Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

White supremacy is terrorism.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

The revolution will be supervised.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

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

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Republicans in disarray!

Usually wrong but never in doubt

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

You are here: Home / Politics / Impeachment Inquiry / Saturday Morning Cartoons Open Thread

Saturday Morning Cartoons Open Thread

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King Donald Coronavirus - Tom Toles

(Tom Toles via GoGomics.com)

Fair (Grounds) Trial - Matt Davies

(Matt Davies via GoComics.com)

 
Fewer Watchers the Better - Drew Sheneman

(Drew Sheneman via GoComics.com)

 
Saturday Morning Cartoons Open Thread

(Mike Luckovich via GoComics.com)

 
McConnell Opens the Door - Walt Handlesman

(Walt Handlesman via GoComics.com)

 
Warning: Next cartoon possibly NSFW

The Emperor's New Coverup - Lalo

(Lalo Alcaraz via GoComics.com)

 

(Jeff Danziger via Gocomics.com)

 
Coverup At the Highest Level - Nick Anderson

(Nick Anderson via GoComics.com)

Reader Interactions

159Comments

  7. 7.

    Betty Cracker

    So, I’m heading out of the swamp later this morning, driving down to Tampa to visit the kids and go to a shindig tonight with my sister and some other friends. And thanks to a nightmare (featuring Trump and the coronavirus!) that woke me up in the wee hours, I’ll probably nod off at the party tonight like an old lady.

  13. 13.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    I was fine until I checked twitter this morning and learned Adam Schiff had been UNCIVIL when he repeated the news that Trump’s team had threatened heads-on-pikes for Rs who voted against him. They were OFFENDED.

    Three days of evidence the president is acting like a dictator and a goon, and that’s what offends them.

    I can’t deal with it. I have to shower and then see if there’s too much snow to go for bagels and groceries.

  14. 14.

    germy

    From the fever swamps:

    “My Wish”

    After calling our great President a traitor on the Senate floor today, I hope Nadler gets cancer of the rectum. Bad Karma is following these mentally disturbed who somehow got elected. Adam would fit-in well with Adolph Hitler. The 80,000,000 Mexicans in our country are destined to make it a 3rd world socialist country in which the Chinese and the Russians will invade dividing it. After America’s natural resources are depleted…no one will care. Note: Chinese are presently moving in to the Philippines waters in order to steal their fish. We came to the rescue of China in WW2 and then they sent troops against us in Korea? We then reward them by purchasing billions from them (Walmart). The troops killed by Chinese in Korea are turning over in their graves.

  16. 16.

    OzarkHillbilly

    I actually managed to get some sleep last night. Good thing too as I have a really long day ahead of me, a perfect storm of bad familial blood, divorce, depression, and death. I have no idea of what to expect.

  17. 17.

    Chyron HR

    @germy:

    The 80,000,000 Mexicans in our country are destined to make it a 3rd world socialist country in which the Chinese and the Russians will invade dividing it.

    Then the Chinese and Russians will install a puppet president, no doubt.

  19. 19.

    Mo MacArbie

    Man, how does one pivot from “You’re the Nazis” to “Mexican dolchstosslegende” in the space of one period? I need to do more stretches.

  22. 22.

    Dog Mom

    Good Morning! Here is a memory and one reason to hopeful . . . Election Day 2016 – as the sunset, the air chilled, clouds filled the sky and wet snow spit down. I voted and decided that I should visit Mt. Hope cemetery where Susan B. Anthony Is laid to rest – though I can not attest to how much rest she is getting these days! The cemetery is a couple of acres of hilly and wooded terrain – November starkness with most of the beautiful fall color adorning the ground. People had visited all day and by evening the city had called in workers to direct the overwhelming crowds and traffic as best they could. Parking was not to be found in the dark narrow lanes twisting around the park – cars and people were coming from every direction, and finally I was in a ‘jam’ with no path clear to follow. I did have a very clear view of the line to SBA’s gravesite. Peaceful, happy and hopeful – blissfully unaware of what was to come – Women, men and children of all ages, colors, sizes and abilities – proud of their ‘I voted’ stickers and ready to add it to the headstone or smile for a picture. The disagreeable weather was getting colder and wetter – but the crowd was intent on paying their respect and celebrating their right to vote. The picture is etched in my mind’s eye – A long row of shadows lined up on the twisted path, backlit in the mist and fog, splashes of color from winter wear and the fallen leaves, and a vibration of excitement and hope. These folks persist . . . and remember. Susan B. Anthony remembered

  24. 24.

    OzarkHillbilly

    There were three men authorised by the CIA to carry out waterboarding on detainees in America’s “war on terror”. Two of them were contractors who are in Guantánamo Bay this week to give evidence. The third has still not been identified 17 years after the torture was committed.

    In the courtroom of the military commission, the CIA officer was referred to only by three-digit code NZ7, or simply as “the Preacher” – a nickname he was given because of his peculiar way of terrorising detainees.

    According to James Mitchell, a psychologist on contract to the CIA who helped draft and apply their “enhanced interrogation techniques”, the Preacher “would at random times put one hand on the forehead of a detainee, raise the other high in the air, and in a deep Southern drawl say things like, ‘Can you feel it, son? Can you feel the spirit moving down my arm, into your body?’”

    Mitchell gave that chilling description in his memoir, Enhanced Interrogation, and on the witness stand on Thursday, he confirmed the Preacher’s role at the CIA black sites. He was giving evidence at a pre-trial hearing in the case against five defendants charged for the 9/11 al-Qaida attacks, including the self-styled mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

    Mitchell, together with his friend and business partner, Bruce Jessen – who is due to testify next week – have been the public face of the US torture programme for five years, settling out of court in 2017 in a civil suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of three prisoners.

    Almost everyone else involved in the extensive programme, involving a network of black sites around the world, has remained in the shadows. In terms of legality, it is still the dark side of the moon.

    Defence lawyers at the Guantánamo military commission hearings have asked to examine 52 witnesses. They have so far been permitted to question only two, Mitchell and Jessen.

    James Connell, representing defendant Ammar al-Baluchi, lost his patience on Thursday when prosecutors objected that he was asking Mitchell about events he had not directly witnessed.

    “He’s the only witness we’ve got. The government has blocked all the CIA witnesses,” Connell complained.

    Four days before the current pre-trial hearing, the 40th in eight years of legal skirmishes, the prosecution changed the classification rules, and amended them again on Monday on the evening before the first open session. As a result, some facts that were previously unclassified, in published books for example, were reclassified, sending defence attorneys scrambling to reframe their planned line of questioning.

    The longer the hearings have continued, the clearer it has become that the Mitchell and Jessen partnership was just a small part of the infrastructure of torture, with its own bureaucracy and personal rivalries. In his testimony, Mitchell railed repeatedly against the “middle management” who he believed was plotting against him.

    Mitchell became embroiled in a vicious turf war with a rival, the CIA chief of interrogations, for mastery of the “enhanced programme”. Each sought to use their links to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, to get the other removed from their post. In that struggle the detainees were used as bargaining counters. The two men had them tortured for training or demonstration purposes.

  27. 27.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Cermet: The problems aren’t mine, they belong to some friends, each of whom I care about deeply, and some of the problems were born thru a toxic combination of stupidity and stubbornness. As per usual. If it was possible I’d like to slap some sense into the 2 responsible for that part.

    I suspect things will be not as bad as I fear, and at the same time I know they will be far worse than I can imagine. The suicide of a child has to be the 9th circle of hell for a parent.

    Add in the wildcard of a violent ex, and well, I have no idea of what to expect..

  29. 29.

    Anya

    Good morning everyone!

    @Betty Cracker: I think having nightmares about the coronavirus is justified. After all we have the incredibly dishonest and incompetent Trump administration dealing with it. My fear is that Trump will instruct the responsible agencies to do a bit of a coverup and we pretend America is protected from the virus because of his toughness or whatever else he’s supposed to be. Trump is good at one thing and that is marketing. And he probably remembers the absolute hysteria surrounding the Ebola crisis and how republicans and the media made it about Obama. Honestly this fills me with fear. Let’s hope the world has learned something from previous crisis and there is infrastructure in place to deal with this crisis.

  30. 30.

    CarolDuhart2

    @OzarkHillbilly: Good Lord, Ozark. No words are good enough for this situation.  May all the angels surround you with support.

    Anya, thank God we have a largely non-political civil service.  Here’s hoping that the professionals just keep doing their job quietly and efficiently.

  32. 32.

    Elizabelle

    Decided on a last minute cruise. Just docked in Jamaica. It turns out that passing Cuba, which we did yesterday on the Windward and less developed side, is a pretty good way to suss out passengers’ political opinions.  LOL.

    Am told one guy said “it looks communist” (the people recounting this approved of his wit, alas).  Seeing Cuba (at sunset) was thrilling.  Being there is totally on the two or three year bucket list.  We could see terraced land; lots of green.

    Heard a few arguments on how Cuba has an educated population versus nothing on the store shelves — there can be no “both of these are true, actually” entente.

    Otherwise, people have behaved themselves. No Trumpwear. And we have a lot of Canadians aboard.

  34. 34.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @Mo MacArbie: I always thought the lyric was I don’t wanna play lacrosse!

    That emperor has no clothes one with man-boob Trump and Mitch covering his privates…gotta sting for both of them because it’s both true and portrays them in ways they hate.

  36. 36.

    germy

    There’s an ad at the bottom of my screen.  Two photos of an elderly woman

    If your poor posture is causing you back pain, try this simple fix.

    In the “before” photo, her back is hunched over.  Looks like osteoporosis.

    In the “after” photo, an elderly woman with a straight spine.

    But they’re two different women.  A deceptive ad.

  38. 38.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    It’s a cold and rainy day here. But we have a 3rd birthday for a grandchild later so that’s nice.

    We may have gone slightly overboard with presents, I think we’re about to Be Judged.

  40. 40.

    Kay

    Lulu Garcia-Navarro
    @lourdesgnavarro
    · 15h
    Wow. @NPR’s @NPRKelly just now on @npratc says @SecPompeo was furious about being questioned about Ukraine in her interview. Took her into his office, cursed at her, dropping f-bombs, made her point to Ukraine on an unmarked map (she did). It’s just…shocking.

    I don’t think it’s shocking at all. They’ve gotten worse in their efforts to bully and intimidate journalists like they’ve gotten worse in everything else.
    Do you know Trump told the public twice as many lies in 2019 as he did in 17/18 combined?
    It’s important to recognize that they’ve gotten worse and will continue to get worse because this is one way job performance is judged. Thinking he’s a bad president but thinking this is as bad as it gets is a different analysis for voters than thinking he’s a bad president and still getting worse. The second is a stronger reason to get rid of him. The downward trajectory is a crucial piece of information- the trend.
    That’s why we shouldn’t accept the savvy NYTimes take “oh, this was always how he was”- that’s an argument for keeping the status quo. It’s an argument for re-elect.

    Not true. Getting worse. I think we’ll see a dramatic lurch downward now because they are going to seek revenge for the impeachment. I think there will be political prosecutions.

  41. 41.

    Rob

    We had over an inch of rain in about 4 hours, after 1 am. The sound of the falling rain woke me up for a little while, but then I fell back asleep until 7:45. Bliss, as I rarely get such a good night’s sleep.

  43. 43.

    Kay

    To put it in market terms, you can buy Trump, you can hold Trump, or you can sell Trump. If he’s trending down (and he is) you’re less likely to hold and more likely to sell.

    The savvy take – “this is always how he was” benefits an incumbent. We need people to sell and buy something else. The NYTimes is telling them they can safely hold. They can’t. It’s still trending down.

  45. 45.

    charluckles

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Not to in any way make light of the situation, but I am going to hold on to this:

     

    “…the problems were born thru a toxic combination of stupidity and stubbornness. As per usual.”

  46. 46.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Anya:

    If it helps, the coronavirus is not very contagious, so even a mild government response is likely to stop an epidemic here.  It also uses snakes as its reservoir, which makes it much harder for it to get a foothold than birds or pigs that can easily get infected without someone noticing.  It isn’t a political winner for Republicans, either.  Ebola has decades of ‘brown people are scary’ connotations for racists.  Coronavirus is just some weird disease.

  48. 48.

    Immanentize

    @OzarkHillbilly: That sounds difficult, rotten and all too human.

    I have no idea of what to expect.

    Gunplay? Travel safe and maintain your love and practice situational awareness.

  49. 49.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @germy: Damn, most of the time I can follow their reasoning, but turning the country over to the Chines and Russians is the very thing the Democrats are trying to impeach Trump over.  Next they will be claiming Schiff is president, not Trump.

  50. 50.

    Kay

    That’s the big advantage of incumbency- the devil you know is less risky than a trade. The savvy sophisticated take reinforces this- they’re telling you that you know how bad the Trumps and the Trump Administration are, but that’s not true. You don’t. If you’re still shocked at the actions, as the actions get worse, then you didn’t “know”.

    It’s even true for me. I was shocked they lied about the troop injuries. I thought I knew they lied by the way they rolled it out but I thought “boy, they’re going to get caught in that lie, and soon- wow- brazen”

    Yet they did it anyway. Still sinking. Trending down.

  51. 51.

    The Dangerman

    @germy:

    In that cartoon, Mitch is facing in the wrong direction.

    Call it confusion from not being able to find his quest, so it was French Tickler as opposed to Dickler.

    We find our way out of “this” in the next election or it’s going to be President Ivanka or President Donald Jr. after Daddy buys the Farm. I gotta figure Don Jr. as Kimberly can probably kick Ivanka’s and Jared’s ass (at the same time). Having Daddy go and kiss ass at the March for Life while taking another dump on CA kinda tells me we are winning.

    ETA: …or as Kay said, trending down. A very dangerous time.

  52. 52.

    Immanentize

    @Kay: Pompeo is such a bully boy.  “Outrageous” is his bully tell word. “That is an outrageous question!!!!” He tries physical intimidation too because he is big. I would have pointed at Ukraine with both my middle fucking fingers.

  53. 53.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Anya:  I work with Chines, as in they are actually from China; they are not that worried themselves and they say their is a lot of misinformation in the press. Like the American press claims the virus came from snakes, the Chines said that was a mistranslated, from a bird that is called “Snake”, some type of diving bird. They also say according to what they get from the Chines press this thing is a lot less dangerous than the previous bird flue that happened.

  55. 55.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Kay:

    There will not be political prosecutions.  I am positive of it.  At most, they may be able to prosecute a few someone in the FBI who leaks information, or something like that.  Bad, but not ‘political prosecutions.’  You know how I know?  Because it already came out that Trump demanded political prosecutions at the start of his presidency, but there is no system for it.

    Also, Trump has not gotten more dishonest.  He has twice as many lies because he has tweeted more.  He spent much of the year panicking, and when he does his tweet volume goes up and up.

  58. 58.

    TS (the original)

    @Kay:

    The NYTimes is telling them they can safely hold. They can’t. It’s still trending down

    The NYT is like the investment manager who tells you to ignore the fact that your investment is trending down. Just invest a little more & you will get it all back. And then  the investment  goes bankrupt & there is no there there.

  59. 59.

    Kay

    It’s easier to get hired than it is to get fired. Trump has been hired, so now we have the heavier lift. The inclination is to keep the employee if they’re steady at a lower level because firing is hard and then you have to risk a new hire. What convinces you to change the status quo is decline. Not just bad but getting worse.

    He isn’t steady at the lower level. He reaches new depths monthly. An essential part of our argument to voters is “getting worse”. A lot of them will need that. I know none of you will but they will. I’m confident they’ll get still worse in the coming months so they’ll do it for us. They’re going to seek revenge.

  60. 60.

    debbie

    @Kay:

    NPR just reran it. What a dick! F word and all. “Does anyone care about Ukraine?” What an attitude! (Even though his attitude at the beginning of the interview was no better.) Apparently what pissed Pompeo off the most was that Kelly knew exactly where Ukraine was. Pig!

  61. 61.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Immanentize: Pompeo’s outburst was front-page news in the Kyiv Post, the leading English-language newspaper in Ukraine. Pretty awkward, so I’m just now seeing unconfirmed reports that he has postponed the trip yet again.

  64. 64.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Immanentize: I will say it again, but the Trump admin rules Pompero got PWONED by NPR. He was the one who was angry. The fact that Pompero has resort to bad boss tactices means they are losing it mentally.

  65. 65.

    Immanentize

    @debbie:
    Here is some nice shade at Huffpo:

    Kelly, a longtime national security reporter with a master’s in European studies from Cambridge University, said she successfully pointed to the country on the map.

  66. 66.

    TS (the original)

    O/T – Tomorrow (almost here) is Australia Day. Usually drunken revelry, BBQs and flag waving together with protests supporting the original Australians (Jan 26 is the day the first settlers/convicts arrived from England).

    This year is different – the Australian google doodle says it all. I’m not sure that it is a good thing having climate led disasters make one forget for a time the political mess the world is in.

  68. 68.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Kay: I’m confident they’ll get still worse in the coming months so they’ll do it for us. They’re going to seek revenge.

    Cuts to Social Secutity and bullying the press. They’ve already started.  For a bunch of people who know the trial is rigged, they have some very odd reactions.

  76. 76.

    BC in Illinois

    Getting ready for an interesting morning. I will be taking a carload of immigrant children to swimming lessons. A south St Louis high school age immigrant student drowned in the Meramec River a few years ago, so a local group — the “Christian Friends of New Americans” — has made it a project to provide swim lessons, taught by the Lutheran High School South swim team, at a local public high school. Mostly kids from Africa [Uganda, Congo, Ethiopia, others?] and Nepal.

    I drive, listen to kids talk about the cars they want [and occasionally say things I can’t understand], watch and read for an hour and a half, then drive them back. The director — from India — is a man I have a hard time saying “no” to.

  77. 77.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Kay:

    He isn’t steady at the lower level. He reaches new depths monthly.

    In what way?  He’s been lying in every statement, attacking the press, and making colossal foreign policy fuck ups since day one.  Part of what’s come out about the Ukraine mess is that he’s been doing this shit.  The damage is piling up because he keeps making some new mess daily, but that’s not the same as Trump getting worse.  If he is, it’s not dramatic.

    An essential part of our argument to voters is “getting worse”.

    That won’t be a problem.  Like I said, the damage is getting worse just because it’s one nonstop disaster after another, even if the individual disasters are about the same.  Keeping the message that Trump is a horror show nice and fresh in voters’ minds will be easy, although we should definitely twist that screw as tight as we can.

     

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    Cuts to Social Secutity and bullying the press. They’ve already started.

    An excellent example of my point.  The Trump administration has been chopping the legs off of every social safety net service they can find a loophole in since day one.  The Medicaid waivers are only the latest ugliness they’ve figured out.  As much as Trump and McConnell want it, and are stupid enough to announce that, they aren’t getting Social Security cuts past Nancy.  Thank God.  That is EXACTLY what I voted for in 2018.

  83. 83.

    sdhays

    @The Dangerman: Olds can be confident that any cuts/changes will only affect the youngs (at least many of them can easily be convinced of this). At least, that’s been the Republican play all these years, and Fox has clearly been successful in brainwashing more and more people, so maybe it’s a stronger play than in the past.

    If 2016 and the last British election tell us anything, lots of people can be convinced to vote against their own interest terrifyingly easily. But the elections in 2017, 2018, and 2019 give me hope that the backlash will be strong enough to remove Dump and, maybe, Mitch – if not from the Senate altogether, then at least as Majority Leader.

  84. 84.

    Baud

    @sdhays: They’ve also convinced a portion of young people that Social Security won’t be there for them anyway so they shouldn’t care about it.

  85. 85.

    zhena gogolia

    Wow. I missed the part of Schiff’s closing last night where he trolled Starr and Dershowitz. I tried googling “Adam Schiff Ken Starr,” and what google gives you is a bunch of RedState references with Starr criticizing Schiff. Nothing on what Schiff said last night. We are living in a dystopian nightmare.

  87. 87.

    ThresherK

    Going back to Rogan and Bernie, which I’m now just learning of:

    If your idea of movement building is welcoming bigots without accountability while simultaneously shaming other progressives who may not agree 100% with your approach on advancing progressive goals, it’s going to be very hard for many folks to overlook that blatant inconsistency.

    –tweet by @cmclymer

    I’m reminded of Sept 2016: Remember every centrist who whispered “Trump is bad for Republicans. Hillary might be a better president”? Remember every R who tried ride that coattail by inventing NeverTrump, because Trump’s shitshow looked bad for the GOP (as opposed to bad for the country?

    Every Bernie Bro I knew screamed bloody hell about how Hillary was becoming unpure by getting support from not-left-enough America.

  88. 88.

    BC in Illinois

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Car pools are where you really learn what  kids are thinking. It’s like they think the driver can’t hear them.

    Yes. After-school driving is where I learn the most about my grandkids.

  89. 89.

    WaterGirl

    @PaulWartenberg:  This comment also went into spam, for no apparent reason.  So happy to see you here, and sorry your comments didn’t show up right away.

    People have been asking about you!

  90. 90.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @charluckles: I too wish I could laugh about it, I have seen this kind of shit so many times over the years it is ludicrous.

    I am going to sit in this room with the 2 of them as they each pretend the other doesn’t exist. I feel like pretending the feud (for lack of better terms) doesn’t exist and speak as tho they went fishing together just the other day.

    The funniest thing about it is neither one of them have told me about it. They just assume I know, and sort of allude to it. The truth is I know of it, but know not the why of it. I found out thru mutual friends but I stopped them from giving me the details. Details invite judgement and insist on one’s taking sides.

    I’m not taking a side. They are both f’n idiots.

  94. 94.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Oh look, here’s a study of shit-talking by political candidates’ supporters on FB. You’ll never guess which candidate’s supporters do exponentially more of it than anyone else…

     

    Since the beginning of 2019, nearly 3,000 active Facebook pages supporting Sanders have generated more than 290 million interactions — meaning shares, likes or other user actions — according to an analysis by Trevor Davis, a research professor at Livingston’s institute. For contrast, about 350 pages devoted to former vice president Joe Biden have generated just 9 million interactions; nearly 300 pro-Warren pages come in at under 20 million interactions.

    That breakdown is vastly out of sync with projected support for the candidates in polls, which show Sanders gaining ground but still behind Biden in an average of surveys. This underscores a new reality: Facebook gives individual users power over public discourse disproportionate to their authority at the ballot box.

     

    …

     

    NO OTHER DEMOCRAT’S SUPPORTERS ARE ENGAGED IN BEHAVIOR ON A SIMILAR SCALE, which is more characteristic of the online movement galvanized by Trump.

  96. 96.

    BC in Illinois

    On a different topic, before I leave on my morning rounds. Sarah Kendzior has a twitter thread where she quotes T S Eliot’s “The Hollow Men” . . .

      We are the hollow men
        We are the stuffed men
        Leaning together
        Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!

    . . . interspersed with pictures of Senate Republicans.

    And yes, this is the poem that ends,

    This is the way the world ends
    This is the way the world ends
    This is the way the world ends
    Not with a bang but a whimper.

    Our job this year? Make sure it doesn’t end this way.

  99. 99.

    Baud

    @UncleEbeneezer: You know how people always say Trump is doing X bad thing to distract us from the Y bad thing he’s doing.

    A lot of lefty Internet distracts us in the same way.

  101. 101.

    Aleta

    @Dog Mom: Beautiful piece of writing.  Thanks.  I remember being too excited that afternoon after voting to do anything except email the news photos of people at Rochester Mt. Hope and SBA’s stone to friends. Children brought by parents. Same as the lines at my voting place.  Thanks for recasting that memory for me as a positive.

  103. 103.

    MomSense

    @Baud:

    nonononono.  I don’t want to see that.  Stormy’s description was already more than I wanted to know.

    One thing that really bothers me is that the media have characterized the Parnas tape as trump calling for the ambassador to be fired.  He doesn’t say fired.  He’s not talking to someone with the authority to do any firing. He says  “take her out” and “get rid of”.  Why are the media spinning for him still?

  104. 104.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Baud: If you dip into the article it quotes a Bernie supporter who says “well, it worked for Trump.”  I’ve known and had to work with some Justice Dems, irl, who pretty much share exactly this perspective.

  105. 105.

    Gin & Tonic

    @MomSense: Sounds like the one thing that Parnas and Fruman learned from living in the USA is get a good lawyer and do exactly as s/he says. These guys have receipts and they’re not intending to go to prison for anyone.

  106. 106.

    zhena gogolia

    @MomSense:

    Supposedly there was some “top aide” there too, and he addressed the remarks to him, not Parnas. Of course this is consistent with the mob boss techniques described by Michael Cohen.

  110. 110.

    Another Scott

    Morning.

    Big Onion is up.  I didn’t hear him thank the House managers with his opening.  Deliberate, childish, snub.  And expected.

    Started off by trying to gas-light everyone.  “They said Donnie didn’t talk about burden sharing!  Of course it’s in the Perfect Transcript™…”

    As if talking with Zelenskyy about burden sharing has anything getting the EU or Germany or anyone else to help Ukraine.

    Such stupid, stupid arguments.

    Grr…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  111. 111.

    MomSense

    @zhena gogolia:

    Unless that aide was Pompeo, it still doesn’t make sense especially since he doesn’t say you’re fired (which we know is a phrase he’s familiar with) or I want her fired, she needs to be fired, etc.

  114. 114.

    Dog Mom

    @eclare:

    @Aleta:

    @Quinerly:  Thank you – I am trying to remember that moment whenever the ugly images of the hate rallies get too much.  I was glad to see the paper put it out their again.

    @Elizabelle:  Have a great time!  I hope the Canadians set a great example of civility and share a more informed world view to the uglier of your America cruise mates.

  115. 115.

    Steeplejack

    @Kay:

    @lourdesgnavarro: “Took her into his office, cursed at her, dropping f-bombs, made her point to Ukraine on an unmarked map (she did).”

    Dunno if anyone has noted it here, but on Twitter someone asked who the hell has an unmarked map just sitting around waiting to be deployed at a moment’s notice? (Outside of geography class, I suppose.)

  117. 117.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Another Scott: This “burden-sharing” argument is such transparent bullshit.

    The European Union is the largest donor to Ukraine, and Ukraine is the largest recipient of EU macro-financial assistance to any non-EU country. The European Union has given, on average, over $710 million (€650 million) per year to the country since 2014—almost twice as much as the United States average. The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development has given a similar amount ($3.8 billion (€3.5 billion) from 2014 to 2017), much of it taking the form of investments and loans rather than direct grants.

    Full article.

  118. 118.

    RedDirtGirl

    Hey jackals, I need advice on how to keep my brain from exploding when the republicans open their mouths.  What has worked for you guys?

  121. 121.

    Another Scott

    @Gin & Tonic: We know that what Donnie really means is that Zelenskyy isn’t paying him and Rudy and their hangers-on.

    Donnie thinks he’s personally entitled to protection money and favors from Ukraine.  That’s the bottom line.

    And the GOP Senators are perfectly fine with it.

    I turned it off.  Life in the real world is painful, but not as painful as their gaslighting.

    Cheers,

    Scott.

  122. 122.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Steeplejack: I was kinda wondering that myself. I suppose it’s for the pop quiz that every state dept meeting begins with. Anyone who can correctly point to the country under discussion that day gets bounced. Can’t have knowledgeable people gumming up the works.

  126. 126.

    demit

    @Steeplejack: Maybe a State Dept employee drew up the unmarked map for Pompeo to practice learning what all those little foreign countries were when he became Secretary.

  127. 127.

    Leto

    @zhena gogolia: I watched about thirty seconds of it, wanted to throw my remote at the TV/primal scream, so turned it. I can’t sit there and watch them spew lies/disinformation for 24 hours. I just can’t.

  128. 128.

    MomSense

    @zhena gogolia:

    Of course he does, because he’s such a smug asshole. He oozes condescension.  He thinks he’s so much smarter than everyone else and he was sure she wouldn’t be able to identify it on his stupid map.  I would have loved to see the arrogance turn to rage.  It seems as though she’s a cool character so her lack of emotion must have made him even wilder.

  129. 129.

    Leto

    @MomSense: That’s what Avalune is doing too, rage knitting. She’s doing some really impressive stuff so at least there’s some positive coming out of this.

  132. 132.

    MomSense

    @Leto:

    I love it!  Aux armes, citizens!

    ETA should be citoyens but stupid freedom auto correct hates the French language.  Six armed citizens sounds like something totally different.

    @RedDirtGirl:

    Rage cleaning works, too.  I’ve got the same cold.  Sucks.  Hope you feel better.

    I saw A at the end of last year.  The friends had a mini reunion and I met them at brew pub for an hour to say hi. It was so nice to see everyone together and happy.

  133. 133.

    Bill Arnold

    @Formerly disgruntled in Oregon:

    If the American people don’t give a fuck about Ukraine, why is Pompeo traveling there soon?

    It is a near-certainty that the Ukrainians have politically damaging dirt on Trump. E.g. they probably have recordings of the phone calls, which could be released and would align imperfectly with the “Memorandums of Telephone Conversations” (TELCONs). Pompeo will probably be personally delivering threats. (I’m being serious here. And recall that he threatened that NPR reporter recently.)

  134. 134.

    Leto

    @MomSense: So a few months back there was talk of organizing a Maine GOTV drive for the upcoming 2020 get Susan Collins out of fucking office drive. Were you the one organizing it? I’m ashamed to admit that my brain can’t remember who was doing it. I volunteered to help (conscripted is a better term but “voluntold” is the word we use) and just wanted to put it back out there that I want to help!

  135. 135.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Bill Arnold:

    Pompeo will probably be personally delivering threats.

    “Please sir, can you repeat that? A little louder and clearer will help and if too you could lean into this wonderful flower arrangement on the side table while speaking? It would be most appreciated.”

  137. 137.

    Leto

    OMG, the “bio” for Jay Sekulow on MSNBC atm lists this:

    • Led Trumpov’s defense during Mueller Probe
    • Host of a radio and TV talk show
    • Plays drums, guitar with the Jay Sekulow Band

    JFC, MSNBC… we have clowns on the boob tube defending the president, can we please not have clowns running the control room? FFS…

  139. 139.

    MomSense

    @Leto:

    No, sadly all I can manage is making phone calls for Gideon.  It’s a contested primary on the Dem side so I’m trying to help on that side of things.

  140. 140.

    dww44

    @Immanentize: I agree and I think the difference between the two is the degree to which each was and is subservient to Trump.  Tillerson was able to maintain a semblance of independence, although he fulfilled the Trump Administration’s goal of gutting the State Department.

    Pompeo is having a major issue between what he thought himself to be in the past and what sort of man he now is.  Remember Rick Wilson’s byline, “Everything Trump Touches Dies”.

  141. 141.

    burnspbesq

    @Lapassionara:

    I was just thinking how lucky we are to have such talented and clever editorial cartoonists

    can you imagine if Herblock and Walt Kelly were still around.

  142. 142.

    Bill Arnold

    @Steeplejack:

    Dunno if anyone has noted it here, but on Twitter someone asked who the hell has an unmarked map just sitting around waiting to be deployed at a moment’s notice?

    Pompeo might do that a lot. And many reporters would fail; she may have broken a perfect streak of ignorance.
    I play a game like that occasionally, with “name a famous living engineer” or “name a famous living scientist”.

  144. 144.

    J R in WV

    @RedDirtGirl:

    Hey jackals, I need advice on how to keep my brain from exploding when the republicans open their mouths. What has worked for you guys?

    Brown liquor, or gin&tonic or — well, that’s the best, really…

    So far the Doc hasn’t told me to lay off or even cut back. Don’t know what I’ll do if that comes up in the blood work… “Say, about your liver enzymes!”

  145. 145.

    MoCA Ace

    Dunno if anyone has noted it here, but on Twitter someone asked who the hell has an unmarked map just sitting around waiting to be deployed at a moment’s notice? (Outside of geography class, I suppose.)

    Pompeo probably has it around so he can quiz himself before foreign trips… smartest people indeed :)

  146. 146.

    RedDirtGirl

    @MomSense: I just spent New Years with her mom, and got to see A and her brother. They are all doing really well, considering. Did you happen to hear that she (the mom) was hit by a tree limb and was in a neck/torso brace for 4 months last year? So much for one family to go through.

  151. 151.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @J R in WV:

    Don’t know what I’ll do if that comes up in the blood work…

    I haven’t waited for the Doc, I like my wine a little too much and I know it. So I no longer drink during the week which helps on the wkend because I no longer want more than 1 or 2 for the evening.

  152. 152.

    TriassicSands

    trump could shoot someone in the senate and still get acquitted 53-47. unless he shot a republican, then it would be 52-47.

    The point is quite clever, but I think it would be clearer and make more sense if worded slightly differently:

    Trump could shoot someone and the Senate would still acquit him 53-47. Unless he shot a Republican Senator, then it would be 52-47.

  153. 153.

    chopper

    @ThresherK:

    this. i mean, i understand pushing the idea that a candidate can bring out people who don’t usually vote or don’t usually vote democrat, that is a strength. but those voters are not going to help take congress, nor help the candidate get any policies pushed through congress; they’re going to vote and clock out at best, or at worst they’ll be the first ones to turn on him or her when big change doesn’t start happening the day they take office.

  157. 157.

    Ruckus

    @Elizabelle:

    Well I’ve actually been to Cuba. OK not any of the Cuban part just GITMO. I was not impressed with the tiny US portion of the island. And since then the Supermax vibe has been upgraded a lot, which would not improve anything at all.

  158. 158.

    Ruckus

    @J R in WV:

    Stopped drinking during bush the lessor’s reign. Taking republican maladministrations stone sober is certainly less fun, and quite a bit more disgusting but at least I know why I’m suffering.

    Not quite sure it’s worth that

  159. 159.

    WaterGirl

    @debbie: I read today’s live blog on Wonkette.  That’s as close as I could get to it, and I feel I came away with a pretty good feel for what they presented.

    They only took 2-3 hours, though.  Are they not going to use their full 24 hours?

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