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You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Wednesday Morning Open Thread: We Now Return to Our Regularly Scheduled Deprogramming

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: We Now Return to Our Regularly Scheduled Deprogramming

by Anne Laurie|  December 26, 20185:58 am| 112 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Dolt 45, NANCY SMASH!, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Readership Capture, All we want is life beyond the thunderdome

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Pelosi on Trump's wall talk: "He says, 'we're going to build a wall with cement and Mexico's going to pay for it’ while he's already backed off of the cement – now he's down to, I think, a beaded curtain or something." ? https://t.co/jNCGt81TUa

— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) December 25, 2018

Can we just fast forward to Jan 3rd already? Give this woman her gavel. pic.twitter.com/aiha4xRkBx

— Clara10?? (@Claryse2) December 26, 2018

(Tom Toles via GoComics.com)
.

 
ICYMI: Readership capture…

Enjoy the holiday season with the ones you love. Michelle and I wish you a very Merry Christmas! pic.twitter.com/LKLqlYfFUw

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 25, 2018

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Previous Post: « On the Road and In Your Backyard
Next Post: And We’re Off »

Reader Interactions

112Comments

  1. 1.

    poleaxedbyboatwork

    December 26, 2018 at 6:07 am

    Being “aware of (almost) all internet traditions”: Frist!

    (Maybe.)

  2. 2.

    OzarkHillbilly

    December 26, 2018 at 6:07 am

    Blech.

  3. 3.

    Schlemazel

    December 26, 2018 at 6:08 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    an a merry good blech to you too

  4. 4.

    PaulWartenberg

    December 26, 2018 at 6:09 am

    Wibble.

  5. 5.

    Schlemazel

    December 26, 2018 at 6:11 am

    I do wish this maladministration followed the Boxing Day tradition of role reversal. I think the WH janitor would do an excellent job as POTUS in comparison to the current malignant oaf. Sadly he would have a real mess on his hands tomorrow when he returned to his regular job

  6. 6.

    OzarkHillbilly

    December 26, 2018 at 6:22 am

    Whoa.

    The mesmerising pattern of a beaded sand anemone beautifully frames a juvenile Clarkii clownfish in Lembeh strait, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Known as a ‘nursery’ anemone, it is often a temporary home for young clownfish until they find a more suitable host anemone for adulthood

  7. 7.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    December 26, 2018 at 6:25 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: I take it Christmas dinner was good.

  8. 8.

    Mary G

    December 26, 2018 at 6:25 am

    Nancy SMASH is having a great time, and I love it. I believe that at least 75% of Paul Ryan retiring was brought about by the humiliation of having to hand her the gavel and the biggest office.

  9. 9.

    rikyrah

    December 26, 2018 at 6:28 am

    Good Morning, Everyone ? ??

  10. 10.

    rikyrah

    December 26, 2018 at 6:28 am

    Nancy Smash ? rocks!

  11. 11.

    rikyrah

    December 26, 2018 at 6:30 am

    Steadman (@AsteadWesley) Tweeted:
    NEW from me: The Dem primary goes thru black voters. And these voters are ready to make their voices heard. I talked to dozens, and spell out current behind-scenes fight

    Black voters “are done with you showing up at my church right before the elections.”

    https://t.co/ijQJZR06la https://twitter.com/AsteadWesley/status/1077695649922064384?s=17

  12. 12.

    OzarkHillbilly

    December 26, 2018 at 6:31 am

    Serenity

    When the sun beams through a hole in the rock at the foot of the La Foradada waterfall, Catalonia, Spain, it creates a beautiful pool of light. The rays appear to paint the spray of the waterfall and create a truly magical picture

  13. 13.

    rikyrah

    December 26, 2018 at 6:39 am

    Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) Tweeted:
    New: The daughters of a podiatrist in Queens say their father, who rented office space from Fred Trump, helped Donald Trump avoid the draft by saying he had bone spurs. They told the Times that it was done as a favor for Fred Trump.

    https://t.co/Xv6Q6LYcUk https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1077886105721102337?s=17

  14. 14.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    December 26, 2018 at 6:40 am

    @rikyrah: Color me shocked. //

  15. 15.

    OzarkHillbilly

    December 26, 2018 at 6:41 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Pulled pork with Carolina sauce on a ciabatta bun. Not bad at all.

  16. 16.

    Schlemazel

    December 26, 2018 at 6:55 am

    @rikyrah:
    NO! How could such a thing be true?
    And it will make zero difference in anyone’s opinion of that fetid orange

  17. 17.

    debbie

    December 26, 2018 at 7:03 am

    Oh boy, there will be Trump blowback when he sees Pelosi’s statement about a beaded curtain. That came from SNL’s Weekend Update, the latest addition to Trump’s hate watching schedule.

  18. 18.

    debbie

    December 26, 2018 at 7:04 am

    @rikyrah:

    I want to see a New York Daily News/Post cover on this story!

  19. 19.

    satby

    December 26, 2018 at 7:08 am

    Good morning @rikyrah: and everyone!
    @OzarkHillbilly: ?
    @PaulWartenberg: ?

    Christmas went pretty well, the FaceTime with our guys in Mexico was a miss but we all visited Qunoot in Bahrain and Joe in NYC virtually.
    I did meet with Manami in her hotel and was relieved that she’s not having cardiac issues, it seems to be a very bad reaction to medication they put her on for high blood pressure. It’s leaving her too lightheaded and nauseous. But we had a nice visit and I’m a bit less worried about her now.

  20. 20.

    Baud

    December 26, 2018 at 7:12 am

    @rikyrah: Good morning.

  21. 21.

    Baud

    December 26, 2018 at 7:13 am

    @satby: That’s good to hear.

  22. 22.

    TS (the original)

    December 26, 2018 at 7:14 am

    Who is Jane Harmon? Singing the praises of McConnell on MJ! Saying Nacy Pelosi will work with McConnell. Where do they find these RWNJs

  23. 23.

    debbie

    December 26, 2018 at 7:16 am

    @TS (the original):

    A retired Democratic rep whose main focus was on foreign policy.

  24. 24.

    debbie

    December 26, 2018 at 7:17 am

    @satby:

    Extra good news about Manami!

  25. 25.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    December 26, 2018 at 7:19 am

    @TS (the original): She’s a former Democratic Rep from LA’s South Bay.

  26. 26.

    low-tech cyclist

    December 26, 2018 at 7:21 am

    “now he’s down to, I think, a beaded curtain or something”

    Damn, she’s good.

    Build the beaded curtain!

  27. 27.

    TS (the original)

    December 26, 2018 at 7:24 am

    @debbie: @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    I wasn’t expecting her to be a dem. She was singing the praises of Regan among others, but it was saying how sane & good was McConnell that really got me – Did President Obama send her into the GOP hands?

  28. 28.

    JPL

    December 26, 2018 at 7:26 am

    @satby: Good news.

  29. 29.

    Chyron HR

    December 26, 2018 at 7:26 am

    @rikyrah:

    Wouldn’t the real favor have been to rid Fred of the turbulent tangerine, as it were?

  30. 30.

    debbie

    December 26, 2018 at 7:28 am

    @TS (the original):

    No, she was always one of those Blue Dog-types.

  31. 31.

    Duane

    December 26, 2018 at 7:33 am

    @Mary G: Trumpov and Pence disgraced, out of office, and Pelosi sworn in as president. That needs to happen.

  32. 32.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    December 26, 2018 at 7:38 am

    Harmon is also a traitor/mole who was caught conspiring to commit obstruction justice for a foreign power:

    Rep. Jane Harman , the California Democrat with a longtime involvement in intelligence issues, was overheard on an NSA wiretap telling a suspected Israeli agent that she would lobby the Justice Department to reduce espionage-related charges against two officials of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, the most powerful pro-Israel organization in Washington. Harman was recorded saying she would “waddle into” the AIPAC case “if you think it’ll make a difference,” according to two former senior national security officials familiar with the NSA transcript. In exchange for Harman’s help, the sources said, the suspected Israeli agent pledged to help lobby Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., then-House minority leader, to appoint Harman chair of the Intelligence Committee after the 2006 elections, which the Democrats were heavily favored to win. Seemingly wary of what she had just agreed to, according to an official who read the NSA transcript, Harman hung up after saying, “This conversation doesn’t exist.” (link)

  33. 33.

    Baud

    December 26, 2018 at 7:40 am

    The national security adviser who colluded with foreign powers — decades before Michael Flynn

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2018/12/26/national-security-adviser-who-colluded-with-foreign-powers-decades-before-michael-flynn

  34. 34.

    satby

    December 26, 2018 at 7:40 am

    @Baud: @debbie: @JPL: yes, it was! Thank you!

  35. 35.

    poleaxedbyboatwork

    December 26, 2018 at 7:41 am

    @TS (the original):

    Who is Jane Harman?

    A former Dem rep who feels, sadly, that she needs to reach-around and fluff Republicans in order to be taken seriously by the msm. Like a great many Dems. Also, too.

    Both sides is a helluva drug.

  36. 36.

    JR

    December 26, 2018 at 7:54 am

    @TS (the original): Pelosi cut her legs out from under her.

    Harman was the bluest of dogs, in southern california of all places. Good riddance to her.

  37. 37.

    Barbara

    December 26, 2018 at 7:54 am

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: So thankful that there are fewer and fewer Jane Harmans in the Democratic party. Harman, like Patricia Schroeder, exemplified the belief among some female politicians that the only way to be taken seriously for a senatorial or presidential election was to be even more hawkish than Democratic men. Harman, however, seemed a lot more transparently pro-defense and less sophisticated than Schroeder.

  38. 38.

    TS (the original)

    December 26, 2018 at 7:55 am

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: Which probably explains why she was inferring that all will end well in Ukraine, which another member of the panel thought was most unlikely – was good to hear the push back.

    That MSNBC finds these people to push the GOP point of view makes me think they have McConnell on the red phone each morning.

  39. 39.

    low-tech cyclist

    December 26, 2018 at 7:56 am

    https://twitter.com/porterfolio/status/1077628326863405057

    “I didn’t realize a beaded curtain could generate that much shade.”

  40. 40.

    plato

    December 26, 2018 at 7:58 am

    To cnn ‘panel’.

    It’s not ‘remarkable’ that the totus thug is asking for fed chair’s head publicly.

    It’s not ‘remarkable’ that the totus thug is interfering in stock markets.

    It’s not ‘remarkable’ that the totus thug is ‘advising’ folks to buy stock now since the market is tanking.

    It’s not ‘remarkable’ that the totus thug doesn’t know how to president.

    The word you are looking for is horrible.

    Fucking media assholes.

  41. 41.

    Baud

    December 26, 2018 at 7:59 am

    @Barbara: Why go you assume it’s a political calculation rather than honest belief?

  42. 42.

    Mike in DC

    December 26, 2018 at 8:02 am

    The record duration for a shutdown is 21 days, though California had a two month shutdown. This one will go another 9 or 10 days, at least.

  43. 43.

    Chris Johnson

    December 26, 2018 at 8:02 am

    @poleaxedbyboatwork: Blue dogs are a thing… or were, kinda out of fashion now.

    Just because you’re a Democrat doesn’t mean you’re not pursuing straight-up Republican policy, and we’ve got no time for that shit anymore.

    A variety of things from climate change to coziness with billionaires and corporations to MURDERING CHILDREN make it not okay to act like a Republican anymore, even if traditionally you make a lot of money doing that. Those times are over and money will not protect you forever.

  44. 44.

    Barbara

    December 26, 2018 at 8:13 am

    @Baud: Let me say, I don’t think they are lying outright, but Schroder’s hawkishness, in particular, was out of step with other politicians who shared her positions on other matters. She also spoke about having to take assignments in defense and other areas in order to be taken seriously as a woman. Harman drove me nuts, similar to Feinstein, in that her affinity for the military seemed to dovetail with her personal fortunes. The overall effect was “I’m not just another pie in the sky liberal politician.”

    I think that as female politicians they were put in the position of needing to seem as tough as the boys, and that overall, this has had deleterious consequences for us as a nation. A few misbegotten, seemingly endless wars has made this stance less necessary for politicians of both genders.

  45. 45.

    Immanentize

    December 26, 2018 at 8:14 am

    @satby: That is good news. And it sounds like you had an overall good day.

    I still think about your exchange students’ delight at their prom delivery…. Certainly experiences for a lifetime.

  46. 46.

    Immanentize

    December 26, 2018 at 8:17 am

    @low-tech cyclist:
    That’s cherce.

  47. 47.

    Baud

    December 26, 2018 at 8:19 am

    @Barbara: Thanks. Dems as a whole have always been beaten up as soft on defense, and I’m sure it’s far worse for women.

  48. 48.

    Elizabelle

    December 26, 2018 at 8:22 am

    Beaded curtain. LOL. That’s gonna leave a mark.

    Speaker Pelosi minus eight. Countdown to sanity and (public/common) good government.

  49. 49.

    satby

    December 26, 2018 at 8:26 am

    @Immanentize: it’s good for my sons and the exchange kids to see how their experiences affected them both. My kids grouse about the inconvenience sometimes, but they’re pretty proud that we had that going on and they were a key part. And that they have friends from all over the world.
    They were teasing me about what a PIA I was with my new iPad toy, but they were right there in the conversations!

  50. 50.

    Quinerly

    December 26, 2018 at 8:30 am

    @rikyrah: Good morning from Poco and me from overcast Beaver Lake.

  51. 51.

    Immanentize

    December 26, 2018 at 8:33 am

    @Barbara: Don’t you think the hawkish posture of those women had something to do with when they were born? Feinstein (33), Schroeder (40), Harmon (45 -perhaps the only technical Boomer in the group). I remember Schroeder as quite the liberal otherwise and huge target of the right in the 1990’s too in then-reddish Colorado.

    This is just by way of saying whatever led them to their positions, I hope that type of institutional hawk pressure is off for newer Congesscritters

    Adding — my Mom was born in 33 and she thought both Trump and Hillary were too old….

  52. 52.

    Ladyraxterinok

    December 26, 2018 at 8:34 am

    @rikyrah: Comments sure had some serious trolling. Claims blacks didn’t vote in 16 election and cost dems the election. AND that their turnout for Hillary in primary cost the party a candidate who could win.

    Some serious bad faith attempts to undermine blacks there.

  53. 53.

    Immanentize

    December 26, 2018 at 8:34 am

    @Quinerly: How’s your friend doing?

  54. 54.

    Quinerly

    December 26, 2018 at 8:36 am

    @Baud: Poco wants to do a little campaigning in Eureka Springs and out here around the lake. Any particular issues you want him to address? Not sure a Baud/Poco 2020 message will get through, though. ?Just before we got into town, we passed one of those inflatable snowmen and one of those inflatable Santas. They both were sporting Confederate Battle Flags… Worn as capes like super heroes. Ugh.

  55. 55.

    Immanentize

    December 26, 2018 at 8:36 am

    @Ladyraxterinok: Wow, that is some persistent group hallucination right there.

  56. 56.

    Immanentize

    December 26, 2018 at 8:37 am

    @Quinerly: capes? Or targets? (X marks the spot!)

  57. 57.

    Baud

    December 26, 2018 at 8:41 am

    @Ladyraxterinok: Russians getting warmed up for 2020.

    @Quinerly: Tell them that the Baud! administration will make General Sherman’s birthday a national holiday.

  58. 58.

    Quinerly

    December 26, 2018 at 8:43 am

    @Immanentize: pretty good, I guess, considering everything. Somewhat of a depressing day, though. All hard for me to accept. No energy, color really bad. His pretty house is messy, unkept.. Basically, the soon to be ex has trashed it over the last few years. It’s been probably 8 years since I have been here so lots of changes. I think he just sits around everyday. We have a mutual friend who lives here part time to help out. That is a comfort.

  59. 59.

    Quinerly

    December 26, 2018 at 8:46 am

    @Immanentize: definitely capes. They were stretched out.. I guess hung from wires to truly look like capes flying in the wind for take off. Kinda sorry we slowed down and backed up to get a good look.

  60. 60.

    Immanentize

    December 26, 2018 at 8:46 am

    @Baud:

    General Sherman’s birthday a national holiday.

    That right there is worth the maximum contribution to Baud 2020

  61. 61.

    Immanentize

    December 26, 2018 at 8:47 am

    @Quinerly: I’m sorry you didn’t get pictures for Adam and his War on Christmas series….

    ETA. I was listening to the Bing Crosby version of “Santa Clause Comes to Town” yesterday and it took the weirdest turn at the end where it gets a bit religious…. The backup singers and Bing sing: “and give thanks to the Lord above … ’cause Santa Clause comes tonight!”. So we thank Jeebus for the fat cat with the bag of goodies? Religion is weird.

  62. 62.

    Quinerly

    December 26, 2018 at 8:48 am

    @Baud: you are trying to get Poco and his campaign manager killed. If you want him off the ticket because of that illegal sand dune poop a few months back, just say so. He has asked me about a Third Party run anyway.?

  63. 63.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    December 26, 2018 at 8:50 am

    So apparently Trump is so useless he didn’t read Matthis resignation letter until Cable TV explained it to him that Mathis has slapped Trump in the face.

  64. 64.

    Baud

    December 26, 2018 at 8:53 am

    @Quinerly: I need the environmentalist vote.

  65. 65.

    Quinerly

    December 26, 2018 at 8:55 am

    @Immanentize: I usually take pictures of this sort of thing in my travels… That’s why I backed up but dogs were loose in the yard, country road in the middle of nowhere. Poco barking. I had a bad feeling about the house and what kind of person would go through that kind of effort to make that kind of statement. As a child of the South who has traveled many a country road, I’m still amazed at the uptick of these flags since 2008. Pre 2008, you could drive around (outside of Alabama and Mississippi) for years and not see one.

  66. 66.

    Quinerly

    December 26, 2018 at 8:56 am

    @Immanentize: oh, and thanks for asking.

  67. 67.

    Betty Cracker

    December 26, 2018 at 8:59 am

    So, I pulled off our gigantic Christmas dinner successfully! Both prime rib roasts turned out a perfect medium rare in the center with the ends done enough to suit those who prefer medium to well done. One of my aunts made herself indispensable in the kitchen, managing to immediately snatch up and wash every soiled utensil and cooking vessel without once getting in my way during meal preparation, so there was no daunting pile of dirty pots and pans.

    I managed to avoid talking politics with the Trumpster contingent among my house guests, even though an uncle brought it up in a semi-apologetic manner, stating that he had thought Trump was just “an obnoxious New Yorker” who would be good for the economy rather than the incompetent boob who is currently decimating the uncle’s retirement portfolio. In the spirit of Christmas, I let a raised eyebrow do the talking.

  68. 68.

    Barbara

    December 26, 2018 at 9:06 am

    @Immanentize: I don’t know that it has much to do with when they were born so much as their local political realities. That’s why Schroeder stood out so much. She was liberal in nearly every other way, but it was because of her higher aspirations, I believe, that she became so hawkish on defense. We probably are starting to forget how important defense related industries were to the economy of Southern California in the 70s and 80s (in particular, when Reagan began the extended build up of defense procurements), which I think is the more obvious and understandable reason for Harman’s pro-defense positions, but even she stood out 20 years ago as a Democrat from California for being hawkish.

  69. 69.

    satby

    December 26, 2018 at 9:07 am

    @Betty Cracker: Good to hear that a Trumpist is taking it in the IRA shorts with the rest of us. I would have said plenty, which makes you a far better person than me!

  70. 70.

    poleaxedbyboatwork

    December 26, 2018 at 9:08 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    In the spirit of Christmas, I let a raised eyebrow do the talking.

    Cracker fam headlines:

    Brow beaten!

  71. 71.

    Ken

    December 26, 2018 at 9:12 am

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: Maybe he read it, but didn’t see anything but his name, like that Gary Larson “What Dogs Hear” comic.

  72. 72.

    Barbara

    December 26, 2018 at 9:12 am

    @Quinerly: That’s so sad, considering how he seems to have been so active and engaged previously. Illness takes a huge toll, but also, there is a point at which age kicks in and when you are ill, that point really seems to accelerate. You don’t “seem” old until you have a big medical problem, and then, all of a sudden, you really are old and infirm. That was true for my mother. I hope your visit made a difference and brought comfort and good cheer to your friend.

  73. 73.

    Yarrow

    December 26, 2018 at 9:13 am

    @Betty Cracker: Glad you had a great Christmas. The food sounds wonderful. FYI, I posted to you about the Cover Dogs in the calendar thread above.

    Christmas was nice here. Everyone had a good time. Round two today, so no real opportunity to let down yet.

  74. 74.

    gene108

    December 26, 2018 at 9:13 am

    @Baud:

    Sherman led the army during the Plains War of the 1870’s. Native Americans might not be pleased.

  75. 75.

    Betty Cracker

    December 26, 2018 at 9:14 am

    @Ladyraxterinok: We’ll all need to brace ourselves for some epic trolling of that sort for this year and next. It won’t just come from the Ruskies who will be keen to protect the Republican dolts who’ve done such a bang-up job destroying America’s international standing. All sorts of new actors — foreign and domestic — who’ve witnessed Putin’s success will want a piece of the action. They will exploit every conceivable fault line.

  76. 76.

    Barbara

    December 26, 2018 at 9:18 am

    @Betty Cracker: I think the biggest threats come from people like Tom Cotton, who are delusional in thinking that they can maintain America’s status in the world as a country to be feared by zeroing in on threats to Iran, while cozying up to all and sundry dictators throughout the rest of the world.

  77. 77.

    Quinerly

    December 26, 2018 at 9:20 am

    @Barbara: thanks for all your kind words on this thread and yesterday’s. I couldn’t thank you yesterday. Got on the road and by the time I got back to the thread, it was long dead.

  78. 78.

    Roger Moore

    December 26, 2018 at 9:24 am

    @JR:

    Harman was the bluest of dogs, in southern california of all places.

    Southern California was a lot redder back in 1993, when Harman was first elected.

  79. 79.

    Betty Cracker

    December 26, 2018 at 9:33 am

    @Yarrow: Glad you had fun! Our guests are leaving today. It was great having them, but I do look forward to reclaiming our space! I know my husband is overjoyed, though he’s gracious enough to conceal it! :)

    @Barbara: Agreed — Cotton is a scary mofo. (I love Charles Pierce’s nickname for him: “the bobble-throated slap-dick from Arkansas” — LOL!). I’m worried that Trump will raise Cotton’s national profile by choosing him to replace Mattis.

  80. 80.

    Schlemazel

    December 26, 2018 at 9:40 am

    @gene108: the same people who whined about what he did I GA and SC loved it when done against the plains nation’s.

    Today is the 156 anniversey of the largest mass execution in US history. 38 memebers on the Lakota Soiux nation where hung in Mankato, MN in retribution for their taking arms against the government that left them to starve when they failed to deliver food and gold promised as part of the treaty in which they surrendered most of their land.

    Lincoln pardoned most but the Governor begged to be allowed to hang many to satisfy the revenge needs of settlers.

    Meanwhile nobody was hung for taking arms against the country in defense of human bondage

  81. 81.

    Frankensteinbeck

    December 26, 2018 at 9:44 am

    @Ladyraxterinok:

    Claims blacks didn’t vote in 16 election and cost dems the election.

    Remember Sanders’ comments about how Southern (IE black) states shouldn’t count in the primary? I’m sure you do, more vividly than me. There’s a kind of racist at the level of wanting women and minorities to shut up and get in back of the bus, but doesn’t actually want to actively hurt them. They tend to get sucked into the Democrats or Socialists, because their hate isn’t strong enough to overlook how Republicans also want to screw them over. More into the Socialists these days, because damn it, Democrats just won’t stop with the ‘identity politics’!

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:
    I’d assumed. It’s a long document, Trump is only semi-literate, and it took him a few days to get mad. I was expecting that delay before he got it from cable as soon as I heard about it.

  82. 82.

    JPL

    December 26, 2018 at 9:51 am

    @satby: I had no idea how many exchange students you housed over the years. The experiences that you all shared were filled with amazement. Like Imma I enjoyed following the adventures of your last ones.

  83. 83.

    JPL

    December 26, 2018 at 9:54 am

    @Immanentize: Joe and John Kerry are old also, but I sometimes wonder if in order to improve relationships with our allies whether or not they need to pay a role in government again.

  84. 84.

    schrodingers_cat

    December 26, 2018 at 9:58 am

    @Frankensteinbeck: I call them soft racists. After Obama won twice, it made a lot of these types uncomfortable and they fell for either T or the sage of Vt. Their paranoia also made them sitting ducks for the Russian propaganda machine.

  85. 85.

    Quinerly

    December 26, 2018 at 9:59 am

    @Baud: who told you about Poco’s love of catching and eating bees? We were trying to keep that under wraps. The Baud/Poco 2020 ticket is falling apart. Someone has to explain this to him.

  86. 86.

    O. Felix Culpa

    December 26, 2018 at 10:00 am

    @Ladyraxterinok:

    Comments sure had some serious trolling.

    AM Joy had a guest on her show recently who talked about Russian bot activity on black twitter and other social media to try to divide and (especially) to suppress the black vote in 2016. Some of the commenters on that thread might well be of that ilk.

    Edited for clarity.

  87. 87.

    Procopius

    December 26, 2018 at 10:02 am

    @Chris Johnson:

    Blue dogs are a thing… or were, kinda out of fashion now.

    There aren’t as many of them as there were in 2006. They got mostly wiped out in 2010, and they’ve continued losing in every election since. The DNC/DSSC supported a lot of them this year and I’m glad that most of them lost, but Clinton, Schumer, and Tom Perez are trying as hard as they can to block left-leaning candidates and even campaign against them (e.g., Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Ben Ray Lujan). As ex-president Truman pointed out, why should people vote for a phony Republican when the real thing is out there.

  88. 88.

    schrodingers_cat

    December 26, 2018 at 10:02 am

    @Baud: Russians are going to target the purity left to turn against whoever the Ds put up. If BS doesn’t win he and his supporters will blame DNC and say that the primaries were rigged. They will use the environment as the new wedge issue. The coordinated attack against Beto this week, is a taste of things to come.

  89. 89.

    O. Felix Culpa

    December 26, 2018 at 10:04 am

    @Quinerly:

    I’m still amazed at the uptick of these flags since 2008.

    Huh. I wonder what happened in 2008 to change things? //

  90. 90.

    CSK

    December 26, 2018 at 10:04 am

    @Quinerly: It was a celebration of The Lost Claus?

  91. 91.

    Doug R

    December 26, 2018 at 10:05 am

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Claims blacks didn’t vote in 16 election and cost dems the election.

    These trolls don’t of course go any deeper into why black turnout was lower-explicitly racial voters suppression and -well, here’s Wired’s headline from this month: TARGETING BLACK AMERICANS, RUSSIA’S IRA EXPLOITED RACIAL WOUNDS

  92. 92.

    schrodingers_cat

    December 26, 2018 at 10:07 am

    @Doug R: Do we know for sure that at least some of these trolls are not in fact Russian.

  93. 93.

    Yarrow

    December 26, 2018 at 10:13 am

    @schrodingers_cat: You are completely correct and if you follow any national security people they’ve been saying this is what would happen since early 2017. They tried it in the 2018 elections but it really only worked during the primaries and those are so varied in terms of candidates and dates that it wasn’t as effective. They’ll be full on during the 2020 primaries and beyond.

  94. 94.

    Baud

    December 26, 2018 at 10:22 am

    @Procopius:

    As ex-president Truman pointed out, why should people vote for a phony Republican when the real thing is out there.

    Truman

    Most of the people realize that the Democratic administration is doing everything that can be done to preserve the peace. And they realize that the Democratic administration is eager to put an end to the reactionary policies of the 80th Congress.

    There are, however, some people with true liberal convictions, whose worry over the state of the world has caused them to lean toward a third party.

    To these liberals I would say in all sincerity: Think again.

    The fact that the Communists are guiding and using the third party shows that this party does not represent American ideals.

    But there is another and very practical reason why it is folly for any liberal to put his hope in this third party.

    The third party has no power in the Government and no chance of achieving power. The simple fact is that the third party cannot achieve peace, because it is powerless. It cannot achieve better conditions here at home, because it is powerless.

    The Democratic Party is the party which truly expresses the hopes of American liberals, and which has power to fulfill those hopes. We have worked for peace in a difficult international situation, and we shall continue with all our strength to work for peace.

    We have worked for the improvement of the conditions here at home–to curb inflation, to provide low-rent housing, give aid to education, extend civil rights, and scores of other ways.

    I shall continue to work for these goals with all my strength.

    A vote for the third party can only weaken the efforts of the Democratic Party to build a healthy nation and a peaceful world.

    A vote for the third party plays into the hands of the Republican forces of reaction, whose aims are directly opposed to the aims of American liberalism.

    A vote for the third party will not promote the cause of American liberalism; it will injure it.

    I say to those disturbed liberals who have been sitting uncertainly on the outskirts of the third party: Think again. Don’t waste your vote.

    https://www.trumanlibrary.org/publicpapers/index.php?pid=1955&st=&st1=

  95. 95.

    schrodingers_cat

    December 26, 2018 at 10:23 am

    @Baud: Proputinus is here after his Christmas break.

  96. 96.

    schrodingers_cat

    December 26, 2018 at 10:24 am

    @Yarrow: I am hoping that this nonsense doesn’t work as well as it did in 2016 that enough of us are inoculated against it after 2016.

  97. 97.

    rikyrah

    December 26, 2018 at 10:39 am

    ???? Only4RM ???? (@Only4RM) Tweeted:
    White Supremacy is their religion. The evangelical part, their social cover. Trump has exposed the moral bankruptcy of white American christianism.

    As I’ve said for years, we’ve been lulled into forgetting the historic overlap between local church rolls and KKK member rosters.

    https://t.co/wjSJ7pvFFQ https://twitter.com/Only4RM/status/1009696227846508545?s=17

  98. 98.

    rikyrah

    December 26, 2018 at 10:42 am

    @Quinerly:
    Morning to Poco and the tribe ??

  99. 99.

    Doug R

    December 26, 2018 at 10:45 am

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Do we know for sure that at least some of these trolls are not in fact Russian.

    If I catch a particularly egregious wording, I point out a quote from Mueller’s indictment like:

    46. In or around the latter half of 2016, Defendants and their co-conspirators, through their ORGANIZATION-controlled personas, began to encourage U.S. minority groups not to vote in the 2016 U.S. presidential election or to vote for a third-party U.S. presidential candidate.

    a. On or about October 16, 2016, Defendants and their co-conspirators used the ORGANIZATION-controlled Instagram account “Woke Blacks” to post the following message: “[A] particular hype and hatred for Trump is misleading the people and forcing Blacks to vote Killary. We cannot resort to the lesser of two devils. Then we’d surely be better off without voting AT ALL.”

    b. On or about November 3, 2016, Defendants and their co-conspirators purchased an advertisement to promote a post on the ORGANIZATION-controlled Instagram account “Blacktivist” that read in part: “Choose peace and vote for Jill Stein. Trust me, it’s not a wasted vote.”

    The Full Text of Mueller’s Indictment of 13 Russians

  100. 100.

    rikyrah

    December 26, 2018 at 10:48 am

    @schrodingers_cat:
    Which is why we must lay waste to Bernie without hesitation

  101. 101.

    Yarrow

    December 26, 2018 at 10:49 am

    @schrodingers_cat: I think a lot of people are aware but may think the Russians only targeted, or will target, Republicans/right wing. Somehow there needs to be better education about what propaganda is and how outside actors, particularly enemy states like Russia, use it via social media to influence us.

  102. 102.

    SFAW

    December 26, 2018 at 10:50 am

    @rikyrah:

    Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) Tweeted:
    New: The daughters of a podiatrist in Queens say their father, who rented office space from Fred Trump, helped Donald Trump avoid the draft by saying he had bone spurs. They told the Times that it was done as a favor for Fred Trump.

    Likely response from the Fuckhead-in-Chief: “No, he did it as a favor to LBJ, because LBJ knew I would go over there, and the NVA would almost-immediately surrender because I’d be the toughest soldier EVER! I’d win 27 Medals of Honor, and that would be in the first month alone!! And that would make LBJ look bad.”

  103. 103.

    Yarrow

    December 26, 2018 at 10:51 am

    @rikyrah: I think if Bernie’s time is over. Hillary used kid gloves on him and if anyone unleashes any of the oppo research that’s out there he’ll definitely be done.

  104. 104.

    SFAW

    December 26, 2018 at 10:59 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: @OzarkHillbilly:

    Great pictures.
    But it’s amazing to me that Bill was able to go from Glendale, to Indonesia, to Catalonia, all in-between posting here.

  105. 105.

    joel hanes

    December 26, 2018 at 11:59 am

    @Procopius:

    Clinton, Schumer, and Tom Perez are trying as hard as they can to block left-leaning candidates

    Some people in the Democratic Party are trying hard to prevent nomination of candidates that they think are likely to lose, given the district they’re running in.
    Some of those “left-leaning” candidates are hopeless amateurs, which (to professional pols) may seem more significant than the left vs. right positioning.
    Some of those people in the Democratic Party are undoubtedly wrong about some of those races.
    Some are not.

    Conserva-Dems have done pretty well recently in conservative districts; other districts can elect Ted Lieu or Maxine Waters or Schiff or Hirono. No way any of those would have flipped the House districts in Iowa that went to moderate Dem women.

    We’re all trying to take down the common Republican enemy. Big tent.
    Intra-faction knife fights only help Republicans.

  106. 106.

    Bill Arnold

    December 26, 2018 at 12:11 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    All sorts of new actors — foreign and domestic — who’ve witnessed Putin’s success will want a piece of the action. They will exploit every conceivable fault line.

    Yes! The particularly hard work is staying atuned enough to such attempts (at manipulation) to recognize/spot them when they’re young and fragile, and spike ’em (disrupt them) before they go fully viral. (Once they’re viral they can e.g. influence the US press. Which is getting admirably warier (median) but still needs to improve further. Trump admin has been good training wheels for recognizing inept propaganda. :-) )
    The Russians make many mistakes; cultural mismatches make them depend more on well-funded volume and mechanical technique. Some others, not so much.

  107. 107.

    trnc

    December 26, 2018 at 12:42 pm

    @rikyrah:

    NEW from me: The Dem primary goes thru black voters. And these voters are ready to make their voices heard. I talked to dozens, and spell out current behind-scenes fight

    Black voters “are done with you showing up at my church right before the elections.”

    Not sure if that tweet was Russian/right wing trolling or not, but to the extent that is a widespread feeling among the AA community:
    – What is the minimal number of times candidates need to show up outside of the 3 month period before the elections?
    – How much is actual legislation and policy weighted vs showing up at the church?

    The way I see it, there’s only one major party that consistently pushes for policy and laws that does or would benefit marginalized and disadvantaged populations, and many members of that party are outspoken about it enough that the other major party regularly misrepresents those policies as “giveaways to those people.” Not really sure what the fuck else dem candidates are supposed to do.

  108. 108.

    J R in WV

    December 26, 2018 at 1:10 pm

    @SFAW:

    Naw, not amazing. Billin has the super powers of photography, well known to all, or at least most of we photographers.

    ;-)

    Happy Holidays, everyone!!

  109. 109.

    Ruckus

    December 26, 2018 at 1:16 pm

    @trnc:
    They want rightfully to see the candidate. To hear them in person, to learn if the candidate is all talk, or has substance and what that substance is. This what all of us should do as the minimum. This is normal, not just look/listen to political commercials

  110. 110.

    Ruckus

    December 26, 2018 at 1:19 pm

    @SFAW:
    It’s possible that you have under estimated his narrcisism.

  111. 111.

    SFAW

    December 26, 2018 at 1:47 pm

    @Ruckus:

    It’s possible that you have under estimated his narcissism.

    Yeah, I considered that possibility when I wrote the comment. I had enough sense not to say to myself “There’s no way he would be worse than that.” Because, as with Peak Wingnut, there is no depth to which Fuckhead will not sink.

  112. 112.

    trnc

    December 26, 2018 at 4:21 pm

    @Ruckus:

    They want rightfully to see the candidate. To hear them in person, to learn if the candidate is all talk, or has substance and what that substance is. This what all of us should do as the minimum. This is normal, not just look/listen to political commercials

    Perhaps I misunderstand, but if you’re literally saying we should only vote for candidates that we can see in a relatively intimate setting, that’s a pretty big ask. There are thousands of AA churches across the country. Many of them have a few hundred members or less, so candidates would spend a lot of time and resources on logistics for those trips. Also, how is each candidate going to have time for anything other than a canned speech at each stop? There sure as hell is no way they can spend the time to have a town hall type event in every church, or even in every town or community.

    Meanwhile, I was able to get the information I needed from Obama, Clinton, Gore, Trump, Bush, Romney, etc, etc without having to see them in person. There’s a lot more than political commercials to get in depth info from.

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