federal judge Wednesday said a lawsuit against President Trump that accuses him of violating the Constitution’s foreign emoluments clauses can continue, despite attempts by his lawyers to have it thrown out of court.

    don’t get no more original intent than the emoluments clause.

  37. 37.

    TenguPhule

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    This business of having a Trump foreign policy and a government foreign policy isn’t going to end well.

    Didn’t start or go well either. Consistency!

  40. 40.

    TenguPhule

    @Ella in New Mexico:

    Pompii gets really arrogant and pissy when he’s confronted with Trump’s bullshit behaviors.

    How do we tell the difference from how he normally acts?

  42. 42.

    TenguPhule

    @Betty Cracker:

    My guess is that even an idiot like Trump realizes hosting a state visit for Putin prior to the midterms will step on the newly rolled out “Russia wants to help the Democrats” nonsense.

    My guess is that Trump wasn’t the one to realize this, Putin did.

  43. 43.

    Mary G

    I am trying to watch this, but the tongue-baths about the wisdom and excellence of the president from every Republican senator are disgusting. Just like Kavanaugh with the “this is most thorough SC Justice search evah!”

  44. 44.

    burnspbesq

    @rikyrah:

    Spartanburg, Tuscaloosa, Chattanooga. BMW is the best thing that ever happened to the Port of Charleston. And bigotry will almost certainly continue to outweigh their economic interests as a determinant of how those people vote.

  46. 46.

    rikyrah

    @burnspbesq:

    Spartanburg, Tuscaloosa, Chattanooga. BMW is the best thing that ever happened to the Port of Charleston. And bigotry will almost certainly continue to outweigh their economic interests as a determinant of how those people vote.

    I know all that. But, let’s strip that economic anxiety excuse away. Just lay waste to all of them.

  47. 47.

    chopper

    @germy:

    Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday the United States will never recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea

    which means of course drumpf is going to say the opposite later today on twitter.

  50. 50.

    Corner Stone

    I wonder if the stock market will have anything to say about the 25% car tariffs?

  51. 51.

    trollhattan

    @chopper:
    “Duh, it’s ‘will never not recognize Russia’s Crimea annexation’ that my secretary of state said. I thought that would have been obvious.”

  52. 52.

    Duane

    @MattF: Bolton didn’t have any integrity left to sell. Whatever smidgen Pompeo had left, wave goodbye, Secretary.

  53. 53.

    Jeffro

    @rikyrah: I’m thinking this would make an excellent Christmas gift for my RWNJ dad. Nickel bet says he actually drops it out of his hands and to the floor, like a hot stone or something, once he sees what it is.

  54. 54.

    condorcet runner-up

    @chopper: this is likely by design. now nobody can accuse them of taking one side over the other. sure, it is nuts, but it suffices for the base.

  55. 55.

    Jeffro

    @Mary G: Maybe they could tell him Obama wanted to put tariffs on EVERYTHING, so that Trumpov never puts them on ANYTHING? Worth a shot.

  59. 59.

    Calouste

    @Mary G: I read an article that Europe now has a 10% tariff on American cars, where the US only has only a 2.5% tariff on European cars. But the article also stated that the tariff is not why American cars don’t sell in Europe. It’s that with a few niche exceptions like muscle cars, American cars just aren’t attractive to Europeans. Too big for the local parking spaces, not fuel efficient enough for $10 gas, and the top end ones don’t have the image and reputation in Europe that Benz and BMW do.

  61. 61.

    Jeffro

    @Cheryl Rofer: An unscheduled availability, eh? So very many things for him to rail about…Ivanka being “forced” out of business, the emoluments ruling, more of this “Russia loves the Democrats” nonsense, the Cohen tape, reports of Melania watching CNN and sending him into a rage…so very many things, all just within the past what, 36 hours?

  62. 62.

    ruemara

    Amazing how every last one of them come out looking like scum. Unprecedented.

    @burnspbesq: My concern are for the POC they’ll harm in retaliation. They can eat clay like their ancestors.

  66. 66.

    dmsilev

    @Jeffro:

    Ivanka being “forced” out of business, the emoluments ruling, more of this “Russia loves the Democrats” nonsense, the Cohen tape, reports of Melania watching CNN and sending him into a rage…so very many things, all just within the past what, 36 hours?

    Another successful Infrastructure Week, and it’s only Wednesday.

  67. 67.

    TenguPhule

    @Corner Stone:

    I wonder if the stock market will have anything to say about the 25% car tariffs?

    Wall Street: “He’s just joking! Everything is fine! Nothing can go wrong go wrong.”

  68. 68.

    Mnemosyne

    @Betty Cracker:

    Remember that Trump is the kind of soopergenious who thinks that doubling down on a statement proves that he didn’t really mean it. You know, just like all of his followers who insist that they voted for the racist to prove that they’re not really racist.

  69. 69.

    trollhattan

    @Calouste:
    What is even an “American car” anymore? Ford decided to no longer be a car company and instead build trucks, ess you vees, vans and the like. And the Mustang. Will guess Honda and Toyota are the top American car builders. Donny understands none of this stuff and imagines we’ll be awash in Buick Wildcats again, before the midterms.

  70. 70.

    Corner Stone

    @Duane: I mention it because Trump said he started the trade war due to the stock market being “up”. And was therefore expounding that he was playing with banker’s money during this self-owned crisis.

  73. 73.

    lgerard

    Ivanka being “forced” out of business

    I’m sure the idea of tariffs on stores which do not carry Ivanka’s products was an idea that was considered at some point

  74. 74.

    Corner Stone

    @Jeffro:

    I’m grinning ear to ear here!

    Speaking of, I’m thinking about having fresh corn on the cob again tonight for dinner. You know, to support the “family farms” and all during this time of struggle.

  75. 75.

    Jeffro

    @lgerard: I’m shocked he hasn’t rage-Tweeted at whichever stores used to carry her crappy stuff, to try and drive their stock down.

  76. 76.

    TenguPhule

    @Gin & Tonic:

    DJIA up 175 today, likely on reports of some sort of agreement with Juncker.

    I saw, hence my predictions 2019 is the crash. Our stock traders and the associated companies are very stupid people.

  77. 77.

    Corner Stone

    Alright, this Pompeo nonsense is cutting in to my Nicolle Wallace time, dammit. Shit’s getting real.

  79. 79.

    jl

    @Corner Stone: ” I wonder if the stock market will have anything to say about the 25% car tariffs? ”

    Stock market may already have said something. Look at indices dominated by large cap stocks, Dow Jones and S&P 500. They have been essentially flat since January.
    Large cap companies saw nothing for them but a one time shift upward in after-tax revenue due to tax cuts, then trade war talk started.
    Except for a steep and temporary run-up from Aug 2017 to Jan 2018, the increased growth in stock market indices started in first quarter 2016.

    I’ve been updating my handy dandy macroeconomic dashboard for the upcoming Q2 GDP release. Very clear (edit: to me) that Trumpsters have had no impact at all on real economy through Q1 on US economy. ‘Trump boom’ doesn’t exist, not even in the stock market, apart from temporary response to tax cut. Everything is random variations around trend set in Obama early recovery, and some getting better or worse a teensy bit in response to moving from early to late stage of expansion.

    If Trump knew what he was doing, he could have persuaded GOP to throw lesser people more money in their tax cut, and laid off the trade war nonsense. I think 50-50 chance Trump could have overseen the expansion last through 2020, and he could have bragged about presiding over the longest expansion in history (and take credit for something he would have had little to do with). But odds of that happening now are fading fast.

    Edit: I’ve been joking that the Trumpster couldn’t have had any impact, since Trumpster macro policy is the Paulson/Geithner/Bernanke/Yellen plan on autopilot. They have done not one thing different except throw more tax money at rich interests. But looking at updated series, more true than I thought. (edit: though they have been throwing time bombs into the system, which won’t show up for a while)

  80. 80.

    Jeffro

    @Corner Stone:

    I’m thinking about having fresh corn on the cob again tonight for dinner. You know, to support the “family farms” and all during this time of struggle.

    That’s bigly patriotic of you. Here, take my 60%-off coupon for a DJT/Kim Jong-Un “Peace Summit” commemorative coin…no, really…

    Fish tacos tonight here, in support of, um, eating tacos. Mini-me is not going to be thrilled, but then again a kid who things “chicken nuggets” are “food” should not be allowed to weigh in on the dinner menu.

  81. 81.

    Corner Stone

    @TenguPhule: Re: my original comment on the stock market – if he does in fact impose 25% tariff on “foreign” cars and the stock market does nothing or ambles higher then it’s further proof we’re in a yoooge bubble that’s going to burst badly in a nominal amount of time.

  82. 82.

    TenguPhule

    While 86 percent of Democrats trust the media to tell the truth about important issues, three-quarters of Republicans trust Trump.

    This isn’t a new finding, as such. Quinnipiac first started asking the question in March 2017, at which point Republican trust in Trump over the media was at 86 percent. After that, it settled into the range where it is now. Democrats have consistently trusted the media over Trump in overwhelming numbers.

    Via Wapo.

    9 out of 10 Republicans don’t trust the Media.

    75% of them have accepted 1984 as their new guide to life.

    They’re beyond salvation.

  83. 83.

    JustRuss

    @rikyrah: Presumably the tariff will only apply to cars that are imported, not “foreign” cars that are built in the US…which many are. But it’s Trump, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  84. 84.

    Inventor

    @Jeffro:

    Fish tacos tonight here, in support of, um, eating tacos.

    One of the worst things about Cheeto Benito’s “election” is there’s no taco truck at the end of my block.

    That would have been awesome.

  85. 85.

    TenguPhule

    @Corner Stone: I got that when the markets saw the tariffs starting, didn’t crash, saw the counter tariffs starting and didn’t crash and the line of thinking that every single optimistic business person cited by the reporters about this was “He doesn’t really mean it, this will be a short term thing”.

    They’ve lost track of gravity, but gravity hasn’t forgotten about them.

  86. 86.

    TenguPhule

    @Jeffro:

    , but then again a kid who things “chicken nuggets” are “food” should not be allowed to weigh in on the dinner menu.

    Hey now! A guilty pleasure shouldn’t be made fun of.

  87. 87.

    Brachiator

    @jl:

    If Trump knew what he was doing, he could have persuaded GOP to throw lesser people more money in their tax cut, and laid off the trade war nonsense. I think 50-50 chance Trump could have overseen the expansion last through 2020, and he could have bragged about presiding over the longest expansion in history (and take credit for something he would have had little to do with)

    Yep. Totally agree with you here.

  89. 89.

    Corner Stone

    You can’t possibly supply LNG from the US to the EU at a reasonable cost differential.

  90. 90.

    TenguPhule

    @jl:

    though they have been throwing time bombs into the system, which won’t show up for a while

    2019: Federal Tax Returns, first economic reports on the trade wars damage, official confirmation of the terrible 2018 Christmas season, possible lingering damage from the Hurricanes that FEMA fucked up again, increased interest rates combined with higher fuel, food and materials inflation.

    Perfect storm.

  91. 91.

    TenguPhule

    @Corner Stone:

    You can’t possibly supply LNG from the US to the EU at a reasonable cost differential.

    Sure you can! You simply redefine “reasonable” to mean something completely different from what it originally meant.

  93. 93.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @Calouste: I drive a four door hatch back Hyundau Amica. Perfect for getting around town. I fill up once a month, despite going on lots of trips. American hulks just don”t do well here, there are cars parked on either side of tiny, barely two lane roads. You have to be able to weave through lines of parked cars to navigate your way from a to b to get from home to town. Every time I see one of these large Ford Pick Ups or SUVs trying to navigate around our town they spend half of their time sat by a parked car waiting for a much more navigable car whip around parked cars into small empty spaces while behemoth has to sit there and wait until the entire road is clear so they can drive down. It is silly and time wasting, not to mention the petrol they are eating while waiting. No one wants to buy them, and anyone who does is just an asshole with a small dick.

  94. 94.

    TenguPhule

    Trump will convene a meeting Friday of the National Security Council on election security, a session that could include a discussion of possible Russian interference in November’s midterm elections, according to a White House official.

    In addition, national security adviser John Bolton plans to hold two NSC Principals Committee meetings this week, one Thursday on Iran and one Friday on North Korea, according to the White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal plans.

    Via Wapo.

    Nothing good will come of this.

  95. 95.

    Mary G

    The press conference is about the EU and how there will be ZERO tariffs. And Europe’s going to buy soybeans, so the farmers are saved. Though I imagine as a market for soybeans, Europe is a rounding error compared to China. Juncker says he came to make a deal today and they did.

    This is the president backing down and describing it as a win.

  96. 96.

    VeniceRiley

    Every solid Republican car dealer that has a foreign franchise is going to lose their sh*t. These are often the most prominent Republicans in town. They sponsor the kiddie leagues and all kinds of civic minded stuff. Are often bigshots at church, and if they get wicked po’d at Trump, the whole Party crashes.

    Putin is afraid he’ll get arrested at the airport like all his crime syndicate friends (I wish!)

  97. 97.

    MisterForkbeard

    @TenguPhule: On the other hand, “We might even discuss election security and Russian intereference!” is about as low a bar as you can get.

  98. 98.

    jl

    @Mary G: I assume EU didn’t agree to dismantle its VAT sales tax. The mystery of why on earth the Tmpsters think EU has high tariffs on US exports, and whether they were confused about what the VAT is, or BSing, may be forever unresolved. It will evaporate in the blazing fire of another one of Trump’s great deals.

  99. 99.

    germy

    @Mary G:

    The press conference is about the EU and how there will be ZERO tariffs.

    I can’t keep up. I’m seriously having trouble following his gish gallop.

    Every time I see a weak politician asking to stop Trade talks or the use of Tariffs to counter unfair Tariffs, I wonder, what can they be thinking? Are we just going to continue and let our farmers and country get ripped off? Lost $817 Billion on Trade last year. No weakness!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2018

  101. 101.

    Baud

    @jl:

    Here’s how CNN is reporting it.

    President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker agreed to work toward eliminating tariffs and barriers on trade, reducing tensions for now in a brewing trade war.
    Trump said both sides agreed to halt for now tariffs that threatened to devolve into a trade war as negotiations proceed.
    “This was a very big day for free and fair trade,” the President said.

  102. 102.

    SenyorDave

    @TenguPhule: Our stock traders and the associated companies are very stupid people.

    How so? They make money off the trades, many of them could care less how their “clients” do.

  103. 103.

    Mary G

    Not impressed at all with Pompeo. He’s condescending and arrogant and being a complete partisan spinner.

  106. 106.

    Yarrow

    @germy: @Mary G: How can anyone trust anything out of Trump’s mouth? Tariffs, no tariffs, who knows what’s happening there? Even if the agreements are in writing and signed, if Trump decides he wants to rip them up he will.

  108. 108.

    Gin & Tonic

    @rikyrah: Tragically, it seems possible, based on a bit of the commentary I’ve seen, that Oksana Shachko’s death may in fact be due to suicide and not “suicide.”

  109. 109.

    jl

    @Baud: It’s a mystery what the Trumpsters think.

    OTOH, I hope Baud 2020! is taking notes. Someone has to step in after Trump is gone.
    Except you will need to be more careful, since living off soda pop coupon fraud, and begging outside convenience stores are the kind of crime and emolument violations that they will come down on like a hammer. It’s in a different league than billion dollar white collar crime.
    The BaudPrez getting tazed outside a quickstop won’t get you this kind of sympathetic coverage in the media.

  110. 110.

    Lapassionara

    Just saw a headline that Administration has entered into trade agreement with EU, forestalling tariff dispute. Or something along those lines. So after scaring the auto companies, he does nada?

  111. 111.

    Baud

    @jl: I just hope Juicers will continue to support me as blindly and as rapidly as Republicans support Trump.

  112. 112.

    germy

    Washington Post:

    But Trump has become increasingly defiant in his trade strategy, following his own instincts and intuition and eschewing advice from his inner circle. He has told advisers and Republicans to simply trust his business acumen

    Oh shit….

  115. 115.

    TenguPhule

    @SenyorDave:

    How so? They make money off the trades, many of them could care less how their “clients” do.

    You can’t eat electronic profits when it all goes to shit.

  117. 117.

    TenguPhule

    @Baud:

    Trump said both sides agreed to halt for now tariffs that threatened to devolve into a trade war as negotiations proceed.

    I say his talk will not be followed by action if past performance predicts future results.

    Trump thinks agreements are the start of negotiations.

  118. 118.

    TenguPhule

    @Mary G:

    Not impressed at all with Pompeo. He’s condescending and arrogant and being a complete partisan spinner.

    What distinguishes him from the rest of them?

  119. 119.

    TenguPhule

    @Baud:

    I just hope Juicers will continue to support me as blindly and as rapidly as Republicans support Trump.

    I expect to be made Secretary of War. //

  122. 122.

    lgerard

    @Mary G:

    Not impressed at all with Pompeo. He’s condescending and arrogant and being a complete partisan spinner

    Pompeo is trump-like in his belief that he is always right and that his opinion, however ill informed, always supersedes any facts that may contradict it.

  123. 123.

    jl

    @TenguPhule: My best guess is that EU BSed in response to Trump BS, and Trump announced a great deal and a win. Similar to NK nuke talks, except this time, if Trump takes the BS exchange as a big win, it is, in a sense, a real win for the country.

  124. 124.

    Yarrow

    @Baud: Have you addressed the rumors that you are replacing Poco as your running mate on the ticket with Corner Stone?

  126. 126.

    Aleta

    @germy: Would that be the business acumen he displayed when he agreed that almost $300,000 of someone else’s money should be given to two people he had sex with?

  128. 128.

    germy

    @Aleta: Or the acumen he displayed bankrupting casinos?

    Which are basically businesses where customers walk in and allow themselves to be held upside down by their ankles until the money falls out of their pockets?

  129. 129.

    Miss Bianca

    @VeniceRiley: Except even if that happens, the press is going to go out and find *that one guy* – the Trump voter who insists that the tariffs are necessary, because Dear Leader says so, and hey, if he loses his job or his business over it, that’s just like WWII victory gardens. Or something.

  133. 133.

    zhena gogolia

    The creators of Hamilton are getting a Kennedy Center Honor. Someone in the comments at WaPo says Pence should award it to them. Twitler and the Third Lady say it’s “too soon” to say if they’ll attend. The other honorees are Cher, Reba McIntire, Philip Glass, and Wayne Shorter.

  134. 134.

    Brachiator

    @germy:

    But Trump has become increasingly defiant in his trade strategy, following his own instincts and intuition and eschewing advice from his inner circle. He has told advisers and Republicans to simply trust his business acumen

    The con is starting to unravel. Trump keeps trying to sell the idea that he is a stable genius.

    But the GOP leadership is getting exactly what they asked for when they kept pushing the myth that the US needed to be run like a business. By a businessman. With businessman smarts.

  135. 135.

    Yarrow

    @Baud: Oh, he’s been in the news. He’s made speeches here and there. Trump and his treason tour sucked all the air out of the room and if it isn’t him it’s people like Cohen doing the same. Pence thinks he can hide. He cannot.

  136. 136.

    Capri

    Completely don’t get the media’s obsession with Trump voters who are sticking by him.Of course they will. Lyndon Fucking Larouche still has committed followers.

  139. 139.

    Yarrow

    @Capri: Speaking of Trump voters who are sticking with him, this whole thread by Tom Nichols is interesting. I know people are skeptical of him, but his tale of talking to two women who are Trumpers is interesting. Some of his tweets sound like they could be from Balloon Juice.

    Fist tweet and you can click through for the thread.

    So, I had an interesting run-in with some Trumpers today, and it's story worth telling. (Mute now if you're not into story time.) I was part of a panel at Harvard talking about the Helsinki summit. Afterwards, two middle-aged women had some, er, questions. /1— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) July 25, 2018

    This though:

    Tom Nichols @RadioFreeTom

    My point? These two people will never, ever change their minds. They are not accessible to reason. They demand agreement and respect, even when they don’t give it and are themselves unreasonable. This is the cohort that neither the GOP post-Trump nor Dems will ever reach. /10

    and this:

    Tom Nichols @RadioFreeTom

    I think it solidified for me that these types of Trumpers are just lost. They’re not going to climb down, change their minds, listen to new information. Trump really could shoot them on Fifth Avenue. There’s no point in discussion, because they don’t *discuss*, they *preach*. /13

    Yeah, pretty much.

  140. 140.

    Bill Arnold

    @Betty Cracker:

    My guess is that even an idiot like Trump realizes hosting a state visit for Putin prior to the midterms will step on the newly rolled out “Russia wants to help the Democrats” nonsense.

    Any guesses on how they’ll (attempt to) get traction on this meme outside the right-wing propaganda media outlets?
    The Pompeo “Crimea Declaration” is a start (or an attempt at one), I presume. But the past 1.5 years have been pure DJT administration obsequiousness towards Putin; that backdrop will take some effort to gaslight away.

  142. 142.

    FlipYrWhig

    @germy: He still has no fucking idea what a trade deficit is. And he still doesn’t understand that the stock market and the economy are different, or what either one has to do with the federal budget. It’s really astonishing how impervious he is to learning.

  145. 145.

    Elizabelle

    @schrodingers_cat: Exactly. And, as we bitch constantly, the Vichy Times does that so much we rib them. Why?? Bad journalism and bad hires only go so far to explain.

    I wish someone would flip to Mueller or NYS AG Barbara Underwood with what’s going on in the executive offices at that paper. Or the staff’s suspicions.

    Especially now that Tronc, journalism serial killer, is eviscerating the NY Daily News, which has been on Trump’s tail with outrageous covers for years.

  146. 146.

    TenguPhule

    Education Secretary Betsy DeVos proposed on Wednesday to curtail Obama administration loan forgiveness rules for students defrauded by for-profit colleges, requiring that student borrowers show they have fallen into hopeless financial straits or prove that their colleges knowingly deceived them.

    The DeVos proposal, set to go in force a year from now, would replace Obama-era policies that sought to ease access to loan forgiveness for students who were left saddled with debt after two for-profit college chains, Corinthian Colleges and ITT Technical Institute, imploded in 2015 and 2016. The schools were found to have misled their students with false advertisements and misleading claims for years.

    Assholes got to be assholes.

    Via the FTFNYT.

  147. 147.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Yarrow: I call BS on this story. First of all how does he know that they are Indian and that they are immigrants. Did he ask to see their papers? Did they identify themselves as such. Indian Americans are less than 2% of the population and that is the example of a typical T voter he comes up with.
    Isn’t he also rabidly anti-HRC and a climate science denier? So he is not that different from the two nutjobs that he describes.

  150. 150.

    Gravenstone

    @Jeffro: Pretty sure he did rather early in his term when it was reported that her shit wasn’t selling and some retailer ostentatiously dropped her.

  152. 152.

    Dan B

    @Baud: See no evil is all you ask? Leaves us with the other two monkeys: hear and speak. Yea! We’ll be keeping you on your toes alright. I want Ministry of Kittehs, get on it!

  153. 153.

    Chyron HR

    @Yarrow:

    Uh, sorry, Tom, but Trump supporters are actually would-be Bernie voters who were forced to vote for Trump because Bernie wasn’t on the ballot. It’s all in Their Revolution’s little blue book.

  154. 154.

    TenguPhule

    Mr. Juncker said, “I had the intention to make a deal today, and we have made a deal today.”

    He said both sides would hold off on further tariffs, and potentially drop the existing ones, unless they fail to agree on a deal to reduce tariffs, non-tariff barriers, and subsidies to zero.

    So its a nothing burger designed to try and calm the markets. The trade war will merely maintain the current rate of bombardment on this front and probably not escalate until the next news cycle.

  156. 156.

    Mary G

    Somebody’s chickens may be coming home to roost:

    In after hours trading, Facebook's stock is down $43 or 20%. Wow.— John Cassidy (@JohnCassidy) July 25, 2018

  157. 157.

    tobie

    @Mary G: I like Chris Murphy, too. Haven’t watched the hearing but I’m glad he’s gotten under Pompeo’s skin.

  159. 159.

    debbie

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    Someone must have really browbeat Trump in order to release that statement. Whoever it is, i probably hate you, but thank you for this.

  161. 161.

    Raven

    @Yarrow: well I got tired of the conference so I took the free green link all the way around downtown. I’m now at Guadalajara Centro, I know it’s a chain but it looks interesting.

  163. 163.

    Brachiator

    @Capri:

    Completely don’t get the media’s obsession with Trump voters who are sticking by him.Of course they will. Lyndon Fucking Larouche still has committed followers.

    Yep. Americans used to be more pragmatic. Maybe they still are. This needs to be shown more. And if some reporters still want to follow Trump true believers around, they should get them to respond to Trump’s failures and lies. And not let them get away with claims of fake news.

  164. 164.

    Elizabelle

    In fun news, the WaPost has been checking out Maria Butina’s past at American U, which awarded her a Master’s degree in May. Maria raised a few eyebrows around the place. The Post’s question: “Wouldn’t a Russian agent have been more covert, many at the school now wonder, and have worked to keep her Kremlin advocacy under wraps?”

    Maybe not.

    … Butina’s cellphone case was emblazoned with a famous photo of Russian President Vladi­mir Putin riding shirtless on a horse. She would buy friends rounds of vodka at the Russia House, the Dupont Circle restaurant popular with the Russian diplomatic set … She bragged to classmates that she had worked for the Russian government.

    … Butina’s embrace of Russia was so public that people affiliated with AU worried about possible links to the Kremlin and alerted school officials during her tenure there, according to three people familiar with the conversations. University officials did not appear alarmed and did not appear to take any immediate action, they said.

    … She studied cybersecurity policy at the School of International Service, which prides itself on drawing students from around the world for a program designed to educate future global leaders. One person affiliated with the program noted that the school is known for attracting well-connected foreigners, many of whom work for their home country’s embassy while enrolled.

    … Required coursework included classes on intelligence analysis and organized crime, including one titled “Cyber Warfare, Terrorism, Espionage, and Crime.”

    …. In November 2016, just three months after arriving, she hosted a “Stars and Tsars”-themed costume party at Cafe Deluxe, a restaurant in Cleveland Park, to celebrate her birthday. [Republican operative Paul] Erickson was there, dressed as the Russian mystic Rasputin, while Butina went as the Empress Alexandra … One person who attended the party said there was a giant glass bottle shaped like a Kalashnikov rifle. Guests poured shots of vodka from the barrel of the glass gun. … At school, classmates were chattering about her relationship with Erickson, who would accompany her to campus social events where he was decades older than others in the crowd.

    …. In February 2017, Butina and a group of other AU students from former Soviet-bloc countries traveled to Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, where they met with American students who were studying the collapse of the Soviet Union in a course taught by Susan Eisenhower, a granddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

    …..“She was clearly older than the rest of the students and more confident,” said Eisenhower, an author and expert on U.S.-Russia relations who later realized she had once run into Butina at an event in Washington. “She seemed like a networker.”

    Butina had a photo taken with Eisenhower and posted it to her own Facebook page.

    …. One of her former professors told the Daily Beast last year that Butina had claimed several times in class to be part of communications between the Trump campaign and Russia.

    Butina complained about the Daily Beast report to university officials, telling them that she did not recall making such claims and that it was inappropriate for a professor to disclose what was said in classroom discussions, Driscoll said.

    …. Prosecutors allege that Erickson would routinely help complete her academic assignments by editing papers and answering exam questions.

    … “That really pissed her off,” [her attorney Robert] Driscoll said. “She worked really hard. She spent a lot of weekends in the library. She went to all her classes. She’s proud of her accomplishments at the school.”

  167. 167.

    H.E.Wolf

    @rikyrah:
    Thank you for the news of Valerie Jarrett’s 2019 memoir! I look forward to reading it as soon as it’s published.

  169. 169.

    Mary G

    Cory Booker is batting cleanup and doing a great job. He’s been talking for seven minutes without even asking a question, because Pompeo just spews crap. He finally asked a question and Pompeo is pissed. He started filibustering and Cory just talked over him and started quoting Trump on why Russian sanctions passed by Congress are bad.

    All the Republicans keep complimenting Pompeo for his patience and stamina. It’s been three hours. Pussy. Hillary did eight more hours.

  171. 171.

    Bill Arnold

    @TenguPhule:

    My guess is that Trump wasn’t the one to realize this, Putin did.

    Are you suggesting that Putin (or one of his people) is proving twitter assistance to the POTUS? (either language, or generated facts (e.g. a sting that records Democrats accepting Russian help) or both?) Possible, or also possibly some other propaganda talent.
    I was wondering who wrote that “They definitely don’t want Trump!” tweet. (And there have been a few others in July that got people curious.)
    We really need to know what DJT and VP talked about.

  172. 172.

    Raven

    @Yarrow: yea that’s holding me back, that and I always stay on my feet too much at these things and I’m shot. The google map had me walking in circles finding this place.

  174. 174.

    Aimai

    @schrodingers_cat: Why do you call BS on this story? South Asians can be as stupid and racist as anyone else. Look at Dinesh D’souza. He’s not arguing that these women are representative of Indian or former Soviet thinkers altogether. But I can readily believe that (for example) a christian south asian woman of limited intellect might be a trump supporter on religious grounds.

  175. 175.

    Gravenstone

    @Elizabelle: Not sure why, but that level of brazenness reminds of the guy at the flight school keen to learn how to fly but not so interested in the landing part of the program.

  177. 177.

    H.E.Wolf

    @noncarborundum:

    I’m tired of all this winning. Can we please make it stop?

    Certainly! GOTV in your local area. Bring a friend or two (or six). Come on in, the water’s fine. :)

  182. 182.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @burnspbesq:

    Spartanburg, Tuscaloosa, Chattanooga. BMW is the best thing that ever happened to the Port of Charleston. And bigotry will almost certainly continue to outweigh their economic interests as a determinant of how those people vote.

    Huge KIA plant in West Point, GA. And yes, I expect I know how most of those workers voted in 2016, and plan to vote in 2020. Sigh.

  183. 183.

    Mary G

    CNN’s WH correspondent Kaitlan Collins has been banned by Bill Shine for asking inappropriate questions of the president. CNN statement in this tweet:

    Statement regarding CNN press access at today’s White House event. We demand better. pic.twitter.com/s4lSTcHVak— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) July 25, 2018

    Are you worried about Michael Cohen and the tapes is not an inappropriate questions.

  185. 185.

    Yarrow

    @Raven: I hate it when Google maps steers you wrong! I had that happen trying to find a doctor’s office recently. It said, “You’re at your destination” and it was still several buildings away. None of them had good numbers on them and it was a big pain trying to find them.

    @Aimai: There was that bizarre Hindus for Trump rally during the 2016 election too. Even some African American women are/were Trump supporters. There are some in every group.

  188. 188.

    burnspbesq

    @TenguPhule:

    The EU is still going to file a complaint against the United States with the WTO, with respect to GILTI and FDII, and they will win because they’re right. The rage-tweets when that happens are going to be the best Evan.

  190. 190.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Jeffro:

    I’m thinking this would make an excellent Christmas gift for my RWNJ dad. Nickel bet says he actually drops it out of his hands and to the floor, like a hot stone or something, once he sees what it is.

    Is it your dad who thinks Valerie Jarrett was Obama’s Vice President? Apologies if I’m thinking of someone else, but if it’s you, I would chip in money for that book as a gift.

  191. 191.

    Bill Arnold

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Tragically, it seems possible, based on a bit of the commentary I’ve seen, that Oksana Shachko’s death may in fact be due to suicide and not “suicide.”

    Links? (Suicide can be induced.)

  195. 195.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Mary G: Damn, from my view in the cheap seats of the political arena, this is not something a confident incumbent does

    ETA: I imagine O’Rourke and his people workshopping the moment when O’R turns to Cruz and says something like “I don’t know how it is in Calgary, but in the part of Texas I grew up in, maybe we’re old fashioned, but a man doesn’t suck up to a man who insulted his wife’s looks. He handles that a different way.”

  197. 197.

    J R in WV

    @TenguPhule:

    …when the markets saw the tariffs starting, didn’t crash, saw the counter tariffs starting and didn’t crash and … every single optimistic business person cited by the reporters about this was

    He doesn’t really mean it, this will be a short term thing.

    They’ve lost track of gravity, but gravity hasn’t forgotten about them.

    This is more wisdom than I expected from you, Tengu Fool. No offense meant, this is the most wisdom seen here in many a moon! As a retired person with 2x40years of IRA, 401K etc, we have investments for our old age, which we have arrived at already.

    Yet, if it will harm the President and his coterie of Russian tools, I am willing to take the hit to our ability to travel and eat well that a real economic tragedy will cause. We lost nearly 40% of our investments in 2007-08 thanks to President Bush and his lack of economic foresight. It would be a personal tragedy to lose that much again.

    But I’m willing to suffer that, if it puts the current President where he belongs, away.

  198. 198.

    zhena gogolia

    @Bill Arnold:

    I think she left a note and her friends don’t seem to be questioning that it was suicide. That’s just based on a quick glance at the Guardian article.

  199. 199.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Mary G:

    Haven’t seen any of the testimony, but heard a few minutes on MSNBC in the car. He comes across as horribly arrogant and patronising. I seem to recall that he was first in his class at West Point, so he’s obviously not stupid, but listening to him on the radio I just wanted to plunge my hand through the speaker and grab him by his fucking throat. Pompous fucking twit.

  200. 200.

    dr. bloor

    @Mary G: Or, perhaps, Ted thinks he’s got something on Beto and wants to hammer him over the head with it five times. Whether or not he actually does remains to be seen.

  201. 201.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Aimai: Oh people of Indian origin can be awful and idiotic or both. What I was wondering was how did he know that they were Indian and that they were immigrants. Not all south Asians are Indian and not at all Indians are immigrants.

  202. 202.

    Yarrow

    @dr. bloor: In a side by side debate the odious Ted Cruz is going to look even worse next to smart, good looking, charismatic Beto.

  203. 203.

    schrodingers_cat

    @burnspbesq: And what was the point? That T voters are clueless and immune to reason? We already knew that without his atypical example. The average T voter is an older white male. Nearly 80% of people of Indian origin voted for HRC who Tom Nichols still finds unacceptable.

  204. 204.

    TenguPhule

    Police in Maryland say a man who was being detained told officers he worked at Krispy Kreme and would give them doughnuts if they would let him go.

    Hah!

  205. 205.

    TenguPhule

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I seem to recall that he was first in his class at West Point, so he’s obviously not stupid

    I’m wondering if West Point’s standards have fallen to unacceptable levels.

  206. 206.

    Patricia Kayden

    All I heard from Pompeo was “Obama did it” or “Obama didn’t do it” and nonsensical lies about Trump being tougher on Russia than President Obama. Lies. Lies and more lies.

  210. 210.

    Corner Stone

    @Mary G: I can’t think of anything better than having Ted Cruz’s ultimately punchable face sweatily smeared on a TV for people who aren’t sure about voting for Beto.
    Beto gains votes even if he says nothing the whole time.

  211. 211.

    MomSense

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    The thing I’ve noticed about these not stupid/smart Republicans is that their thinking is cramped by their ideology. Maybe they aren’t stupid but they are limited and seem incapable of taking a broader view.

  212. 212.

    Mary G

    Pompeo’s all in on the Twitler stratergery:

    Corker: "I notice you're not responding to what I'm saying." Pompeo: "I disagree""Corker: "Let's run the transcript." t.co/TfkcIEV3yX— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) July 25, 2018

  213. 213.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Yarrow: No point in even talking with Trumpers at this point. They’re not going to change. It’s better to concentrate on GOTV efforts which target under voters (folks who sat out the 2016 election or don’t usually vote at all).

  215. 215.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @TenguPhule: Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton have impeccable academic credentials, and I would bet, in Cotton’s case, a crawl space full of doll-heads and the skeletons of small animals in his parents’ house.

    Pompey is just the latest, and maybe the most arrogant, of the people who thought they could be trump’s éminence grise, or grasse, and go down in history as the one who made it work.

  216. 216.

    trnc

    @Betty Cracker:

    My guess is that even an idiot like Trump realizes hosting a state visit for Putin prior to the midterms will step on the newly rolled out “Russia wants to help the Democrats” nonsense.

    My guess is that Putin said, “What are you, a moron? I’m going to be way too busy preparing for your elections. I’ll give you your orders over the hotline.”

  220. 220.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @trnc: trump did a big prom-posal on the international stage, and Putin said, “Oh, Donald, I think of you as such a good friend, but…” He’s probably giggling about it on the phone with Xi as type

  221. 221.

    J R in WV

    @TenguPhule:

    @Mary G:

    Not impressed at all with Pompeo. He’s condescending and arrogant and being a complete partisan spinner.

    What distinguishes him from the rest of them?

    Pompeo is the fattest member of Trump’s administration, which is saying something profound! And that distinguishes him from all the others.

  222. 222.

    TenguPhule

    @Corner Stone:

    Mr. Pompeo offered what he described as “proof” that Mr. Trump holds Russia accountable when warranted, including the imposition of sanctions, the expulsion of diplomats and closing of a consulate, and the provision of arms to Ukraine, where the military is fighting Russian-backed separatists, among other steps.

    And Mr. Pompeo pointed to a formal declaration, issued by the State Department just before he was scheduled to speak, that refused to recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea and said it was “in contravention of international law.”

    He tried to spin shit into gold.

  223. 223.

    Mary G

    @Corner Stone: I know! And you know Cruz is going to go with the snotty “I know better than you” attitude. He’ll try to rattle Beto, which won’t work that well because Beto was in a punk band. They are going to be on Friday nights in the fall, which means he’s hoping for not many viewers, because it will conflict with the high school football services, or has Texas changed in that regard? I haven’t had to deal with my family there since my grandmother died in 1988, but I vividly remember the Mr. Toad’s wild rides in my uncle’s Caddy with his two sixpacks of beer beside him in the 1960s as we went 110 mph to some dinky little town to see their team.

  225. 225.

    Corner Stone

    @Baud: Beto has a puncher’s shot. He won’t win by defeating Cruz in debates. He’s going to need heavy GOTV in the South and West TX counties. They have previously failed to show up in numbers that are useful. For a number of reasons. The babies in cages and deportation force may be enough. Beto is reportedly within single digits so got to keep fingers crossed.
    Beto gives good speech, and good retail interaction. But TX is still a ways away from being purple.

  228. 228.

    Doug R

    @Corner Stone:

    He is expected to address concerns regarding the President’s recent summit with Putin

    What could he possibly testify to? He wasn’t in the room and Trump is an unreliable narrator, to say the least.

    Ahem! He is the head of the CIA, after all.

  231. 231.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Bill Arnold: Sorry, I have none in English. Here’s one in Russian, from Ukrainian TV. Reportedly she was suffering from depression, was having great difficulty making ends meet in Paris, and had argued with her boyfriend. This was all according to her friends.

  232. 232.

    efgoldman

    @Yarrow:

    In a side by side debate the odious Ted Cruz is going to look even worse next to smart, good looking, charismatic Beto.

    Punchable Ted won a debating champeenship, I think in college. Prolly thinks those skills, as well as a lot of name calling, can give him overwhelming wins.
    Of course his scorpion smarm will leap out of the TV screen.

  234. 234.

    J R in WV

    @schrodingers_cat:

    First of all how does he know that they are Indian and that they are immigrants. Did he ask to see their papers? Did they identify themselves as such. Indian Americans are less than 2% of the population and that is the example of a typical T voter he comes up with.

    First, he says that one was Indian and one was Soviet in origin. I’m sure he didn’t ask for papers, that’s not an American social convention, while telling someone where you are from is. He didn’t select these women, they came up to him after a formal discussion, so he didn’t “come up with” anything. They were, to him, pretty typical Trump supporters, because they came up to him to support Trump.

    They sounded like typical Trump supporters to me, not that I chat up Trump supporters at all. Ever. The fact that one person from India (and another from the former Soviet block) supports Trump is not surprising, there are conservatives in every ethnic group, and some of them are unwilling to perceive that their “dear leader” despises them for their ethnicity and would put them onto a cargo ship back to India in a flash.

    He didn’t attack Obama nor Clinton, he just made the point that they are not relevant at all to Trump and current US government positions and policies. I’ve never heard of this guy that I recall, so I don’t know about his climate change position, which he didn’t bring up in this thread at all. But his discussion seemed very accurate to me.

  235. 235.

    Mary G

    Oh, for fuck’s sake:

    WASHINGTON (AP) — GOP lawmakers introduce articles of impeachment against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 25, 2018

    I didn’t think they’d really do it. This is insane.

  237. 237.

    Corner Stone

    @schrodingers_cat: Tom Nichols also wants white Democrats to remove themselves from voters/people of color. That’s how he says D’s can win. And greatly laments any effort or attempt to reach out and build coalitions with PoC for the health of our democracy.

  238. 238.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: I think this could be the year where the candidate being a decent person might hold more sway than usual. The forever Trumpers are out, of course, but I think this administration so far over the line of decency that they can’t even see the line anymore.

    I would be willing to bet $100 that Beto will win.

  239. 239.

    MomSense

    @debbie:

    He’s been really tired all day. He’s on a combo of antihistamines and steroids. He’s much better though. The swelling is way down so just another 24 hours of rest and observation and he should be back to his normal self.

    The doctor called us today which was really nice. The hospital sent her the ER notes and she said it’s a good thing he went to the hospital. I guess his BP was not good when he got there. The pup has been stationed next to him all day. Dogs know.

  240. 240.

    J R in WV

    @Elizabelle:

    Poor Mariia, under attack by a left wing, er, uh, right wing? Anyway, an FBI task force, for getting help from a Republican on her school work. I’m not sure how much help he would be on Cyber Warfare, Espionage, etc…

    “That really pissed her off,” [her attorney Robert] Driscoll said. “She worked really hard. She spent a lot of weekends in the library. She went to all her classes.

    Went to all her classes… amazing, the hardness with which she worked. Weekends in the library? Wow!!! Amazing, a topless picture of Putin on her cell phone, vodka from a glass AK, amazing! So tough for the FBI to have picked her out of the crowd in DC!!!

  241. 241.

    efgoldman

    @Mary G:

    I didn’t think they’d really do it. This is insane.

    All for show by the kkkrazy kkkaukkkus. Will never get out of committee

  242. 242.

    WaterGirl

    @Mary G: I didn’t think they would really do it, either. Earlier today I read something on LGM or Lawfare where they talked about this effort on the articles of impeachment shows a division int the Republican caucus. For what it’s worth, the author didn’t think there would be enough votes for it to actually pass.

    If you’re interested, maybe skim the titles of today’s and yesterday’s threads at those two places – pretty sure Rosenstein was in the title.

  244. 244.

    WaterGirl

    @debbie: For anyone else who might have missed it in the morning thread, here is a copy & paste. I copied the comment right after the one from MomSense since there was also a concerning comment from OzarkHillilly. Scary morning thread – I’m almost afraid to read the rest of it.

    MomSense
    July 25, 2018 at 7:56 am
    My son was stung multiple times by wasps yesterday when he was in the woods. I wasn’t there but he was taken to the ER. He’s home and super puffed up but ok. From what his brother says, 20 minutes after being stung he broke out in massive hives and he started swelling up. He’s never had an allergic reaction before but apparently the high number of stings may mean he will now be reactive.

    Today he is going to be totally pampered.

    52
    OzarkHillbilly
    July 25, 2018 at 7:56 am
    @Immanentize: My truck got a black eye for a belated birthday present to me. 3rd time in a year and half somebody has tried, and the 2nd time somebody has succeeded in running me off the road.

  246. 246.

    WaterGirl

    @WaterGirl: And a bike accident for the Immp. Geez, you guys, could everybody maybe stay in a bubble so at least we don’t have to worry about Juicers???

  249. 249.

    MomSense

    @WaterGirl:

    Immp fell on his bike but thankfully no broken bones or serious injury. And Steve in the ATLs daughter was also run off the road.

    Ok Jackals be careful!!! Maybe we should all stay inside with our cats and dogs tonight.

  250. 250.

    TenguPhule

    The move by Reps. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) marks a dramatic escalation in the battle over Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein and the special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

    It also sets up a showdown with House Republican leaders, who have distanced themselves from calls to remove Rosenstein from office. But Meadows and Jordan stopped short of forcing an immediate vote on the measure, sparing Republican lawmakers for now from a potential dilemma.

    So not quite as insane as first feared.

    They’re creating an election slogan and possibly a paper trail.

  252. 252.

    Gin & Tonic

    @MomSense: I just got back from a bike ride. Thought I’d get it in before the rain. I was mistaken. But I can report that I did not injure myself, just got wet, thus helping to offset all the others from yesterday/today

  253. 253.

    TenguPhule

    The White House said that Mr. Trump wants to delay a planned meeting with Mr. Putin until after the investigation of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, is concluded.

    Well this is certainly not ominous at all. //

    Via FTFNYT.

  256. 256.

    Gin & Tonic

    @MomSense: It’s a little awkward when your planned ride is a long loop (that you know intimately) and when you’re at pretty much the opposite side of the loop from “home” you feel the first raindrops. Then it’s OK, my timing was off. Followed by OK, there’s no short way of doing this.

  258. 258.

    J R in WV

    @Corner Stone:

    OK, now. THAT’s crazy enough to be coming from a right-wing nut job!! White superiority isn’t a Democratic policy, fuck this guy!

    Sorry, Schrodinger for doubting your acuity on crazed nut jobs!!!

  259. 259.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Corner Stone: Yeah I am not sold on the wonderfulness of this Nichols guys or other never T Republicans. I will make an exception for J-Rubin.

    ETA: I had no idea that he was racist bigot as well. He has always seemed a bit supercilious to me.

  260. 260.

    Bill Arnold

    @zhena gogolia:

    I think she left a note and her friends don’t seem to be questioning that it was suicide.

    OK. Pictures of her spooked me a bit, and her artwork seems perhaps intended to provoke the Orthodox faithful. Am not in those circles (so not sure).
    Hopefully the Paris police won’t be lazy. (Google translate in Chrome does a readable translation to English.)

  263. 263.

    Bill Arnold

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Reportedly she was suffering from depression, was having great difficulty making ends meet in Paris, and had argued with her boyfriend.

    OK, Google translate was pretty poor but it says the same. Again, I’ll assume that the Paris police are duly suspicious (what with the certainty that she offended some powerful people.)

  266. 266.

    Amir Khalid

    @burnspbesq:
    I think Cher and Reba are basically getting long-service awards, the arts’ equivalent of a 25-year gold wristwatch.

  267. 267.

    debbie

    @MomSense:

    So glad he’s better. I’ve got a nephew who carries an epi-pen everywhere, and his mother never stops worrying.

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