Two weeks of testimony.
One story of betrayal, abuse of power and a President who thinks he is above the law. #DefendOurDemocracy pic.twitter.com/iQhze3fu2d
— House Democrats (@HouseDemocrats) December 3, 2019
Sounds like we are going to get the impeachment inquiry report today. So buckle up, buttercup.
Open Thread
On The Road – Albatrossity – In the West
Soprano2
When Steve Inskeep interviewed Asa Hutchinson this morning, and he said that for impeachment to be legitimate the American people have to support it, I wish Inskeep had asked Hutchinson why did they impeach Clinton then, since support for that impeachment never rose above 29%? And then supply the statistic that there is over 50% public support for impeachment and removal from office for Trump right now! It’s the questions they don’t ask that shape the narrative almost as much as the ones they do.
schrodingers_cat
@Soprano2: These NPR and PBS peeps only turn tough questioners when the interviewee is a D. I have noticed that with Whory Woodruff too.
rikyrah
Let’s see that report!!
WereBear
We are long past the point where our “news outlets” give anything like the true pictures, yet people REFUSE to entertain such a “radical” notion. When you are only paying attention in 5 second burst, and don’t exercise your own memory of events against the public version, I suppose it is inevitable, but it makes so much of the population part of the problem.
rikyrah
Company Trump Touted Won $400 Million Contract
December 2, 2019 at 9:21 pm
A company that President Trump urged military officials to hire for border wall construction has been awarded a $400 million contract to build a span of new barrier across an Arizona wildlife refuge, the Washington Post reports.
Trump has repeatedly pushed for Fisher to get a wall-building contract, urging officials with the Army Corps of Engineers to pick the firm — only to be told Fisher’s bids did not meet standards. Trump’s entreaties on behalf of the company have concerned some officials who are unaccustomed to the president getting personally involved in the intricacies of government contracting.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/north-dakota-company-that-trump-touted-gets-400-million-border-wall-contract/2019/12/02/9c661132-1568-11ea-bf81-ebe89f477d1e_story.html
Bruce K
There is no heir to Walter Cronkite now. The Murdochs and the GOP made certain of that, and the “trust us and only us” rhetoric you see from Fox News and 21st-century Republicans is uncomfortably close to the endgame Orwell was warning about in 1984.
schrodingers_cat
Why can’t the Orange Person in the WH sit or stand up properly? When he stands he is keeling forward like the precursors of Homo-sapiens and he sits like he is sitting on a toilet. He has terrible posture.
germy
@schrodingers_cat: My guess is he wears some sort of bulletproof vest at all times.
He insists on his bedroom door being locked. Melania sleeps on a different room. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wore a vest to sleep.
Betty Cracker
@schrodingers_cat: There are theories…
SFAW
@Bruce K:
As a journalist? Or as a talking head? I’m not sure he was a great journalist — he may have been, but I have no idea — but he was “the most trusted man/voice in America” for a long time. I’d rather have Edward R. Murrow, but he’d probably be branded as a Demon-rat. (Of course, in his time, being called a “commie” or “Russian stooge” was the worst thing, but apparently that’s NBD these days.)
Either way: I agree re: the GOP and Murdoch. I haven’t decided if the Murdochs or Moscow Mitch have done more damage to this country and the world, but I’m sure it’s close.
Redshift
@schrodingers_cat: He wears lifts/elevator shoes and has for years, probably because he thinks being taller makes him more dominant. Apparently those tend to make people lean forward. I’m not sure I’ve heard anything about the sitting, other than that he’s a classless goon.
SFAW
@germy:
“Don-ald, how about a nice nightcap before bed going? No alcohol, don’t worry. I call eet my ‘polonium paradise.’ Oh, Bar-ron also says ‘fuck y–‘ er, I mean ‘good night,’ dahlink.”
SFAW
@Betty Cracker:
You got him at the wrong end of the horse. [Yes, I know it’s a centaur. My point stands.]
Mnemosyne
@SFAW:
Trump locks his door so nobody can overhear him chatting with Putin on his cell phone, and he’s too fat and lazy to unlock it after his good-night call.
TaMara (HFG)
@schrodingers_cat: This thread breaks down all of Trump’s dementia symptoms. Including his posture.
schrodingers_cat
@germy: W and Obama probably wore one too. They didn’t stand like this.
Gin & Tonic
@schrodingers_cat: They also weren’t morbidly obese.
schrodingers_cat
@Gin & Tonic: He probably wears one that is too tight and too small. Do you remember his penguin look at the dinner with QE2
Baud
@Gin & Tonic:
I take it you were not convinced by that depiction of Trump as a boxer.
Baud
@TaMara (HFG):
He had something else at some point?
Princess
@Soprano2: Inskeep is useless. He’s a terrible interviewer and never asks follow-up questions. He’s not good at thinking on his feet. I don’t know that he is tougher on Dems than GOPers though — I feel like they hardly ever bring Dems on.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@germy:
He insists on his bedroom door being locked. Melania sleeps on a different room.
On a different floor. I don’t know why that detail cracks me up, but it does.
rian StelterVerified account @brianstelter Dec 2
More
POTUS & FLOTUS sleep on separate floors: “It is true the first couple doesn’t share a bedroom, according to several sources, and the first lady prefers her own large, private space in a suite of rooms on a separate floor.”
schrodingers_cat
OT More schadenfreudilicious news from Mumbai
The new CM has ordered a review of Modi’s vanity project of high speed rail from Mumbai to Ahmedabad (twin city of Gujarat capital).
Read on Twitter, I haven’t met a single person who wants to go from Mumbai to Ahmedabad in a hurry!
ETA: Husband kitteh has had his uncle from Chennai explain why this is dumb project is
great for Mumbai. Its like a person from Chicago telling NYC person what is good for them. Sadly husband kitteh is too polite and refuted him based on facts. I would have just told him to STFU.
germy
SFAW
@Baud:
Wasn’t it supposed to be Rocky Balboa’s body?
Elizabelle
CNBC. WaPost had this up too, but pulled it down.
Trump loses appeal to block Deutsche Bank, Capital One from handing his financial records to Congress
Key points:
SFAW
@rikyrah:
Every day, in every way, this maladministration finds new and bigger ways to be corrupt.
Someone should ask Fisher how much of a kickback they’re giving the Criminal-in-Chief.
germy
“What’s in your wallet?”
Elizabelle
I hope to Gawd the Supreme Court lets the lower court’s decisions stand. Otherwise, Trump will run out the clock.
And I think that both Gorsuch and Kavanaugh should recuse. I know, dream on.
SFAW
Don’t break my heart?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@germy: And now it goes to the Supremes.
Ruckus
@Betty Cracker:
That’s not a centaur.
That is a fucking ass.
Oh, you mean the thing drawn out the back of the ass.
randy khan
@Elizabelle:
Trump and the Administration have lost every single time a court has ruled on this – we’re up to 5 so far – because the law is quite clear. It will be, ah, interesting, to see what the Supreme Court does.
rikyrah
Public to see Trump impeachment report Tuesday; inquiry continues
Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, tells Rachel Maddow that the report on the Donald Trump impeachment inquiry will be released publicly on Tuesday, but the impeachment committees will continue to investigate, issue subpoenas, and hear new witnesses even after this initial report heads to the House Judiciary Committee.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/public-to-see-trump-impeachment-report-tuesday-inquiry-continues-74396229624
Mary Ellen Sandahl
@schrodingers_cat:
Many possibilities: I caught myself doing the same though less obviously a couple of years ago, and I have a bunion and a unilateral eye problem which both affect my sense of balance at times. Or it could be lifts. Or back problems. It’s known he’s long needed glasses but admits he’s too vain to wear them. Or, or, or…
I’m more interested in evidence of effects of his “partial checkup” a few weeks back. Does his left arm hang oddly as someone observed in some thread I read the other day? My problem is I can’t stand watching footage of the creep for more than a few seconds.
James E Powell
@Soprano2:
I would argue that the questions they don’t ask – like the stories they will not cover – matter much more than the ones they do.
schrodingers_cat
@Mary Ellen Sandahl: Yes that’s important but I was just marveling at how inept he is at even being a normal human being who can sit, stand and smile, forget being President of the United States.
ETA: His smile is like a chimp’s aggressive grimace.
rikyrah
Schiff: Ignoring Trump obstruction hurts Congress oversight power
Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, talks with Rachel Maddow about ongoing investigations into whether anyone else was involved in Michael Cohen lying to Congress, and the importance of holding Donald Trump to account for obstruction of Congress for the sake of protecting the balance of power in the U.S. government.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/schiff-ignoring-trump-obstruction-hurts-congress-oversight-power-74394693639
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Mary Ellen Sandahl:
I’m more interested in evidence of effects of his “partial checkup” a few weeks back. Does his left arm hang oddly as someone observed in some thread I read the other day?
as several people are saying on twitter: Remember when HRC had walking pneumonia and it was a two week conspiracy story?
My problem is I can’t stand watching footage of the creep for more than a few seconds.
me too, I have to hit mute almost every time he comes on TV
O. Felix Culpa
Whatever you may think of Elizabeth Warren and M4A, she’s a compassionate human being and that counts for a lot in these dark times. From Wonkette (scroll down for the must-see video).
Damn these onions.
Elizabelle
I love that that federal decision on Deutsche Bank came down while Trump is at a NATO conference, pretending to be a POTUS.
Think there may have been some laughing and smiling among the other leaders and their staffs. They are more forthright about what they are dealing with.
AND: NPR leads with Trump at NATO, making threats. They never miss a chance to serve up a soundbite.
Elizabelle
NPR has not included the Deutsche Bank decision in its hourly recap. How slow are their interns??
They did mention Mr. and Mrs. Duncan Hunter flying their pet rabbit around the country.
germy
@Elizabelle: I like the way Duncan tried to blame everything on his wife. What an a-hole.
What did he expect? That she’d go to prison for him?
Gin & Tonic
Oddly I’m only seeing foreign media reporting on this, but jury selection begins today in Los Angeles for Elon Musk’s trial on charges of defaming Vern Unsworth (the British cave rescue guy whom Musk called “pedo guy.”)
The Pale Scot
In reference to the terrible stories about private equity destroying profitable companies. Over at NC;
Private Equity’s Uninvested “Dry Powder” and Falling Returns Reflect a Bigger Problem: The End of a Long Term Disinflationary Tail Wind
It’s always been about fudging numbers to maintain bonus levels. Using other people’s money to screw other, less influential people over. If I was dictator RICO would be a big growth industry
Gin & Tonic
Willard “Milquetoast” Romney:
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@O. Felix Culpa: Figured I knew which video you were talking about. That’s why we gotta win, and that’s why we will win.
schrodingers_cat
@Elizabelle: They are R mouthpieces, most of them. The ones who are not get phased out and shunted to weekend duties or out of the PBS, NPR umbrella. Hari Srinivasan, Ray Suarez come to mind, I am sure there are more of them.
Gin & Tonic
@schrodingers_cat:
Huh. Don’t sound like real Americans to me, amirite?
germy
WaPo headline:
Sab
@schrodingers_cat: Yes.
I watched the press conference with Macron (sound off, of course.) The contrast was startling: Macron was so poised and elegant, in both dress and posture, while Trump was slouched over with a tie so long he was almost sitting on it and a wrong sized suit apparently from Men’s Wearhouse. If it wasn’t the president of my country I would be laughing out loud.
schrodingers_cat
@Gin & Tonic: True dat.
Elizabelle
@schrodingers_cat: Have you noticed that NPR has become a children’s crusade? They have some incredibly young sounding women. As in, preteen voices. I find it distracting.
Am all for bringing in new journalists, but ..
I have really wondered, several times, if NPR’s timid coverage is in part due to very young, very underpaid interns/staff who have no lived experience of the “news” they are disseminating.
All of this reminds me, over and over, to NEVER give them any money. Although they were kind enough to play Brahms’ Symphony Number One (my favorite) to end Performance Today.
O. Felix Culpa
@Formerly disgruntled in Oregon:
From your keyboard to the deity – or non-deity – of your choice’s ears. That, plus grassroots organizing.
SFAW
@germy:
Hoped-for response:
“Dems call Trump ‘Traitorous’ for pursuing policies designed by, and for the benefit of, Vladimir Putin”
Sab
@schrodingers_cat: Also, occassionally they show Pompeo at the end of the front row. What an ass-kisser. He is sitting there with a smirky smile, pretending to be really impressed with Trump’s performance.
SFAW
@Elizabelle:
They know what their target audience likes. Unfortunately for NPR, he only watches Fox.
germy
@Sab:
I’ve seen that smile on other religious fanatics.
mrmoshpotato
@schrodingers_cat: In Soviet Russia…
What kind of posture do you expect from a Soviet shitpile mobster conman?
mrmoshpotato
@Mnemosyne: One-way phone s-e-x with Putin? (Sorry not sorry.)
mrmoshpotato
@germy: ?S is for Subpoena, Schiff wants your testimony ?
RL
I worked at WGBH in Boston for a few years. The NPR people were nice, but it was clear rich donors were driving the train.
It was depressing. While I was there they built a huge new facility and then turned around and hired Willard’s campaign manager to bust the union to pay for it. It was disheartening.
I came there from KET (Kentucky PBS) where the concern was learning, community outreach, GED programming.
WGBH was all ratings and chasing dollars.
West of the Rockies
@Bruce K:
Keep in mind, Walter was essentially one of 3 and only 3 to watch for news. He and his ABC & NBC brethren had only 30 minutes to fill. Now, there is straight news and there is opinion/infotainment 24/7. If a newscaster gets 3 million or 10 million (out of a nation of 300+ million) s/he is doing well.
Walter and company were 98% straight news, so when he did deliver his assessment of the Vietnam War, it meant something.
Also, there is sooo much more emphasis on being telegenic.
Personally though, I find I’m more moved to pay attention when one of the elder statesmen or women is brought forth: Dan Rather, for instance. I loved the late Daniel Schorr on his weekly NPR spot.
Baud
OT. UK Juicers want to weigh in on this Vox take.
catclub
@SFAW: Sylvester Stallone is NOT tall.
mrmoshpotato
@schrodingers_cat:
Again, in Soviet Russia… :)
schrodingers_cat
@Elizabelle: I stopped listening to NPR in the car a long time ago. They are fucking infuriating. I listen to music instead or books on tape.
chris
I’m out.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: Tony Jay will come and tell us in his Wodehousian style how Corybyn cannot fail he can only be failed. All the BS supporters here seem to love him.
Even lefty Indians on Twitter are his fans. Purity lefties of the world unite, you have nothing to lose except elections.
VeniceRiley
Has Trump even golfed since his “physical?” I don’t recall seeing any shots of him doing his usual.
Baud
@schrodingers_cat:
I’m not going to pretend to understand UK politics, but Corbyn over Boris Johnson is a no brainer.
I am curious as to why he is so unpopular though.
dmsilev
@VeniceRiley: He was at one of his golf courses a week or so ago. Whether he actually was wheeled out onto the course, I don’t know.
glory b
@schrodingers_cat: he’s wearing shoe lifts in an attempt to appear taller.
Women who wear heels know how to correct their posture for that.
That’s also why his pants are always so long.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: No idea. Why is the opposition so weak, Johnson seems like such an obvious clown.
catclub
Ask Hillary Clinton this and she may note that 25 years of press attacks kind of seep into the public consciousness.
Elizabelle
@schrodingers_cat: In RVA, we have a choice of “music stream” or “news stream”, and I love the classical music, followed by jazz at 4 pm. But I do not seek out their news, not one bit.
I am so tired of the “Democrats say” line they always use. Make the truth a partisan issue. Always, with those cowards.
mrmoshpotato
@chris: BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
*coughs*
BWHAHAHAHAHAHA! WTF?!
Kay
@rikyrah:
The wall is going to be a corruption-fest. You could have a whole special Dem House committee seated and working full time for years on just the every day corruption in the Trump Administration. The money stuff. His hires are all crooks and the career people he didn’t hire are all afraid they’ll be targeted and smeared.
Baud
@catclub:
Has Corbyn been attacked for that long? I don’t know how long he’s been a well known figure in UK politics. I don’t think even Hillary got down into the 20s, and I don’t think she was ever below Trump.
germy
@chris:
Not a place I’d want to get skin cancer.
Kent
Of course not. What we do have is a lot of evidence that the Ukraine interference story is actually Russian disinformation dutifully being propagated by the GOP. Every damn reporter who interviews one of these traitors should ask: “You do realize that the Ukraine interference story was cooked up by Russian intelligence to obscure their own culpability. Why are you repeating Russian disinformation?”
Baud
@chris:
I prefer the spray on.
patrick II
A common argument from Republicans is that Democrats are trying to overturn an election and that we should allow the 2020 election to decide the issue. Of course, if Trump succeeds in corrupting that would be reason that waiting for a corrupted election is not a reason at all. But, secondly, every day Trump is in office he does more harm. Last night he threatened to place a tariff on every French import, ostensibly in support of Google and Facebook in the face of France’s new proposed taxes on internet companies, but just as much to play the tough guy in advance of the NATO meeting being held today, but then he went on to accuse Europe of supplying most of the ISIS fighters, a bald lie that led to a Macron rejoinder, which in turn upset our president who doesn’t like being disagreed with — especially when he is wrong on the facts and he knows it. He is blowing up our NATO alliance.
If we had to impeach Trump on Jan 20, we should do it. Every day he is in there he is a clear and present danger to the country.
Gin & Tonic
@germy: Not a place that gets checked in my annual screening for skin cancer.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@schrodingers_cat:
I stopped cold turkey on Totebagger Radio 3+ years ago. News should inform, not infuriate. Stopped giving them money a dozen years ago.
Their editorial slant started long before any influx of young employees. You can trace their race to the bottom starting with the 2000 Presidential campaign. Thereafter, the Bushies made it a point to get public programming cowed by putting their own on the boards, cutting funding so that their only source were big corporate donors, etc.
Also too, people like Liarson and Innscreep came onboard and rose thru the ranks precisely because:
They and their editors have been pushed back against for 2 generations now by the right. They are scared shitless of the right, thus, their typical bothsiderism reporting nominally keeps the letters to the editors calling for their heads down to a minimum.
They do it to preserve access. Given that they’ve turned into a stenographic media, unless they have access, they have nothing to report.
Traditional media is corporate media. It’s all about ratings, clicks, subscriptions, whatever. Taking moral stances against one party will cost them income, thus they’re unwilling to do that. As such, those directives come down from above and affects the reporting culture. I’ve had my Villager friend flat out tell me this when she worked for a print media outlet.
Don’t forget who the prime consumer of traditional media is. NPR is an excellent example. The typical NPR listener is 55-58 years old, makes around 90K a year, is white and has been brainwashed since 1980 that BOTH SIDES DO IT! In other words NPR programming targets upper middle class moderates who are close to retirement. Outside of the 1%, that’s the most comfortable group in America. If traditional media were too responsive to the unwashed, partisan masses, they would alienate their base and their corporate sponsors. See #3.
Even when they earnestly attempt to be legitimately even-handed, they don’t realize they’re operating in a tilted arena that’s been built atop right-wing postulates — you can “agree” or “disagree” without realizing that the entire framework is slanted and you’ve tacitly endorsed their position the moment you agree to the terms.
mrmoshpotato
Let’s check in on Ms Sarandon’s revolution.
Lovely. Just fucking traitorous Trump trash, Soviet shitpile lovely.
mrmoshpotato
@mrmoshpotato: Mmmm caught in moderation
Gravenstone
@chris: So much for the old saw about “sticking it where the sun don’t shine”…
germy
germy
@Gin & Tonic: Insist on it!
mrmoshpotato
@germy: Sunning that area could be physiologically difficult. Where’s the group that promotes sunning the scrot?
Gravenstone
@TaMara (HFG): Well that thread completely derailed what was left of my lunch. Thanks?
Seriously, some very scary stuff in there. Can’t say that I’m sorry that Trump might be facing the more dire end stage issues. The greatest problem of course, is what he might do before he is clinically incapacitated by them.
Baud
@Gin & Tonic:
With Medicare for All, it will be.
Gin & Tonic
@Gravenstone: Never a bad time to share this clip.
Mnemosyne
@randy khan:
If they’re the total hacks I fear they are, it will be a Bush v Gore “this decision only applies to Republicans” decision. If Gorsuch and Squi don’t already understand that’s what they’re there to do, I’m sure they’re getting plenty of phone calls reminding them.
mrmoshpotato
@Baud: Baud! 2020! The only candidate with an opinion on taint tanning!
MisterForkbeard
@Baud: I’m a stranger to UK politics, but Tony Jay has made the point repeatedly that the UK press treats Corbyn horribly and always puts a slant on things towards Conservative/Tory politics. Sort of like focusing on an ‘anti-semitism problem’ when it’s very debatable and there are far worse examples in Tory leadership.
IIRC the UK press doesn’t actually have a requirement to treat politicians fairly or disclose a lot of information except just prior to elections. And in that short period, Corbyn’s polls start to go up.
germy
@mrmoshpotato:
That’s the code term the Secret Service uses when #45 goes out golfing.
Soprano2
@schrodingers_cat: It made me crazy because that was such an obvious immediate follow-up question. Everyone knows that the American public never supported the impeachment of Bill Clinton, so if public support is so important for impeachment, why did they do it anyway? I’m not a reporter, but I’m smart enough to immediately think of that, why isn’t Inskeep since that’s his fucking job!
Betty Cracker
@MisterForkbeard: I don’t know squat about UK politics either, but Tony Jay brings both snark and receipts, so I find his takes credible.
schrodingers_cat
@Soprano2:
Judy Woodruff is the same. Drooling lap dog interviews for the likes of Ronna Romney and Joni Ernst. Harsh questioning for HRC or Nancy P. But the bitch both-sides-it with utmost politeness so she gets a pass.
germy
@schrodingers_cat: Woodruff will be one of the moderators for the next Democratic debate.
Baud
@MisterForkbeard: Thanks.
schrodingers_cat
@germy: She will pose RWNJ talking points as questions. You can take it to the bank.
Elizabelle
@TaMara (HFG): I read Tom Joseph’s thread re dementia.
I wonder if dementia is Trump and the Republicans’ backup plan. You/we can’t impeach him because — he’s so obviously incapacitated by dementia. What a surprise! Welcome, President Pence.
chris
@Baud: Thank you so much for that image. Baud2020!Unburnt!
The Moar You Know
@Baud: He has a reputation – whether bullshit or not, I cannot say – as a fairly nasty anti-Semite.
He’s also far more pro-Brexit than even Johnson, although he’s largely managed to keep his mouth shut about that, as about half his party is not.
Who are you going to vote for if you’re a Remainer? SD? SNP? Not any real good choices there.
These things, and that the BBC treats him like he’s the second coming of Mao crossed with Stalin is not helping his prospects much.
Baud
@The Moar You Know: Thanks.
Sebastian
@TaMara (HFG):
I REALLY want to see him in the debates.
When he shits himself on live TV and in a demential stupor admits to all his vile crimes.
chris
@The Moar You Know: Citations needed.
Tony Jay
@Baud:
Eyeballs headline. Rolls eyes.
Don’t think I’ll get out of the boat. My rations of clickbait hot-takes have been so substantial recently I just couldn’t stomach another bite.
Baud
@Tony Jay: Heh. Fair enough. TBH, I was a little surprised at the story because Vox ♥️ Bernie.
Philbert
@Elizabelle: YUup! I expect the greatest stable genius ever upon leaving office will have himself immediately declared not competent for prosecution.
Tony Jay
@schrodingers_cat:
Awwwww, bless your heart, child. I’m tremulous with delight that you pay such forensic attention to my occasional rants.
Hey, did you hear that Labour have a commitment in their manifesto to shake up history education in the UK so that schoolkids learn about the real British Empire and the legacy of colonialism from the colonised’s point of view? What a bunch of bastards, eh? Don’t they know that Bernie said Brown people’s opinions don’t matter? Did they miss a meeting of the middle-aged white democratic-socialist’s Hive Mind forum? D’oh! Don’t they even care that they’ve got lazy stereotypes to fit into? The sheer privilege!
Let’s not do this again, eh? It’s very dull.
Tony Jay
@The Moar You Know:
I would also be interested in something to back up either of those really pretty horrific accusations, because I’ve checked and I’m coming up with something between zip and the atomic weight of a Trumpian promise.
Tony Jay
@MisterForkbeard:
Yes to this. Thank you.
@Betty Cracker:
Have I ever told you what a fine and perceptive woman you are? You’re wasted punching out alligators in the Great Swampy State.
Bex
@TaMara (HFG): After reading that thread, I’m wondering if the top Democratic candidates are gaming out the possibility that one of them might not be running against Trump. Pence would be the obvious replacement, but he was “in the loop.” Maybe Romney (spit) or Paul Ryan (double spit). Best to be prepared.
schrodingers_cat
@Tony Jay: I am not a child and I don’t need your blessings. I have nothing against Labor or Corbyn and would be happy if his party wins more seats against the obvious buffoon Johnson. But Labor and Corbyn seem to be struggling. Hurling pithy insults against me does not change that fact.
chris
@Tony Jay:
Thank you!
sgrAstar
@schrodingers_cat: unfair to the great PG Wodehouse. ?
?
West of the Rockies
@Bruce K:
Keep in mind, Walter was essentially one of 3 and only 3 to watch for news. He and his ABC & NBC brethren had only 30 minutes to fill. Now, there is straight news and there is opinion/infotainment 24/7. If a newscaster gets 3 million or 10 million (out of a nation of 300+ million) s/he is doing well.
Walter and company were 98% straight news, so when he did deliver his assessment of the Vietnam War, it meant something.
Also, there is sooo much more emphasis on being telegenic.
Personally though, I find I’m more moved to pay attention when one of the elder statesmen or women is brought forth: Dan Rather, for instance. I loved the late Daniel Schorr on his weekly NPR spot.
West of the Rockies
Crap. Harris dropped out. I knew it was almost inevitable, but ouch.
Tony Jay
@schrodingers_cat:
Uh huh. If you don’t want people coming back at you with pissy snark, then maybe you’d like to moderate your language when talking about them.
We’re all just a bit on edge over here. 8-)
Chris Johnson
@germy: Hand in glooove… the sun shines er I guess I got that backwards didn’t I?
It’s NOT like any other loove…