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You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Monday Morning Open Thread: Everybody Have A Nice Restful Weekend?

Monday Morning Open Thread: Everybody Have A Nice Restful Weekend?

by Anne Laurie|  December 10, 20184:55 am| 182 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Election 2016, Open Threads, Republican Venality, Trump Crime Cartel, All Too Normal

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Be prepared: Trump has no public events on Monday.

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 10, 2018

On Friday evening, federal prosecutors for the first time said the president had directed illegal hush money payments to women who claimed to be his mistresses. By Sunday, the chiefs of staff of both POTUS and his VP had tendered their resignations. It felt like a quiet weekend.

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) December 10, 2018

Prosecutors have examined the statute of limitations on the campaign finance violations and believe charges could be brought against Trump if he is not re-elected. ⁦@npfandos⁩ ⁦@maggieNYT⁩ @nytmike⁩ https://t.co/pVo7aNodpP

— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) December 9, 2018

JUST NOW: Comey says if Trump were not president he would be "in serious jeopardy of being charged." pic.twitter.com/H8v7uYx2bl

— Kasie DC (@KasieDC) December 10, 2018

Anyone who lives through this knows – it will astonish you how quickly an unjust system can collapse. https://t.co/CwzjbMV9Du

— WilliamThornton (@billineastala) December 9, 2018

Bob Mueller revealed quite a bit of new evidence in his latest court filings. Here’s how it connects to everything else we've learned about the Trump Campaign’s Russia connections. pic.twitter.com/1knTRhCb6W

— Ana Cabrera (@AnaCabrera) December 9, 2018

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Previous Post: « Let the motherfucker burn
Next Post: On the Road and In Your Backyard »

Reader Interactions

182Comments

  1. 1.

    oatler.

    December 10, 2018 at 5:30 am

    Chuck Todd is more silent than Fox News on this subject.

  2. 2.

    rikyrah

    December 10, 2018 at 5:41 am

    Good Morning, Everyone ? ??

  3. 3.

    Barney

    December 10, 2018 at 5:44 am

    What’s great about that NYT front page is that not only does it have the Soviet collapse, it also features Robert Maxwell (under “As the Empire was Crumbling”), the British equivalent of Trump (except Maxwell was an MP before he really got going with his scams, not after). He even had 2 dumb sons he wanted to take over the family grifting business, and a daughter who later became involved in the Jeffery Epstein affair: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Maxwell

    Plus the formation of this version of the EU, relegated to 3rd story. Big news day!

  4. 4.

    OzarkHillbilly

    December 10, 2018 at 5:47 am

    An ongoing criminal enterprise.

  5. 5.

    JDM

    December 10, 2018 at 6:00 am

    @oatler.:

    Chuck Todd is more silent than Fox News on this subject.

    Hillary’s emails have nothing to do with this, so what does Todd have to say?

  6. 6.

    Platonailedit

    December 10, 2018 at 6:09 am

    Ok, now I am convinced EU is definitely fucking with the brexitears.

    The European Court of Justice has ruled the UK can cancel Brexit without the permission of the other 27 EU members.

    The ECJ judges ruled this could be done without altering the terms of Britain’s membership.

    A group of anti-Brexit politicians argued the UK should be able to unilaterally halt Brexit, but they were opposed by the government and EU.

    The decision comes a day before MPs are due to vote on Theresa May’s deal for leaving the EU.

    MPs are already widely expected to reject the proposals during a vote in the House of Commons on Tuesday night.

    BBC Brussels correspondent Adam Fleming said the ruling made staying in the EU “a real, viable option” and that may “sway a few MPs” in the way they vote.

  7. 7.

    montanareddog

    December 10, 2018 at 6:15 am

    Prosecutors have examined the statute of limitations on the campaign finance violations and believe charges could be brought against Trump if he is not re-elected.

    And that is scandalous in itself. That someone can commit crimes to get into a position where they cannot be prosecuted for those crimes and gets to keep the job? To take an extreme example: if Mueller finds out that Individual-1 successfully conspired with hackers to change the voting totals in PA, MI and WI, nothing could be done about it for 4 years (or at all if the statute ran out on that particular crime)? The American system of government is no longer fit for purpose.

    And why does the DOJ have this rule that a sitting President cannot be indicted? There is no immunity for elected officials in the Constitution.

  8. 8.

    hells littlest angel

    December 10, 2018 at 6:16 am

    @Platonailedit: Cancelling Brexit is the only non-stupid option the British have, and the only way they can demonstrate that they’re smarter than Americans. And yet no one knows what they’ll do. It really is like we’re living in some TV show that should have been cancelled five seasons ago.

  9. 9.

    raven

    December 10, 2018 at 6:18 am

    @montanareddog: We had a county Sheriff name Terry Roach who was in the joint and still kept his job.

  10. 10.

    trnc

    December 10, 2018 at 6:24 am

    JUST NOW: Comey says if Trump were not president he would be “in serious jeopardy of being charged.”

    Which senator will introduce a plan to “delay” the 2020 election, and how will McConnell get it pushed through?

  11. 11.

    montanareddog

    December 10, 2018 at 6:26 am

    @raven: Stupid, but at least he got prosecuted and jailed. And were his crimes election fraud? My point is that a traitor and a cheater committed crimes to get into an office which gives him immunity from prosecution for those crimes. It is Kafkaesque.

  12. 12.

    raven

    December 10, 2018 at 6:27 am

    @montanareddog: No, civil rights violation for letting a contractor in a cell to beat the shit out of an ex-employee who stole some stuff. My point is I thought it was pretty funny.

  13. 13.

    batguano

    December 10, 2018 at 6:32 am

    @montanareddog: what about a sealed indictment? Is that an option and doesn’t it stop the SOL clock?

  14. 14.

    OzarkHillbilly

    December 10, 2018 at 6:37 am

    San Francisco’s foodie scene suffers as its workers flee high cost of living

    The handwritten sign on the front window of the shuttered Blue Fig Café last month bid a sad farewell to the days when San Francisco could support an old-fashioned coffee house.

    The problem that led the eight-year-old Valencia Street café to shut down wasn’t a lack of coffee drinkers in the trendy Mission district. Nor was it the sky-high commercial rents or the competition from the tech industry cafeterias. It was simply that it has become nearly impossible to pay anyone in San Francisco enough to make you a cup of coffee.

    “It takes a lot to keep a place like this going, and lately we have found it hard to find great people to help us,” wrote the café’s owners on two sheets of printer paper taped to the door, reposted as a photo in the neighborhood news blog, Mission Local. “The type of folks who you have gotten to know over the years – students, artists, cooks – can no longer afford to live in San Francisco.”

    With the median price for a San Francisco rental at $4,550, even hiking the minimum wage to $15 an hour and requiring health benefits, as San Francisco has done, hasn’t been enough to maintain a healthy heartbeat in the restaurant industry labor market.

    The fallout has hit restaurants throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, long known as the epicenter of the foodie revolution. The top-rated wine country restaurant Terra and the historic Berkeley fish house Spenger’s are among this year’s additions to the long list of area restaurants that have closed with owners saying it is nearly impossible to find staff.

    ………………………………………

    At Media Noche Cuban Counter, a new restaurant serving gourmet Cubano sandwiches in the Mission, the owners have cut in half the number of front-of-house staff needed to run the restaurant and invested the savings in higher pay for cooks. Customers order at the counter, with a lot of recommendations and help from a devoted counter team. Then they sit on bar stools in the pastel blue restaurant to be served their roasted mojo pork shoulder or island fried chicken, coconut slaw and avocado sandwiches.

    “We deliberately designed the restaurant so it would be less dependent on labor,” said Madelyn Markoe, Media Noche co-founder. “The back of the house still requires a lot of labor; that’s where we put a lot of our focus in making sure we are able to pay fair, livable wages.” Even so, said her partner Jessie Barker, “a lot of our restaurant staff do work two or even three jobs to sustain themselves’.”

    …………………………………….

    Gavrilov and her boyfriend, Nick McEachin, a restaurant manager for Delfina Group of fine Italian restaurants, first thought they would find a place to move in together. But it quickly became clear their choices were to leave the area or to live in someone’s extra bedroom.

    “We realized we couldn’t find anything we could afford,” said McEachin, who had himself moved to San Francisco in 2012 to get a taste of big-city restauranteering. He had been renting space from friends and moving often. He said he and Gavrilov searched for apartments under $2,500 and came up with only studios and rooms in other people’s houses.

    So the couple ending up moving to LA, where they could start out staying with McEachin’s parents. McEachin landed a job helping to launch the restaurant Hayden, a versatile space featuring New American cuisine with Japanese and Italian inspirations.

    Then McEachin, now 30, was offered a chance to put together a re-imagined 2018 version of a seasonal restaurant on Martha’s Vineyard, in Massachusetts, called Behind the Bookstore. His first job as the manager was to find a phenomenal crew. He found it wasn’t hard to lure even more of his former San Francisco colleagues to come with him, as the pay was good and the atmosphere fun. He brought a bar manager, a baker and Gavrilov, as a server – all veteran San Francisco restaurant industry workers.

    “Even being this posh, island, tourist destination, it was still more affordable than San Francisco,” he said.

  15. 15.

    germy

    December 10, 2018 at 6:37 am

    Kirk Douglas turned 102 yesterday.

  16. 16.

    germy

    December 10, 2018 at 6:38 am

    @raven:

    We had a county Sheriff name Terry Roach who was in the joint and still kept his job.

    He was very blunt about it.

  17. 17.

    Tony Jay

    December 10, 2018 at 6:40 am

    @germy:

    Back in his ‘Spartacus’ days that figure would have been less surprising, but I guess once you’ve got ‘it’ you’ve got ‘it’.

  18. 18.

    Immanentize

    December 10, 2018 at 6:40 am

    @raven: I thought it was funny too. “Forget the Grey-Bar Inn, try the Roach Hotel” — the re-election ads write themselves…

  19. 19.

    Immanentize

    December 10, 2018 at 6:43 am

    @batguano: I’ve long felt a sealed indictment is OK. What cannot be done is that a sitting President cannot be prosecuted, but IMO s/he can be charged. And yes, it does stop the SoL clock

  20. 20.

    raven

    December 10, 2018 at 6:44 am

    @Immanentize: This was in the 80’s when they were still having county prisoners work on private farms.

  21. 21.

    Immanentize

    December 10, 2018 at 6:47 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    Tama Janowitz wrote a good book of short stories called, “Slaves of New York.” Which circled around all the miserable relationships people were in because the rent was too damn high.

  22. 22.

    JR

    December 10, 2018 at 6:49 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: they need to build more density. Two level bungalows aren’t going to cut it anymore.

  23. 23.

    Immanentize

    December 10, 2018 at 6:51 am

    @raven: The 80’s were the absolute worst for stuff like that — tent cities, chain gangs, war on drugs, “super-predator” kids.
    “Charcoal” Charlie Graddick was AG in Alabama and was an early day Joe Arpaio. It’s where Jeff Sessions learned everything he thinks he knows.

  24. 24.

    Betty Cracker

    December 10, 2018 at 6:57 am

    Trump on Twitter just now:

    “Democrats can’t find a Smocking Gun tying the Trump campaign to Russia after James Comey’s testimony. No Smocking Gun…No Collusion.” @FoxNews That’s because there was NO COLLUSION. So now the Dems go to a simple private transaction, wrongly call it a campaign contribution,…

    That first part is most likely a quote from a “Three Dolts on a Divan” segment on Fox & Friends. I wonder if they actually said “smocking” twice? Regarding the “simple private transaction,” who among us hasn’t paid a porn lady $130K to shut up during a campaign, amirite?

  25. 25.

    JPL

    December 10, 2018 at 7:00 am

    @Betty Cracker: It’s going to be a long day.

  26. 26.

    rikyrah

    December 10, 2018 at 7:02 am

    Propane Jane™ (@docrocktex26) Tweeted:
    When this investigation is all said and done, there needs to be a furious reckoning with the fact that the ENTIRE GOP is so ideologically/morally bankrupt and greedy that it knowingly visited this disaster upon America and did NOTHING to fix it. Make them pay for this forever.

    https://twitter.com/docrocktex26/status/1071878691708375040?s=17

  27. 27.

    rikyrah

    December 10, 2018 at 7:03 am

    @Betty Cracker:
    Reminder

    Two women were paid off….

  28. 28.

    rikyrah

    December 10, 2018 at 7:05 am

    @Betty Cracker:
    I know that the other one was paid off by the National Enquirer, but that is but another mess that we haven’t gotten into…dude is cooperating though.

  29. 29.

    Platonailedit

    December 10, 2018 at 7:06 am

    @Betty Cracker: And the cowardly thug has nothing to do the whole day. It’s gonna be rants and rank stupidity whole day. Aaagh.

  30. 30.

    rikyrah

    December 10, 2018 at 7:07 am

    @hells littlest angel:
    I I know. They can actually correct their mistake….sigh…

  31. 31.

    Tony Jay

    December 10, 2018 at 7:07 am

    @hells littlest angel:

    Yes, Brexit – should – be cancelled, and now we know that it can be the pressure to do so has been ratcheted up another few notches, but there’s no way Parliament unilaterally votes to dump it.

    The 2016 Referendum was non-binding, but the actual legislation ordering the Government to begin the process was passed later, so Parliament would have to bring forward another piece of legislation voiding the Withdrawal Act and vote it into law. Without the mandate of a 2nd Referendum majority voting to Remain in the EU I can’t see them doing it. Too many cowards/realists who can see exactly how the pro-Brexit Press and foreign money would turn them into national hate-figures who would be made to shoulder all of the blame for “Betraying Our Brexit!”

    So the route I can see goes like this.

    1) May’s crap deal loses in a landslide. (She might resign, she might not, she might be pushed)
    2) No other Brexit deal can gain anything like a majority in Parliament, making No Deal the default position
    3) The idea of a People’s Vote becomes the sensible compromise position between No Deal and cancelling Article 50
    4) Parliament votes to compel the Government to extend Article 50 until a new Referendum can be held
    5) Hopefully a Remain vote of 60% Plus, but there are a lot of well-funded voices out there who would profit from the chaos of a Leave victory and a No Deal Brexit.

    It’s worth noting as well that there will be a LOT of resistance to pushing back the deadline for leaving the EU. The date of 29th of March wasn’t chosen accidentally. A whole raft of tough anti-Tax Avoidance legislation comes online across ALL EU member states on April 1st, and it’s not just Quitters who fear what that would do to all the Dark Money floating around London’s financial and property swamps.

  32. 32.

    TS (the original)

    December 10, 2018 at 7:08 am

    @Betty Cracker: That smock is going to cause him some grief. Matthew Miller in reply

    Oh, I don’t think his lawyers will want him offering this public defense of the Daniels/McDougal payments. He is going to talk himself right out of the defense that he didn’t know it was a crime.

  33. 33.

    debbie

    December 10, 2018 at 7:09 am

    @Barney:

    I worked at the publisher he bought with the money he stole from pension funds. That was a real fun time.

  34. 34.

    Amir Khalid

    December 10, 2018 at 7:10 am

    @Immanentize:

    a sitting President cannot be prosecuted, but IMO s/he can be charged.

    I don’t quite understand this. I had always understood charging someone to be the first step in the process of prosecution. In any case, I also understood that the letter of the US Constitution doesn’t preclude indicting a president. What is it that precludes prosecuting one?

  35. 35.

    Betty Cracker

    December 10, 2018 at 7:12 am

    @Tony Jay: Good lord, what a mess. I’ve been following developments but can’t make out what’s likely to happen. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it. I hope it goes down that way.

  36. 36.

    Kay

    December 10, 2018 at 7:13 am

    During the campaign, Cohen played a central role in two similar schemes to purchase the rights to stories – each from women who claimed to have had an affair with Individual-1 – so as to suppress the stories and thereby prevent them from influencing the election. With respect to both payments, Cohen acted with the intent to influence the 2016 presidential election. Cohen coordinated his actions with one or more members of the campaign, including through meetings and phone calls, about the fact, nature, and timing of the payments. In particular, and as Cohen himself has now admitted, with respect to both payments, he acted in coordination with and at the direction of Individual-1. As a result of Cohen’s actions, neither woman spoke to the press prior to the election.

    two campaign finance crimes on the eve of the 2016 election for President of the United States struck a blow to one of the core goals of the federal campaign finance laws: transparency,” “deceived the voting public by hiding alleged facts that he believed would have had a substantial effect on the election,” and should be met with a stiff penalty “to counter the public cynicism that may arise when individuals like Cohen act as if the political process belongs to the rich and powerful.“

    Trump believed the revelations would have a substantial effect on the election. Minimizing the importance of the payments only started after they paid to bury the allegations. I’m just taking Trump’s word for what was important in his campaign.

  37. 37.

    OzarkHillbilly

    December 10, 2018 at 7:15 am

    @Betty Cracker: Hell, I did it twice just in the past week.

  38. 38.

    Sloane Ranger

    December 10, 2018 at 7:17 am

    @hells littlest angel: I have actually heard a Brexiteer argue that we must continue with Brexit even if it means the country crashes and burns as a result.

    To turn back now, in her opinion, would be nothing less than a major national humiliation.

    I just stared at her speechless. How can you argue against a mindset like that?

  39. 39.

    Cheryl Rofer

    December 10, 2018 at 7:17 am

    Everyone needs a craft pic.twitter.com/EH6RIepHCp

    — Cheryl Rofer (@CherylRofer) December 10, 2018

  40. 40.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    December 10, 2018 at 7:18 am

    @Betty Cracker: Paid the women off with money from his company (for which Cohen filed an actual invoice), added a bonus, and broke the payment into 12 parts entered in the books as a retainer to avoid taxes.

  41. 41.

    Platonailedit

    December 10, 2018 at 7:18 am

    Meltdown! Pull the smock alarm! ?— Matt Young (@myohmydesign) December 10, 2018

    LOL.

  42. 42.

    satby

    December 10, 2018 at 7:20 am

    Good morning everyone ?!
    I think I read the whole efg welcome home thread three times yesterday, because it cheered me up so much.

  43. 43.

    satby

    December 10, 2018 at 7:22 am

    @Sloane Ranger:

    How can you argue against a mindset like that?

    We understand, we have to talk to Drumpf lovers. Excruciating.

  44. 44.

    Sloane Ranger

    December 10, 2018 at 7:23 am

    News announcement- Teresa May delays Brexit vote. The cock up continues.

  45. 45.

    Betty Cracker

    December 10, 2018 at 7:24 am

    @Platonailedit: Could work to our advantage if he keeps foreclosing possible defenses and copping to obstruction of justice via Twitter.

  46. 46.

    Amir Khalid

    December 10, 2018 at 7:26 am

    @Cheryl Rofer:
    Good God.

  47. 47.

    MazeDancer

    December 10, 2018 at 7:27 am

    Alas, Dems were 0 for 3 on runoffs.

    Gwen Collins-Greenup lost SoS in Louisiana over the weekend,

    We sent 3300 PostCards for the combined runoffs. Doug raised good money. But Dems didn’t vote enough.

  48. 48.

    OzarkHillbilly

    December 10, 2018 at 7:27 am

    @Tony Jay:

    4) Parliament votes to compel the Government to extend Article 50 until a new Referendum can be held

    I looked it up and as I suspected Parliament can not unilaterally extend the Article 50 deadline:

    Article 50 provides an invocation procedure whereby a member can notify the European Council and there is a negotiation period of up to two years, after which the treaties cease to apply with respect to that member—although a leaving agreement may be agreed by qualified majority voting.[12] In this case, 20[a] remaining EU countries with a combined population of 65% must agree to the deal.[14] Unless the Council of the European Union unanimously agrees to extensions, the timing for the UK leaving under the article is the mandatory period ending at the second anniversary of the country giving official notice to the EU. The assumption is that new agreements will be negotiated during the mandatory two-year period, but there is no legal requirement that agreements have to be made.[15] Some aspects, such as new trade agreements, may be difficult to negotiate until after the UK has formally left the EU.[16]

    The EU appears to have lost all patience with the Brexiters, saying “Take it or leave it” on the deal they’ve negotiated with May. Of course that could be just a part of their negotiating strategy, and not the hard line stance it appears to be, so who knows.

  49. 49.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    December 10, 2018 at 7:28 am

    @Cheryl Rofer: 14 minutes later, he completes the “thought” in that tweet

    ….which it was not (but even if it was, it is only a CIVIL CASE, like Obama’s – but it was done correctly by a lawyer and there would not even be a fine. Lawyer’s liability if he made a mistake, not me). Cohen just trying to get his sentence reduced. WITCH HUNT!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 10, 2018

    Cripes. He sounds even more demented than usual.

  50. 50.

    Platonailedit

    December 10, 2018 at 7:28 am

    @MazeDancer:

    But Dems didn’t vote enough.

    Bummer. The eternal curse strikes again.

  51. 51.

    Amir Khalid

    December 10, 2018 at 7:29 am

    @Sloane Ranger:
    How did someone as frighteningly stupid as Theresa May wind up at 10 Downing Street?

  52. 52.

    satby

    December 10, 2018 at 7:30 am

    @Betty Cracker: when it gets to court they’re going to argue diminished capacity. Everyone can see he’s got issues, and the multiple examples he’s provided captured in film will be the defense.
    The bigger crime is that the GOP knows this and covers for him to achieve their anti-democracy goals.

  53. 53.

    Platonailedit

    December 10, 2018 at 7:30 am

    @Betty Cracker: Yup, as I said rank stupidity will be displayed, dammit.

  54. 54.

    Tony Jay

    December 10, 2018 at 7:33 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    It is a total mess. A flaming turd baguette of the highest quality.

    This is what happens when 25+ years of relentless, cynical, agenda-driven bullshit aimed at toxifying a concept mates up with the fetid, bubbling stew of racism and faux-patriotic nationalism at the heart of right-wing culture.

    Hillary or the EU, it worked against both.

  55. 55.

    Frankensteinbeck

    December 10, 2018 at 7:34 am

    @Kay:
    Trump believed the revelations would include that he has a weirdly shaped penis and is pathetic in bed. To a misogynist narcissist having that get public is torture. Also, he was paying for sex. Might as well make the legal excuse an NDA. Stormy sure as Hell didn’t sleep with him because he seduced her with his manly sex appeal.

  56. 56.

    Baud

    December 10, 2018 at 7:34 am

    Please spare a kind thought for my little girl. She doesn’t have much time left.

  57. 57.

    OzarkHillbilly

    December 10, 2018 at 7:35 am

    @MazeDancer: We need richer voters for whom losing 2 days worth of wages in a month is no big deal.

  58. 58.

    Elizabelle

    December 10, 2018 at 7:39 am

    @Baud: I am so sorry, Baud. In my thoughts. Is this a pet? A dog?

    All the best.

  59. 59.

    Frankensteinbeck

    December 10, 2018 at 7:39 am

    @satby:
    I think Trump is too arrogant and stupid to allow a diminished capacity defense.

    Totally agree about the GOP’s culpability.

  60. 60.

    satby

    December 10, 2018 at 7:40 am

    @Baud: I’m so sorry Baud. I was thinking about you, and your fur baby the other day. Hugs.

  61. 61.

    hells littlest angel

    December 10, 2018 at 7:40 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: It’s like Lenny Bruce in his final days, standing on stage reading his trial transcripts while the audience sat in embarrassed silence. Except, you, know, tragedy>farce.

  62. 62.

    OzarkHillbilly

    December 10, 2018 at 7:41 am

    @Baud: May her passing be eased with love.

  63. 63.

    Quinerly

    December 10, 2018 at 7:42 am

    @Baud: oh, Baud… So sorry. Poco, John Lennon, and I are sending hugs.

  64. 64.

    TS (the original)

    December 10, 2018 at 7:42 am

    @Amir Khalid:

    How did someone as frighteningly stupid as Theresa May wind up at 10 Downing Street?

    US and the UK kicking same goals at the same time – both probably pushed by Russia

  65. 65.

    satby

    December 10, 2018 at 7:42 am

    @Frankensteinbeck: he is too arrogant and stupid, but he’s also practically disintegrating right in front of us. By the time any of this can get to court he’ll be worse.

  66. 66.

    TS (the original)

    December 10, 2018 at 7:43 am

    @Baud: Best thoughts to you both

  67. 67.

    Quinerly

    December 10, 2018 at 7:45 am

    @Cheryl Rofer: ??

  68. 68.

    Tony Jay

    December 10, 2018 at 7:47 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    That’s true, but the EU’s negotiators have been very clear since day one that their preferred outcome would be for the UK to abandon Brexit and stay in the EU, and that they would be happy to accommodate a change in scheduling if (and this is the important bit) them doing so would enable the British Government to make the right decision. With today’s ruling by the European Court that the UK can, if it wishes, unilaterally cancel Article 50 right up to the 29th of March, 2019, I would be very, very surprised if the Council refused to grant an extension to Article 50 if it was required to give time for a referendum on reversing Brexit itself.

    Plus, extending Article 50 brings Britain’s infamously dodgy financial sector under EU anti-Tax Avoidance laws. They (as in Paris and Berlin) would like that a lot.

  69. 69.

    danielx

    December 10, 2018 at 7:49 am

    @raven:

    James Michael Curley was re-elected as mayor of Boston while under indictment, and served past of his last term in office while in jail. Granted, Boston irish pols have always had a flair for flamboyant corruption.

  70. 70.

    montanareddog

    December 10, 2018 at 7:49 am

    @TS (the original): “US and the UK kicking same goals at the same time – both probably pushed by Russia”

    And that malevolent old bastard, Murdoch, who’s media empire is also fucking with Australia.

  71. 71.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    December 10, 2018 at 7:50 am

    @Baud: Sorry, Baud. That’s hard.

  72. 72.

    JPL

    December 10, 2018 at 7:51 am

    @Baud: Oh no! I’m so sorry and hugs to all.

  73. 73.

    JPL

    December 10, 2018 at 7:53 am

    @danielx: He was a colorful character to say the least.

  74. 74.

    danielx

    December 10, 2018 at 7:54 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I am awed.

  75. 75.

    Kay

    December 10, 2018 at 7:56 am

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    I don’t think we need to give him a motive. Donald Trump believed that the revelations would hurt his campaign, just like he believed that Russian assistance would help his campaign.

    All of the minimizing of this ignores that- the Trump campaign thought doing these things were important to win.The Wikileaks stuff? Trump believed that was hugely important to discredit his opponent. Obviously. He used it daily for weeks.

    I don’t know why political pundits would minimize this- they know better than the Trump campaign what helps or hinders the Trump campaign? The payoffs helped Trump and so did the Russian interference. That’s the Trump campaign’s analysis, not mine.

  76. 76.

    TS (the original)

    December 10, 2018 at 7:56 am

    @montanareddog: And that was meant to be “own goals” – Australia at the minute is plain weird. Has had more leaders/governments than Italy over the past 10 years – each one worse than the previous. Unless the polls are way out – Murdoch isn’t going to win the next election – mind you – both major parties are full of ridiculous legislation at the minute.

  77. 77.

    Immanentize

    December 10, 2018 at 7:56 am

    @Amir Khalid:
    The law about indictments has changed a good bit since the original DOJ advice was issued. Yes, an indictment is the first step of a formal prosecution, but as the contract people say, it is required but not sufficient. Sealed indictments, John or Jane Doe indictments, indictments of DNA identifiers all have changed the indictment = prosecution equation. And the Supreme Court has agreed that formal prosecution does not start immediately when an indictment is filed, but indictment plus (like plus arrest or notification you have been indicted).

  78. 78.

    SFAW

    December 10, 2018 at 7:57 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Hell, I did it twice just in the past week.

    I heard she/they paid YOU, big fella.

    ETA: For “services rendered,” of course, not to shut up about it
    ETA2: Don’t worry, we won’t tell Mrs. Ozark about it.

  79. 79.

    WaterGirl

    December 10, 2018 at 7:59 am

    @Baud: oh, Baud, I am so sorry.

  80. 80.

    rikyrah

    December 10, 2018 at 8:02 am

    @batguano:
    The sealed indictment works for me.?

  81. 81.

    rikyrah

    December 10, 2018 at 8:03 am

    @Baud:
    Oh Baud.???

  82. 82.

    SFAW

    December 10, 2018 at 8:03 am

    @Baud:

    So sorry to hear this.

  83. 83.

    Kay

    December 10, 2018 at 8:06 am

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    I think it’s really simple. Trump paid off the women and met with Russians because he thought doing those things would help him to win. Of course, we;ll never know because we don’t have the counterfactual, but we do know what Trump believed. That these actions influenced the outcome of an election.

    It’s mystifying to me. This is the first time I’ve seen an analysis of a campaign where political media rush to argue that what the campaign and candidate DID had no influence on the outcome. It’s not reciprocal, either! The claim is Hillary Clinton’s decisions were determinative as to her campaign but Donald Trump’s decisions did not impact his.

  84. 84.

    schrodingers_cat

    December 10, 2018 at 8:06 am

    @Baud: I must have missed when you posted about this before. {{{ }}}.

  85. 85.

    Gin & Tonic

    December 10, 2018 at 8:06 am

    Nice restful weekend? Why, yes, thank you. After I spent a couple of days hanging with my delightful grandchildren, Mrs G&T and I attended two concerts of (very different styles) Christmas music the last two nights, I baked some cookies, we wrapped some presents, and while the news penetrated from time to time, it didn’t overwhelm. I am very fortunate.

  86. 86.

    Tony Jay

    December 10, 2018 at 8:07 am

    @Baud:

    That’s hard. Really sorry.

  87. 87.

    O. Felix Culpa

    December 10, 2018 at 8:07 am

    @Baud: Sharing your grief. Sending hugs and comfort.

  88. 88.

    rikyrah

    December 10, 2018 at 8:08 am

    @satby:
    I don’t think so about diminished capacity.
    The GOP as co-conspirators…. absolutely.

  89. 89.

    schrodingers_cat

    December 10, 2018 at 8:08 am

    @Kay: Political media even the oh-so serious totebaggery kind prefer Rs and will contort themselves in a pretzel for their party/paymasters.

  90. 90.

    OzarkHillbilly

    December 10, 2018 at 8:08 am

    @Tony Jay: Yeah, if a 2nd vote ever were on the table, I am sure the EU would grant an extension, but from the actions of the Brexiters I wonder if that is possible. I think May’s deal is dead because the Brexiters and the Bremainers both loath it with equal vehemence but I don’t see that either side has the necessary political clout to accomplish their stated goals (more negotiations for Brexiters, a 2nd vote for remainers). Which leaves the impending leap off the no-deal Brexit cliff as the only other option.

    And from what I’ve read a very large percentage of Brexiters think the total annihilation of the existing British economic structure would be just fine.

    My knowledge is obviously limited by what I read and most of that comes from the Guardian. All I can say for sure is that you are equally cursed with living in interesting times.

  91. 91.

    zhena gogolia

    December 10, 2018 at 8:10 am

    @Baud:

    I’m so sorry. I’m thinking of you.

  92. 92.

    schrodingers_cat

    December 10, 2018 at 8:10 am

    When will the first puff piece about noble Marine general Kelly appear? I give it less than a week and it will be in the Vichy Times.

  93. 93.

    A Ghost To Most

    December 10, 2018 at 8:10 am

    @Amir Khalid:
    They’re more like guidelines than actual rules. I believe Mueller needs to indict, so the courts can rule on it.

  94. 94.

    MazeDancer

    December 10, 2018 at 8:12 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    It is true voting needs to be a paid holiday.

    But the Louisiana runoff was on a Saturday.

    Each race had its own unique challenges. And Espy drove some serious turnout. And made giant progress n MS.

    But without national news coverage, people don’t notice the stakes. Which is going to become an increasing problem. People don’t watch TV. Newpapers are dying. Without national attention, people are less engaged.

    Also, local groups were probably exhausted.

  95. 95.

    rikyrah

    December 10, 2018 at 8:13 am

    @Kay:
    Kay,
    It goes back to:
    1. The coverage of Whiteness. A lot of this, in drips, was around during 2016. But, because of Whiteness, he repeatedly got the benefit of the doubt.
    2. Professional malpractice on an overwhelming level. Those who were providing the truth drips were coming considered the ‘fringe’ of the profession. Not the folks ‘at the cool table’.
    3. Dolt45 is the vessel of White Supremacy. That he is a traitor…

  96. 96.

    OzarkHillbilly

    December 10, 2018 at 8:15 am

    @danielx: @SFAW:

    I heard she/they paid YOU, big fella.

    OK OK, it’s true, they did pay me. To. go. away. And it wasn’t $130K, it was $1.30.

  97. 97.

    rikyrah

    December 10, 2018 at 8:16 am

    @Kay:
    SNL went there on Saturday …
    What if Dolt45 were Black?

    https://youtu.be/HOABHShgGjg

    As you would guess….all this bullshyt now?
    Wouldn’t even be happening. Would be no debate at all.

  98. 98.

    Kay

    December 10, 2018 at 8:18 am

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I think it adds to the narrative they’ve built about his inevitability and power. That campaign cared a lot about these things. That’s why they broke laws to pursue them. They’re not, in fact, a unique one-off. They worry about their base like every other political operation and they knew the revelations were damaging just like they knew the Russian assistance was important.

    They were freaking out about whatever those women planned on saying. It went to the very top of the campaign, just like the meetings were Russians were conducted at the top levels. To say now “oh, it wouldn’t have mattered” is to deny what the campaign itself believed. That’s an extraordinary level of denial, verging on delusional.

    I get it, I really do. It’s important to deny that these factors helped Trump because it discredits his presidency and a lot of people are invested in the inherent grandeur of the presidency, or whatever, but we can’t afford these romantic notions anymore. We need to tell the truth.

  99. 99.

    Another Scott

    December 10, 2018 at 8:19 am

    @Tony Jay: Thanks for the “Explainer”. It’s very helpful.

    Good morning, everyone.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  100. 100.

    Kay

    December 10, 2018 at 8:22 am

    @Baud:

    I’m so sorry, Baud.

  101. 101.

    Ken

    December 10, 2018 at 8:22 am

    @Betty Cracker: On the plus side, he seems to have realized he’s Individual 1. Also, in a refreshing change of pace this tweet doesn’t create more work for Mueller, since he’s confessing to a crime Mueller knew about.

  102. 102.

    OzarkHillbilly

    December 10, 2018 at 8:24 am

    @MazeDancer:

    But the Louisiana runoff was on a Saturday.

    Most people working minimum/low wage jobs need to work wkends either via the job requirements or the need for a 2nd job to provide an income adequate to the bare necessities of life. And even if one isn’t required to work, it is hard to find the energy for voting having already put in 60+ hours at the salt mines and many more hours navigating the inadequate public transport systems.

    eta: I just want to point out that being poor is hard work. Having been there I am sympathetic.

  103. 103.

    Tony Jay

    December 10, 2018 at 8:24 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    No-Deal would be a complete disaster for Britain, and outside of the extreme-Brexit circle-jerk that’s well understood. The MPs in Parliament know perfectly well that regardless of how full-throated and bombastic the “WTO Rulez R Kool” propaganda coming out of the pro-Brexit Press might be now, the second the effects of No-Deal start rippling through British society and trashing the economy there will be a sudden and complete volte-face and THEY will be left shouldering every morsel of blame for their ‘failure’ to make Brexit ‘work’. I’m not just talking career suicide, I’m talking very angry people in the middle of a societal collapse looking for someone to blame for their own mistakes.

    So, no, I can’t see any prospect of a No-Deal happening by default. After May’s deal fails to get through (and she’s apparently pulled the vote because the Parliamentary arithmetic is so against her) and the EU says once again, no more negotiation on anything that really matters, the only options will be a 2nd referendum or a No-Deal. It’s one or the other, and there definitely – is – a majority within Parliament for avoiding a No-Deal Brexit.

    If throwing the decision back to The People is what it takes, that’s what they’ll have to do. The Quitters will whine and howl and write speeches bemoaning the anti-democratic betrayal of all their hopes and dreams, but they won’t be able to out-vote it. So fuckem.

  104. 104.

    Steeplejack

    December 10, 2018 at 8:26 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    It must be a coping mechanism, but when I read Trump’s tweets I always hear them in Colbert’s Trump voice.

  105. 105.

    Betty Cracker

    December 10, 2018 at 8:27 am

    Ambulatory cream cheese sculpture Hugh Hewitt just reported that Mike Pompeo is attempting to ride to the rescue of the Leave movement by saying the U.S. will move quickly to get a trade agreement in place if the no-deal Brexit scenario comes to pass. Weird that the Trump admin’s strategy always aligns so perfectly with Putin’s global white nationalist agenda, huh? Not that a free trade agreement would do much to alleviate the chaos a no-deal Brexit scenario would entail…

  106. 106.

    Kay

    December 10, 2018 at 8:28 am

    @schrodingers_cat:

    It’s funny because I think the sentencing memos bring this down to a size we can get our arms around. Not a grand, brilliant conspiracy. Just a bunch of two bit hacks “fixing” things, putting our fires, covering their own asses and the ass of their boss- like they’ve been doing their whole miserable lives. The payments to the girlfriends and the hope to make a bundle off the Trump development in Russia are petty and small, like the Trump Administration. They don’t have any grand beliefs or central thesis, other than greed and self-dealing. Does that reduce the presidency to a transaction by some really sleazy people? Yeah, it does. We’ll just have to live with that. Because that’s what happened.

  107. 107.

    Kay

    December 10, 2018 at 8:31 am

    @schrodingers_cat:

    And that reduction, to me, is the great value of legal proceedings. The plain language. Who paid whom and for what. No more narratives or conjecture on Trump’s inner workings. That’s irrelevant. Now we are finally, finally getting what happened and it’s small and greedy and dishonest, just like the people who did it.

  108. 108.

    Tony Jay

    December 10, 2018 at 8:32 am

    @Another Scott:

    Since 2016 I’m out of the firm prognostication game, but I really can’t see how we – don’t – end up with a 2nd Referendum at the end of this.

    As for what happens in the Referendum, imagine a Gif of a monkey shrugging. Remain – should – win by a landslide, but 17.5 million people have a track record of being incredibly stupid on this topic.

  109. 109.

    Tony Jay

    December 10, 2018 at 8:37 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    Jeebus Gibbering Christ. Yeah, that’s really going to settle hearts and minds, isn’t it? The prospect of a US/UK ‘free’ trade deal in the wake of a No-Deal Brexit when the US side of the deal has all of the leverage and is guided by the Trumpian ethos of “Grab ’em by the whatever” and “I want MY MONEY!!!”.

    What could possibly go wrong?

  110. 110.

    OzarkHillbilly

    December 10, 2018 at 8:38 am

    @Tony Jay:

    A whole raft of tough anti-Tax Avoidance legislation comes online across ALL EU member states on April 1st,

    And thanx for this little tidbit of info, it had escaped my attention.

  111. 111.

    Tony Jay

    December 10, 2018 at 8:40 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Yeah, it’s not mentioned much but wait for the squealing to start should the topic of asking for an Article 50 delay start firming up in Westminster.

    They didn’t pick March 29th as the Leave date by accident.

  112. 112.

    Another Scott

    December 10, 2018 at 8:42 am

    @Tony Jay: I only know what I read about it from here in NoVA, but I can’t understand why the Brexit voters aren’t absolutely [klaxon]furious[/klaxon] with the Boris and the rest of people and institutions that lied to them about the £350M a week in free money that Brexit would yield.

    I believe as you do that Remain should win in a landslide. But, like over here, one can’t count on a large fraction of the voters being rational these days.

    Grrr…

    Good luck!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  113. 113.

    rikyrah

    December 10, 2018 at 8:43 am

    Uh huh
    Uh huh ??

    Star-Telegram (@startelegram) Tweeted:
    Hundreds of sex abuse allegations found in fundamental Baptist churches across U.S.

    https://t.co/oKxp9bu7WQ https://twitter.com/startelegram/status/1071729709958991873?s=17

  114. 114.

    MagdaInBlack

    December 10, 2018 at 8:43 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    I’ve often thought about that little “bug that is a feature” that suppresses votes:
    When you’re working that many hours, with changing schedules, it can become, not just very difficult, but an economic calculation as to whether you can afford to take time off to vote

  115. 115.

    Another Scott

    December 10, 2018 at 8:44 am

    @Baud: I’m very sorry, Baud. I hope her passing is quiet.

    Remember the good times.

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  116. 116.

    Amir Khalid

    December 10, 2018 at 8:46 am

    @Baud:
    Damn. I’m sorry.

  117. 117.

    rikyrah

    December 10, 2018 at 8:46 am

    @Kay:
    These sentencing documents, well everything from these proceedings have been very readable.
    The average person can read them with no problem.

  118. 118.

    Sloane Ranger

    December 10, 2018 at 8:47 am

    @Quinerly: @Amir Khalid: When Cameron did a runner after the referendum she was the least worst of the available options. These included BoJo.

  119. 119.

    rikyrah

    December 10, 2018 at 8:48 am

    @Betty Cracker:
    Interesting indeed, BC????

  120. 120.

    hueyplong

    December 10, 2018 at 8:48 am

    Another way to render more fair the supposed rule against indictments of sitting presidents would be for the SoL to be tolled during the time between the inauguration and whatever day the gibbon leaves office. Of course, that would mean that it simply doesn’t start at all until departure day for crimes committed while he’s in office.

  121. 121.

    rikyrah

    December 10, 2018 at 8:49 am

    @Quinerly:
    Morning to Poco and the tribe ??

  122. 122.

    OzarkHillbilly

    December 10, 2018 at 8:51 am

    @Another Scott: I would guess they aren’t any more economically anxious than our trumpistas are. Somebody should go visit a diner and interview these salt of the earth working stiffs.

  123. 123.

    poleaxedbyboatwork

    December 10, 2018 at 8:51 am

    @Tony Jay:

    As for what happens in the Referendum, imagine a Gif of a monkey shrugging. Remain – should – win by a landslide, but 17.5 million people have a track record of being incredibly stupid on this topic.

    Ya, for realz.

    Wish you well and hope the fever breaks for y’all over there same as I do here in what’s left of ‘Murica, but never (mis)underestimate the power of irrational angry spite in clouding people’s judgment.

    It’s like Dostoyevski’s Underground Man is loosed upon the world and insolently proclaiming his ardor for the ridiculous notion that 2 + 2 = 5.

  124. 124.

    Betty

    December 10, 2018 at 8:57 am

    @Tony Jay: i do hope the people see that they have been played by Putin and company. Hoping for a good outcome for the British people.

  125. 125.

    Platonailedit

    December 10, 2018 at 8:57 am

    May’s days may be numbered.

    So @jeremycorbyn – if Labour, as official opposition, lodges motion of no confidence in this incompetent government tomorrow, @theSNP will support & we can then work together to give people the chance to stop Brexit in another vote. This shambles can’t go on – so how about it?— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) December 10, 2018

    Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts said: “The prime minister is running scared. She can only delay the inevitable loss.

    “She made promises that she cannot deliver and now she is coming up against reality.

    “The only single person who can stop a no-deal Brexit is the prime minister. By delaying this vote she is personally making a no-deal Brexit more likely.

    “The prime minister wants to deny the public a say in a People’s Vote and now she is trying to deny MPs a vote too. She is denying democracy on all fronts.

    “People deserve better than the chaos in Westminster. Now we know the truth about Brexit, people must be given the right to decide whether the reality of leaving the European Union is what they want.”

    No point blaming the pols alone. The collective ‘wisdom’ of people is piss poor.

  126. 126.

    Betty Cracker

    December 10, 2018 at 8:57 am

    @Baud: So sorry to hear that. ☹️

  127. 127.

    Sloane Ranger

    December 10, 2018 at 8:58 am

    @Another Scott: That money would so be there if we had left the EU immediately after the referendum but, instead of obeying the democratic decision of the British people, traitorous Bremainers have been trying to ignore or work round it. So the lack of a Brexit bonus is totally down to those people.

  128. 128.

    jonas

    December 10, 2018 at 8:58 am

    @Amir Khalid: @Betty Cracker: This is a very well thought-out scheme. I’m sure the average British voter, having left behind a difficult relationship with the EU, would look forward to nothing more than shackling their economy to the American behemoth, particularly under Trump.

  129. 129.

    PaulWartenberg

    December 10, 2018 at 8:59 am

    I am currently on the phone to a temp agency to get a custodian to work this week at the library while our employed custodian is on holiday leave.

    I may be competing with the White House while they are calling the same temp agency to hire a Chief of Staff.

  130. 130.

    SFAW

    December 10, 2018 at 8:59 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    OK OK, it’s true, they did pay me. To. go. away. And it wasn’t $130K, it was $1.30.

    Oh, don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone that it was just the way I described it, so you can drop the pretense. You should be proud that you’re a Stud. (Sorry, a little carpentry humor. Very little.)

  131. 131.

    Immanentize

    December 10, 2018 at 9:02 am

    @Baud: a better friend I doubt she could have ever wanted. I am sorry, friend.

  132. 132.

    clay

    December 10, 2018 at 9:06 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    Ambulatory cream cheese sculpture Hugh Hewitt just reported that Mike Pompeo is attempting to ride to the rescue of the Leave movement by saying the U.S. will move quickly to get a trade agreement in place if the no-deal Brexit scenario comes to pass.

    Yes… that’s what the Trump administration is known for… their ability to rapidly enact goals.

    (Still waiting for Mexico to pony up for that invisible wall…)

  133. 133.

    Platonailedit

    December 10, 2018 at 9:06 am

    Northern Ireland parties Sinn Féin, SDLP, Alliance and NI Greens have released a joint statement reiterating their preference for “no Brexit at all”.

    “We have a shared responsibility to protect jobs, economic stability, the environment and people’s livelihoods,” the statement reads.

    “At the very least, this means avoiding a hard border, protecting the Good Friday Agreement and hard won peace of the past 20 years, and staying within the Single Market and a Customs Union.

    “Therefore as a basis for this, we maintain that there is a pressing need for the backstop as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement to be banked.

    “By contrast, we believe that a no deal situation would be catastrophic for our economy and society.”

    My bet is on a public revote.

  134. 134.

    SiubhanDuinne

    December 10, 2018 at 9:06 am

    @Baud:

    Oh, Baud, how sad. I am so sorry, and I hope her passing is gentle. Hugs to you.

  135. 135.

    Tenar Arha

    December 10, 2018 at 9:06 am

    @Baud: My best wishes for the time you have left &
    ლ(╹_╹ლ)

  136. 136.

    SFAW

    December 10, 2018 at 9:07 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    Ambulatory cream cheese sculpture Hugh Hewitt just reported that Mike Pompeo is attempting to ride to the rescue of the Leave movement by saying the U.S. will move quickly to get a trade agreement in place if the no-deal Brexit scenario comes to pass.

    Pompeo’s telling the Brexiteers that Shitgibbon will Personally Guarantee that he will pay for any shortfall out of his vast personal fortune.

    … which he sometimes refers to as the “United States Treasury.” Because, after all, isn’t the Treasury supposed to be the president*’s personal piggy bank, the way the Attorney General is his personal enforcer and Geheime Staatspolizei and Schutzstaffel

  137. 137.

    trnc

    December 10, 2018 at 9:09 am

    “On Friday evening, federal prosecutors for the first time said the president had directed illegal hush money payments to women who claimed to be his mistresses.”

    Glibertarian Rand Paul says it’s ok, though, cuz campaign finance laws are too onerous. No word on whether that means republicans should be able to ignore existing law if they have their fingers crossed while they break it, or if he’s planning to introduce a law to make hush money legal.

  138. 138.

    OzarkHillbilly

    December 10, 2018 at 9:10 am

    Heh:

    In an interview published in the Radio Times Christmas edition, Adams’s daughters explain how the book, first published when their father was a civil servant in his mid-50s, came into being. They also address the multiple theories about the true message of Watership Down. “Honestly, the stuff we got through the post from fans about what they think the book is about,” said Rosamond. “‘Is Woundwort an allegory of Stalin?’ ‘Is Hazel Jesus Christ?’ It shows that people really connect with the story, they really think hard about it, but it cut no ice with Dad. ‘Rubbish!’ he always said. ‘It’s just a story about rabbits.’”

    They recall being six and eight in the mid-60s and on a long car journey to the theatre from London to Stratford-upon-Avon. They pestered their dad for a story and then came: “Once upon a time there were two rabbits called Hazel and Fiver …” Persuaded by his daughters to put pen to paper, Adams’s book was published in 1972 and won the Carnegie medal and the Guardian children’s book prize.

    When the boys were small I would make up stories around the campfire. The only one I can now remember was the story of how the Whip-or-wills, the Chuck-Wills-Widows, and the Poor-Wills came into being. Good times.

  139. 139.

    NotMax

    December 10, 2018 at 9:12 am

    Like sands through the hourglass, these are the days of Infrastructure Week.

  140. 140.

    laura

    December 10, 2018 at 9:12 am

    @Baud: oh Baud, I’m so sorry and wish you both peace and ease.

  141. 141.

    Immanentize

    December 10, 2018 at 9:12 am

    @Tony Jay: Does the House of Lord’s have any role to play in this end game?

  142. 142.

    japa21

    December 10, 2018 at 9:12 am

    @Betty Cracker: What amazes me about that tweet, aside from the horrible grammar and poor spelling and everything else that is horrible about all his tweets, is that he makes it sound as if the Dems wanted Comey to appear in order to have Comey show collusion. And now his base will think the same thing.

  143. 143.

    OzarkHillbilly

    December 10, 2018 at 9:13 am

    @SFAW: Jobsite bumper sticker: “It takes a real stud to be a carpenter”.

  144. 144.

    Kathleen

    December 10, 2018 at 9:15 am

    @Baud: I am so sorry Baud. Holding you and your beloved pet in the light.

  145. 145.

    A Ghost To Most

    December 10, 2018 at 9:16 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Religious people always impute their faith into whatever they are seeing.

    “I felt like Spine Institute was an answer to prayer” is one galling example on TV. What an insult to science.

  146. 146.

    Ladyraxterinok

    December 10, 2018 at 9:17 am

    @MazeDancer: SooooGOP learns–force election into run-off and no matter the dem turn-out in the election they’ll just shrug and stay at home if there’s a run-off.

    Needed–massive education on what it means to ‘participate in a democracy,’

  147. 147.

    Gin & Tonic

    December 10, 2018 at 9:19 am

    @Another Scott: Catching up on some reading from yesterday, thanks for filling in on the Dies Irae question after my post-and-run.

  148. 148.

    Ladyraxterinok

    December 10, 2018 at 9:22 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Sorry all for earlier comment. Didn’t consider this!

  149. 149.

    trnc

    December 10, 2018 at 9:32 am

    Ambulatory cream cheese sculpture Hugh Hewitt just reported that Mike Pompeo is attempting to ride to the rescue of the Leave movement by saying the U.S. will move quickly to get a trade agreement in place if the no-deal Brexit scenario comes to pass.

    How many more scones and Jags are we supposed to buy?

  150. 150.

    PaulWartenberg

    December 10, 2018 at 9:32 am

    Did the EU court just say the British gov’t can just CANCEL the whole Brexit thing?

  151. 151.

    PaulWartenberg

    December 10, 2018 at 9:35 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    part of this sounds like trump looking at a “golden” opportunity for himself to grift with the UK, avoid the damage his tariffs are inflicting on American farmers/manufacturers, and come out of it looking like a hero.

    thing is, nobody in their right mind should trust trump on ANY business deal.

    Everything trump Touches Dies. It’s not a hypothesis, it’s a proof.

  152. 152.

    Heidi Mom

    December 10, 2018 at 9:37 am

    @Baud: I’m so sorry to hear that. Wishing you peace and comfort.

  153. 153.

    trnc

    December 10, 2018 at 9:37 am

    Never mind my scones comment. I see we buy a lot of pharmaceuticals from them. In completely unrelated news, the DT administration appears to be making no effort to fight opioid addiction.

  154. 154.

    Another Scott

    December 10, 2018 at 9:38 am

    @Gin & Tonic: Glad to help!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  155. 155.

    The Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion

    December 10, 2018 at 9:39 am

    @Baud: On it.

  156. 156.

    NotMax

    December 10, 2018 at 9:39 am

    @tmc

    “U.S. announces plan to convert Yucca Mountain into national strategic Marmite reserve.”

  157. 157.

    trnc

    December 10, 2018 at 9:42 am

    @japa21: Gaslighting is his greatest skill other than bankrupting businesses and leaving his investors holding the bag.

  158. 158.

    trnc

    December 10, 2018 at 9:44 am

    @NotMax: Uh, oh. Is that anything like vegamite?

  159. 159.

    Shalimar

    December 10, 2018 at 9:44 am

    @Immanentize: Charlie Graddick’s sister is my godmother. He is far worse than you even know.

  160. 160.

    trnc

    December 10, 2018 at 9:46 am

    @Baud: I’m very sorry to hear this. I hope you are able to find some peace and consolation.

  161. 161.

    Amir Khalid

    December 10, 2018 at 9:48 am

    @trnc:
    Different but similar food product.

  162. 162.

    Ladyraxterinok

    December 10, 2018 at 9:52 am

    @rikyrah: This may be the Independent Fundamental Baptists denomination. They run BobJones U in SC. There’s been a lot of discussion about their various sex scandals at the blog thewartbergwatch.com.

    Bruce Gerencser grew up in this denomination and was a preacher in it for several decades. He and his wife left christianity a few yrs ago. He’s written about the belief system of the denomination and its effects at his blog.

  163. 163.

    Tony Jay

    December 10, 2018 at 9:54 am

    @Another Scott:

    What Sloane Ranger said @127.

    They want their unicorns, and if they don’t get them it’s all the fault of Remoaners and traitors and Eurocrats conspiring together to thwart their dreams of a Great White Britain. Any evidence to the contrary is just more proof that the conspiracy runs deep and Brexit has to mean Brexit!

    There’s no talking to them. They just have to be outvoted.

  164. 164.

    Tony Jay

    December 10, 2018 at 9:59 am

    @Immanentize:

    Not really. I don’t think the Lords is allowed to vote against anything that was included in a Governing Party’s manifesto, and ‘honouring the referendum vote’ was in the Tory one.

    The Lords can, and has, debated Brexit and would almost certainly vote it down if they could, but as an unelected chamber they constitutionally can’t.

  165. 165.

    Aleta

    December 10, 2018 at 10:01 am

    @Baud: Sending love to her.

  166. 166.

    Tony Jay

    December 10, 2018 at 10:02 am

    @PaulWartenberg:

    It did, quite forcefully as well.

    Another brick in the Quitter Wall of Denial goes spinning into the void.

  167. 167.

    Original Lee

    December 10, 2018 at 10:10 am

    @Barney: As a former employee of the late Robert Maxwell, I can say that he was no Trump. Maxwell was a master at convincing banks to give him money, but he actually seemed to care that the businesses he owned appeared to be successful. His grandiose plans were always underfunded (hence the pension fund embezzlement and bank fraud), but IMO he was more like a certain Australian newspaper mogul than the Nectarine Narcissist.

  168. 168.

    Gin & Tonic

    December 10, 2018 at 10:10 am

    @Amir Khalid: While calling either of them a “food product” is very generous with the language, they are, however, versatile products.

  169. 169.

    Gin & Tonic

    December 10, 2018 at 10:11 am

    @Another Scott: So the guy in the photo I posted Saturday wasn’t just some member, it was Fabrice Sorlin himself.

  170. 170.

    Immanentize

    December 10, 2018 at 10:12 am

    @trnc: I already thought he was very bad. Someday I hope you and I can share a table and a drink or two….

  171. 171.

    Yarrow

    December 10, 2018 at 10:19 am

    @Baud: So sorry, Baud. Sending peaceful thoughts for this transition.

  172. 172.

    Immanentize

    December 10, 2018 at 10:20 am

    @Immanentize: @Shalimar: Ooops, my above comment was for you, not trnc — re: Graddick:

    “I already thought he (Graddick) was very bad. Someday I hope you and I can share a table and a drink or two….”

  173. 173.

    Sloane Ranger

    December 10, 2018 at 10:46 am

    @Tony Jay: I don’t know if it’s a law but it’s certainly custom and practice. The Lord’s can, and have, insert amendments into Bills which the Brexiteers complain contain “poison pills” but these can be voted down in the Commons, which, as the elected Chamber, has the final say.

    Of course, in the current shitstorm climate who knows what will happen next!

    Democracy, the worse form of government ever – apart from all the rest!

  174. 174.

    Miss Bianca

    December 10, 2018 at 10:56 am

    @Baud: so sorry to hear it, Baud.

  175. 175.

    Tony Jay

    December 10, 2018 at 11:09 am

    @Sloane Ranger:

    We could try pumping LSD directly into the brains of schoolkids, giving them crayons and a big, white wall. Dip cats into paint and throw them at the wall while wearing blindfolds and oven gloves. Whatever the paint doesn’t cover becomes Government policy.

    It couldn’t be – that – much worse than this shitshow.

  176. 176.

    MisterForkbeard

    December 10, 2018 at 11:36 am

    @Baud: Oh. That’s so, so awful. I’m sorry.

  177. 177.

    Shalimar

    December 10, 2018 at 12:42 pm

    @Immanentize: I hope too. Sounds like a good day.

  178. 178.

    Mandarama

    December 10, 2018 at 1:04 pm

    @Baud: Thinking of you, Baud.

  179. 179.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    December 10, 2018 at 2:24 pm

    @Baud: Oh no! You and your girl are in our thoughts here.

  180. 180.

    Hob

    December 10, 2018 at 2:25 pm

    @Baud: Very sorry to hear it. Lost two cats last year, it never gets easier.

  181. 181.

    The Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion

    December 10, 2018 at 4:32 pm

    @Baud: holding you and your baby in my heart. Been there.

  182. 182.

    VincentN

    December 10, 2018 at 6:03 pm

    @Amir Khalid: Supposedly, you can’t indict or prosecute a sitting president because impeachment is supposed to be the remedy for getting rid of one. Hell, it took until Clinton v. Jones for the Supreme Court to say the President of the United States has no immunity from civil law litigation. But a court has never ruled on the indictment issue so the question is still open despite what DOJ memos say.

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