The US has reportedly identified locations in Iran from which drones and cruise missiles were launched against major Saudi oil facilities on Saturday.
A senior US official told CBS News that the locations were in southern Iran, at the northern end of the Gulf. Saudi air defences did not stop the drones and missiles because they were pointed southwards, to prevent attacks from Yemen, the official added. Iran denies involvement in the attacks, which disrupted global oil supplies.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels said they had launched the drones that struck the Abqaiq oil processing plant, the world’s largest, and the Khurais oilfield.
They have attacked Saudi oil facilities before but US officials said on Sunday they believed the drones and missiles did not originate from the south or south-west, and instead were launched from the north or north-west.
5.
TenguPhule
I can’t decide if this is hilarious or painful.
The answer is of course, yes.
6.
TenguPhule
Tennessee unveils plan to convert Medicaid into block grant, asking administration for profound change to program
The race to the bottom accelerates.
7.
germy
Your regular reminder Corey Lewandowski assaulted a female reporter and then lied about it and and then did a bunch of other crazy shit and then mocked a child with down syndrome that was separated from his mother— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) September 17, 2019
A Georgia homeowner shot dead three masked teenagers in a possible “stand your ground” case, police say.
The teenagers allegedly tried to rob three people in the front yard of a home in Conyers and fired a handgun, prompting the resident to return fire. The resident and young men, two 16-year-olds and one 15-year-old, have not been identified by law enforcement. No charges have been filed yet. The homeowner involved has been taken in for questioning.
Rockdale County Deputy Lee Thomas said the teenagers were killed “during an exchange of gunfire”. One was found dead when police arrived on scene, while the other two died at a local hospital.
9.
mrmoshpotato
@Jeffro: Why not full Nixon? “When the President does it, that means that it is not illegal.”
10.
West of the Rockies
Lewandowski is no mastermind. He is a loud bully. I hope the Democratic members of the committee shred him.
The Houthi have more credibility than Trump. Subject to verification, I’m buying their claim of responsibility.
16.
Yutsano
@trollhattan: I know the administration won’t ask, but if the administration has to go to Congress for additional war funding I hope they get met with a HELL NAW from the Democrats in the House. Make them scrounge the couch cushions or something.
17.
TenguPhule
Collins moves to adjourn, accusing the chairman of not following House rules.
That motion fails. But the Republicans request a roll call on it.
Collins is a shit hole.
18.
germy
Corey Lewandowski has the face of a man who beats women and the disposition of someone who would commit any crime including perjury to get noticed.— Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) September 17, 2019
19.
MisterForkbeard
@trollhattan: If somebody tries to fire a handgun at you, you’re absolutely allowed to fire back at them. Unless they surrendered or gave up or something the guy was doing the right thing. Two obvious points:
1) Making this guy into a “hero” is fucking stupid. Good for him that he defended himself. He also killed three kids.
2) Man, if guns had been a little harder for three young teenagers to get, this whole tragedy would have been avoided.
@Jeffro: He’s basically going there to yell over and over “NO COLLUSION! NO OBSTRUCTION!” and refuse to say anything else. I would guess there’s a decent chance he’s put in contempt, and then the corrupt DOJ will…. do basically nothing.
Is Lewandowski aware that there is a jail cell in the bsement of the Capitol?
22.
TenguPhule
Nadler says Lewandowski is the subject of a “bogus claim of executive privilege” made by the White House.
Then he asks whether Lewandowski met alone with the president in the Oval Office in June 2016 as stated in the Mueller report.
Lewandowski says he doesn’t have the report with him and what follows is a ridiculous omnishambles of parliamentary procedure arguments and a fight between Republicans and the Democrats on the committee about stopping and starting the clock tracking how much time Nadler has to ask questions as Lewandowski stalls.
Lewandowski basically pretends not to be able to read, to not know what Nadler is talking about, to not be able to find the pertinent Mueller report passages. It’s somewhere between “the dog ate my homework” and “I lost my glasses” … and flipping the committee the bird.
In case any of you were wondering whether or not these criminal assholes give a shit about Congressional powers anymore.
23.
germy
I’m waiting for the blonde lady behind Corey’s left shoulder to start flashing the “OK” sign.
24.
TenguPhule
@Burnspbesq: He knows there will be no official consequences.
Laws and rules mean nothing anymore.
25.
TenguPhule
“Anyone illegally attempting to impact the outcome of an election should spend the rest of their life in jail.” – Corey Lewandowski
He’s not talking about Trump’s repeated fake claims of voter fraud or Republican voter suppression efforts or even about Russian tampering in 2016, he’s talking about the right-wing conspiracy theory of alleged malfeasance inside the FBI as they investigated the Trump campaign.
I can’t help but feel that more and more people are going to start subscribing to my newsletter at the rate these crooks keep flaunting their effective immunity under the current legal system.
26.
Amir Khalid
CNN will not let me see the live feed because I don’t live in America.This is discrimination!
27.
mrmoshpotato
@rikyrah: @trollhattan: Same. Tried to rob someone at gunpoint, got shot in self-defense from the looks of it.
CNN will not let me see the live feed because I don’t live in America.
For which you should be grateful. It would only make you hate our institutions more then we do.
30.
germy
Interesting thread:
Lol, or the time I got fired from Wonkette JUST TRY ENFORCING THAT NDA HONEY for sticking up for @jim_newell calling out Andrew Cuomo's comments about Obama because Cuomo's people yelled at us and writing about racism being bad wasn't nihilist enough https://t.co/LTG0DzMsYy— Megan Carpentier (@megancarpentier) September 16, 2019
31.
TenguPhule
Nadler resumes. He says he’s “very troubled” that the White House counsel “sitting behind you” has stopped Lewandowski from testifying.
Collins’ turn. He accuses Nadler of a potential ethics breach and violating House rules. The timeline on that is:
1/witness plays stupid
2/chairman stops clock
3/Republicans holler
4/witness stalls
5/chairman exceeds time
6/Republicans attempt to adjourn hearing and cry ethics violation
Saudi Arabia has a huge, modern military. Assuming for the sake of argument that the attack really did come from Iran, why can’t the Saudis, should they choose to do so, retaliate on their own? Why should the U.S. get involved? It’s not like there’s some small, helpless country being picked on by a bully state.
33.
TenguPhule
Lewandowski again declines to answer a question from Rep Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, then Lewandowski kind of yells at her. Then they fight about whether he can see lines she’s referring to on a screen. This is getting kind of personal?
I don’t agree with torture and even I want Lewandowski waterboarded.
Assuming for the sake of argument that the attack really did come from Iran, why can’t the Saudis, should they choose to do so, retaliate on their own?
Saudi military is perhaps the most incompetent chickenshit armed force in the MIddle East. Even the Palestinians would wipe them out in a few days and most of them are only armed with rocks.
Lewandowski is shredding the democrats. This is embarrassing.
This is where abiding by the rules works against us. One of the Democrats on the Committee needs to literally beat Lewandowski down for contempt of Congress.
38.
Emerald
Every impeachment hearing is going to look like this. The republicans know they can defy the law when it suits them with no consequences, and that they can use the law to obstruct when it suits them. Democrats just have to follow the law, so we lose every time.
Honey, this is long, long, long, long before.— Megan Carpentier (@megancarpentier) September 17, 2019
40.
hells littlest angel
Either Lewandowski hasn’t yet been fucked over by Trump, or he enjoys being fucked over by Trump.
41.
JPL
@TenguPhule: He wants to replace Isakson.. GA will continue to race to the bottom if that happens. I expect the president to contact Kemp after Collins’ showing today. Both he and Lewandowski are performing before the audience of one.
Perhaps yet another reason for getting a single attorney to do all the questioning for the Dems. We see it and see it. Abandon the five-minute-per-congresscritter rule, and just let one competent person do it all.
…and all the ships we have in the gulf didn’t pick any of these up on radar? really.
Edgar Bergen: Well Mortimer, what did you do this morning?
Mortimer Snerd: Well, let’s see. Oh! I watched the sun come up.
Edgar: Well that didn’t take long.
Mortimer: Took all morning. I was looking the wrong way.
52.
Eural Joiner
Here’s what these hearings show us: unless voters show up en masse in 2020 and wipe the GOP from the face of the earth we’re pretty much screwed.
53.
JPL
This is not good…
Trump says homeless people are living in “our best highways, our best streets, our best entrances to buildings” where people pay “tremendous taxes” and want “prestige.” Says he’s speaking to tenants who “want to leave the country.” He adds: “We’ll be doing something about it.”
Well, it’s not because he’s Einstein. I wish this were a Senate hearing where Harris could pants him. I despise him. He’s toxic masculinity personified.
55.
MisterForkbeard
@HeleninEire: When someone can just give the finger to Congress and Congress can’t do anything about it, it IS embarrassing.
Ultimately, the problem is that the nation (and Congress) really does depend on one party not just being completely corrupt. Since they ARE, it’s a big problem. In this case, the only real recourse the Dems have is to hold him in contempt and then do their own punishment, which is going to be loudly decried by the press and Republicans.
@MisterForkbeard: Truthfully I just want the dems to do something, anything. And I’m mortified to say I don’t care if it’s illegal. And I certainly don’t care if it’s unethical. Who the fuck cares at this point?
He is up there giggling.
58.
Another Scott
The House is paying attention. We might not see the results of that attention soon, but we will eventually. And the Executive will likely be greatly restrained going forward…
I’m following the Lewandowski hearing on Wonkette’s live blog. Watching it myself would kill me.
The hearing is on break. Here’s what Evan has to say:
“let us be clear. Corey Lewandowski needs to be locked up. This is bullshit. Nadler and the Dems need to fucking grow a pair and play hardball. The Republicans are being worse than usual right now, and the Dems should really give them something to scream about.”
60.
TenguPhule
Lewandowski has said he was not squeamish about Trump’s order or think he might be doing something illegal by following it. But then he didn’t follow it.
Perjury upon perjury.
61.
TenguPhule
Republican Rep Jim Jordan uses his time to praise Lewandowski’s conduct of the campaign and to hail the quality of the candidate. Then he moves onto a statement of outrage over false accusations, he says, that Trump colluded with Russia.
Its like a bad government black comedy. Only worse.
Don’t forget Alberto Gonzales bullshitted a Senate Committee by saying “I don’t recall” 73 times.
Don’t forget John Ashcroft refused to testify or present documents requested by a Congressional committee period, not even citing 5th Amendment or Executive Privilege. Essentially Jon Stewart called it a Writ of Douchebaggery.
Congress has lost its collective balls when it comes to holding the Executive Branch – especially when a Republican is sitting in the Oval Office – accountable.
66.
hells littlest angel
@TenguPhule: The Republican remake of The Death Of Stalin — unfortunately, without the death.
67.
catclub
@Hungry Joe: Your observation is far too logical for the present state of things.
It is scary in the sense that the sentiment expressed is terrifying.
It isn’t in the sense that one suspects the rage-filled wish-fulfillment fantasy is not like to happen.
The despondent coda is (righteous, justified) anger makes the impotent powerless apt to go big on acting all Capt. Commando.Talking tall on the front porch, essentialy, with no means of enacting said bravado.
Whenever sumbody starts talking all shit-kicking aggro about what needs to be done,
am allus reminded of who is and who ain’t ever been inna bar fight.
69.
HeleninEire
@TenguPhule: Funny you should say that. I got back yesterday after a weeklong birthday drinkfest. I told myself to give my liver a break. Didn’t have a drink at Dublin airport (an Irish tradition…no matter what time your flight leaves you have a drink before). I turned this hearing on. 45 minutes later I turned it off. And here I sit in the pub.
70.
Shana
@TenguPhule: I was driving home from the MD suburbs on the Beltway listening on CSPAN radio and almost killed several other cars full of people while screaming at Collins.
The White House has said it is exploring using police to remove homeless people from the streets, a vague threat that has escalated concerns about Trump pushing a law enforcement crackdown in California.
A new report from the president’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) said “policing may be an important tool to help move people off the street and into shelter or housing where they can get the services they need”. The policy document was published just before Trump’s visit to California on Tuesday and comes amid his increasing attacks on Democrats in Los Angeles and San Francisco over the homelessness crisis.
And we march ever closer to 1929 Germany.
75.
JPL
@JPL: Compare and contrast trump’s statement to Beto’s
This is Beto’s visit to skid road… https://twitter.com/SamTLevin/status/1174028475717435392
It’s a feel good video, and Beto treats them like the human beings they are. Many living in tent cities work, and just can’t afford the rent.
A senior US official told CBS News that the locations were in southern Iran, at the northern end of the Gulf. Saudi air defences did not stop the drones and missiles because they were pointed southwards, to prevent attacks from Yemen, the official added.
The Saudis have something like the 3rd or 4th largest defense budget in the world, and you’re saying they’re not capable of monitoring attack vectors from Iran while also on the lookout for attacks from Yemen? In addition, the US has an amphibious group in the Gulf right now that is specifically equipped to detect and counter drones. This smells to high heaven.
77.
MisterForkbeard
@HeleninEire: Ultimately, something like that IS going to happen. Republicans will push norms and ignore laws until someone loses patience.
What happens next probably won’t be legal. And it probably won’t be done by the Democrats.
David Cicilline asks Nadler to hold Lewandowski in contempt of Congress, and Lewandowski keeps going back to his stupid goddamned letter from the White House that has zero authority here.
…
TED LIEU: You say you didn’t read the Mueller Report. That explains a lot. I’ll tell you. It found Russia attacked our election and Trump sucked all that up like liquid Big Macs. It found Trump committed multiple counts of criminal obstruction of justice, but did not reach a prosecutorial decision because of a dumbass memo at the DoJ. Oh yes, and you were part of that obstruction, so let’s go back to questions about how you and your Orange Shitlord are both criminals!
88.
Amir Khalid
@TenguPhule:
Does Trump expect to also discourage motorists from preferring lower-emission vehicles? Or carmakers who export some of their production not to comply with emissions standards in their export markets?
@Amir Khalid: Mr DAW spent his entire career working on lowered emissions and increased fuel economy in the auto industry (broadly speaking–he spent the last ten years working on them in tractors). Things may have changed, but the common wisdom was the buyers approved of low emissions but weren’t willing to pay for them. That’s why you need regulations. No company could get a competitive advantage by offering lower emissions, so they all had to jump together. They can get a competitive advantage by achieving those emissions more economically. That takes years of working ahead of when the regulations go into effect. Altering them at the last minute throws everything into turmoil.
Trump is unutterably stupid about how things work.
95.
Omnes Omnibus
OT: These ads from Proper are annoying AF. They take up damn near the entire screen on my phone every time I refresh.
BREAKING: Exit polls in the three main TV channels in Israel predict Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has lost the elections with his right wing block not reaching 61 seats majority— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) September 17, 2019
@Amir Khalid: Yes, that’s what he wants.
Discourage is a mild word to describe someone who doesn’t believe in the rights of individuals and of local governments. He wants to remove options and condense power into a lever for his self. Foreign markets and standards are opponents in his head.
@Baud: The exit polls in Israel tend to be wrong, according to several twitter feeds I follow. Let’s hope this one is right and that someone won the majority.
I don’t know the details, but I think it’s designed to prevent California and states that use California’s standards from enforcing their rules. It’s essentially a pre-emptive rule.
(I also think California needs a waiver that ends up getting denied, but I’m not sure).
Does Trump expect to also discourage motorists from preferring lower-emission vehicles? Or carmakers who export some of their production not to comply with emissions standards in their export markets?
The LAPD doesn’t take direction from those who have actual legal authority, and Trump thinks it will do what he says?
Let’s be fair, the LAPD doesn’t obey because those directions aren’t cruel enough to suit them.
Trump is their kinda guy.
111.
Aleta
@Amir Khalid: Freedom isn’t free! Or something. I can’t see it bc I don’t have a cable sub. You can see a lot of clips on twitter here but it’s very hard to take.
Representative Pramila Jayapal has just pincered Lewandowski between his own insistence, on the one hand, that he has been 100% truthful with the special counsel and the committee, and the president’s claim, on the other, that the Mueller report is lies start to finish.
Trump for example has suggested that everyone who kept notes on conversations about him, such as Comey, actually fabricated those notes after the fact to try to frame him.
But Lewandowski was among those who kept notes. So who is lying, Jayapal asks: Lewandowski in claiming to have kept contemporaneous notes, or the president in claiming he did not?
Lewandowski falls back on assertions of his perfect truthfulness and refers questions to the White House.
Wheeeeee!!
116.
Jay
Three Simple Points:1. We have no defense treaty with Saudis.2. An attack on them is not an attack on us.3. Therefore, any military action in response to this event, w/o a vote by Congress, is illegal.Members of Congress should not give Trump cover to launch illegal wars.— VoteVets (@votevets) September 16, 2019
In this case, the only real recourse the Dems have is to hold him in contempt and then do their own punishment, which is going to be loudly decried by the press and Republicans.
So be it. Fuck the press and fuck the Republicans
118.
TenguPhule
Lewandowski just has shared with the committee his political ambitions. In arguing that former FBI director James Comey and others should be grilled about the Russia investigation, not him, Lewandowski describes what he would do “If it’s me and I were the chairman, or maybe someday in the upper chamber.”
Congressman Jamie Raskin takes Lewandowski up on his apparent desire to talk about his political future. He asks whether as a senator Lewandowski would accept the baloney privilege dispensations from a witness that Lewandowski has been asserting.
Lewandowski says the privilege isn’t his to assert but the president’s.
Raskin counters that it’s not the president’s to assert either, because it’s “imaginary like the tooth fairy.”
“My children are watching,” says Lewandowski.
Raskin closes with a zinger: “I hope the president’s not on then!”
Not even Baud was bold enough to launch his campaign during a Congressional grilling.
119.
Martin
@trollhattan: Yeah, I think Trump will be surprised at how aggressively and on how many different fronts CA fights back on that.
120.
TenguPhule
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Sorry, all I remember are the scandals of the LAPD. I used to have a better opinion of police before all the stories about bad behavior become so common.
Hell, I used to think my state’s police were fairly well behaved and now they’re 6 scandals deep just this year.
@Martin: He’d get an idea if he talked to folk here, other than the wealthy real estate developers at his fundraiser in the Hills.
123.
Another Scott
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Good, but (as Adam reminds us) Bibi has lost several (1? 2?) elections (not won a majority/enough of a majority to be legally able to be asked to form a government by the President) and yet he remained PM. I’ll believe he’s gone when someone else is PM.
But, so far so good.
Thanks.
Cheers,
Scott.
124.
TenguPhule
Lewandowski brags about how many guns he owns. He’s being grilled about why he put notes he took about orders Trump gave him to contact Sessions in his safe. Lewandowski says he puts all such notes in his safe.
All your notes? he’s asked.
“It’s a big safe congressman,” Lewandowski replies. “There’s a lot of guns in there.”
@TenguPhule: The LAPD scandals were 20 years ago, they may not be perfect, but they’re not the same force they were then.
126.
Amir Khalid
@Tony Jay:
Adrian’s been massive in goal for Liverpool.
127.
Omnes Omnibus
@TenguPhule: He has entered Glendower territory here.
128.
TenguPhule
Lewandowski is now taking questions about former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos, who worked under Lewandowski, pleading guilty to making false statements to investigators including about his contacts with Russians.
“Did you tell Papadopoulos to stop communicating with Russians?”
Lewandowski: “No congressman, what I was attempting to do was to put him in touch with a staff person.. while I ran the day-to-day.”
Lewandowski is asked whether he’s aware of Papadopoulos guilty plea over his lies about Russian contacts. He pleads ignorance. It’s in the Mueller report, he’s told. “I don’t know what’s in the report,” Lewandowski says.
Lewandowski’s paradox: I won’t testify an inch beyond what’s in the report whose contents I am entirely ignorant of. So, good luck.
Lying liar lies.
129.
Ladyraxterinok
@TenguPhule: If they can ignore the rules this way with no consequences, wny can’t they believe they can refuse to leave office if they .lose an election?
130.
Amir Khalid
Damn. Robertson gives away a penalty and Napoli lead 1-0.
131.
MisterForkbeard
@TenguPhule: He can try, but that will be INSTANTLY litigated. Literally all the precedent goes the other way.
132.
germy
"The difference between Bibi [Netanyahu] and Benny [Gantz] is not much of a difference between Pepsi-Cola and Coca-Cola".
Palestinian PM Mohammad Shtayyeh on Israeli elections pic.twitter.com/8P5cAA3hTu — Quds News Network (@QudsNen) September 17, 2019
133.
Another Scott
Wonkette:
4:37: MARY GAY SCANLON: Has Donald Trump ever offered YOU a pardon, Corey?
LEWANDOWSKI: I have a letter from my dad that says I’m not allowed to talk about conversations with my dad.
Scanlon also notes that during one of Lewandowski’s poop breaks TODAY, he literally tweeted to launch his Senate campaign:
@TaMara (HFG): I do think there’s a difference between “Democrats are abusing their hearing authority” and “Democrats are JAILING political opponents for political reasons! They’re WORSE THAN TRUMP” which is inevitably what would happen.
They might be able to go around that by basically listing all the Republicans who’ve thumbed their noses at congressional inquiries and say “We’ve referred contempt cases to the DOJ, and under Bill Barr they have done absolutely nothing other than protect Trump appointees under ludicrous legal reasoning. We have no choice but to start issuing consequences, or the entire oversight process is meaningless.
Corey Lewandowski lied repeatedly, disrespected congress, contradicted himself and refused to answer questions without any legal justification. He’ll be a cell tonight.”
140.
Ladyraxterinok
@Omnes Omnibus: I’m lost here. Please explain ‘Glendower territory’.
141.
Another Scott
@Omnes Omnibus: Hey! Nobody said we were going to have to dust off our knowledge of Shakespeare allusions today.
Roberts and Brett would like you to hold their beer.
143.
J R in WV
Heard a tiny bit of good ol’ Corey not testifying, but arguing with congresspeople, turned my stomach. Was driving over to a friend’s house, hollow was too narrow for SiriusXM reception, so listened to NPR, was non-stop Cokie obits.
Ok, no doubt she was a good person, helped others, etc, etc. But she wasn’t elected to anything, was paid for her work such as it was towards the end. Really, people, every person at NPR who ever worked with her got to do their own obit, all teary sounding? Really!?? Everyone??
There’s real news, Saudis lying about their oil refinery fires, Our guys lying about the Saudis, Drums of war on every hand, and we have to hear a third, forth, fifth obit of Cokie Roberts? Really, we do!
144.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@TenguPhule:
Ok. So what happens if California and the automakers simply ignore their ruling? What’s Trump going to do, take them to the SC again and have the 5 conservatives sputter at them indignantly?
145.
Sab
@J R in WV: Around here it’s pledge week. This may cost the local station some bucks.
What’s Trump going to do, take them to the SC again and have the 5 conservatives sputter at them indignantly?
More like invalidate CA’s decision making authority over their own air and water, paving the way for Trump to auction off more public land to pollute the libs.
Saudi military is perhaps the most incompetent chickenshit armed force in the MIddle East.
The Saudi armed forces exist to let bored princelings play at being soldiers (with real toys and real underlings to boss around)… they are not intended for military purposes. Those sh1tweasels signed up so they could bomb civilians in Yemen from a safe altitude. No way would they put themselves in the way of real opponents.
148.
Michel Valois
@germy: Can’t believe she felt it was ok to think it was funny when Lewandowski answered questions in a off-handish manner! No respect for the committee and shows a complete lack of understanding of what was going on. This was not a school lunch room or a comedy club!
Congress has lost its collective balls when it comes to holding the Executive Branch – especially when a Republican is sitting in the Oval Office – accountable.
It isn’t congress, it’s the congressional Democrats. They let the Republicans shit all over them.
Republicans would never put up with this defiance from a Democrat.
150.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@Omnes Omnibus: No one reads the classics anymore. But how they all love to speak that line from Part 2.
151.
PenAndKey
Note to self: BJ WordPress doesn’t like tables in comments. Eh, I tried.
152.
bemused senior
@TenguPhule: you are mistaken. My daughter is an LAPD officer. She’s an ACLU member and a Democrat. She has received a citizen commendation for her considerate behavior toward a new driver she stopped for running a stop sign. She is excellent but not unique.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
¿Por qué no los dos?
Jeffro
Is he going full Cohen “says who” ?
laura
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: what you said × 10,000.
trollhattan
Ratcheting things up.
TenguPhule
The answer is of course, yes.
TenguPhule
The race to the bottom accelerates.
germy
trollhattan
Gun humpers have a new hero.
mrmoshpotato
@Jeffro: Why not full Nixon? “When the President does it, that means that it is not illegal.”
West of the Rockies
Lewandowski is no mastermind. He is a loud bully. I hope the Democratic members of the committee shred him.
rikyrah
@TenguPhule:
They still haven’t accepted Medicaid expansion, right?
germy
laura
The Wonkette is liveblogging the Corey-fest. It. Is. Delicious.
rikyrah
@trollhattan:
Eh.
They rolled upon the wrong one.
Unless the basic facts of the story change…I am not bothered by this
Burnspbesq
@trollhattan:
The Houthi have more credibility than Trump. Subject to verification, I’m buying their claim of responsibility.
Yutsano
@trollhattan: I know the administration won’t ask, but if the administration has to go to Congress for additional war funding I hope they get met with a HELL NAW from the Democrats in the House. Make them scrounge the couch cushions or something.
TenguPhule
Collins is a shit hole.
germy
MisterForkbeard
@trollhattan: If somebody tries to fire a handgun at you, you’re absolutely allowed to fire back at them. Unless they surrendered or gave up or something the guy was doing the right thing. Two obvious points:
1) Making this guy into a “hero” is fucking stupid. Good for him that he defended himself. He also killed three kids.
2) Man, if guns had been a little harder for three young teenagers to get, this whole tragedy would have been avoided.
@Jeffro: He’s basically going there to yell over and over “NO COLLUSION! NO OBSTRUCTION!” and refuse to say anything else. I would guess there’s a decent chance he’s put in contempt, and then the corrupt DOJ will…. do basically nothing.
TenguPhule
@rikyrah:
Yep. Because they’re nuts.
Burnspbesq
@germy:
Is Lewandowski aware that there is a jail cell in the bsement of the Capitol?
TenguPhule
In case any of you were wondering whether or not these criminal assholes give a shit about Congressional powers anymore.
germy
I’m waiting for the blonde lady behind Corey’s left shoulder to start flashing the “OK” sign.
TenguPhule
@Burnspbesq: He knows there will be no official consequences.
Laws and rules mean nothing anymore.
TenguPhule
I can’t help but feel that more and more people are going to start subscribing to my newsletter at the rate these crooks keep flaunting their effective immunity under the current legal system.
Amir Khalid
CNN will not let me see the live feed because I don’t live in America.This is discrimination!
mrmoshpotato
@rikyrah: @trollhattan: Same. Tried to rob someone at gunpoint, got shot in self-defense from the looks of it.
oatler.
Lee Jackson kicked his criminal ass.
TenguPhule
@Amir Khalid:
For which you should be grateful. It would only make you hate our institutions more then we do.
germy
Interesting thread:
TenguPhule
This is bad comedy.
Hungry Joe
Saudi Arabia has a huge, modern military. Assuming for the sake of argument that the attack really did come from Iran, why can’t the Saudis, should they choose to do so, retaliate on their own? Why should the U.S. get involved? It’s not like there’s some small, helpless country being picked on by a bully state.
TenguPhule
I don’t agree with torture and even I want Lewandowski waterboarded.
mrmoshpotato
@germy:
HeleninEire
@West of the Rockies: The opposite is happening. Lewandowski is shredding the democrats. This is embarrassing.
TenguPhule
@Hungry Joe:
Saudi military is perhaps the most incompetent chickenshit armed force in the MIddle East. Even the Palestinians would wipe them out in a few days and most of them are only armed with rocks.
TenguPhule
@HeleninEire:
This is where abiding by the rules works against us. One of the Democrats on the Committee needs to literally beat Lewandowski down for contempt of Congress.
Emerald
Every impeachment hearing is going to look like this. The republicans know they can defy the law when it suits them with no consequences, and that they can use the law to obstruct when it suits them. Democrats just have to follow the law, so we lose every time.
Because there are no consequences.
germy
@mrmoshpotato:
hells littlest angel
Either Lewandowski hasn’t yet been fucked over by Trump, or he enjoys being fucked over by Trump.
JPL
@TenguPhule: He wants to replace Isakson.. GA will continue to race to the bottom if that happens. I expect the president to contact Kemp after Collins’ showing today. Both he and Lewandowski are performing before the audience of one.
JPL
@TenguPhule: NO
JPL
@Amir Khalid: The Guardian USA has it. Is that available
try this https://livenewschat.eu/top/
Emerald
Perhaps yet another reason for getting a single attorney to do all the questioning for the Dems. We see it and see it. Abandon the five-minute-per-congresscritter rule, and just let one competent person do it all.
burnspbesq
@TenguPhule:
Waterboarding is a waste of valuable resources.
Cut off his balls and stuff them down his throat.
chopper
@trollhattan:
…and all the ships we have in the gulf didn’t pick any of these up on radar? really.
Martin
CA-8 GOP incumbent is retiring. That gives Dems two possible pickups (along with CA-50) to try and tip the state to 48/5 Dem/GOP.
CA-8 is R+9, CA-50 is R+11. We’ve flipped R+4 seats, with small margins, so these aren’t small undertakings, but we’ll give them our best shot.
Martin
@Emerald: Nadler needs to start locking up people who don’t show for hearings and who don’t answer questions under Congress’ inherent powers.
JPL
@Emerald: Yes. I’m not watching but I thought that was the plan.
dww44
@Burnspbesq: and, it’s long past time that Congressional Democrats put a few stonewalling obstructionists in there.
Millard Filmore
@chopper:
Edgar Bergen: Well Mortimer, what did you do this morning?
Mortimer Snerd: Well, let’s see. Oh! I watched the sun come up.
Edgar: Well that didn’t take long.
Mortimer: Took all morning. I was looking the wrong way.
Eural Joiner
Here’s what these hearings show us: unless voters show up en masse in 2020 and wipe the GOP from the face of the earth we’re pretty much screwed.
JPL
This is not good…
Trump says homeless people are living in “our best highways, our best streets, our best entrances to buildings” where people pay “tremendous taxes” and want “prestige.” Says he’s speaking to tenants who “want to leave the country.” He adds: “We’ll be doing something about it.”
https://twitter.com/jdawsey1
West of the Rockies
@HeleninEire:
Well, it’s not because he’s Einstein. I wish this were a Senate hearing where Harris could pants him. I despise him. He’s toxic masculinity personified.
MisterForkbeard
@HeleninEire: When someone can just give the finger to Congress and Congress can’t do anything about it, it IS embarrassing.
Ultimately, the problem is that the nation (and Congress) really does depend on one party not just being completely corrupt. Since they ARE, it’s a big problem. In this case, the only real recourse the Dems have is to hold him in contempt and then do their own punishment, which is going to be loudly decried by the press and Republicans.
Another Scott
@laura: It is very good, indeed.
I’m sure Nadler has gamed all this out, but it’s painful to read this stuff.
In other news, the Air Force will start working on flying cars this fall.
Cheers,
Scott.
HeleninEire
@MisterForkbeard: Truthfully I just want the dems to do something, anything. And I’m mortified to say I don’t care if it’s illegal. And I certainly don’t care if it’s unethical. Who the fuck cares at this point?
He is up there giggling.
Another Scott
The House is paying attention. We might not see the results of that attention soon, but we will eventually. And the Executive will likely be greatly restrained going forward…
(via Rep Don Beyer’s twitter feed)
Cheers,
Scott.
Dorothy A. Winsor
I’m following the Lewandowski hearing on Wonkette’s live blog. Watching it myself would kill me.
The hearing is on break. Here’s what Evan has to say:
“let us be clear. Corey Lewandowski needs to be locked up. This is bullshit. Nadler and the Dems need to fucking grow a pair and play hardball. The Republicans are being worse than usual right now, and the Dems should really give them something to scream about.”
TenguPhule
Perjury upon perjury.
TenguPhule
Its like a bad government black comedy. Only worse.
catclub
@Burnspbesq:
also, what exactly is the motivation for Iran to do this FROM Iran? Laziness?
hells littlest angel
I’ve had to turn the hearing off. Matt Gaetz, Gym Jordan, Ken Buck — the Republicans really are using their A* Team.
*Asshole
TenguPhule
@HeleninEire: Come sit by me. And please bring over some of Ireland’s finest to drink.
PaulWartenberg
Don’t forget Alberto Gonzales bullshitted a Senate Committee by saying “I don’t recall” 73 times.
Don’t forget John Ashcroft refused to testify or present documents requested by a Congressional committee period, not even citing 5th Amendment or Executive Privilege. Essentially Jon Stewart called it a Writ of Douchebaggery.
Congress has lost its collective balls when it comes to holding the Executive Branch – especially when a Republican is sitting in the Oval Office – accountable.
hells littlest angel
@TenguPhule: The Republican remake of The Death Of Stalin — unfortunately, without the death.
catclub
@Hungry Joe: Your observation is far too logical for the present state of things.
ola azul
@burnspbesq:
This comment both is and is not scary.
It is scary in the sense that the sentiment expressed is terrifying.
It isn’t in the sense that one suspects the rage-filled wish-fulfillment fantasy is not like to happen.
The despondent coda is (righteous, justified) anger makes the impotent powerless apt to go big on acting all Capt. Commando.Talking tall on the front porch, essentialy, with no means of enacting said bravado.
Whenever sumbody starts talking all shit-kicking aggro about what needs to be done,
am allus reminded of who is and who ain’t ever been inna bar fight.
HeleninEire
@TenguPhule: Funny you should say that. I got back yesterday after a weeklong birthday drinkfest. I told myself to give my liver a break. Didn’t have a drink at Dublin airport (an Irish tradition…no matter what time your flight leaves you have a drink before). I turned this hearing on. 45 minutes later I turned it off. And here I sit in the pub.
Shana
@TenguPhule: I was driving home from the MD suburbs on the Beltway listening on CSPAN radio and almost killed several other cars full of people while screaming at Collins.
NY Robbin
@HeleninEire:
You and me both. It’s infuriating! I hope there’s room on that couch.
TenguPhule
@HeleninEire: Happy Birthday. I hope the pub is decent.
TaMara (HFG)
@MisterForkbeard:
So? Have you heard the press and Republicans lately? What would be different?? Dem voters would cheer.
TenguPhule
Trump administration exploring police crackdown on homeless people
And we march ever closer to 1929 Germany.
JPL
@JPL: Compare and contrast trump’s statement to Beto’s
This is Beto’s visit to skid road… https://twitter.com/SamTLevin/status/1174028475717435392
It’s a feel good video, and Beto treats them like the human beings they are. Many living in tent cities work, and just can’t afford the rent.
Hoodie
@trollhattan:
The Saudis have something like the 3rd or 4th largest defense budget in the world, and you’re saying they’re not capable of monitoring attack vectors from Iran while also on the lookout for attacks from Yemen? In addition, the US has an amphibious group in the Gulf right now that is specifically equipped to detect and counter drones. This smells to high heaven.
MisterForkbeard
@HeleninEire: Ultimately, something like that IS going to happen. Republicans will push norms and ignore laws until someone loses patience.
What happens next probably won’t be legal. And it probably won’t be done by the Democrats.
rikyrah
@Hungry Joe:
This is how I feel??
Yutsano
@Hoodie: Smells like…Tet?
HeleninEire
@NY Robbin: Your seat is saved.
TenguPhule
State’s Rights! //s
Omnes Omnibus
@TenguPhule: He doesn’t fucking control any city’s police.
trollhattan
@TenguPhule:
That will take more than Trump waving his tiny hands to accomplish. California’s primacy has been upheld on every attempt.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Amir Khalid: First the video on today’s “On The Road” and now this…
rikyrah
@TenguPhule:
Uh huh ???
JPL
@TenguPhule: f.kem
Dorothy A. Winsor
More Wonkette quotes
Amir Khalid
@TenguPhule:
Does Trump expect to also discourage motorists from preferring lower-emission vehicles? Or carmakers who export some of their production not to comply with emissions standards in their export markets?
Amir Khalid
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
I’m beginning to see a pattern …
Omnes Omnibus
@TenguPhule: He doesn’t fucking have the power to do that.
You are making the man 10’ tall and bulletproof in your head.
JPL
@TenguPhule: Tomorrow Belongs To Me
If trump played that at a rally, his trumpettes would cheer.
Amir Khalid
Meanwhile it was a scoreless first half in the Napoli-Liverpool Champions League Group E match. The game’s been a tight one, but about even so far.
bemused
I’ve only been able to see a little of the hearing but snotty punk Lewandowski needs to be punched repeatedly.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Amir Khalid: Mr DAW spent his entire career working on lowered emissions and increased fuel economy in the auto industry (broadly speaking–he spent the last ten years working on them in tractors). Things may have changed, but the common wisdom was the buyers approved of low emissions but weren’t willing to pay for them. That’s why you need regulations. No company could get a competitive advantage by offering lower emissions, so they all had to jump together. They can get a competitive advantage by achieving those emissions more economically. That takes years of working ahead of when the regulations go into effect. Altering them at the last minute throws everything into turmoil.
Trump is unutterably stupid about how things work.
Omnes Omnibus
OT: These ads from Proper are annoying AF. They take up damn near the entire screen on my phone every time I refresh.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Omnes Omnibus: I’ve been assured that the new site will take care of that.
Dorothy A. Winsor
Tony Jay
@Amir Khalid:
This is the kind of game that will stay super tight until someone makes a tiny mistake.
Nice to see British representatives in Europe who know what they’re doing. Makes a change.
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus:
They’re issuing the rule. It’ll be challenged.
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
So who won?
Aleta
@Amir Khalid: Yes, that’s what he wants.
Discourage is a mild word to describe someone who doesn’t believe in the rights of individuals and of local governments. He wants to remove options and condense power into a lever for his self. Foreign markets and standards are opponents in his head.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: How would one even enforce such a rule?
geg6
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Oh please, please, please!
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Baud: Beats me. It’s all confusion.
JPL
@Baud: The exit polls in Israel tend to be wrong, according to several twitter feeds I follow. Let’s hope this one is right and that someone won the majority.
TenguPhule
@Omnes Omnibus:
You seem to think facts, logic and the law will stop him.
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus:
I don’t know the details, but I think it’s designed to prevent California and states that use California’s standards from enforcing their rules. It’s essentially a pre-emptive rule.
(I also think California needs a waiver that ends up getting denied, but I’m not sure).
TenguPhule
@Amir Khalid:
Is this a rhetorical question?
of course he does.
burnspbesq
@TenguPhule:
The LAPD doesn’t take direction from those who have actual legal authority, and Trump thinks it will do what he says?
Fucking hilarious.
TenguPhule
@Omnes Omnibus:
He doesn’t have the power or authority to do a lot of the things he’s doing.
Problem is, none of the institutions which are supposed to stop him are.
TenguPhule
@burnspbesq:
Let’s be fair, the LAPD doesn’t obey because those directions aren’t cruel enough to suit them.
Trump is their kinda guy.
Aleta
@Amir Khalid: Freedom isn’t free! Or something. I can’t see it bc I don’t have a cable sub. You can see a lot of clips on twitter here but it’s very hard to take.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@TenguPhule: California will, a lot of us here remember the old days when you could taste the air.
burnspbesq
@Tony Jay:
I’m going to have a little fun at Amir’s expense by directing his attention to the WSL table.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@TenguPhule: You know shit about LA.
TenguPhule
Wheeeeee!!
Jay
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@MisterForkbeard:
So be it. Fuck the press and fuck the Republicans
TenguPhule
Not even Baud was bold enough to launch his campaign during a Congressional grilling.
Martin
@trollhattan: Yeah, I think Trump will be surprised at how aggressively and on how many different fronts CA fights back on that.
TenguPhule
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Sorry, all I remember are the scandals of the LAPD. I used to have a better opinion of police before all the stories about bad behavior become so common.
Hell, I used to think my state’s police were fairly well behaved and now they’re 6 scandals deep just this year.
catclub
@Yutsano: I think you mean Gulf of Tonkin
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Martin: He’d get an idea if he talked to folk here, other than the wealthy real estate developers at his fundraiser in the Hills.
Another Scott
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Good, but (as Adam reminds us) Bibi has lost several (1? 2?) elections (not won a majority/enough of a majority to be legally able to be asked to form a government by the President) and yet he remained PM. I’ll believe he’s gone when someone else is PM.
But, so far so good.
Thanks.
Cheers,
Scott.
TenguPhule
Fuck this timeline.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@TenguPhule: The LAPD scandals were 20 years ago, they may not be perfect, but they’re not the same force they were then.
Amir Khalid
@Tony Jay:
Adrian’s been massive in goal for Liverpool.
Omnes Omnibus
@TenguPhule: He has entered Glendower territory here.
TenguPhule
Lying liar lies.
Ladyraxterinok
@TenguPhule: If they can ignore the rules this way with no consequences, wny can’t they believe they can refuse to leave office if they .lose an election?
Amir Khalid
Damn. Robertson gives away a penalty and Napoli lead 1-0.
MisterForkbeard
@TenguPhule: He can try, but that will be INSTANTLY litigated. Literally all the precedent goes the other way.
germy
Another Scott
Wonkette:
Because of course he did.
Grr…
Cheers,
Scott.
chopper
@Hoodie:
i know. all that gear and they don’t have any radar pointed at fucking iran??!
Amir Khalid
Napoli 2-0 Liverpool. Feh.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Omnes Omnibus:
I looked Glendower up and I still don’t understand what you mean. Help me out?
Tony Jay
@Amir Khalid:
One refereeing error, one defensive error. 2-0 That’s the Champions League for you.
We’ll still do the Big Double, but we insist on making it harder than it has to be.
Omnes Omnibus
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: Add Hotspur to your search.
MisterForkbeard
@TaMara (HFG): I do think there’s a difference between “Democrats are abusing their hearing authority” and “Democrats are JAILING political opponents for political reasons! They’re WORSE THAN TRUMP” which is inevitably what would happen.
They might be able to go around that by basically listing all the Republicans who’ve thumbed their noses at congressional inquiries and say “We’ve referred contempt cases to the DOJ, and under Bill Barr they have done absolutely nothing other than protect Trump appointees under ludicrous legal reasoning. We have no choice but to start issuing consequences, or the entire oversight process is meaningless.
Corey Lewandowski lied repeatedly, disrespected congress, contradicted himself and refused to answer questions without any legal justification. He’ll be a cell tonight.”
Ladyraxterinok
@Omnes Omnibus: I’m lost here. Please explain ‘Glendower territory’.
Another Scott
@Omnes Omnibus: Hey! Nobody said we were going to have to dust off our knowledge of Shakespeare allusions today.
;-)
Cheers,
Scott.
TenguPhule
@MisterForkbeard:
Roberts and Brett would like you to hold their beer.
J R in WV
Heard a tiny bit of good ol’ Corey not testifying, but arguing with congresspeople, turned my stomach. Was driving over to a friend’s house, hollow was too narrow for SiriusXM reception, so listened to NPR, was non-stop Cokie obits.
Ok, no doubt she was a good person, helped others, etc, etc. But she wasn’t elected to anything, was paid for her work such as it was towards the end. Really, people, every person at NPR who ever worked with her got to do their own obit, all teary sounding? Really!?? Everyone??
There’s real news, Saudis lying about their oil refinery fires, Our guys lying about the Saudis, Drums of war on every hand, and we have to hear a third, forth, fifth obit of Cokie Roberts? Really, we do!
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@TenguPhule:
Ok. So what happens if California and the automakers simply ignore their ruling? What’s Trump going to do, take them to the SC again and have the 5 conservatives sputter at them indignantly?
Sab
@J R in WV: Around here it’s pledge week. This may cost the local station some bucks.
TenguPhule
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
More like invalidate CA’s decision making authority over their own air and water, paving the way for Trump to auction off more public land to pollute the libs.
Sm*t Cl*de
@TenguPhule:
The Saudi armed forces exist to let bored princelings play at being soldiers (with real toys and real underlings to boss around)… they are not intended for military purposes. Those sh1tweasels signed up so they could bomb civilians in Yemen from a safe altitude. No way would they put themselves in the way of real opponents.
Michel Valois
@germy: Can’t believe she felt it was ok to think it was funny when Lewandowski answered questions in a off-handish manner! No respect for the committee and shows a complete lack of understanding of what was going on. This was not a school lunch room or a comedy club!
James E Powell
@PaulWartenberg:
It isn’t congress, it’s the congressional Democrats. They let the Republicans shit all over them.
Republicans would never put up with this defiance from a Democrat.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@Omnes Omnibus: No one reads the classics anymore. But how they all love to speak that line from Part 2.
PenAndKey
Note to self: BJ WordPress doesn’t like tables in comments. Eh, I tried.
bemused senior
@TenguPhule: you are mistaken. My daughter is an LAPD officer. She’s an ACLU member and a Democrat. She has received a citizen commendation for her considerate behavior toward a new driver she stopped for running a stop sign. She is excellent but not unique.
prostratedragon
“Brush Up Your Shakespeare” (Sapho-o? Cleopaterer?)