Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The revolution will be supervised.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

Why did Dr. Oz lose? well, according to the exit polls, it’s because Fetterman won.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

Everybody saw this coming.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

In my day, never was longer.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

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158Comments

  5. 5.

    Corner Stone

    I knew they were going to pre-empt AMJoy for this GHWB bs. Dammit. Unfortunately I’m too awake to go back to bed. Will have to settle for the Boss Nap later this afternoon.

  6. 6.

    Ohio Mom

    Who knew that Thomas the Tank could be made palatable?

    I am reminded how grateful I’ve been that Ohio Son never went through a Thomas stage.

  8. 8.

    Corner Stone

    @Ohio Mom:

    I am reminded how grateful I’ve been that Ohio Son never went through a Thomas stage.

    Of all the nightmare kid’s programs my son went through I think Thomas was the least objectionable. At least you could build a train track together.

  11. 11.

    Corner Stone

    @mad citizen:

    I’m not getting any synch-up, but then I’ve never gotten rap.

    It doesn’t seem to be at all. Could just as easily be a video of a young person jogging through a park. I do think it’s a cute video though. I wonder many takes they had to do for the move where Thomas spins off the ramp and lands the right way on the adjacent track.

  12. 12.

    ruemara

    Ha! This is the internet I pay for. Sitting on a train hurtling toward SF. I think I shall grab a nap.

  14. 14.

    Corner Stone

    @NotMax: Not too much, thankfully. There was one show that I can’t remember at the moment because my mind has sealed any memory of it off as a self-preservation technique. It was truly heinous. I’m sure I’ll remember it at about 4AM tonight.

  17. 17.

    B.B.A.

    When I was a child in the early ’90s, the narrator on Thomas was a genial gravelly-voiced man with a grey beard. Years later I became acquainted with his other work. It took me a while to make the connection – kindly Mr. Conductor was played by potty-mouthed George Carlin.

  20. 20.

    Roger Moore

    @Corner Stone:

    “C’mon motherfuckers, c’mon” seems to be the gist of it.

    Yeah, the song is essentially “come at me bro, I’ll fuck you up with all my firepower”. Too bad he, Tupac, and Suge Knight took that stuff seriously and didn’t leave it to the songs.

  23. 23.

    trollhattan

    @JPL:
    The great thing about a busy world and a staff dedicated to keeping track of it: there’s literally always something to momentarily adopt as an excuse for any decision or behavior.

    “I’d do this thing but can’t, because of that volcano/hijack/insurrection/box of kittens.”

    Next Monday:
    “Mr. President, can you update us on kitten box?”
    “I can’t comment at this time. People tell me it’s complicated.”

  24. 24.

    trollhattan

    @Roger Moore:
    “I’ve got money, I’ve got power, I’ve got all the p*ssy, I can totally afford all these guns…why have these guns and not use them?”

    Sounds presidential.

  28. 28.

    gene108

    @Ohio Mom:

    My nephew, from the time he was 1 1/2 years old until about 5 or 6, was all Thomas all the time.

    He’s 14 now and barely remembers his Thomas and Friends stage.

  31. 31.

    Mike J

    @JPL:

    Trump canceled his press conference out of respect for H.W. Bush.

    Too old, tired, weak and narcissistic to pay respect to American dead in France, too old, tired, weak and narcissistic to pay respect to American dead at Arlington, too old, tired, weak and narcissistic to pay respect to American dead while at the G20.

  32. 32.

    Corner Stone

    @JPL:

    Trump canceled his press conference

    I, for one, could not be more thankful it’s canceled. Judging by the level of flopsweat he’s producing he could have very easily initiated WWIII. Or just turned into a puddle of goo right there at the podium, in front of the whole world.

  36. 36.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    we blowing this thread open? Cause this fuckin’ guy

    Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) called Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-N.Y.) tweet defending House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) Speaker campaign as “offensive” during an interview with Boston Public Radio on Friday.
    Ocasio-Cortez tweeted earlier in November that challenges to Pelosi becoming Speaker were “coming from her right, in an apparent effort to make the party even more conservative and bent toward corporate interests.”
    Moulton told BPR that her characterization of Pelosi’s opposition was “offensive” not only to him, but to legislators like Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) who also called for a change in leadership among House Democrats.
    “It’s offensive because [Sánchez] is in the progressive caucus, she is not to the right of Nancy Pelosi, and it’s also offensive because she’s a woman,” Moulton said.

  39. 39.

    Yarrow

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Isn’t his district a safe Dem district? How is he not being primaried? Ugh.

    @Roger Moore:

    Yeah, the song is essentially “come at me bro, I’ll fuck you up with all my firepower”.

    With a few small changes it could a Robert Mueller pump-up song. “Come at me bro. I’ll fuck you up with all my legal power.” “Tick tock, motherfuckers. Tick tock.”

  40. 40.

    Corner Stone

    @Yarrow:

    “Come at me bro. I’ll fuck you up with all my legal power.” “Tick tock, motherfuckers. Tick tock.”

    “You can call me Big Poppa, while I convict you on something proppa”

  41. 41.

    Ohio Mom

    @gene108: Maybe your nephew is just too cool to admit to his memories. And no doubt your sib and sib-in-law remember the Thomas stage, vividly.

    If for no other reason, all the money they spent on Thomas-related items. And all the energy that went to picking the stuff off the floor, lest it be stepped on. And then the time that went into decommissioning the collection, lugging it all to the Goodwill or to church for the annual rummage sale.

  42. 42.

    Corner Stone

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: The shapeless goo would continue to be in the WH as the R’s would still refuse to conduct oversight. There’s just no telling what 300 pounds of goo would do.

  43. 43.

    bemused

    @germy:

    My spouse laughed but we both agreed that as lifelong cat owners, we have definitely seen more sneering, disdainful glares from our kitties at dogs brought into our home with visitors.

  44. 44.

    germy

    @bemused: I would never see that with our cat because if a dog ever entered our home, our cat would disappear immediately, under a bed or other piece of furniture. We probably wouldn’t see her for days.

    She doesn’t f*ck with dogs…

  46. 46.

    Yarrow

    @Corner Stone:
    Some lawyers gon’ get paid, some traitors gon’ get flayed
    Reaction is delayed as ya run down the clock
    Indictments under seal, to deal you better blurt
    Ay yo, Mueller tell these traitors I’ma hit em where it hurts

    Tick tock, motherfuckers, tick tock!

  48. 48.

    NotMax

    Way OT. Alert the fashion police. TCM host Fred Karger is sporting a plaid tie with a striped shirt and a paisley pocket handkerchief.

  50. 50.

    Ella in New Mexico

    @Corner Stone: Just forget any news being discussed for the rest of the weekend. Whether it’s a natural disaster or a single election in Mississippi or a high profile shooting, if they can drop what little substance they DO cover for non-stop, emotionally laden blathering from anyone and everyone that is willing to get in front of a camera, well, that’s what they’re doing.

    They’ve got at least a 48-hour free pass again.

  51. 51.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Yarrow: yup, as the next few days are given over to Poppy worship, the Mueller train rolls on

    Carol Leonnig @ CarolLeonnig
    A LOT OF NEWS in Cohen’s late-night filing.
    He conferred with WH and Trump legal team when lying about Trump Moscow deal
    He says his primary crimes were done to protect the President
    He is cooperating in NY AG investigation of Trump Foundation.

    and because the link button is borking the blog for me:
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/cohen-seeks-time-served-prison-sentence-says-again-his-crimes-were-meant-to-protect-trump/2018/12/01/dd7436e8-1d24-4091-92c5-cd25c1b857bd_story.html?utm_term=.36a38c8e0b8f

  53. 53.

    bemused

    @germy:

    Our two kitties do disappear but the dog of one of our kids regular visits for a few days at a time so kitties get tired of hiding from the dog that does not belong. They hang out as long as the dog doesn’t get too close, then it’s growling and batting at the interloper. Not happy faces!

  56. 56.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Natasha Bertrand @ NatashaBertrand
    Cohen is cooperating with the NY AG on the Trump Foundation investigation and on a “separate open inquiry” ?

    there’s yer cancelled press conference right there

  58. 58.

    Corner Stone

    @Ella in New Mexico: The only positive is I saw Joy is in South Africa for an event so Jonathan Capeheart would be hosting. I like him just fine but he’s no Joy. Oh well, leaves me more time to watch TV about food.

  59. 59.

    Ella in New Mexico

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Also, too, have you seen this?

    NEW: Former top TRUMP fundraiser @ELLIOTT_BROIDY accepted at least $6M in laundered money to lobby the Trump administration to end an investigation by @TheJusticeDept into the Malaysian financier JHO LOW, according to court filings submitted Friday.

    In exchange for laundered $ from JHO LOW, @ELLIOTT_BROIDY “agreed to try to influence a potential nominee for a federal position that would have authority over the 1MDB forfeiture matters” & also was involved in preparing talking pts for convincing TRUMP

    WHY IT MATTERS: MUELLER has asked witnesses about @ELLIOTT_BROIDY, who has worked with several key figures — @MICHAELCOHEN212, RICK GATES, GEORGE NADER & TRUMP himself.
    @POTUS was ID’d in Fri court filings related to Broidy as “US Government Official # 1.”

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/30/us/politics/broidy-trump-foreign-money.html

    Ho-leee SHIT.

    Ok, so this begs the question: when exactly did Elliot Broidy decide to pay that Playboy model to abort “his” baby? And what did he expect in return?

  60. 60.

    NotMax

    @Yarrow

    If had to choose an adjective would go for bold. Always dapper, unlike Ben M., who was apparently born rumpled.

    Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

  62. 62.

    Corner Stone

    @NotMax: I don’t mind a *little* sartorial discretion, if one has the mindset to pull it off. But that tri-combo is just begging for a low tumbrel number.

  63. 63.

    Suzanne

    Spawn the Younger liked Daniel Tiger and Caillou. Daniel Tiger is adorable. Caillou makes me stabby.

  71. 71.

    Ella in New Mexico

    @JPL:

    Trump canceled his press conference out of respect for H.W. Bush.
    yeah right

    Those pics of him giving MBS and Putin the green-eyed stare as they high-fived tell you everything you need to know. He’s back at the hotel, eating his feelings and staring at photoshopped pictures of he and Putee on horseback.

  72. 72.

    Ohio Mom

    @Suzanne: Yeah, I’d like to see how long Caillou’s mother would last with a real kid. One that doesn’t let you sleep the night, for starters,

  74. 74.

    pluky

    @Yarrow: Very much a safe Dem seat. He barely beat the incumbent two (3?) cycles ago because the incumbent was up to his eyeballs in a corruption scandal. Things for him had been copacetic until his major own goal in going after Pelosi. Judging by the reception he got at an Amesbury town hall meeting a few weeks ago, the women who are the local Democratic Party establishment, a primary challenge in 2020 is a pretty good bet.

  76. 76.

    Immanentize

    I have a suggestion… When people say super positive things about HW Bush this weekend, realize many of those folks are saying what they do to criticize Trump. AND smile knowing that is exactly how Trump is receiving the Bush praise.

    Tick Tock, crazy clock,
    POTUS shyt is off his block.

  77. 77.

    JPL

    fuckem

    “I like George Bush very much and support him and always will. But I disagree with him when he talks of a kinder, gentler America. I think if this country gets any kinder or gentler, it’s literally going to cease to exist,” Trump told @Playboy in 1990.

    https://twitter.com/michaelkruse

  78. 78.

    JPL

    @Ohio Mom: Next month I become a grandmother and the blog has taught me a lot. My sons liked Scooby Doo and Mr. Rogers. I’m behind the times.

  81. 81.

    Suzanne

    @Immanentize: No kidding. The “nice” things people are saying are in, uhhhhh, stark-ass contrast.

    “Carried the burdens of the office with dignity”, “took his job seriously”, “looked for compromise”, “brave”, “intelligent”…… all of that is SHADE.

  82. 82.

    Yarrow

    @JPL: He is such a horrible person. I saw the bit with him and Angela Merkel. Someone in the press asked if he regretted any of his comments about the Bush family in the past and he just said, “Thank you very much everybody” like he was ending the press availability and then took another question. Such a chickenshit. Can’t even defend his own words.

  83. 83.

    Suzanne

    @JPL: Daniel Tiger is the second-gen of Mr. Rogers, an animated show with the characters from the Land of Make-Believe. It’s really cute.

  84. 84.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Immanentize: AND smile knowing that is exactly how Trump is receiving the Bush praise.

    good advice for tolerating the schmaltz, and true, it’s just frustrating that our sentimentalized culture so often blocks us from discussing the real flaws of the recently departed

  87. 87.

    JPL

    @Suzanne: The one that I keep hearing is decent. How will they describe trump when he’s gone. I assume it will sound similar to the rap song above.

  89. 89.

    trollhattan

    @JPL:
    When Trump takes his dirt nap I wonder how far NPR will go to interview supporters with nice things to say? “We got through to Mr. Smith at Marion Correctional Facility, where he had these thoughts to share about his friend and business partner, President Trump.”

  90. 90.

    Amir Khalid

    @trollhattan:
    His full name Low Taek Jho. He used to go by Stanley Low. Fun fact: he’s from Penang, the home state of Dell laptops, Jimmy Choo, and Fat Leonard Francis, the ship maintenance contractor who swindled the US Navy and corrupted one-third of its admirals.

  91. 91.

    Suzanne

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    just frustrating that our sentimentalized culture so often blocks us from discussing the real flaws of the recently departed

    Is it? Excepting very few absolutely terrible people (bin Laden, Hitler, Milosevic, Trump when it’s his time), I figure I can wait until the person is in the ground before saying anything really negative. That’s not because of how I feel about the person who died, but more for anyone around me who might be having more complicated feelings on the issue.

  92. 92.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Charles P. Pierce @ CharlesPPierce
    Somehow, I don’t think we’re going to be seeing all these don’t speak ill of the dead encomia when Jimmy Carter, another good and decent man who was a one-term president, passes.

    Pierce also tweeted that his obit for Poppy will piss everyone off. I’m gonna guess I won’t be pissed, and I’ll be glad for his in-depth knowledge and recall of Iran-Contra, The Forgotten Scandal.

  95. 95.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Suzanne: we’re not mourning a friend or a relative, we’re discussing a president and a presidency. When we wait an appropriate time to discuss the warts, the discussion will have moved on, and all that remains is the hazy glow of the teenage war-hero, octogenarian sky-diver and Hillary voter. All fine things. He was also an accomplice to Nixon, if a secondary one, and his pardon of Weinberger was as much obstruction of justice as anything trump has done so far, maybe more so (IANAL).

  103. 103.

    J R in WV

    @Amir Khalid:

    …swindled the US Navy and corrupted one-third of its admirals.

    I can’t say that I was disappointed or surprised by the behavior of the Navy Admirals in this case. They seem to be busily selling out their military service, the Navy, in order to ingratiate themselves with giant Military corporations in order to become even more wealthy after “retirement!”

    So why wouldn’t such sell-outs take money from a Malaysian contractor like Fat Leonard? More direct, true, but who cares, it’s a long way from NCIS, right? Bastards!

  105. 105.

    Raven

    “WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s threatened government shutdown over his border wall would leave most federal workers untouched but would, ironically, hit those who actually guard the border: agents for ICE and Border Patrol, who would likely have to work without pay for the duration of the impasse.”

    Dumbass motherfucker!

  107. 107.

    Roger Moore

    @JPL:

    The one that I keep hearing is decent. How will they describe trump when he’s gone.

    The only decency George Willie Horton Bush had was to let surrogates do his dirty work so his hands looked clean. And I have no doubt that Republicans will find something great to say about Trump at his funeral. They managed to convert Nixon into an elder statesman by the time he died, so it’s no big step to try rehabilitating Trump. Besides, you don’t know how horrible the next Republican is going to be. Nobody thought they’d be pining for the days of Shrub, but plenty of people are these days.

  108. 108.

    Elizabelle

    @germy: I think the Democrats might pick up a 41st seat. Looks like they were on track to do so, before the GOP fraud. The other counties, I believe, had the Democrat ahead. Be interesting to see what the election board does.

    North Carolina has an excellent governor, Roy Cooper, Democrat, former state attorney general elected multiple times, even while GOP held the governorship. He is going to be watching this very closely.

    I would like to see some people do jail time and fines for this, if fraud can be proven.

  109. 109.

    Elizabelle

    @Roger Moore: Trump is not redeemable. Further, people are going to be high fiving, toasting with champagne or another beverage of choice, and dancing in the streets when he kicks. (Preferably in prison, and by then referred to as an illegitimate president.)

    CNN International is going to have a field day once we’re on a Trump death watch or aftermath.

  110. 110.

    West of the Rockies

    Totally OT… I am in Santa Cruz, CA, with my daughter and my girlfriend. There is a street here called Squid Row! I love it.

  111. 111.

    Suzanne

    I will credit him for the ADA. Considering how many of my clients still hate it for the significant additional cost it adds to construction, and it is thirty years later, I can acknowledge that it wasn’t necessarily the politically easy thing to do.

  113. 113.

    Corner Stone

    @Baud: There is a considerable amount to criticize WJC for, both as a person and a president. The difference is there will be none of the obsessive tongue bathing Reagan and now GHWB will get.
    I mean, Lee Atwater was GHWB’s 1988 campaign chief. Memory hole that, you bunch of asslicking toady media.

  114. 114.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    @trollhattan: I guarantee when it is Mitch McConnell, the media will practically knob slob him and making it was a passing of Churchill (Chuck the Toad will look like a tear stained boy who just dropped his ice cream cone) while if it is Speaker Pelosi, it will be a bunch of smart asses that will make you want to take an AR-15 to the TV.

  116. 116.

    JMG

    Because Americans in general are very immature (I’m no exception, heaven knows), a dispassionate assessment of an important historical figure on his or her death is impossible, although you’d think if someone passes on at 94 we ought to be able to manage it. Bush had a record full of both good and bad acts. By all accounts, off duty he was a good fellow. Why is that too difficult a record to assess. It’s not like he was Pol Pot.

  118. 118.

    Corner Stone

    OMG. If anyone has not seen the most recent twit on Cole’s feed you owe it to yourself to take 15 seconds and see this clip of Trump bailing off the stage.

  120. 120.

    Corner Stone

    @JMG:

    although you’d think if someone passes on at 94 we ought to be able to manage it. Bush had a record full of both good and bad acts. By all accounts, off duty he was a good fellow.

    I may have just been lazy or remiss, but I did not hear about all the inappropriate touching GHWB did through the years until basically the #MeToo movement era came up.
    I’m just not a fan of people telling us that Person X was the only one who could have skillfully completed some series of events, that largely happened outside his purview. Prudent decisions are prudent, but I think there was a lot going on that someone else took control of.

  126. 126.

    NotMax

    @Corner Stone

    Yup. Airbrushing warts is best left to visual artists.

    Can’t resist a little Godwinning:

    “He was a best-selling author and one woman man, a decorated veteran, a vegetarian, and disciplined dog lover.”

  127. 127.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @JPL:
    I think that was someone near the camera, imitating Trump’s nasally voice.

  129. 129.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Accounts vary on when, exactly, and with whom, the practice of tracking migrants with numbers on their arms originated, but it has now become a part of the process for all who wish to seek asylum at one of the U.S. ports of entry in El Paso.

    Jesus H. Christ.

  134. 134.

    J R in WV

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Accounts vary on when, exactly, and with whom, the practice of tracking migrants with numbers on their arms originated, but it has now become a part of the process for all who wish to seek asylum at one of the U.S. ports of entry in El Paso.

    Jesus H. Christ.

    Oh, no, does no one in that office know anything about recent world history? Obviously Not!!!

    But otherwise, no surprise, I expect there are employees of that agency who would shiver with glee, actually, to be able to do that. Like Mr. Miller, white house aid and famous Jewish fascist.

  136. 136.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @NotMax:

    (Although I foretold this in this very place months ago, there is no pride whatsoever in saying that.)

    I have a vague recollection of someone predicting numbers on arms — had forgotten it was you, sorry — but at the time wrote it off as mere fevered hyperbole.

  138. 138.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @JPL:

    It is, quite literally, sickening.

    @J R in WV:

    This is on Kristjen Nielsen, whether she actually signed off on the policy or not. What a monster.

  144. 144.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @NotMax: I remember Chuck Todd telling me that what was important about John Boehner wasn’t the obstructionism, the caving to the right wing that allowed so many issues to fester and metastasize, most notably immigration, the abuse of the oversight to conduct among others the Benghazi hearings, the important thing was that Boehner sang zippitty doo-da on his way out the door. That was the John Boehner you got to know off camera, over a drink, on the golf course.

    Fuck their “off duty” personae. Or at least, bump it down to the end of the obit.

  146. 146.

    Mandalay

    So this question that Trump was asked at the G20 did not sit well with him (at around 3:20 in the video):

    – Reporter: “Do you regret any of your comments about George Bush or his family in the past?”
    – Trump: Thank you very much everybody. Thank you. Thank you very much.

    Weak, gutless and cowardly.

  147. 147.

    Kathleen

    @Ohio Mom: LOL. My oldest grandson was obsessed with Thomas. I should send him a link to that mashup. He’d probably get a kick out of it today.

  148. 148.

    Mandalay

    So this question that Trump was asked at the G20 did not sit well with him (at around 3:20 in the video):

    – Reporter: “Do you regret any of your comments about George Bush or his family in the past?”
    – Trump: Thank you very much everybody. Thank you. Thank you very much.

    Weak, gutless and cowardly.

  152. 152.

    Elizabelle

    FWIW WRT the marking of arms in magic marker: A piece of paper can be intimidated away from you, or lost, or duplicated. A number on an arm, placed there by a humanitarian aid worker who is cross-referencing it with a list of names that the asylum seeker can see prepared, might be preferable in that situation. It almost seems less prone to corruption, too. Maybe, maybe not.

    YMMV. Even this rudimentary system seems better than having the migrants stand in line, for hours and hours and hours. They are returned to the bridge, in vans, when their numbers come up.

    Yes, we should have more officers available to process.

    I don’t know why we can’t arrange for safe areas, in their country of origin, where they can await processing of their asylum petitions, most of which are not going to be successful anyway. Let the money and services flow to and be provided within their countries, not to the U.S. prison-industrial contracting complex up here.

    A lot of this is economic migration, in addition to fleeing violence in their communities. Failed states. Any solution is going to take a lot of time and money. Would like to see some much finer minds than anyone involved with the Trump maladministration, and other opportunists, start coming up with some ideas.

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