Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The willow is too close to the house.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

Trumpflation is an intolerable hardship for every American, and it’s Trump’s fault.

You know he’s going to shit a cat.

Radicalized white males who support Trump are pitching a tent in the abyss.

If America since Jan 2025 hasn’t broken your heart, you haven’t loved her enough.

Consistently wrong since 2002

Republicans in disarray!

Lick the third rail, it tastes like chocolate!

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Those who are easily outraged are easily manipulated.

The National Guard is not Batman.

When I was faster i was always behind.

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

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / Sometimes Daddy is Mean

Sometimes Daddy is Mean

by | 143 Comments

This post is in: 

Trump’s latest lash out is to dump the Kurds and let the Turks invade northern Syria.

Quick, to the batphone:

Another move that helps Putin, advances Trump’s business interests (Trump Towers in Istanbul), and gives everybody else the signal that he’s gonna go ham if he gets impeached.

Update: Looks like Butters is issuing some strongly worded tweets:

Reader Interactions

143Comments

  2. 2.

    Marmot

    … and gives everybody else the signal that he’s gonna go ham if he gets impeached.

    Hey—what’s “ham”? Slow this morning.

  3. 3.

    Betty Cracker

    According to Jim Sciutto (CNN natsec reporter) on Twitter, Graham is actually nutting up during the Fox appearance:

    “This is a big win for Iran and Assad. A big win for ISIS” – @LindseyGrahamSC just now on Fox, who then promised a resolution urging Trump to reverse course.

    “ISIS is not defeated. This is the biggest lie being told by this administration” – @LindseyGrahamSC

    Huh.

  8. 8.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    I googled and got the Urban Dictionary:

    1. To lose one’s mind completely, generally with a violent or surprising effect on those around the individual who is going crazy.

    2. To take on the attributes of a Hard Ass Mafucka.

    ETA: Oops. Too slow!

  10. 10.

    oldster

    “go ham”?

    “nutting up”?

    Are the front-pagers all speaking some weird dialect?

    And I hope that “nutting up” is not some expression for manifesting courage, based on male genitalia. Because I am really sick of slang that presupposes that courage requires male genitalia. It’s false, and it’s reactionary. If you have learned not to use the n-word, then you can learn to avoid idioms that support the patriarchy.

  12. 12.

    Betty Cracker

    Clip of Graham phoning it in on F&F:

    He’s okay with Trump subverting US foreign policy to sandbag his dear friend Joe Biden, but Graham is unnerved by the reversal on Syria? I don’t get it. Is there a munitions factory in South Carolina?

  13. 13.

    [Individual 1] mistermix

    @Betty Cracker: Yeah, I threw a couple of his new tweets into the post. Is it wrong that I envision Violet Beauregard stomping her feet in the chocolate factory when I read them?

  15. 15.

    [Individual 1] mistermix

    @oldster:

    And I hope that “nutting up” is not some expression for manifesting courage, based on male genitalia. Because I am really sick of slang that presupposes that courage requires male genitalia. It’s false, and it’s reactionary. If you have learned not to use the n-word, then you can learn to avoid idioms that support the patriarchy.

    I prefer “ova up” myself.

  16. 16.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Ten Bears: Since I don’t understand why Graham supports Trump in the first place, I can’t presume to guess if he’ll stop doing that.

    These days I frequently feel that I’ve lost any ability to understand what people are doing. It’s all crazyland.

  17. 17.

    Betty Cracker

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I completely understand why Graham supports Trump — it’s the only way to keep his job — but I’m puzzled by his loud opposition on this issue since he’s willing to throw every other alleged principle overboard to coddle Trump. He’s 100% cynical and self-interested, so there must be an angle…

  18. 18.

    chopper

    @Ten Bears:

    naw, he’ll offer up a senate resolution which has no real power, trump will ignore it, and graham will fold and start grovelling again and go back to full-on toady.

  19. 19.

    TS (the original)

    Slightly off topic – Wapo has an article about Wilmer proposing new things while convalescing. There really is one rule for old white guys and one for everyone else – do they want him to run & die in the process or do they assume men are much better than women at quickly recovering from an illness?

  22. 22.

    Jeffro

    @Betty Cracker: Graham is an idiot to think that trumpov is the boss of trumpov.

    PUTIN is the boss of trumpov, Lindsey baby. Once you really realize that, everything else makes sense.

  23. 23.

    Kay

    @TS (the original):

    I think he’s killing himself. I have to say though, I feel like I know the “type” and I bet Sanders has always resisted the idea he could get sick. He’s impatient with it- it gets in the way of what he wants to do. I think Clinton was probably the same way, hence her decision to go to that memorial when she was sick as a dog.

    Unfortunately it’s a fact and his body needs what it needs and will get what it needs no matter what he says.

  25. 25.

    Kay

    Bad hires always get worse, never better. Mediocre hires can improve. Bad hires can’t. That’s why you get rid of them quickly. If they could get better they wouldn’t be bad hires.

    Trump never should have made it past the 90 day temp-to-permanent process. He gets worse every month.

  27. 27.

    Jeffro

    Judging by last night’s and this morning’s (currently ongoing) panic-tweets, I’d say trumpov is on track to call for his “Second Amendment people” by the end of the week.

    In no particular order, he has:
    – said that Ron Johnson made Chuck Todd look like a fool
    – said that the $28B (and counting) farmer bailout due to his trade wars has been paid by China paying tariffs
    – said that he’d like to see another whistleblower “come off the bench” (ok tough guy)
    – said that Schiff and Pelosi are guilty of treason
    – said that hanging the Kurds out to dry is a good thing for us and that we’ll fight ISIS “if they get anywhere near us”

    Happy Infrastructure Week, everyone!

  28. 28.

    Jeffro

    @Kay: We might want to consider instituting that 90-day thing for new presidents, Kay. Well, for Republican presidents at least.

  29. 29.

    Kay

    Look what all the boot-licking got GOP Senators. Trump didn’t even bother to brief them. He has absolute contempt for people who don’t stand up to him, and he should.

    He knows better than anyone that they’re a joke. He relies on it.

  30. 30.

    Kay

    @Jeffro:

    Well, either that or we could get some timely and actionable information from our billion dollar political media apparatus instead of 16 months spent promoting their emails scoop.

    It’s both wildly expensive and very bad.

  32. 32.

    dmsilev

    Daddy’s going to have another Twitter meltdown today:

    Federal judge dismisses Trump’s lawsuit seeking to block Manhattan district attorney from obtaining the president’s tax returns

    A judge has rejected President Trump’s sweeping arguments that the presidency makes him immune to any investigation by any prosecutor, and his lawyers have already indicated that they will appeal.

    (that’s the complete story. This Just In)

  33. 33.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Betty Cracker: Stating the obvious that we all know, but his Senate allies don’t act any more in the public interest than T does. So this may be the sign that there is a team of Trump-underbus-throwers we’ve been waiting for.

    Polls in red states must be REALLY bad.

  36. 36.

    Kay

    @dmsilev:

    Those tax returns must be an absolute goldmine. Barr (The Hack) put forth this ridiculous, embarrassing argument that no one may even investigate his client. No prosecutor may even investigate Donald Trump. That’s the government’s position. They now work full time on obstruction, right out in the open.

  38. 38.

    Elizabelle

    @dmsilev:

    BREAKING NEWS
    President Trump must turn over eight years of his personal and corporate tax returns to Manhattan prosecutors, a federal judge ruled.

    Monday, October 7, 2019 9:00 AM EST

    A federal judge on Monday rejected a bold argument from President Trump that sitting presidents are immune from criminal investigations, allowing the Manhattan district attorney’s office to subpoena eight years of the president’s personal and corporate tax returns.

    Lawyers for Mr. Trump were expected to appeal the ruling from Judge Victor Marrero of Manhattan federal court.

    A bold argument? Callous, maybe…

  39. 39.

    Kay

    Another wilting potted plant timidly speaks:

    Marco Rubio
    @marcorubio
    · 14m
    If reports about US retreat in #Syria are accurate, the Trump administration has made a grave mistake that will have implications far beyond Syria.

    They have contempt for you, Marco! They don’t even bother to brief GOP Senators anymore, because you don’t matter.

  40. 40.

    hueyplong

    Looks like someone’s gonna get taken to the golf course.*

    * Formerly referred to as “the wood shed.”

  41. 41.

    Kay

    @Elizabelle:

    Where’s our globe-trotting AG? Shouldn’t he be hustling in there to protect his client, the President?

    I don’t mind that they no longer even pretend to do their crime-fighting jobs but I have to draw the line at paying for Trump campaign work overseas.

  42. 42.

    dmsilev

    The Post has some more detail up. The judge was Not Amused:

    U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero rejected Trump’s argument that the presidency makes him immune to any investigation by any prosecutor.
    In his 75-page ruling, Marrero called such a claim “extraodinary” and wrote that “This Court cannot endorse such a categorical and limitless assertion of presidential immunity from judicial process.”
    The ruling means that District Attorney Cyrus Vance (D) may enforce a subpoena he sent to Trump’s longtime accountants, Mazars USA. Trump had filed an unorthodox lawsuit seeking to stop that subpoena, saying that he would suffer “irreparable harm” if prosecutors obtained his tax returns. The Justice Department also took Trump’s side in the case.

  43. 43.

    Kay

    @Elizabelle:

    I think it’s fitting. NY gave him a pass for 50 years which is how we got stuck with him. It’s about time they acted. Clean up your mess.

  44. 44.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Ah. I gather from the discussion that DOJ already stepped in, and that the “Constitution specifically exempts anyone Republican from the laws of any state” argument was theirs.

    Somehow I had the impression that they were going to have the effect of delaying this case for weeks more. So color me pleasantly surprised that the case moved forward.

  45. 45.

    Kay

    @dmsilev:

    “Unorthodox”. The US Department of Justice is actively working with Donald Trump to obstruct justice and we’re all paying them for this “work”. They should all be ashamed, all of them, individually. Not one of them stood up to him. The IRS has more courage and ethical grounding than some of the fanciest lawyers in the country.

  46. 46.

    Marcopolo

    (Reposting from old thread below)

    Good morning folks.

    Am at a currently empty house w/ the thermostat off waiting for both the furnace guy & a locksmith to come & do a rekey. I am taking wagers on when in the 4 hour 8-12 window these folks will show.

    Also, a reminder—all of us have a role to play in pressuring R Reps & Sens (and thanking our D folks) regarding supporting impeachment. Here’s the # for the congressional switchboard: 202-224-3121

    You know what to do. I plan to start my Monday call by asking both Blunt & Hawley why they never hold open admission public town halls. Then whether they support Whistleblowers. The our abandoning our Kurdish allies.

    We are pebbles hear us roar!

    Have a lovely day.

    Great news on the tax returns—assume it will be appealed now.

  47. 47.

    Betty Cracker

    @Kay: Trump is blindsiding the only people who stand between himself and removal from office. Not that I think there’s any possibility that will happen, since elected Republicans fear primary opponents more than constituents, but if by some miracle any Republican senators vote to convict Trump after the House impeaches him, it will be because Trump is an asshole who treats them with contempt rather than courage that motivates them.

  48. 48.

    SFAW

    I’m sure Graham will get Collins to co-sponsor his “We Are Furrowing Our Brows EVEN MORE Deeply” resolution.

  50. 50.

    rikyrah

    Business associates of Rudy Giuliani sought to leverage U.S. government influence to replace the CEO of Ukraine’s state-owned natural gas company to profit from fuel sales to the war-torn country. The meeting “wasn’t a shakedown,” their lawyer says. t.co/b5RKFGKQzb

    — The Associated Press (@AP) October 6, 2019

  52. 52.

    Gin & Tonic

    @dmsilev:

    saying that he would suffer “irreparable harm” if prosecutors obtained his tax returns

    You know, I have this feeling he might actually be telling the truth this time.

  53. 53.

    rikyrah

    So upset about the Kurd situation.
    I knew that our luck would run out. I knew that we would wind up in this kind of situation.

  54. 54.

    JPL

    @Kay: Having the president to ask China to investigate is just a joke. Marco and Lindsay don’t have the moral fiber to stand up to the bully in chief for long. Let’s see what they say by the end of the day.

  55. 55.

    TS (the original)

    @Fair Economist: I am simply astounded that the media is reporting these ideas and NOT talking about how ill Wilmer is/was. Wait until it is Biden or Warren – then we will get – he/she should withdraw.

  56. 56.

    Marcopolo

    @[Individual 1] mistermix: Well, I think if you are going to use the term nutting up it should refer to something like squirrels sequestering acorns such as:

    Bill: Wow, the squirrels are busy today.

    Hank: Yep, they are nutting up for winter.

    But then I am more a “grow a spine” person myself when it comes to doing “courageous acts.”

  57. 57.

    Lapassionara

    @Marcopolo: Even if appealed, the accounting firm should go ahead and produce unless the district judge or appellate court enters a stay. Or unless the party requesting agrees that the document production can await appeal. I’ve seen the House attorneys make those kinds of agreements in the past. Wimps! Get those returns!

  59. 59.

    Marcopolo

    @JPL: I’m curious, has anyone here seen any reporting vis a vis the Trump China Biden ask that talks about how Xie (sp?) consolidated power in China by ginning up fake corruption scandals against his political opponents?

    I’ve seen Rachel Maddow touch on how “corruption” is a go to playbook for autocrats to consolidate power & control (Ukraine, Brazil, Philippines, Turkey, etc…), but really no other major media presences.

  60. 60.

    Kay

    @JPL:

    Does anyone have ANY DOUBT the China trade negotiations were ABOUT Trump and the corrupt crew? The Ukraine thing wasn’t even solely about their conspiracy theory! They were all planning on making a ton of money. Surprise, surprise.

    I mean, seriously. At this point it’s delusional to pretend these people are in any way working on behalf of the public. The assumption should be every one of his foreign contacts is self-interested and I don’t even give them credit for “believing’ conspiracy theories. It’s about money! They’re corrupt, sleazy people who saw an opportunity for a once in a lifetime pay day.

    There’s a payday for them in this thing too. They traded those Kurds for something.

  62. 62.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Marcopolo: I am not familiar with the other countries you mention, but in Ukraine, corruption is a real issue that really resonates with the public, and led to the results of the Presidential and parliamentary elections earlier this year. Zelensky may be inexperienced, and may turn out to be not as anti-corruption as he ran on (viz. his relationship with Kolomoisky) but in the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) nearly 80% of the incumbents were tossed out. The coming-of-age of the generation born post-independence is really changing politics there.

    The sad irony is that Giuliani and Trump are sucking it back to the old ways, and showing Ukrainians that the US is as venal and corrupt as Russia is.

  64. 64.

    Amir Khalid

    @Gin & Tonic:
    Given the likely nature of the harm he would suffer, is it safe to guess that you aren’t terribly sympathetic to his argument?

  65. 65.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @oldster: Relax, Francis. “Nutting up” means to totally screw up, usually resulting in damage to the process and to associated humans.

  66. 66.

    rikyrah

    @Elizabelle:

    BREAKING NEWS
    President Trump must turn over eight years of his personal and corporate tax returns to Manhattan prosecutors, a federal judge ruled.

    Monday, October 7, 2019 9:00 AM EST

    A federal judge on Monday rejected a bold argument from President Trump that sitting presidents are immune from criminal investigations, allowing the Manhattan district attorney’s office to subpoena eight years of the president’s personal and corporate tax returns.

    Lawyers for Mr. Trump were expected to appeal the ruling from Judge Victor Marrero of Manhattan federal court.

    It’s about to go down…

    BWA HA HA AH AH AHA HA

  67. 67.

    sdhays

    @dmsilev: I especially liked this:

    Marrero added that the argument was “repugnant to the nation’s governmental structure and constitutional values.”

  68. 68.

    rikyrah

    @Kay:

    There’s a payday for them in this thing too. They traded those Kurds for something

    Yep.

    1. follow the money
    2. where’s the phone call transcript.

  69. 69.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??

    @Gin & Tonic:

    and showing Ukrainians that the US Republican Party is as venal and corrupt as Russia Putin’s United Russia is.

    Isn’t this more accurate? The GOP isn’t the entire US; they’re barely a third of it, but have oversized control thanks to the regressive structures of government

  71. 71.

    Elizabelle

    @rikyrah: Good morning there.

    Amazing it’s taken this long. And sure to take a bit longer. And tomorrow the opening term of Supreme Court, which can no longer be seen as nonpartisan.

  73. 73.

    Marcopolo

    @Gin & Tonic: Part of the Manafort story is he did political work in the Ukraine (apologies in advance for spelling) for Victor Yannukovich, a Putin puppet who the Russians helped to get elected because they were worried Ukraine was moving towards W. Europe & away from Russia politically. Manafort & Yannakovich ginned up a corruption scandal against the woman who ran against him (she ran on an anti-corruption platform that was literally flipped on its head against her) and was more W European focused.

    Anyways, Manafort was paid millions of dollars under the table for this work & avoiding taxes on that is one of the reasons he’s currently in jail.

  75. 75.

    mad citizen

    Colin Powell, what a waste.

    A hypothetical came to me yesterday: What if our nation was at war, say with Russia or a more consequential nation? Would the Reupblicans (and all of us) be putting up with the sheer incompetence, craziness and corruption coming from the White House? Why should the standard be lower in peacetime?

  76. 76.

    PaulWartenberg

    is trump intentionally burning his bridges with Lindsey? Graham now has a huge opening to get the hell out of ass-kissing the Eternal Shitgibbon regarding the Ukraine whistleblowers

  77. 77.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Marcopolo: Um, I’m pretty familiar with Ukrainian politics.

    As I’ve said numerous times here and elsewhere, Paul Fucking Manafort is a bloodsucking mercenary with the scruples of the proverbial scorpion. He will go wherever he is paid – look at his history in Africa and Asia. He worked for Yanukovich because his party held out a big bag of dollars – it’s as simple as that.

    That said, Maddow’s story lionizing Yulia Tymoshenko was nauseating. Yulia is as pure as the driven soot.

  78. 78.

    Marcopolo

    One hour of the four hour appointment window gone & no repair folks yet. Sigh. Anyone have an experience where they showed up right off the bat?

    Only actually annoying because I am in a house that is totally empty except for one folding chair that I am sitting in :).

  79. 79.

    Brachiator

    The 2019 Nobel Prize announcements are being made over the next few days. The 2019 Peace Prize will be announced on Friday.

    Look for a Trump Twitter rant.

  80. 80.

    rikyrah

    Because, of course…….

    Freddie Mac Using Shady AI Company for Mortgage Loans
    ZestFinance is implicated in high-cost payday lending and backed by Peter Thiel. It’s now working with a government-sponsored mortgage giant.

    BY MAX MORAN
    OCTOBER 7, 2019

    The Wall Street Journal reported recently that Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage giant, is testing underwriting software from fintech firm ZestFinance. A creation of ex-Google executive Douglas Merrill, ZestFinance claims to use machine learning and artificial intelligence to spot trends in a borrower’s record that traditional lending models miss. This supposedly allows more credit to flow to borrowers who need and can afford it, allowing Freddie to issue more mortgages.

    Here’s what the Journal didn’t report: ZestFinance is currently entangled in a class action lawsuit for dodging state-imposed limits on exorbitant payday lending interest rates. This is at least its second time in court over these issues. The Journal also neglected to note how one of the company’s venture capital backers has direct ties to President Donald Trump’s American AI Initiative, which could allow taxpayer dollars to flow through ZestFinance back into his pocket.

    Press coverage of ZestFinance has barely discussed these salient facts. That’s why the House Financial Services Committee needs to conduct an oversight hearing of the company’s new relationship with Freddie Mac.

    ……………………………..

    But that altruistic version of the story doesn’t scan with the company’s practices, especially in its early days. ZestFinance originally ran a direct-lending platform called Zest Cash, where it lent to people whom Merrill calls “subprime” (read: low credit score) borrowers. One of its partners was BlueChip Financial, a corporation founded by the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in 2012. But according to an ongoing lawsuit, ZestFinance used BlueChip Financial as a front for dodging payday lending regulations.

    This is a common tactic used by online payday lenders, known as a “rent-a-tribe” scheme. Because BlueChip is technically based in Chippewa tribal territory, it’s outside of the jurisdiction of interest rate cap laws in certain states. That means a nontribal company that funnels its business through a tribal corporation like BlueChip can exploit low-income borrowers with high interest rates without fearing oversight. Tribal businesses could also claim exemptions from federal consumer protection laws.

    ……………………………………..

    Even this merits further oversight, though. ZestFinance is a startup, meaning it survives off of investment money from venture capitalists. One of its backers is the private equity firm Fortress Investment Group, which holds major stakes in national payday lending companies, according to a report from Americans for Financial Reform (where I worked as an intern) and the Private Equity Stakeholder Project.

    Another prominent ZestFinance backer is Peter Thiel, the radical far-right libertarian behind Palantir, the surveillance company whose ICE contracts progressive activists are currently fighting to undo.

    Thiel is Trump’s most outspoken supporter in Silicon Valley, who spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention. He has written that he turned his back on democracy once women gained voting rights and low-income people gained government aid. But he’s also an early Facebook investor who is well respected in venture capital circles. Thiel invested $20 million in ZestFinance in 2013 through the most secretive of his funds, Thiel Capital, whose website is only a logo.

    Why does it matter that Thiel is a ZestFinance backer? Because Thiel also installed an associate of his as the highest-ranking technology official in the Donald Trump White House: Michael Kratsios, who used to be the principal and chief of staff at the aforementioned Thiel Capital.

  81. 81.

    Jeffro

    @mad citizen: We are at war with Russia and have been for years now…it’s just not a traditional shooting war. So the answers to your other questions are ‘yes’ and ‘because they think it benefits them politically and/or financially, and/or because the Russians have a hold over them’

    Judges and tax cuts, American…the GOP sold y’all out for judges and tax cuts.

  85. 85.

    MattF

    @PaulWartenberg: I doubt that Trump is more than marginally aware of what Graham is saying. The only question is whether Graham will now be called a traitor who deserves to be shot. That would be amusing, but I actually don’t care.

  87. 87.

    Another Scott

    @Brachiator: Donnie’s a shoe-in with Abe and all the rest of his friends putting in a good word for him.

    Right?

    After all, if The Kenyan can win it, how hard can it be??!! :-/

    I suppose Greta has a good shot, but I haven’t really kept up with it. (Bill McKibben would seem to me to have done more for the cause over the years.)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  88. 88.

    Elizabelle

    @Marcopolo: Are you selling or buying or do-gooding? How come you to be in this empty house? (With access to an internet connection, at least?)

  89. 89.

    Another Scott

    @MattF: Donnie’s got a 3 hour old 5-part rant on the Twitter machine about Syria this AM, if you’re interested.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  92. 92.

    Jeffro

    Jennifer Rubin has a nice piece up, “The GOP’s lame excuses”, which lists the six most common and also completely stupid excuses GOP officials are making for trumpov.

    Bookmark it for future reference. It’ll save us all quite a bit of time if we, as she recommends, just yell out “that’s a #6!” Or “Nice try with that #3!”

    Gonna be a loooong week…

  93. 93.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @hueyplong: And somewhere along the way (say on the 4th green) the security detail will all be instructed to turn their backs, Mango Mussolini will appear to Graham Cracker in his manifestation as Cthulhu, & (after evacuating his bowels) Miz Linseed will crawl right back into line…

  94. 94.

    Marcopolo

    @Elizabelle: House is bought. A fair amount of work to do before move in, however, including making it ADA compliant for my 86 year old mom. Then there is the lateral sewer line repair & new concrete ramp to the front door. Won’t be moving for a few months. Makes senses to keep the house empty until all the work (including painting) is done.

    And the furnace people just called to say maybe 2 hours. Glad I brought a book and the Sunday NYT xword.

    Getting off my phone now. Need to preserve the battery as I do not have a charger. PS no internet connection but I have an unlimited plan on my phone.

  95. 95.

    dexwood

    @Marcopolo:
    Six weeks ago I had a repair guy call me to ask if he could show up about an hour ahead of the scheduled window. I was stunned, but happily said yes. Hope they get there soon.

  96. 96.

    TS (the original)

    @Marcopolo: I’ll vote for a phone call at 11.45 saying they are running late. I did have a computer guy arrive at 8.30 for an 8am appointment last week. I was first on the list – so he was running late all day.

  97. 97.

    Jeffro

    @rikyrah: For #4, all the more reason to move even faster and not back down. He’ll only spiral even further down and unfortunately that’s what it’s going to take for GOP officials to wake up.

  99. 99.

    oldster

    @Chief Oshkosh:

    I see. So Betty was criticizing Graham’s comments about Trump, by saying that they were a major mistake that could harm important interests.

    You really want to defend that reading, Chief?

  102. 102.

    patrick II

    @Betty Cracker:

    It will give him an excuse to jump ship as he sees the tide turning, not because of the “fake” Ukraine Traitorgate scandal in which he is already committed to backing Trump. But military patriotism gives him an out if he feels he has to take it. Plus, the military seems the one thing he non-ironically cares about.

  105. 105.

    Kay

    Paul Krugman
    @paulkrugman
    ·1h
    So did Trump just betray the Kurds because
    (a) He has business interests in Turkey
    (b) Erdogan, being a brutal autocrat, is his kind of guy
    (c) His boss Vladimir Putin told him to
    Remarkable that all three stories are perfectly plausible.

    So true. I would expand (a) though to include the other low quality hires. “Trump or one or more of the low quality hires has business interests”

    You don’t have to pick just one, though. It can be “all of the above!” In fact, every scandal has elements of all three. I’m partial to the “greed” explanation, though. I don’t think they believe in anything.

  107. 107.

    jl

    @Betty Cracker: Support of any and all military action by Graham is like a reflex. It means nothing. Graham’s initial reaction was 100 percent predictable. Will be interesting to see how he adjusts to Trump Thought. By current Trump standards, Graham’s statements were high treason, but will Trump extend his thinking on complete loyalty to his person beyond investigations into his extraordinarily corrupt administration?

    Graham’s statements about the withdrawal have zero informational value about the wisdom of Trump’s sudden decision.

    I’m curious too see how much attention the newly revealed Giuliani/Perry corrupt dash for cash wrt cutting themselves in on some graft from Ukrainian national gas company gets in the news. Will be interesting to see if Trump was in on the deal. Fact that Trump is trying to throw Perry under the bus may be sign that Trump was not.

  108. 108.

    rikyrah

    Glen Greenwald joins forces with Trump, Pompeo & Giuliani to save his presidency & get Putin off the hook for 2016. Never ever ever use the word Liberal or Progressive to describe him … with words you’re looking for are #TrumpSupporter pic.twitter.com/ZBly5uGsTv

    — Malcolm Nance (@MalcolmNance) October 6, 2019

  109. 109.

    Kay

    Richard Engel
    @RichardEngel
    ·5h
    Syria Kurdish official told us, reacting to Trump’s overnight decision.
    “The Americans are traitors. They have abandoned us to a Turkish massacre.
    We can no longer fight against isis and have to defend ourselves. This could allow isis to return to the region.”

    Another sad addition to the long, long line of people who have been screwed by Donald Trump.

    The Republicans in the US Senate could stop him, but they’re afraid of him. I will never understand why people work so hard to get these congressional seats only to chicken out when it comes time to use the power. What a waste.

  111. 111.

    jl

    @Kay: Congressional GOP still afraid that they’ll lose their seats if they oppose Trump. So, they will do nothing, and cook up the most ridiculous rationalizations for Trump’s tragic and whimsical and corrupt actions.

  112. 112.

    PaulWartenberg

    About trump’s tax returns info:

    If I read the legal agreements correctly, DA Vance is scheduled to receive some if not all of the paperwork by 1 PM *today* regardless of the appeal (unless the appellate court sides entirely with trump’s lawyers).

    I will keep my ears open at 1 PM to see if trump’s screams can be heard this distance

  113. 113.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Kay:

    The Americans are traitors

    Attention Goku: outside the US, the actions of the US are American actions, not Republican or Democratic actions.

  114. 114.

    catclub

    @rikyrah:

    4) Warning to House: if you impeach me, Ill burn every American alliance and interest before I go

    I rate this as the least effective threat. Alliances can be rebuilt. They are not individual dependent.

  115. 115.

    trollhattan

    @rikyrah:

    4) Warning to House: if you impeach me, Ill burn every American alliance and interest before I go

    He’ll do that no matter what. We can only control when, and how long he has to do it.

  117. 117.

    catclub

    @Gin & Tonic: Inside of US, traitors are only well defined when we have enemies – such as being at war.
    Technically, I think the only war ongoing is against terrorism.

  119. 119.

    Kay

    Nancy Pelosi
    @SpeakerPelosi
    ·Oct 4
    What did
    @realDonaldTrump
    promise China in exchange for interfering in our election? An easier deal on trade? Ignoring crackdown on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement? Condoning repression of religious freedom? #TruthExposed

    I’m glad she’s thinking about this. She’s good at her job, haters. Sure she’s not perfect but she’s the best we have in our shambling, collapsing WRECK of a government.

    By far the best.

  124. 124.

    patrick II

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York granted an emergency stay, after U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero earlier in the day rejected Trump’s request for an injunction blocking the subpoena for the records.

    That was quick. Some republican judge took care of that for him.
    Fucking Ways and Means Committee chair Richard Neal has had an open invite from the New York State Attorney general to ask for state returns and he refuses to do it. If democrats, not just Schiff and the intelligence committee, really want to impeach, Nancy should ask him to step down.

  125. 125.

    Deep Southerner

    @oldster: I’ve heard the expression “nutting up” for about as long as I’ve been alive, and I’ve always heard it in the context of someone “going nuts.” I don’t think it has anything to do with male parts.

  127. 127.

    rikyrah

    @Kay:

    Nancy Pelosi
    @SpeakerPelosi
    ·Oct 4
    What did
    @realDonaldTrump
    promise China in exchange for interfering in our election? An easier deal on trade? Ignoring crackdown on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement? Condoning repression of religious freedom? #TruthExposed

    I guess it would be too much to ask of the farmers getting screwed over to ask this same question.

  128. 128.

    Jeffro

    @PaulWartenberg: Watch as the air comes out of that fat orange balloon, and quickly. Let him spin why he’s got negative net worth…and then let’s hear where all of his funding is really coming from…

  130. 130.

    cain

    @jl:
    I expect him to say that he worked out a deal that is going to be amazing for everyone especially him and Russia!

  131. 131.

    Another Scott

    @patrick II: I’d be careful about thinking that Neal doesn’t know what he’s doing. It used to be that chair of Ways and Means was just about the most powerful position in the House.

    There’s an ongoing lawsuit.

    Massachusetts U.S. Rep. Richard Neal said the House Ways and Means Committee is looking to interview a whistleblower who alleges “inappropriate attempts to influence” a tax audit of President Trump.

    In an Aug. 8 letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Neal, a Democrat, said the Ways and Means Committee he chairs received an “unsolicited communication” from a federal employee in late July.

    Neal is not offering much else about the employee’s complaint. Neal said he’s not sure how it might affect his lawsuit to get the IRS to release Trump’s tax returns.

    “It’s hard to say at this point, because as it makes its way through the federal court system, there will be opportunities to, I think, make that assessment, perhaps a little bit later,” Neal said Tuesday at an appearance in Springfield.

    Neal said it will be up to House legal counsel whether to release this latest whistleblower complaint.

    The congressman was also asked if the quest for Trump’s taxes might intersect with the impeachment inquiry.

    “That’s hard to speculate about,” Neal said. “I think that certainly you believe as we go down this road, that the inquiry could entail a lot of different things. You can see, I’m very guarded about what I have to say because this is an active court case.”

    Neal told reporters that the case has been prepared “methodically, carefully and judiciously.”

    It may be that they want to force the court to rule that Donnie has to comply, to serve as a strong precedent and strengthening the obvious fact that “shall” means “shall” going forward. Making an end-run and getting the returns a different way won’t strengthen Congress’s hand for future battles.

    Just a guess. IANAL.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  132. 132.

    Captain C

    @Kay:

    Where’s our globe-trotting AG? Shouldn’t he be hustling in there to protect his client, the President?

    Perhaps he’s setting up his own bolt hole for when everything goes sideways here?

  133. 133.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Kay: I would as forth option to the K-Thug’s list, since Trump is this petty and short sighted;

    (d) The Kurds have been big Republican cause since GH Bush’s presidency and Trump is shafting the Kurds to punish the Republicans for not supporting Trump enough on the Impeachment charge.

  134. 134.

    Immanentize

    @Another Scott:
    I agree with you about Neal and his work. But now that impeachment proceedings have started in the House, the “I must have my bean feast NOW” crew is casting about for new targets.

  135. 135.

    glory b

    @Kay: Kasie DC had a commentator on last night who spoke of his heart attack at 39. He said worse than the heart attack was his decision to return to work the next week.

    He said his heart attack was 10 years ago, and he never got beyond 90% of how he was before. His take on it is that Sanders should not even consider going back any time in the near future. Heart attacks aren’t to be scoffed at, even the ,mild ones will rock you on your heels, and he was 40 years younger than Sanders.

  136. 136.

    patrick II

    @Another Scott:

    The NY ATTY General offered those tax returns to Neal straight up before there was any court case against it. There since is a federal case in filed in DC, but the NY ATTY General says it is in D.C. and is federal and casts no restraints over her. She is all but begging Neal to ask for them, which he hasn’t. If he is playing some game it’s a dumb one. If you want some precedence that will help other cases the best case would be to show all of the crimes you know he has committed in the state returns as justification for getting the rest. Not to mention, state returns will show much of the federal return anyway.
    People can overthink things. Get the fucking tax returns that are available.

  137. 137.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Another Scott:

    And this two-parter, slightly more recently:

    Oct 7, 2019 10:38:09 AM
    As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!). They must, with Europe and others, watch over… [Twitter for iPhone]

    Oct 7, 2019 10:38:09 AM
    ….the captured ISIS fighters and families. The U.S. has done far more than anyone could have ever expected, including the capture of 100% of the ISIS Caliphate. It is time now for others in the region, some of great wealth, to protect their own territory. THE USA IS GREAT! [Twitter for iPhone]

    “I, in my great and unmatched wisdom” is a nice touch.

  138. 138.

    mdblanche

    A rather unfair comparison there, mistermix. He may be a fat sociopathic racist asshole’s gullible weak-willed little bitch, but Butters has enough of a conscience that he would try to do something useful long before Graham breaks out the strongly worded tweets.

  142. 142.

    sigyn

    @Richard Wesson: That’s my personal favorite term. Careful though, I was suggested as much on a reddit thread, got downvote brigaded by redpillers, and they erased all my upvotes & left me 200 downvotes in the hole.

    Luckily for you, we’re a pack of jackals, not fucking lunatics.

Comments are closed.