Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

“In the future, this lab will be a museum. do not touch it.”

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

Beware of advice from anyone for whom Democrats are “they” and not “we.”

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

When we show up, we win.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

“But what about the lurkers?”

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

“I was told there would be no fact checking.”

Republicans do not pay their debts.

You cannot shame the shameless.

We still have time to mess this up!

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / GOP Foreign Affairs Open Thread: Remember That Chinese ‘Spa Entrepreneur’/ Political Operative?

GOP Foreign Affairs Open Thread: Remember That Chinese ‘Spa Entrepreneur’/ Political Operative?

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Time dilation here in Hellworld. The Miami Herald, Friday:

South Florida day spa entrepreneur Li “Cindy” Yang — now famous for her Super Bowl party selfie with the president — used her burgeoning political access to bring Xianqin Qu, a leader from the foreign arm of the Communist Party of China, to an event where she met top Republicans and members of the Trump administration, including Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Donald Trump.

Qu is the president of the Florida Chapter of the Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Unification — a group ”directly subordinate” to the Communist Party of China, according to a 2018 U.S. government report. The group’s stated purpose is to push for reunification of China and Taiwan, although in recent years members in chapters around the world actively promoted a wide range of policies in harmony with Beijing’s agenda abroad…

Yang arranged for a group of Chinese expats, including Qu, to attend a Republican fundraiser for Donald Trump at a restaurant in New York on Dec. 2, 2017. Online media organizations and the National Committee of Asian American Republicans social media posts about the event say Qu was there as a guest of the committee, also called the Asian GOP. Yang was the organizer of the Asian GOP contingent at the event, according to Cliff Li, the founder of the political committee where Yang volunteered as a primary fundraiser.

At the breakfast meet-and-greet, Qu was photographed with Conway and several Republican donors with deep pockets. A White House spokesperson said Conway does not know Qu.

A GOP spokeswoman said it appears the photo of Conway and Qu — given the dozens of people behind Conway — was not a preplanned photo op. The December 2017 event had about 500 people, the spokeswoman said. Background checks are not required for events that don’t involve high-level donors. Price of admission started at $1,000 for general access and was $2,700 for VIPs, according to the invitation.

In January 2018, Qu also attended Safari Night at Mar-a-Lago — a charity event co-sponsored by the Asian GOP and attended by Trump’s sister, Elizabeth Trump Grau. Photos show Qu among the Asian GOP attendees. Again, Yang had organized the group, according to Li…


The Washington Post, yesterday:

… Scrutiny has also centered on a company Yang ran offering foreign visitors access to the president and other top Republican officials. According to an archived version of her company’s Chinese-language website, which became inactive after recent news reports, the company offered VIP access to the White House and Mar-a-Lago, and autographed photos of Trump.

At the same time, Yang identified herself on the website as holding a position with the Chinese Association for Science and Technology. Experts in Chinese influence say that it and another group to which Yang has been tied have links to China’s ruling Communist Party’s efforts to spread influence in the West, though they noted that her roles do not necessarily suggest that she acted on behalf of the Chinese government…

Yang has been a fixture at black-tie galas at Mar-a-Lago, at Trump’s golf course in Jupiter, Fla., and at other GOP events in the state since Trump took office in 2017, local GOP activists said. That year, federal records show, Yang made her first political donation: $37,000 to Trump Victory, the committee that raises money for the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee.

She is not a member of Mar-a-Lago but attended events there as a guest of a friend who is a longtime member, Merson told ABC News…

Yang identified herself on her company’s now-archived website as the vice president of the Miami chapter of the U.S. arm of the Chinese Association for Science and Technology. Xiao Ling, who runs the Florida chapter of the Chinese Association for Science and Technology, did not respond to a request for comment. A representative from the group’s main office in China declined to comment.

In an article in a Chinese-language technology outlet, Chinese Voice of America, Yang is also identified as deputy director of the Florida branch of the Council for the Promotion of the Peaceful Reunification of China.

The council, which has chapters around the world, advocates for Taiwan to be absorbed into China. The chapters are overseen by a wing of the Chinese Communist Party.

Both groups are a part of the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to exert influence outside of China, according to several experts…


And then, the NYTimes:

… The invitation limited campaign contributions to $5,400 per person, so Ms. Yang, a Chinese immigrant who had set up a string of day spas in Florida and was active in groups backed by the Chinese government and Communist Party, needed others to chip in.

Over the weeks leading up to the event, at least nine people in Ms. Yang’s orbit, some of them with modest incomes, made donations at exactly $5,400. She ended up at the dinner…

One of the $5,400 political donations came from a 25-year-old woman who gives facials at a beauty school, in a strip mall in nearby Palm Beach Gardens that is owned by Ms. Yang’s family. Another $5,400 came from a woman who says she worked as a receptionist at a massage parlor owned by Ms. Yang’s husband. A third gift of $5,400 came from an associate of Ms. Yang’s who had been charged in 2014 after a prostitution sting with practicing health care without a license, police records show.

The receptionist, Bingbing Peranio, listed as a “manager” on her disclosure, spoke with a reporter about her relationship with Ms. Yang. She described herself as a big fan of Mr. Trump’s and said Ms. Yang, a registered Republican, was seen as a leader among Asian-American Republicans in Florida.

Ms. Peranio said Ms. Yang had come to the spa where she worked at the time and helped fill out the check toward the president’s campaign. “I can’t say she was pushing me or not pushing me, but I worked there then,” she said, speaking at her home in Jupiter. “I was working there. I didn’t say no.”…

It is rare for workers in the massage and spa business to support candidates for office at such high-dollar levels, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission records. In 2017 and 2018, of the nearly 65,000 donations made by people listed as massage therapists on F.E.C. disclosures, only two gave the maximum $5,400, including one of the Trump donors connected to Ms. Yang…

Ms. Yang discovered politics in 2015, and she quickly became a fund-raiser for Republican candidates and causes, embracing the lifestyle it demanded, too, according to Ms. Lu and two other acquaintances of Ms. Yang who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

She attended social events at firing ranges and extolled the virtues of the Second Amendment, according to photographs posted to her Chinese-language WeChat account. “The biggest advantage of learning to use a gun is to make yourself stronger and feel strong support,” she wrote on the social media site.

She stumped for a stream of politicians and posed for pictures with Republican personalities, including Sarah Palin. In 2015, she was photographed with a small group holding a banner at the launch of Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign. She also helped build a political organization and fund-raising committee, the National Association of Asian American Republicans.

The election of Mr. Trump brought new opportunities as the line between business and politics became especially blurred…

The perfect epitaph for America’s Second Gilded Age!

Reader Interactions

115Comments

  2. 2.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??

    OT: Steve Case is on 60 Minutes. So is JD fucking Vance. The evil elitists on the coasts leaving Middle America behind. Most Americans are anxious when they wake up in the morning. Actual wording Case used.

    I mean, look, people have been left behind outside of major urban areas and the coastal states. Maybe they should stop voting for Republicans?

  3. 3.

    Brachiator

    Once again, this shows how the Trump administration knows all the best grifters.

    But dopes don’t pay attention and still believe that Trump is going to be tough on China in trade negotiations.

    No doubt Trump himself will get a happy ending. Everybody else, not so much.

  8. 8.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??

    @Brachiator:

    But dopes don’t pay attention and still believe that Trump is going to be tough on China in trade

    They’ll find out good and hard that’s he’s wrong before long.

    @Brachiator:

    No doubt Trump himself will get a happy ending. Everybody else, not so much.

    That’s only if we let him have a happy ending.

  9. 9.

    Mike in NC

    Looks like the entire Trump family is deeply in debt to — and controlled by — the Chinese government, not just those Russians. They’re equal opportunity grifters. Next we’ll be hearing more stuff about the Saudis floating them billions in illegal loans.

  10. 10.

    Ruviana

    Cindy really needs to hang out with Mariia Butina. You may take that however you wish.

  12. 12.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Mike in NC: This administration is so sleazy that it’s hard to keep up with the scandals and grifting. It’s astounding how far they’ve brought down the White House.

  13. 13.

    SiubhanDuinne

    For anyone keeping count, Trump has sent out 31 — THIRTY-FUCKING-ONE — tweets since 7:00 this morning. I’m no POTUSTwitterology scholar, but I think that number might just break all kinds of one-day records.

  14. 14.

    smintheus

    Remember when Republicans were so concerned about Chinese donations being funneled illegally into the hands of the president and members of Congress that they led multi-year Senate and House investigations? The ones that were the most expensive congressional investigations in history?

    Me neither. But the alleged recipients of the funds in those cases I’ve forgotten completely about, were Democrats.

  15. 15.

    danielx

    @satby:

    I’d say NOW you’re getting it, except I know you got what the miserable tangerine git is all about long ago. It does occur to me that a parade with a Trump float or balloon would by necessity be…orange. How long would an orange balloon last at a South Boston parade before people started throwing garbage at it?

  16. 16.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Is there something I’m missing? Please tell me there’s a story behind this.@debbie:

    I don’t trust the guy. His book seems like an attempt to legitimize the “economically anxious”, “white working class” narrative. I hate that Hillbilly Elegy has been as heavily promoted as it has been by the media

  17. 17.

    Jay

    Yang and her husband are also deep into the Golden Visa Scam where you can buy your way into a Green Card if you have enough money.

  20. 20.

    Suzanne

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

    I don’t trust the guy. His book seems like an attempt to legitimize the “economically anxious”, “white working class” narrative

    Yes.
    Though his policy argument (such as it is) seems to be that government should stop helping them. Not sure how they would like that. Considering that the people about whom he wrote are some of the most dependent on government, I wonder how that would fare.

  24. 24.

    Adam L Silverman

    @SiubhanDuinne: According to press reports, he went to church this morning. Apparently this is the result. I don’t really want to know what the homily was about if this was the effect.

  28. 28.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Jay: I don’t know if she’s put money into Vance’s ventures. My understanding is the firm he worked at on the west coast was Thiel’s or linked to Thiel.

  31. 31.

    banditqueen

    The *Resident and his GOP hacks are so sure that they know everything about women, that the little ladies from Russia or China are so easy to control since all they want is a rich American husband or some such–no way could Butina or Yang ever have been active participants in a massive Russian or Chinese effort to collect information on and influence in the US. Now that entrepreneur, the shrewd Ivanka, getting her trashy shoes made in China, that’s the way to get one by the Chinese. She’ll be rich, rich! //

  32. 32.

    Jay

    @Adam L Silverman:

    He worked for Thiel, but “Tiger Mom” was his “mentor”, and some of use remember that cesspool. Apparently she’s the one who “convinced him” to write his “memoir”.

    What’s that old saying about “the company you keep”?

  33. 33.

    Another Scott

    @SiubhanDuinne: Zeddary has a theory…:

    Zeddy @Zeddary

    Zeddy Retweeted Jeet Heer

    He was forced, through gritted teeth, to briefly acknowledge the murder of brown people by a white person so now he’s placating the base.

    Jeet Heer Verified account @HeerJeet

    Trump seems unusually unhinged on Twitter today even by his own standards. Any thoughts on what’s going on?

    3:19 PM – 17 Mar 2019

    FWIW.

    [ via LOLGOP ]

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  34. 34.

    aliasofwestgate

    *yawns* My mom is finally coming home this week, and i’m trying to figure out how to make ends meet and deal with some of the equipment and the medical bills after this crazy 4 months. Her insurance helped a lot but we still have hefty copays after her months in the rehab facility because medicaid pretty much rejected her outright. So yeah. A bit of a rock and a hard place. My own freelancing isn’t gonna cut it. I’m extremely glad mom’s gonna be home, so is our dog, a tubby JRT/Minipin mix called Lady.

  35. 35.

    hilts

    From the Guardian on Wednesday:

    Jared Kushner, was confronted by two of the most senior US government officials for mixing his personal interests with US foreign policy, according to a new book.

    Kushner, an envoy to the Middle East for his father-in-law, is said to have been robustly challenged by both Rex Tillerson, then secretary of state, and Gary Cohn, formerly Trump’s top economic adviser.

    The confrontations are detailed in Kushner Inc: Greed. Ambition. Corruption. The Extraordinary Story of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump by the journalist Vicky Ward, who also describes interference in foreign relations by Kushner’s wife, Ivanka Trump. The book is scheduled to be released on 19 March.

    Ward reports that Tillerson blamed Kushner for Trump’s abrupt endorsement of a provocative blockade and diplomatic campaign against Qatar by Saudi Arabia and several allies in June 2017. The US has thousands of troops stationed in Qatar.

    Meanwhile, Cohn is said to have rebuked Kushner in January 2017 after it was revealed Kushner had dined with executives from the Chinese financial corporation Anbang, which was considering investing in the Kushner family’s troubled tower at 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

    Ivanka Trump is reported to have interfered in telephone calls between her father and foreign dignitaries despite having overseas business interests. “Thanks so much for the CD you sent me,” she is quoted as having told an Indian leader by someone who heard the call. The Trump Organization owns several residential towers in India.

    h/t https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/13/jared-kushner-ivanka-trump-conflicts-of-interest-rex-tillerson-gary-cohn?CMP=share_btn_tw

  37. 37.

    Leto

    @SiubhanDuinne: I spent the day do goofy stuff (bought new St Patrick theme Brooks running shoes & attire to do a silly photo shoot to commemorate my five month anniversary), washed the pup, watched the first race of the F1 season, had real bangers and mash… which is to say I tried to ignore all this shit for a few hours. Just now catching up. Seems like just a continuation of where I left off yesterday. No pause. Of course this but caught my eye:

    Background checks are not required for events that don’t involve high-level donors. Price of admission started at $1,000 for general access and was $2,700 for VIPs, according to the invitation.

    I look at those dollar amounts and say, that’s not high level? WTH? Also $50k for an autograph? WTH?

  39. 39.

    Mike J

    @Leto: What a start from Bottas! I’m a Hamilton fan, but not upset with the result. I honestly believe that after the first pit he was just playing tail gunner, making sure Ferrari and Red Bull didn’t get a shot.

  44. 44.

    Gin & Tonic

    I’ve spent an exciting two days now paying the price for dinner at a “Mexican” restaurant on Friday night. I will spare everyone the details, but it’s been basically soft scrambled eggs and chicken soup, hoping something stays in the system for at least a little while to provide the body some nutrition. It made Saturday’s skiing shorter than I had planned, and the trip home longer than I had planned.

  45. 45.

    Jeffro

    @SiubhanDuinne: So. Much. Win…er…decompensating!

    Future historians are going to be like, “the guy did eight impeachable things a day, and towards the end it was like 30 a day…isn’t that remarkable, class?”

  46. 46.

    Jeffro

    @Another Scott: I think Zeddary is probably right. trumpov likes it when reporters at the Capitol Gazette get gunned down…when Coasties stock up on guns (and not so much when they get caught)…when his pipe bomber friend caused all kinds of panic and was really only stopped by the force of his own trumpian incompetence.

    He likes it. He’s a bully, an authoritarian, and has never had to pay a price for his words, ever. The NZ shooter specifically named trumpov as an inspiration while also noting how dumb and erratic he is. No wonder he doesn’t know what to do. And the walls are closing in…

  48. 48.

    Brachiator

    @Gin & Tonic:

    but it’s been basically soft scrambled eggs and chicken soup

    Makes sense. I like simple Chinese food, a mild chicken dish with steamed rice.

  50. 50.

    Leto

    @Mike J: I know, Bottas had an excellent day! Avalune is a huge Bottas fan, I’m a Hamilton guy, but even I recognized what a great day he had. I don’t think Hamilton was playing defense for Botti as much as he just didn’t have it today. Lewis was never in contention from the first lap. My surprise driver was LeClerc! He def was playing defensive driver for Vettel. Not sure what was up with Vettel’s car, but LeClerc should’ve overtaken him and had fourth. I think most of the rookies did well today. We’ll see how it plays out.

    I honestly hope we have more passing with the new rule changes. Honda looks like they took all the data from 4 years worth of failed McLaren experiements and applied it to Red Bull’s team (a sad lol there). I’m just happy racing’s back :)

  51. 51.

    Mary G

    @SiubhanDuinne: My theory about why the unhinged record number of tweets today is that he knows something particularly bad is coming from Mueller or one of the other thousand investigations of him.

  52. 52.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Mike in NC:

    It’s an extraordinarily high number, whether by actual count or percentage. There’s more than one doctoral dissertation lurking here. I’m not the one to do it, but I expect future Trumpologists will devote many pixels to a variety of analyses of his tweets.

  56. 56.

    Mary G

    @SiubhanDuinne: We’re not alone:

    If Nixon was visibly upset, you knew it was Watergate. But when Trump is upset, we're left to wonder which of the 18 criminal investigations is botherin' him.— Tea Pain (@TeaPainUSA) March 17, 2019

  58. 58.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Jeffro:

    I do often wish I could magically still be around in 100-200-500 years, just to see how historians of the future asses him and his presidency.

  59. 59.

    Ladyraxterinok

    @Jay: Worked for Peter Thiel, encouraged to write Elegy by his prof at Yale Law School Amy Chua, wife clerked forJohn Roberts

  60. 60.

    Mai Naem mobile

    @SiubhanDuinne: I am wondering if Bill Barr showed Trumpov a rough draft of the Mueller Report or whatever he has gotten so far and that’s why he is freaking out. The guy is out of control today. Well, way more out of control than normal for him.

  63. 63.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Mai Naem mobile:

    Know what you mean. “Out of control batshit nutso” is his default. Today, as you note, goes well beyond that. It would be fascinating if it weren’t so existentially terrifying.

  65. 65.

    Mike J

    @Leto: Which is why they should have let him go for a fast lap. He was 30 seconds up so had a free stop, and would have come out 20 seconds back from Vettel and therefore no longer a threat. Bring him in with 5 laps to go, 1 lap to get them up to temp and 4 shots at best time.

  66. 66.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Jay:

    Did he fill up on communion?

    I suddenly feel like writing a children’s book: My Little Crackers.

  70. 70.

    Leto

    @Mike J: Surprising how many drivers wanted that. Apparently the “upper” teams weren’t happy but man some of those drivers were actively going for it! I don’t know how much the extra points will play over the course of the season but it’s still fun.

  71. 71.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Adam L Silverman:

    So was he tweeting actually during the service? Someone more data-driven than I might glean some interesting information just by analyzing the time stamps on his tweets today.

  75. 75.

    Adam L Silverman

    @SiubhanDuinne: Here you go:

  76. 76.

    Gin & Tonic

    @SiubhanDuinne: Funny(ish) story – my daughter had a friend in middle school, and spent a lot of time at her house. A *very* nice house, one of the more expensive in the area. Turned out the family made their money in making communion wafers. Seems that’s a lucrative business if you have the exclusive contract.

  77. 77.

    Plato

    pos jack, who does jackshit

    It is too bad you are just another individual with a twitter account and not the person in charge of whether or not Nazis get to be here. https://t.co/PjaiExD5GM— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) March 17, 2019

    Nobody wants your love. They want you to stop helping this happen— Mara “Get Rid of the Nazis” Wilson (@MaraWilson) March 15, 2019

  79. 79.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Mar-A-Lago seems to be authoritarian/fascist/totalitarian spy central.

    The GOP is the party of outright treason.

  82. 82.

    BeautifulPlumage

    OT missed Yutsano in lower thread, but if you read this, good to know you’re home. Good thoughts for continued recovery!

  83. 83.

    Brickley Paiste

    @debbie:

    He wrote a whole book about it.

    Whenever I hear people slagging on Vance I ask them if their relatives settled in Appalachia before the war. I’ll listen to the one’s who respond “Yes, the revolutionary war.”

    Everybody else can just take their opinions about their adopted native land and fuck right off.

  85. 85.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @West of the Rockies: If you take enough pics of the subject, one’s bound to turn out OK.

    ETA: In this case, I took 173 photos and most are rubbish. I did something on this one that I normally don’t do, I included a vignette, but not the traditional kind. I reduced the saturation and sharpness on the edges.

  88. 88.

    MagdaInBlack

    Some one please explain his tweet about the UAW. I can usually get the gist, but that one lost me.
    GM let us down, Union better fix this. What??

  90. 90.

    West of the Rockies

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    In that thread(?) of photos you had a California Mission. Which one is that? My parents took my sisters and I to Capistrano a few times, but I probably haven’t seen it since maybe 1969-70.

  92. 92.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @West of the Rockies: In a “On the Road” set? I’ve featured shots of 4(or maybe 5) of the Missions(San Diego(most recent), San Juan Capistrano, San Gabriel, San Fernando and(I think) Santa Barbara). I’m planning on a trip tomorrow to shoot San Luis Rey and the bloom by Lake Elsinore, depending on how shitty traffic is.

  93. 93.

    Jay

    Yellow Vests Canada Exposed
    @VestsCanada
    ·
    7h
    Here is the
    @gofundme
    for Will, or #eggboy / #eggboi (or #eggbae).

    It’s been confirmed that Will is donating majority of funds to the families affected by the #ChristchurchMosqueShootings

  94. 94.

    Brachiator

    Dick Dale, RIP

    US rock guitarist Dick Dale, whose song Misirlou featured over the opening credits to Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, has died aged 81, reports say.

    Dale, who is known for creating a style of music associated with surf culture referred to as surf rock, died on Saturday evening, the Guardian reports .

    His genre of music, launched in the early 1960s, inspired numerous electric guitarists and his career spanned more than five decades.

    The cause of death is not yet known.

    Dale’s live bassist, Sam Bolle, confirmed the news to the Guardian.

    Celebrities and fans have been paying tribute to the musician referred to as the “King of the Surf Guitar”, with many describing him on social media as a “true innovator”.

  103. 103.

    Brickley Paiste

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Can’t think of a way to say this where I don’t sound like an asshole, so here goes: I never liked any of the IR stuff you posted really until that temple shot. Then after I saw a lot of your other styles, I got a sense of where the IR fits into the themes your work pursues so now I really appreciate them.

    Keep working and posting. Its great fun watch someone curate their own work and defend the thesis they are trying to present.

  105. 105.

    Chris Johnson

    His genre of music, launched in the early 1960s, inspired numerous electric guitarists and his career spanned more than five decades.

    It had to. He had survived cancer and had medical bills and had to keep performing until he died, had to raise $3000 a month ON TOP of ‘insurance’ or immediately die.

    https://twitter.com/Paulallenk/status/1107418394628894720

    https://twitter.com/dhm/status/1107406285497081856

    It is for reasons like this that I flip tables whenever people get to putting ‘scare quotes’ around ‘economic anxiety’. Dude was fucking DICK DALE and yet he had to run until he dropped for strictly economic reasons for the very American reason of insurance refusing to pay his medical bills. He died hard and though it is glorious that he performed until he dropped, the man had no choice. This faces us all, now. Work until you die, desperately trying to scrabble for money. Anyone who doesn’t feel this in their own gut needs to get the hell out of the conversation. (or at the very least, you’re never ever allowed to use sarcasm quotes again)

  106. 106.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Brickley Paiste: IR can be an acquired taste, I’ve also been refining my process(I’m shooting more pure IR(using a higher filter and the result is B/W) and then adding color back in. If you look at the Noir LA thread I linked to, one guy had been to Mission San Juan Capistrano loads of times and the IR pics brought a whole new take on a familiar place.

  107. 107.

    Ruckus

    @Chris Johnson:
    Right now I have to keep working till I’m almost 72. Just to attempt to make up for the not so great recession, caused by republican policies and bullshit. And I have the VA (currently that is) for my health needs, although I have to pay copays. In 2016 I paid the VA $3900 in copays. More than half of that was for 9 weeks of daily radiation therapy. I have no idea what I would have paid outside of the VA.

  108. 108.

    Eolirin

    @Chris Johnson: The reason why the scare quotes go around economic anxiety isn’t because there isn’t real economic anxiety, it’s not because there isn’t real economic pain being suffered by many people because of how rigged our system is, it’s because the people whose support for people like Trump, continually prove, time and time again, despite the efforts of many in the media to suggest otherwise, to be motivated by rank racial animus and not economic concerns.

    The scare quotes are fucking right, mind the context they’re used in. The economic problems we face as a society are real, but they’re not what’s animating the right, and anyone who tries to say otherwise is either a liar or an idiot. They’re not what’s driving white evangelicals to vote for a multiple divorcee and serial philanderer, they’re not why soy farmers who’re going to go bankrupt because of Trump’s unnecessary trade wars continue to support him. It’s pure racism and nothing else.

  109. 109.

    Citizen Alan

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    It’s quaint that you think we’ll have “historians” in 200 years when the world is a hideous mash-up of “Canticle for Liebowitz” and “Damnation Alley.”

  111. 111.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Eolirin: This this THIS. I have this argument constantly with a friend who’s big on the Pacific Green party who is informed by the jackholes of NPR. It shows, and badly.

  112. 112.

    Jay

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    http://driftglass.blogspot.com/2019/03/today-in-both-sides-do-it-nice-polite.html?m=1

    “Democrats in the House are trying to introduce HR1, which would expand and protect voting rights, however Republicans claim it would increase voter fraud, and we just saw a huge voter fraud scandal in North Carolina.”

    Pause.

    Think happy thoughts.

    Inhale.

    Pause.

    Exhale.

    That huge voter fraud scandal in North Carolina?

    It was committed by Republicans.

    And yet this absolutely central fact is casually lopped off so a story about voter fraud will fit into the Both Siderist coffin which the reporter had already built.”

  115. 115.

    karen marie

    @SiubhanDuinne: They’re certainly not going to learn anything from his medical records if the pure fiction released to the public is anything to go by.

    In 1997 Trump told Mark Singer, for a profile of Trump that Singer wrote, that he likes to do everything in a chaotic way because it keeps everyone confused. One reason we haven’t seen tax returns? Every year’s is a clusterfuck of multiples of do-overs by hundreds of subsidiaries, throwing everything 1,000s of pages longer than it would be. It wouldn’t surprise me if he owed millions in back taxes when he decided to run. So even if his returns are eventually made public, chances of anyone in three lifetimes figuring them out is slim to none.

    The only thing anyone really needs to understand about Trump is that he is the very worst person in every possible way but he’s also a coward. He’ll never shoot anyone in the middle of 5th Avenue. He’ll egg someone else on to do it for him so he gets credit for killing someone but also absolution because he didn’t pull the trigger yet people are mean to him! To suggest that everyone heard him egging the guy on will be deemed partisan and piling on. What happened in NZ is a perfect example. But for Trump, chances the massacre happened are smaller.

    I think this is all my fault. I have had a secret desire to live in interesting times. I’m sorry.

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