Pelosi: "To honor our duty to keep the American people safe, the House will move forward with a War Powers Resolution to limit the President's military actions regarding Iran. This resolution …will go to the Rules Committee this evening & will be brought to the Floor tomorrow."
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 8, 2020
Per the Washington Post:
… U.S. officials said Wednesday they knew Iranian missiles were coming hours in advance of the attack after warnings from intelligence sources and communications from Iraq. Iraq’s acting prime minister has said he was informed of the attack ahead of time.
“We knew, and the Iraqis told us, that this was coming many hours in advance,” said a senior U.S. administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the communications.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced that the House will vote Thursday on a measure to limit Trump’s military actions regarding Iran. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said the classified briefing by Trump administration officials Wednesday was “probably the worst briefing I’ve seen at least on a military issue in the nine years I’ve served in the United States Senate.”…
Inbox: Senators Markey, Warren, Duckworth, Leahy, Merkley, Wyden, and Van Hollen today introduced a Senate resolution condemning Trump's threats to attack cultural sites in Iran and demanding the President refrain from violating the laws of armed conflict.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 8, 2020
Sen. Murphy: "I was deeply surprised at the lack of information presented by the administration regarding a specific imminent threat … I was, I think, both surprised and saddened to not have that information before us. I think it is likely because it doesn't exist." Via ABC pic.twitter.com/rnoEG1ZYc5
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 8, 2020
Schumer just said at the mics that Pompeo et al walked out of the Iran briefing when the questions from senators got too hard and wants them to come back
— Emma Dumain (@Emma_Dumain) January 8, 2020
Sen. Joe Manchin, a member of the Armed Services Committee, on whether he saw evidence of justification for Soleimani strike: "No, I did not." @MSNBC
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 8, 2020
Even the GOP’s dynamic duo was unpleased with Pompeo…
GOP Sen. Mike Lee goes off on the Trump briefing: "They had to leave after 75 minutes, while they’re in the process of telling us that we need to be good little boys and girls and run along and not debate this in public. I find that absolutely insane. I think it’s unacceptable." pic.twitter.com/rs6LOimfAm
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 8, 2020
ETA:
Rand Paul echoes Lee and calls instructions by administration not to debate military action “particularly insulting.”
“I think we need to debate the separation of powers,” he adds
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) January 8, 2020
Man, I haven’t seen a senator that pissed in a while.
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) January 8, 2020
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Good on Chuck, which I do not say often.
Yowza, they must really have had nothing
Jeffro
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Yup, if Mike frickin’ Lee is trying to tell you your presentation sucks, GOP, you might wanna mull this whole thing over.
Hey trumpov – your fake tax cuts didn’t work, and you almost got us into an unjustified/unpopular war. Maybe grab a bag of cash and catch the next flight to Moscow?
Cheryl Rofer
The DOD is publicly going back and forth now on whether or not Iran deliberately targeted people at the military bases (spoiler: we can’t know unless they tell us) and whether Mark Esper talked to the Iranian Prime Minister last night. It’s been said before, but the wheels are coming off.
It’s hard to tell if this is a DOD problem, the impossibility of dealing with a President who turns on a dime, both, or something else, but it’s not good.
Cheryl Rofer
MattF
Lee being unhappy about this means that everyone in the Senate is unhappy about this. The Trumpies should understand that, but don’t really seem to get it.
laura
That was a satisfying bit of video from Mike Lee. Even more so because it ended before senator randy paul opened his yap.
Wonder how many pairs of pants Pompeo is going through on the daily.
Anne Laurie
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I have a suspicion that Pompeo is about to be thrown over the side of the SS Trumptanic, and he’s not at all happy about it. He can’t face down his master, but he can still take out his grievances on the people who *will* make the Oval Office Occupant’s life harder…
debbie
I don’t think this is something that can be walked back.
debbie
I also think they should do something about this tweet crap serving as official notice. Put that into legislation.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Cheryl Rofer:
Wuold it be unfair to call Esper a non-entity who’s being steamrolled by a neo-con young earth Jesus freak? The first part of the question is genuine, the second I think is obvious.
Mnemosyne
This can’t be possible, because I was repeatedly told on? Twitter yesterday that the Democrats are the warmongeriest warmongers who ever warmongered, and that Democrats are just as eager to dive into a pointless war as Trump is, so they would never say anything like this.
Are you telling me that ? Twitter might be WRONG?!?!?!
Pardon me while I repair to my fainting couch to clutch my pearls, though I have to drink this giant mug of peppermint tea first.
debbie
In fact, they also need to pass legislation requiring that Trump fill the vacancies in the intelligence and security areas. Had there been a DNI, etc., there never would have been that stupid airstrike.
And how pathetic am I to be taking Iran’s word over Trump’s?
Mnemosyne
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Which one is that? I’m having a hard time keeping the assholes straight without a program.
Adam L Silverman
@Cheryl Rofer: It is partially the result of Esper allowing Pompeo to act as Secretary of Defense. GEN Milley has looked furious for the past several days and especially so at the President’s speech this morning.
debbie
@Mnemosyne:
And at the same time, ? Twitter was saying that Democrats are Soleimani lovers!
Adam L Silverman
@Mnemosyne: I think that’s my fault because I work in nat-sec and defense.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
If you haven’t seen the video, Mike Lee is pissed.
No, I will not be surprised if he gets over it by the start of business tomorrow.
Hoodie
That was quite a rant by Lee. He realizes that the admin didn’t have even a phony negotiating psychology rationale for killing Soleimani, that there was no strategic or tactical purpose other than to gratify Trump’s ego. He may also realize that, while the Iranian missile attack was, at least in part, for domestic consumption in Iran, it was also a message that our troops in certain parts of Iraq are sitting ducks. They lobbed a handful of smaller ones this time; they have bigger ones that could do a lot more damage and, with the small footprint we currently have over there, we don’t have a lot of defenses in place against them. The Pentagon is now scrambling to throw more troops over there, and imagine how well that will go over with the Iraqis. What a clusterfuck.
Cheryl Rofer
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: @Adam L Silverman: Pompeo is definitely steamrollering Esper. OTOH, FWIW, Esper said something about using diplomacy this morning.
Agree that Milley has been looking furious, at least when he’s not looking like he’d like to fall through a trap door under his feet. There’s something, maybe a number of things, he could do about that.
Frankensteinbeck
@Mnemosyne:
Don’t worry, there’s no contradiction. When McConnell doesn’t let this come to a vote, that will be the proof that Democrats sometimes say they’re anti-war, but the fact that they voted for military budgets and the AUMF proves that Democrats are collaborators who support all Republican and Trumpian positions.
jl
The Art of the Deal!!
artem1s
A lot of people on twitter were shocked at how awful Dolt looked and acted. He can’t even manage a 10 minute press conference anymore. That on top of this non-briefing briefing may have some of the GOP thinking the price is just too damn high. We are very, very lucky that there are some adults still in charge in Iran. Today could have been so very bad.
trollhattan
@Mnemosyne:
Killary bombed my cat. Just sayin’.
dmsilev
@Mnemosyne: I have to say, it’s very accommodating of the ? Twitter folks to label themselves for easy disregarding-of-everything-you-say.
Mnemosyne
@Hoodie:
I’m pretty sure that Lee will change his tune as soon as he receives the spreadsheet showing what percentage of his campaign contributions came from overseas and that he committed a felony by accepting them.
I still think that’s how Trump is keeping them all in line.
WaterGirl
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Yep. It’s okay to try to put something over on the rubes, but the Republican senators appear to feel strongly that they should not be considered part of the rubes. The rubes are those other guys!
trnc
Wolf Blitzer is currently swooning over Rand Paul. Wolf called him a key member of the senate committees he serves on. Not sure what a key member is unless he’s the chair.
WaterGirl
@Mnemosyne: It’s licorice tea for me. With honey.
jl
@Hoodie: I don’t think Iran has finished its retribution. Trump and his flunkies are probably stupid enough to think that Iran was cowed and afraid or incapable of doing anything more. I’m sure others in government, not associated with the Trumpsters, have a more realistic view, though no point in bothering Trump about it, just placate him to keep him from causing more trouble.
jonas
It appears that in an administration that has almost completely hollowed out its normal OODA processes and where key advisory positions in the WH and DOD are either unfilled or covered by some “acting” pick, Pompeo — a self-righteous asshole/right-wing evangelical who out-douchebags even Ted Cruz — has stepped into the vacuum to fill Trump’s addled head with his own apocalyptic fever dreams.
Butter Emails
@trnc:
It’s wild that the media kisses Republican politicians’ butts on the rare occasion they say something that Democratic politicians state routinely.
jl
@Butter Emails: But the corporate media almost always kisses GOP (euphemism alert) ass anyway.
khead
Republicans in disarray!
Mnemosyne
@WaterGirl:
Trump’s not allowed to have his leopards eat THEIR faces like they were one of the üntermenschen!
jonas
I agree — Trump’s press conferences are frequently pieces of stream-of-consciousness, dystopian performance art, but here he just looked unsteady and ill, reading his whiny, prepared comments ponderously off teleprompters, and with his troweled-on makeup failing to conceal his puffy, haggard face. Low Energy! Sad!
Baud
@Butter Emails:
There was a time when the media reflexively loved any politician who went against their party, but nowadays they also love Republicans who stand up to Democrats.
Mnemosyne
@WaterGirl:
We’re out of honey. ? I have an annoying cough that needs to be more productive, so I searched Dr. Google and came up with guanefisen (sp?) and peppermint tea.
jl
As for Pompeo’s condescending (edit: insulting) stunt today, I heard a news report that Gen Miley already admitted, in an appropriately indirect way, that there was no imminent threat at all. In response to a direct question he muttered that well, sure imminent, but maybe not with specific overly exact dates, places or persons, and then he got away from the reporters asap.
So, probably will be festival of lies, misdirection, delay and bafflegab from the Trumpsters.
ThresherK
As a lifelong Nutmegger I am proud of our two senators. Blumenthal and Murphy are doing some great public things, and making all the proper enemies.
Mnemosyne
@jonas:
I also suspect that a lot more people than usual watched this press conference and were like, “What the ever-loving fuck is up with this guy?!?!”
jl
@Mnemosyne: probably many concluded that ‘What the fuck is up is that he is fucked up and has fucked up.’
jonas
@Mnemosyne: Are campaign finance crimes even investigated any more? If Trump could get away with the crap he pulled paying off Stormy Daniels — to say nothing of concealing his tax returns or openly asking Russia to hack Clinton’s emails — why should some senator care if we find out if his campaign received foreign donations? Seems like small potatoes these days.
Immanentize
Pennywise has more human looking makeup than Trump.
Baud
@Immanentize:
Pennywise was more human than Trump.
Jay
Dolt 45 and his war have been pushed off the front pages in Canada.
The crashed Ukrainian flight from Iran had 178 people on board, 138 people were heading to Canada, 63, ( so far) were Canadians. Others have relatives in Canada.
jonas
@ThresherK: Agree — I’ve been following Chris Murphy in particular for a while now and he’s very good. Would be nice to see a prominent role for him in a future Democratic administration (SecState or SecDef?).
Baud
@Jay:
Yeah, I was taken aback with just how many Canadians were should aboard that flight.
Mnemosyne
@jonas:
If it was incontrovertibly shown that, despite their years of denial, the Republicans are being bankrolled by Russian oligarchs? Yeah, I think that would move the needle even with our supine press, and the Republicans know it. There are fewer American cult members than Twitter would like you to think.
Mnemosyne
@Jay:
Does it look like an accident so far, or something worse? The US has an unpleasant history of “accidental” shootdowns of passenger airliners.
CarolPW
@jonas: The Federal Election Commission handles that stuff. They need four votes for any action they take. There are currently only three members because Fuckhead refuses to appoint any, so there is nothing they can do.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Ari Melber welcomes Joe Lieberman to his show for the first time.
What an asshole.
And if anyone asks if I mean Melber or Lieberman: yes.
debbie
@Mnemosyne:
Guaifenesin (Mucinex) is great stuff. Be sure to drink lots and lots of water. It helps thin out the gunk and makes it easier to get rid of.
Roger Moore
@Mnemosyne:
I don’t agree. Yes, there are some Republicans like Trump and McConnell who know damn well they’re on Putin’s payroll, but most of them desperately don’t want to know. Laundering the money through good American groups like the NRA is as much about allowing those Republicans to stay in denial as it is about hiding it from the rest of us.
ETA: Keeping the funding source secret also allows the people in the know to serve many masters rather than just one.
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: So strange. There is too much going on to waste time on Lieberman.
Frankensteinbeck
@Mnemosyne:
From what I’ve heard, no one in authority anywhere thinks there’s any legitimate suspicion it’s anything but an accident.
JPL
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Now I’m imagining Pennywise, trump and Lieberman in a room together. Nightmares are made of this.
Mnemosyne
@Roger Moore:
That’s kind of what I mean: if he persists in standing against Trump, Lee will be given proof of what he’s been trying to deny even to himself — that the Republican Party is financed by Russian oligarchs. And that will make him fall back in line. Heck, just a strong hint that that’s the case may be enough to get him to fold.
PsiFighter37
@jonas: Oh, I have zero doubt that the reason Trump is breaking fundraising records is because there is a record amount of illegal foreign cash that is flowing in. I have no doubt that once Biden (at least based on polling, he will be our horse this time) kicks his butt, and the next AG gets into it, that the RNC and everyone else is going to be knee-deep in Russian, Saudi, and all sorts of other unsavory cash.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@JPL:
If you wondered what could give a sewer-dwelling, razor-toothed, child-eating, undead clown nightmares….
NotMax
FYI, the deadline is Friday so still subject to change but right now the number is five.
@Mnemosyne
Any cough medicine labeled “Expectorant” will most likely contain that, and it needn’t be a pricier brand name. Personally prefer ingesting it in pill form rather than the liquid (why pay for added water and flavoring?). Costco has a house brand which performs as well as any other.
Kent
NPR says that it was a Tehren to Kiev flight that continues on to Toronto. Since it is the cheapest and most direct connection between Toronto and Tehran it is popular with the very large Iranian diaspora centered in Toronto
But a 737 plane seems to me like a pretty small plane to be flying onwards from Kiev to Toronto. Maybe they use a larger plane for that leg? I thought most trans-ocean flights used 4-engine planes.
Adam L Silverman
@Cheryl Rofer: He can do something up to a point. If he resigns, then he can’t do anything about anything. As long as he’s receiving lawful orders, he either salutes and moves out smartly or he resigns rather than carry them out.
My guess is that he has had a very pointed discussion with Pompeo about not providing the President advice that completely ignores that there are Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines in harms way.
Adam L Silverman
@trollhattan: You know what you did!
Roger Moore
@Mnemosyne:
I’m not so sure about that. Maybe Lee will be cowed by the implied threat of being shown what he doesn’t want to see. But if he isn’t sufficiently cowed, you have to make good on your threat or it will be shown to be empty. And if you do make good on your threat, the outcome will be unpredictable. Maybe it will bring him back in line, but maybe he will discover his fear was exaggerated and he can ignore you in the future.
This is the fundamental problem with trying to rule primarily through threats and fear. It’s much more effective to have both a threat and a reward.
jonas
@Mnemosyne: You’re right that average Americans — the 55-60% or so who disapprove of Trump — would be duly outraged if it came out that the GOP was in the pocket of Russian donors. You know who wouldn’t care? The MAGAts. They’d see it as a bold move to stick it to the “elite” donor class/Deep State establishment here in the US and work with people who share their values, namely mobsters and former Chekist agents. That’s why I don’t think blackmailing a GOP senator with that info would be particularly effective.
dmsilev
@Kent: The great majority of long-haul airliners these days are twin-engined, but Kiev->Toronto is rather far for a 737. The first nonstop flight that came up on a quick Google search uses a 777, which is a much bigger (but still twin-engined) plane.
Dan B
@Adam L Silverman: Saw Esper on Amanpour last night. He’s Mark Hollywood, all acting chops and easy on the eyes, unlike Trump today. Amanpour kept trying to get answers from him. She followed with a couple women who were awesome. Elissa Slotkin, the rep from Michigan who was CIA Shia expert for decades, husband is military, and are Dems! She seems like one of the stellar crop of women in the house and Senate – Katie Porter, Pramila, Rashida Tlaib, etc, etc. She said essentially that Esper had zero substance. All spin, no cattle. (to mangle metaphors)
She’s on several Intelligence subcommittees so could be a big thorn in Esper and Pompeo’s side.
Cheryl Rofer
@Adam L Silverman: It’s that kind of discussion I’m mainly talking about now. And with the President, too.
Immanentize
@Roger Moore: Is it possible that the Mormons could save the country? They seem to be the least fake religious group in the country
Baud
@Immanentize:
Only if they can successfully coordinate.
Chris T.
@Kent: They used to use the 4-engine jets so that if an engine quit for any reason they would still have 3/4ths of them working.
Modern twin-engine jets can fly for quite a while on one engine, sufficient to do an emergency landing even if somewhere over the middle of the Atlantic or Pacific. In theory they could still do the whole trip (usually? always?) but in practice they’ll do the emergency landing.
Adam L Silverman
Martin
Doesn’t matter what Congress passes, Trump will veto it, and if they override, he’ll just ignore it. He’s successfully ignored Congress for 3 years now with no consequence.
Adam L Silverman
Baud
@Adam L Silverman:
By the enemy, he means Democrats.
sab
@Mnemosyne: Lee is a Utah Mormon. He is safe as long as his people are okay with what he is doing. They still have religious principles. Right wing, but recognizably religious.
dexwood
@Adam L Silverman: A face in need of a mackerel slap or three.
Ascap_scab
@Mnemosyne: Only if that peppermint tea is made with genuine melted snowflakes from Miss Lindsay’s mountain retreat.
Kent
You mean besides all the fake beliefs about Jesus coming to the new world and the Indians being the lost tribe of Israel and something to do with aliens?
Immanentize
@Baud: I KNEW KNEW KNEW you would write that! Makes me smile.
debbie
@sab:
I don’t think many Utahans voted for Trump just to piss off libtards. They may be just as concerned as Lee.
sheldon vogt
@Cheryl Rofer: If Milley had an ounce of integrity, he’d have resigned when Trump bailed on the Kurds. He started his term as head of JCOS as a sycophant, and has headed south from there.
Pussy.
EVERYTHING Trump touches turns to shit.
Kent
I remember when the 777 came out because I was living in Seattle at the time and they made a huge deal about how it was the first twin-engine plane to be certified for trans-ocean flights. I guess there are now a variety of more options. But I don’t think the much smaller 737 would be the right plane for that. This wasn’t even a 737-max, it was an older ordinary 737 model.
mad citizen
Checking to see what’s up on BJ, finished watching to the Mike Lee video, sitting here thinking about it, and my ‘Trump shaking hands with a KKK member sticker’ just fell forward from the bookshelf over my desk…it’s a sign. link to sticker: (https://www.ebay.com/c/8011633387)
Immanentize
@Kent: That is a condemnation of all religious people everywhere.
Yutsano
@Adam L Silverman: Oh my goodness. Someone is bovvered. Bless his heart.
Mandalay
In case you thought twitter-as-a-news-source couldn’t get any worse:
This will allow the Trumps to tweet whatever they want, and block all replies, or allow only sycophants to reply.
Kent
I looked it up: Donald Trump won Utah with 45.5 percent of the vote, the lowest percentage for any Republican since George H. W. Bush in 1992. Hillary Clinton received 27.5 percent of the vote, and Independent candidate Evan McMullin received 21.5 percent.
Baud
@Immanentize:
I’m happy you’re happy, but I’m not sure I like being predictable.
Martin
Well, that would be atheists.
But no, they won’t save the country. Romney of all people knows who Trump is and still can’t fucking stand up to him.
Kathleen
@Butter Emails: Media love them some Rethuglican Bully Daddies!
Kent
@Immanentize: However you want to take it.
Baud
@Mandalay:
There are some court cases that say that Trump can’t selectively block replies.
Kathleen
@Baud: Better yet, they love intermittent “Democrats” who hate Democrats even more!
Adam L Silverman
@Dan B: I don’t know Congresswoman Slotkin, but my understanding is she knows her stuff.
Immanentize
@Adam L Silverman: That was gonna happen after Trump was forced to make a statement today. My guess is that Pence’s chances of remaining VP have crashed. Hello Nikki H.!!
debbie
@mad citizen:
Your powers may be exceeding your ability to control them, grasshopper. ?
Adam L Silverman
@Cheryl Rofer: I’m sure he had a much more polite version of it with the President. He can say things to Pompeo in a way that he can’t to the President.
Adam L Silverman
@Baud: Only in 1066.
Jeffro
@jl: I agree Iran’s not done. Two weeks from now, a trumpov property is gonna take a big hit, is my guess
Calouste
@Frankensteinbeck: Well, unless you think that a Boeing falling out of the sky is not an accident but a direct consequence of their fucked up management.
Immanentize
@Baud: oopsie — that was for Adam and his “Norman coordinate” comment. Which you have to agree was predictable.
Adam L Silverman
@Baud: Among others.
Adam L Silverman
@dexwood: It is very important to moisturize.
Cheryl Rofer
@Adam L Silverman: Excellent. The FDD is one of the biggest cheerleaders for war with Iran.
dexwood
@Adam L Silverman: And, hydrate (always good advice agrees this desert dweller).
Roger Moore
@Kent:
I think he’s saying they’re more true to their beliefs than other religious groups, not that their beliefs are more sensible. Not that mainstream Christian beliefs are particularly sensible themselves; they’re just more familiar and comfortable.
Roger Moore
@Baud:
But now they’re letting him block all replies, or block replies from people who don’t follow him.
Dan B
@Adam L Silverman: Esper seems to like Amanpour but I think she has seen through the “handsome warm persona with plausible but vapid responses”. She seems to be finding very credible people who can take the spin apart without breaking a sweat.
Slotkin seems skilled at making complex situations easy to understand. She uses just enough words but has little interest in self promotion. She noted that she was a CIA expert on Shia in the Middle East. Her target audience, probably a few people watching who know that means dynamics between Iran and Iraq. Her skill at communication was impressive. I mean that in terms of reaching people who can make a difference. And she did fine at explaining things to people who have little knowledge.
Amanpour gets a lot of great people. The interview with Slotkin was one of the top ten I’ve seen.
Roger Moore
@Adam L Silverman:
Is it more important to moisturize or to hydrate?
WaterGirl
@Mnemosyne: Yep. Exactly.
Adam L Silverman
@Cheryl Rofer: I’m aware. I was one of the first people they tried to recruit to be a fellow post 9-11. I checked them out, discussed it quickly with one of my bosses – a former career foreign service executive/ambassador who was a dean at UF – and decided I didn’t want to have anything to do with them. I used a polite, but real excuse, that I couldn’t deconflict my teaching schedule as faculty at UF. The then FDD director at the time, who I was dealing with, came back at least twice offering to adjust their schedule to accommodate me. After about the third or fourth time I was finally able to get them to leave me alone.
WaterGirl
@Mnemosyne:
:: smacks forehead with hand ::
Yes! With the turn I took yesterday, I need cough medicine. Duh. Thank you Dr. Mnem.
But until i get to the store tomorrow, I have honey and licorice tea. Send your hubby out for some honey!!!
germy
@Dan B:
She replaced Charlie Rose on my PBS station. It’s quite an improvement. Rose’s show was all spin.
Adam L Silverman
@Roger Moore: Think of moisturizing as hydration for your outside.
WaterGirl
@Baud:
And I knew you were going to write that!
But if there’s any chance you would go away mad, then I’m totally willing to lie and say I didn’t mean that. We must keep Baud 2020! here by any means necessary!
germy
Ken
@Cheryl Rofer: @Adam L Silverman:
Well, as long as you’re not proposing updating Seven Days in May for the twenty-first century…
Baud
@WaterGirl:
Baud! 2020!: No surprises!
Sm*t Cl*de
@Adam L Silverman: Or it gets the hose again.
Mandalay
@Baud:
Maybe so, but is there a court case that says Trump can’t block all replies? Presumably not, since that functionality doesn’t currently exist AFAIK.
But Trump will surely be blocking all replies to some of his tweets as soon as twitter implement that feature.
mad citizen
@germy: Jeezus the first 6 words of this were quite scary as to what would follow
germy
@mad citizen:
She’s been through a lot.
(understatement)
WaterGirl
@Baud: Ha!
But then you wouldn’t be Baud! I will have to ponder this.
Mnemosyne
@Frankensteinbeck:
Weird as this sounds, that’s a relief. The last thing we need in the region right now is another major military fuckup.
Dan B
@germy: My partner and I loved Charlie but Amanpour showed that Charlie was 20% informative politics and that nervous Mike Axios guy was an empty suit / right wing spinner. Amanpour got some bad faith “experts” but seems to have wised up. If they spin all the answers get someone who reveals the obfuscation.
Amanpour is on after 11 PM in Seattle. Often after cheap programming. My partner usually must go to bed or risk getting prodded for his snoring. Sad. And is KCTS afraid of being too political in prime time or what? They pay the same for Amanpour at 9 or 11PM.
Ksmiami
@Jeffro: will no one think of the poor bedbugs?
Mnemosyne
@Jeffro:
Yeah, I’ve seen idiots on Twitter gloating that Trump made the Iranians “back down.”
Apparently they’ve never heard of the concept of a warning shot.
Ken
I’d give even money that if he dumps Pence, he names Ivanka as running mate. Dynasties don’t start themselves, you know.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Senator Lindsey says there was no imminent threat, we hit Soleimani as an act of revenge. It was about the past, nothing they saw coming.
germy
@Dan B:
Amanpour is on in the middle of the day on our PBS station.
On our local NBC station, Soledad O’Brien has a show 5:30 a.m. on Sunday. It’s an excellent show, very informative, but you really have to search for it.
kindness
When I see Republican Senators tut tutting Trump I see them as vanity projects. They really are only trying to save themselves for this coming election. I’ll take their help but I don’t believe for a minute they will.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I’ve been a Pelosi fan for long than trump’s been a Republican, but goddamn if this isn’t a case of someone being made for the moment
I doubt Fox will show the clip, but I’m sure his twitter feed will show it to him somehow.
zhena gogolia
I don’t know who Drew Magary is, but this is a pretty good piece:
https://gen.medium.com/you-dont-support-the-troops-c2e9e6082a01
Bill Arnold
@Frankensteinbeck:
There is however this:
Risk assessing Iran ops – the UIA 737 may have been shot down (8 January, 2020)
The photos in the piece appear to all be new according to tineye.com
Don’t know anything about the org though, or the validity of this piece.
bucachon
Nice shout out to hearing testimony in the scif! It seems like only yesterday when Republicans were badmouthing those secret hearings in the basement
OldDave
If anyone’s interested: on using twin-engine aircraft for overseas operations: ETOPS
Jeffro
@Ksmiami: a car bomb won’t do much to the bedbugs…
Jeffro
@Mnemosyne: also, their idea of a long game is two news cycles
Jim, Foolish Literalist
anybody watching the Chris Hayes program? what does Spencer Ackerman’s button say
ETA: Never mind: “Daily Beast Union”, if you were wondering also, too
Mnemosyne
@Bill Arnold:
I’m planning to take all of the reports with a grain of salt for now. There are way too many bad actors online who would gleefully build a conspiracy around this.
planetjanet
@germy: This news just seems like proof of divine intervention.
planetjanet
@Bill Arnold: The Washington Post is reporting that video has been posted showing the plane in flames as it was descending and that it did not hit intact. Ukraine has retracted its statement that they think it was an accident. There is another quote that an engine failure would not cause that widespread of a fire that quickly. This is looking ugly.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/ukrainian-passenger-plane-with-180-crashes-in-iran/2020/01/07/7e214eb4-31cc-11ea-91fd-82d4e04a3fac_story.html
MomSense
@Adam L Silverman:
Moisture is the essence of wetness and wetness is the essence of beauty.
Bill Arnold
@Mnemosyne:
Likewise, but this was at fairly high altitude and planes rarely fall flaming out of the sky (as opposed to takeoff/landing) and it was the night of a war event. So I’m tracking. (For various reasons.)
(It is also sadly possible that this crash and loss of life pushed DJT to stand down, regardless of the cause. If it was a shootdown, there are several possible actors and motives , including accident.)
Tenar Arha
@Adam L Silverman: is it unusual to have 7 or 8 top defense department people resign or get forced out since last month?
Adam L Silverman
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I don’t mean to sound or seem callous, but you don’t escalate like this because one person – government/civil servant, uniformed, or contractor gets killed. And I say this as a former government/civil servant who is currently a consultant, which is the fancy term on my business card for contractor. Escalating to take out Suleimani, especially in such an overt way, is like removing a splinter in your finger by amputating your arm at the shoulder.
Those of us who do these jobs, who accept these assignments or who let it be known we’re available for them (I’ve offered to go back to Iraq three times since October if it is decided I’m needed there), know there are risks. Even to those whose jobs never take them off of base.
Adam L Silverman
@zhena gogolia: You see my answer to your just before going to sleep question?
Ken
@Tenar Arha: Do you mean for Trump, or in general?
Because this administration is something of an outlier. Six or seven sigmas, enough that physicists would accept it as a new particle.
Adam L Silverman
@Tenar Arha: It is not normal.
Odie Hugh Manatee
@Old Dave:
Many pilots use a more accurate description of ETOPS:
Engine Turns Or Passengers Swim
:)
Laura Too
@WaterGirl: Sent you an email for home made cough syrup.
raven
@Odie Hugh Manatee: Hey man, how ya doin???
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Adam L Silverman:
I could be wrong, but my recollection is Lindsey Graham was the first Republican to run ads about Benghazi, two years before his reelection campaign in South Carolina. He’s a fucking vampire.
Did you read the Rolling Stone piece, the bit about his first boss as a lawyer? A Vietnam Vet who injects “that bitch” if you mention Jane Fonda– his flag at home is at half-mast until trump leaves office, and whose calls Lindsey has stopped returning.
Tenar Arha
@Adam L Silverman: The State Department has been a disaster since Rex thought downsizing it like Exxon was smart. But if these incompetent grifters break the top levels of the DOD, what happens then?
James E Powell
@Adam L Silverman:
And by “the enemy” Graham means Democrats.
Adam L Silverman
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I did not even know that Rolling Stone did a story on Graham.
Adam L Silverman
@Tenar Arha: You cede more power to the career SESes and senior civil servants and the general officers/flag officers and senior officers that work for them.
Another Scott
@Bill Arnold: OTOH…
AlJazeera:
It sounds like a problem with the plane. Tehran is very far from Iraq – it doesn’t make sense that a missile, especially one from the US as a result of the attack on the US/Iraqi bases, would bring it down.
These modern planes are always talking to the company and the manufacturer. The data will indicate what happened.
I’m sure we’ll know more eventually.
Cheers,
Scott.
zhena gogolia
@Adam L Silverman:
Yes, thank you.
WaterGirl
@Laura Too: Just saw it, thank you!
Ruckus
@Kent:
Look at the newish big plane designs. Two engines. The engines are far more powerful, waste far less fuel and are more than reliable enough to work with only two. Also the planes can fly on one. Now if planes were falling out of the sky because of engine failure that would be different. Passenger jets very rarely do because of engine failure, mainly because the engines rarely fail. Boeing 767, 777, 787 are all two engine. Airbus, the only 4 engine is the 380 and they announced last yr or yr before that they were phasing it out.
Ruckus
@dmsilev:
Other than fuel load there is no reason a 737 couldn’t fly long distance. I think some of that was the reason for the 737 Max. Bigger, newer design, more efficient engines. The big Airbus has had very disappointing sales because given it’s size and all it really is only economical completely filled and a lot of routes just don’t have that load need if their is much competition. Too many seats, not enough doubloons to pay for them.
Ruckus
@Roger Moore:
I’ve done the sanity thing and blocked trump.
theturtlemoves
@Adam L Silverman: Meaning you greatly enable THE DEEP STATE. It’s like rain on the MAGAT wedding day…
Odie Hugh Manatee
@raven:
Still doin’ it! :) Another tick on the odometer of life at the end of the year both my wife and I while watching the Republicans wrecking everything from a distance to keep my blood pressure down to just high.
I hope you and yours are doing well in the new year!
Suzanne
@Immanentize:
Um, I would not call that an accurate perception. Fake AF.