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You are here: Home / Past Elections / Election 2016 / WikiLeaks: Assange isn’t a smelly kitty-abuser

WikiLeaks: Assange isn’t a smelly kitty-abuser

by Betty Cracker|  January 7, 201912:34 pm| 172 Comments

This post is in: Election 2016, Foreign Affairs, Open Threads, Assholes, General Stupidity

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WikiLeaks issued 14 pages of guidance yesterday to media outlets, enumerating 140 “false and defamatory” things journalists are to refrain from saying about its leader. A sample:

It is false and defamatory to suggest that Julian Assange bleaches his hair.

It is false and defamatory to suggest that Julian Assange stinks.

It is false and defamatory to suggest that Julian Assange has ever tortured a cat or dog.

It is false and defamatory to suggest that Julian Assange does not use cutlery or does not wash his hands.

It is false and defamatory to suggest that Julian Assange lives, or has ever lived, in a basement, cupboard or under the stairs.

The kicker? The “radical transparency” organization sent the email marked “Confidential legal communication. Not for publication.” Of course, it was published anyway. WikiLeaks responded by publishing and republishing its own “confidential legal document” that was “not for publication,” allegedly editing it several times to remove embarrassing bits that attracted widespread mockery on social media.

It’s a thoroughly ridiculous document, not just because of the 140 verboten statements but because of the supercilious, aggrieved and self-aggrandizing tone. It reads as if Donald Trump, Les Moonves and Glenn Greenwald farted in the same elevator and the foul vapors swirled together, achieved a rudimentary sentience and gained access to a keypad.

Anyhoo, it doesn’t matter in the slightest what that rapey, basement-dwelling, unhygienic, bleached out skid-mark decrees. But the missive stands as an example of how unmoored from reality and reason so many folks have become in this new Golden Age of Megalomania.

Open thread.

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Reader Interactions

172Comments

  1. 1.

    Roger Moore

    January 7, 2019 at 12:39 pm

    I strongly encourage Mr. Assange to sue anyone who spreads those scurrilous lies. Discovery would be a hoot.

  2. 2.

    Yarrow

    January 7, 2019 at 12:42 pm

    I just commented on this story in the thread below. As I said there, it feels like a dumb listicle. “140 Things You Should NEVER Say About Julian Assange! Number 73 will shock you!”

  3. 3.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    January 7, 2019 at 12:43 pm

    It reads as if Donald Trump, Les Moonves and Glenn Greenwald farted in the same elevator and the foul vapors swirled together, achieved a rudimentary sentience and gained access to a keypad.

    You certainly have a way with words, Betty.

    Anyhoo, it doesn’t matter in the slightest what that rapey, basement-dwelling, unhygienic, bleached out skid-mark decrees.

    Ruh roh! Better watch out Betty, Wikileaks might send you a sternly worded “confidential” legal document that they edited several times with whiteout and wrote over with purple ink.

  4. 4.

    sukabi

    January 7, 2019 at 12:44 pm

    @Roger Moore: Somebody is trolling Assmunch …putting out those ridiculous demands guarantees they will be published and used in descriptions of him and Wikileaks. ?????

    Some one is really sick of his shit. lolololol

    Are we sure it didn’t come from the Ecuadorian Embassy?

  5. 5.

    Fair Economist

    January 7, 2019 at 12:45 pm

    @Yarrow:

    As I said there, it feels like a dumb listicle. “140 Things You Should NEVER Say About Julian Assange! Number 73 will shock you!”

    How about “10 things the press is afraid to tell you about Julian Assange” Number 5 will shock you!”, repeated 14 times?

  6. 6.

    laura

    January 7, 2019 at 12:47 pm

    When did butt hurt, or even extreme butt hurt become an actionable tort?

  7. 7.

    Yarrow

    January 7, 2019 at 12:47 pm

    @Fair Economist: So many ways to play it. “You’ll never believe These Eight Things Julian Assange Doesn’t Do! Number six will shock you!”

  8. 8.

    Luthe

    January 7, 2019 at 12:47 pm

    It reads as if Donald Trump, Les Moonves and Glenn Greenwald farted in the same elevator and the foul vapors swirled together, achieved a rudimentary sentience and gained access to a keypad.

    I laughed ’til I cried.

  9. 9.

    satby

    January 7, 2019 at 12:55 pm

    Is it false and defamatory to call him an asshole? I believe the truth is an absolute defense to a claim of defamation.

  10. 10.

    Chris Fisher

    January 7, 2019 at 12:55 pm

    I get the feeling that Wikilinks now consists solely of Assange banging out “LOOK AT ME!” posts on his Ecuadoran-loaned PC.

  11. 11.

    MattF

    January 7, 2019 at 12:56 pm

    Only 140! Someone was trying very hard not to overdo it.

    ETA: Also, someone has a lot of time on his hands.

  12. 12.

    Barbara

    January 7, 2019 at 1:00 pm

    Why is it considered defamatory to have lived in a basement? I know lots of esteemed people who have lived in a basement. Is it similarly defamatory, or just false, to state that he lived in a palace? Because “false” is one thing and “defamatory” is a very, very tiny subset of what is false. If someone accuses me of having the highest IQ ever recorded, it would be false but I’d be some kind of idiot to sue for defamation.

  13. 13.

    MagdaInBlack

    January 7, 2019 at 1:02 pm

    I am reminded of the time a friends much aggrieved 8 y/o came up with a list of 10 things Mom was not supposed to do.

    (It went down about as well as this)

  14. 14.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 7, 2019 at 1:04 pm

    Just got an NYT alert: The Buffoon wants to give a primetime address on the shutdown tomorrow.

  15. 15.

    dmsilev

    January 7, 2019 at 1:06 pm

    He didn’t, so far as I know, deny his alleged failures to clean his cat’s litter box. I guess that means we can take that one as given.

    Also, one grievance per allowed character in (original-length) Tweets. That’s almost poetic.

  16. 16.

    dmsilev

    January 7, 2019 at 1:07 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Leaked script:

    Wall. Want Wall. Wall Concrete. Wall Steel. WALLLLLLL.

  17. 17.

    Aleta

    January 7, 2019 at 1:08 pm

    This wouldn’t be about ‘the Guardian has no evidence Assange met with Manafort’ (an Inter cept claim) would it? (Seems familiar … Fake News! Don’t believe the liberal media!)

  18. 18.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 7, 2019 at 1:09 pm

    Chris Van Hollen has been calling on Dems to shut down the Senate until McConnell brings up Pelosi’s bill to re-open government. This seems significant.

    Seung Min Kim @ seungminkim
    Per senior Senate D aide, Schumer has told the rest of his caucus that he will vote to block legislation authorizing security assistance to Israel (and other things) until McConnell tees up bills re-opening the government

  19. 19.

    Elizabelle

    January 7, 2019 at 1:10 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Yeah, that is what interests me too. Not Assange.

    From the FTF NYTimes:

    BREAKING NEWS
    President Trump wants to give a prime time address on the federal shutdown this week and will travel to the border to make his case for a wall.
    Monday, January 7, 2019 12:57 PM EST
    The White House did not immediately respond to questions about a request to television networks to carve out time for an Oval Office address. A person familiar with the request said the White House had asked to interrupt prime time programming on Tuesday.

    Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, announced Mr. Trump’s plans to travel to the border on Thursday, which would be the 20th day of the partial government shutdown if an agreement between Congress and the White House is not reached in the meantime.

    I think of how important it would have been for Obama to give some speeches on the economic recovery, etc.

    It seemed he was timid to request the time because the networks made it clear they would rather air their commercial programming. Public airwaves, our ass.

    OTOH, this could go really badly for Trump. He has an indefensible position.

  20. 20.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 7, 2019 at 1:11 pm

    I perused the edits they made, hilarious.

    Open thread? I learned yesterday that my short story from some months back will be included in the magazine’s Best of 2018 anthology, yay!

  21. 21.

    catclub

    January 7, 2019 at 1:11 pm

    @Barbara: Unlike Harry Potter, who did, Julian Assange has never slept under a staircase.

  22. 22.

    Not the Ecuadorian Embassy

    January 7, 2019 at 1:12 pm

    @sukabi: It is false and defamatory to suggest that Julian Assange habla Español como un retrasado de dos dientes después de vivir en nuestro sótano por mil fokin años carajo.

  23. 23.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 7, 2019 at 1:13 pm

    @Elizabelle: he’s also very bad at reading from a teleprompter, he squints and sounds like a third grader called on to read aloud in class.

    I think Dems need to just keep repeating: trump has created a million unemployed people because he was scared by a tweet from Ann Coulter

  24. 24.

    Immanentize

    January 7, 2019 at 1:14 pm

    Jeebus!!! I didn’t know Assange tortured cats!
    ?

  25. 25.

    Elizabelle

    January 7, 2019 at 1:15 pm

    Excellent news from the NY Times. Happy to see this:

    Gov. Bill Haslam of Tennessee on Monday granted clemency to Cyntoia Brown, a 30-year-old woman serving a life sentence for fatally shooting a man in 2004 who had hired her as a prostitute when she was a teenage sex trafficking victim.

    A statement from the office of Governor Haslam, a Republican, said Ms. Brown would be released to supervised parole on Aug. 7, 2019, after serving 15 years in prison.

  26. 26.

    Spanky

    January 7, 2019 at 1:15 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I hope the networks opt instead to run old “Emergency!” reruns. Or claim the network has to wash its hair in that time slot.

  27. 27.

    catclub

    January 7, 2019 at 1:15 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: when unemployment changes of 100,000 are a big deal in the unemployment
    and job statistics, putting that many people out of work will leave a mark.

  28. 28.

    Wild Cat

    January 7, 2019 at 1:16 pm

    I still recall fondly when Amyista Goodman was taken to task on her own sad show for underplaying the rape charges against Assange.

  29. 29.

    Elizabelle

    January 7, 2019 at 1:16 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Yea you. That’s wonderful.

  30. 30.

    lamh36

    January 7, 2019 at 1:17 pm

    ICYMI: LOVE Nancy Smash!!!

    Guthrie: Trump criticized you for spending time in Hawaii over a Christmas

    ❤️ NDP: “ The president may not know this, but Hawaii is part of the USA . Maybe he doesn’t realize that. That’s why he said Barack Obama wasn’t born in the United States when he was born in Hawaii.” ?
    https://twitter.com/ellievan65/status/1082237835275653120?s=21

  31. 31.

    Emerald

    January 7, 2019 at 1:18 pm

    IIRC Obama indeed did request airtime. The networks refused him.

  32. 32.

    trollhattan

    January 7, 2019 at 1:19 pm

    @dmsilev:

    Wall. Want Wall. Wall Concrete. Wall Steel. WALLLLLLL.

    “Or slats. Did I mention slats?”

  33. 33.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 7, 2019 at 1:19 pm

    Dan Pfeiffer @ danpfeiffer
    In a very similar situation in 2011, the networks gave Speaker Boehner air time to respond to a nationally televised address by President Obama.

    Will they make the same offer to the Democrats in 2019?

    I believe Pfeiffer works for CNN. He should direct that tweet at his friends there.

  34. 34.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    January 7, 2019 at 1:20 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:
    Was that the one you wanted beta’d? Sorry I haven’t gotten to that yet. Also, congrats!

  35. 35.

    sukabi

    January 7, 2019 at 1:20 pm

    @dmsilev: probably more like “Give me my money” (holds up points at kid in cage) “or the kid gets it!”

  36. 36.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 7, 2019 at 1:20 pm

    @Elizabelle: oh ffs

  37. 37.

    Immanentize

    January 7, 2019 at 1:20 pm

    @Elizabelle: I mentioned this at the end of last thread, I have friends who have been working on this case and the clemency is a Big Biden Deal. For all juvies with life sentences….

  38. 38.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 7, 2019 at 1:21 pm

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??: no, this came out in August or so. Btw you can just delete that draft, but I’d love some feedback on an upcoming new one.

    ETA how’s your writing? ?

  39. 39.

    Immanentize

    January 7, 2019 at 1:21 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Well done!

  40. 40.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 7, 2019 at 1:23 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    President Obama in Primetime
    President Obama will address the nation three – count ’em, three – times in February.
    BY BELINDA ACOSTA, 12:58PM, FRI. FEB. 6, 2009

    Various industry sources report that President Obama would like to address the nation three times this month. He’s calling a press conference on Monday, Feb. 9, will make a “brief appearance” on Feb. 16, and make a longer address on Feb. 24. It’s strongly presumed that the current economic climate is among the topics he would like to talk to the American public about.
    Because he wants to appear in prime time, broadcast networks are grumbling that “his economic stimulus package apparently does not extend to the TV networks.” The networks anticipate losing about nine million dollars in ad revenue, according to the Washington Post.

    same google search turns up that networks refused to air a 2014 prime time address on immigration

  41. 41.

    Alet

    January 7, 2019 at 1:24 pm

    @Aleta: I should have read the link first:

    It was not immediately clear what prompted the advice to media organizations, but WikiLeaks singled out Britain’s Guardian newspaper for publishing what it said was a false report about Assange. …
    …
    “There is a pervasive climate of inaccurate claims about WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, including purposeful fabrications planted in large and otherwise ‘reputable’ media outlets,” Wikileaks said

    WikiLeaks said the assertion that Assange had ever been an “agent or officer of any intelligence service” [was false and defamatory]. WikiLeaks also said it was false and defamatory to suggest that Assange, 47, had ever been employed by the Russian government or that he is, or has ever been, close to the Russian state, the Kremlin or Putin.

    I hate when especially lawyers (oh let’s say, for example … Greenwald) use bad faith arguments and straw men while pretending to be all about representing the truth.

  42. 42.

    Elizabelle

    January 7, 2019 at 1:25 pm

    @Immanentize: Excellent. Good to see it, because this young lady did not get justice.

  43. 43.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    January 7, 2019 at 1:25 pm

    @Elizabelle:
    @Major Major Major Major:

    I saw in a Forbes article that 69% of Americans don’t see a border wall as a priority and 50% of that don’t see the need for the type of border wall Trump wants. He’s a fucking idiot who’s to destroy this country. This is Putin’s revenge for the US winning the Cold War.

  44. 44.

    Gravenstone

    January 7, 2019 at 1:31 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Yeah, Schumer acting to inconvenience Israel (per the quoted example) is a rather notable development. Hopefully he can hold his caucus together enough to force Turtle’s hand on the spending bills so this farce can move onto the next act.

  45. 45.

    Barbara

    January 7, 2019 at 1:31 pm

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??: Yeah, the overwhelming respondents were either “not now” (18%) or “not ever” (50%). Even if you agree that we need enhanced border security, the notion that the solution is a wall — concrete or steel — is irredeemably stupid.

  46. 46.

    CaseyL

    January 7, 2019 at 1:34 pm

    @Elizabelle: Yes! I just saw that and was going to comment on it myself.

    @Immanentize: Kudos to your friends and everyone else who worked on this for Ms. Brown.

  47. 47.

    Elizabelle

    January 7, 2019 at 1:36 pm

    @CaseyL: I hope Ms. Brown has happiness and, if she wants, a lovely little pet cat of her own in her future.

    No doubt she will be a more responsible pet person.

  48. 48.

    Ryan

    January 7, 2019 at 1:36 pm

    Wouldn’t he have to leave the embassy to enforce any claim of defamation in a court?

  49. 49.

    EricNNY

    January 7, 2019 at 1:38 pm

    @Elizabelle: I think it’s inde-fence-able…… So sorry about that.

  50. 50.

    Barbara

    January 7, 2019 at 1:39 pm

    @Ryan: Well, I am guessing that he won’t be able to force the Embassy of Ecuador to host a deposition so, most likely, yes, if he were serious about bringing such a suit, but he very obviously is not.

  51. 51.

    Elizabelle

    January 7, 2019 at 1:41 pm

    @EricNNY: Prezactly.

  52. 52.

    trollhattan

    January 7, 2019 at 1:43 pm

    AOC is A-OK.

    New Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has said there is “no question” that President Donald Trump is racist. In an interview with CBS News, Ms Ocasio-Cortez based her claim on “words that he uses, which are historic dog whistles of white supremacy”.

    In a statement, the White House hit back at the New York lawmaker’s “sheer ignorance on the matter”.

    Ms Ocasio-Cortez took office last week as the youngest ever US congresswoman. When asked by presenter Anderson Cooper whether Mr Trump “is a racist”, the 29-year-old left-wing Democratic lawmaker responded: “Yeah, yeah no question.”

    “When you look at the words that he uses, which are historic dog whistles of white supremacy, when you look at how he reacted to the Charlottesville incident, where neo-Nazis murdered a woman, versus how he manufactures crises like immigrants seeking legal refuge on our borders, it’s night and day.”

    She also called Mr Trump a “symptom of the problem. The president certainly didn’t invent racism, but he’s certainly given a voice to it and expanded it and created a platform for those things,” she said.

    What was once whispered is now being stated out loud, while cameras are rolling. Yet to be seen is whether the too-predictable Republican strategy of brushing everybody like her aside as a radical commie or what have you, still works.

  53. 53.

    Frankensteinbeck

    January 7, 2019 at 1:43 pm

    I would 100% believe Assange wrote this. His memoir writer (who Assange cheated) didn’t use the term, but from the description Assange is seriously narcissistic himself. Whiny ‘why aren’t you worshipping me’ screeds are totally him.

    @Elizabelle:
    I put moderate odds that Trump believes that if he gives a speech at the border, the audience will see the Hellscape of criminals and terrorists sneaking across behind him. As a hardcore white supremacist, he really believes this shit.

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:
    I remember Obama giving a press conference on some minor military issue, and telling the press that if he’d given it about the economy, they wouldn’t have come. That did not go over well. You could tell it was a direct hit.

    I also remember Democrat’s saying he should take a tour explaining the ACA, while he was doing just that. The national press just plain does not want to cover this stuff.

  54. 54.

    Face

    January 7, 2019 at 1:44 pm

    @Elizabelle: He’s going to use this speech to declare the National Emergency Power to do whatever the hell he wants. You heard it here first (or maybe not….many others have concluded as such too)

  55. 55.

    Barbara

    January 7, 2019 at 1:44 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: The notion that the Senate is considering a bill to assist a foreign country, ANY foreign country, while it refuses to consider legislation to reopen the USG is just an outrage. The latest of many, but still outrageous. Good for Schumer.

  56. 56.

    khead

    January 7, 2019 at 1:44 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    I fully approve of a prime time POTUS speech about the wall and the shutdown. Please proceed, sir.

  57. 57.

    Cheryl Rofer

    January 7, 2019 at 1:44 pm

    3/3
    -100% on-point example is that most nets did NOT carry a speech by Obama **ON IMMIGRATION** in 2014. https://t.co/7KArLpCRjk

    -Trump has demonstrable track record of lying on this issue.

    -If air it, must follow immediately w equal-time fact check and/or opposing speech.

    — James Fallows (@JamesFallows) January 7, 2019

  58. 58.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 7, 2019 at 1:48 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    And suddenly, Trump’s crazed rantings the other day about how steel is so much better than concrete — well, now it makes sense.

    EVRAZ North America is one of the biggest and most diversified steel manufacturers in the US and Canada.

    The owner and majority shareholder of EVRAZ NA is one Roman Abramovich, an Israeli-Russian criminal thug-cum-multibillionaire and — it almost goes without saying — close ally of Putin and friend of Ivanka Trump & Jared Kushner.

    Just a coincidence, I’m sure.

  59. 59.

    dmsilev

    January 7, 2019 at 1:49 pm

    @sukabi:

    @dmsilev: probably more like “Give me my money” (holds up points at kid in cage) “or the kid gets it!”

    Are we talking about Don Jr., Eric, or Ivanka here? Either way, I’m not seeing the problem.

  60. 60.

    Elizabelle

    January 7, 2019 at 1:50 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck: I know. Those fuckers (broadcast media owners) sold us out for $9 million in advertising revenue. And then disgraced CBS head Les Moonves talking about how Trump was money to them.

    Wankers. They are the public’s airwaves.

  61. 61.

    Elizabelle

    January 7, 2019 at 1:51 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: I would love to see Ivanka and Jared in a perp walk too.

    Complicit.

    (I would really love to know that Jarvanka’s little tykes have convicted criminals for BOTH grandfathers. And for their parents too. And then maybe the tiny ones can all take up different lines of business. Still time for them.)

  62. 62.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    January 7, 2019 at 1:52 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:
    Sure, I’d love to take a look at the new one. I don’t know how much help I’d be but I’ll definitely give it my best.

    Uh… well… I haven’t started yet. I think about it a lot and have written down notes here and there. I have a pretty good idea of what I want, but it’s all in the execution. Plus, school is starting next week and I have to prepare for that. However, I will have some days off this week and I plan on finally trying to write something down. Thanks for asking.

  63. 63.

    Frankensteinbeck

    January 7, 2019 at 1:53 pm

    @trollhattan:
    The funny thing is, the press is shooting itself in the foot here. The Narrative is “Look at how crazy and extreme these new Democrats are!” To push it, they’re covering the kind of statements they obsessively hide when old-fashioned Democrats say it. Then the public reacts the opposite of what they expected, and goes “Hell yeah, AOC! More!” I’ve seen this before. They press is VERY good at defining what is known and talked about, but shit lousy at convincing the public how to feel about what is covered. But they’re convinced everyone views them as sages.

  64. 64.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 7, 2019 at 1:57 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck: I also remember Democrats saying he should take a tour explaining the ACA, while he was doing just that.

    Still my favorite Luther moment, even including when he showed up with Obama at the correpsondents’ dinner
    Y’all motherfuckers won’t LISSSSS-sten!

  65. 65.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 7, 2019 at 1:58 pm

    @dmsilev: I

    Also, one grievance per allowed character in (original-length) Tweets. That’s almost poetic.

    I noticed that, too, and wondered whether it meant anything.

  66. 66.

    Betty Cracker

    January 7, 2019 at 2:00 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: I predict they’ll fail that test because Trump’s televised insanity is so damned profitable. Who wants to watch a boring old speech from a regular president talking about facts, data and values? Must-see TV is a nuclear-armed lunatic ranting in a way that frightens people around the world.

    Our only hope is that the reality TV star self-destructs; the networks will not pull the plug. Fortunately, there’s a damn good chance of the reality TV star blowing up on-air since he is, after all, a ranting lunatic who isn’t very smart and not at all strategic.

  67. 67.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 7, 2019 at 2:01 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    Huh. Never really thought of it in quite those generational terms. Interesting. And poor kids.

  68. 68.

    BigJimSlade

    January 7, 2019 at 2:02 pm

    It is false and defamatory to say the Donald Trump, Les Moonves and Glenn Greenwald farted in the same elevator. But if they did, hilarious huffing soon followed.

  69. 69.

    Amir Khalid

    January 7, 2019 at 2:02 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:
    Abramovich took Israeli citizenship when Britain refused to renew his tier-1 investor’s visa, so he could enter visa-free and attend his Premier League club Chelsea FC’s home matches.

  70. 70.

    trollhattan

    January 7, 2019 at 2:03 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck:
    Yup, their dysfunction in framing the narrative fairly continues but perhaps sheer public will can bend them in another direction.

    I dread the unveiling of “mainstream media’s” tactics for 2020 in which they feel compelled to present Trump as the typical incumbent. And not the monster and criminal he so obviously is. Heaven forfend.

  71. 71.

    Amir Khalid

    January 7, 2019 at 2:05 pm

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??:
    People who say that are the ones who never actually get around to writing.

  72. 72.

    BruceFromOhio

    January 7, 2019 at 2:06 pm

    @Not the Ecuadorian Embassy: This is hilarious. Which of you jackals is playing this?? Just stop it already, it’s distracting my colleagues.

  73. 73.

    ...now I try to be amused

    January 7, 2019 at 2:07 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Chris Van Hollen has been calling on Dems to shut down the Senate until McConnell brings up Pelosi’s bill to re-open government. This seems significant.

    Good. McConnell and Trump are insufficiently inconvenienced by the shutdown now.

    If a Westminster System parliamentary government fails to pass a funding bill then it is considered a vote of no confidence and the government is automatically dissolved. Of course the government isn’t divided under the Westminster System either.

  74. 74.

    Marcopolo

    January 7, 2019 at 2:08 pm

    In case anyone here is interested in casting a vote (or just at looking at the results in real time):

    Daily Kos Democratic Straw Poll, inaugural edition!

    I have participated in this every time it happens since 2003/2004 (I don’t actually remember when the first one happened exactly except that back in the day my DKos user # was under 1500 and I was an active participant in the early years). If I recall, the early polls are not necessarily all that predictive of end results–Howard Dean and Wesley Clark were early favorites in that first iteration.

  75. 75.

    Bobby Thomson

    January 7, 2019 at 2:16 pm

    So does this mean he’s admitting the rape now?

  76. 76.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 7, 2019 at 2:16 pm

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??:

    I plan on finally trying to write something down.

    Good plan.

  77. 77.

    BruceFromOhio

    January 7, 2019 at 2:16 pm

    @Marcopolo: Ah, the good old daze of DKos in its pre-teen years. Pie fights, Bill from Portland, Maine, Mary Scott O’Connor before the fall, the occasional missive from Markos himself. *sigh*

  78. 78.

    Seanly

    January 7, 2019 at 2:17 pm

    I look forward to Trump’s rambling and incoherent Airing of Grievances tomorrow night. I will eat a hat if he talks in complete sentences (noun, verb, subject) for the majority of the speech. I look forward to him adlibbing off Stephen Miller’s latest Mein Kampf-esque racist screed.

    Pro-tip: I have no concern that I will not have to eat a hat.

  79. 79.

    jl

    January 7, 2019 at 2:21 pm

    What does “stinks” mean in this context?
    I think that the way Assange has run Wikileaks has stunk for a long time. Can I say that? Does that count as defamation?

  80. 80.

    VeniceRiley

    January 7, 2019 at 2:21 pm

    It is false and defamatory to suggest that Julian Assange
    Needs to be a meme.
    It is false and defamatory to suggest that Julian Assange feeds his boogers to his cat.

  81. 81.

    Bobby Thomson

    January 7, 2019 at 2:21 pm

    @BruceFromOhio: Maryscott. One word.

  82. 82.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 7, 2019 at 2:21 pm

    I still can’t quite believe how often I find myself agreeing with a guy who wrote a book called “The Right Man” about Dumbya in 2004, but From nails it here, I think

    um @ davidfrum
    Trump is most effective when he can leverage his popularity within the GOP to control / block Congress. He is least effective when he tries to mobilize public opinion. He’s not popular! But his ego delusions impede him from recognizing truth and acting rationally within it

  83. 83.

    Marcopolo

    January 7, 2019 at 2:22 pm

    @BruceFromOhio: Yeah, I can’t remember the last time I actually commented there (though I do drop by from time to time to see what people are chatting about & they actually have some good front pagers & election folks who post timely informative stuff) but the early days of the netroots were a heady thing. As I was living in Fairbanks, AK at the time being a part of DKos actually let me feel I was still participating, at some level, in national politics.

  84. 84.

    Sab

    January 7, 2019 at 2:24 pm

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??: OT. Goku, call Rob Portman’s office and tell them that you want the government back open, and that you blame the Senate for not standing up to the President on this. Thanks in advance.

  85. 85.

    Betty Cracker

    January 7, 2019 at 2:26 pm

    Are any of y’all familiar with a conspiracy theory around “neural monitoring”? One of the (many!) local crackpots erected a billboard-sized sign decrying it, so I suspect it’s all the rage on InfoWars or some country-cousin purveyor of locally sourced artisan lunacy.

  86. 86.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 7, 2019 at 2:26 pm

    @BruceFromOhio: Mary Scott O’Connor before the fall,

    man that’s a blast from the past. I can’t remember the details, but I remember once knowing exactly what this referred to.

    the most pie fights I ever got into was at MyDD in 2008, fighting with PUMAs. Remember the strike, I think they called it, when they all threatened to stop posting on Obama-loving blogs and started their own? I went looking for some of those blogs in 2016 and they all seem to have folded.

  87. 87.

    WaterGirl

    January 7, 2019 at 2:26 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Big congratulations!

  88. 88.

    Gelfling 545

    January 7, 2019 at 2:28 pm

    The cupboard under the stairs is cute. No, we did NOT mistake him for a young wizard. The Boy Who Leaked. Jesus.

  89. 89.

    WaterGirl

    January 7, 2019 at 2:28 pm

    @lamh36: I can’t stop laughing about this. Best anti-birther comment EVER.

  90. 90.

    trollhattan

    January 7, 2019 at 2:29 pm

    Inauguration day in Sacramento–Jerry hands the gavel, or bong or whatever to Gavin. Truly an era has ended, boundless thanks to Jerry for your service and best hopes and wishes to our new gov!

    We have not had a family chock full of kids and dogs in the governor’s mansion since I arrived in the golden state many moons ago–since Pat Brown I suppose (Jerry and Kathleen supposedly threw water balloons from the third floor windows). What a pleasant development.

  91. 91.

    Marcopolo

    January 7, 2019 at 2:29 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Grats. Keep on keeping on & may you have many more of these.

  92. 92.

    Gelfling 545

    January 7, 2019 at 2:31 pm

    @lamh36: And every day he knows less and less about more and more.

  93. 93.

    WaterGirl

    January 7, 2019 at 2:36 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Watching that again was good for the soul. thanks.

  94. 94.

    WaterGirl

    January 7, 2019 at 2:36 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Me, three.

  95. 95.

    satby

    January 7, 2019 at 2:38 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: I just quoted you on the Book of Face. Good point.

  96. 96.

    randy khan

    January 7, 2019 at 2:38 pm

    @trollhattan:

    In a statement, the White House hit back at the New York lawmaker’s “sheer ignorance on the matter”.

    Well, that settles it. I mean, who knows more about ignorance than Trump?

  97. 97.

    chopper

    January 7, 2019 at 2:38 pm

    do not taunt julian assange.

    julian assange may stick to certain types of skin.

  98. 98.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 7, 2019 at 2:40 pm

    @trollhattan: When I arrived* in the Golden State, Pat Brown was Governor.

    *Anniversary of that date is 2 weeks from today.

  99. 99.

    Gravenstone

    January 7, 2019 at 2:41 pm

    @Betty Cracker: A quick Google search has a top hit of some flake on YouTube demonstrating how “they” remotely monitor your thoughts. So yeah, very deeply into crank territory. Right up InfoWars’ alley, in other words.

  100. 100.

    Crosspalms

    January 7, 2019 at 2:41 pm

    He’s going to order up a stealth wall using that F-35 technology. It’s invisible, you can’t see it!

  101. 101.

    Gelfling 545

    January 7, 2019 at 2:42 pm

    @Elizabelle: Funny how things come back to you. I haven’t been a practicing Catholic in over 40 years but hearing about Trump requesting air time brings back the words of the Litany: spare us, oh Lord; Good Lord, deliver us; and or course, Christ, have mercy.

  102. 102.

    randy khan

    January 7, 2019 at 2:42 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    @dmsilev:

    Also, one grievance per allowed character in (original-length) Tweets. That’s almost poetic.

    I noticed that, too, and wondered whether it meant anything.

    It’s a code – the first letter of each item spells out what Assange is really saying. (Try it – you’ll see.)

  103. 103.

    dmsilev

    January 7, 2019 at 2:47 pm

    @Crosspalms: The President’s New Wall. Only fools can’t see the barriers.

  104. 104.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 7, 2019 at 2:48 pm

    @Crosspalms: Two “invisible” F-35’s.

  105. 105.

    jl

    January 7, 2019 at 2:48 pm

    Uh-oh…. Carter says wasn’t him. I can’t believe that Nice Mr. President Trump lied. What are we to tell the children?

    @CarterCenter
    Clarification from former U.S. President Jimmy Carter:
    “I have not discussed the border wall with President Trump, and do not support him on the issue.” — Jimmy Carter
    11:35 AM – 7 Jan 2019 from Atlanta, GA
    https://twitter.com/CarterCenter/status/1082360095219073026

  106. 106.

    Marcopolo

    January 7, 2019 at 2:49 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    From the FTF NYTimes:

    BREAKING NEWS
    President Trump wants to give a prime time address on the federal shutdown this week and will travel to the border to make his case for a wall.
    Monday, January 7, 2019 12:57 PM EST
    The White House did not immediately respond to questions about a request to television networks to carve out time for an Oval Office address. A person familiar with the request said the White House had asked to interrupt prime time programming on Tuesday.

    Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, announced Mr. Trump’s plans to travel to the border on Thursday, which would be the 20th day of the partial government shutdown if an agreement between Congress and the White House is not reached in the meantime.

    I think of how important it would have been for Obama to give some speeches on the economic recovery, etc.

    It seemed he was timid to request the time because the networks made it clear they would rather air their commercial programming. Public airwaves, our ass.

    OTOH, this could go really badly for Trump. He has an indefensible position.

    If I were one of the major networks I would just not air this in real time. I’d go there, I’d record it, I’d attempt to edit out all the extraneous asides and digressions Trump always throws in, then I’d fact check the hell out of it and air it in snippets with the fact checking dropped in as necessary–meaning after every sentence he utters. I’d probably mention how Trump made up the entire caravan controversy, including deploying troops to the border over the holidays, just to try to goose R turnout in the midterms.

    They have no obligation to serve as a megaphone for his propaganda.

  107. 107.

    Jay

    January 7, 2019 at 2:51 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    Reality is, many people get their Orange Bloat second hand or third hand, because:
    – His voice, face, mannerisms are triggering for a lot of people,
    – making sense of his word salad rambling in real time is a waste of time, transcripts are required and lot’s and lots of conjecture.

    CBC News has cut Bloat clips down to 30 seconds or less because 10 seconds in, people start to change the channel, but if the News person talks about what the Bloat said instead, they stay tuned.

  108. 108.

    rikyrah

    January 7, 2019 at 2:54 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Open thread? I learned yesterday that my short story from some months back will be included in the magazine’s Best of 2018 anthology, yay

    CONGRATULATIONS!!!

  109. 109.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 7, 2019 at 2:59 pm

    Thanks everyone

  110. 110.

    ruemara

    January 7, 2019 at 3:02 pm

    So glad they completely have exposed themselves.

    @Major Major Major Major: HEY! Congratulations! Hopefully, even more writing success will come your way.

    Oh, if we’re doing achieves, I was cleaning up my emails and found out I’ve been cast for yet another audiodrama. I missed it when it came in a few days ago. And this one pays real money. Australian dollars, but I can buy a cup of coffee now!

    @Elizabelle: Just a reminder, a POTUS can ask for coverage, the networks are not mandated to give it. Obama did request. There was no timidity. They refused.

  111. 111.

    jl

    January 7, 2019 at 3:04 pm

    @Marcopolo: I don’t have faith in the corporate media to do anything right, including a competent fact check. They’ve been all over the map misinforming people on what legal authority President has to declare a national emergency, and what happens next.

    Regardless of whether Trump can be bothered to cite a legal authority, I think House will say it falls under a 1976 law, and they have a right to block it with majority vote and send the issue to Senate, where they have to take the matter up within a week. I think. I have to go look it up. I’m not even sure if there are different laws Trump can cite for declaring a national emergency.

    I think he’s going to do it, since it is high on the list of stupid, self-destructive, dangerous and irresponsible things he can do.
    But it might force the media to report out the facts on undocumented immigration and how many are seeking asylum. It’s only about 50 percent of what it has been for decades and still on a declining trends. And more of it is desperate ragged families with kids, less hardy young mail vagabonds and suspicious potential evil-doers like the the GOP is lying.

    Edit: the media reports I’ve heard have some BS political operatives or pundit rambling about political horse race consequences and big drama of power showdown. Their heads are so deep up their assholes on getting sensational clicks and watches, they can’t be bothered with anything but the simplest headline blurbs anymore as far as reporting out information.

  112. 112.

    sukabi

    January 7, 2019 at 3:06 pm

    @dmsilev: if it was any one of those 3 there’d be a line of volunteers stretching around the ?.

  113. 113.

    Immanentize

    January 7, 2019 at 3:06 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:
    It means they were written by Assange himself and tweeted to his lawyer? Or someone on his phone 3G because Ecuador has cut off his internet connection.

    Plus AADD

  114. 114.

    Barbara

    January 7, 2019 at 3:09 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    I predict they’ll fail that test because Trump’s televised insanity is so damned profitable.

    But is it really profitable in this particular context? Certainly, his outrageous insults during the 2016 nomination cycle were highly profitable, but Trump trying to president does not seem to be any more popular than any other president trying to be serious. In some ways, profitable or not, having to watch Trump spew his word salad unedited would be better than hearing the version edited by the likes of CNN trying to extract some kind of non-crazy sounding message.

  115. 115.

    WaterGirl

    January 7, 2019 at 3:10 pm

    @ruemara:

    Oh, if we’re doing achieves, I was cleaning up my emails and found out I’ve been cast for yet another audiodrama. I missed it when it came in a few days ago. And this one pays real money. Australian dollars, but I can buy a cup of coffee now!

    That’s so great!!!

  116. 116.

    jl

    January 7, 2019 at 3:11 pm

    @dmsilev: ” his alleged failures to clean his cat’s litter box. ”

    That is a relief. Is it defamatory to say that the Ecuadorian embassy was pissed because he is a miserable slob, not caring for his cat properly, and broke their rules for hiding out in their place? Or is he going to sue the place that is providing him room and board for defamation?

  117. 117.

    Barbara

    January 7, 2019 at 3:13 pm

    @jl: I am pretty sure the Embassy of Ecuador has sovereign immunity and can say whatever it likes. In most instances an embassy can’t even be sued. Only news outlets that repeat the embassy’s allegedly false statements could be sued.

  118. 118.

    bemused

    January 7, 2019 at 3:14 pm

    I just learned that our former state Dem rep in MN district passed away today from cancer. Feisty fighter for Iron Rangers from 1987 to 2013.

  119. 119.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 7, 2019 at 3:14 pm

    @ruemara: oh awesome, congrats!

  120. 120.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 7, 2019 at 3:14 pm

    Brian Stelter @ brianstelter
    TV exec texts: “He calls us fake news all the time, but needs access to airwaves… If we give him the time, he’ll deliver a fact-free screed without rebuttal. And if we don’t give him the time, he’ll call every network partisan. So we are damned if we do and damned if we don’t.”

    Matthew Yglesias Retweeted Brian Stelter
    This is terrible logic …
    Whether or not they give him what he wants he’s going to keep calling them fake news, which should free them to just do the right thing.
    -When Obama wanted airtime for a 2014 immigration speech, networks told him no because it was “overtly political.”
    This does not seem like a very difficult standard to apply to today’s case.

    I have no idea what the economics and ratings of the different broadcast networks are like these days, but do they really think old white people are gonna stop watching whatever the current versions of Matlock and Murder She Wrote are because they didn’t air this mess? Bubba’s gonna skip his favorite sports ball match on NBC or ABC because of this?

    Also: “a fact-free screed without rebuttal.” that last part is completely up to the networks

  121. 121.

    bemused

    January 7, 2019 at 3:14 pm

    @bemused:

    Tom Rukavina.

  122. 122.

    Cheryl Rofer

    January 7, 2019 at 3:15 pm

    CNN just confirmed to me it will be carrying President Trump’s primetime address tomorrow at 9 pm ET.

    — Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) January 7, 2019

  123. 123.

    btomdarga

    January 7, 2019 at 3:16 pm

    So Assange also likes to grab the pussy?

    Birds of a feather …..

  124. 124.

    jl

    January 7, 2019 at 3:20 pm

    @Barbara: I forgot the snark tag for the end of my comment.

  125. 125.

    West of the Rockies

    January 7, 2019 at 3:20 pm

    @VeniceRiley:

    Well, those he doesn’t gobble up for himself…

  126. 126.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 7, 2019 at 3:20 pm

    @jl:

    young mail vagabonds

    I knew I was right not to trust that postman.

  127. 127.

    Kay

    January 7, 2019 at 3:21 pm

    Why doesn’t Assange just speak for himself? Is there some (real) reason why he speaks through this organization?

    It’s bizarre.

  128. 128.

    John Revolta

    January 7, 2019 at 3:21 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Eexxxxxellllent!

    @trollhattan: gavel or bong or whatever

    LOLOL

  129. 129.

    Elizabelle

    January 7, 2019 at 3:23 pm

    @ruemara: By timidity, I mean that they stopped asking after the initial refusals. And while we cool kids share our info over the internet, those who depend on broadcast never got to hear Obama’s message without a filter. Think how many times Andrea Greenspan would recap a speech we had just heard. And it had not much to do w the speech or its message. Just a dismissal. I think Obama was too conciliatory a lot of the time. My favorite President, but he misjudged how effective Fox etc were at filling people’s heads.

    My two cents. I stand by my comment.

  130. 130.

    jl

    January 7, 2019 at 3:26 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: Thanks for the information, but exactly what I expected. I am very cynical, and think these decisions are very corrupt. GOPers will be more pliable in rewarding obedience with crony capitalist bennies than Dems, and GOP will be more ruthless and vindictive in corrupt punishment of anyone who does not do as GOP wishes. So they are legitimate governing party and deserve great deference as a permanent government, while the Dems do not. The corruption is mind boggling.

    Remember that Wall issue is completely bogus. It started as a campaign stunt to get more cheers out of Trump rallies. And it should be clear by now that Trump and his flunkies have never really given Wall any serious thought after two years in office. The whole issue is s a fraud. The country has to sit there swallowing crap of the news media pretending that it is not a complete fraud.

    I don’t think they’ll give Dems platform for a response to what Trump says. If Trump declares a bogus national emergency, I don’t think the media will be willing or able to give the public accurate information about under what authority he claims for doing it, or what will happen next.

  131. 131.

    Cheryl Rofer

    January 7, 2019 at 3:26 pm

    Both Fox News and Fox Business will carry it, too.

    — Michael Calderone (@mlcalderone) January 7, 2019

  132. 132.

    jl

    January 7, 2019 at 3:27 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I put those typos in to keep you on your toes.

  133. 133.

    John Revolta

    January 7, 2019 at 3:29 pm

    @jl:

    Or is he going to sue the place that is providing him room and board for defamation?

    This would require, like, superhuman chutzpah, so I’m gonnna say- yes. Yes he is.

  134. 134.

    Mary G

    January 7, 2019 at 3:29 pm

    @ruemara: Congrats!

  135. 135.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 7, 2019 at 3:32 pm

    @jl: OK, I’m still giving the postman a side-eye.

  136. 136.

    Kay

    January 7, 2019 at 3:32 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    That’s one to miss. I’ll pass on a solid hour of lying from the Trump Administration. It’s propaganda.

    I might look at still photos to see which one of the low quality hires drew the short straw to stand there like potted plant behind Dear Leader while he lies.

  137. 137.

    Kay

    January 7, 2019 at 3:36 pm

    Which lie will the President kick off the propaganda event with? I’m betting on the “terrorists across the border” lie.

    Who needs Facebook when he has such willing partners in news organizations?

  138. 138.

    schrodingers_cat

    January 7, 2019 at 3:38 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: In your last post you speak of the moderating influence of Mattis. Is there any evidence for this or are we just supposed to take this on faith?

  139. 139.

    schrodingers_cat

    January 7, 2019 at 3:41 pm

    @Kay: Exactly. He has been lying about this issue since he began his campaign.

  140. 140.

    Brachiator

    January 7, 2019 at 3:43 pm

    Fuck that stupid motherfucker Julian Assange.

    Is that being uncivil?

  141. 141.

    trollhattan

    January 7, 2019 at 3:44 pm

    @Kay:
    Recalling when Obama went on “Between Two Ferns” to market ACA signups, I think Trump should be forced to deliver his bit to Galifianakis, with plenty of question time of course.

  142. 142.

    Amir Khalid

    January 7, 2019 at 3:46 pm

    Who are these hapless impostors in Liverpool shirts? They trail 1-0 at Wolves in the FA Cup.

  143. 143.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    January 7, 2019 at 3:48 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Congrats!

  144. 144.

    jl

    January 7, 2019 at 3:48 pm

    I suppose the bright side, if there is one, is that if he is going to make Wall his hill to fight or die on, at least he is not starting a hot war. Unless his emergency declaration includes sending troops into Mexico. We haven’t done that in about 100 years.

    Maybe Trump has ID’d the great great great grandson of Pancho Villa in a caravan, and he’s headed for New Mexico!!!???
    Cheryl Rofer, watch out!

    Edit: whatever happened to the Trumpster flunkies’ tactic of getting Trump out to do campaign rally tours to keep him occupied? Trump not in the mood anymore, or he’s gotten too lazy for that?

  145. 145.

    trollhattan

    January 7, 2019 at 3:50 pm

    @Kay:
    He’s trying to bend the imminent “MS13 threat” into an emergency powers declaration. IIUC that only enables him to steal his wallbucks from some other DoD pot, so I don’t know how that helps him. On the topic the Brennen Center has announced this for Wednesday.

    The Brennan Center for Justice and the R Street Institute invite you to Emergency Powers in the Trump Era and Beyond

    When: Wednesday, January 16, 2019
    9AM – 5PM
    Where: 1616 Rhode Island Ave., NW
    Washington, DC 20036

    The term “emergency powers” conjures images of crackdowns and rights abuses by authoritarian regimes. But emergency powers are also a standard feature of modern democracies—including the United States. Unknown to most Americans, Congress has passed more than a hundred laws that give the president special authority when he declares a national emergency, including powers to shut down communications facilities, freeze Americans’ bank accounts, and deploy troops inside the U.S. In a time when institutional checks and balances are being tested, do these extraordinary powers protect our democracy… or do they put it at risk?

    Join the Brennan Center for Justice and R Street Institute for a symposium that will explore the deeply important and timely questions raised by presidential emergency powers in the U.S. Former government officials, scholars, and advocates will come together for a day of discussion…

  146. 146.

    trollhattan

    January 7, 2019 at 3:51 pm

    @Amir Khalid:
    The walrus is Paul.

  147. 147.

    jl

    January 7, 2019 at 3:51 pm

    @trollhattan: A Galifianakis interview with Trump would be historic. Someone needs to make that happen.
    Comedy Central is our best major news network, so might be feasible.

  148. 148.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    January 7, 2019 at 3:53 pm

    @trollhattan: I saw the clip where AOC says Trump is obviously racist. She was very clear and calm. Anderson Cooper at least pretended to be surprised she’d say such a thing.

  149. 149.

    mad citizen

    January 7, 2019 at 3:53 pm

    If he does the speech at the border, I hope Mexico can have some background on their side. Amplified Mariachi band? Floating Baby Trump? Both?

  150. 150.

    Brachiator

    January 7, 2019 at 3:55 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    And while we cool kids share our info over the internet, those who depend on broadcast never got to hear Obama’s message without a filter… . I think Obama was too conciliatory a lot of the time. My favorite President, but he misjudged how effective Fox etc were at filling people’s heads.

    Obama got elected, and was re-elected despite Fox News.

    And of course, it is not just Fox News, but a web of conservative media pushing propaganda. It includes Sinclair Broadcasting, and Murdoch’s international holdings. Also, conservatives have also increased their use of FaceBook and Twitter, so the Internet is not a reliable space anymore.

    None of this suggests that right wing nut jobs are invincible. The wheels have come off the Enquirer, Trump’s favorite rag. Folks just have to be vigilant.

  151. 151.

    jl

    January 7, 2019 at 3:57 pm

    I whatever BS Trump comes up with involves troops carrying guns, will some nitwit on a major news outlet talk about it making him ‘presidential’?
    Not sure if that should be a drinking game, or a call for a letter writing campaign and an advertiser boycott.

    But it is a rule of big corporate media, potential booms near a foreign country render whatever nitwit is currently in the WH ‘presidential’.

    @mad citizen: fireworks show would be good.

  152. 152.

    Brachiator

    January 7, 2019 at 3:57 pm

    @ruemara:

    Oh, if we’re doing achieves, I was cleaning up my emails and found out I’ve been cast for yet another audiodrama. I missed it when it came in a few days ago. And this one pays real money. Australian dollars, but I can buy a cup of coffee now!

    Very cool! Congratulations.

  153. 153.

    Mnemosyne

    January 7, 2019 at 3:58 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    She has apparently been a model inmate while she was incarcerated for the past 15 years, so keeping her locked up for the rest of her life seems counterproductive, to say the least. Fifteen years seems like sufficient punishment for what sounds like an impulsive crime that could be seen as self-defense.

  154. 154.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    January 7, 2019 at 3:59 pm

    @ruemara: Congrats on the new gig! Go, Jackals!

  155. 155.

    Brachiator

    January 7, 2019 at 4:00 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    I saw the clip where AOC says Trump is obviously racist. She was very clear and calm. Anderson Cooper at least pretended to be surprised she’d say such a thing.

    No doubt frightened media pundits will decry her lack of civility in hurting Trump’s feelings by being honest about him.

  156. 156.

    lamh36

    January 7, 2019 at 4:00 pm

    Shiiiit!

    I’m flying to LA this week, and my sister is flying to the Carribean for her birthday next week…ugh.

    Unions say TSA workers can’t afford to man checkpoints without a paycheck https://wapo.st/2F4vlhW?tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.5b2abc468297

  157. 157.

    Martin

    January 7, 2019 at 4:01 pm

    What’s the over/under on Trump banging his shoe on the Resolute Desk?

  158. 158.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 7, 2019 at 4:01 pm

    @trollhattan: Maybe, maybe not. Lennon said he was in God.

  159. 159.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 7, 2019 at 4:04 pm

    @lamh36: LA may also be a bit rainy.

  160. 160.

    Gravenstone

    January 7, 2019 at 4:07 pm

    @lamh36: You know once upon a time we managed to fly without all the TSA security circus. Wouldn’t be just terrible if we showed we can successfully and safely fly like that again?

  161. 161.

    Mnemosyne

    January 7, 2019 at 4:13 pm

    @Gravenstone:

    Uh, even when I was a kid in the 1970s, there were metal detectors and baggage x-rays at the airport. After Lockerbie, I don’t think anyone thinks it’s a good idea to have zero security. We can probably ratchet it down quite a bit, though.

  162. 162.

    lamh36

    January 7, 2019 at 4:20 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Oh…ok. thx for the weather update. We’re actually coming to go to a concert at the Shrine mainly.

  163. 163.

    Gravenstone

    January 7, 2019 at 4:21 pm

    @Mnemosyne: There’s a far cry from the old security protocols and the ramped up security theater bullshit TSA has been terrorizing travelers with since 2002.

  164. 164.

    Elizabelle

    January 7, 2019 at 4:22 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Yeah. I think 15 years was enough time for a murder by a 16 or 17 year old.

    She shot the guy when he was sleeping, though. But, juvenile is juvenile. She’s earned her GED and almost her bachelor’s. I hope Cyntoia Brown has a bright future. Maybe she can work on behalf of others who are unjustly or too long incarcerated.

    I wonder if a pardon means she can obtain professional licensure of some type. Nursing, whatever. Even law.

  165. 165.

    Brachiator

    January 7, 2019 at 4:24 pm

    @Gravenstone:

    You know once upon a time we managed to fly without all the TSA security circus. Wouldn’t be just terrible if we showed we can successfully and safely fly like that again?

    What level of security should we have?

    After all, there have been a few little incidents.

  166. 166.

    Kenneth Fair

    January 7, 2019 at 4:26 pm

    @Roger Moore:Does the list say that Assange doesn’t blow goats? If not, then I think that must be an admission he does.

    And yes, I am aware of all Internet traditions.

  167. 167.

    ruemara

    January 7, 2019 at 4:29 pm

    @Elizabelle: Hmm, I didn’t see them stop asking, I could have missed it.

  168. 168.

    Mnemosyne

    January 7, 2019 at 4:29 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    IIRC, shooting someone while they’re sleeping is pretty common with juvenile offenders, especially ones who were sexually abused like she was. She probably feared that he would be able to overpower her if she tried to resist or confront him, so she waited for him to fall asleep once he was done assaulting her.

    For me, the more troubling part was the trip to Wal-Mart with his cash and credit cards, but that also seems like an impulsive teenager thing to do, not proof that she’s a sociopath or whatever the prosecutor claimed.

    And either way, she did serve 15 years in prison. It’s not like she was acquitted with no punishment at all.

  169. 169.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 7, 2019 at 4:33 pm

    @Gravenstone: even a modern European level of security is more than we had pre-9/11.

  170. 170.

    J R in WV

    January 7, 2019 at 4:36 pm

    @lamh36:

    I’m flying to LA this week, and my sister is flying to the Carribean for her birthday next week…ugh.

    Yeah, my cousin and I have tix to travel to Tucson in 2 weeks, hoping shit settles down by then. Or goes totally crazy and the airlines have to refund ticket price. Probably will call it civil unrest, no refunds necessary, criminal thieves!

  171. 171.

    BruceFromOhio

    January 7, 2019 at 5:05 pm

    @Bobby Thomson: Thanks for the correction. She used to identify with “MSOC” which led me to treat it as two words.

  172. 172.

    Uncle Cosmo

    January 7, 2019 at 6:37 pm

    @Not the Ecuadorian Embassy: I own a slim International Dictionary of Obscenities – francais, deutsch, italiano, espanol, po-russkii. The most hair-raising expressions are in (wait for it) Spanish. My personal favorite, sort of an extended damnittohell:

    Me cago en las ventiquatro cojones de los apostoles de Jesus Christo!

    Scatology, coprology, blasphemy & arithmetic, all in one tidy little package…

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