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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Did I miss the Flynn sentencing memo?

Did I miss the Flynn sentencing memo?

by Betty Cracker|  December 4, 20185:09 pm| 117 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Trump Crime Cartel, Trump-Russia, General Stupidity

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Been waiting for my phone to DING with glad tidings of Muellermas, but so far, nothing. Maybe because Trump tanked the economy by lying about reaching a deal with China? Hmmph!

Here’s something amusing to divert us while we wait: Angela Merkel using one of my very favorite English words — SHITSTORM — in remarks that are otherwise in German:

“I brought a shitstorm on myself.” Merkel holds her hands up after calling the Internet “new territory” in a speech in 2013. https://t.co/grLy2qOL7u

— Matthew Moore (@mattmoorek) December 4, 2018

Good to see evidence that the linguistic borrowing isn’t Einweg.

Anecdote: I was driving myself and two friends around Salzburg many years ago, and passing motorists kept waving at me and saying “Einbahn!” in a pleasant tone. I asked my friends, “WTF is Einbahn?” But they didn’t know either. I eventually figured out I was going the wrong way on a one-way street (when a policeman pulled me over and politely informed me, in English).

I couldn’t believe how nice they were about it! Pull that shit in America, and 10 people will flip you off and call you a stupid fucking bitch before you get a block down the road.

Open thread!

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Previous Post: « Reading and Headline Writing are Fundamental: Epstein Lawsuit Edition
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Reader Interactions

117Comments

  1. 1.

    Corner Stone

    December 4, 2018 at 5:11 pm

    No, they are crook teasing us.

  2. 2.

    Booger

    December 4, 2018 at 5:13 pm

    Like the story of the guy visiting Germany who remembered that he had parked his car on EinBahnStrasse.

  3. 3.

    cope

    December 4, 2018 at 5:14 pm

    A commenter in a previous thread said the sentencing process can be done electronically and can be filed any time before midnight.

  4. 4.

    Lapassionara

    December 4, 2018 at 5:14 pm

    If they do legal filings like we did, they have until midnight Eastern time to file the doc on Pacer. This assumes they don’t ask for and get an extension,

  5. 5.

    germy

    December 4, 2018 at 5:15 pm

    One of the lesser known rules of William Strunk's seminal work "The Elements of Style" is that the name "Steve Bannon" should never appear in the same paragraph as the phrase "sex robot." pic.twitter.com/VtkwMK8Ayp— Ryan Mac (@RMac18) December 4, 2018

  6. 6.

    Corner Stone

    December 4, 2018 at 5:15 pm

    Been waiting for my phone to DING with glad tidings of Muellermas, but so far, nothing.

    IMO, Mueller is going to play coy with this release, if it comes public, and not detail all the dirty shit he’s got.

  7. 7.

    Lapassionara

    December 4, 2018 at 5:15 pm

    Jeez, Cope. You’re good AND quick.

  8. 8.

    oldgold

    December 4, 2018 at 5:16 pm

    “ESTRAGON: I can’t go on like this.
    VLADIMIR: That’s what you think.”
    ― Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot

  9. 9.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    December 4, 2018 at 5:16 pm

    The folk in Salzburg are eternally grateful that I never drove there.

  10. 10.

    Corner Stone

    December 4, 2018 at 5:17 pm

    @germy: TBH, whose name would you care to see in a headline event about sex robots? Unless it also contained the words, “accidental death by robot assphyxiation?

  11. 11.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 4, 2018 at 5:17 pm

    Good to see evidence that the linguistic borrowing isn’t Einweg.

    German has many English loanwords, including (oddly enough) the wonderful abgefuckt.

  12. 12.

    rikyrah

    December 4, 2018 at 5:19 pm

    I bet it comes right before the evening shows.

  13. 13.

    germy

    December 4, 2018 at 5:21 pm

    @Corner Stone: Have you seen this Tracey Ullman clip?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6NqscIsidQ

    Melania Bot

  14. 14.

    Betty Cracker

    December 4, 2018 at 5:22 pm

    @Corner Stone: My money is on Glenn Harlan Reynolds being the first human to meet that awful fate.

  15. 15.

    cope

    December 4, 2018 at 5:23 pm

    @Lapassionara: Just lucky this time. You have no idea how many times I have tried to make a point first and by the time I have pecked it out on this steam powered iPad, my comment comes in at #42.

  16. 16.

    rikyrah

    December 4, 2018 at 5:25 pm

    Black Women Decided The 2016 Democratic Nominee. They’ll Have An Even Bigger Say In 2020.
    Know anyone?

    Ben Smith
    Posted on December 3, 2018, at 11:23 a.m. ET

    The biggest missed political opportunity in recent memory is probably Deval Patrick’s decision, after losing quite a bit of sleep, not to run for president in 2016.

    At the time, the path seemed fairly clear: The former Massachusetts governor could run as Barack Obama had, on unifying optimism, progressive politics, and a strong connection to the black voters who make up a pillar of the primary electorate.

    Hillary Clinton’s team was, Darren Sands reported, quietly afraid of him. And the results of that election left Patrick intensely frustrated.

    One reason for that is obvious: Clinton was a far weaker candidate than the media and Democratic establishment thought.

    The other possible reason just as obvious, but less discussed: Patrick could have won the primary. The Democratic primaries, as they are currently built, favor a black candidate. The winning formula in recent years has been to build a coalition from older black voters plus another group: white progressives for Obama; white moderates for Clinton. And the Democratic electorates in Deep South states, which vote early in the primary process, are dominated by black voters. That was where Clinton won in 2016, despite no particular attention to the region, and where Bernie Sanders lost it.

    “When Southern black voters united behind a Democratic candidate, the South becomes a formidable firewall that is hard to overcome for any candidate who performs poorly among this group, which comprises the base of the Democratic coalition,” wrote Seth McKee, a political scientist at Texas Tech, in a compelling new study of the 2016 election in the South titled The Future Ain’t What It Used to Be.

  17. 17.

    Mustang Bobby

    December 4, 2018 at 5:25 pm

    I love how onomatopoetic German is. The word for exhaust pipe is “auspuff.”

  18. 18.

    --bd

    December 4, 2018 at 5:28 pm

    Another piece of the puzzle?

    https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/four-defendants-charged-panama-papers-investigation

    I’m of the opinion that the Mueller team is trying to investigate as much international money laundering / Russian Mafia stuff as possible while stringing the “Trump / Russia” investigation along. The keep pulling threads, and more stuff unravels every week.

  19. 19.

    Mart

    December 4, 2018 at 5:29 pm

    I thought Ausfahrt must be like the biggest German town I never heard of before I realized the signs were for highway exits…

  20. 20.

    germy

    December 4, 2018 at 5:30 pm

    Various WaPo headlines up now:


    13 Trump entities being subpoenaed in case targeting president’s D.C. hotel

    U.S. stocks battered as U.S.-China trade deal appears to sputter

  21. 21.

    Corner Stone

    December 4, 2018 at 5:30 pm

    @germy: That was good. “Look! vintage Chanel!”

  22. 22.

    germy

    December 4, 2018 at 5:32 pm

    Sex robot conference featuring Steve Bannon implodes as he loses multiple Montana speaking gigs

  23. 23.

    trollhattan

    December 4, 2018 at 5:32 pm

    I’m going to miss Frau Merkel very much. She may well be the last adult in the room.

    She will certainly celebrate wrapping up.

  24. 24.

    Quaker in a Basement

    December 4, 2018 at 5:33 pm

    Not an encouraging sign when Germany is the picture of warmth and friendliness in comparison with us.

  25. 25.

    ThresherK

    December 4, 2018 at 5:33 pm

    My wife and I were xc skiing in Quebec’s Laurentides and kept falling trying to go down a hill after passing a sign saying access interdit.

    We learned that bit of French afterwards, at the lodge.

  26. 26.

    germy

    December 4, 2018 at 5:33 pm

    @Corner Stone: I like the employee of the quarter: “You handled the British election. You made everybody lose!”

  27. 27.

    Corner Stone

    December 4, 2018 at 5:34 pm

    @Betty Cracker: I think the sex robots are all going to be like adolescents, mentally. They won’t know their own strength until something awful happens.
    “No! No! I said DON’T put it on me!!”

  28. 28.

    Keith P.

    December 4, 2018 at 5:34 pm

    She literally said “Shitstorm”. I would have figured that German for “shitstorm” would be “SCHEIßE STURM!!!”

  29. 29.

    tobie

    December 4, 2018 at 5:34 pm

    @rikyrah: I don’t mean to detract from the gist of the article but when I read lines like the following, I still wince:

    One reason for that is obvious: Clinton was a far weaker candidate than the media and Democratic establishment thought.

    I can’t tell–was she weak or vilified mercilessly by just about everyone under the sun? Betty Cracker recently posted a clip of her from the campaign in which, Cassandra like, she predicted Trump was a compromised candidate. More than the content, I was struck at how strong her voice sounded in the clip. This stood out to me since I complained during the campaign that she needed a voice coach. It was scary to see how our likes and dislikes are so easily manipulated.

  30. 30.

    lollipopguild

    December 4, 2018 at 5:37 pm

    Four years of high school german and one thing i remember is “Zug hellfarht’ or “have a bright journey” or “have a good trip”.

  31. 31.

    phein55

    December 4, 2018 at 5:37 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: My uncle Rich retired from the AF after 20 years as a German/Russian linguist, spent his time in West Berlin and Shemya, “listening.” Once told me that the two funniest things he heard a German national say were:

    Ich kindere sie nicht, and
    Das geflackt mir

  32. 32.

    TenguPhule

    December 4, 2018 at 5:39 pm

    Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) on Tuesday defended Trump’s response to the killing of Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi, telling a CNN host, “Journalists disappear all over the country.”

    Khashoggi was killed by a team of Saudi agents inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in October. Trump and senior members of his administration, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, have insisted that no single piece of evidence irrefutably links Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the killing.

    Several senators stated after a closed-door briefing by CIA Director Gina Haspel on Tuesday that the evidence overwhelmingly points to the crown prince’s involvement.

    But Stewart echoed Trump, telling CNN’s Brianna Keilar that “no one can say” for certain what happened and maintaining that it is in U.S. interests not to allow the relationship with Saudi Arabia to rupture.

    “We have to have a relationship with some players that we don’t agree with,” Stewart said. “Journalists disappear all over the country. Twenty journalists have been killed in Mexico. You don’t think it’s happened in Turkey and China? Of course it does. And yet, we have to have a relationship with these individuals, or with these countries.”

    JFC. Worst cult I’ve ever seen.

  33. 33.

    Corner Stone

    December 4, 2018 at 5:41 pm

    @Quaker in a Basement:

    Not an encouraging sign when Germany is the picture of warmth and friendliness in comparison with us.

    “We Germans aren’t all smiles und sunshine”
    Simpson’s YouTube link

  34. 34.

    germy

    December 4, 2018 at 5:41 pm

    Merkel skypes Donald Trump:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rMo87P-nDc

    (Another Tracey Ullman bit)

  35. 35.

    Mike in NC

    December 4, 2018 at 5:41 pm

    Steve Bannon owning a sex robot makes perfect sense. His lack of personal hygiene is well known, after all.

  36. 36.

    tobie

    December 4, 2018 at 5:43 pm

    @phein55: There are other classics like “Die Leute sind ausgeflippt.” I always liked the German term “Talk-Meister” for talk show host.

  37. 37.

    TenguPhule

    December 4, 2018 at 5:47 pm

    @Mike in NC:

    Steve Bannon owning a sex robot makes perfect sense.

    Even robots should be allowed to choose their own partners.

  38. 38.

    sukabi

    December 4, 2018 at 5:47 pm

    @Corner Stone: Crook teasing? You asked for this.

  39. 39.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    December 4, 2018 at 5:47 pm

    @tobie: She got more votes. All our candidates should be weak like that.

  40. 40.

    Betty Cracker

    December 4, 2018 at 5:50 pm

    @lollipopguild: “Hell Fart” would be a great band name. I call it!

  41. 41.

    TenguPhule

    December 4, 2018 at 5:53 pm

    Trump plans to hold a second summit meeting early next year with Kim Jong-un, even though North Korea has failed to follow through with promises to start dismantling its nuclear weapons program, John R. Bolton, the national security adviser, said on Tuesday.

    “They have not lived up to the commitments so far,” Mr. Bolton said. “That’s why I think Trump thinks another summit is likely to be productive.”

    WASF.

  42. 42.

    Ryan

    December 4, 2018 at 5:53 pm

    Mueller works past 5pm? The courts also work past 5PM?

  43. 43.

    jacy

    December 4, 2018 at 5:53 pm

    @germy:

    Sheesh, that’s almost like it came from a random sentence generator.

    Why is life now constantly like Mad Libs played drunken goblins?

  44. 44.

    germy

    December 4, 2018 at 5:54 pm

    The only German phrase I remember is “Komm, gib mir deine Hand”

  45. 45.

    Mart

    December 4, 2018 at 5:54 pm

    @TenguPhule: Speaking of Nazi Propagandists, these two young atheists have over two hours on Youtube making fun of Bannon’s “Torchbearer” a religious propaganda film starring Duck Dynasty’s gay hating old man with a beard. Their “short” fifteen minute review of the film’s trailer is here. WIth youth like Hugo & Jake, maybe there is hope.

  46. 46.

    TenguPhule

    December 4, 2018 at 5:55 pm

    Roger Stone cites fifth amendment and says he won’t give documents to Senate

    Sen Dianne Feinstein
    ✔
    @SenFeinstein
    Roger Stone’s attorney sent a letter this week stating Stone won’t provide documents or appear for an interview before the committee. http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?a=files.serve&File_id=FE389CD2-53FF-4377-A9A9-45FB5F18B559 …

    1,529
    11:08 AM – Dec 4, 2018

  47. 47.

    germy

    December 4, 2018 at 5:55 pm

    @jacy: This timeline is the creation of some cosmic, antic Malice.

  48. 48.

    Doug

    December 4, 2018 at 5:56 pm

    @Keith P.: Shitstorm has been a good German word for a number of years now. I forget what the famous precipitating incident was, but it was even named Anglicism of the year for 2011.

  49. 49.

    TenguPhule

    December 4, 2018 at 5:57 pm

    @germy:

    This timeline is the creation of some cosmic, antic Malice.

    There has been speculation that one of the jackals is actually dead and we’re all trapped in his personal hell.

  50. 50.

    Shana

    December 4, 2018 at 5:58 pm

    @Corner Stone: Milo? Roger Stone?

  51. 51.

    NotMax

    December 4, 2018 at 6:02 pm

    OT.

    Do they even make gold-plated whiplash collars?

    In Twist, Trump Now Bemoaning Military Spending As ‘Crazy’

  52. 52.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 4, 2018 at 6:04 pm

    rarely is the question asked, is our Democrats learning? It would seem so

    ‏@ jamalraad
    This is great. @ RepMarkPocan writes: “No Labels is slick, and I got duped. But no other current or newly elected member of Congress should fall for its shtick.”

  53. 53.

    Mike J

    December 4, 2018 at 6:04 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    The folk in Salzburg are eternally grateful that I never drove there.

    I used to drive in Boston. I have no idea what the locals thought when I drove around in Europe, but as a Boston driver I didn’t let the opinions of others determine my own self worth.

  54. 54.

    debbie

    December 4, 2018 at 6:06 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    I read somewhere that he may be waiting for the new Congress to be seated.

  55. 55.

    SiubhanDuinne

    December 4, 2018 at 6:08 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    “They have not lived up to the commitments so far,” Mr. Bolton said. “That’s why I think Trump thinks another summit is likely to be productive.”

    John Bolton refers to his boss by last name only? No title, no honorific? That’s some lèse-majesté, that is.

  56. 56.

    debbie

    December 4, 2018 at 6:08 pm

    @Mustang Bobby:

    I like how long the words are. Makes for easy subtitle reading at German films. Sometimes, there’s even enough time to reread and ponder the words.

  57. 57.

    Mandalay

    December 4, 2018 at 6:09 pm

    @tobie:

    …she predicted Trump was a compromised candidate…

    It’s doubly ironic that “weak” Clinton not only accurately foretold the problems with Trump’s presidency, but at the time I vividly recall that she was pounded by the media for being negative, and spending too much time on attacking Trump.

    Of course if she had just ignored him she would have been pounded by the media for being a weak candidate who was afraid to criticize Trump.

  58. 58.

    trollhattan

    December 4, 2018 at 6:09 pm

    @NotMax:
    Huh. All those parades busting the budget?

  59. 59.

    Betty Cracker

    December 4, 2018 at 6:10 pm

    @Mike J: IMO, Boston drivers are the worst. Merge? Hahaha!

  60. 60.

    Corner Stone

    December 4, 2018 at 6:10 pm

    @Shana: If you include the concept of a sex robot manually shoving someone’s head up their own ass until they die of suffocation…then the line forms to the right.

  61. 61.

    Mike J

    December 4, 2018 at 6:15 pm

    @Betty Cracker: Just a different mindset. Once you’re in the groove it’s pretty easy. If you want to merge, you just go. If you sit around and wait for somebody to let you in, you’re going to have a long, long wait.

    Compare to Seattle where I have seen cars come to a complete stop on a major (40mph limit, 4 lane) road to let somebody enter the road from a driveway. Infuriating when the person would have only had to wait for two more cars to pass anyway.

  62. 62.

    zhena gogolia

    December 4, 2018 at 6:16 pm

    Betty, you should read this piece by Asha Rangappa:

    https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/12/03/donald-trumps-moscow-deal-framers-222752

  63. 63.

    Keith P.

    December 4, 2018 at 6:17 pm

    @Ryan: Haven’t you ever heard of Judge Harold T. Stone?

  64. 64.

    Gin & Tonic

    December 4, 2018 at 6:18 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    IMO, Boston drivers are the worst.

    Says Florida Woman. Ha!

  65. 65.

    NotMax

    December 4, 2018 at 6:18 pm

    And now there’s Qexit.

    Qatar will withdraw from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Gulf nation’s Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi announced.
    [snip]
    Since 2013, the amount of oil Qatar produced has steadily declined from about 728,000 barrels per day in 2013 to about 607,000 barrels per day in 2017, or just under two percent of OPEC’s total output.
    [snip]
    Qatar is the world’s biggest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG), producing almost 30 percent of the world total.

    According to Al Jazeera’s Bellis, Al-Kaabi said the declaration was purely a business decision.

    “Al-Kaabi said ‘We are a small player in OPEC, and I’m a businessman, it doesn’t make sense for me to focus on things that are not our strength, and gas is our strength so that is why we’ve made this decision’,” Bellis said.
    [snip]
    Qatar shares the world’s largest known natural gas field, the North Field, with Iran. Source

  66. 66.

    sukabi

    December 4, 2018 at 6:21 pm

    @TenguPhule: nothing says GUILTY better than refusing to cooperate.

  67. 67.

    debbie

    December 4, 2018 at 6:23 pm

    NPR had an interview with Richard Hass (GWB administration) about Trump’s foreign policy strategy. He’s calling bullshit on Trump without saying it straight out.

  68. 68.

    Mike in NC

    December 4, 2018 at 6:25 pm

    @Betty Cracker: They’re replacing some stop lights at intersections around here with traffic circles (supposedly safer), but the rules call for people to yield to oncoming traffic. The notorious “rotaries” in the Boston area, by comparison, are merely a great game of ‘chicken’.

  69. 69.

    debbie

    December 4, 2018 at 6:28 pm

    @Mike in NC:

    They’ve done that here. I have to go through six of them when I go to get my hair cut. Boston’s are better because they’re bigger. Here, the turns are kinda tight when you’re not sure of your exit.

  70. 70.

    TenguPhule

    December 4, 2018 at 6:28 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: No, that’s just me refusing to give him the title.

  71. 71.

    Mike J

    December 4, 2018 at 6:31 pm

    @debbie: They just installed one in my neighborhood. Came back two weeks later with several large boulders to fill the center island as people kept driving over it.

  72. 72.

    debbie

    December 4, 2018 at 6:33 pm

    @Mike J:

    LOL, wish I’d thought of that trick. The real problem here is the signage. There are arrows pointing everywhere, but no one can tell which road is being pointed to.

  73. 73.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    December 4, 2018 at 6:34 pm

    @Betty Cracker: You’ve obviously never driven in Seoul.

  74. 74.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    December 4, 2018 at 6:35 pm

    I couldn’t believe how nice they were about it! Pull that shit in America, and 10 people will flip you off and call you a stupid fucking bitch before you get a block down the road.

    The time I was going the wrong way in San Francisco, which is incredibility easy to do, the other drivers merely flashed their lights at me.

  75. 75.

    rikyrah

    December 4, 2018 at 6:38 pm

    @tobie:
    I understand.
    Hillary did two big mistakes in 2016:
    1. Not treating Wilmer the way that she treated Senator Obama in 2008
    2. Not taking the GOP Voter Suppression as seriously as she should have…..a reminder…
    The number of people denied the franchise in those key states was 2-3 times the margin of victory for Dolt45

  76. 76.

    Regnad Kcin

    December 4, 2018 at 6:40 pm

    Last time we were in Germany, my wife went out and got lost in Berlin. Called me up. “What street are you on?”

    “Einbahn,” came the reply.

  77. 77.

    A Ghost To Most

    December 4, 2018 at 6:58 pm

    @Betty Cracker: I used to think that, until I drove in Paris. They tell me Rome puts Paris to shame.

  78. 78.

    Mnemosyne

    December 4, 2018 at 7:00 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I honestly think that the number of people who like politics to be vitriolic and take-no-prisoners is actually pretty low. The vast majority of people just want the government to get shit done like fill their potholes, have police/fire protection, etc.

    The problem is the small number of screamers who have managed to convince people that the other side wants to literally kill them so they have to hit first.

    This is a long and rambling way to say that I can see how a politician who just wants to get stuff done could be suckered by the soothing tones of No Labels, and it’s good that they’re admitting they got suckered and promise to try not to do it again.

  79. 79.

    Fair Economist

    December 4, 2018 at 7:10 pm

    @tobie:

    More than the content, I was struck at how strong her voice sounded in the clip. This stood out to me since I complained during the campaign that she needed a voice coach. It was scary to see how our likes and dislikes are so easily manipulated.

    It’s not *that* easy. There was a tremendous amount of work generating dislike and disapproval for Clinton – literally billions of free air in the TV networks alone, plus newspapers, plus social media. It was hard not to be sucked in. I suspect a lot of the reason CDS missed me is that I don’t consume much of the media used for manipulation – I almost never watch TV news, only read newspaper some of the time, and only use social media when forced to.

  80. 80.

    Amir Khalid

    December 4, 2018 at 7:10 pm

    @Quaker in a Basement:
    The manager of Liverpool FC, an exuberant German named Jürgen Klopp, was just fined £8,000 for running onto the pitch before the end of the match to celebrate a goal.

  81. 81.

    PaulWartenberg

    December 4, 2018 at 7:11 pm

    on the other side of the pond, the UK Parliament just voted on measures that defeated May’s attempts to fast-track the Brexit vote, meaning it’s very likely her deal is going down to defeat on the next vote.

    The Brexit situation is looking more like one of the worst self-owns in political history. Cameron didn’t really need to make that promise for a referendum, but he and the country got lied to by a Far Right media that just hated the EU (and there’s enough evidence of Russian meddling to suggest Putin’s destabilizing agenda was at play).

    The situation is dire because both major parties – Tories and Labour – are internally divided on Brexit as well. if the current government collapses there’s no guarantee one party will unite enough seats for a solid majority.

    Madness. MADNESS (and no, not the band)

  82. 82.

    Amir Khalid

    December 4, 2018 at 7:12 pm

    @Betty Cracker:
    I’ve had a few hell-farts in my time.

  83. 83.

    BR

    December 4, 2018 at 7:17 pm

    Dumb question — why hasn’t anyone suggested to the Wisconsin or Michigan Dems to filibuster and/or basically occupy the legislature for the next few weeks until the lame duck session is over? While there might be some rules they’d be breaking, those rules would only get sorted out in court well after the lame duck session.

  84. 84.

    sm*t cl*de

    December 4, 2018 at 7:22 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    “They have not lived up to the commitments so far,” Mr. Bolton said. “That’s why I think Trump thinks another summit is likely to be productive.”

    “My boss is a dumbarsed fuckstick, and I want it on record that his self-delusive stupidity is not my idea.”

  85. 85.

    Amir Khalid

    December 4, 2018 at 7:22 pm

    @PaulWartenberg:
    I saw a clip on the BBC site wherein a reporter pressed her repeatedly to say if she would resign should this happen. Her reply, was the same talking point expressed in the same words: that she was focused on … something. It made me think, “How like a Republican.”

  86. 86.

    Anya

    December 4, 2018 at 7:32 pm

    Maddow will be disappointed if the Flynn sentencing memo drops after her show airs.

  87. 87.

    RobNYNY

    December 4, 2018 at 7:34 pm

    @Booger: Or stayed at a Pension called “Zimmer Frei.”

  88. 88.

    sm*t cl*de

    December 4, 2018 at 7:40 pm

    @RobNYNY: No extra charge for walking frames.

  89. 89.

    Ladyraxterinok

    December 4, 2018 at 7:45 pm

    @Booger: Friend told me that when he was driving on the Autobahn he wondered why all the towns the hiway led to were named Einfahrt.

  90. 90.

    Ladyraxterinok

    December 4, 2018 at 7:50 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: In a beginning German course in college years ago, we were told German had no word for happyending so used das Happyend

  91. 91.

    Procopius

    December 4, 2018 at 7:54 pm

    @Corner Stone: One of the funniest guys I know is German. This does not compute.

  92. 92.

    Fair Economist

    December 4, 2018 at 7:57 pm

    @BR:

    Dumb question — why hasn’t anyone suggested to the Wisconsin or Michigan Dems to filibuster and/or basically occupy the legislature for the next few weeks until the lame duck session is over?

    I don’t know the specific rule there, but my guess is that meaningful filibusters aren’t possible. Wendy Davis’ famous filibuster, for example, required all kinds of personal restrictions, like she couldn’t lean on anything IIRC, and so she could only do it one day. These Republican legislatures have weeks to destroy democracy.

  93. 93.

    Ladyraxterinok

    December 4, 2018 at 7:58 pm

    @Mustang Bobby: Also fun to fill up car–ich muss tanken

    I also like for having a great meal– essen wie Gott in Frankreich

  94. 94.

    Platonailedit

    December 4, 2018 at 7:59 pm

    I've easily refreshed DOJ's webpage 500 times in the last 10 minutes.— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 5, 2018

    Pick up your game, robert.

  95. 95.

    Doug R

    December 4, 2018 at 8:00 pm

    Planes Trains and Automobiles

  96. 96.

    Wallis Lane

    December 4, 2018 at 8:01 pm

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    I was reminded of this scene:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDY1z6ezqO4

  97. 97.

    A Ghost To Most

    December 4, 2018 at 8:07 pm

    @Platonailedit: Pause for dramatic effect?

  98. 98.

    emrys

    December 4, 2018 at 8:10 pm

    @A Ghost To Most: Cairo, where lane markers are just a suggestion. After all, why have four lanes of traffic when you can fit six or seven.

  99. 99.

    Platonailedit

    December 4, 2018 at 8:20 pm

    I wonder if Mueller is waiting until 9PM to release the Michael Flynn sentencing memorandum so that Sean Hannity can find out that he's implicated in this mess live on air?— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) December 5, 2018

    Indicting klannity will be the peach today.

  100. 100.

    Aleta

    December 4, 2018 at 8:20 pm

    Pierre Omidyar @pierre
    Wisely, the Constitution was concerned about corruption, and our federal system allows States to sue when Congress refuses to act.

    Norm Eisen @NormEisen
    here are the actual subpoenas in the #emoluments case–lots of them! Fasten your seatbelts folks–the evidence is going to prove one of the most systematic constitutional ethics violations in US history

    Links to the pdfs at a .gov :
    http://oag.dc.gov/sites/default/files/2018-12/Emoluments-Trump-Organization-Subpoenas.pdf
    http://oag.dc.gov/sites/default/files/2018-12/Emoluments-Federal-Government-Subpoenas.pdf

  101. 101.

    NotMax

    December 4, 2018 at 8:27 pm

    @Aleta

    The word “ethics” does not make so much as a single appearance in the Constitution, therefore is moot .

    /Federalist Society ‘originalist’ judges

  102. 102.

    Procopius

    December 4, 2018 at 8:31 pm

    @TenguPhule: Bolton is misrepresenting what North Korea promised. We’ve seen that done since Yalta. America makes an agreement with Russia. The Russians are very clear what they promised and scrupulously adhere to the exact letter of the agreement. Right wing Americans interpret the words differently or just lie about what was agreed and accuse the Russians of lying and being unfaithful to their words. The public often doesn’t have any way to find out what the actual deal was, so they believe it.

  103. 103.

    Mnemosyne

    December 4, 2018 at 8:34 pm

    @BR:

    IIRC, the last time the Wisconsin Democrats wanted to halt a Republican vote, they had to physically leave the state to deny a quorum, because the WI state police can be sent out to forcibly bring them to the capitol. So it sounds like they don’t have a lot of recourse when it comes to slowing down or stopping the majority.

  104. 104.

    A Ghost To Most

    December 4, 2018 at 8:38 pm

    @emrys: I pulled up to a traffic light on a two lane street.in Paris. A car pulled into the lane to my left, then another to his left. A car pulled up next to me in the parking lane, then another to his right on the sidewalk. When the light changed, I sat there and watched. The guy on the sidewalk won.

    Another joy of France is that ( at least back then), people coming into a traffic circle had the right-of-way over people already in the circle, which was exciting.

  105. 105.

    RobNYNY

    December 4, 2018 at 8:41 pm

    No, it says “That brought a shitstorm onto me.” There is no “myself” in it.

  106. 106.

    burnspbesq

    December 4, 2018 at 8:44 pm

    CNBC is reporting that The Special Counsel’s office is recommending a light sentence for Flynn.

    Where’s my fucking PACER login and password?

  107. 107.

    A Ghost To Most

    December 4, 2018 at 8:47 pm

    @burnspbesq: He must have been quite useful. I wonder if his son got away uncharged?

  108. 108.

    LAO

    December 4, 2018 at 8:49 pm

    @burnspbesq: lol. It’s heavily redacted. ?

  109. 109.

    rikyrah

    December 4, 2018 at 8:49 pm

    Flynn sang like a canary.
    Bobby Three Sticks recommended ZERO jail time for Flynn.

  110. 110.

    Chyron HR

    December 4, 2018 at 8:52 pm

    @rikyrah:

    “Conflicted Miller FAILED to find any dirt on Rat Flynn! Proof his 65.6 million angry Democrat investigation is a HOAX!”

  111. 111.

    A Ghost To Most

    December 4, 2018 at 8:57 pm

    @Chyron HR: Real or made up? It’s getting difficult to tell.

  112. 112.

    laura

    December 4, 2018 at 9:00 pm

    @Aleta: holy Toledo, shit just got real. So many demands to produce records, communications, taxes, room rates, iiieeeee! Shitler is going to go Def Con 5.
    And that’s just emoluments.

  113. 113.

    burnspbesq

    December 4, 2018 at 9:01 pm

    https://www.lawfareblog.com/document-special-counsel-files-flynn-sentencing-memo

  114. 114.

    Ruckus

    December 4, 2018 at 9:14 pm

    @A Ghost To Most:
    Of all the cities I been to Naples Italy is the worst. First day 5 of us took a cab. I sat front seat. Driver swerves onto the trolly tracks in the middle of the underpass with a train bearing down on us from the other direction. As the light turns yellow the opposite direction, he floors it, cuts off the guy in the left lane and just misses the train. Fancy bit of driving, I’d have preferred not to be in the best viewing position. As our time in Naples progressed we noticed that trick was nothing. I’ve driven in Boston, NYC, LA, SF, Atlanta, through out FL including Orlando and Miami, I’ve driven across the US a number of times, once drove a 73 ft rig across in 2 1/2 days. Naples is my worst memory.

  115. 115.

    Chyron HR

    December 4, 2018 at 9:15 pm

    @A Ghost To Most:

    A prognostication.

  116. 116.

    emrys

    December 4, 2018 at 9:16 pm

    @A Ghost To Most: LOL. The guy on the sidewalk was lucky no one was already parked there.

  117. 117.

    Aleta

    December 4, 2018 at 9:16 pm

    @NotMax: And for the longest time we thought the words “public scandal” and “open corruption” had some relation, some of the time, to “resign” and “disgrace.” It took people like Neil Bush, Cheney and the entire Trump OC Familia to straighten us out.

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