Trump was on an epic retweeting binge earlier this morning, raiding the account of Fox News personality Dan Bongino to amplify dozens of Trump “supporters” who criticized the firefighter’s union endorsement of Joe Biden. This one, though:
I assume the account owner changed his or her Twitter name and avatar AFTER the retweet. Well played, sir or ma’am.
After retweeting tons of praise for himself, Trump has moved on to criticizing President Obama over the handling of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Maybe the House will use that opening to hold hearings on that topic.
Open thread!
On the Road and In Your Backyard
Syphonblue
Well, computers aren’t perfect.
Walker
I suspect this name changing trick is going to be something Twitter clamps down on hard. Someone got Uber to tweet a racist slur with this trick.
Hildebrand
Any suggestions from the collective wisdom around here about acute gastritis? Had to take my wife to the ER last night. They sent her home with a passel of prescriptions – but we want to make sure we can nip this in the bud both pharmacologically and wholistically.
Jeffro
Again, his supporters will consider this “data” or “evidence” that the vast majority of firefighters actually love trumpov.
Let them believe that all the way to November 2020. Reality, a real President once said, has a way of asserting itself.
In the meantime, let’s impeach the lying cover-up artist known as Bill Barr. Can’t have an AG running cover for a criminal enterprise, now, can we?
tobie
A propos sickening shit: the Trump administration is claiming that April was a blockbuster month for job creation with 275,000 new jobs. How to square that with the floods in the midwest that devastated an agriculture sector already devastated by Trump’s trade wars beats me. Factor in all the plant closings and announced layoffs and the numbers seem even more dubious. They’re cooking the books and no one seems to be asking for the underlying data. Aaaargh.
tobie
@Hildebrand: So sorry to hear this. I don’t have any magic answers but two things that help with gas, acid and other gastrointestinal discomforts are a strong tincture of ginger or fennel seed. Boil water with either ginger root or fennel seed in it for ten minutes and drink the brew. (It tastes good.) Fennel seed tea is given to babies with colic in Germany. It’s safe.
Jerzy Russian
Christ, what an asshole!
So I guess there was Russian interference (no relation) but no collusion? I can’t keep up.
Dorothy A. Winsor
Notice that he thinks he should be paid for his efforts. I mean outside of what he already is paid and supposedly declines.
Hildebrand
@tobie: My wife loves simple ginger tea, so that is definitely going on the list. We will have to try the fennel seed – I didn’t know about that one. My thanks!
Betty Cracker
@Dorothy A. Winsor: That’s a pet peeve of mine, so-called “public servants” who decline a salary. All of the Trump nepotism hires do this, including Ivanka, which may be why she thinks it’s okay to pretend to have a job when they’re rolling out some sort of policy but reverts to “I’m just a daughter” when criticized on anything. I realize non-scumbags have donated salaries too, but I don’t like the symbolism, even if the intentions are good.
Jeffro
In other news, glad to see the Both Sides Media is ON. THE. CASE. The Post’s Glen Kessler is all over Uncle Joe – four Pinnochios! – for claiming that ‘all’ the GOP’s 2017 tax shenanigans were giveaways to the rich and big corporations.
Ha, take that, Joe Biden! Only the vast majority of the GOP’s 2017 tax shenanigans were giveaways to the rich and big corporations! Say it again and we’ll give you a FIFTH “Pinnochio”, you hear me?
Meanwhile, I think trumpov went over the 10,000-lie mark yesterday? Forty thousand “Pinnochios*” and this is the best the Post can come up with?
* Also, “Pinnochios”? Really??
Betty Cracker
@Walker: Yeah, I’m surprised this isn’t abused more often, tbh. Maybe it is and I just haven’t noticed.
Doug R
@Betty Cracker: That’s why we pay politicians salaries so there’s less excuse for corruption.
Jeffro
@Dorothy A. Winsor: it’s remarkable just how ungrateful those firefighters are, isn’t it? How can they resist falling to their knees in praise and worship of this great man? It boggles the mind.
tobie
@Hildebrand: Good luck to you and your wife. I suffered from stress-induced gastritis for years, so I know how painful it is. Hope your wife gets over this hurdle soon.
karen marie
@Dorothy A. Winsor: This will be his argument in his emoluments trial – “I deserve to profit because you people don’t appreciate that I am the greatest thing to ever happen to this country.”
A long history we can be proud of destroyed by this shitwhistle. America is never going to recover from this. We’ve shown who we are – deeply stupid.
Betty Cracker
@Jeffro: Yep — that first sentence you quoted is really a case study in false equivalency, isn’t it? His own fucking share? Really? Gah!
Roger Moore
@tobie:
The basic thing to understand is that single month job numbers are pretty useless. There’s a lot of noise, and they’re subject to subsequent revision. You have to look at the longer term, at least a quarter and preferably year-on-year, to get a real idea of how the economy is doing.
germy
Assange sentenced to 50 weeks in jail for skipping bail
rk
@Hildebrand:
I gave this to one of my kids who had severe stomach issues. It helped a lot.
Heather’s Tummy Tamers peppermint oil capsules.
https://www.amazon.com/Heathers-Tummy-Tamers-Peppermint-Capsules/dp/B0002UDK4Q/ref=pd_sim_121_2/133-8840405-3860408?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0002UDK4Q&pd_rd_r=a591f604-6c15-11e9-b475-c358acaaf9b4&pd_rd_w=6ZyBu&pd_rd_wg=5jw5C&pf_rd_p=90485860-83e9-4fd9-b838-b28a9b7fda30&pf_rd_r=MS96FRY29HHADH4H7R1A&refRID=MS96FRY29HHADH4H7R1A&th=1
Kefir is also good because of probiotics.
rikyrah
I have not been paying close attention..
But, do I have this right…
The phuckery/distraction that Dolt45 et al thought Venezuela would be didn’t come to pass because RUSSIA told them to sit their azzes down..
Do I have it right?
rikyrah
@Jeffro:
What phuckery
People doing their taxes understand
rikyrah
@Jeffro:
And Phuck Outta Here
He can’t even call Dolt45’s lies
LIES
BUT, Biden is lying about the GOP Tax Scam ??
Get the ENTIRE Phuck Outta Here ? ?
germy
Only the best people…
Cheryl Rofer
Cheryl Rofer
@rikyrah: That is what Pompeo is saying. Given that he, Bolton, and Dolt 45 were all tweeting different things yesterday, I would take that with a grain of salt.
Betty Cracker
@rikyrah: Pompeo claims Maduro was ready to go into exile in Cuba but the Russians talked him into staying. No telling what actually happened. With this pack of liars, led by the most prolific liar of all, we’re completely in the dark on actual events until verified by someone not affiliated with the lying administration.
Jeffro
By the way, for folks who don’t venture into the Faux Bubble, here’s the headline and next six stories on Fox News dot com right now:
Boy…that is some good factual reporting right there, hmm? Glad that Faux is on the case – I had no idea that the dastardly Bobby Three Sticks was trying to ‘set a narrative’, as opposed to, say, get the actual truth of his two-years-in-the-making report out to Congress and the American people.
Baud
Aren’t you assuming that the Tweeter isn’t such a Trump fan that he or she literally wants to fuck Trump?
Betty Cracker
@Cheryl Rofer: Wow. Okay, I was wrong about Mueller when I blamed him for allowing Barr’s con job to stand. It sounds like he really did try to get the truth to the public and oppose Barr’s media blitz.
zhena gogolia
@germy:
whew
CWAA
OzarkHillbilly
@karen marie:
It’s not the first time we’ve shown that, it won’t be the last.
Jeffro
@Cheryl Rofer: Thanks for posting this!
Ironically enough (given Betty’s thread title) I think that “well played” will be the next fallback/line of defense/BS that the RWNJs throw around, now that Barr has been so thoroughly exposed as a partisan hack.
As in “Mueller took his shot, and Barr’s letter neutered the release of the Mueller report, and it looks like that strategy was well played by Barr and trumpov”.
The Both Sides Media, focused as ever on the conflict, and not on pointing out who has been lying/obstructing/debasing his office, will probably just echo this, unfortunately.
SFAW
@rikyrah:
I know you’ve written this more than a couple of times in the past, but I love that phrase.
Kraux Pas
@Jeffro:
A false equivalence that breaks the Pinocchio scale.
I stopped trusting Glenn Kessler for fact checking years ago. Too much hair splitting to promote a fake sense of balance.
Cacti
Here’s what that guy who Cole likes and respects had to say about the Barr summary, way back… on March 26:
Damn. That didn’t age well.
Baud
@Cacti:
Nothing he says ages well. That’s why there’s a 24 hour rule for him.
Kraux Pas
@Betty Cracker:
Oops you beat me to it. “His own share” really is galling. He is the majority shareholder for falsehoods. Together with his party, they have a controlling stake in falsehood.
Jeffro
@Kraux Pas: It is a small comfort, but a comfort nonetheless, that the commenters on the article are not having it.
bemused
Lindsay Graham blathering on the tv. What a lowdown asshole.
Leto
@bemused: Asshole, ass clown, ass munch… I forgot this was the HRC email/Benghazi/pizza gate highlight reel. Such an asshole.
Elizabelle
DiFi up now. Questions about Manafort and Kilimnick. Barr looks like he’d rather be anywhere else.
lamh36
? ?. just let me know when I need to take the day off!!!
House Judiciary Committee Says Agreement Reached To Have Mueller Testify talkingpointsmemo.com/news/report-ho…
rikyrah
@Baud:
????
lamh36
Y’all already know how I feel about anti-vaxxers so Mayor Pete bullshit pandering to them (which he has since walked back after folks checked him on the bullshit if it) made me aggravated by his “aw shucks” campaign even more
FYI: 700+ new cases of Measles this past year alone per CDC!
Jerzy Russian
@SFAW: Sadly, most people do a half-assed job when told to get the fuck out of here, so she has to spell every thing out in detail.
rikyrah
@bemused:
I want him exposed. Whatever they have on him???
Kraux Pas
Lindsay Graham just apologized after insisting on having Barr swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
gene108
@tobie:
The underlying data should be available on the BLS website.
There’s a bunch of economic data published by the Federal Reserve, BLS, and other departments.
The real issue is, if they are cooking the underlying data. I am hoping these jobs are still being done by competent career officials.
Gin & Tonic
@rikyrah: What if they don’t have anything and he’s just an asshole?
rikyrah
Scott Dworkin (@funder) Tweeted:
BREAKING: Lindsey Graham just admitted he hasn’t even read the entire Mueller report. So he’s been going on tv and playing the role of pundit, without actually having read the full document in question? That’s absolutely ridiculous. Something is seriously wrong with Graham. https://twitter.com/funder/status/1123590141141028866?s=17
jl
I for one do appreciate the officious and very ‘appropriately polite’ pissiness of the Mueller team’s communications with DOJ. Excellent clarity in separation of text and subtext.
rikyrah
Philippe Reines (@PhilippeReines) Tweeted:
In only 12 minutes Lindsey Graham:
• Lied 19 times
• Said trump supported Mueller 13 times
• Attacked Hillary 5 times
• Lied about Hillary 9 times
• Told 4 jokes nobody laughed at
• Said “Fucking” once
• Giggled at saying “fucking” once https://twitter.com/PhilippeReines/status/1123593112859893761?s=17
Mnemosyne
@Betty Cracker:
Kessler has so little self-awareness that he uses a “Doonesbury” cartoon that mocks him for his false equivalencies as the background of his Twitter account.
Kraux Pas
@rikyrah:
Now he’s leading a Congressional hearing where that is the primary topic.
@rikyrah:
Which four lies were not attacks?
japa21
@Kraux Pas: That is in jest, right? He didn’t really. Please tell me he didn’t.
rikyrah
Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) Tweeted:
Brian Williams just broke into @MSNBC’s coverage of the Barr hearing to correct Lindsey Graham: “The chairman of the Judiciary Committee just said that Mueller found there is no collusion. That is not correct.” https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1123590714980470784?s=17
Mnemosyne
@Gin & Tonic:
I think what they have on Graham and on most of the other Republicans is that laundered Russian money was funneled to their campaigns and Russian data was used to suppress their opponents’ voters.
The Republicans are sticking together because, like Manafort, they know that if one of the breaks and goes down, they ALL go down.
japa21
@rikyrah: I don’t believe the term “collusion” appeared in the Mueller report. I apologize if I am wrong, which I frequently am.
Kraux Pas
@japa21: I think he was technically apologizing for almost forgetting to do it. But the “sorry ’bout that” after swearing him in struck me a little funny.
bemused
@rikyrah:
Oh yeah! I was just thinking if there is anything positive to find in this republican era, it’s that they are all openly, arrogantly revealing to everyone what soulless, warped, depraved people they are.
Betty Cracker
@Cacti: Here’s what the guy you monotonously drag on his own blog had to say about GG’s Barr tweets “aging well:”
Cacti
@lamh36:
Mayor Boot-a-jug’s pander to anti-vaxxers makes me trust him even less. His about face within 24-hours was worthy of Mitt Romney.
kindness
I’m getting the impression Trump thinks an impeachment will increase his odds of re-election.
I mean how dumb is that? Sure, it would fire up his base which is always crazy hot, but the info that comes out during the hearings & trial? No way Ma & Pa Kettle are going to like that stuff. Trump is nuts. Mitch McConnell’s Senate won’t convict Trump but he needs to be impeached anyhow.
Gin & Tonic
Senator Doug Jones, on Venezuela: “the Russians need to get out and leave our part of the world alone.”
So OK, he’s a Democrat, and he’s not a child molester. But can he also please not be a fucking idiot? Is that too much to ask, Alabama? “Our part of the world” will undoubtedly be used to justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and lots of other actions in the FSU. Thanks for giving them a freebie, you idiot.
khead
“I offered the chance for Bob Mueller to comment on his report and he declined”. – Bob Barr
Lol.
Kraux Pas
@Gin & Tonic: The Monroe Doctrine Lives!!!
Kay
@germy:
That was a great interview. She did a great job. She leaves spaces and he fills them, which takes a lot of self control and an ability not to let a gap rattle you, but she does it and he…talks. He fills the space she leaves. The quoted parts of the interview are not as bad as the whole impression. He digs his own grave, over and over. It’s like a really bad job interview :)
BobS
It’s already been 30 minutes- shouldn’t the internet be blanketed by now with Lindsey Graham stating “Trump is a fucking idiot!” ?
khead
@lamh36:
Mayor Pete is the Democratic version of J.D. Vance. Full stop.
Cacti
@Betty Cracker:
Speaking of not aging well…
Hey Betts, guess who else has been poking fun at Mayor Pete’s goofy last name that you’re so sensitive about?
Oprah.
You should write her immediately to tell her she’s a homophobe. ;-)
Kraux Pas
@khead: Apparently Mueller twice asked Barr to release Mueller’s own summaries of the report and Barr declined.
Seems like Mueller pre-commented at length and Barr wasn’t having it.
BobS
@Gin & Tonic: Forget it, Jake- it’s Alabama.
Tazj
@Jeffro: @rikyrah: I agree. Kessler’s column does nothing to inform the public about the reality of Trump’s tax law and it’s effect on our country. So, 100 million people got $200 – $300 dollars more a year refunded (maybe?), it’s nothing compared to the tax breaks millionaires and billionaires are getting and he knows this.
Kraux Pas
@Tazj: Kessler must be hell bent on defending and retaining his own tax cut.
schrodingers_cat
@lamh36: You and me both. I am wondering how his fan club is going to defend this.
Kay
@Kraux Pas:
I think that’s more damning than anything else he did. Why not just release the summaries? He inserted himself where he didn’t have to. Mueller gave him an honorable path that no one would have questioned. He didn’t have to speak at all. He was working for Trump or he would have just released the summaries.
Chyron HR
…Why would you assume that?
Leto
It still wasn’t Barr’s fucking job to decide on obstruction. Mueller explicitly said he was leaving it to Congress to decide. FFS…
Ksmiami
@karen marie: eh our history ain’t that great – it’s just been mythologized a lot.
Cacti
@schrodingers_cat:
Probably by calling you a homophobe. Seems to be the MO around these parts anyway.
Betty Cracker
@Cacti: Yeah, no, not the same thing, and a feeble whatabout diversion at that. I’ve said my piece on the homophobic slur you used, so hopefully we’re clear on where that leads.
Cacti
@Betty Cracker:
Wrong as always, Betts. Your consistency is a marvel.
Kraux Pas
@Chyron HR:
Speaking as not the person who wrote it, I believe that assumption derived from the fact that Trump retweeted it.
I doubt Trump would retweet someone with a Bernie 2020 logo named “Fuck Trump.” Granted, he HAS done dumber things.
Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)
@Hildebrand: Ketogenic (low-carb, high fat) diets have been found to help with GERD and Irritable bowel syndrome in some studies. Diet Dr. is a good medically-backed website about low carb eating. Here is an article about the effect of low-carb on reflux disease aka GERD.
Chyron HR
@Cacti:
“Look, look, Oprah says I get to call him ‘Pete Buttboy’!”
Congratulations?
Kraux Pas
@Cacti: Fumbling around at an unfamiliar name is culturally insensitive, but not homophobic. I’m curious where BC did this thing you accuse her of.
germy
Who is the gentleman sitting behind Barr’s right shoulder?
Cacti
@Chyron HR:
I agree that his goofy last name is a lot less concerning than him wanting to be the white guy whisperer, and more recently the anti-vax coddler.
West of the Rockies
@tobie:
With my last bout of diverticulitis, I drank cups and cups of ginger tea (along with water and a few Activa probiotic liquid yogurts). In concert, along with rest, it helped.
With my condition, I’ve eliminated popcorn entirely. It sounds strange, but belly-to-hips ratio is connected to flare-ups, so I am going for as flat a stomach as I can get.
None of this may help you, Hildebrand, since your wife has gastritis, but you decide.
Good luck!
Kay
This is an amazing story (Propublica)
The low quality Trump hires are having a very good time on the public dime:
If this were state government the individuals could be charged with a crime and have to reimburse taxpayers, with interest. That’s happened more than once in Ohio.
Omnes Omnibus
@Cacti: Why the fuck are you picking a juvenile slur* as your hill to die on?
*Juvenile slur is really the best interpretation I can think of.
satby
@Cacti: she’s not wrong, and you should have gotten a time out the first time. Stop being an ass. His name is his name and playing games with it, especially homophobic slur games, is way out of line.
Cacti
@satby:
And in right on cue, in checks the hive mind.
SiubhanDuinne
@germy:
I think he’s security. His eyes are constantly scanning the room.
Kraux Pas
@Cacti: Link to the comment that bothered you so that those of us who are unfamiliar with what happened may judge for ourselves.
Leto
Chuck Grassely lying about the Steele Dossier being the foundation for the Mueller report. FFS…
germy
@SiubhanDuinne: Oh. Makes sense. I was wondering why he was looking around so much.
MisterForkbeard
@Cacti: “Everyone disagrees with me so therefore YOU’RE ALL SHEEP AND I’M RIGHT” is not particularly persuasive, just as a heads up.
Just apologize for bringing it up and leave it alone dude. No one needs the drama here.
Ohio Mom
@Hildebrand: Whatever the malady, I almost always suggest carefully chosen second opinions, hopefully with a specialist at a university/medical school-affiliated medical center. Those folks tend to be up on the latest research, and to also have the breadth of experience to catch less common things.
And googling, judiciously. You have to know what you are talking about and steer the doctor’s attention.
It’s hard work, being your own medical advocate. We are all at a disadvantage being laypeople. Good luck to you and your wife!
germy
@Leto:
And it was initiated by the democrat party…
SiubhanDuinne
@japa21:
He did, though. Like it was a massive inconvenience for Barr to have to be under oath.
MisterForkbeard
@Leto: I’m always amazed that this isn’t laughed out of the room. Its been disproved repeatedly, and the investigstion started BEFORE the Steele dossier came out. There’s also nothing wrong even if it was, because “oppo research” doesn’t mean “wrong” and the relevant investigators and judges were aware of the source of the info.
Anyone who repeats this is a huge idiot at best.
Another Scott
@Roger Moore: Beyond that, the private ADP numbers (released on Wednesdays) usually don’t agree very well with the government BLS numbers (released on Fridays).
CalculatedRisk keeps an eye on both.
Cheers,
Scott.
Kraux Pas
@Leto:
And arguing in a roundabout way that our intelligence and law enforcement agencies shouldn’t be following up on suspicious behavior by a presidential candidate. Then proceeds to chant “Lock Her Up” or something thereabouts.
schrodingers_cat
@Hildebrand: Incorporate yogurt from live cultures in your diet. You can make your own, without special equipment if you have a starter of live yogurt, say from a farmer’s market or you can get live yogurt cultures from Amazon. You can email me for ideas on my bloggy email if you want. Yogurt is gentle and easy to digest and a great source of proteins. Ginger tea is good too.
Gravenstone
@Jeffro: Gee, seems rather like what a state propaganda outlet might write. Rather than anything approaching reality.
gene108
@germy:
Satan?
Gravenstone
@Baud: the Bernie icon sort of undercuts that interpretation. But then, there are all sorts out there …
Betty Cracker
I don’t recommend it, but if anyone is curious about the homophobic slur thing Cacti just can’t seem to let go, it played out over at least two threads. He gave us PC snowflakes wut fer here and here.
schrodingers_cat
Commenter smintheus (sp?) was right about Mayor BP reminds me of Bill Clinton. Being bipartisany and a people-pleaser was okay in the 90s am not so sure he would be great for 2020, when T’s hordes want to kill people like me for merely existing. I want a fighter, not someone who wants to hug it out with the modern Rs.
That said he would be better than Russian Asset #2 from Vt.
germy
@schrodingers_cat: Kefir helped my reflux.
germy
God, Barr is such a smooth mutherfucker… he keeps throwing their questions back at them, like a slippery eel.
debit
@Kraux Pas: Cacti was using a variety of names with a play on “butt” and the word booty because we all know the gays love teh buttsex, amirite? It was very juvenile and when s/he was called out on it s/he reacted with the same level of maturity.
ETA: And Betty provides the link. So it was not booty, but some sort of weird oviposition kink implication.
I normally try to stay out of this sort of shit, but the attack on Betty is really pissing me off.
Kraux Pas
@germy: Barr’s doing a really good job of answering questions that weren’t asked.
Leto
Barr’s responses to Leahy: yeah, the president was caught trying to obstruct but I don’t see anything wrong with that…
By the end of this I will need blood pressure pills.
Barbara
@schrodingers_cat: This is my objection to Biden as well. Biden can afford to be friends with “moderate” Republicans. He has nothing directly at stake.
germy
“Why didn’t the Obama administration do more?”
I was waiting for this question.
khead
@Leto:
I may have to roll out before having a rage stroke given Lee’s comments. “It’s Obama’s fault”
Kraux Pas
I muted the hearing after hearing Cornyn thank AG Barr for returning to the Justice Dept. and restoring its reputation as upholding the law and not being an arm of a political organization.
Republicans really are in upside-downy world.
Leto
@MisterForkbeard: Oh, but see the Democrats did it, so it’s inherently evil! And Michael Steele talked to Russian sources so Dems are the colluders!!
Now MSNBC break coverage and calls Barr a liar. Specifically with regard to Barr quibbling over “fired/removed”, and reading straight out of Mueller report. Nicole Wallace bringing the heat, ain’t taking this shit, and calling Barr a straight up liar. Good.
Rommie
Steele is a Rooskie Spy! Obama and Clinton are the real criminals! Squirrel!
gene108
@Leto:
Asshats like Grassley are why I can’t watch these hearing. Makes want to punch my TV screen.
They lie and lie and know there will be few consequences.
schrodingers_cat
@germy: I too make water kefir. Yogurt is the tried and tested remedy for an upset stomach in most parts of India. When you can’t eat almost anything yogurt and rice or fruit and yogurt is something you can.
Cacti
Buzz buzz buzz How dare you point out that the queen bee was wrong as usual buzz buzz buzz.
You drones finished yet?
germy
@gene108: But then you don’t get to hear Grassley try to pronounce the word “similarly”
khead
@Cacti:
No. I haven’t gotten in a “Go fuck yourself” yet. Til now, of course.
debit
@Cacti: Are you 12? Because you’re acting like it.
Gravenstone
@Cacti: Have you always been a clueless dickhead throughout your life? Or are we getting a special performance here just for our ‘entertainment’?
Cacti
The funniest part is what set the queen bee off was me pointing out Cole’s ongoing, misplaced admiration for the poison penned fascist enabler in South America.
Enjoy Bolsonaro,Glenn. You deserve him.
Leto
@germy: My dad is saying the same thing. I’m simply seeing red.
Lol, Dick Derbin’s opening statement ??
Frankensteinbeck
@Betty Cracker:
Toldja. Mueller’s way of dealing with everything seems to have been to go exactly by the book. Interestingly, this is what Kay (so accurately) says Comey should have done. There are big disappointments to us in that, such as it being against practice for him to indict Trump himself. It has got to be unethical as Hell to go straight to the news and say “My boss is lying.” So, Mueller is following a dance of ethics that makes no predictable sense to outsiders. There’s a lot of that in any ethics-sensitive profession. I know there is in law, and I’ve seen it up close in medicine. I dare say there will be more disappointments to us, such as things he is restricted from telling Congress. Still, you can always bet on Trump and his flunkies shooting themselves in the foot with corruption, so I bet there is a lot of information that they haven’t hidden according to the rules.
Aleta
Barr you despicable cowardly liar.
Fleeting Expletive
@germy: This dude is so sleazzy. Hard to appreciate in full until you see his snide and smarmy muttering. Yesterday he was so baby-trump in a little aside, like “well, it was MY report, so I wrote it.” Wow.
plato
It’s all Obama’s fault that we are racist pos – white folks
It’s all Obama’s fault that I am a treasonous traitorous pos – their ‘president’
Leto
At this point, if it wasn’t clear before, we need to take back the Senate. Also could someone get a damn rag to Barr for all the flopsweat he has all over his face? Men used to keep a kerchief in their pocket for that express purpose.
debit
And it belatedly occurs to me that this desperate bid for attention is not just juvenile, but deliberate and designed to derail. I won’t engage anymore and suggest others also disengage.
gene108
@schrodingers_cat:
Country was a lot more conservative in the 1990’s. Democratic Senator Sam Nunn (GA), head of Senate Armed Forces committee, was fighting President Clinton over gays serving in the military.
If anything, Bill was a bit to the left of where the Democratic center was. The Democratic Party has become a lot more liberal in the last 30 years.
Anyway, Democrats need to figure out a way to support the careers of talented politicians like Buttigieg or O’Rourke, because being in deeply Republican states, they have maxed out their political advancement at mayor or Congressman.
Maybe some of Buttigieg’s politics is influenced by trying to win or advance his career in Indiana, where he does have to placate the mushy center and center right, if he wants to advance in politics.
I don’t know how many other talented Democratic politicians are wasting away in Republican states, but I think it will hurt the Party in the long run, since population is so unevenly distributed in the country, you can have more Republican states, even if they have fewer people than the coastal Democratic states.
Timurid
@debit:
Pie is tasty.
Bobby Thomson
Every now and then I forget why I stopped listening to Cacti. This is not one of those days.
Just like a frat boy pissed off he can’t say the N word in public without being ostracized.
Bobby Thomson
@gene108: your perspective on Clinton is ahistorical. He was the poster boy for the DLC.
Leto
@Frankensteinbeck:
Only in an open session. In a closed session, he can talk to them openly.
FFS, Carter “Let me wear this cool hat” Page was under investigation by the FBI before he was working for the campaign because he was receptive to FSB agents to be a damn Russian stooge, AND THEN THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN HIRED HIM!
I feel like I’m losing my goddamned mind here with Rethugs lies. Gaslighting… they’re trying to fucking gaslight us.
Kraux Pas
@Cacti: Speaking as a gay man wholly unrepresentative of the larger community, that definitely comes across as a gay joke. Linking it to phrases “younger, sexier”and implications of Pete’s desire to assimilate with people who may not fully understand his perspective lend credence to that.
And I don’t even necessarily mind that it was a gay joke. It may be weird, but I enjoy a good gay joke. This, however, is a lazy gay joke, about the level of grade-school taunting. The LGBTQ community has had to deal with too much already to now be subject to lazy taunting. Good God, put some effort into it.
Then, again, what was I expecting? This is cacti we’re talking about.
khead
Heading to the House tomorrow. Should be fun.
Jeffro
@germy: @khead: @plato:
I know I’m hoping against all odds here, but there’s nothing to prevent Congressional committees from calling a former president (a real one) in to testify, is there? Let’s hear straight from Obama about how Mitch McConnell threatened to turn – hell, DID turn – a Russian attack on our country into partisan advantage for the GOP
cwmoss
@Cacti: You seem nice.
J R in WV
@japa21:
That could be because “collusion” is not a legal term of art. The legal term is conspiracy, which has a large set of legalese defining what conspiracy is, how one becomes enmeshed in conspiracy, what needs to be shown to prove one has conspired, etc.
But not so much collusion. Which is why Donald used collusion so much, no one is interested in showing he was colluding with the Russians, who cares.
Leto
Things I’ve learned today: Sen Whitehouse holds an architecture degree from Yale, law degree from UVA. Should be poster Suzanne’s fav senator ;)
Omnes Omnibus
@Bobby Thomson:
Yes, and the party was also home to people like Ben Nighthorse Campbell and Richard Shelby. I would say that Bill Clinton was as liberal as a politician could have been and still be electable during that period of time
MisterForkbeard
@Cacti: Dude, I even thought your first comments weren’t necessarily awful but you need to shut up about this. You could have been okay if you’d just said “Trumps people are going to attack him like this. I thought we should get used to it, but clearly you dont want that here so I won’t do that again.”
Stop being an ass, and accept that people here don’t agree with you on this or on Being That Guy who keeps bringing up old slights loudly and in public.
Jerzy Russian
@Kraux Pas:
This is what I tell my students about cheating. If you are going to send me your homework as Microsoft Word document, at least make the effort to remove your friends name from the meta data. Also, it would help if you didn’t turn in nonsense that is easily searchable.
japa21
@J R in WV: Which is why it was so interesting how many times Graham used it in his opening statement and that Barr has used it.
J R in WV
@Cacti:
Yes, and all the hive in total agreement that you are a juvenile ass… aka troll. A one note jerk.
gene108
@Bobby Thomson:
I think gunning for universal healthcare and gays in the military and passing the Brady Bill, mandating background checks for gun purchases, as well as the Assault Wepon Ban were not conservative positions.
He was more business friendly than someone like Gephardt, but I am not sure how culturally liberal a lot of the pro-labor Dems were at the time, with regards to something like gays serving in the military or gun control.
Bill’s a mixed bag. But he was not the “best Republican President since Eisenhower”, which a lot of liberals like to tag him as, because he did ty to push, but failed at, advancing a more liberal agenda than any Republican has done, including Eisenhower.
japa21
@J R in WV: Never used the pie filter before. Normally I enjoy watching people make complete fools out of themselves. Making an exception in this case.
Gin & Tonic
@Leto: Not sure he’s my own fav, but he is my Senator, and a fine one.
TomatoQueen
@Another Scott: I worked in that particular nerd shop for about 8 months in the Year of Katrina. Most of the data reporting, from companies to the bureau, is automated, input coming in over dedicated fax lines. I was on the manual reporting side, cajoling and schmoozing harassed human resources people, small business owners and the like, at the same rate of pay, for temporary contractors, as the Dept of Labor pays its maintenance crew. Otherwise staff is too preoccupied with getting those numbers out on time to be bothered while sitting at low rent workstations with plotting to cook the books. The worst day was the one when we had to verify that all those fax lines in the Katrina target area were down, by dialing every single fucking one of them. Heckuva job, Brownie.
Aleta
We’re paying the salary of a surly lawyer named Barr who accepted the job of shielding Trump from US law.
Aleta
“spying is a good English word”
“and I use it frequently, as do the media”
“and it is commonly used in the press”
Whitehouse: but it is not comm used by the department
“It is commonly used by *me*”
Gravenstone
@Aleta: I would argue that he auditioned for that particular job.
JR
@schrodingers_cat: I don’t know how well it works for gastritis but virtually all yogurt contains live cultures. I used to make my own lebneh by inoculating gallons of pasteurized milk from fancy supermarket yogurt. As long as the temperature is high (~37C is ideal for yogurt cultures) you will get yogurt.
Cacti
@J R in WV:
Uh huh. That’s sort of the definition of hive mind. ;-)
Villago Delenda Est
@Kay: Bill Barr knows nothing of honor.
Kay
He’s talking about Trump’s latest low quality hire, who made an ass of himself in an interview. That was a prominent wingnut theme during Obama, that black people were in the White House. RAGE. They would get so enraged about the plane, Air Force One. The noble Mitt Romney played right into it in the 2012 election. He knew. He’d get them all worked up that the Obamas had a plane.
Pure unadulterated racism. Just right out there.
Just One More Canuck
@germy: Pentangeli’s brother?
Kay
@Villago Delenda Est:
Donald Trump hires bottom of the barrel people. We can quibble over whether they got that way to curry favor with him, but not really, because currying favor with him means they’re corruptable anyway, so therefore bad hires. It’s chicken/egg. Doesn’t matter. I’m not that interested in their inner struggles anyway.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@tobie:
Farming and manufacturing don’t employee that many people but are highly glamorized.
Bill Arnold
@tobie:
DJ Trump was claiming without evidence through most of 2016 that the BLS was cooking the statistics.
(Unless that was your point.)
chopper
@Cacti:
nope, everybody’s still calling you a dumb, wrong asshole.
Cacti
@chopper:
Thanks for proving my point over and over. ;-)
chopper
@Cacti:
yeah, we’re all sheep. or maybe you’re being a dumb, wrong asshole. nah, that couldn’t be it.
Cacti
@chopper:
Keep buzzing, little drone. ;-)
chopper
@Cacti:
so what’s your encore? referring to obama as “obongo” and then stamping your feet like a child when called out on it?
Ruckus
@schrodingers_cat:
Not everyone can digest yogurt. I know this first hand. Used to eat yogurt but one day started having the same response to it as I’d had to milk a few years prior. As in a rather unsuitable response. Involving a bit more than a modicum of pain. Haven’t had cows milk for over 43 yrs, a couple years less for yogurt.