Before we discuss unpleasant things, here’s something cute. My world-traveling sister went to Madagascar recently to hang out with lemurs, among other creatures. (Yeah, I was a little jealous.) She mostly got photos of lemurs in trees. But one day, she sat down, and several lemurs approached to check her out.
She was so thrilled and nervous when they came up to her that the first couple of shots are blurry and only captured half a lemur in the frame, but then this adorable pair plopped down nearby:
Isn’t that the most squeeeee-worthy thing ever? I think so.
Moving on to not-adorable things below the fold…
The list of true believers — folks who buy the crackpot conspiracy theory that DNC/Soros/Ukraine framed Trump/Putin/Russia in 2016 — keeps growing. At first it seemed that people like Pompeo, Barr, et al, were trying to distance themselves from this insanity shambling around in the person of Rudy Giuliani. But that option is now foreclosed because their boss, Trump, believes it and keeps repeating it.
The NYT reports that Kushner is a believer. Lindsey Graham too — McCain’s best pal beclowned himself yesterday in front of the Australian government in service of this whackadoodle stuff, sending a letter demanding that the Aussies accommodate Barr’s investigation into the origins of the Mueller probe…
…only to have the Aussies clap back that they had publicly announced their willingness to cooperate in the snipe hunt in MAY, thankyewveramuch, and by the way, stop crapping on our diplomat:
Josh Marshall wonders why Trump keeps ruinously tilting at this cancerous windmill:
All of this seems focused on pushing (and getting backers for) the idea that US intelligence agencies and the Mueller office were plotting against the President and that Russia was framed for interfering in the 2016 election. And the storylines and theories are mostly or all ones that first surfaced in Russian propaganda outlets. Again, why? Just feeling wrongly accused or trying to exonerate himself simply isn’t a sufficient explanation.
It’s possible Marshall isn’t taking Trump’s brand of malignant narcissism into full account here. The suggestion that Trump is an illegitimate president by dint of Russian interference on his behalf is a more than sufficient an explanation, IMO. In the excerpted piece, Marshall speculates that Manafort may have steered Giuliani and Trump down this path, which makes sense. But Trump would be more than eager to grasp that straw, not because he gives a shit about Manafort, but to sooth his wounded ego.
Regardless of its genesis, the DNC/Soros/Ukraine theory is fast becoming the main line of defense in this scandal, from the GOP point of view. I don’t know how it helps them since the issue is Trump leaning on Zelensky to investigate the Bidens, and we know that happened because Trump copped to it publicly. (And then did it again today when he suggested that Ukraine and China should investigate the Bidens!) Maybe crackpottery is all they’ve got, so they’re squirting it out like so much squid ink?
In any case, this sets up a reckoning for Republican members of Congress. Most of them are on record affirming the conclusion of U.S. and global intel organizations, which is that the Russians interfered in the 2016 election. Now they’re being asked to “reject the evidence of [their] eyes and ears” and agree that Russia is the innocent party, a notion that is shaping up to be Trump’s “final, most essential command.” And at least some Republicans seem eager to obey.
Thanks to today’s fresh round of impeachable offenses, Republicans have another loyalty test before them: affirming that there’s no problem with a sitting president calling on foreign countries to investigate political opponents. Pence has already puckered up and affixed his lips to Trump’s ass to signal his submission, quelle surprise. Will the rest of the GOP follow? Probably!
I’m not quite sure where that’ll leave us, fellow citizens. We’ve seen a lot of norm busting over the last few years. But if one of our two political parties adopts the position that it’s okay for foreign governments to curry favor with American presidents by investigating their political opponents, it seems like either that party — or democracy — is toast.
Dorothy A. Winsor
Republican stupidity? Sure. I’ll re-up this from the thread below so you can see what Warren did there.
narya
Lincoln’s Bible (on twitter) does a good job laying this out. Essentially, in order to pardon Manafort, they have to convince the world that (a) Mueller report was wrong, and (b) Russians didn’t hack the election, Ukraines did. And the Mango Monster is so under the thumb of his creditors that he spews this bs. I firmly believe that the other loud ones (MoscowMitch, Lindsey, others) also have a vise around their privates.
Dave S.
They think it’s squid ink, but it’s more like that stuff that explodes on the money during a bank robbery.
Brachiator
From the photo, looks like a couple of sifakas. Love lemurs.
Bobby Thomson
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I gotta admit, that’s world class trolling.
germy
@narya: I wonder if the Sulzberger family enjoys a similar vise.
Soprano2
Rachel Maddow believes this is all about getting Russian sanctions lifted. She said that if Trump can “prove” that Russia wasn’t involved in the DNC leak he can get Congress to lift the sanctions that were imposed to punish them for that. Also, if he can get the Ukrainian president to reach an agreement with Russia (on terms favorable to Russia), then he can go to Congress and say “See, now they’ve resolved the problem, so you can lift the sanctions associated with Russia invading Ukraine”. That’s more plausible than a lot of theories I’ve heard.
germy
@Brachiator: When my children were little they watched “Kratt’s Creatures” and the main character was a talking lemur. (sometimes a puppet for the dialogue parts, and sometimes a real lemur for the running and jumping parts)
I like lemurs.
John Revolta
Leapin’ lemurs!
dmsilev
I think I’ve figured out how the writers of the articles of impeachment can keep up with Trump’s continued commission of impeachable offenses: an impeachment Twitter feed. At a bare minimum, it simply needs to be a bot that echos Trump’s Twitter feed.
Martin
Well, once you’re a co-conspirator, you might as well run the play until the end.
Betty Cracker
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I saw that. Galaxy-class trolling!
@Soprano2: She may be right — a lot of the puzzle pieces fit.
PJ
@narya: What I’d like to know is why Trump cares whether Manafort can get a pardon or not. Some possibilities:
1) Manafort has dirt on Trump and Pence (highly likely) that he will release if he isn’t pardoned. I wonder how Vlad would react if Manafort spilled the beans.
2) Vlad wants Manafort out so that he can continue to do business (seems unlikely though, since, if anyone trusted Manafort before, they certainly won’t going forward).
3) Vlad wants Manafort out because Manafort might bargain info on Russian activities to get an early release. But then it seems like Manfort’s remaining life span would be very short, so this also seems unlikely.
What are the other possibilities?
germy
Wasn’t that the plan before he accidentally got himself elected president?
Mike in DC
@Soprano2: Putin is calling in his marker. If Trump doesn’t pull the US out of NATO and doesn’t get sanctions lifted, the payoff for Russia is more than a little disappointing considering the potential payback when a non-stooge sits in the Oval Office again. So Putin has probably dropped little hints that there will be no assists in 2020 without 45 delivering for them. I expect any minimally competent American Democratic president who doesn’t have a blind spot with regard to Russia will convene experts post-inauguration to discuss the parameters of Containment 2.0.
trollhattan
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Who’s got game? She’s got game. [golf clap]
If we have a Warren presidency can I assume it’s four years without presidential golf? I’m soooo ready for that. Turn the Camp David course into a dog park. DO IT.
Betty Cracker
Yarrow
@PJ: If Manafort is pardoned he can no longer take the fifth in court. He has to testify. Trump may know that and it’s part of him not pardoning Manafort since Manafort knows a lot of dirt on Trump.
The Moar You Know
At least one of the Trumpers in my office realizes the tangerine dude is done. And this person’s blaming Guiliani.
IF Trump loses re-election, which I am not convinced will be the case, Rudy will probably be bestowed the lion’s share of the blame. He might want to think about what that would mean for his personal safety.
Not that Rudy has ever struck me as the “think it through” type.
Anonymous At Work
@Soprano2: Especially when you consider that Putin’s under enormous pressure from the plutocrats he empowered to unfreeze their money. “Legitimate businessmen” in Russia don’t suffer anything, ever, for any reason, without retaliation.
Chetan Murthy
@Yarrow:
Every time this comes up someplace, I ask the same question (and get no answer): GHWB did this for his co-conspirators on Iran-Contra, and that went nowhere: why should we expect different consequences this time?
I’m not trying to be snarky — I truly don’t understand how it helps. In order to prove somebody committed perjury, you have to have evidence they lied. But that evidence itself ought to be enough to go after whomever they’re covering for.
And this doesn’t factor in potential jeopardy in the states (which would allow taking the fifth anyway).
Fair Economist
@Dorothy A. Winsor: So she picked her alma mater 40+ years ago so she could use a slang reference to their mascot developed much later to expertly troll a (very lame) smear attempt – um, wow, that woman has foresight!
gvg
@PJ: “What are the other possibilities?”
Trump is nuts
Trump is stupid and vain
A lot of American citizens are nuts and/or stupid.
Blackmail
Warren wants to get a lot of the money out of our politics and bring more transparency. I think this is wise. We also need more permanent agents and investigations. I think the IRS has been deliberately hamstrung and underfunded for decades, so that a lot of shady money can buy more and more look the other way and harass the poor not the rich. It’s related.
the Conster
Who is going to prosecute any of these administration people, if they continue to stonewall and Barr remains in charge of DOJ?
Ella in New Mexico
Call me a cynic but: no they don’t. None of Trump’s toadies, from McCarthy to Pence to Pompeo and Barr–coming out to support this story believe it. They’ve got completely trustable resources who know this Bullshit Story is not true. Including the Dude Who Made the Damn Story Up in 2014″, Vladdy. I’m quite sure they openly laugh about it in their conspiratorial planning meetings, too. Wish we had audio.
No, they know it’s not true. But what they DO believe is using it as a means to destroy Joe Biden and win re-election is an entirely plausible, completely useful strategy given their past successes in breaking the law, and cheating and lying to their voters. Each one also has a debt, something they owe and must keep secret so by openly supporting him they get to stay safe. Two birds with one stone: re-elect Trump, enjoy the fruits of that labor and keep the world from finding out the “Most Disgusting and Criminal Thing I Ever Did”.
I am cynical, but somehow I think them being in this deep conspiracy for three years, outside of what’s actually happening in reality, means this cute little tactic is not gonna work again.
chris
While all this is going on David Corn reminds everyone that the shitgibbon told the Russians, in the Oval Office!, that he didn’t care that Russia interfered in 2016. Seems kinda large to me.
germy
He’s not going to go quietly after the 2020 election. He’s not going to accept the results. But fuckem.
PAM Dirac
@Fair Economist:
Probably just used the time machine that Obama got from George Soros.
germy
Kent
Scary thought.
I expect Russia to get even more crazy and out of hand over the next year if it looks like 2020 is going to slip out of their hands and they will have to face a Dem administration and competent patriotic state department once again. 2020 will be their very last chance to squeeze everything they can out of trump.
Buckle up. 2020 is going to be the biggest fucking ride any of us have ever been on. The out-of-control crazy and treason is only just starting.
waspuppet
I mean, it’s not like he ran for president for any reason but to spend the rest of his life telling people he got elected president, so yeah.
Mary G
@the Conster: The next administration, if we can flip the Senate.
Kent
@the Conster:
The statue of limitations for their crimes doesn’t run out on January 2021.
I’m sure Attorney General Harris will be up to the task.
PJ
@gvg: Clearly there’s a lot going into the fetid stew of Trump’s brainpot, which has a dozen rusty leaks at the bottom leading to his mouth. I understand that Putin wants sanctions lifted and a weakening of US alliances, and getting it to look like Russia had nothing to do with the 2016 attacks on the election is part of this, but I still don’t get Manafort’s role in it – why is he still needed? Why does Rudy need to run things through him?
I agree, money and racism are the two main reasons for what happened in 2016 and what is happening now in this country. Overturning Citizens United, making sure corporations are not treated as people, limiting campaign contributions (or making sure they are all state funded), ending tax fraud and offshore havens, jacking up taxes on the wealthy, all these things are going to be needed to reverse the course we are on.
MattF
Just a reminder that when someone blames George Soros for globalistic cosmopolitan deep state something something something, it’s because blaming the Rothschilds is too transparent. No, they’re not all antisemites– but the antisemites among them understand exactly what they’re hearing.
Redshift
@Mike in DC: I believe Trump promised Putin he’d lift the sanctions (probably after Putin dangled visions of corrupt riches making him an actual billionaire). That’s the one thing that Putin wants more than anything, since it’s directly hurting him and his cronies (or his bosses, depending on how the relationship with the Russian mob actually works.) At the beginning, Trump clearly thought he had been elected King of America and would be able to do anything he wanted, so he’d just dump the sanctions, no problem. It turned out he couldn’t, and perhaps Putin is ramping up the pressure, so Trump will believe anything that would allow him to fulfill that. (Others make think they’re just muddying the waters enough to allow lifting the sanctions, but since Trump’s mindset is usually “I want it to be true, therefore it is true,” I’m betting he actually believes it.)
I don’t think narcissism is enough of an explanation in this case, because he’s usually not capable of focusing on one thing in any coherent way.
NotMax
Even Scrooge managed to hit the nail on the head on occasion.
“I’ll retire to Bedlam.”
JPL
Who is this Chuck Todd that hijacked MTP?
donnah
Holy crap! Both-Sides Chuckles Todd just opened his MSNBC show with an absolutely grim statement that said our government is officially under attack by our own president. Chuck said Trump’s driveway call today to China to do an investigation on Biden specifically, suggesting that the US has the power to force China, via tariffs, to make them do so.
Chuck Todd! And he’s calling out the Republicans for staying silent. wow.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Well considering Barr believes in something as silly as Divine Right it’s no surprise he would buy into some Zeltergist conspiracy theory against Trump. Conspiracy nut is likely why Trump selects his cabinet.
Makes one wonder what will come out about Kavanaugh.
germy
@donnah: I blame that damn beard he’s grown. The man’s a damn hippie now.
jeffreyw
@Chetan Murthy:
He can’t plead the 5th, but he can always tell another lie. Not useful in any way that I can see.
Humdog
@PJ: can’t it simply be that Manafort has expertise in finding people in Ukraine who will take his dirty money and try to hurt Ukraine? He knows dirty people there and was part of the corruption schemes in the area for years.
But you are right, why would Shitstain care if Manafort gets a pardon or not. Manafort is a used Kleenex at this point. Manafort is not keeping his mouth shut as a favor to trump, but to protect himself from Russian retaliation.
trollhattan
@Betty Cracker:
Ooooh….
rikyrah
@Soprano2:
Makes so much sense
Redshift
@PJ: Rudy is consulting with Manafort because Manafort knows a lot about the dark underbelly of Ukraine, and Rudy doesn’t know much of anything about anything.
As for the Manafort pardon, my only guess is that it’s what’s keeping Manafort from spilling the beans. (I would think doing that wouldn’t be good for Manafort’s future business or health, but maybe Putin is backing him up on it.)
Ella in New Mexico
Foor what it’s worth, Chuck Todd just pretty much laid it all out in his opening for MTPD. Even with his occasional leerings into “Bothsiderism Terrritory” He’s getting better about pushing back and calling out disinformation with his guests who spout it, and he’s clearly in the “Trump is committing real crimes” camp.
And for the record, Nicole Wallace been on this lawbreaking, corrupt Administration like a freaking bulldog. If anyone had told me 3 years ago that she would be my second favorite MSNBC host next to Rachel Maddow, I would have spit my Matcha Tea Latte in their face.
NotMax
@donnah
Amazon now selling spines?
PJ
@Humdog: You’re right, it could be as simple as that Manafort knows where to find the useful liars in Ukraine to support the Biden scandal, but wouldn’t Rudy know them, too? – he’s been active over there for years as well.
thalarctosMaritimus
@germy: Zoboomafoo!
germy
@thalarctosMaritimus: I loved that lemur.
germy
@NotMax: Maybe Todd just got permission from his bosses. Maybe they had a conference and decided “Yeah, now’s the time. Go for it.”
Betty Cracker
@donnah: Todd pisses me off a lot, but he’s weirdly on point sometimes. He hammered Senator Kennedy from Louisiana the other day. And he wrote this piece in The Atlantic a while back excoriating Fox News and false equivalency, indicating he knows exactly what’s going on. In a way, that makes it even more maddening when he reverts to form.
donnah
@Ella in New Mexico:
I like Nicole Wallace, too, especially because she comes from a Republican background and she presents good critical analysis that seems balanced.
Yeah, I am usually rolling my eyes when Chuck Todd is on, but today he actually stunned me with his absolute grimness. He may drift back to wishy-washy the next time, but today he is dead serious. Good.
Ladyraxterinok
@PJ: Who hooked Manafot up with Trump people?
All I remember is him making tons of $$ in Ukraine, maybe else where, then showing up guiding T campaign.
Feel like I’ve lost much of plot.
germy
MJS
@donnah: Meh. Chuck’s done something along these lines before, back in the winter, I think when the information came about White House security clearances, or something along those lines. I remember being gob smacked then, thinking it was a watershed moment for him. But he will eventually return to default, “Democrats must be careful” mode, probably before the end of his show.
MattF
@germy: As I said in a previous thread, I think the winds of conventional wisdom are shifting. The ‘Trump is obviously guilty of something very bad’ school of thought has become too large to ignore or mock.
mrmoshpotato
@germy: Then we’ll have to drag his fat, orange, fascist ass out with the rest of his Soviet shitpile crime family.
OK by me!
Chetan Murthy
@Ladyraxterinok:
A richie grifter friend of Don Bedsore named Tom Barrack. IIRC pretty shady character.
Ella in New Mexico
@The Moar You Know:
Seeing that here in my world too. Reminds me of my Upstate New York Moderate Republican relatives who, early on in the Watergate scandal defended Nixon saying he only did “what all politicians do, just he got caught” mostly because his people (John Dean IIRC) snitched. But even at 10 and 11 years old, I could tell they thought he was guilty and were just terribly, terribly disappointed in him. They needed a way to not have to publicly admit they’d been conned into voting for him. Towards the end they finally admitted he was dishonest and were glad to be done with him, especially since Gerald Ford was such a good guy– it restored their faith in the Party. Which completely reversed after Reagan and they’ve never gone back, but I digress…
We’re gonna all have to learn to hold our tongues a bit when the Woke Trumpers start admitting he’s a fucking crook and they wish he’d never been elected and deserves to be impeached. It will be hard, but we’re gonna have to do it for 2020.
thalarctosMaritimus
@germy: I did, too! Of course, I was 40 when the show ran, but I’ve never been age-appropriate.
MomSense
@thalarctosMaritimus:
It’s me and you and Zoboomafoo!
I can’t be the only parent who was happy my kid wanted to watch the animal show with the hot hosts.
SFAW
@thalarctosMaritimus:
Manga tsika! [or whatever it was they said]
patrick II
I am sitting in on Elanie Luria’s town hall which starts in about 35 min. My first one.
NotMax
@Ella in New Mexico
(begins paperwork for filing for patent on Acme One Size Fits All Tongue Holder)
;)
thalarctosMaritimus
@MomSense: “the animal show with the hot hosts”
I suspect we are legion.
/fans self
Ella in New Mexico
@donnah:
Me too. I usually don’t watch much TV in the daytime but I’m home after a particularly rough 14 hour ICU shift and after walking the dogs and doing the dishes I’ve been nursing my sore back with my computer in one hand and the remote in another or I’d have completely missed it.
thalarctosMaritimus
@SFAW: yes, that’s it! I had forgotten.
mrmoshpotato
@JPL: @donnah: @Ella in New Mexico: “Who are you, and what have you done with Chuck Todd? We don’t really care. It’s nice to have his bothsiderist bullshit off the air.”
spudgun
Jeezus, WTF??
https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1179862262653358082
I really, really hate Jake Tapper…
Gin & Tonic
@PJ: Rudy is a Johnny-come-lately to Ukraine. Manafort has been on the dark side there for over a decade.
Ella in New Mexico
@NotMax:
Easy Millionaire territory right there :-D
patrick II
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and Madness of Crowds — Charles Mackay, 1841
I thought it was just for older, less civilized times. wrong again.
narya
@Soprano2: Right! That was the other part; I forgot.
Gin & Tonic
@Ladyraxterinok: Paul Fucking Manafort has been on the dirty tricks side of the GOP his whole life. He ran a company with Roger Stone for years. He was a natural fit for Trump, actually.
Fair Economist
@spudgun: I think Tapper is trying to say the “indicia of bias” are invalid because there’s nothing other than the whistleblower’s party registration. I note he used scare quotes. It could be misinterpreted, and he could have been more clear.
narya
@PJ: It’s what Soprano and Maddow noted: it gets the sanctions lifted, too.
trollhattan
@Gin & Tonic:
Donny was an early client, back in the day.
Mnemosyne
I really think that Marshall doesn’t fully grasp the extent to which narcissists create their own reality. Trump completely believes that everything he’s doing is okay, because he’s the one doing it. If a Democrat did the same thing, Trump would lead the pack of howling wolves to denounce it, and would see ZERO contradiction.
Trump thinks that everything he does is okay because he’s the one doing it. Period. It really doesn’t require a more complicated explanation. As the Hoarse Whisperer says, a narcissist is a very simple machine, which is part of what makes them dangerous — the people around them keep searching for a “real” motive that doesn’t exist.
jeffreyw
@NotMax:
Too late!
NotMax
@jeffreyw
Ah, but mine sports a USB port.
:)
Ella in New Mexico
@spudgun:
Sounds like a Republican staffer or even a Republican member of he Intelligence Committee is attempting to poop in the swimming pool again. God Bless him, Tapper just couldn’t resist on the off chance it’s really not poop its a scoop.
Plus I have questions, including why would I believe this is even true ? Why should I care other than if I think all Democrats are Suspect in Calling Trump on his Shit, and how did you verify this information, Jake, because the WB’s identity is still being protected?
tamiasmin
But do we know that? Trump lies more often than he tells the truth, and he doesn’t seem to care if his lies are foolish and self-damning. So how do we know that what seems like a plain admission of wrongdoing is not, in the wreckage of his mind, just another fantasy? Nothing that he says can be relied upon.
debbie
I’ve skimmed threads, but haven’t found anything that might connect the Bidens to China. I assume this is just one more thing Trump pulled out of his ass?
skerry
@MomSense: You were not alone.
debbie
@Mnemosyne:
Trump doesn’t believe what he’s saying, but he says it because he knows it will energize his base, which is his primary objective. Narcissist or privileged asshole — neither type has ever been wedded to the truth.
spudgun
@Fair Economist: Ok – I was reading the responses to his tweet and just started panicking.
(still hate him, though)
MattF
@debbie: Trump is probably basing his suspicions on his own experience with nepotism and corruption.
cain
@debbie:
No he believes it. He believes all the conspiracy theories. Otherwise there is no reason for him to go on doing this nonsense.
Marcopolo
@patrick II: Would love a report about it later. Especially interested in whether there were MAGA impeachment protesters.
Zinsky
I loved Rick Wilson’s characterization of Trump’s obsessive behavior with regard to Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton’s e-mails and the 2016 election in general. He said that Trump was like the loser fullback from high school who scored the winning touchdown in the last football game of his high school career and now comes back three years later and lays rubber and does donuts in the high school parking lot in his Camaro, trying to re-live his past glory. Perfect.
Chris T.
@PJ:
Rudy is incompetent.
As far as all the “Putin’s desire” stuff goes: I think back in 2015, Putin assumed HRC would win, and just wanted her as weakened as possible. Then Orangemandius actually won and things got weird. Putin does not have total control over Trump, but Putin does know how to whisper things to Trump to get Trump to act in Putin’s favor. Putin has used this pretty skillfully (as one would expect from a trained KGB agent), but honestly, it’s not really that hard: you tell Trump “you are the greatest, but people aren’t seeing it because of ____” and off he (Trump) goes.
patrick II
I was just interviewed by an AP reporter here at the Luria Town Hall. Told him I was here to thank Luria for her brave stance on impeachment.
NotMax
@cain
He regurgitates it today. What he’ll say he believes tomorrow, or the day after, is anyone’s guess. Also depends on who was the last person he heard speak before he opens his yap.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Mnemosyne:
Trump main activity so for is to accuse everyone investigating him of the very thing he is doing. But it sure sounds like Trump took narcissist to a whole new level; apparently he thinks the reason why he gets so much shit isn’t because of pay back for his own shitty behavior but there is some sekret’ international high council of Trump haters, that apparently has it’s head quarters in Kiev, out to get him.
Yutsano
@germy: I got some news for Herr Kruse here. They do. A lot of them go into gay pr0n. Which I know is nowhere near the same thing but it’s decent money for them after they get out and even sometimes when they’re still in.
p.a.
I really really really really wish the polls accurately get to the point where we don’t have to hold our tongues until after the results are in to put these fucking morons in their place.
spudgun
@Ella in New Mexico: I know…of course we don’t have any reason to believe it, but when combined with the new line of attack from Dump et al today, it makes me beyond frustrated with dickhead journos with big egos and bothsiderism disease trying to throw anything at the wall as “breaking news” that only seems to add to the crap against us.
Also, I just have a bad knee-jerk reaction to this particular smug “lookitme” knucklehead…
mrmoshpotato
@Marcopolo:
Especially later in the summer?
NotMax
@Yutsano
Phrasing!
;)
RedDirtGirl
So the ad I’m seeing on this page right now (on my phone) is for a website I looked at today on my colleague’s computer. That scares me a little!
Ella in New Mexico
@debbie:
I’ve been in your camp for a while on Trump, that is, he is fully in charge of his actions and statements. But now I’m beginning to believe Trump is the ONLY moron in this bunch that actually believes this massive fairy tale, mostly because it’s EXACTLY what he would have done and is currently doing. Like that former DHS advisor said on TV the other day, he’s being fed complete lies because it works for the agendas of those who seek to manipulate his weaknesses and it’s gonna be his White Whale.
On the other hand, nobody else in his camp, not a single one, believes this is true. They just need to pretend they think it is for the cameras, and are completely invested in doing everything they can to make just enough of the public believe it’s true.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Yutsano: Oh the VA adds
“Remember our nations’s vet first when hiring for your gay porn movie”
Times have certainly changed.
mrmoshpotato
@RedDirtGirl: FYI Duckduckgo’s browser app blocks ads really well.
RAVEN
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: @Yutsano: Eat the apple and fuck the corps.
Mnemosyne
@debbie:
I disagree — I think he believes what he’s saying in the moment that he says it.
And if he needs to believe something else an hour later, he believes that, too, even if it directly contradicts the last thing.
This is because a narcissist has no outer reality, only an inner one. You can’t shake them by pointing to facts, because facts take a backseat to their feelings.
Until you’ve had to deal with a narcissist one on one, it’s really hard to believe that anyone can really operate that way, but it’s true.
Steeplejack
@debbie:
Hunter Biden went to China in 2013, when his father was vice president, and was named to the board of a Chinese company. Post story from a week ago.
The company was capitalized at $1.5 billion, or $1.5 billion was mentioned in some context, so we’ve already seen Trump saying the corrupt Bidens “brought back $1.5 billion” from China. I think the Post story above debunks that or has a link to a previous debunking from May.
Mary G
@patrick II: ?
Yutsano
@NotMax: “So we’re done with phrasing right?”
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: I did mean to imply it was only Marines there. Pretty much every branch gets in on that act. Yes even Coasties.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Ella in New Mexico:
Maybe that’s what they think, but after a while of repeating the crazy lies enough and having to defend them they slowly end up becoming personally invested and believing this nonsense, like the Flat Earthers who started out as a joke.
Elizabelle
@patrick II: Yea! You must watch the AP stories after the event and share them.
I like Elaine Luria too. And she mainly got her chance because the Navy Seal (?) GOP rep was cheating electorally and got caught. I hope she keeps her congressional seat for some time — she is what VA Beach needs.
NotMax
@Steeplejack
So by that measure the Bidens have more money than the Trumps.
VeniceRiley
I’m still team Kamala, But warren slayed me dead with the “go Cougars!” What a scream.
Elizabelle
@Mary G: I love it. Peach Mint Crumb Cake.
Mnemosyne
@Ella in New Mexico:
Yep — everyone is secretly like him and does the same things he does, but he’s the only one who gets punished and it’s, like, UNFAIR.
What’s inside their head is the filter through which they see reality, and they have a really hard time understanding that other people have thoughts and feelings that are different than theirs. They really are frozen at a toddler’s stage of emotional development and cannot move beyond it.
debbie
@cain:
Well, as he has said for decades, say anything often enough and people will believe you.
Marcopolo
@mrmoshpotato: I meant a report after the townhall wraps up but maybe you were being witty and I’m too dull to understand your reply. I mean it took me a minute or two to connect the Warren U. Houston Cougar tweet with today’s Wohl/Burkhardt shitshow.
Ruckus
@PJ:
I think that only your first one is realistic, only because Manafort is seemingly not against helping someone to get himself out of a pretty sticky jam. He’d not be willing if getting out put him in vlad’s crosshairs.
debbie
@Ella in New Mexico:
Agreed. Staff feed the beast to mollify the beast.
PJ
@Steeplejack: According to a Politico article, the company was capitalized at appx. $4.2MM. After the trip to China, Hunter joined the board, and then in 2017, after Joe Biden had left office, he invested $420K for a 10% stake
debbie
@Steeplejack:
Thanks for the link. Am I the only one being reminded of Billy Carter?
Ella in New Mexico
@Mnemosyne: @Mnemosyne: THIS.
But I find it interesting how he’ll repeat his old, failed bullshit at these rallies and speeches he later backtracked on, as if he never backtracked. Or contradict himself within the same paragraph. Like he forgot that’s not the current story.
He’s clearly losing cognitive functioning–his vocabulary has shrunken to the level of a well trained Border Collie. His reality testing and emotional self-regulatory capacity are degrading at a rapid pace. He’s pumping fight or flight hormones all day long. Anybody this jacked up physiologically is totally unable to maintain the self-control needed to maintain reality and stay focused. Something ugly will eventually happen and I, for one, can’t wait for the implosion.
Elizabelle
@Ella in New Mexico:
LOL, but it’s so true. Well done, Ella.
I think Trump has been swimming along the sidelines of reality for a long, long time — well before the 2016 election — but that Fox News/Rush/rightwing politics have infected so many people with prion disease that he could function in a kind of bubble.
NotMax
@Ella in New Mexico
It’ll be decades from now but eventually we’ll find out how many and what kind of pills he’s popping daily.
Mnemosyne
@Ella in New Mexico:
He repeats disproved stuff because he believes it at that moment, and that’s the only thing that matters to him. It’s all about ego protection. Admitting that he might have been wrong in any way whatsoever threatens the very core of his self and must be denied. A narcissist will repeat disproven stuff just to show that you’re not the boss of them.
And IIRC one of the most dangerous things that can happen to a con man is that he starts to believe his own patter. I think that’s what happened with people like Giuliani, Pompeo, Barr, etc. It started as a con, but then they had to live with it every day and they got sucked into their own con. They are now their own suckers.
Ella in New Mexico
@NotMax:
If he’s smart it’ll be Beta Blockers, and corticosteroids on his recovery days lolol
Has anyone else ever seen the reports that Hitler’s personal physician was trying to balance out all his physical and psychological symptoms with a variety of drugs/injections, vitamin remedies and other therapies? Uppers, downers, pain killers, weird snake oil herbals. Some historians believe Hitler either had Parkinson’s disease or a Parkinson’s like-disorder induced from amphetamines, which later advanced into psychosis. Scary.
RedDirtGirl
@mrmoshpotato: Thanks. I’ll check it out. That’s the search engine I use on my laptop.
Elizabelle
@Mnemosyne:
And complete motherfuckers.
I wonder what Robert Mueller thinks of his erstwhile friend Bill Barr now. Boy, did he get punked. (And I don’t think anyone should be following that DOJ guideline on not indicting a sitting president, or pretending it has the weight of a constitutional mandate.)
Ella in New Mexico
@Mnemosyne:
But that would be saying they actually have a conscience and a soul they must defend this bad behavior to so, maybe not lolol
Steeplejack
@PJ:
No argument here. To clarify the numbers, from the Post story I linked:
Trump’s claim that Biden “walked out of China with $1.5 billion in a fund” got four Pinocchios.
NotMax
@Ella in New Mexico
Over the counter methamphetamines were a Big Thing in Germany, both among the public and then during WW2 given to the military in either pill form or in the form of gum or chocolates. Dispensed under the (somewhat ironic in English) trade name of Pervitin.
The notebooks of Hitler’s personal physician survived the war.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@patrick II: Good work!
NotMax
Repeating this here from upstairs. Schadenfreude alert.
Jharp
Whoever those lemurs use for a barber does most excellent work.
They look like they just came from the beauty parlor.
trollhattan
@Jharp:
A simple lemur blowout is $75. (Long)Armed robbery, if you ask me!
zhena gogolia
Alexandra Petri has really nailed it (and with a nod to Dostoevsky):
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/10/03/world-without-god-everything-is-permitted
NotMax
@trollhattan
“What kind of cut are you looking to get?”
“The Hedy Lemur.”
Mary G
Oh, ffs:
trollhattan
@NotMax:
Heh.
“That’s Hedley!”
mrmoshpotato
@Marcopolo: I love it! :)
Elizabelle
NY Times breaking:
What US diplomats? Can them. (Albeit, they may have been working at Pompeo’s behest, but cowardice and careerism is no way to go.)
TomatoQueen
More lemurs. More Lemurs. MOAR LEEMURZ. (nod to FYWP)
I saw a pbs show about lemurs starring John Cleese about a thousand years ago. It starts with him addressing them, invisible in the jungle, as “You Bawstids!”. And then they come out to nibble bananas, sit on his head, and bite his ear. Most gratifying.
Elizabelle
@zhena gogolia: A Pulitzer for Ms. Petri, please. On the basis of a lot of recent columns. She’s marvelous.
Seriously. People will study her, in years to come.
mrmoshpotato
@NotMax: ?
Dorothy A. Winsor
Chris Hayes just tweeted that Volker just left his deposition after 9 1/2 hours.
Steeplejack
@zhena gogolia:
Her piece yesterday was great too.
debbie
Thread’s probably dead, but I gather Wohl’s presser failed. I especially love that the Marine’s “Warren scar” was refuted by his own Instagram post admitting he hit himself on his back with a chain while trying to take down a swing.
Dorothy A. Winsor
Politico is reporting that Rick Perry is planning to resign in November.
Elizabelle
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Yep. And the WaPost doesn’t have it up yet.
Mnemosyne
@Ella in New Mexico:
It’s not that they have a conscience — it’s that, in their effort to really sell the rubes on their con, they start to believe their own bullshit.
There’s a really interesting nonfiction book called Drake’s Fortune about a con artist who started off selling fake shares in a “settlement” to rubes who ended his life in an insane asylum because he was so good at conning people, he managed to con HIMSELF and started to believe that the thing he had started as a conscious crime was really true. Really fascinating book.
sukabi
Perhaps drumpf is continuing this because his enablers in the administration were starting to pull away…by tasking them with strong-arming other countries leaders he’s involving them in his crimes, and pulling them closer.
karen marie
Maybe I should have posted it here instead of, I think, the previous post, but I wrote a blistering email to my shitwhistle Republican representative.
Steeplejack
@karen marie:
It’s two posts up.
karen marie
@Steeplejack: Thank you. What’d you think? Was it coherent?