Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Come on, man.

“In this country American means white. everybody else has to hyphenate.”

You cannot shame the shameless.

I really should read my own blog.

Disagreements are healthy; personal attacks are not.

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Their freedom requires your slavery.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

This fight is for everything.

Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

Republicans do not trust women.

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

If you can’t control your emotions, someone else will.

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Monday Morning Open Thread: Counting Down

Monday Morning Open Thread: Counting Down

by | 210 Comments

This post is in: ,

(Thanks to commentor NotMax)
.

This afternoon, Murphy the Trickster God willing, we’ll go pick out a tree from our favorite local garden center. And in the evening, we’ll decorate it, which is the climax of holiday prepping for this household.

Tomorrow: A movie (I’m hoping Aquaman) and dinner at SuChang‘s. Because TRADITION!

How’s the preparations — if only for a day of routine disruptions — going in your neighborhoods?

(Nick Anderson via GoComics.com)
.

Reader Interactions

210Comments

  3. 3.

    satby

    @rikyrah: Good morning rikyrah, and Merry Christmas /Happy Holidays to all!

    I got confirmation that our former exchange student, now a woman in her forties, has safely arrived in Chicago for our reunion tomorrow. And I got a new iPad (Merry Christmas to me) so we can try to FaceTime with some of our other far flung friends tomorrow. Haven’t had a ton of luck connecting yet, but the kids will show me what I’m doing wrong!

  6. 6.

    NotMax

    First, a touch of seasonal music, hokey but not pokey.

    Second, not to start a whole thing about the colorizing of movies, about which I’m ambivalent, mostly in a “why bother” sort of way, FYI there’s a colorized version (also, unfortunately, the heavily edited print – the 15 minutes excised make for a significantly lesser experience) of the 1935 Seymour Hicks A Christmas Carol available on Amazon Prime. If have any more than passing interest in this movie, though, opt for the 78 minute b&w version.

  7. 7.

    evap

    I am in Mysore, India and resting up after a day of visiting the incredible, stunning Mysore Palace and an even more stunning and incredible temple 30 km outside of town. When I put this trip together I did not realize that half of India along with a large number of foreign tourists come to Mysore for the Christmas holiday. We had a family Christmas celebration/dinner a week ago so the only sign of Christmas tomorrow will be the “Merry Christmas” the spousal unit and I exchange in the morning.

  8. 8.

    DavidC

    Today it’s decorating the tree and toy assembly time. A modest Christmas Eve dinner (Polonia meets Maryland – crab cakes) and choir rehearsal for the Christmas Eve service. We did Lessons and Carols last week and plan to reuse two of the pieces. After 20 years teaching Sunday school, I thought it was time to try singing. Thinking of writing a book: “Tenors: We’re Divas, Too.”

    Oh, and dose #1 of Shingrix is kicking my butt today. But I had shingles a couple of years ago and don’t want to go through that again.

  9. 9.

    JMG

    Did bread and pastry-related food shopping for tonight and tomorrow, as apparently did everyone else in Bordeaux. First bakery I’ve ever been in with a security guard. Who knew candied fruits were legal tender in France? We are all set in our Air BnB temporary home, with a small tree, stockings hung, etc. The only future communiques to come from me in the next two days will probably be burps.
    One last note of possible interest. Before I left for this trip, I wondered what kind of non-sacred Christmas music was played in France, or other foreign countries. The answer is, the same kind as here, and far more of it, too. I have had such experiences as hearing Gene Autry warble “Here Comes Santa Claus” as I crossed the Jardin Tuileries in Paris, or leaving a tour of the main cathedral in Strasbourg, which was the tallest building in Europe for 300 years, to the strains of Elvis rocking “Blue Christmas” at the Christmas market that surrounds it. A restaurant in a very small Alsatian town had pure American instrumental Christmas music, such as Duke Ellington and Booker T and the MGs, playing as we dined.
    So no matter where you roam, there is no escape from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Like jazz and rock n’ roll, Christmas songs you don’t sing in church are a world-conquering American invention.

  16. 16.

    Betty Cracker

    We’ve been lucky with the weather and it looks like that luck will continue to hold. We’re hosting relatives through Christmas who are flooded out of their Suwannee River homes (their houses are on stilts so not underwater, but the roads are impassable). If it were cold and rainy, conditions would be super-cramped since our house isn’t very big. But fortunately, it’s been sunny and warm, so the party can expand onto the porches, yard, dock, etc.

    Today I’m making lasagna for the folks who are staying with us plus my visiting siblings, nieces and nephews. Tomorrow, I’m cooking two standing rib roasts, a vast tray of potatoes gratin, a butt-load of asparagus, and Parker House rolls for 16 people.

  19. 19.

    NotMax

    @Betty Cracker

    Having cooked more times in the past than can count for our gaming group of 16 ravenous people, deepest empathy.

    Presumably there will be copious libations.

  23. 23.

    Betty Cracker

    I’ve been avoiding the news since some of the relatives staying with us are Trumpsters and I don’t want to have that screaming match again. But I was just catching up on the news online and saw that Trump directed Mnuchin (who is vacationing in Cabo) to call bank executives and ascertain that the banks are sound and then issued a statement (again, at Trump’s insistence) assuring people that there’s plenty of credit?!? Jesus H. Christ, these people are morons. I think I’ll post signs throughout the ‘hood telling the neighbors that there have been no recent sightings of giant mutant alligators with frickin’ laser beams mounted on their heads. They’ll be reassured!

  25. 25.

    Schlemazel

    @JMG:
    Bordeaux? Ok, that is I officially hate all of you. Visiting all these great places

    I am going to work in a few minutes. The only good part is it will be deserted there

  28. 28.

    JPL

    One of the british jackals mentioned the John Lewis department store ads awhile back. I have been watching some to help me get in the holiday spirit. I have some last minute food shopping and then just some clean up and setting the table.

    John Lewis Advert

  30. 30.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Now we’re in trouble.

    Why, I didn’t see anybody talk about Balloon Juice? Well, until I got to a tweet from a David Anderson(he’s good but no Dick Mayhew) and a tweet from our Blogfather who art in West(by God) Virginia(who had the good taste not to mention this here blog).

  33. 33.

    JPL

    @Betty Cracker: I didn’t realize it was at the president’s order, but that does bring some clarity to the situation. I think the market is only open a half day, so maybe it won’t fall much.

  34. 34.

    otmar

    Decorating the tree is know handled by Spawn #2 as I sit and watch and give approving noises.

    T-5h to the big present opening. We do this on Christmas eve, not Christmas day here in Austria.

    I have to apologise, I’ve been sloppy with sharing pictures of the holiday season in Austrian towns. I hope I can find time to present some impressions from Vienna, Linz and Velden.

  37. 37.

    Baud

    @Betty Cracker:

    I think I’ll post signs throughout the ‘hood telling the neighbors that there have been no recent sightings of giant mutant alligators with frickin’ laser beams mounted on their heads.

    We both know that would be a lie, Betty.

  42. 42.

    Schlemazel

    @Betty Cracker:
    Same here but it can get stressful particularly when people stand around in the way or “help” by doing things that don’t need to be done, or done right then.

    Made holiday meals for 35+ a couple of times and planning is key.

  54. 54.

    debbie

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    He was checking to make sure they have enough liquidity to keep lending. Of course they do; whether they will let anyone pry any of it out of their cold, clenched fists is a different matter entirely.

  58. 58.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Betty Cracker: He’s just SUCH a fucking moron. He doesn’t understand that the stock market isn’t the economy or that neither is the Federal Reserve. He just thinks they’re all “money.” Similarly, he doesn’t understand that the Attorney General isn’t the White House Counsel; he just thinks they’re “his lawyers,” which he also thinks means “the people who use tricks to make my problems go away.” I’m not sure there has ever been a public figure who is so comprehensively, surpassingly dumb about basic and major matters.

  59. 59.

    JPL

    @rikyrah: Some of the comments are quite good … Child separation policy
    He’s lucky that he doesn’t have to spend much time with his father.

  62. 62.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Plato: Someone is recommending that people read Atrios? Was Ezra’s question “what blogs will you be reading in 2002?” And was the answer “Open Thread” or “WHEEEE”?

  65. 65.

    A Ghost To Most

    According to a report in the Washington Post, outgoing Defense Secretary James Mattis assured Congressional leaders that he would keep a close eye on President Donald Trump to keep him from starting a nuclear holocaust.


    Merry Xmas

  66. 66.

    Chris T.

    It’s the Trump Slump!

    As for the Mnuchin thing … I remember an old Carol Burnett sketch in which the “flight crew” of an airplane get on the PA and assure the passengers that the engine is NOT on fire, the wings are NOT falling off, etc., just to screw with the passengers. I’m not saying that Mnuchin is deliberately trying to screw with investors, I’m saying he’s stupid enough not to realize that this is what he’s doing.

  67. 67.

    Chyron HR

    So when the President of the United States brings a Slovenian sex worker to Christmas dinner, does he force his adult children to call her, “mom”?

    (I forget if I made this joke here or on Wonkette, sorry if it’s a repeat.)

  70. 70.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @debit: Mostly he’s moved on to bashing Elon Musk’s hyperloop and self driving cars. When he posts on something other than those two topics he still provides fairly enlightened commentary and some pretty good snark.

  71. 71.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    For Tony Jay. (I don’t know what will post of this but it comes with a picture of the queen in front of a Christmas tree)

    "My Christmas message this year is an important one. As brexit looms, food and medical supplies run low, I have decreed that two children from every district will be brought to the capital for the first ever Brexit Games. May the odds be forever in your favour" pic.twitter.com/vbP1cYIzcr— TechnicallyRon (@TechnicallyRon) December 24, 2018

  74. 74.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    My top three are this here blog, Talking Points Memo (which is more than a typical blog at this point) and Steve Bennen. Second tier (check regularly but not daily reads) are Charlie Pierce and The Washington Monthly’s Political Animal blog. That one is generally solid except for when they get naval gazing about the state of the Democratic party. Wonkette is good for snark, but not really anything else. I get enough snark here so I hardly read it.

  76. 76.

    Brachiator

    @A Ghost To Most:

    According to a report in the Washington Post, outgoing Defense Secretary James Mattis assured Congressional leaders that he would keep a close eye on President Donald Trump to keep him from starting a nuclear holocaust.

    Mattis is gone January 1.
    Nuclear Holocaust to ring in the New Year?

  80. 80.

    Plato

    As many as 3,000 people have been evacuated after residents of a newly completed tower block in Australia reported hearing “cracking noises”.

    Police confirmed they had found a crack in the 33-storey Opal Tower, in Sydney Olympic Park, following reports of the noise on the 10th floor.

    Engineers said the high-rise tower has moved up to 2mm, local media reported.

    A 1km (0.6 mile) evacuation zone, which also affected other buildings, was put in place amid safety fears.

    An email to residents of a nearby apartment block said the evacuation had been ordered because “there is a potential for the tower to collapse”, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

  83. 83.

    Brachiator

    @Betty Cracker:

    But I was just catching up on the news online and saw that Trump directed Mnuchin (who is vacationing in Cabo) to call bank executives and ascertain that the banks are sound and then issued a statement (again, at Trump’s insistence) assuring people that there’s plenty of credit?!?

    Hmm. I wonder if Trump is going to use this to justify more and nastier hate Tweets directed at Fed Chairman Powell?

  84. 84.

    Immanentize

    Happy Morning of Christmas Eve, Everyone.

    Running around getting last minute foods for incoming Father- and Brother-in-law. Cleaning up attic room for one of them to sleep in, finishing some baking….

    The Immp is heading to Harvard Square to hang out and eat a cheese burger.

    Good luck everyone with travels and company and staying put if that is your plan.

  87. 87.

    Immanentize

    @Baud: @debit: He is still certain that self-driving autos will never be a thing, ever. But he has finally decided calculators may replace slide rules.

    Atrios is a chat room without content

  88. 88.

    Steeplejack

    Guess I’ll throw this in here. Someone’s link to YouTube reminded me that I hadn’t yet listened to my favorite (non-)Christmas song this year: the Trade Winds, “New York’s a Lonely Town.” It has been embedded in my brain forever as a holiday tune. I think it’s the sleigh bells and snow imagery.

  90. 90.

    debbie

    @rikyrah:

    I’m off, but thinking about signing in remotely and helping out. I’d rather watch paint dry, to be honest.

    T-77 minutes until Nine Carols!

  91. 91.

    different-church-lady

    Gosh, remember the days when a television network was willing to spend an entire minute showing you something?

  93. 93.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Baud: As one of the smallest guys on the field, I lived for those moments, few and far between tho they were. I always found a way to bring them down but usually I was the one getting massacred. I tore the cartilage in one knee, broke my 3 and 4th lumbar, suffered several concussions, lost 4 front teeth, and somehow someway never broke my nose.

    No, I wasn’t very smart. Why do you ask?

  94. 94.

    rikyrah

    BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA H HA HA HA HA

    ‘Twas The Night Before Mueller

    ‘Twas the night before Christmas
    when thro’ the White House,
    Not an immigrant was stirring, not even his spouse;
    The McDonald’s was wrapped up by the pillow with care,
    Just in case POTUS got hungry while there;

    The two eldest boys were asleep in their beds,
    While visions of Fox News anchors danc’d in their heads,
    And Melania in her night gown, ignoring my tap,
    Had just turned away for her long winter’s nap-

    When out on the south lawn there arose such a clatter,
    I turned off Rush Limbaugh to see what was the matter.
    To the window I went as the dark room unwinds,
    Hiked up my undies, and opened the blinds.

    The moon on my eyes was more kind than the eclipse,
    Illuminating the lawn cut by the boy who didn’t take tips;
    When, what to my failing eyes did befell,
    But a humming black van with the words SPECIAL COUNSEL,

    With a spirited driver, an oh-so-clever looking fella,
    I knew in a moment it must be Robert Mueller!

    More rapid than eagles, his prosecutors came,
    As I drew in my head, he calmly called them by name:
    “Now! Ahmad, now! Goldstein, now! Quarles, and Zebley,
    “On! Van Grack, on! Quarles, on! Zelinsky and Dickey;
    “To the top of Mar-a-lago! To the bottom of Trump Tower!
    Now seize everything! everything! take all his power!”

    Like an unraked forest that a fire had burned,
    This whirlwind of activity would leave no stone unturned;
    So ascending the roof, the team somehow flew,
    With their black, sturdy van and Robert Mueller too:

    And then, in a flash, I heard them up above,
    Sweeping for evidence, each wearing a black, leather glove.
    Knowing they were looking was not good for my health,
    To make matters worse, I suddenly saw Mueller himself:

    He’d snuck in the side door and was dressed in a suit,
    When he saw my reaction he let out a hoot;
    A bundle of evidence stored in his briefcase,
    And he look’d relieved, like he’d just won the race:

    His eyes – how they twinkled! His jawline so firm,
    His cheeks were like roses, his nose oh so stern;
    His lips were pursed, like he’d something to say,
    He was very clean cut, with no stubble that day;

    He took out a cigar and lighter from the vest that he wore,
    His smoke rings were perfect, he had done this before.
    He had an honest face, and a veteran’s physique
    He was tall and athletic and in no way meek

    He was scary and strong and so much smarter than I
    I peed my pants a bit and couldn’t help but cry

    A wink of his eye and a nod of his head
    Soon let me know that I had everything to dread

    He spoke not a word, but continued his job,
    And found all my tapes, even the ones from the mob,

    And pointing at me was a man so big and so large,
    He shook his head and back out the side door he’d charge

    He returned to his van, to his team gave a shout,
    Seventeen of them came, carrying evidence out:
    But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight-
    Mueller Christmas Donald, enjoy your last night!

  96. 96.

    geg6

    Gotta pick up a few things at the grocery. One present had not yet arrived. Hoping it will come today.

    I have some Frenched rack of lamb for tonight, with roasted veggies and mushroom risotto. My contribution to tomorrow’s family shindig is easy—veggies. Throwing together a salad and making orange braised carrots and parsnips from an Ina Garten recipe that sounds just luscious.

    Going to a party today at a friend’s restaurant. They are Italian (as is the restaurant). We love their food. Looking forward to some fish dishes, homemade gnocchi and some wood fire pizza. In fact, lamb may have to wait for Wednesday’s dinner. We’ll see.

  97. 97.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Would-be thief calls police from inside car he was trying to steal

    Christmas came early for police in Trondheim when a would-be car thief called the local station to confess he was locked inside the vehicle he was trying to steal.

    “He called us just before 8am on Christmas Eve from inside the car he had just broken into,” Ebbe Kimo, the operations manager for the Trøndelag force in central Norway, said in an interview with the state broadcaster NRK.

    “He couldn’t open the doors. He knows us quite well and clearly thought it would be OK to call us for help. A bit like calling a friend, really.”

    Kimo said the 17-year-old thief had managed to open the doors of a Volvo parked outside a dealership in Norway’s third-largest city, not far from the prison, without doing any noticeable damage to the car, but subsequently found himself trapped by its centralised locking system.

    “He sounded quite stressed and desperate when he called us, and I think he was relieved when we arrived,” the officer told TV2.

    Some years back a friend had his minivan stolen from behind his house. He dutifully reported it stolen and figured he’d probably never see it again. A week later it reappeared in his parking spot.

  99. 99.

    Joey Maloney

    I’m skipping the Jaffa Christmas parade, but later on going to a friend’s house where we’ll eat homemade fruitcake and brie and drink eggnog until we’re sick of life.

    Then tomorrow, as you say, Anne Laurie, tradition! Movie and Chinese.

  100. 100.

    Brachiator

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    He sounded quite stressed and desperate when he called us, and I think he was relieved when we arrived,” the officer told TV2.

    Lucky thing that he had a cell phone. Modern technology to the rescue.

  102. 102.

    geg6

    @JPL:

    Yeah, at least I’ll be fat and happy this holiday. Italian is my favorite type of food. The rack of lamb is easy but delish. And my veggies will be accompanying my older sister’s roasted tenderloin. It’s all going to be wonderful. I know we’ll be drinking wine and sambucca today at the restaurant. Got a nice Zinfandel for the lamb. And an inexpensive but good Pinot noir for Christmas dinner. I’ll not only be fat and happy, but have a pleasant buzz.

  103. 103.

    JPL

    Cooking question.. Is it okay to prep an acorn squash early? I cut the squash into rings and then baste them with olive oil and honey.

  104. 104.

    JPL

    @geg6: The only time that I had a rack of lamb was at a luncheon. The cook studied at the cordon bleu in Paris. It was delish. Someday I’ll try it myself.

  105. 105.

    geg6

    @JPL:

    I see no reason you can’t have it prepped. Squash is pretty hardy and can easily sit for quite a while after cutting it up. Just don’t season it until you put it in to roast.

  106. 106.

    satby

    Busy morning so far. Just verified that the last of the shipments are out for delivery today or were all delivered (Whew!).
    Surprised Qunoot in Bahrain with a FaceTime and promised we will call her tomorrow so she can talk to the kids too.
    Trying to get a good time to call my guys in Mexico tomorrow since they’re all together at their mother’s house. And Joe in NYC.
    And need to start wrapping presents. It’s going to be a nice Christmas.

  108. 108.

    geg6

    @JPL:

    It’s very easy to make. Make sure to get the rack already Frenched. You can sometimes buy it that way or you can have the store butcher do it for you.

  109. 109.

    zhena gogolia

    @Baud:

    I made the mistake of telling my ex-husband about it, and I explained that most commenters use pseudonyms. He said, “What’s your pseudonym?” And I suddenly realized I had made a terrible, terrible mistake. So I just said, “I’m not going to tell you.”

  110. 110.

    Yarrow

    we’ll go pick out a tree from our favorite local garden center.

    It’s amazing they still have trees. They’ve been gone since early this week near me. One year I waited until the 21st and had to pick from six remaining trees, all in bad shape. With decorations it was okay, but it was a real Charlie Brown tree.

  116. 116.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @JPL: How early is early? I don’t see a problem with a few hours and maybe not even a day ahead, tho I’ve never tried that.

  119. 119.

    germy

    My friend Lindsay Graham is a bit mad right now. You see, he’s never seen a war end before. He’s going to have to console himself with the fact that we still are in about 8 more. I know it will be hard for him, but I think he’ll get by.— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 23, 2018

  120. 120.

    germy

    Well, actually…let’s talk about John Bolton. I don’t have a grievance. I just really would have liked to have been in the room when the POTUS told him to END a war. How many times do you think he made the President repeat it because he didn’t even know what the words meant?— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 23, 2018

    Posts like this make me embarassed that you are my Senator. Before broadcasting inanane rantings that add nothing to our political discourse, spare a thought for how they reflect upon those of us you purportedly represent.— Matthew Bradley (@mbradleytu) December 24, 2018

  121. 121.

    laura

    The family hit town last night! Dinner at our local pizza-ish place, and I got the last of the wrapping done last night. Both teen nephews will stay with me and spouse until after boxing day. I’m gonna Aunt So Hard!
    Let “low expectation christmas” begin!
    Safe travels road-bound jackals.
    Re: blog rolling- dont overlook Driftglass or Mock Paper Scissors – good stuff!

  122. 122.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Brachiator: I don’t fear that Trump will press the nuclear button. There are many other ways for him to destroy this country. A nuclear war would interfere with Trump’s grifting so that’s not going to happen.

  123. 123.

    Yarrow

    @JPL: Speaking of pets, the 2019 Pets of Balloon Juice calendar is ready to go. John first posted about it late at night and I then briefly mentioned it yesterday. It’s gorgeous and it’s not getting the love and attention is deserves!

  124. 124.

    JPL

    @OzarkHillbilly: We do the feast tonight and it’s time for me to get busy cleaning.
    I went to Fresh Market earlier to pick up a few items and the clerk bagged up my items like the sales clerk in Love Actually. Does a piece of salmon already wrapped in paper need a separate paper bag and then a separate plastic bag, although several items including rolls had separate paper and separate plastic bags? Normally I bring my own bag, and that might be the technique they use to remind one, never forget to bring your reusable bag.

  127. 127.

    germy

    @JPL:

    He must have been a horrible child.

    They’re all long dead by now, but I bet the household staff had a ton of ugly stories about him when he was a child.

  128. 128.

    Yarrow

    @germy: He’s also in deep with Russia like his dad, who weirdly I saw on CNN a few days ago. WTF was he doing there? Sound wasn’t up and I only saw the screen for a minute so didn’t catch any of what was going on. Why would Ron Paul be back on TV now? Nervous about the Mueller investigation, maybe? Hmmm…..

  131. 131.

    Gelfling 545

    Listening to the Lessons & Carols from King’s College on WNED. Just started. I try to listen every year. I have not been religious on years but there is something, to me, touching about this service. And the music is extraordinary. Also making rum balls for those who made my good list this year.

  136. 136.

    Yarrow

    @schrodingers_cat: Yep. Been saying we need a program of education on propaganda–what it is, who’s putting it out, how it influences our elections, how people can taken in by it, how to spot it, how to combat it. At this point it seems important for our national security.

  139. 139.

    Plato

    To drone or not.

    The suggestion there may not have been any drones at Gatwick Airport was a “miscommunication by police”, a government source has told the BBC.

    During a conference call between ministers, chaired by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, it was agreed the 67 drone sightings were legitimate.

    But over the weekend, a senior police officer said it was a “possibility” there had never been a drone.

    About 1,000 flights were affected during the airport’s 36 hours of chaos.

    The airport has spent £5m since Wednesday on new equipment and technology to prevent copycat attacks.

    Sussex Police has insisted it was not “back to square one” after releasing an arrested man, 47, and woman, 54, without charge on Sunday.

    A government source said the force accepted that there had been “poor communications”.

    Det Ch Supt Jason Tingley had cast doubt over possible drone sightings as police had not been able to acquire any footage.

    Asked about this, he said: “We are working with human beings saying they have seen something.”

    He later clarified the force was “actively investigating” 67 reports of sightings and there were some “persons of interest” but would not reveal if officers were close to making any further arrests.

  140. 140.

    rikyrah

    Maddow did a segment on this.

    This muthaphucka here!!!

    All against government, except for when it can help them.

    Now, what if someone in 44’s Administration had tried this?

    …………………………………………………………..

    A Top Aide’s Exit Plan Raises Eyebrows in the White House
    By Maggie Haberman and Nicholas Fandos
    Dec. 20, 2018

    WASHINGTON — After weeks of discussions about his future, Zachary D. Fuentes, the 36-year-old deputy White House chief of staff, had a plan.

    Mr. Fuentes told colleagues that after his mentor, John F. Kelly, left his job as chief of staff at the end of the year, he would “hide out” at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, adjacent to the White House, for six months, remaining on the payroll in a nebulous role. Then, in July, when he had completed 15 years of service in the Coast Guard, Mr. Fuentes — an active-duty officer — would take advantage of an early retirement program.

    The program, referred to as temporary early retirement authority, had lapsed for Coast Guard officials at the end of the 2018 fiscal year, and, according to people briefed on the discussions, Department of Homeland Security officials began pressing Congress in November to reinstate it. Administration officials said they had been told that Mr. Fuentes discussed the program with officials at the Department of Homeland Security, and after reporters raised questions with lawmakers of both parties, a provision to reinstate it was abruptly pulled from a House bill on Wednesday.

    The White House declined to answer questions about whether Mr. Fuentes had pressed to have the program restarted, saying only that he planned to remain on for a time as a senior adviser to aid in the transition to a new chief of staff. But in interviews, nearly a dozen White House and administration aides, none of whom would speak on the record, raised concerns about how they believed Mr. Fuentes planned to use government resources in the coming months.

  143. 143.

    Mike in NC

    Actual front page headline in the local rag today: “Trump Kicks Out Mattis Sooner Than Expected”

    Ho Ho Ho!

  145. 145.

    Ken

    @Brachiator:

    I wonder if Trump is going to use this to justify more and nastier hate Tweets directed at Fed Chairman Powell?

    Like he needs a reason.

    I’m pretty sure that the banks saying that they have plenty of liquidity means that the Fed shouldn’t be easing their rates, not that it would have any effect on Trump.

  148. 148.

    J R in WV

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    I watched that, really good!!! Thanks!

    I have multiple shots of the interior of the Beacon Theater, from a high-end Samsung cell phone. Do you think that could be blended into a big panorama of the place?

    I’ve never done anything like that, don’t know where to start. I use Gimp as my photo tool, don’t know if there’s a “make these photos into a panorama” tool in there or not…

  149. 149.

    Kay

    This year is complicated because I have grown children coming all different days but I also have one still at home, so I’m having Christmas dinner tonight, Christmas and the day after Christmas. I was disappointed at first because I like to have them all together but I’m over that and thinking maybe it will be nice to see them one at a time.

    My daughter is coming “for Christmas” on January 15th, which obviously means she’s not coming for Christmas but she decided she’d soften the blow by picking a random day in January and just calling it “Christmas visit”.

    We get my middle son and his gf and her 3 year old for Christmas (day) dinner, so that should be fun. The 3 year old is a great little boy- very somber and serious person. I get a huge kick out of his attitude when he’s here. Watchful. He’s definitely wary of this whole operation – and he should be!

  150. 150.

    JPL

    @debbie: I just read some of them. The Fed can’t putt is my favorite, because I imagined what I’d do with a putter if I were golfing with him.
    He’s like a venus fly trap who needs his ego fed, by bullying others.

    Make America like the little shop of horrors.

  151. 151.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Kay: I always lol at your descriptions of your family. You don’t write much about Mr. K though. You should consider writing a book like Gerald Durrell’s, My family and other animals.

    My family and other characters

  152. 152.

    Miss Bianca

    @zhena gogolia: Now between this post and a previous thread’s mention of “What’s My Line?”, I am suddenly picturing a “What’s My Nym?” type contest with our very own Blogfather as host.

    I think I need more coffee.

  153. 153.

    JPL

    @ Kyle Griffin
    The President of the United States is attacking the U.S. envoy to the coalition fighting the Islamic State and a Republican senator on Twitter on Christmas Eve.

    The first comment is Wait till that immigrant family arrives at midnight… He’ll rage about that too.

  155. 155.

    chopper

    @debbie:

    there’s a long list of tweets and statements out of the guy in that format, “i know X more than anyone/the experts”. it’s crazy, i mean like about every goddamn subject there is.

  156. 156.

    opiejeanne

    @Yarrow: That happened to us last year, but it was the 18th of December, and they had to pull one off of the truck taking the remaining handful of trees to recycling. It was a nice enough tree, but we were shocked that they were closing up a week before Christmas.

  160. 160.

    Bemused senior

    @Yarrow: The first Christmas I was married to my Jewish husband (wow! 40years ago) I attempted to suppress my love of Christmas until on Christmas Eve I started crying. Bob asked what was wrong, and when he heard I was having Christmas withdrawal, he ran out and brought me a small, crooked tree. It was all that was left. I am not at all religious, but that’s when I learned I couldn’t do without celebrating Christmas.

  161. 161.

    debbie

    @debbie:

    Also, today is Trump’s Festivus:

    Trump Today: President blames Democrats for shutdown, Fed for Wall Street selloff and unwilling ‘allies’ for Syria pullout

    And that’s just the headline!

  162. 162.

    Catherine D.

    My morning got off to a rocky start. I went to the store for a few things, picked up a nail in a tire and was sitting in the parking lot with a total flat. Didn’t have the pump in the car, so called AAA with a 90 minute estimate.

    Then things got better. Service arrived in about 15 minutes and pumped up the tire. I followed him back to the shop and 20 minutes later was back in business! ??

  163. 163.

    debbie

    @Bemused senior:

    My family have always celebrated both holidays. After an Orthodox rabbi moved next door and complained about some trees reaching over into his backyard, my father took great joy in displaying our menorah in the window next to our Christmas tree — both facing the rabbi’s kitchen windows.

  164. 164.

    Brachiator

    @chopper:

    @debbie:

    there’s a long list of tweets and statements out of the guy in that format, “i know X more than anyone/the experts”. it’s crazy, i mean like about every goddamn subject there is

    Trump always presents himself as the Ultimate White Man. He could afford the greatest formal education, but doesn’t need it because he also has great native intelligence.

    This is one of the reasons that he gives twinkles to his base and to the white nationalist crowd.

  165. 165.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Brachiator:
    Your statements are true. I will add that the complaints he’s making and actions he’s taking are consistent with a narcissist who is raging at his helplessness. No amount of acting out is getting him his way, in fact he’s being publicly shamed for it, and people he already hated are proving themselves to be strong and better than him in direct confrontation. He doesn’t even get the satisfaction of feeling like he’s hurting Pelosi and Schumer as they hurt him. Eventually, he will stop breaking his toys and holding his breath and surrender, in the most evasive way he can manage.

  166. 166.

    Jinchi

    At least we can celebrate victory in the War on Christmas.

    National Christmas Tree Dark Due To Government Shutdown

  168. 168.

    trollhattan

    @germy:
    That senatorial collegialism we’ve heard so much about.

    Is squirreltop still pretending to be something other than a doctrinaire Republican?

  170. 170.

    germy

    @trollhattan:

    Is squirreltop still pretending to be something other than a doctrinaire Republican?

    I thought he portrayed himself as a principled libertarian isolationist.

  172. 172.

    germy

    @debbie:

    I’ve had to endure Trump since 1978.

    Me, too. Which is why I never dreamed he’d be president. It would have been like if someone told me Leona Helmsley was going to be elected. I wouldn’t have believed it.

  174. 174.

    JPL

    @debbie: No worries. DIY the wall is fully funded with shutdown money. He has no clue that shutdowns actually cost the government money.

  175. 175.

    Kay

    @schrodingers_cat:

    When my two oldest were small I worked jobs with weird hours, so one Thanksgiving I told them the day after Thanksgiving was Thanksgiving because I had to work on “the day” and they were toddlers so what the hell do they know?

    My daughter was horrified when I told her this later- that I had “tricked” them, but what’s the difference? It’s whatever day I say it is when they’re 3 and 4. They didn’t know or care but they might have been sad and felt left out if they missed Thanksgiving.

    Now she works in health care and works weird hours herself so she comes up with bullshit like “I’m coming for Christmas on… January 15th”.

  176. 176.

    JPL

    @JPL: Enjoy his latest tweet

    The Wall is different than the 25 Billion Dollars in Border Security. The complete Wall will be built with the Shutdown money plus funds already in hand. The reporting has been inaccurate on the point. The problem is, without the Wall, much of the rest of Dollars are wasted!

    He’s obviously been hit by too many putters

  177. 177.

    germy

    I am all alone (poor me) in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come back and make a deal on desperately needed Border Security. At some point the Democrats not wanting to make a deal will cost our Country more money than the Border Wall we are all talking about. Crazy!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 24, 2018

    Stopping President Trump from securing our borders was more important to dems than making sure that Federal Employees (many of whom vote Democrat) get their paychecks— Jacob Wohl (@JacobAWohl) December 24, 2018

    Why aren’t both these guys in prison?

  178. 178.

    germy

    Mitch McConnell just told a group of people, and me, that he has been in the U.S. Senate for 32 years and the last two have been by far the best & most productive of his career. Tax & Regulation Cuts, VA Choice, Farm Bill, Criminal Justice Reform, Judgeships & much more. Great!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 24, 2018

  180. 180.

    JPL

    @germy: Why isn’t there a budget deal if the wall is paid for? I know I’m preaching to the choir, but our president is an idiot.

  182. 182.

    BruceFromOhio

    The two-bit ratfuck soulless criminals have cost my portfolio almost 25% in the last 90 days with their fucking stupid games, asinine ideology, and simpering idiocy.
    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, autocrats, you cannot be indicted fast enough for me.

    On a much happier note, MrsFromOhio has concocted a healthy range of eats for today and tomorrow, I’ve stocked the bar, we’ll have a houseful in a few hours, the weather is holding, and everyone was totally cool with getting charitable donations as gifts because we are all fantastically fortunate and want for naught. And calendars! There are Balloon Juice calendars in flight to bring in the New Year.

    Marry Christmas, Happy Boxing Day, Good Solstice, Happy Festivus, and Happy New Year to the commentariat, the front pagers, and our esteemed blog host. May Gaia’s love bring bountiful harvests and good fortunes, and may She bless your lands, yours lives, and your lives.

  187. 187.

    zhena gogolia

    @debbie:

    My Russian friends say they never heard of him until I arrived with a Vanity Fair I’d been reading on the plane in 1991 or 1993 or somewhere thereabouts, and there was a big spread on him in it.

  189. 189.

    Jinchi

    “Shutdown money”?

    Does he think he’s going to fund the wall by picking the pockets of the people he put on furlough?

  196. 196.

    rikyrah

    Mueller Is Telling Us: He’s Got Trump on Collusion
    The special counsel is connecting the dots and it doesn’t paint a pretty picture for the president.

    Max Bergmann,
    Sam Berger
    12.07.18 10:38 PM ET

    For nearly two years, since the U.S. intelligence community released its report on the Russian campaign to assist Donald Trump in the 2016 election, the American people have been seeking an answer as to whether the Trump campaign colluded with its Russian counterpart. In the endless speculation about the direction of the investigation, a common view was that maybe the investigation would never implicate President Trump or find any collusion.

    But a flurry of recent activity this past week all points in the same direction: Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation will likely implicate the president, his campaign, and his close associates in aiding and abetting a Russian conspiracy against the United States to undermine the 2016 election.

    First, Mueller has clearly identified collusion in the efforts of Trump aides and associates to contact WikiLeaks. In a draft plea agreement provided to conservative operative Jerome Corsi, Mueller details how Roger Stone, who the special counsel notes was in frequent contact with Donald Trump and senior campaign officials, directed Corsi to connect with WikiLeaks about the trove of stolen materials it received from Russia. Corsi subsequently communicated WikiLeaks’ release plan back to Stone, and the Trump campaign built its final message around the email release. That is collusion.

  197. 197.

    JPL

    @debbie: When trump tweeted that he was all alone in the white house, Josh Dawsey from the Washington Post tweeted that it wasn’t that hard to tell, sir.

  198. 198.

    JPL

    @rikyrah: I do hope that is so. Unfortunately, his supporters and the republican senators won’t care. trump really could shoot someone on fifth avenue and get away with it.

  199. 199.

    JPL

    Just in from Pelosi and Schumer: “It’s Christmas Eve and President Trump is plunging the country into chaos. The stock market is tanking and the president is waging a personal war on the Federal Reserve – after he just fired the Secretary of Defense.”

  200. 200.

    chopper

    @JPL:

    every time i think that one guy, even if that guy is a president, can’t ruin our economy all by himself i’m reminded that this guy managed to figure out how to bankrupt a casino. so yeah, anything is possible with this schmuck in charge.

  201. 201.

    Ken

    @germy: He forgot the three government shutdowns in one year. No other Congress has been that productive – not even when their party has controlled both houses and the White House.

  202. 202.

    JPL

    @chopper: Since I’m retired, most of my funds are not in jeopardy. I haven’t looked at the ones there are though. I’m not going to make changes anyway at this time so why torture myself.
    Trump is more than capable of tanking the economy.

  203. 203.

    Ken

    @JPL: I am really, really hoping that in the new year, when someone asks Pelosi why the Democrats just don’t give Trump his slush fund, she says something like “As a mother, I know that giving in to a toddler’s tantrums doesn’t stop them. It makes them worse.”

  204. 204.

    Yutsano

    @Ken: Keep in mind: this is what Dolt45 says Yertle said. Not a direct quote from the turtle’s mouth. Odds are that conversation probably never happened except in his addled limited brain.

    Also: starting to get the dread re: the shutdown. Hoping it doesn’t go too far and I get one last payment on the 31 re: my regular pay. I’m all registered for unemployment but that’s going to be a haircut I might not be able to deal with. Ands no I’m not asking for help. I’m just kvetching,

  205. 205.

    debbie

    @Yutsano:

    Wish I’d been listening more closely, but someone said the checks for the next pay period had been processed before the shutdown, so you may be okay.

  207. 207.

    Shana

    @debbie: My SIL had convinced her young children that sugary cereals and cartoons were only available in hotels. I’m still in awe.

  209. 209.

    Chris Johnson

    @Yutsano: It’s kind of suggestive. I think McConnell is horribly implicated in all this, a straight-up traitor. Trump is trying to tie the turtle to the shitgibbon so tightly that there’s no chance McConnell can peel away and turn against him: considering how far he’s come already, McConnell seems to be in that ‘die for Mother Russia or be whacked IMMEDIATELY with 1000 polonium bullets’ zone.

    It must be very annoying to watch the giant manbaby make shit up like that, when you can’t do anything about it and your safety depends on sticking with the guy. It’s like ‘I’m gonna die if I try to switch sides at this point, why must this asshole humiliate me in tweets?’. If he could have flipped and sided with the USA he already would have.

    It’s like how Trump grabbed for intel through Wikileaks and then risked exposure and so got the Kremlin to help cover up his problem, and then he had three problems: the first illegal act, the conspiracy, and now the Kremlin knows how to doubly expose him. It becomes this snowball effect. That’s what we’re seeing.

    We wouldn’t be seeing any of this if Putin still found Trump useful.

  210. 210.

    Brachiator

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Your statements are true. I will add that the complaints he’s making and actions he’s taking are consistent with a narcissist who is raging at his helplessness.

    This is accurate, but not complete or sufficient. It is also not a clinical diagnosis, but at best a metaphor for some of his behavior.

    No amount of acting out is getting him his way, in fact he’s being publicly shamed for it, and people he already hated are proving themselves to be strong and better than him in direct confrontation.

    Trump has actually got a great chunk of what he wants. And he is the president, and has an advantage as chief executive, especially as long as he has the backing of the GOP leadership.

    Also, Trump doesn’t really care about shame. That is, shame only matters as an affront to his ego. He cannot acknowledge shame, learn from it, or accept correction.

    He doesn’t even get the satisfaction of feeling like he’s hurting Pelosi and Schumer as they hurt him.

    This is a government, not an intervention. Whether Trump is hurt or not is not important in the larger context of things.

    Eventually, he will stop breaking his toys and holding his breath and surrender, in the most evasive way he can manage.

    Trump will never surrender. The toys are the government and the country, and Trump doesn’t care whether he breaks them.

    But just as Trump resists shame, he can never accept responsibility. And he seems to be picking weaker and more compliant advisors for the remainder of his presidency.

    If the GOP dominated Senate were smart, they would only confirm strong advisors for his cabinet. But they ain’t smart.

    The new House must do what they can to constrain Trump until he can be defeated. Or impeached and removed from office.

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