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You are here: Home / Politics / America / A Meeting of the Mindless

A Meeting of the Mindless

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Ari Melber decided to have Carter Page, Michael Caputo, Sam Nunberg, and Jerome Corsi all on tonight. On the same panel. I give you the Four Whores of the Apocalypse!

The only good thing about the this panel was watching all four of them both take their delusional conspiracies about Special Counsel Mueller out for a walk and turn on each other repeatedly.

Here’s some lowlights from Melber’s twitter feed:

How Carter Page 1) graduated from the US Naval Academy and 2) got a PhD is beyond me.

I’m pretty sure Melber’s producer is currently curled up in the fetal position sobbing while drinking bourbon straight from the bottle.

Open thread!

 

Reader Interactions

133Comments

  1. 1.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I couldn’t bring myself to watch that pack of goons, racists and halfwits. And that’s just “Dr” Corsi.

    Okay, I turned it on at the end and was interested to hear Nunberg say he was asked about the Kushners. A few people on twitter said that Mueller would be watching with interest, but people always says stuff like that

    ETA: Having Page on still feels like some kind of exploitation to me. that guy’s either Keyser Size or as dumb as he appears. I would’ve watched individual segments with the other three if AF had brought in Maya Willey and Nick Ackerman as co-counsel.

  2. 2.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I’d have liked to see Melber just leave four sharp knives on his desk, walk off, and leave the camera on. I’m pretty sure Caputo would have immediately slashed Corsi’s throat and then stabbed either Nunberg or Page depending on who was closest. Page would’ve peed himself.

  3. 3.

    Jackie

    I tried to watch that. I started to curl up in the fetal position – then remembered I had the remote control in my hand. CLICK! No bourbon; grabbed the wine.

  5. 5.

    Ohio Mom

    At the end of the Schlemazel thread, there is a lovely and sweet update from Niece Laura. He appears to be resting comfortably, which is good to hear.

    It’s worth reading the whole comment, you ought to scroll down to the thread.

  7. 7.

    Adam L Silverman

    Like I said earlier, KellyAnne Conway is a psychopath. She’ll throw anyone and everyone under the bus to save herself including her husband, her kids, and the President if that’s what it takes.

  8. 8.

    eemom

    I don’t actually know who any of those creatures even are. I lead a more blessed life than I realized.

  10. 10.

    zhena gogolia

    @Ohio Mom:

    Thank you for telling me. I’m about to go to bed so Adam can yell at me, but I’m going to quote those last few comments here:

    Laura Too says:
    January 23, 2019 at 3:52 pm
    Thanks to you all for the kindness shown to all of my family. I have printed out all of your responses and am going to the hospital. I will read them to him as I sit. I know he will hear all the love you have shared. I will update when completed. Again, thank you!

    ReplyReply
    270
    WaterGirl says:
    January 23, 2019 at 8:14 pm
    @Laura Too: Thank you so much for doing that, and for telling us about it. Schlemazel is lucky to have a niece like you.

    ReplyReply
    271
    Laura Too says:
    January 23, 2019 at 8:34 pm
    I just got home. I was lucky to have gotten there before they gave him the next shot of morphine so even though he couldn’t open his eyes and he is on a breathing tube he was very aware of what I was reading. I read him almost all of the comments and names. He clearly understood and recognized everyone. He laughed at some until he choked, he was saddened by some but was very clearly moved by all of the love. He has struggled with acceptance all of his life, I hope for the the first time in his life that he realizes just how much he is loved. I can’t express what all of you mean to me. Thank you!

  11. 11.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Adam L Silverman: and maybe a bit curiouser…

    George Conway Retweeted VANITY FAIR
    I never saw this statement, let alone helped draft it; nor was I aware of the book excerpt to which it responds until a short while ago.

    VANITY FAIR @ VanityFair
    Kellyanne Conway fires back at Cliff Sims in VF: “While it’s rare, I prefer to knife people from the front, so they see it coming.” According to a source, the statement was drafted with her husband, George Conway

    I’m sure she does prefer to attack people to the front, so the vampire gaze paralyzes them while she unhinges her jaw and extends her fangs

  20. 20.

    The Dangerman

    I’d have liked to see Melber just leave four sharp knives on his desk, walk off, and leave the camera on.

    isn’t this the classic case of stabbing someone twice, just to be sure?

    I’d agree Corsi gets it first; I’d like to see Page next just to stop seeing that fucking smirk. Maybe that’s him pissing himself.

  24. 24.

    Viva BrisVegas

    Cater (sic) Page: “Obviously if I knew they were doing some things behind the scenes, I never would have met with them”.

    In what alternate universe is this an obvious thing?

    On the day before the election, I’ll bet that all four of these odious numbskulls were saying to themselves, “If only we could have gotten more out of Russia.”

  25. 25.

    Ella in New Mexico

    Watching Jerome Corsi whine like a little bitch about the Karmic turn the Universe has clearly taken on his fat whomping lard ass was magical.

  26. 26.

    Raoul

    I kind of agree with this take. It was a bizarro segment to decide to create. But it does showcase the circus in stark relief.

    @RadioFreeTom
    People should stop bitching out @AriMelber for putting these four idiots on TV. This is not only must-watch, but it explains so much about not only about why this administration is up to its neck in legal quicksand, but how this whole campaign was catnip to the Russians.

  29. 29.

    Gelfling 545

    Trump’s statement sounds almost like a lucid person.
    LAs the Shutdown was going on, Nancy Pelosi asked me to give the State of the Union Address. I agreed. She then changed her mind because of the Shutdown, suggesting a later date. This is her prerogative – I will do the Address when the Shutdown is over. ”

  30. 30.

    Barbara

    Did Carter Page think the Russian intelligence service is bound by a truth in disclosure or an open records act? Can someone actually be that stupid?

  31. 31.

    Adam L Silverman

    As I was saying earlier:

  34. 34.

    Robert Cassidy

    I work with a ton of PhDs, and while many of them are genuinely brilliant, it’s clear that a PhD mostly signals the ability to have a sufficiently singleminded focus to achieve a very narrow task, even at the potential cost of having so little common sense that they are genuinely at risk of drowning looking up to admire a raincloud. Talk to them about their shiny penny, and there is no limit to their knowledge. Talk to them about anything else, and they can be the dumbest people you’ve ever met.

    The most tragic cases are those whose shiny penny was having a PhD, not having the expertise that a PhD normally signals. They are simply idiots at everything. To quote: “When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” I offer Carter Page as evidence of the truth of Goodhards law.

  35. 35.

    Ken

    “Obviously if I knew they were doing some things behind the scenes….

    “… but how could I know that? Sure, their government had just annexed Crimea and was conducting covert paramilitary attacks in Ukraine. But these fellows seemed honest – like those guys in the truck who took $250 to seal-coat my driveway… I hope nothing happened to them, they’ve been away getting the supplies for months now….”

  37. 37.

    Steve in the ATL

    Question for Adam and other national security experts:

    If I had dinner had a Persian restaurant tonight, how long do I have until I’m on the no fly list?

  38. 38.

    Ohio Mom

    @HalfAssedHomesteader: I worry that we have won this battle but will still lose the war. How does this standoff end? The only way out I can imagine is if the Senate moves, and what will make that happen?

  39. 39.

    Anne Laurie

  43. 43.

    SFAW

    @Plato:

    The guy who used to care about voting rights, gop voting shenanigans, that ari melber?

    If you’re talking about the guy who did a great series in 2016 on voter registration suppression in Wisconsin, that was Ari Berman.

  45. 45.

    Raoul

    @Adam L Silverman: I don’t spend much time on it — why would anyone? — but whenever George does one of his frequent tweets either dissing Trump of making a comment like this one about his wife, I wonder what the heck their marriage is.
    A grand absurdist performance?
    Does he think that by his running commentary he might somehow be giving her a lifeline when the inevitable Zeppelin Trump goes down in fast and stunning flames?
    Or, like the insufferable, gross couple James Carville and Mary Maitland, are they opposites who somehow attract?
    Never mind. Their schtick is not worth contemplating.

  46. 46.

    Cheryl Rofer

    I think Tom Nichols has it backwards. The story I would like to hear is how the four idiots, at least two with connections to Russia, got attached to the Trump campaign. I’m guessing it has to do with Russian infiltration of the NRA and evangelical churches, with help from Roger Stone, but nobody seems to be investigating this. I think it would tell us a lot about how large segments of the country have been catnip to the Russians.

  51. 51.

    SFAW

    @Raoul:

    Or, like the insufferable, gross couple James Carville and Mary Maitland, are they opposites who somehow attract?
    Never mind. Their schtick is not worth contemplating.

    I find it mildly interesting that each couple has one ghoulish-looking member.

    Imagine the offspring from a Carville-KellyAnne union. Gaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! (runs screaming from house)

    ETA: My apologies for not inserting a Trigger Warning before that last comment.

  52. 52.

    Amir Khalid

    I’m not too sure why these guys would go on TV like this. It would be all too easy to let something slip that Bobby Three Sticks could use against them or someone they were trying to protect.

  53. 53.

    randy khan

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    I don’t think there’s much to tell – nobody wanted to work on the campaign, so any warm body was welcome. Maybe Manafort recommended Page or something, but it’s not like there was any vetting going on for anyone who expressed an interest in Team Trump.

  54. 54.

    trollhattan

    Let’s say you have just one comet and know this cavalcade of cretins and Davos are occurring simultaneously. Whither comet?

  56. 56.

    SFAW

    @trollhattan:

    Let’s say you have just one comet and know this cavalcade of cretins and Davos are occurring simultaneously. Whither comet?

    Have MSNBC set up their studio in Davos. Problem solved!

  58. 58.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Steve in the ATL:
    1) Do you really think there’s anyone at DHS, let alone in the White House, that understand that Iran used to be called Persia?
    2)Given this joint statement from the air traffic controller, pilots, and attendants unions you should count your blessings:

  59. 59.

    Redshift

    @Amir Khalid:

    I’m not too sure why these guys would go on TV like this. It would be all too easy to let something slip that Bobby Three Sticks could use against them or someone they were trying to protect.

    They’re very stupid. SATSQ

  61. 61.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @randy khan: I understand this is the common wisdom, and it is probably true. But it’s not the whole story. It opened the campaign to insertion of fellow travelers or useful idiots, the most notable of which was Paul Manafort, who never took a salary from the campaign. Did the same people supply Carter Page? If so, why? That’s the part I think would be informative. We’re starting to know a bit about Manafort, but I’d like to know about the useful idiots sprinkled through the campaign. Michael Flynn would be another. Were they urged by someone to find their way to the campaign?

  62. 62.

    lamh36

    Drop that hammer and nail the bastard Nancy Smash!!

    Mr. President, I hope by saying “near future” you mean you will support the House-passed package to #EndTheShutdown that the Senate will vote on tomorrow. Please accept this proposal so we can re-open government, repay our federal workers and then negotiate our differences. twitter.com/realDonaldTrum…

    https://twitter.com/speakerpelosi/status/1088299063462772736?s=21

  63. 63.

    Redshift

    @randy khan: One more factor – Trump is an incredible cheapskate who would rather have someone who would work for free than someone with any level of competence. Which also made his campaign a magnet for Russian assets.

  65. 65.

    Anne Laurie

  66. 66.

    Amir Khalid

    @Steve in the ATL:
    You mentioned the other day you have a Fender Twin Reverb. Well,from what I’ve read, my Fender Champion 100 looks a lot like the classic ’65 Blackface Twin Reverb, and its clean channel is voiced to resemble the Twin Reverb very closely. It’s like we’re related by our amps or something.

  67. 67.

    HalfAssedHomesteader

    @Ohio Mom: I hear that. The senate’s gonna have to move at some point which i think can happen if they keep hearing from us. I called my GA Sens. today. In the end there probably will be some wall funding but much less than $5b and hopefully with some strings attached.

  68. 68.

    Mnemosyne

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    Now that we know that he’s conscious and still battling, maybe one of the daytime front-pagers could put up a “Love and Positivity for Schlamazel” thread for Laura to read to him.

    I say “daytime” to give the non-night owls a chance to chime in before threads get buried by breakin news.

  71. 71.

    Ruckus

    @Ohio Mom:
    I had missed it until it was almost dead. He’s a great jackal, and it’s hard to hear about someone you know, even if it’s only long distance, sight unseen, voice unheard, that you share so much with, who is suffering. We build a character out of the conversations we have, good or bad and because we have to supply a lot of missing, normal elements to the characterizations we have invested a lot into it. A lot of the people here are friends, even if they don’t ever actually meet in person. And it’s this place John has brought us that helps with that. I see it as akin to reading a great novel, the characters always leave everyday things to the imagination and the best characters always create the best imagination.

  72. 72.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Cheryl Rofer: I too, as we’ve discussed, would like to see this question answered. In the case of Flynn, the reporting has made it clear that he sought out the President. Because he’d resigned very publicly and had been very publicly anti-Obama, this helped to ease the way with the President. Gorka also sought the President out, but his way was eased by being on Fox News all the time.

  73. 73.

    Redshift

    @Cheryl Rofer: Ah, good point. I could see Russian Intelligence wanting to infiltrate the campaign, but why send someone like Carter Page, who was not just stupid enough to be easily recruited, but so stupid he was likely to give himself away (and did)?

  76. 76.

    SFAW

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    Were they urged by someone to find their way to the campaign?

    What I want to know is: who was the Nekulturny Attache attached to the campaign?
    [Note to zhena gogolia, Gin & Tonic, and other commies speakers of Russian: yes, I realize that “kulturny” (probably) does not translate/parse to “cultural.” Best I could do, however, since my Russkiy is limited to things like “pazhal’sta.”]

  79. 79.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    @Ohio Mom @zhena gogolia: Thank you both for letting us read them. It’s awful news, but it’s heartening to know that he feels our love, and that it’s some small comfort to his family.

  82. 82.

    Ruckus

    @Barbara: .
    Yes, yes they can.
    If you need proof, watch the videos. They are exactly that stupid.

    I sometimes wonder if Vald’s goal all along was to create such a well, ruckus in the US that we would implode under the shear level of it all. Because he knows/thinks he’s not in any real danger due to the way he went about it.

  88. 88.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Jay: Adam is plagiarizing your posts now. You should sent a detailed complaint to John Cole, and make sure it’s in all caps

  98. 98.

    Mnemosyne

    @Anne Laurie:

    Jerome Corsi is so dumb that he STILL doesn’t understand that President Barack Hussein Obama was named after his father, so both men had the same name.

    At this point, he’s not even lying. He cannot comprehend that non-white fathers with funny names are just as likely to name their sons after themselves as white fathers are. It’s like explaining calculus to a duck.

  101. 101.

    SFAW

    @Mnemosyne:

    Jerome Corsi is so dumb that he STILL doesn’t understand that President Barack Hussein Obama was named after his father, so both men had the same name.

    I assume you’re not kidding, but I can’t believe you’re not. Is Corsi really that fucking stupid? Good Christ.

  109. 109.

    Ryan

    Thanks or the heads up. I will pour myself a couple of stiff drinks before I watch. I am as mystified by Ari’s fascination with these people as I am with MSNBC’s broad interest in having Michael Moore on. I do not understand.

  112. 112.

    Mnemosyne

    @SFAW:

    I really think that Corsi is, in fact, that dumb. He thinks that he actually managed to discover a major secret that no one else did and he ain’t never letting go because it’s his one and only claim to “fame.” It’s his Monica Lewinsky, if Monica Lewinsky had turned out to be a blow-up doll instead of a person.

  115. 115.

    JGabriel

    @trollhattan:

    Let’s say you have just one comet and know this cavalcade of cretins and Davos are occurring simultaneously. Whither comet?

    Oh, come on, give us a hard one. The answer is Davos.

    The Cavalcade of Cretins is going to incriminate themselves into jail. We can handle them with ease. But the Davos Billionaires? Too much work, too little chance of success. Let the comet take care of them.

  116. 116.

    SFAW

    @Adam L Silverman:

    smear of schmaltz on it.

    “Schmear,” OK? Do I need to explain what gehackte Leber is, too?

    Meine Grossmutter used to make it (chopped liver, not schmaltz [oy]) every so often, I got spoiled by her culinary talents.

  119. 119.

    Adam L Silverman

    @SFAW: You don’t have to explain it to me. And he had trouble with schmaltz, so I played it safe with the anglicized smear.

  120. 120.

    Mandalay

    @Ryan:

    I am as mystified by Ari’s fascination with these people as I am with MSNBC’s broad interest in having Michael Moore on.

    Hosts don’t have to approve of the people they have on their shows, and guests that viewers don’t approve of are far more likely to make for an interesting show. And while I am not a fan of Michael Moore, he predicted that Trump would beat Clinton months ahead of time with devastating accuracy. And it wasn’t just a lucky guess – he accurately explained in detail why Trump would win.

    I don’t care for him much – he’s the ultimate limousine liberal to me – but I don’t know of anyone who predicted the election better than Moore. He is far more likely to say something worth hearing than conventional wisdom pundits like (say) Borger, Heilemann and Cilizza. I am mystified why any host would want those bland, empty vessels on their show.

  121. 121.

    MomSense

    @Ella in New Mexico:

    Did he complain that the special prosecutor disparaged his religion? Ari then said something like you can’t complain about that after what you did to our previous president.

    I had already had about four days in one by the time I listened to this in the car so I wasn’t following well.

  122. 122.

    Anne Laurie

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Basically if you go to a classic kosher deli you can get a turkey sandwich with chopped liver and smear of schmaltz on it.

    Pastrami with chopped liver, on seeded rye, or GTFO. One of the few things I miss, in our current neighborhood — no proper Jewish delis.

    (Should add: IIRC, those requiring extra lubrication on their bread use schmaltz instead of butter, because no mixing meat & dairy at a kosher deli!)

  123. 123.

    Anne Laurie

    @Mnemosyne:

    I really think that Corsi is, in fact, that dumb.

    Corsi also makes bank on being ‘that dumb’. No matter how many times the truth is explained to him, he’s gotta protect his grift by refusing to understand.

  124. 124.

    Anne Laurie

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

    Schmaltz sounded kind of Yiddish.

    ‘Schmaltz’ is ‘excessive emotion’ for the same reason English refers to ‘buttering someone up’. They’re both metaphors for edible lubrication… not very flattering metaphors.

  127. 127.

    prostratedragon

    @Anne Laurie: The Margaret Dumont of the crew?

    Call me a cock-eyed optimist, but 20 years from now there will be no way to make people understand what it’s like right now.

  129. 129.

    Mnemosyne

    @prostratedragon:

    Contrary to what Groucho claimed in his later years, Dumont was a skilled comic actress who knew exactly how to play the straight woman to get maximum laughs from a scene. Groucho could be kind of a credit-stealing dick sometimes.

  132. 132.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Michael Caputo said in the interview that he had lived in Russia for 7 years and had actually worked for the Kremlin.

    How is it all these Russian employees ending up on the Drumpf campaign.

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