Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

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

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

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

You cannot shame the shameless.

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

Hell hath no fury like a farmer bankrupted.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

Anne Laurie is a fucking hero in so many ways. ~ Betty Cracker

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

You are here: Home / Open Threads / The Hits Keep on Coming

Reader Interactions

129Comments

  3. 3.

    Betty Cracker

    Also today, Trump said “we’re trying to find the whistleblower” on camera, in the Oval Office, which I’m pretty sure is a confession to a federal crime. Poor House Dems! They’ll never get those damned articles of impeachment written if that stupid fuck and his gang of inept clowns won’t stop committing and confessing to crimes!

  4. 4.

    bystander

    Victoria Toensing and Joe di Genova have said that they have been working with Guiliani on Ukraine “off the books”. So, IOW, another illegal campaign contribution.

    If the NY Bar is not looking into these three, every attorney in NY should get their dues back.

  6. 6.

    Jeffro

    Um I hate to point this out, MM, but what about that Hillary email investigation, huh? Not up for reporting on that huh huh huh??

    Newt Gingrich has been busy making the RWNJ media rounds wailing about ‘sham impeachments’ and the entire world’s irony meter spun so hard the earth flew right out of the Milky Way Galaxy. Enjoy the ride, fellow libtards!

  8. 8.

    the Conster

    Who is going to bring this mobbed up administration to justice? Who CAN bring them to justice, when the AG is filthy and acting as the mob enforcer?

  10. 10.

    ET

    Anyone in the US and around the world who is paying attention and more particularly has a care for their for their future, needs to remember that everything tRump touches dies. He has no interest in you, what you want, your future, your reputation, etc. That includes foreign leaders. tRump is poison, don’t imbibe.

  11. 11.

    dmsilev

    @Betty Cracker: Nah, you just note that the list of crimes enumerated in the articles are not a complete list. Or, can the articles of impeachment be a wiki document somewhere? I feel crowd-sourcing the enumeration of Trump’s crimes might be effective at keeping up.

  13. 13.

    vtr

    One pleasant evening in October 1973, a young lady and I attended a Paul Simon concert at Kent State University. Later, back at my apartment, we turned on the tv to probably watch Hoolihan and Big Chuck on channel 8 in Cleveland. Instead we saw in progress the Saturday Night Massacre. I’m going to get out my Bridge Over Troubled Water l. p.

  14. 14.

    ET

    I love the NBC headline: McConnell says he’d have ‘no choice’ but to hold trial in Senate if Trump is impeached. Sort of makes me feel that this Ukraine madness is making Republicans even McConnell Republicans, a little nervous.

  16. 16.

    jl

    @bystander: ” If the NY Bar is not looking into these three, every attorney in NY should get their dues back. ”
    Or start their own hustle.

    I’m interested about what the heck Australia would have to contribute to a smear on Mueller. Anyone know?
    Or was a request for that kind of favor a routine part of Trump calls to foreign leaders?

  21. 21.

    the Conster

    @ET:

    Don’t EVER trust McConnell to do the right thing. This is just a ploy for him to turn the Senate trial into a kangaroo court show trial of all of the derp state conspiracies Barr is getting the goods on as we speak. Moscow Mitch is at the heart of all of the crimes. He’s the enabler, and he and his Chinese mob wife are traitors too.

  22. 22.

    Karen S.

    @JPL: I had to disable news alerts on my phone. It was all too much. I’m not even trying to keep up with this anymore. I think I’ll just read posts here, along with whatever excerpts from news sources the front pagers and others provide, for the duration. I think that’s about all I can handle, but it’ll be hard to tamp down my news junkie tendencies.

  23. 23.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Betty Cracker:

    Poor House Dems! They’ll never get those damned articles of impeachment written if that stupid fuck and his gang of inept clowns won’t stop committing and confessing to crimes!

    So! Many! Appendices!

  24. 24.

    jl

    @BlueDWarrior: Reap what you sow. Looks like Trump was sowing seeds of explosive trouble, and committing impeachable crimes on every other phone call. Looks like he figured any random country was in such awe of the great Trump, that they would rush an bended knee to do him favors.

    If that garbage went down on the Australian call, no wonder it turned impolite (IIRC, it did).

  25. 25.

    piratedan

    It’s beginning to look like Nonna Pelosi’s strategy of giving him enough rope to hang himself is looking positively prescient. She just sits back and lets him impeach himself, wonders if she lets him rant long enough if he’ll simply name the names of everyone else involved and what they did, thinking it would exonerate himself.

    At this point, all they have to do is simply play back his public statements and tweets and then indicate what laws were broken…

    goes back to show that these guys had no intention of “governing”, they were looking to RULE.

  26. 26.

    jl

    @mrmoshpotato: First interactive bill of impeachment ever. Set up a web page and a new article is just a click away!

    @piratedan: Can hook up audio and video files to an interactive bill of impeachment too. I say, 21st century tools for the first 21st century impeachment.

  27. 27.

    jonas

    I think Trump’s strategy is to forestall impeachment by continuing to commit so many impeachable acts each day that the House will never complete drafting the articles of impeachment. Libs owned!

  31. 31.

    Quinerly

    @Cheryl Rofer: I saw that too. But then there was the picture of them home with their children. (although I didn’t care enough about the pic to check the date. Guess I should do that)

  33. 33.

    dmsilev

    So, was Trump running below the quarterly scandal quota and had to dump a whole set today to make his numbers?

  35. 35.

    JPL

    @jl: Another conspiracy theory.

    like so much about the pre-election period, the episode has been the subject of a counternarrative marbled with conspiracy: that the Obama administration had dispatched the Australian official, Alexander Downer, to spy on the Trump campaign as part of a broader effort to help Mrs. Clinton get elected. There is no evidence to support this, but the conspiracy has been advanced by some of the president’s allies in congress, by some Fox News commentators, and in frequent tweets by Mr. Papadopoulos.

    nytimes

  36. 36.

    cain

    @ET:

    I love the NBC headline: McConnell says he’d have ‘no choice’ but to hold trial in Senate if Trump is impeached. Sort of makes me feel that this Ukraine madness is making Republicans even McConnell Republicans, a little nervous.

    Don’t be fooled, he wants control of this impeachment. We don’t want to give him control of it until next year. He’ll bury it now and everyone will forget and Republicans will gaslight everything and by Fall it will be about HIllary’s emails.. again.

  37. 37.

    kindness

    Regardless of every Criminal Activity of Trump, the House will do their duty and vote to impeach Trump. The Senate won’t even hold a trial. They’ll open it up and then close it down on a party line vote.

    It’s as if they thought their people don’t have faith in government or something.

  38. 38.

    jl

    @dmsilev: People are starting to race for that currently unknown line between the ‘heroes’ who bravely came forward and the crumb bums crooks and conspirators who will down with the Trump crime ring? Only the original WH WB deserves any credit, but somebody will have to triage who will get tried. Criminal justice system has only so much capacity. And there are other people in the country who commit crimes too.

  39. 39.

    MisterForkbeard

    @ET: Nah. I think it’s McConnell trying to set himself up as the reasonable, law-abiding guy. Basically “The Democrats are abusing the process but I, Mitch McConnell will uphold the legal requirements because I believe in the rule of law.” And then he’ll rush through the process and call the whole thing a partisan witch hunt, proven because the Senate said Trump wasn’t guilty.

    This does leave him some wiggle room. If public opinion turns that drastically, he can just go ahead with a REAL impeachment case and say he was always for it so long as it was valid – because he’s someone who truly believes in the law and our great nation, etc.

  40. 40.

    Patricia Kayden

    Today has brought an avalanche of news. It’s hard to keep up with all the sleaziness and corruption from this regime.

  41. 41.

    jl

    @JPL: Thanks. Now that I think about it, an important alarm was a drunk Trump flunky bragging about various illegal Trump campaign capers to an Australian official? Is Downer the person?

    Edit: It’s like the awful boss in the office who has done something really crummy to everyone, but nothing slam dunk enough to take him or her down. Then they’re caught grabbing money out of the office petty cash drawer. Boom!

  42. 42.

    Redshift

    @jl:

    Or was a request for that kind of favor a routine part of Trump calls to foreign leaders?

    Since it’s become clear that any time Trump says “America” he means “Trump”, it puts his endless “we’re doing so much for these countries and we’re not getting anything in return” in a whole new light. He was saying outright the whole time that he was planning to shake down smaller countries for his personal benefit.

  43. 43.

    JoyceH

    @jl:

    I’m interested about what the heck Australia would have to contribute to a smear on Mueller. Anyone know?

    Remember, the Trump claim about the Mueller investigation is that the investigation was kicked off by illegal surveillance of Carter Page. When in fact, the origin of the investigation was a drunk George Papadopoulis bragging to an AUSTRALIAN diplomat about the campaign’s help from Russia. I presume the Trump gang is trying to prove that was not true. Good luck with that…

  45. 45.

    WereBear

    @piratedan: It’s beginning to look like Nonna Pelosi’s strategy of giving him enough rope to hang himself is looking positively prescient.

    She was a person who got his number very quickly. Good for her.

    Now me, I’m a hothead.

  47. 47.

    Cheryl Rofer

    This is a longer thread than I usually approve of, but it’s very helpful in understanding why McConnell said that he would proceed with a trial if the House impeaches.

  48. 48.

    Martin

    Everyone needs to put ‘Elaine Chao’ on their news alerts. If she jumps ship, then McConnell has cut Trump loose.

  49. 49.

    JPL

    If trump were to leave office or lose the election, he can be indicted for obstruction of justice. He’s panicked because he now sees that as a real possibility. He has to discredit Mueller,

  52. 52.

    NotoriousJRT

    @jl:
    The London conversation with Jr. dude whose name presently escaping me – reported by Aussie ambassador after the DNC hacking came to light.

  53. 53.

    Mj_Oregon

    @jl:
    Papadopoulis bragged to an Australian diplomat in London in 2016 that the Russians had thousands of emails that would embarrass the Democrats and Hillary Clinton. That diplomat, Alexander Downer, was permitted by the Australian government to speak to the FBI after the emails were leaked and thus helped jump start the FBI’s formal inquiry into Trump/Russia. Trump is attempting to undermine the entire Mueller investigation and his attempt to strong arm the Australians is part of that effort.

  54. 54.

    Redshift

    @jl: Or they’re beginning to do the prisoner’s dilemma calculation that the people who turn states evidence early get off light, and the ones who wait too long get the hammer. (The counterbalance being that if he doesn’t go down, the ones who turn against him are screwed.)

  55. 55.

    jl

    @JoyceH: Australia was pissed that they didn’t even rate the accusation of hiding a magic server, or the missing pizza joint basement. Vast areas of remote desolate land in Australia, and they only get accused of old fashioned industrial age spying.

  57. 57.

    MattF

    If there was ever any question whether Trump would ever retract a lie, however ridiculous it might be, we know the answer. Or whether he would ever back down on bluster or on a bizarre threat– however loony. There’s no room for doubt.

    He has some supporters who are as loony as he is, the rest are complicit.

  59. 59.

    Leto

    @Martin: #moscowmitch does love money and power more than Trumpov… and probably Elaine.

    Instead of praising the Republicans who are speaking out in favor of impeachment we should be denouncing and ridiculing the ones who aren’t. You don’t get a participation trophy for finally deciding to be less shitty just because being less shitty is more popular now.— The Volatile Mermaid (@OhNoSheTwitnt) September 30, 2019

  60. 60.

    Kent

    And folks, remember, we still have that second whistleblower who reported that the IRS illegally gave Trump special treatment on his taxes. Cheating on his taxes is something really easy for all Americans to understand. Tack that one on as well and let’s subpoena those taxe returns again.

  63. 63.

    Betty Cracker

    I am also enjoying the tangential spectacle of NYT hack Ken Vogel insisting that he deserves credit for breaking the Rudy Colludey story, only to have the fact that he squandered the greatest scoop since Watergate in his zeal to pin it all on Biden rubbed in his fucking face. Hahahaha!

  65. 65.

    West of the Rockies

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Speaking of which, why hasn’t Wikipedia managed any sort of Trump doc dump? Not so much as an unpaid parking ticket from even a low-level lackey? It’s almost like they only like certain document dumps. That’s weird…

  66. 66.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Betty Cracker: During the first year of law school, you take a course in legal writing that is worth it just for the phrase “including but not limited to.”

  69. 69.

    Fair Economist

    Yep, more abuse of power with the Australian PM. Given how irrelevant Australia is to these assorted scandals, we *know* there are going to be absolutely blockbuster communication records with Putin, Sawdi Arabia, Netanyahu, and Italy (where the Northern League leader in the government is yet another of these crooked aspiring fascists).

  70. 70.

    hueyplong

    It seems obvious that there never were any explosive emails. That’s why it was always about email security and not what any one email said.

    Does any sentient being think that the Russians got a killer Hillary email and then sat on it beyond not just the election but also the statute of limitations?

    This doesn’t make any sense

  71. 71.

    sdhays

    @cain: I expect he’s also trying to set expectations in the White House, i.e. don’t think you can just roll over on your back and shit yourself and expect me to just unilaterally ignore the House’s Articles of Impeachment. I mean, apparently there are people in the White House who, despite seeing how this is spiraling out their control, don’t think they really need to do anything more than allow President Rectum Mouth to rage tweet non-stop in order to rebut the charges.

    He needs the White House to take this seriously or the pressure on Republican Senators might get to the point that MM himself loses control of his caucus.

  72. 72.

    jl

    @Betty Cracker: My guess is the Vogel, like the dimwit and/or corrupt and/or lazy Pelley on 60 minutes wanted to bothsides and balnce it to cover his ass in case he got heat. No problem usually if the balance is is made up BS and lies.

    Edit: Pelley was OK in the interviews, but his intro and his commentary (really thinly disguised editorializing) was not good at all.

  73. 73.

    mrmoshpotato

    @jl: Wait. The DNC server is now down under? Damn that thing gets around while running child sex rings out of imaginary basements.

  78. 78.

    dmsilev

    Throw another one on the pile, this time from the Washington Post:

    Attorney General Barr personally asked foreign officials to aid inquiry into CIA, FBI activities in 2016

    Attorney General William P. Barr has held private meetings overseas with foreign intelligence officials seeking their help in a Justice Department inquiry that President Trump hopes will discredit U.S. intelligence agencies’ examination of Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to people familiar with the matter.

    Barr’s personal involvement is likely to stoke further criticism from Democrats pursuing impeachment that he is helping the Trump administration use executive branch powers to augment investigations aimed primarily at the president’s adversaries.

    Edit: Damn, beaten to the punch by just a minute.

  79. 79.

    Ryan

    We can submit multiple articles of impeachment in one congress right? Quickly nail down the ones we have at hand now, and keep investigating and exposing the ones we suspect or new ones that emerge. “You don’t agree to any of those articles? Here’s 5 more to consider!”

  81. 81.

    jl

    @sdhays: I hope the disgusting and hilarious public performances of the GOP hack and politicians and Trumpster flunkies over the last few days IS them ‘taking it seriously’. If they keep that up, it will do wonders for public sentiment on impeachment and conviction.

    @Ryan: A group impeachment with interactive clickable articles, audio and videos.

  84. 84.

    mrmoshpotato

    @hueyplong:

    It seems obvious that there never were any explosive emails.

    But but but I heard Chuckles screaming about Hillary’s! emails! for 25 hours a day!

  85. 85.

    MJS

    @Cheryl Rofer: Regardless of how much longer this maladministration goes on, I hope the 3 Democrats who voted for Barr’s confirmation now understand that if Trump has nominated someone, it is evidence of that person’s lack of character and unfitness for whatever office he’s been nominated for.

  88. 88.

    jonas

    @jl:

    I’m interested about what the heck Australia would have to contribute to a smear on Mueller.

    IIRC, it was an Australian diplomat who overheard a drunken Carter Page (or possibly George Papadopoulos) bragging that he knew that the Russians had a bunch of dirt on Hillary and notified the FBI that some skulldudgery was afoot in the upcoming election. This set the ball rolling on the CI investigation that ended up wiretapping Page, which Trumpist conspiracy lore holds was really a plot by noted antifa guerilla Peter Strozk and his hippy girlfriend to steal the election from Trump with the help of George Soros, the Freemasons, and the reverse vampires.

  92. 92.

    eric

    I would bet a sizable sum that the Trumps (the whole clan) short and go long on stocks BEFORE Donald makes announcements that would impact those stocks. I would also bet a goodly sum that they let others profit. It is WAYYYYYYYYYY too easy a scam for them not to do.

  94. 94.

    sdhays

    @jl: KAC doesn’t see the need for a “war room”; her boss is all they need.

    At least that’s what she says in public. And one suspects the Lying Liddle’ Hands agrees with her, until it becomes clear that his Twitter vomit isn’t enough. Hopefully that realization comes too late.

  95. 95.

    jl

    @NotMax: Will be hilarious if Trump’s addled mind went down some HRC 2016 conspiracy rat hole that ended up with the abortive Greenland real estate deal.

  96. 96.

    jonas

    @eric: I’m sure there’s some serious whistles to be blown deep inside whatever investment bank or accounting firm handles the Trumps’ personal finances and knows if they’ve been profiting in a suspect way from wild swings in the market sparked by one of Trump pere’s crazy-ass tweets.

  97. 97.

    Redshift

    @Ryan: I don’t think they have to have everything in one list. I would think they can vote on additional articles at least right up to when they send it over to the Senate for trial. After that, it might have to be a new impeachment, but I don’t really know.

  98. 98.

    Jay

    CNN has confirmed WSJ reporting that Pompeo was on the July call between Trump & Zelensky. When ABC asked him eight days ago what he knew about those conversations about pushing for an investigation into the Bidens, he said, "You just gave me a report…none of which I've seen."— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) September 30, 2019

  103. 103.

    Jay

    NEW: DOJ official said Trump initiated the calls at Barr’s request. The recent call with Australia was one of a “number of times” the president made similar calls for the AG as part of probe into the origins of the special counsel’s Russia investigation https://t.co/eCgiIYrXDm— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) September 30, 2019

  104. 104.

    Jay

    @Lurker1:

    As part of a hit piece on Biden, Vogel revealed Rudy was in Ukraine digging for dirt.

    He then got ratioed for promoting debunked Russian propaganda from 2014.

  107. 107.

    jl

    @Lurker1: Josh Marshall’s twitter feed as several items on Vogel’s history today. Apparently Vogel did break stories about Giuliani’s secret agent work on Manafort and Biden affairs. But since the beginning, Vogel felt it necessary to give the fake Biden scandal equal billing, without noting that it has been debunked several time.

  108. 108.

    Jay

    BREAKING: A judge has ruled a jury can consider the Castle Doctrine – basically a Stand Your Ground law – during deliberations to determine whether a Texas woman should be punished for entering the wrong apartment and fatally shooting an unarmed Black man. https://t.co/MO3tpCynwb— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) September 30, 2019

  113. 113.

    Jay

    @FlipYrWhig:

    Apparently, according to some, Barr is the real Russia Truther in the White Supremacy House, just stuffing Dolt 45’s head with brain worms.

    Some say he’s a True Believer, others believe he’s working Dolt 45.

  114. 114.

    cain

    @mrmoshpotato:

    @jl: Wait. The DNC server is now down under? Damn that thing gets around while running child sex rings out of imaginary basements.

    That DNC server is shifty just like them Democrats! Won’t sit still!

  116. 116.

    VOR

    @jl:

    I’m interested about what the heck Australia would have to contribute to a smear on Mueller. Anyone know?

    IIRC, the FBI counterintelligence probe started when an Australian envoy heard bragging from Carter Page of the Trump campaign about all his Russian ties.

  117. 117.

    Jay

    I haven’t been able to write about this case until now because I was one of the key witnesses. But now it’s over, so I am free to point out how this case shows the bankruptcy of the media narrative placing the blame for street violence on antifascists. https://t.co/Nx0eaxEPHx— David Neiwert (@DavidNeiwert) September 28, 2019

  118. 118.

    Ladyraxterinok

    @vtr: I remember watching that and what a shock it was! And all the admin people who refused to fire Nixon’s targets.

    It was only yrs later that the name of the guy who was crook enuff to fire them meant anything to me BORK.

    His rolebecane super public in the fight over his appointment to SCOTUS

  120. 120.

    Ladyraxterinok

    @Ladyraxterinok: There were still GOP senators with integrity then.

    Unlike GOP Senate who approved Kav and Barr despite their publically known dirty dealings in the past.

    Don’t think either would have made it through the GOPer senators of the Bork era.

  122. 122.

    Miss Bianca

    @jl: Man, I’m trying to say “drunk Trump flunky” three times fast, and I am botching it. Maybe *I* need to be drunk to try it!

  124. 124.

    Ladyraxterinok

    @dmsilev: Has any other US president worked to discredit and essentially destroy US intelligence agencies?

    There was the Senate investigation of the CIA in the 70s. But that was to figure out and stop their meddling with other countres.

    Ithink it was the Cheney gang who claimed the rules and procedures that resulted from that investigation stymied the govt in this new ‘age of terror’ and needed to be dumped.

  125. 125.

    Ladyraxterinok

    @Jay: So I can go into a house in TX, shoot and kill the owner and get off by claiming ‘I was defending my castle?’

    Doesn’t this make it super easy to get rid of people you don’t like?

  126. 126.

    Ladyraxterinok

    @Jay: 1st read David and tbogg when they posted on salon’s tabletalk in the 90s.

    I followed and participated in the extremely long tabltalk thread on W being AWOL Several who uncovered much damning detail were never contacted or were ignored by Rather’s producers for his report

  127. 127.

    J R in WV

    @Ladyraxterinok:

    Yeah, this!!! Wouldn’t the Castle Doctrine only apply to shooting someone in YOUR OWN residence????? Not in HIS RESIDENCE????? Surely a Juror will make this point, several times, loudly!

  129. 129.

    Jay

    @Ladyraxterinok:

    The Church and the Follow Up Comissions were mostly about the CIA/FBI breaking US laws and targetting domestic activists.

    And they covered up almost as much as they exposed.

Comments are closed.