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Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“In this country American means white. everybody else has to hyphenate.”

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

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

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

I would gladly pay you tuesday for a hamburger today.

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

“Alexa, change the president.”

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

“Loving your country does not mean lying about its history.”

So many bastards, so little time.

Decision time: keep arguing about the last election, or try to win the next one?

Welcome to day five of every-bit-as-bad-as-you-thought-it-would-be.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

That meeting sounds like a shotgun wedding between a shitshow and a clusterfuck.

Fear and negativity are contagious, but so is courage!

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

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You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Dolt 45 / Monday Morning Open Thread: Gonna Be Another Long Week

Monday Morning Open Thread: Gonna Be Another Long Week

by Anne Laurie|  September 9, 20194:58 am| 100 Comments

This post is in: Dolt 45, Impeachment, Open Threads, Republicans in Disarray!, All Too Normal, All we want is life beyond the thunderdome

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My airport sleep mask came with these very perfect stickers. I need a giant sheet of them for everyday wear. pic.twitter.com/aTUwkUvzRm

— Carmen Maria Machado (@carmenmmachado) September 4, 2019

I'm also gonna need a few blanks so I can make custom ones pic.twitter.com/KZvqLLuQTc

— Jess Zimmerman (@j_zimms) September 4, 2019


 
Overlooked (among the chaos) story of the weekend:

YESSSSSSSS!! I’ve been asking for this! The House will be abandoning its much-maligned 5-minute alternating partisan question format, in favor of the same hearing format as Watergate: having top counsel conduct the inquiries. https://t.co/RXRauUpq4V

— Mueller, She Wrote Podcast (@MuellerSheWrote) September 8, 2019

Democrats are doing a shot-by-shot remake of 1974 and no one on here gives a shit because it was never about impeachment. https://t.co/vEbscAisWa

— Bret "Gregor Samsa" Stephens (@agraybee) September 7, 2019


 
Also:

BREAKING: The US Air Force has ordered a sweeping review of its use of Trump resorts for overnight crew accommodations. It comes as POLITICO uncovers yet another overnight stay at Turnberry by at least a dozen USAF crew members in September 2018. https://t.co/TjHYI9bp9W

— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) September 9, 2019

ATTENTION: We’re just 4 days away from the third Democratic presidential primary debate in Houston on Thurs. 09.12.2019.
Have you signed up to host an official @DNC watch party yet? ?#PresidentialDebate#Debate #PrimaryDebate #Decision2020

— Lady Bridge (@ladybridge) September 8, 2019

How shocking that as @realDonaldTrump is under siege over #SharpieGate and Taliban that he’s putting himself in a situation where racism becomes front-and-Center … we’ve seen this time and again by Trump… https://t.co/pvFYFIrqBY

— Kurt Bardella (@kurtbardella) September 8, 2019


(Could be worse, after all — we could be forced, by some unfortunate confluence of malign forces, to be working for the GOP… )

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Previous Post: « WTH? I Don’t Know Where Anyone Is Either
Next Post: On the Road and In Your Backyard »

Reader Interactions

100Comments

  1. 1.

    rikyrah

    September 9, 2019 at 5:18 am

    Good Morning, Everyone???

  2. 2.

    rikyrah

    September 9, 2019 at 5:22 am

    These racist muthaphuckas ??

    Denying entry to those from the Bahamas.
    Literally changing the policy while they were on board the ship getting ready to go.

    This thread?????

    twitter.com/leahmcelrath/status/1170852499315712002

  3. 3.

    Baud

    September 9, 2019 at 5:25 am

    @rikyrah:

    Good morning.

  4. 4.

    OzarkHillbilly

    September 9, 2019 at 5:34 am

    @rikyrah: Blech.

  5. 5.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    September 9, 2019 at 5:47 am

    @rikyrah:

    Good morning! ?

  6. 6.

    JPL

    September 9, 2019 at 6:03 am

    @rikyrah: This is so sad. Families finally on the boat ready to leave and then made to get off. It’s unacceptable but so is everything he is doing.

  7. 7.

    Mary G

    September 9, 2019 at 6:18 am

    @rikyrah: Just pure evil.

    I am so glad that a staff attorney will be doing the questioning so I don’t have to keep muting Gym Jordan and all the other whacking every five minutes.

  8. 8.

    Jeffro

    September 9, 2019 at 6:20 am

    I just woke up to see that Chrissy Tiegen is trending on Twitter for all the very rightest of reasons…LOLOL

    Let us know when you’ve had enough, GOP, we’ve got the guy on something like eleventy-hundred charges. Some are high crimes and some are misdemeanors and any one of them should have been reason enough to restore even a semblance of dignity to the highest office in the land.

  9. 9.

    satby

    September 9, 2019 at 6:28 am

    @rikyrah: @Baud: @Steeplejack (phone): Good morning ?
    @OzarkHillbilly: ?

  10. 10.

    Sister Golden Bear

    September 9, 2019 at 6:28 am

    Good Morning/Evening fellow jackals.

    Had my last check-in at the clinic today and got the OK to start dilating again after a two-week required hiatus. (I had been doing 2-3x/week, as is normal at this stage of post-op.

    I’m not looking forward to tonight’s session, since things will have tightened up during the interim. Thankfully the hotel is mostly empty, so the other guests will be spared my Betty/Cole-level of colorful language.

    @rikyrah: Hearing about that makes me Hulk SMASH rage-y.

  11. 11.

    satby

    September 9, 2019 at 6:31 am

    @JPL: I know and @Mary G: That’s why I’m so happy they’re going to that method of questioning. Not only more efficient, but it builds a better narrative for the public to follow. And highlights how obstructive the Republicans are.

  12. 12.

    Baud

    September 9, 2019 at 6:33 am

    @satby:

    Good morning.

  13. 13.

    Baud

    September 9, 2019 at 6:33 am

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    Stay loose, SGB.

  14. 14.

    Steeplejack

    September 9, 2019 at 6:56 am

    I had a tiring afternoon with my mother yesterday, then an early dinner with a friend, and I was wiped out by 8:30 p.m. Went to bed and then of course was wide awake at 12:30 a.m. So I have been catching up on Twitter and other Internet stuff. Finally got out of bed when my phone’s battery was about dead and got on the Chromebook. I guess I’ll sleep later at some point.

    The good news is that Woody the greyhound slept on the bed—he’s still back there, in fact—always a positive sign of his mental state.

    The autumn weather break in Las Vegas seems to be happening this week. Last week, highs of 105° or more every day; this week, highs in the mid- and low 90s—even 90° on Wednesday! There will still be days over 100°, like next weekend, but when it comes the change is definitive and remarkable. And then Las Vegas has eight months of fantastic weather, until about Memorial Day.

  15. 15.

    Baud

    September 9, 2019 at 6:59 am

    Kamala Harris’s new criminal justice plan looks to overhaul the system

  16. 16.

    debbie

    September 9, 2019 at 7:04 am

    @Mary G:

    I wonder what Gym will resort to in order to disrupt the proceedings. It’s sure to be an embarrassment.

  17. 17.

    debbie

    September 9, 2019 at 7:05 am

    @rikyrah:

    Will Trump be compensating by immediately dispatching shiploads of food, water, and medicines? //

  18. 18.

    rikyrah

    September 9, 2019 at 7:18 am

    @Sister Golden Bear:
    Morning. Sending you positive healing thoughts ?

  19. 19.

    JPL

    September 9, 2019 at 7:18 am

    @Steeplejack: How much longer are you in Vegas?

  20. 20.

    John S.

    September 9, 2019 at 7:19 am

    @Baud:

    Behold the power of misinformed voters! From the very first comment on that story:

    Mental health and crime — first we’re told it has nothing to do with gun violence, and now a former prosecutor is telling us it’s a vital part of criminal justice reform. Which is it?

  21. 21.

    Baud

    September 9, 2019 at 7:20 am

    @John S.:

    Probably a paid NRA shill. Or maybe Trump himself! (I know, same thing.)

  22. 22.

    Steeplejack

    September 9, 2019 at 7:22 am

    @JPL:

    Ten days. My brother gets back from his alpine adventure next Monday night, and then I fly back to D.C. Wednesday night—red-eye getting in about 9:00 a.m. on Thursday.

  23. 23.

    satby

    September 9, 2019 at 7:24 am

    @John S.: and that’s a deliberate conflating of “crime” with “mass murder shootings” to just muddy gun control arguments. That’s not misinformed, I think that’s deliberate.
    Edit: and I see @Baud had the same thought

  24. 24.

    Immanentize

    September 9, 2019 at 7:27 am

    Blech

  25. 25.

    JPL

    September 9, 2019 at 7:28 am

    @rikyrah: CNN is mocking the report that they just can fly, if they want to travel without a VISA. There’s no airport and some might not be able to afford it.

  26. 26.

    JPL

    September 9, 2019 at 7:30 am

    @Steeplejack: You are going to need some down time upon your return, just in order to catch up on your sleep.

  27. 27.

    scribbler

    September 9, 2019 at 7:33 am

    @Steeplejack:
    One of the hard parts of dealing with a parent’s deteriorating health is that it’s so hard to tell if things are getting better or worse. One day things seem headed in a good direction, the next can bring (and often does) multiple setbacks. Mentally, it’s exhausting.
    Try to take care of yourself now too.

  28. 28.

    satby

    September 9, 2019 at 7:35 am

    @Immanentize: ?
    Hang in there. How’s our Immp?

  29. 29.

    NotMax

    September 9, 2019 at 7:39 am

    (sniff sniff)

    Ah, that’s what it is. Smell of a new Infrastructure Week.

  30. 30.

    Immanentize

    September 9, 2019 at 7:39 am

    @satby:
    He’s doing fairly well. Still hasn’t mastered how much to eat at any one time without retching. It is so hard to watch. But he is pretty happy, generally. Went to a movie last night — Angel Has Fallen — which he reports is a very poor movie.

    I smoked a brisket yesterday and it is YUM – eee. But like Steeplejack, I need a getaway from it all weekend.

  31. 31.

    NotMax

    September 9, 2019 at 7:44 am

    @Immanentize

    I smoked a brisket yesterday

    Gosh darn hard to keep it lit.

    ;)

  32. 32.

    OzarkHillbilly

    September 9, 2019 at 7:44 am

    Australia launches emergency relocation of fish as largest river system faces collapse

    Faced with a looming ferocious summer with little rain forecast, the New South Wales government has embarked on a Noah’s Ark type operation to move native fish from the Lower Darling – part of Australia’s most significant river system – to safe havens before high temperatures return to the already stressed river basin.

    Researchers have warned of other alarming ecological signs that the Lower Darling River – part of the giant Murray-Darling Basin – is in a dire state, following last summer’s mass fish kills. Professor Fran Sheldon, from Griffith University’s Australian Rivers Institute, said only one surviving colony of river mussels had been found along the river and there were signs that river red gums were under severe stress.

    “If the river red gums die, and some are hundreds of years old, there will be a domino effect. Banks will collapse, there will be massive erosion and it will send sediments down the river. These sort of ecological collapses are much harder and expensive to reverse,” she warned.

    Our climate future won’t be doing any U-turns either.

    The New South Wales government announced a $10m rescue package last week to mitigate the effects of the river crisis on native fish this summer. The NSW agriculture minister, Adam Marshall, said the unprecedented action would provide “a lifeline for key native species ahead of an expected summer of horror fish kills…. We’re staring down the barrel of a potential fish Armageddon, which is why we’re wasting little time rolling out this unprecedented action. By starting this operation today we’re getting on the front foot while we still have the chance to rescue and relocate as many fish as possible. Marshall said.

    Oooooooo… A whole $10 Million. They’re certainly taking it serious this time.

    The unprecedented operation aims to move as many fish as possible from 15 to 20 priority waterholes in a two-week period, including Murray cod, some of which are at least 25 years old, golden perch and other rare species.

    Yep, serious, they’re really going to do something this time.

    But the government has not said how many fish it will move. One source told the Guardian it was hoped it would be in the hundreds. This is just a fraction of the population of the river and will not prevent the likelihood of further mass fish deaths during the coming summer.

    “It’s a photo-op rather than a real deal,” said a Menindee local, Graeme McCrabb, who has become a spokesman for the local community on the lower Darling. “There would be 10,000 cod between Weir 32 [at Menindee] and the Murray,” he said. “And silver perch, listed as a vulnerable species, are difficult to catch with electro fishing….If Lake Wetherill goes, there will be even more fish die than last year,” McCrabb warned.

    Yepyepyessirreee, what they need is a photo-op.

    Meanwhile, the NSW government appears to be in denial about possible causes of the ecological catastrophe last summer. The water minister, Melinda Pavey, has criticised her own independent adviser, the NSW Natural Resources Commission, which said extractions by irrigators upstream may have led to the Lower Darling being pushed into hydrological drought three years earlier than it otherwise would have been. The commission has called for an urgent revision of the rules that allow irrigators to continue to extract from the river when flows are very low. It wants the threshold when irrigators must cease to take water from the river to be raised, along with other rule changes.

    Yes, shoot the messenger. Because that will solve the problem…. of being told things one doesn’t want to hear.

    “The NRC report was one of a number that has given advice on this issue,” said Sheldon, who contributed to the report. “It’s a contentious issue. We just raised the question: have [the extraction rules] influenced the conditions that have led to the catastrophic drying of the Barwon-Darling? If the answer is that extractions did contribute, then the answer is straightforward: we need to change the rules. If they didn’t, then the answer is a whole lot more complex. We need to understand what is really going on. The fish rescue program will preserve some genetic diversity, but the government also needs to monitor the surrounding ecosystems, as [returning] fish would not survive if mussels and other invertebrates are lost,” she said.

    Data, bitches, can’t have that.

    The government said the fish would be able to migrate back up the 500km of the Darling when the drought ended. “When flows do return to normal, the fish will be able to migrate to their ‘homes’ back upstream, without the need for additional intervention,” Marshall said.

    See? No harm no foul. They’ll just go back where they came from. Even tho the whole ecosystem will have collapsed. The stupid, it hurts. You know the trump admin is taking notes.

  33. 33.

    Karen S.

    September 9, 2019 at 7:45 am

    Trump cultists will see his jaunt to Baltimore as a triumph because they’ll perceive it as him not just sticking it to the libs but sticking it to the blacks, too. A lot of Trump’s presidency is just settling petty grievances, real and imagined. He’s doing what so many MAGAts with they could do. Sticking a thumb in the eye of all those ungrateful blacks is just one on a list of stuff they wish they could do. The Trump presidency is white grievance wish fulfillment.

  34. 34.

    Immanentize

    September 9, 2019 at 7:46 am

    @NotMax:
    I read about your cigar delay. Maybe we could somehow capture your cigar smoke for a mini-smoker? Tobacco smoking for pork was all the rage a few years back. Now, I just need to get to the 50th state.

  35. 35.

    OzarkHillbilly

    September 9, 2019 at 7:47 am

    @Immanentize: Welcome to the club.

  36. 36.

    Immanentize

    September 9, 2019 at 7:50 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Welcome to the club.

    Is there a secret handshake?

  37. 37.

    rikyrah

    September 9, 2019 at 7:50 am

    ?????

    Malcolm P. Johnson (@admiralmpj) Tweeted:
    Is anyone else suspicious that now that @NatashaBertrand’s Turnberry Story is starting to catch legitimate fire, all of the sudden the President* hacks out a story about the Taliban coming to Camp David that no one really believes? twitter.com/admiralmpj/status/1170482916712861696?s=17

  38. 38.

    OzarkHillbilly

    September 9, 2019 at 7:52 am

    @Karen S.:

    A lot of Trump’s presidency is just settling petty grievances, real and imagined.

    I have to disagree, he’s not settling any grievances, he’s inflaming them. Mind you, you are correct in that that is exactly what his base wants.

  39. 39.

    J R in WV

    September 9, 2019 at 7:54 am

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    Glad things are going well way over there in Thailand… hoping things wind up better than you could have imagined for your health and happiness! Keep us posted as you slowly return to the US again.

    Agree about sudden ICE course changes. They should probably proceed to evacuate the Bahamas totally so that people can be cared for while rebuilding is underway.

    Perhaps serious consideration should be given to abandoning low lying islands at this point in the climate evolution. Rebuilding while trying to support the victims is two highly complex tasks at the same time. Surely there are many towns in the great midwest with room for several thousand people.

  40. 40.

    Steeplejack

    September 9, 2019 at 7:56 am

    @JPL:

    I will collect the faithful housecat from the friend who is keeping her, and then I may sleep for an entire four-day weekend (with food breaks).

  41. 41.

    OzarkHillbilly

    September 9, 2019 at 7:57 am

    @Immanentize: No, we are constitutionally incapable of keeping secrets as we are always publicly whining about all the secrets we are unable to keep.

  42. 42.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    September 9, 2019 at 7:58 am

    When you fact check the dumb-dumb, you start with spelling, move on to vocabulary, and only then are able to talk about match with reality.

    By Flaming Dancer, the president means “Flamingo Dancer,” though it is flamenco, though there is no evidence the woman in question, a former journalist, has ever been a flamenco dancer. pic.twitter.com/U4xmZrvhk2— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 9, 2019

  43. 43.

    OzarkHillbilly

    September 9, 2019 at 7:59 am

    @J R in WV:

    Surely there are many towns in the great midwest with room for several thousand people.

    Nope, all full up.

  44. 44.

    Karen S.

    September 9, 2019 at 8:02 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    Inflaming is probably a better word, although I suspect that the cultists believe, in their fever dreams, he IS settling scores.

  45. 45.

    Kay

    September 9, 2019 at 8:04 am

    @rikyrah:

    My husband thinks a high profile, popular Democrat should have run in the primary solely to attack Trump on corruption in debates and interviews and speeches. No plans. No attacks on the other candidates. Just use the platform that one of the top three or five get to attack Trump. Democrats would (actually) love it and it would be a very honorable and worthwhile job.

    Any question, doesn’t matter. Just launch into Trump’s failings. Political media would hate the person and scream but who cares? They’re not there to win the primary anyway. They just need to stay in the top five, which you could probably do on an exclusively anti-Trump platform in a D primary. The designated attacker. The bad cop.

  46. 46.

    Steeplejack

    September 9, 2019 at 8:05 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    All righty, then. Glad we got that sorted out!

  47. 47.

    Baud

    September 9, 2019 at 8:07 am

    @Kay:

    Steyer qualified for the October debate.

    ETA: Ted Lieu would be perfect.

  48. 48.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    September 9, 2019 at 8:09 am

    @Baud: I love Ted Lieu. He wasn’t born in the US so he’s not eligible to be president. Would either party let such a candidate into a debate?

  49. 49.

    OzarkHillbilly

    September 9, 2019 at 8:13 am

    Wildlife photographer of the year – highly commended images

    Harry, enough is enough. For the last time, stop it with the hard braking!.

  50. 50.

    JPL

    September 9, 2019 at 8:13 am

    @Kay: That’s what I think also except I would not mind the current candidates doing the same. Can you beat trump is the number one issue.

  51. 51.

    Baud

    September 9, 2019 at 8:14 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    We let Bernie and Williamson in.

  52. 52.

    OzarkHillbilly

    September 9, 2019 at 8:15 am

    @Karen S.: Well, they are deluded. Speaking of which, you got any extra ludes we can send them?

  53. 53.

    NotMax

    September 9, 2019 at 8:15 am

    @Baud

    Lieu not eligible to run, being a naturalized citizen who was born in Taipei to Taiwanese parents..

  54. 54.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    September 9, 2019 at 8:16 am

    @Baud: There is that!

  55. 55.

    Baud

    September 9, 2019 at 8:17 am

    @NotMax:

    He’s not eligible to take office.

  56. 56.

    Kay

    September 9, 2019 at 8:17 am

    @Baud:

    Ted Lieu would be perfect.

    He would be. This would be easier if they would work as a team, it really would. This is why I support smoke filled rooms and machines. I SUPPOSE it could be voluntary but they won’t fulfill these roles! And it makes a lot of sense. You have your sunny optimistic people with plans and then the designated attacker. I personally would volunteer for that job. What fun and our base would love it. It can’t be a stupid person though – not “smackdowns” – not name-calling or lying- it has to be interesting.

    His horrible employees would spend all their time attacking our designated person and the rest just sail above the fray. This is a great job for the right person :)

  57. 57.

    Immanentize

    September 9, 2019 at 8:20 am

    @NotMax:
    Technically, he is not eligible to serve as President, but he can run all he wants.

    Meanwhile, I am old enough to remember talk of changing the Constitution for Kissinger. Later for Schwarzenegger

  58. 58.

    Steeplejack

    September 9, 2019 at 8:20 am

    I think Mrs. Peel-era Avengers is coming on shortly on one of the fourth-tier cable channels that I love to frequent. Or I might try going back to bed. Actually feeling a bit sleepy now.

    Million-channel cable was promised as a cornucopia of unimaginably rich content, but between about 1:00 and 6:00 a.m. it’s mostly infomercials for odd consumer flotsam. You just have more channels to skip through now in the futile search for something to watch.

    And I never did get my flying car!

  59. 59.

    OzarkHillbilly

    September 9, 2019 at 8:21 am

    @Kay: Where do I apply?

  60. 60.

    gene108

    September 9, 2019 at 8:23 am

    @JPL:

    Families finally on the boat ready to leave and then made to get off. It’s unacceptable but so is everything he is doing.

    Saves us money, because we won’t have rescind their TPS, and deport them in a few years. (/sarcasm)

    Anyway, we are no longer about dealing, with illegal immigration. Trump is blocking people from legally immigrating here.

    That’s the truly scary part. They are dismantling the legal immigration process, and looking for ways to deport people already here legally.

    They are trying to make white supremacists dreams come true.

  61. 61.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    September 9, 2019 at 8:27 am

    @Kay: We have a number of Juicers who would be strong as the designated Trump attacker.

  62. 62.

    TS (the original)

    September 9, 2019 at 8:29 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: The largest water system in Australia & they allowed the biggest landholders to extract – almost as they pleased – it was done by selling rights to the water & of course the big guys could offer higher prices. I grew up in NSW with its amazing river systems and now that great free enterprise with the support of a “plan” is harming much more than the fish.

    Water trade and unintended consequences

  63. 63.

    Baud

    September 9, 2019 at 8:32 am

    Top Democratic candidates come together for an ad on gun violence

  64. 64.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    September 9, 2019 at 8:36 am

    Here’s a tweet thread from David Frum laying out what seems to have happened with the Taliban-at-Camp-David debacle.

    So here's what seems to have happened w/r/t Taliban + Camp David as best I can tell 1) Zalmay Khalilzad was running a negotiating process. About Sept 1, he reached an interim agreement of some kind w Taliban representatives. This was not "peace," but it was a possibility— David Frum (@davidfrum) September 9, 2019

  65. 65.

    Immanentize

    September 9, 2019 at 8:36 am

    @Kay: @Dorothy A. Winsor:
    In my dream world, protesters would organize daily 24/7 protests in front of and in the Trump Hotel in Washington. Bring the big rat. Bring the big baby. Make noise. Photograph everyone who goes in and comes out.

    Create an Excel spreadsheet for visiting protesters — including their shift and suggestions of Air BnBs. Shut that mofo down!

  66. 66.

    Jeffro

    September 9, 2019 at 8:37 am

    @Baud: that is just amazing…go Blue Team!

  67. 67.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    September 9, 2019 at 8:40 am

    @Baud: I love that! Our side rocks. Is the ad available anywhere? I didn’t see a link in that article.

    I notice Sanders isn’t included.

  68. 68.

    Kay

    September 9, 2019 at 8:40 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    They would except they also have to be popular D officials of some sort. I think the “popular” part kills it because then they’re like “I’m in it to win it!” – no, no, no. NOT the job. You are SUPPORT. It’s a great job in a way because it has no responsibility – they would get the stern media scolding “but what are YOUR PLANS?” Just blow right past that. No plans necessary.

    Should be a safe D senator or congressperson, but one of the business people could also do it. Governors are fixers- they’d be bad at it.

  69. 69.

    Kay

    September 9, 2019 at 8:44 am

    @Baud:

    WaPo has a poll where D’s are trusted more by 15 than Trump on guns. They have the gun nuts but we’re getting the rest. And there are many more of “the rest”. People also seem to conflate “red flag laws” and “background checks” and those are wildly different. Gun nuts will never accept background checks. They’re dumb about this, as usual. A red flag law is much more of a threat to civil liberties because it’s partly subjective analysis and reporting. If they were smart they’d take background checks.

  70. 70.

    Baud

    September 9, 2019 at 8:47 am

    @Kay:

    Background checks are more likely to affect them personally than red flag laws. Plus, they’ve been railing against it longer. It’s baked in.

  71. 71.

    gene108

    September 9, 2019 at 8:49 am

    @rikyrah:

    Find “funny” the media went to get verification from the Taliban, in order to confirm the veracity of an American President’s statement.

    We are in a sad place.

  72. 72.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    September 9, 2019 at 8:50 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: You have to translate first to establish just what you’re comparing to reality.

  73. 73.

    OzarkHillbilly

    September 9, 2019 at 8:51 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Pretty much as I and every other sane person in the world surmised based solely on trump’s tweet.

  74. 74.

    Baud

    September 9, 2019 at 8:52 am

    @gene108:

    Find “funny” the media justifiably went to get verification from the Taliban, in order to confirm the veracity of an American President’s statement.

    We are in a sad place.

    Fixed.

  75. 75.

    satby

    September 9, 2019 at 8:54 am

    @J R in WV: it’s unrealistic at this point to expect that independent island nations would choose extinction of their nation willingly by relocating somewhere else. Also unrealistic to expect other nations to cede land to allow a national relocation.

  76. 76.

    Chyron HR

    September 9, 2019 at 8:56 am

    @Baud:

    Top Democratic candidates

    And Amy Klobuchar!

  77. 77.

    MattF

    September 9, 2019 at 8:56 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Kevin Drum cites a plausible version of the Afghanistan mess. The usual person doing the usual damage.

  78. 78.

    satby

    September 9, 2019 at 8:57 am

    @Baud: and I wonder if that’s his goal, to get to a debate and get a larger platform for his “impeach the corrupt motherfucker now” movement.

  79. 79.

    Betty Cracker

    September 9, 2019 at 8:57 am

    @Kay: I’m hoping impeachment hearings will soon fill that void.

  80. 80.

    Baud

    September 9, 2019 at 8:59 am

    @MattF:

    If a deal falls in the forest, and Donald Trump doesn’t get sufficient credit, does it make a sound?

  81. 81.

    gene108

    September 9, 2019 at 9:05 am

    @Kay:

    I think Democrats need to expand beyond just Trump. They need to slag the entire Republican Party. They need to slam how tax cuts for rich & corporations hasn’t helped the ever shrinking middle class. And that’s the only sort of policy Republicans have.

    We really need to turn things, so that being called a conservative will be as toxic as a politician being called a liberal has been for the last 30 years.

    Just go out there and use facts available to us the idea of trickle down economics has failed to deliver on anything, other than making the rich richer.

    It’s a heavy lift, but I think it needs to be done.

  82. 82.

    Sab

    September 9, 2019 at 9:10 am

    @Kay: Tim Ryan would love that job. Too bad he is neither popular nor high profile.

  83. 83.

    Gin & Tonic

    September 9, 2019 at 9:16 am

    Funny video from this weekend’s local elections in Russia. Woman is having a hard time stuffing ballots in the ballot box (because she has too many) so a couple of others come over to help. Nice to see helpful people doing their civic duty.

  84. 84.

    rikyrah

    September 9, 2019 at 9:16 am

    ???

    Roland Gramajo was arrested by @ICEgov on Thursday.

    He’s a leader in the #Houston #Latino community and a father of five American children.

    People call me radical for calling to #AbolishICE.
    t.co/WPOC90OJP0

    — Rep. Sylvia Garcia (@RepSylviaGarcia) September 7, 2019

  85. 85.

    Baud

    September 9, 2019 at 9:19 am

    @Gin & Tonic:

    I read Putin didn’t do so well in Moscow.

  86. 86.

    satby

    September 9, 2019 at 9:21 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Sanders was in it. Here’s a direct link, I also shared on FB if you want to share from there:
    youtu.be/eXQ-5nTpQbc

  87. 87.

    Baud

    September 9, 2019 at 9:25 am

    Proof that Warren is gaining steam

    How Elizabeth Warren Raised Big Money Before She Denounced Big Money (Shane Goldmacher/New York Times)

    memeorandum / 18min

    Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:
    How Elizabeth Warren Raised Big Money Before She Denounced Big Money  —  Ms. Warren wooed wealthy donors for years, stockpiling money from fund-raisers, and has used $10.4 million from her 2018 Senate race to underwrite her 2020 bid.  —  On the highest floor of the tallest building in Boston

  88. 88.

    satby

    September 9, 2019 at 9:26 am

    @gene108: several of them do. That the news media seldom accurately reports what Democratic candidates and officials say in favor of endless horse race analysis isn’t the Democrats fault. It’s why I stay on FB and Twitter, to amplify what Democratic voices say.

    My Amazon Kindle hates FB as an abbreviation.

  89. 89.

    Major Major Major Major

    September 9, 2019 at 9:29 am

    I don’t get why this tweet was included…

    Democrats are doing a shot-by-shot remake of 1974 and no one on here gives a shit because it was never about impeachment.

    …when many of us feel the same way as Jeet’s quoted tweet. Some people get so deranged about that guy.

  90. 90.

    rikyrah

    September 9, 2019 at 9:33 am

    Black Girls Rock! Reminds Us That the World Would Be Lost Without Black Women

    Corey Townsend
    Yesterday 10:00pm

    ……………..

    Regina King’s role in 227 indeed reminded us that there was no place like home and it is in Hollywood that King has found her rightful abode. “Transitioning from child actor to an adult in the business was easy for me because I found something that I love,” said King during her acceptance speech. King said she accepted her true power when she “stopped worrying about judgement.” Pulling out a scroll as long as the eye can see, King began to dedicate her win to the black women who made space for her. The women that she listed nurtured King and gave her the strength to make it where she is today. It’s safe to say King, like us all, are grateful for black women’s roles in our lives.

    At this point of the night the audience was given a wind that felt unstoppable. I myself felt as if I could conquer the world, or at the very least traverse back to Harlem from Jersey unscathed. I was empowered and filled with a sense of purpose and gracious to even be in a room filled with the gift that is the black woman. At this point I witnessed jaw-dropping performances, speeches of empowerment and fashions that inspired me to go into my closet and reevaluate my choices. It was at this moment that I would have been content if the show ended, but I didn’t know what was in store for me until there was a speech from the icon known as Angela Bassett.

    Bassett was one of the many characters I looked to on television to see myself growing up. There weren’t many gay characters, so my focus was set on black women. Through her character I was shown resilience, compassion, and an acting range that has lasted decades. When she floated on that stage to accept her award the audience sat up in their chairs ready to receive whatever word she was going to give us.

    Bassett could have told me that the sky was blue and it would have been as if she gave me the meaning of life. She could do no wrong in my eyes, so I, like many, were ready to be gifted with her words. Regina King introduced her and said her picture would be prominently displayed if you look up the term HBIC. A lie was not told. Bassett began by telling the audience that we all have a purpose, even if we’re still trying to figure out what it is. That first statement made me know that this speech could only go up from there and that I should prepare myself for an emotional ride. Though I was ill-prepared, I sat at attention.

    Opening the doors of the church, Bassett said, “There might be times when you face obstacles, but that’s when you dig deep for courage and fortitude, and to never forget that despite life’s obstacles that you are destined for greatness.” After this statement there’s absolutely no way that you cannot break out into a sprint for Christ in praise and admiration. Biblical was the only way to describe the words Bassett blessed us with. Throughout her career she has kept her integrity at the forefront and those principles and morals have given her longevity in her career that our screens are better for. “Not only are you good enough, you are more than enough,” was how Bassett ended her speech and there was absolutely no way that you could stop listening and not tap into your inner greatness.

  91. 91.

    OzarkHillbilly

    September 9, 2019 at 9:36 am

    @gene108: Here’s an idea for a commercial: Have each of the DEM presidential candidates, one by one point to an issue, followed by video of a GOPer saying “Tax cuts” on the House or Senate floor..

    Joe Biden: “Healthcare needs to be reformed.”
    GOPer: “Tax cuts.”
    Kamala Harris: “Gun violence is out of control.”
    GOPer: “Tax cuts.”
    Elizabeth Warren: “Wall Street is once again gambling with your 401K dollars.”
    GOPer: “Tax cuts.”
    Corey Booker: “Criminal Justice reform is long past due.”
    GOPer: “Tax cuts.”

    Ad nauseum

  92. 92.

    rikyrah

    September 9, 2019 at 9:36 am

    @Kay:

    My husband thinks a high profile, popular Democrat should have run in the primary solely to attack Trump on corruption in debates and interviews and speeches. No plans. No attacks on the other candidates. Just use the platform that one of the top three or five get to attack Trump. Democrats would (actually) love it and it would be a very honorable and worthwhile job.

    Your husband is correct and on point. Excellent idea.

  93. 93.

    Kay

    September 9, 2019 at 9:54 am

    @Baud:

    The Bradleys’ Impressionist-filled drawing room was crowded with veteran journalists, such as Andrea Mitchell and Bob Woodward. John Kelly, the former Marine general, who served as Trump’s second White House chief of staff, stood in the back corner—another refugee from the Administration who, like his old friend Mattis, has said nothing at all publicly about his former boss.

    Mattis is running a political campaign against Obama and they’re all apparently forced to pretend it isn’t happening as he scolds us all on civics, up to and including comparing himself for George Washington.

    Come on. It’s disgusting. PERFECT that Kelly was there too- the other hack we were told was “an adult in the room”

  94. 94.

    Elizabelle

    September 9, 2019 at 9:55 am

    @Baud: I saw that, and am fuming with my biweekly “I would so like to cancel the fucking NY Times.”

    The reporter’s bio:

    Shane Goldmacher is a national political reporter and was previously the chief political correspondent for the Metro Desk. Before joining The Times, he worked at Politico, where he covered national Republican politics and the 2016 presidential campaign.

    Like they need more of those tools. Their political reporting is nothing but Republican talking points, cuz they so “objective.”

    What they’re calling the article on the dead tree edition:

    A version of this article appears in print on Sept. 9, 2019, Section A, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: Warren Swore Off Big Money, But She Stockpiled It for Years.

    The Times readers aren’t having any of this crap, per their comments, but that won’t stop FTF NYTimes and their mission to hobble Democrats.

    Fuck ’em. Just fuck them.

  95. 95.

    Elizabelle

    September 9, 2019 at 10:00 am

    @Kay:

    The Bradleys’ Impressionist-filled drawing room was crowded with veteran journalists long in the tooth Republicans posing as journalists, such as Andrea Mitchell and Bob Woodward.

    Opening paragraph:

    The famously austere retired four-star general even agreed to a swank Washington party in his honor on Thursday night, at the home of The Atlantic’s chairman, David Bradley, and to a celebration in New York, hosted by the former mayor Michael Bloomberg.

  96. 96.

    rikyrah

    September 9, 2019 at 10:02 am

    Just a reminder:

    Remember, one of the many things that disappointed about the Mueller Investigation is that they DID NOT go into Dolt45’s financials- so this isn’t a re-run of anything. What the Democrats on those House Committees are investigating is NEW. So, don’t let folks BS you and tell you that it’s a waste of time – it’s never been PROPERLY investigated, so how is knowing the depth of the financial corruption of this President and the hostile foreign power that enabled him to victory – ‘a waste of time’.

    Follow the money has always been one of the truest things ever said. The money doesn’t lie. The money tells the tale. And, it’s past time that this country found out the truth. It’s about time that we know where the money leads us. I have no doubt of the corruption and cesspool that IS this Administration. And, yes, I want for the Democrats in the House to do their jobs, and do the investigations.

  97. 97.

    Gin & Tonic

    September 9, 2019 at 10:15 am

    @Elizabelle: “Famously austere” – probably also incredibly humble, as I’m sure he will tell you himself, repeatedly, while he deigns to permit you to kiss his ass.

  98. 98.

    Elizabelle

    September 9, 2019 at 10:25 am

    @Gin & Tonic: He had to be dragged, dragged I tell you, to that salon full of won’t admit they’re supporting Republicans, many of them.

  99. 99.

    Boris, Rasputin's Evil Twin

    September 9, 2019 at 3:30 pm

    @NotMax: It’s like the time my brother Grigori and I tried snorting coke. Damned nearly drowned.

  100. 100.

    schrodingers_cat

    September 9, 2019 at 3:55 pm

    @Kay: Not by me.@Gin & Tonic: Justin Beiber fangirls have more self respect than this Beltway Bois fanclub for men in uniform.

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