Oh:
Maria Butina, a Russian gun rights activist, is poised to plead guilty in a case involving accusations that she was working as an agent for the Kremlin in the United States, according to a new court filing.
Attorneys for Butina and federal prosecutors jointly requested in court documents Monday that U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan set a time for Butina to withdraw her previous plea of not guilty. They said they could be available for her to enter her plea as early as Tuesday.
“The parties have resolved this matter,” Butina’s lawyers and D.C.-based prosecutors wrote in their joint filing.
A plea is not final until it is entered in court and accepted by a judge. Monday’s filing did not indicate to what charge she will plead.
Butina was accused of working to push the Kremlin’s agenda by forming bonds with National Rifle Association officials and other conservative leaders and making outreach to 2016 presidential candidates.
I wonder how most gun owners feel about their NRA dollars being spent to please the KGB?
Yarrow
They’re probably fine with it. Remember those “I’d rather be a Russian than Democrat” t-shirts?
scav
hee hee hee. (dedicated to the most ardent self-described gun-nut I know, who’s also a MD so should be charmingly occupited attempting to resolve contradictions, probably with the aid of much drinking.)
Death Panel Truck
As long as it benefited Republicans, I don’t think they fucking care.
Fair Economist
I’m curious why she wants to cooperate when cooperation is going to have her deported to Russia. I wouldn’t want to bet on her having a long life in Putin’s Russia. Polonium tea in a Novichok cup, anyone?
Roger Moore
@Yarrow:
Yep. They’re going to revise the old “better dead than red” into “better red than brown”.
LuciaMia
Cole, did you get much snow out your way?
schrodingers_cat
Putin no longer needs Butina, his asset is in the WH now.
PST
@Fair Economist: Maybe she gets asylum and witness protection.
Aleta
Remember how she stood up like a regular reporter to ask Trump a question that he was, I believe, prepared for. (2016 during campaign iirc)
MattF
So, what’s wrong with the KGB doing money laundering for the NRA?
cain
@schrodingers_cat:
A very flawed asset. In terms of effectiveness, Butina is the better asset.
Aleta
@Aleta:
Video here https://twitter.com/riotwomennn/status/972715732185309184
matt
Committing treason to own the libs! Sounds like mainstream conservatism to me.
germy
@Aleta:
Yes. It was almost like the whole thing had been rehearsed.
Cheryl Rofer
Here’s an interesting thread of speculation.
tl;dr: The chaos she can cause this way is more valuable to Putin than other considerations right now. It gives him space to invade Ukraine.
OTOH, Butina could be like a lot of others in this clown show: not too bright and hoping for the best.
TenguPhule
I believe their shirts saying “I’d rather be Russian then a Democrat” says it all.
jl
@Fair Economist: ” I’m curious why she wants to cooperate when cooperation is going to have her deported to Russia. ”
Josh Marshall speculated that the deal might not amount to anything very big, but didn’t say why. I don’t think we know enough.
What struck me is that after news stories made some of the info public, Butina’s legal team cancelled everything and signaled they were going to deal, within seemed like a few hours. They totally reversed course in less than a day.
So, could be there is really not much important hanging on her individual contribution. Like maybe she set up the connections, without much knowledge or interest in how the big $ flows would work, and everyone is interested in the people who actually handed the $. Or,, maybe she is a crucial link, but was so so so very very busted, she really has no choice and needs to do all the dealing she can to avoid all sorts of bad things. Who knows?
pamelabrown53
@schrodingers_cat:
Isn’t it macabre that when the Russians were communist they were an existential threat? And now that they’re an authoritarian oligarchy still exporting their ideology through nefarious means, the republicans are embracing them. Plus, who knows how many took their $$$ and are compromised.
TenguPhule
@MattF:
Besides everything?
germy
Adam L Silverman
@Cheryl Rofer: This case is not being handled by the Special Prosecutor. That said, Osborne’s theory is not unrealistic or implausible.
TenguPhule
This live action remake of Red Dawn is terrible and the surprise twist that the villains are all local crazy people is unbelievable.
Archon
@Fair Economist:
She helped contribute to the destabilization of the United States. They might throw her a parade when she gets home.
Cheryl Rofer
@Adam L Silverman: Good point. Hard to keep track these days.
germy
jl
@Archon: Yeah, that is an issue. If Putin’s Trump operation is winding down, maybe Uncle Vlad has authorized Butina to reveal whatever will make the biggest mess over here, and she gets a medal and nice dacha and fat pension if her deal is that she goes back.
Must be some competent people who did their job well involved in this mess. Sure isn’t anyone from this side of the Atlantic.
Aleta
Not linking to Tow nHall where this appeared, but it can be found by searching for Tow nhall and the author and April 6 2014.
(via @riotwomennn twitter last March)
rikyrah
As they say..
She HAD TIME TODAY ?? ?
This thread is fabulous ?
https://twitter.com/queerBengali/status/1072145289769832448
Archon
@pamelabrown53:
An authoritarian oligarchy with the facade of Democratic legitimacy is EXACTLY the ideology of the Republican Party. In that sense Russia and the GOP are natural ideological allies.
germy
gratuitous
Ms. Butina is “a Russian gun rights activist”? Then why isn’t she advocating for gun rights in Russia? Or did I read that wrong?
Roger Moore
@cain:
Butina was a very useful asset, but she’s useless now that she’s lost her cover.
TenguPhule
Via the guardian, CNN knows.
rikyrah
Do you smell it?
I smell it..
R-I-C-O
???
Cheryl Rofer
@Adam L Silverman: I’d put one twist on Osborne’s theory. Even if she is acting under Putin’s instructions, she still could meet an “accident” back in Russia. Putin doesn’t like loose ends.
I keep wondering why people sign up for stuff like this. That would include Manafort too. I guess they think they’re smart and have made the right friends who will take care of them. They don’t seem to have evaluated the downside if things go wrong.
TenguPhule
@gratuitous:
She’s a Russian who advocates for Americans to kill each other more efficiently.
TenguPhule
@Roger Moore:
There must be a brothel in Moscow that has an opening or two.
The Dangerman
@Yarrow:
Yup. As long as they think it means they keep their guns, Putin could move into the Oval Office and make the Lincoln Bedroom a pee pee room and they could give a shit.
pamelabrown53
@germy:
germy, we need a letter/email/tweet campaign where we send this quote to Lindsey.
Sab
@Archon: “Democratic”? Why is that D capitalized?
Roger Moore
@Cheryl Rofer:
I sincerely doubt it. She’s undoubtedly been briefed like every other covert agent. If they’re arrested, they’re supposed to clam up, go to prison, and wait to be exchanged.
germy
Superbeets has identified the real villains:
TenguPhule
@The Dangerman:
You’d think they’d actually look at the private gun ownership in Russia and connect the dots.
TenguPhule
@germy:
Betsy Devos and her Educational Commandos should sort it all out.
p.a.
Is it still KGB? New acronyms for the organs of state security?
TenguPhule
@Roger Moore:
Since Putin has pretty much killed all our undercover agents in Russia, I believe any exchange is going to be of coffins.
Roger Moore
@Cheryl Rofer:
They don’t sign up for this, or at least they don’t think that’s what they’re signing up for. They think they’re signing up for something much less, but once they’ve done one or two things they have a very hard time backing out.
zhena gogolia
@p.a.:
FSB
Kay
They’re like comic book bad people. He robbed donor funds intended for refugees to fund his diamond mine.
pamelabrown53
@Archon:
Absolutely! It’s becoming more and more evident than republicans are willing to jettison our democracy for staying in power. OTOH, I think their power grabs are becoming more and more blatant: I think we’ll see more traditional republican voters join in a temporary coalition to protect our democracy,
PaulWartenberg
Please. It’s NOT the KGB.
…
It’s the GRU.
Keep your facts straight. Sheesh.
Gin & Tonic
@Cheryl Rofer:
2014 called to tell you that that horse left the barn some time ago.
Gbbalto
Interesting article in Guardian. A Russian imprisoned for spying for the US appeals for an exchange deal. Wonder how that passed the prison censors?
Yevgeny Chistov, sorry, dont have link fu on phone. Timing is interesting.
Adam L Silverman
@Cheryl Rofer: One of my favorite party games: Guess the US Attorney…
catclub
@Aleta: Remember the guy who had a press pass from the GWBush white house.
Jeff Gannon also Guckert.
catclub
@PaulWartenberg: Is it a clip or a magazine? I never can keep that straight.
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: I’ve read the transcript. It is unclear from it whether Kashoggi was actually dead when the forensic pathologist began dismembering him.
Roger Moore
@Gin & Tonic:
The latest reports show Russia is again massing tanks on the Ukrainian border. It’s not 100% clear if they’re massing tank units or just moving their tanks there as a cheap show of force, but Putin’s attacks on Ukraine are unlikely to be finished.
WaterGirl
I saw a bumper sticker today on a car that had Hillary 2016 and I heart Obamacare stickers, and one more of the same vein that I can’t recall. This one said:
TenguPhule
The CDC keeps warning people not to eat raw cookie dough — even though it’s delicious
Once again, worst possible timeline.
Adam L Silverman
@Cheryl Rofer: Or an accident here. It’s one of the reasons Manafort is in solitary.
As for sign up for it, she basically had two choices. She could spend her whole life trying to eke out an existing in a small, impoverished village in Siberia or she could make a lot of money and live very comfortably as an operative. And, provided she was successful, that would be a long and comfortable life. She wasn’t able to get out and back to Russia in time, so not it is likely that it was a short and comfortable life that will come to an unfortunate end.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman:
At least mostly dead. //
/I should probably refrain from Princess Bride jokes here.
SenyorDave
@Aleta: I think Katie Pavlich reserved her place in hell with that story.
Aleta
NYT Dec ’17 (after these documents had been turned over to Congress)
Lately I wonder if the NRA is not broke (as they told the press), but doing what they can to have no assets on paper.
Mandalay
@Fair Economist:
The smart money is on death by falling. Off a balcony, out of a window, slipping on the floor,..
zhena gogolia
@PaulWartenberg:
The successor to the KGB is the FSB. GRU is military.
cain
@Kay:
And you can bet a lot of that is also used to get child soldiers and all other shit that ultimately oppresses the local people. Can’t believe he runs a goddam Christian ministry.
Gin & Tonic
@Adam L Silverman: I recall reading a longish piece, maybe in the Grauniad? after the Skripal hit team was ID’d, about how military and/or intelligence were really the only way out for young men in all those dipshit little towns in the East.
Gravenstone
@TenguPhule: In college, my roommate and I would make two batches of choc chip cookies. Eating the first raw, as the second baked. Those were the days (I guess).
Cheryl Rofer
Gin & Tonic
@Roger Moore: I know.
catclub
@germy: So with that reported, does Don Jr have to revise his security clearance form? yet again.
Cheryl Rofer
@Adam L Silverman: It’s the “provided she was successful” part where she should have evaluated the downside.
Cheryl Rofer
@Gin & Tonic: Oh, okay. I didn’t realize there was a rule he couldn’t do it again.
Adam L Silverman
@rikyrah: It is indeed.
TenguPhule
@Gravenstone: I still eat the bits clinging to the bowl after baking brownies.
trollhattan
@Roger Moore:
Ukraine is a five-bone standing rib roast and Crimea was just one rib. Vlad hungry!
gvg
why would her cooperation result in her deportation? Seems to me she would go to prison just like other spies have in the past.
I also don’t know that Putin would kill her. Seems to me they already have her and anything she might reveal is either Trump and associates are doing us favors (which they can probably prove with or without her) or Russian methods and assets which I think the Russians would have closed down and changed as soon as she was arrested (from reading spy fiction, I have no actual experience). I don’t think he would kill her for being caught as that would cause loyalty problems in the rest of his crew (I think). It’s not like killing her would actually keep it secret now. It’s too late.
Actually I think this reveals the problems with “controlling” a democratic leader. Trump can’t actually change a lot all by himself. It takes Congress too, and a lot of them. Even then, if it’s too conspicuously not in our best interests, its hard to make us go along. I suspect Putin and the Russians didn’t predict all the protests, letter writing to Congress, and sabotage by various agencies. And then there are things like the investigations that trump hasn’t actually been able to stop.
zhena gogolia
@Cheryl Rofer:
He never left, did he?
TenguPhule
@gvg:
Putin is a notorious bad boss and she has obviously failed him for the last time.
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: Ursine Lives Matter!!!!
Cheryl Rofer
@zhena gogolia: Not from Donbas, not from Crimea. What he may be looking for this time around is a land route to Crimea.
gene108
True gun rights activists know the NRA is nothing but a bunch of liberal squishes, so this is just in line with their limp wristed bullshit activity on gun lobbying. The NRA’s responsible for the 1934 and 1968 gun laws. They probably work harder to strip us of our gun rights than protect them. Fuck the NRA.
/gun nut
TenguPhule
@gvg:
53 Republicans in the Senate, 5 in the Supreme Court, to be precise. All of Putin’s longshot bets are paying off by the numbers.
Adam L Silverman
@p.a.: Currently it is FSB. Though about a year or so ago Putin ordered a reorg that reverted the FSB’s structure to that of the KGB prior to it being converted to the FSB post Soviet Union. So it’s FSB on the sign, KGB on the inside.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman: The right to arm bears will not be denied!
BC in Illinois
@The Dangerman:
@Yarrow:
They’re still available on Amazon, marketed as a “Funny T-Shirt.”
hueyplong
@Mandalay: So she would have a Gravity Incident.
Adam L Silverman
@Kay: I saw a documentary about this a while back:
TenguPhule
@hueyplong:
That’s just a theory.
Betty Cracker
@TenguPhule: Yeah, you definitely should. Jesus.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman:
I can’t believe its not Russian.
Gin & Tonic
@Cheryl Rofer: If you had written “invade more of” I’d have kept my yap shut.
Adam L Silverman
@Gin & Tonic: Pretty much. If I understand correctly a lot of those young men sign up as what translates as contract soldiers. Not career, not conscripts, something sort of approximating a combination of an all volunteer force and mercenaries.
TenguPhule
Nice Job breaking it, Conservadems. Just what we need going into 2019, infighting between two factions in the big tent.
PISS OUT, you wankers.
Adam L Silverman
Adam L Silverman
@Cheryl Rofer: Pretty much.
Burnspbesq
@MattF
I think you may have that backwards.
Ghost of Joe Lieblings Dog
@catclub:
I’ve always thought it was significant that “Gannon’s” falsity — his background in journalism was basically attending a two-day seminar put on by a wingnut promoter, and his pseudonym turned out to lead directly to websites advertising him as a sex worker — wasn’t discovered by his WHPC colleagues during his two years or so among them. “Our nation’s greatest journalists” seem to have blithely accepted him as one of their own.
Media Whores Online had it right.
(Edit : spellinngg.)
Yarrow
@BC in Illinois: I saw that but they’re not the same ones in the original picture.
David Hunt
@cain:
I think you’ve accidentally happened on the correct adjective.
TenguPhule
US starts to withdraw troops from Trump border mission
This stinks to high heaven. The ones being left behind are the skill set I’d worry most about being involved in an illegal operation.
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: My understanding is that she’s agreed to 6 terms as chair as the term limit. That’s 12 years as the chair once one is named chair. While I’m not a huge fan of the idea, she’s not talking about the 3 terms as chair limit the GOP has for when they’re in the majority.
TenguPhule
Pelosi, Schumer to meet with Trump, offer $1.3 billion for border as shutdown looms
Would Trump play the Grinch right before Christmas?
Elizabelle
@Ghost of Joe Lieblings Dog:
Could someone bring back Media Whores Online? Or buy out the site? Like, us, even?
I missed it in its heyday, but something like it is sorely needed. We need accountability in our media. Not just these careerist knob polishers, hair braiders, and access jackalopes.
The free press was not meant to be “the corporate press.”
BC in Illinois
@Yarrow:
Ah. So I happened upon an imitation “I’d Rather Be a Russian Than a Democrat” Funny T-Shirt. Thanks for the warning.
People! Accept no substitutes!!
Yarrow
@BC in Illinois: Just wondering where the original ones came from. I mean, who makes that? I think the Amazon one is a copycat of the original. I’m more curious about how the first ones came to be.
Mandalay
Not sure whether I am reading too much into this, but is this the start of a real response to Trump starting a trade war?….
Trump imposes a few tariffs on China, so China head stomps the American economy, disembowels it, and sets fire to the corpse. Simple tit for tat retaliation.
BC in Illinois
What I really want is an NRRRA funny t-shirt.
National Russian/Republican “Rifle” Association.
Anything that takes down the NRA is fine with me.
I even resent their logo. With its color scheme, when you see it on the back of the car in front of you, It can look like the Marine Corps logo. More than once, I have been tricked into thinking well of the driver in front of me.
NY Robbin
@rikyrah:
I wanna marry that thread!
Yarrow
@BC in Illinois:
Like this one?
geg6
@LuciaMia:
He’s way too far north to be hit by that, I’m pretty sure. He’s close enough to the PA line that his weather is generally the same as mine. And we haven’t gotten anything since early last week and that was just a dusting.
PaulWartenberg
I think I saw something about a key NRA figure getting fired today. I wonder if there’s correlation.
zhena gogolia
@Betty Cracker:
Betty, I learned from the New Yorker puzzle today that the Boston Terrier is known as The American Gentleman breed. Or maybe I’m a little off, I’ve already forgotten the exact wording.
VeniceRiley
And here’s another deal done AFTER la Orange submitted his written answers. I bet he would have loved to know she was cooperating! ha!
BC in Illinois
@Yarrow:
There it is!
And it’s 30% off!
Mike in DC
If there’s a 3rd branch of Russian interference–laundering money into Republican coffers–then this is the most likely path to uncovering it.
Mandalay
@rikyrah: Here’s another good thread…Glenn Greenwald makes the mistake of picking a fight with her:
https://twitter.com/queerBengali/status/1067515030067978242
ETA: …and here she’s going after Bernie Sanders:
https://twitter.com/queerbengali/status/1007609649745530880
Adam L Silverman
@Mike in DC: The NRA and GOP aligned SuperPACs. Including those of McConnell and Ryan.
J R in WV
@cain:
That’s because he doesn’t run a Christian Ministry, he pretends to run a Christian Ministry which is actually a money machine for his wealthy, private jets and blood diamond mine lifestyle! There’s nothing in the least bit Christian in anything Jerry Falwell (Jr), Franklin Graham, Pat Robertson, Oral Roberts, any of those scoundrels are doing!
opiejeanne
@TenguPhule: Use pasteurized eggs if you want to eat raw cookie dough, but there’s precious little dough left in the bowl when I bake cookies. I try to use every last scrap.
And I do taste the dough to make sure it’s right because sugar cookie recipes call for it, but I’ve had food poisoning and hope to never have it again. People die from that crap.
Yarrow
@BC in Illinois: Winning!
Changing the subject, this is hilarious:
Cardillo! Flynn! Gorka! It’s a trifecta of traitorous wingnuts!
Betty Cracker
@zhena gogolia: Yep, they’re called the American Gentleman because of the dapper little tux, gloves and spats. Mind lacks the spats, but he has the tux and gloves!
ellie
@rikyrah: It really is. Thank you for posting this!
BC in Illinois
@J R in WV:
I remember reading somewhere that the Lord really doesn’t like people taking up his name in order to misuse it. Something about “he will not hold them guiltless.” Really strong language. Exodus 20something.
BC in Illinois
@Yarrow:
Cardillo isn’t totally committed to Flynn as CoS.
He also says that Mark Meadows would be a fine choice.
As someone has said, it’s the search for the 2nd most amoral man in Washington DC.
Yarrow
@BC in Illinois: Didn’t Mark Meadows say no already?
Ladyraxterinok
@Kay: That info has been around for yrs! They’ve JUST learned this?!?!
A Ghost To Most
Probably already covered, but the vast majority of gun owners are not NRA. AS I’ve said before, I turned down a free NRA Lifetime membership 35 years ago.
Ladyraxterinok
@catclub: A gay stripper with his own webpage? Impossible to keep up.
Aardvark Cheeselog
@MattF: Maybe nothing! NRA laundering money for the Russians, now…
Yarrow
Even more hilarious:
I just don’t see that happening.
The Moar You Know
Better than Hillary.
Dig right down to it, the fucking Trumpanistas would be totes OK with genocide, so long as we didn’t have President Hillary.
Short of a full rescinding of the First Amendment, and an immediate ban on all cable news, I don’t see how this gets fixed.
J R in WV
@Yarrow:
Gorka is Hungarian, or somewhat close to that, who can be sure in Eastern Europe.
Anyway, he isn’t American, so, while he can be a spy or an agent of a foreign and hostile power, he can’t be a traitor until he swears an oath to defend the Constitution, which no one in their right mind would expect him to really support.
@BC in Illinois:
Yes, true. Jesus even tells us to pray in secret, in a closet, lest someone think we might be hypocrites praying to be seen praying. Evidently there were hucksters working the religious vein of money even back in his day!!!
Not that I’m an actual Christian at all, far from it, but I do find many words of wisdom in the words of the Christ. Most if not all of that is of course ignored by today’s most popular Christian Preachers! And as an honest man, I feel free to use pronouns like “we” and “us” when I quote the Scripture’s words of Jesus.
Yarrow
@J R in WV: Gorka is a naturalized American citizen, as of 2012.
zhena gogolia
@Betty Cracker:
And he’s dapper as all get-out!
Mike in NC
@BC in Illinois: There appear to be a lot of NRA members who are also Marines (active, reserve, retired, etc.). Seen many rear windows with both decals. Navy Exchanges don’t sell guns or ammo, but Marine Corps Exchanges sell a lot of both.
Immanentize
@rikyrah: @NY Robbin:
I don’t want to marry that thread, but I did want a cigarette after reading it.
BC in Illinois
@Yarrow:
You may be right, and there are other people who have taken themselves out of the running, but they haven’t come face-to-face with the persuasive powers of Individual-1. I hear that he’s quite the negotiator.
On the other hand, people are overlooking the fact that there are positive aspects to taking this job. You might have the chance to meet Robert Mueller and maybe even get his autograph. That would be valuable!
jamey
@TenguPhule: Does she have any known bladder control issues?
Yarrow
@BC in Illinois: Your own court document signed by Robert Mueller. A real keepsake!
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Yarrow: I wonder if the WH has mentioned this to Christie.
John Revolta
@Yarrow: The guy who put Jared’s father away? What could go wrong?
J R in WV
@Yarrow:
Ok, not the first time I’ve made a factual error like that. So S. Gorka DID take an oath to support and defend the US Constitution.
Treason happening right in his head, then~!!!~ Do they still hang those folks, or is it a firing squad? Asking for a friend!
eemom
@BC in Illinois:
Why is it even a thing who Dump’s next CoS is gonna be? Talk about deck chairs on the Titanic…..
Keith P
@Yarrow: Mark Sanchez is starting again, so you never know
Barbara
@Yarrow: If he wants a functioning white house he should just resign immediately.
Ladyraxterinok
@cain: IIRC his dad was a congressman, saw that he stayed in Japan when Pat was in military during Korean War (read this yrs ago).
Pat made big deal about how god promised he Pat would start the 1st Xn tv channel. So it was ‘fulfillmet of god’s promise’ when he started CBN(Christian Broadcasting Network).
When Orai Roberts U and the Oral Roberts Ministries got into terrific financial difficulties after
Oral died (son Richard was prez of U and he and his wife mixed up finances of both entities), Pat bailed out the U temporarily. The Green family of Hobby Lobby bailed the U out permanently; in partial return the family got a permant seat on the ORU Board of Regents.
Note 1: Pat has Regents U, Falwell Liberty U, and Oral ORU.
Note 2: Michelle Bachman got her law degree from ORU Law School (now closed). David Barton the ‘historian’ who pushes ‘America is a christian nation’ and is a majpr GOP power is an ORU grad–in PE!! IIRC. Kenneth Copeland, one of US’ wealthiest televangelists, attended ORU and was Oral’s pilot forma time in the 60s
Mandalay
@Yarrow:
I do. Since Trump lost Papadopoulos he has been looking for a new coffee boy, and Christie will put up with any amount of shit and humiliation.
The only obstacle to the beautiful union is the opposition of Trump’s son-in-law, Bone Saw, who hates Christie like poison.
J R in WV
@Keith P:
I watched some of that… they should’a called that guy who took the ’49ers to the Superbowl… what was his name? Colin Kaepernick, or something like that, wasn’t it?
I wonder if you can still get one of his jerseys from his Superb Owl days?
BC in Illinois
@Ladyraxterinok:
Off on the topic of Pat Robertson running for President, 1988, well known theologian Johnny Carson said
OldDave
@J R in WV:
^ ^ ^ ^ THIS ^ ^ ^ ^
Ladyraxterinok
@Elizabelle: Ig was so incredible!! IIRC bartcop often linked to it.
The Moar You Know
@gene108: I have heard this verbatim (I assume you have too) minus the “probably”, from GOA/other gun org members. It has the added bonus of being mostly accurate. The only saving grace of the NRA is that, while spending all their time and money to get Republicans into office (and furthering Russian interests, looks like) they really haven’t done jack shit to defend any gun “rights” (like they need defending in a nation with as many guns as citizens) at all.
Elizabelle
@zhena gogolia: Had not realized The New Yorker had a puzzle. Just worked it. Thank you for the tip on one of the clues; would not have gotten it without. What fun.
Millard Filmore
@John Revolta:
Trump says: I’m gonna take you down with me!
Elizabelle
@Ladyraxterinok: I missed the whole thing.
But we need it back. Why don’t we have such a resource now?
burnspbesq
@John Revolta:
None of us can count all the ways that could go wrong.
Ladyraxterinok
@BC in Illinois: Totally freaked out when I learned jn 90s that one of my new colleagues had been on Pat’s national campaign staff in 88. As far as I know, until then I didn’t know anyone who even voted for Pat!
MomSense
@J R in WV:
I think Ivanka should be hanged by her giraffe neck. Jared a firing squad. Same for Don jr. Whatever happens to trump senior, I hope they rip that wig off his head first.
Adam L Silverman
@Yarrow: Jared? Is that you?
raven
@MomSense: Asshole to earlobe with a dull deer antler!
zhena gogolia
@Elizabelle:
Sorry for the spoiler! I wasn’t thinking! I was just excited to tell Betty.
MisterForkbeard
@Yarrow: You don’t see Christie getting the job, or don’t see them ever having a “functioning White House”?
Because both of those sound pretty far-fetched.
Ruckus
I’d bet the number is some. Which is more than a few and less than most. IOW most of them might not even know what KGB stands for.
Ruckus
@pamelabrown53:
Communists didn’t have money to pay off republicans, Vlad does.
Elizabelle
@zhena gogolia: No apologies, please. I honestly didn’t know The New Yorker had a crossword, and I am even a subscriber. It was kind of challenging, but fair.
zhena gogolia
@Elizabelle:
They just started it a couple of months ago. It’s every Monday. I like it a lot — the clues are more literate and unexpected than the NYT or WaPo (except Evan Birnholz).
A Ghost To Most
@The Moar You Know: Yep, GOA are worse than NRA, but represent an even smaller % than the NRA. It’s like saying the Nation of Islam represents all black Americans.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Yarrow: Christie was repeatedly humiliated during the campaign and transition. He’ll never join the never trump camp because he thinks he’s not done in politics, but I doubt he’d take a job in this White House. I could be overestimating him, I think he’s a corrupt bully, but I don’t think he’s stupid
I also wonder if he’s been interviewed by Mueller
Corner Stone
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
It’s not really “stupid”, but more that he believes he really is smarter than everyone else around him. Remember the whole, “I worked the cones” comedy routine? But I agree Christie has a keen sense of getting the F away from legal jeopardy.
Corner Stone
@Keith P:
The Sanchize!
Ruckus
If anyone could take me out of moderation for having dyslexia I’d appreciate it.
Corner Stone
@MomSense:
God damn. Co-sign.
A Ghost To Most
@Corner Stone:
A keen sense is not required. This clusterfuck is visible from space.
TenguPhule
@MomSense:
So beheading it is then.
Corner Stone
@A Ghost To Most: Yeah, getting forklifted away from the clusterfuck that is this WH legal scene isn’t that hard to predict. I would give even odds that Trump can’t find someone to fill the CoS role and just doesn’t fill it. Pretty soon it’s going to be just him and Kelly Ann Conway.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
The Kushners have long memories, and I suspect Christie knows how to carry a grudge, too.
A Ghost To Most
@TenguPhule:
Hang them all together, like the Lincoln conspirators.
My small suggestion to promote hemp cultivation.
Redshift
@A Ghost To Most: GOA’s views may be worse, but I don’t get any sense they own the GOP or can effectively move their base the way the NRA does. And my impression is that they’re an actual membership organization, unlike the NRA, which long ago became a lobbying org for gun manufacturers whose membership claims are almost entirely fictional.
TS (the original)
@Barbara: winner!
TenguPhule
@A Ghost To Most:
i’m not sure even hemp is strong enough to keep Donald Doughfingers aloft long enough to do the job properly.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Corner Stone: kinda surprised we haven’t heard Kellyanne floated as CoS. Maybe George’s tweets aren’t 100% forgiven.
lurker dean
roid rage anger clown dan bongino wasn’t renewed at nra tv. he’s claiming he received a generous renewal offer but turned it down. yeah, right, lol. :o)
thanks for posting monjula ray, i’ve never run across her posts on twitter, i like her style :o)
jays
@opiejeanne: It’s not just raw eggs that will get you. https://www.consumerreports.org/e-coli/avoid-e-coli-infection-from-flour/
JaySinWA
@opiejeanne: It’s not just raw eggs that will get you. https://www.consumerreports.org/e-coli/avoid-e-coli-infection-from-flour/
A Ghost To Most
@TenguPhule:
It’s all in how much slack is in the rope. In Saddam’s case, too much slack. Shit happens.
TenguPhule
@A Ghost To Most: I’ll defer to the experts on that. My specialty is garrottes.
divF
@Yarrow: Now that Virginia’s 10th congressional district bounced Barbara Comstock, Christie’s first act as CoS would be to start major repair projects on all the bridges across the Potomac.
misterpuff
@TenguPhule: Wolverines!
Only shoot the brown ones (Cubanos)!
Scamp Dog
@PaulWartenberg: GRU is Military Intelligence, the KGB was the Soviet Union’s independent spy service. The FSB is the current Russian government’s security service, with the SVR as its foreign intelligence component.
MomSense
@raven:
Now that is wicked! I like it.
Tenar Arha
@Immanentize: Yuuup. Adding a bourbon ? to that….
The Pale Scot
@Adam L Silverman:
Que Python’s Death of Mary Queen of the Scots
Mainmata
Fun Fact, Butina is a Lithuanian word meaning “necessary”. Maria was a necessary part of the Kremlin 2016 strategy if only to thoroughly blackmail the GOP via the NRA.