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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Sir Sneers a Lot

Sir Sneers a Lot

by @heymistermix.com|  January 26, 202010:50 am| 147 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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I guess everyone was too busy writing about the election, the impeachment of our candy colored clown, and our impending deaths from coronavirus to write about this fucking asshole:

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday accused an NPR reporter of lying about whether a conversation he initiated with her had been deemed off the record, a charge that NPR denied.

Pompeo’s statement, however, did not address NPR’s explosive account of the conversation — that he shouted at reporter Mary Louise Kelly, used expletives, indicated that she had questioned him about Ukraine under false pretenses in a just-completed interview, and asked her, “Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?”

The exchange came as Pompeo, President Trump’s longest-serving and closest senior adviser on national security, has been criticized for his conduct related to both Ukraine and Iran and his disregard for congressional and media questions about it.

In a statement, Pompeo called the NPR episode “another example of how unhinged the media has become in its quest to hurt President Trump and this Administration.”

Trump is bad, but this guy is a little bit smarter and more informed version, with thinner skin and an even more punchable face. I hope NPR finally learns that there’s no bargaining with terrorists and gets out of their toxic, abusive relationship with the view from nowhere, but it’s probably more likely that they’ll start cranking out beat sweeteners featuring Pompeo’s dog and kids.

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Reader Interactions

147Comments

  1. 1.

    germy

    January 26, 2020 at 10:54 am

    Sens. Menendez, Kaine, Markey, Merkley, and Booker have sent a letter to Mike Pompeo "expressing serious concerns about an official State Department statement issued earlier today attacking NPR's All Things Considered co-host Mary Louise Kelly." pic.twitter.com/MNNoZ73EwV— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 25, 2020

  2. 2.

    germy

    January 26, 2020 at 10:54 am

    Barack Obama called Donald Trump a "fascist" in a phone conversation with Sen. Tim Kaine during the 2016 presidential election, Kaine says in a video clip featured in the upcoming documentary about Hillary Clinton.https://t.co/ReeZoVjV8a— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 25, 2020

  3. 3.

    germy

    January 26, 2020 at 10:56 am

    Still can’t believe the Secretary of State tried to pull an Oh You Like Pavement? Name Three Of Their Albums on a reporter who majored in Pavement in college
    — Erin satanic pregnancy Ryan (@morninggloria) January 25, 2020

  4. 4.

    Baud

    January 26, 2020 at 10:56 am

    Just remember, Pompeo was too chickenshit to face the voters of Kansas.

  5. 5.

    Baud

    January 26, 2020 at 10:57 am

    @germy: No lie told.

  6. 6.

    Raoul

    January 26, 2020 at 10:58 am

    I have to say, I’m pleasantly surprised that Nancy Barnes, NPR VP of News, has a spine. She used to run the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and I wouldn’t have thought she’d step up in this way.

    It has helped that the press release State put out was such obvious bull. The bit about Bangladesh was a childish, idiotic self-own.

    Oh, and since we’re talking about Pompeo’s terrible leadership, seems the US screwed the pooch in sending a relative nobody to an important Omani funeral (UK sent Prince Charles).

  7. 7.

    debbie

    January 26, 2020 at 11:01 am

    Trump is bad, but this guy is a little bit smarter

    I dispute this. If he were smarter, he wouldn’t have picked Bangeladesh as the country she really picked; he’d have gone for one closer that lots of people might not know, like Kazakhstan.

  8. 8.

    schrodingers_cat

    January 26, 2020 at 11:02 am

    Speaking of which does Orange T surround himself with fatter men than himself? Pompeo and Barr come to mind. Corpulent and corrupt.

  9. 9.

    OzarkHillbilly

    January 26, 2020 at 11:03 am

    Just like every other member of this admin, another precious snowflake who melts down at the first ray of sunlight.

  10. 10.

    Another Scott

    January 26, 2020 at 11:03 am

    I was impressed by the way NPR was not sugar coating and not backing down on the report listening to ATC on the evening of the interview.  They weren’t having any of it.

    Now the fact that it takes one of their own being attacked for them to develop a spine about this, well…  But it’s good that they didn’t back down or try to both-sides it.

    We’ll see if it actually makes a difference though.

    There have been noises about Pompeo leaving for a year or more – originally to run for Senate in Kansas.  He eventually ruled that out, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he leaves in a few weeks/months (long enough that he can claim that this had nothing to do with it (and it very well might not)).  It would be nice if the House rakes him over the coals about this and makes his remaining time even more painful.  (The SoS has huge power to protect reporters elsewhere.  And his remarks about Ukraine were actively hostile to US policy.)

    Cheers,

    Scott.

  11. 11.

    M31

    January 26, 2020 at 11:05 am

    @debbie:

    yeah, I’ve heard speculation that he meant to say Belarus (which at least is in the right area) but fucked up and said Bangladesh, because he’s of course that dumb

  12. 12.

    Jeffro

    January 26, 2020 at 11:10 am

    Trumpov’s tweet threatening Schiff is blowing up nicely on Twitter this morning.  Here’s hoping for a 3rd Article.

  13. 13.

    mad citizen

    January 26, 2020 at 11:12 am

    Can’t wait until next year when the adults are back in charge of things.  We never get a single effing day off from the shytstorm.

  14. 14.

    Cheryl Rofer

    January 26, 2020 at 11:13 am

    NPR came out with a strong statement this morning supporting Kelly. I can’t find it, but here’s Pompeo’s response. It looks like he has deleted the tweet, but here’s a screen capture from a smart person.

    Look at the hypocrite feigning piety today pic.twitter.com/fvoCkRsQk4

    — Daniel Larison (@DanielLarison) January 26, 2020

  15. 15.

    OzarkHillbilly

    January 26, 2020 at 11:14 am

    @debbie: trump voter: “Kazakhstan? What are you? Some kind of libtard coastal elite making up countries that don’t even exist? I ain’t stoopid, ya know.”

  16. 16.

    OzarkHillbilly

    January 26, 2020 at 11:16 am

    @M31: “Belarus? You don’t fool me. Libtard! Everbody knows that’s a kind of big whale with big long teef comin’ out of it’s mouth!”

  17. 17.

    Amir Khalid

    January 26, 2020 at 11:16 am

    @germy:

    Obama’s assessment sounds about right.

  18. 18.

    mad citizen

    January 26, 2020 at 11:17 am

    @Jeffro: Looking through them (15 tweets and counting this morning), I assume you’re referring to this one (pasting here as a service):

    trumpov twitter:
    “Shifty Adam Schiff is a CORRUPT POLITICIAN, and probably a very sick man. He has not paid the price, yet, for what he has done to our Country!

    8:20 AM · Jan 26, 2020″

  19. 19.

    Amir Khalid

    January 26, 2020 at 11:18 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Kazakhstan is a real country. In fact, I remember a documentary about it by this guy named Borat.

  20. 20.

    germy

    January 26, 2020 at 11:19 am

    Good thread about the parnas/trump tape.  A “live” blog with quotes from the conversation:

    a great week for viral audiohttps://t.co/9oY8HrtI6J— Ilya Marritz (@ilyamarritz) January 25, 2020

  21. 21.

    Cheryl Rofer

    January 26, 2020 at 11:19 am

    Kazakhstan is the country I’m likely to point to if I respond quickly to a request to identify Ukraine. It’s much bigger and not far away. But then I remember that Ukraine is on the Black Sea.
    I was wondering if Pompeo was thinking of Belarus rather than Bangladesh, too, although Bangladesh is the country I might choose if I were trying to make a big contrast.
    Pompeo is smart. He is good at masking it with his bland expressions, but he let that expression slip in an interview a week or so ago, and you could see intelligence in his eyes. He is totally sucking up to his audience of one, however, so he’s willing to repeat the foolishness.
    That interview was a good example of repeating foolishness (Iran is not reprocessing plutonium, and other lies about the JCPOA) and simply refusing to answer, about 1/3 the first and 2/3 the second. Kelly was trying to pin him down, though.

  22. 22.

    Baud

    January 26, 2020 at 11:20 am

    @Amir Khalid:

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-17491344

  23. 23.

    Brachiator

    January 26, 2020 at 11:21 am

    I hope NPR finally learns that there’s no bargaining with terrorists and gets out of their toxic, abusive relationship with the view from nowhere, but it’s probably more likely that they’ll start cranking out beat sweeteners featuring Pompeo’s dog and kids.

    This fool is still, for now, a part of the government.  He still must be dealt with. But yeah, the press should realize that when an administration treats you as an enemy of the people, playing nice will not gain much for you.

  24. 24.

    Roger Moore

    January 26, 2020 at 11:22 am

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Speaking of which does Orange T surround himself with fatter men than himself?

    He doesn’t pick exclusively men who are fatter than he is; you can name plenty of close advisers who are thinner and younger than he is.  But there are a lot of old fat men around him because that’s a key demographic among high-ranking Republicans.

  25. 25.

    MagdaInBlack

    January 26, 2020 at 11:22 am

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I think the inner rot causes them to swell up.

  26. 26.

    MomSense

    January 26, 2020 at 11:23 am

    @debbie:

    Pompeo knows just enough to be dangerous as the old saying goes.  He’s smart, did well in school, but his intelligence is cramped by his arrogance.  He’s so sure he’s smarter than everyone else hat he lost his shit when his stupid gotcha quiz backfired. Every time I see him I am overwhelmed by his smugness.  He oozes condescension.

  27. 27.

    germy

    January 26, 2020 at 11:27 am

    This is at least the third time now we have seen a sr member of State try to say “now we need to be off the record so I can irrationally berate you.” Pro tip: Off-the-record is for the exchange of information + insight. Not to shield the world from your bad behavior.— Michelle Kosinski (@MichLKosinski) January 25, 2020

  28. 28.

    Brachiator

    January 26, 2020 at 11:27 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    “Belarus? You don’t fool me. Libtard! Everbody knows that’s a kind of big whale with big long teef comin’ out of it’s mouth!”

    I thought “Belarus” was the name of that old Michael Keaton comedy with Wynona Ryder.  You had to say Belarus 3 times or something….

  29. 29.

    OzarkHillbilly

    January 26, 2020 at 11:30 am

    @Amir Khalid: That Borat guy, he’s just another Russki troll wearing a fake mustache, in fact, I’ll bet he’s a really ugly she!

  30. 30.

    Roger Moore

    January 26, 2020 at 11:30 am

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    Pompeo is smart.

    I agree that he’s being smart and cagey about this issue.  He has very carefully avoided saying outright that she confused Ukraine and Bangladesh, instead just implying it.  That way he can counter any claims that he said it and blame everything on a lying press, fake news, etc.  It’s still a lie, but not enough people are willing to call a lie by implication a lie.

  31. 31.

    OzarkHillbilly

    January 26, 2020 at 11:32 am

    @Brachiator: Hmmmmm. Nope. I’s never wrong about nothing!

  32. 32.

    Cheryl Rofer

    January 26, 2020 at 11:35 am

    @Roger Moore: The news media are, rightly, cautious about the indirect statement, but I have seen a great many people on my Twitter feed calling it out.

  33. 33.

    debbie

    January 26, 2020 at 11:35 am

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    “Know thyself.” — Some religious statement somewhere.

  34. 34.

    DivF

    January 26, 2020 at 11:39 am

    @schrodingers_cat: 

    Let me have men about me that are fat, Sleekheaded men, and such as sleep-a-nights. Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look. He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous.

  35. 35.

    jimmiraybob

    January 26, 2020 at 11:39 am

    @M31: “…I’ve heard speculation that he meant to say Belarus (which at least is in the right area) but fucked up and said Bangladesh, because he’s of course that dumb.”

    I’m going to do the responsible thing and speculate that he couldn’t find either one on a map…..marked or unmarked.

    And wouldn’t be fun to see reporters lugging around unlabelled maps and pulling one out whenever asking Trump or T-Minion a question and asking them to identify various countries of interest.  Could be a learning moment.

  36. 36.

    schrodingers_cat

    January 26, 2020 at 11:41 am

    @MagdaInBlack: I think it must be all the stress eating and drinking.

  37. 37.

    Ella in New Mexico

    January 26, 2020 at 11:43 am

    @Cheryl Rofer: It was deleted? Interesting. Doesn’t seem to be in character for Pompeo to have regrets…

    Wouldn’t it be rich if is was a staffer–not Pompeo–who posted this as a message to him?

  38. 38.

    debbie

    January 26, 2020 at 11:43 am

    @DivF:

    I had to Google, but damn if Shakespeare doesn’t come through again!

  39. 39.

    Brachiator

    January 26, 2020 at 11:43 am

    @MomSense:

    Pompeo knows just enough to be dangerous as the old saying goes. He’s smart, did well in school, but his intelligence is cramped by his arrogance.

    This also applies to Trump administration officials who are dumb and didn’t do well in school.  Their stupidity is augmented by their arrogance.

  40. 40.

    Betty Cracker

    January 26, 2020 at 11:43 am

    Perversely, the fact that Pompeo is seething with rage and lashing out is probably a good sign. He’s an evil crackpot but not stupid. Could be he’s angry because he knows full well that no matter what the Senate does, Trump’s corrupt subversion of foreign policy for personal gain will keep spilling out, and Ukraine is just one episode. Pompeo, who is super ambitious, hitched his wagon to an incompetent, venal nincompoop, and he’s starting to realize it will be his ruin.

  41. 41.

    Mary G

    January 26, 2020 at 11:45 am

    Pompeo is evil.

  42. 42.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 26, 2020 at 11:47 am

    @schrodingers_cat: he also mocks fat people: Chris Christie, Sean Spicer, that guy who stole a protestor’s sign and trump thought he was the protester….. I think Pompeo’s bulk and attitude make him look enough like a tough guy to appease trump, and he’s figured out that Bill Barr is smart, ruthless and unethical enough to be the Roy Cohn he needs

  43. 43.

    LarrytheRed

    January 26, 2020 at 11:47 am

    @Cheryl Rofer: 
    Don’t these people have any self awareness? The bible thumper doth prtesteth too much.

  44. 44.

    Kathleen

    January 26, 2020 at 11:48 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Excuse me but that would be a big land whale.

    On another note, so sorry for all you’ve been dealing with. {{{OzarkHillbilly}}}

  45. 45.

    West of the Rockies

    January 26, 2020 at 11:48 am

    @Another Scott:

    Pompeo–that piggy-faced, corrupt criminal–deserves humiliation and failure.  From voters, from society, from the business and academic worlds, and if he is indeed abusive to his family, from them.

  46. 46.

    Kathleen

    January 26, 2020 at 11:48 am

    @mad citizen: I reported that on Twitter.

  47. 47.

    Cheryl Rofer

    January 26, 2020 at 11:49 am

    @Betty Cracker: I think that’s right. I would add that he’s smart enough to know that he’s peddling lies and that Kelly saw through them, which was the immediate trigger for his wrath.

    He also seems to have an anger management problem. Might be the reason he left the army after five years and only made captain.

  48. 48.

    Kathleen

    January 26, 2020 at 11:49 am

    @MagdaInBlack: All that toxic hate and denial.

  49. 49.

    ewrunning

    January 26, 2020 at 11:50 am

    @Cheryl Rofer: Pompeo is truly an example of fine Christian leadership, flinging f-bombs and lies and screaming at reporters. I was also impressed with NPR’s response, but then they aired another “reporter on safari in Trump world” story this morning, recorded in Idaho, no less. The breaking news is that Trump supporters still support Trump!

  50. 50.

    Omnes Omnibus

    January 26, 2020 at 11:50 am

    @Betty Cracker: Pompeo, who is super ambitious, hitched his wagon to an incompetent, venal nincompoop, and he’s starting to realize it will be his ruin.

    He may be smart, but he is more ambitious.  His ambition seems to have outrun his brains, and, with any luck, that will bring him down.  The funny thing is, if he had any conscience at all, he wouldn’t be in this situation.

  51. 51.

    Amir Khalid

    January 26, 2020 at 11:50 am

    A little football news.

    Manchester United, the laughingstock of the English Premier League, have a 0-6 away lead in a match on Merseyside. Never mind that it’s the FA Cup, not the League; that the Merseyside opponents are Tranmere Rovers from two tiers below in League 1, not Liverpool. A big lead is still a big lead.

    Liverpool themselves have the last FA Cup match of the day, at another League 1 side, Shrewsbury Town. Liverpool are again fielding a team of mostly kids and second-stringers, much like the one that beat Everton in the previous round.

    ETA Liverpool and Shrewsbury Town last played in 1996, in this round of this same tournament, at Shrewsbury’s then home ground. Liverpool won that one 0-4.

  52. 52.

    jimmiraybob

    January 26, 2020 at 11:51 am

    @Another Scott: “There have been noises about Pompeo leaving for a year or more – originally to run for Senate in Kansas. He eventually ruled that out, …”

    They, republicans and democrats alike, are still trying to get the ship of state off the rocky shore onto which the Brownback “revolution’ crashed it.  I doubt that he is ruling on anything.

    Good luck Kansas.

  53. 53.

    Kathleen

    January 26, 2020 at 11:51 am

    @Betty Cracker: I so hope you are right.

  54. 54.

    Omnes Omnibus

    January 26, 2020 at 11:52 am

    @Amir Khalid: Are you sure this is a good look for you?

  55. 55.

    artem1s

    January 26, 2020 at 11:55 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    Perversely, the fact that Pompeo is seething with rage and lashing out is probably a good sign.

    Too venal to keep away from the Trumptanic, but not so dumb he doesn’t see the iceberg on the horizon and he knows the asshole in the bridge is going to steer right into it.

  56. 56.

    Amir Khalid

    January 26, 2020 at 11:56 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I stand by every word.

  57. 57.

    West of the Rockies

    January 26, 2020 at 11:57 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    The fact that Piggy Pompeo hitched his grubby little wagon with failing wheels to the Trump train suggests he is not as bright as he supposes himself to be.

    Pompeo

    Chittering monkey

    climbs a tree.

    Thinks himself tall.

     

    (Shout out to The Last Airbender)

  58. 58.

    Brachiator

    January 26, 2020 at 11:59 am

    @Roger Moore:

    He doesn’t pick exclusively men who are fatter than he is; you can name plenty of close advisers who are thinner and younger than he is. But there are a lot of old fat men around him because that’s a key demographic among high-ranking Republicans.

    Lot of fatheads, too.

  59. 59.

    gene108

    January 26, 2020 at 12:03 pm

    I assume the Koch Foundation money, and other conservative funders, probably comes with some unwritten rules about how far they can push their reporting to be overly critical of Republicans.

  60. 60.

    zhena gogolia

    January 26, 2020 at 12:06 pm

    I always miss the relevant threads. Reposting from another thread where it was irrelevant. This video is hilarious.

    This moment on #CNNTonight where @TheRickWilson and @WajahatAli got @DonLemon to crack while discussing @SecPompeo's pettiness toward @NPRKelly. pic.twitter.com/77wPi3krEi— Geoffrey Sorensen (@GSorensen) January 26, 2020

  61. 61.

    zhena gogolia

    January 26, 2020 at 12:06 pm

    Why am I in moderation? The same thing happened this morning.

  62. 62.

    Omnes Omnibus

    January 26, 2020 at 12:07 pm

    @zhena gogolia: You know what you did.

  63. 63.

    marklar

    January 26, 2020 at 12:08 pm

    We are all blasphemers…Pompeo just doing what his God tells him to do.

    “But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence”. 1 Timothy 2:12

  64. 64.

    zhena gogolia

    January 26, 2020 at 12:09 pm

    Okay, I’ll try it as a link.

  65. 65.

    sdhays

    January 26, 2020 at 12:10 pm

    @jimmiraybob: This reminds me of the 2016 campaign. Reporters are always trying to make Presidential candidates look stupid by asking them stupid questions like “who’s the President of Uzbekistan and what did he get for his 54th birthday?” But not Dump. They would ask him about Brexit, and though he clearly didn’t even know what that was until he was asked, they treated him like a serious person who was informed.

    Yes, he was mocked. But not the way a regular politician would have been.

  66. 66.

    Betty Cracker

    January 26, 2020 at 12:13 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Yep. Pompeo isn’t the first smart wingnut to learn to his cost that he can’t control the idiot Trump. My fondest wish is that the Trump administration collapses in a heap of scandal and incompetence and takes the careers of a generation of our very worst wingnuts with it.

  67. 67.

    Brachiator

    January 26, 2020 at 12:13 pm

    @marklar:

    “But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence”. 1 Timothy 2:12

    And yet, there are hints of historical evidence that women had some key roles in the early Christian church.  In any event, this kid of crap is one of the many, many reasons that religion never appealed to me.

    It is also absurd, but predictable, that any of this nonsense should flow into the political or public sphere.

  68. 68.

    Roger Moore

    January 26, 2020 at 12:15 pm

    @West of the Rockies:

    The fact that Piggy Pompeo hitched his grubby little wagon with failing wheels to the Trump train suggests he is not as bright as he supposes himself to be.

    Either that or he has some reason to think his chances aren’t as good as other people think they are.

  69. 69.

    zhena gogolia

    January 26, 2020 at 12:17 pm

    @sdhays:

    I remember it from the 2000 campaign. A reporter asked GWB who was the leader of Pakistan (much in the news at that time). His answer was “General . . . uh, General General.”

    He was mercilessly mocked, but we all know what happened then.

  70. 70.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 26, 2020 at 12:18 pm

    @sdhays:

    They would ask him about Brexit, and though he clearly didn’t even know what that was until he was asked, they treated him like a serious person who was informed.

    One of the things that interests me about trump is the way he uses vagueness. What’s Brexit? Well, it’s very important, a very important thing, that we’re going to be looking at very strongly, and in a couple of weeks, we’ll see what happens. Do you have an opinion on Frederick Douglas? Well he’s someone very interesting, who a lot of people are talking about, very strongly. Why exactly is Adam Schiff corrupt? Well, there’s a some terrible things he’s doing, terrible things. A lot of people tell me, very smart lawyers say very strongly that he’s doing some terrible things that people are going to be finding out about very soon.

  71. 71.

    Amir Khalid

    January 26, 2020 at 12:18 pm

    18-year-old Curtis Jones, scorer of the Liverpool goal that dispatched Everton’s senior team in the third round, scores again to give Liverpool the lead at Shrewsbury Town.

  72. 72.

    debbie

    January 26, 2020 at 12:19 pm

    A RWNJ high school classmate is imploring me to read something Tim Allen wrote which she is sure will assuage my Trump hate. As if.

  73. 73.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 26, 2020 at 12:22 pm

    @debbie: god help me, I’m a bit curious

  74. 74.

    Brachiator

    January 26, 2020 at 12:24 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    My fondest wish is that the Trump administration collapses in a heap of scandal and incompetence and takes the careers of a generation of our very worst wingnuts with it.

    That’s just it: Trump skips along from mistake to mistake, scandal to scandal, because the Republicans will never rein him in or criticize him, and Fox News and right wing media will continue to lie in his favor.

    And this is absolutely Orwellian in that the GOP has renounced everything that they supposedly stand for, and blandly insist that whatever Trump does is the right and conservative thing to do.

    And of course, Trump’s base is totally on board.

  75. 75.

    Omnes Omnibus

    January 26, 2020 at 12:25 pm

    @debbie: I just dropped a HS friend who had been pushing Joe Rogan clips.  I wasn’t particularly familiar with Rogan because talk radio type things aren’t really my bag, but since the Bernie thing I am now aware.  The final straw was the recommendation of Rogan’s interview with Bari Weiss.

  76. 76.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 26, 2020 at 12:26 pm

    Bigger fish to fry.  If it were illegal or impeachable or automatically disqualifying to be president of you’re an asshole, well…

  77. 77.

    ThresherK

    January 26, 2020 at 12:27 pm

    As always, Jay Rosen adds value to the convo.

    I hope NPR doesn’t coast on being on the proper side of this dustup.

  78. 78.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 26, 2020 at 12:27 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: You really are foolish. ?

  79. 79.

    Kay

    January 26, 2020 at 12:27 pm

    My youngest is canvassing for Bernie next Friday. Interesting that they’re up and running for the Ohio primary, even out to the boonies where I am.

  80. 80.

    Omnes Omnibus

    January 26, 2020 at 12:28 pm

    @Brachiator: Much like the fact that markets can stay irrational longer than one can stay solvent.  The real world will catch up to them, and that day is getting closer.  Let’s just hope it doesn’t bring the rest of down too and that November marks the beginning of the long trek back to sanity.

  81. 81.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 26, 2020 at 12:29 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    The final straw was the recommendation of Rogan’s interview with Bari Weiss. 

    Haha!  Why not a Rogan interview with Busted Glass and Burlap?

  82. 82.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 26, 2020 at 12:32 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    The final straw was the recommendation of Rogan’s interview with Bari Weiss.

    Someone retweeted Weiss saying that the fact that no one knew who Rogan was is a sign of the MSM’s cluelessness about Real America (edited)– she’s a frequent guest on his podcast, apparently. Maybe there’s some truth to that– I’m still trying to figure out why the hell Andrew Yang is a thing, or even Bernie. So I guess I am in a bubble.
    The replies to Weiss’s tweet had a lot of people whining about how you lose your right to free speech just for asking questions, which I gather is Rogan’s shtick: “Is it racist just to ask…”

  83. 83.

    Brachiator

    January 26, 2020 at 12:33 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Do you have an opinion on Frederick Douglas? Well he’s someone very interesting, who a lot of people are talking about, very strongly.

    Of course, this is vagueness combined with woeful ignorance.

    But I see your point.  Good stuff.  There is a consistent pattern to some of Trump’s vague patter.

    Why exactly is Adam Schiff corrupt? Well, there’s a some terrible things he’s doing, terrible things. A lot of people tell me, very smart lawyers say very strongly that he’s doing some terrible things that people are going to be finding out about very soon.

    There is the false appeal to authority (very smart lawyers say) and the hint that Trump has uncovered some dark corruption (terrible things soon to be uncovered).

    And Trump is always the hero in his fabulations.

  84. 84.

    Amir Khalid

    January 26, 2020 at 12:34 pm

    @debbie:

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Unless Tim Allen was writing in character as Buzz Lightyear, I don’t think I’d be very interested myself.

  85. 85.

    ThresherK

    January 26, 2020 at 12:35 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: I’ve only read bits of excerpts from Rogan’s interviews. I’ll pass on them all.

    Compared to a Joy Reid, who is making all the proper enemies, Rogan appears to be largely making all the worst friends. I can’t imagine him saying something to Weiss to get her to storm off in a huff, or even a minute and a huff.

  86. 86.

    Barbara

    January 26, 2020 at 12:36 pm

    I find it difficult to gnaw at the details of our traitor in chief and his cowardly sycophants who have been bought and paid for, whether by Putin or someone else.

    I have been listening to podcasts on the Roman Empire and reading books recommended by some of the podcasters (is that a word?)  Anyway, I came across a quote in one of those books that struck me as particularly apropos regarding one of the awful early emperors, Domitian:

    Rome resembled a funereal community run by sycophants, ruled by the emperor.

    The Senate Republicans and most of Trump’s White House staff and senior political appointees are a funereal community of sycophants.

  87. 87.

    OzarkHillbilly

    January 26, 2020 at 12:37 pm

    I would hesitate to say just how smart or stupid anyone in the trump admin is, but they all have a blind spot called ambition. Each and every one of them thinks they can ride this train to the heights but will get off before it jumps the tracks. So far not a one of them has escaped unscathed.

  88. 88.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 26, 2020 at 12:38 pm

    OT: This is good. The Seven Deadly Sins.

  89. 89.

    topclimber

    January 26, 2020 at 12:39 pm

    Pompeo gets lots of mileage from being first in his class at West Point. It is worth noting that for the 100 years preceding him, the top grad failed to rise to a higher rank than captain five times (one KIA). Pompeo is number 6. Maybe that explains why he never learned the fundamental lesson about protecting the “troops” under his command– much less State Department employees.

    It also speaks to an inability to work within an organization for long enough to get anything done. Army 5 years, Congress 6, CIA for less than two years, SOS not quite two years so far. Think he will make it to three?

    If the hyperlink bombs check out:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Military_Academy_top-ranking_graduates

  90. 90.

    Patricia Kayden

    January 26, 2020 at 12:39 pm

    Can someone tell me why my payment for the pet calendar was refunded? Thanks in advance.

  91. 91.

    Barbara

    January 26, 2020 at 12:40 pm

    @OzarkHillbilly: Nikki Haley is exhibit A in the ambition category, but I wouldn’t call her stupid.

  92. 92.

    Brachiator

    January 26, 2020 at 12:40 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Much like the fact that markets can stay irrational longer than one can stay solvent. The real world will catch up to them, and that day is getting closer.

    Yep. Good point.  Totally agree.

    Even in his “successful” business career, Trump careened from disaster to disaster, failure to failure, but still managed to come out looking like the self-annointed master businessman. He’s applying the same tricks to his presidency.

  93. 93.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 26, 2020 at 12:43 pm

    @Barbara: I think Haley and Christie are exhibits A and B in people who think they can just be a little bit trumpist. Close enough to stay in his favor/avoid the wrath of Himself and his rabid fans but far enough away to claim innocence in whatever unfolds, maintaining credibility with the both the media and the trump base.

  94. 94.

    Jay Noble

    January 26, 2020 at 12:44 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: 1st in his class and out at the earliest opportunity.  Only 2 promotions. While graduating 1st he was not First Captain – top cadet in the command structure.

    And ugh for poor John C. “From 1986 to 1991, Pompeo served in the U.S. Army as an armor officer with the West Germany-based 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry in the 4th Infantry Division. He served as a tank platoon leader before becoming a cavalry troop executive officer and then the squadron maintenance officer. Pompeo left the U.S. Army at the rank of captain.”

    Reading the Wikipedia bio I was left scrathin’ my noggi trying to see what the heck qualified him to be Cia Director or Secratry of State. Eek!

  95. 95.

    debbie

    January 26, 2020 at 12:46 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Because you asked. It’s FB, so there isn’t a link to an outside place.

    TIM ALLEN – ON TRUMP …
    Whatever your feelings for Trump, these are some interesting points that Tim Allen makes. Put your hatred aside and think about these observations.
    Tim Allen is credited with writing this.

    From :Tim Allen
    Here are some interesting points to think about prior to 2020, especially to my friends on the fence, like moderate Democrats, Libertarians and Independents and the never Trump Republicans and those thinking of “walking away” from the Democratic party.

    Women are upset at Trump’s naughty words — they also bought 80 million copies of 50 Shades of Gray.

    Not one feminist has defended Sarah Sanders. It seems women’s rights only matter if those women are liberal.

    No Border Walls. No voter ID laws. Did you figure it out yet? But wait… there’s more.

    Chelsea Clinton got out of college and got a job at NBC that paid $900,000 per year. Her mom flies around the country speaking out about white privilege.

    And just like that, they went from being against foreign interference in our elections to allowing non-citizens to vote in our elections.

    President Trump’s wall costs less than the Obamacare website. Let that sink in, America.

    We are one election away from open borders, socialism, gun confiscation, and full-term abortion nationally. We are fighting evil.

    They sent more troops and armament to arrest Roger Stone than they sent to defend Benghazi.

    60 years ago, Venezuela was 4th on the world economic freedom index. Today, they are 179th and their citizens are dying of starvation. In only 10 years, Venezuela was destroyed by democratic socialism.

    Russia donated $0.00 to the Trump campaign. Russia donated $145,600,000 to the Clinton Foundation. But Trump was the one investigated!

    Nancy Pelosi invited illegal aliens to the State of the Union. President Trump Invited victims of illegal aliens to the State of the Union. Let that sink in.

    A socialist is basically a communist who doesn’t have the power to take everything from their citizens at gunpoint … Yet!

    How do you walk 3000 miles across Mexico without food or support and show up at our border 100 pounds overweight and with a cellphone?

    Alexandria Ocasio Cortez wants to ban cars, ban planes, give out universal income and thinks socialism works. She calls Donald Trump crazy.

    Bill Clinton paid $850,000 to Paula Jones To get her to go away. I don’t remember the FBI raiding his lawyer’s office.

    I wake up every day and I am grateful that Hillary Clinton is not the president of the United States of America.

    The same media that told me Hillary Clinton had a 95% chance of winning now tells me Trump’s approval ratings are low.

    “The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people’s money.”— Margaret Thatcher

    Maxine Waters opposes voter ID laws; She thinks that they are racist. You need to have a photo ID to attend her town hall meetings.

    President Trump said — “They’re not after me. They’re after you. I’m just in their way.”
    Read that again.

    Pass along these truths!

  96. 96.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 26, 2020 at 12:47 pm

    @Jay Noble: Hehe, Cole would be a better Secretary of State.

  97. 97.

    Mandalay

    January 26, 2020 at 12:48 pm

    @MomSense:

    He’s smart, did well in school, but his intelligence is cramped by his arrogance.

    Or perhaps it’s his insecurity, because he knows the position is way beyond his abilities, and that gets manifested as anger and bluster?

    Being intelligent is only part of what is needed for Pompeo’s job. This generic criticism of him is especially scathing:

    “The unavoidable reality is Pompeo never would have been in contention for a senior-level appointment in a normal GOP administration,” Thomas Wright, the director of the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution, said on Twitter. “He was promoted beyond his abilities because so many people were ruled out. The delta between what’s required & what he has is now on full display.”

    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/25/us/politics/pompeo-mary-louise-kelly.html

    The plain truth is that he’s just not good enough to do the job, and the media keep giving him a pass.

  98. 98.

    Jeffro

    January 26, 2020 at 12:51 pm

    @mad citizen: that’s the one!

     

    the WaPo article about it does a pretty good job, but naturally when asked about right wing violence, a GOP Senator noted that ‘Steve Scalise got shot by a lefty’ and so therefore nothing to see here, folks.

    its exactly the same bs my RWNJ bro tried to foist on me last week.  Scalise is their all purpose excuse

  99. 99.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 26, 2020 at 12:51 pm

    @Patricia Kayden:

     

    https://balloon-juice.com/2020/01/25/pets-of-balloon-juice-2020-calendar/

  100. 100.

    Brachiator

    January 26, 2020 at 12:51 pm

    @Kay:

    My youngest is canvassing for Bernie next Friday. Interesting that they’re up and running for the Ohio primary, even out to the boonies where I am.

    I noted in an earlier thread that two older Sanders supporters came to my door yesterday.  One of them had a smartphone app that identified me by name and party registration.

    I asked them why they liked Bernie and they talked about health care and free college. They also emphasized the importance of beating Trump, which was one theme with which I could totally agree.

  101. 101.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 26, 2020 at 12:52 pm

    @debbie: my god. I guess if you’re already nuts, that’s persuasive

  102. 102.

    WaterGirl

    January 26, 2020 at 12:52 pm

    @zhena gogolia: Comments can have 7 links, and there are more than 7 links, the comment goes into moderation.

  103. 103.

    debbie

    January 26, 2020 at 12:53 pm

    @Brachiator:

    Don’t forget that as Trump careened about from bankruptcy to bankruptcy, thousands (at least) people didn’t either get paid or only got partially paid for the work they did for him. Some champion of the common man.

  104. 104.

    Jeffro

    January 26, 2020 at 12:53 pm

    @marklar: speaking of blasphemy, how ‘bout that crazy WH high priestess Paula White calling for god to abort all “satanic pregnancies “

    Kuh

    Ray

    Zee

  105. 105.

    debbie

    January 26, 2020 at 12:54 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    You’re smarter than I.

  106. 106.

    Cameron

    January 26, 2020 at 12:55 pm

    Belarus?  Bangladesh?  I’m surprised he didn’t go the whole shot with “Oz” or “Wakanda.”  It’s not like he’d know whether they were real or not.

  107. 107.

    Gin & Tonic

    January 26, 2020 at 1:00 pm

    Folks, he didn’t say Bangladesh instead of Belarus, he wrote it. It was part of the State Department’s official statement, on letterhead with Department seal. It wasn’t a case of “mis-spoke.”

  108. 108.

    Immanentize

    January 26, 2020 at 1:01 pm

    @Brachiator:

    Lot of fatheads, meatheads too.

    I prefer meathead. It suggests sinewy denseness.

  109. 109.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 26, 2020 at 1:03 pm

    Rebecca Ballhaus @ rebeccaballhaus
    Tom Cotton, a military veteran, on CBS defends Trump calling head injuries suffered by American service members in the Iranian missile strike “headaches.” “He’s not dismissing their injuries. He’s describing their injuries.”

  110. 110.

    Mandalay

    January 26, 2020 at 1:03 pm

    @debbie:

    Maxine Waters opposes voter ID laws; She thinks that they are racist. You need to have a photo ID to attend her town hall meetings.

    An interesting claim, but I can’t find any independent links which support or refute that.

    Either way, I give her points for even having town hall meetings. Lil’ Marco stopped doing them completely, because he found that people weren’t civil.

  111. 111.

    Brachiator

    January 26, 2020 at 1:04 pm

    @debbie:

    We are one election away from open borders, socialism, gun confiscation, and full-term abortion nationally.

    Works for me.

    What an odd collection of junk and lies.  But it may give an idea of right wing “concerns.”

    One common theme, which I kinda understand, is fear of “socialism” because they think it would sink the economy.

    The “evil’ and “moral rot” BS doesn’t matter to me at all.

  112. 112.

    James E Powell

    January 26, 2020 at 1:05 pm

    @Brachiator:

    That’s just it: Trump skips along from mistake to mistake, scandal to scandal, because the Republicans will never rein him in or criticize him, and Fox News and right wing media will continue to lie in his favor.

    And the rest of the press/media treats the whole thing as normal politics, only more entertaining.

    And let’s never forget the ~41.5% of Americans who are ruled by their greed or bigotry.

  113. 113.

    randy khan

    January 26, 2020 at 1:05 pm

    @zhena gogolia:

    That was excellent.  Thanks for reposting it.

  114. 114.

    Immanentize

    January 26, 2020 at 1:05 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: Why does that remind me of Kenya pissing on Norway in the Weebles song,
    KENYA?

  115. 115.

    debbie

    January 26, 2020 at 1:08 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    “He’s not dismissing their injuries. He’s describing their injuries.”

    As non-serious, you ASSHOLE!

  116. 116.

    delk

    January 26, 2020 at 1:08 pm

    I think ‘smart’ people hitch their wagons to Trump because they look at his children and think, ‘If those incredibly stupid people can get this far, I can certainly do better’.

  117. 117.

    Amir Khalid

    January 26, 2020 at 1:09 pm

    @debbie:

    A grab-bag of RW talking points. I would definitely have been more interested in what Buzz Lightyear had to say — about anything.

  118. 118.

    Jay Noble

    January 26, 2020 at 1:11 pm

    @topclimber: What’s being ignored is that while he was 1st in his class, he was not First Captain – 1st in the Command Structure.

  119. 119.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 26, 2020 at 1:11 pm

    The chief diplomat of the United States of America, our representative around the world

    Mike Pompeo @ mikepompeo
    “Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool” -Proverbs 10:18

    #SundayScripture ✝️
    6:38 AM · Jan 26, 2020·

    project, project, project, project, project

  120. 120.

    James E Powell

    January 26, 2020 at 1:11 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I think Haley and Christie are exhibits A and B in people who think they can just be a little bit trumpist. Close enough to stay in his favor/avoid the wrath of Himself and his rabid fans but far enough away to claim innocence in whatever unfolds, maintaining credibility with the both the media and the trump base.

    Nikki Haley benefits from the same thing as Ivanka Trump: the press/media and large percentage of Americans simply refuse to believe that an attractive woman can be evil.

  121. 121.

    Brachiator

    January 26, 2020 at 1:13 pm

    @debbie:

    Don’t forget that as Trump careened about from bankruptcy to bankruptcy, thousands (at least) people didn’t either get paid or only got partially paid for the work they did for him. Some champion of the common man.

    Trump is still pulling the same stunt as president.  From a recent NPR Marketplace podcast:

    The federal government shutdown ended a year ago, but it’s still hurting temporary workers, like security guards, who will never get that month of wages back. The Trump administration is using a lot more contractors than previous White Houses, and today we talk with some people still paying off credit cards and other debt they took on.

  122. 122.

    Amir Khalid

    January 26, 2020 at 1:13 pm

    An embarrassing own goal by Shrewsbury Town defender Donald Love gifts Liverpool a 0-2 lead in their fourth round FA Cup tie.

  123. 123.

    cain

    January 26, 2020 at 1:15 pm

    @Brachiator:

    No no, it’s some star out in space.. heard it on Star Trek once.

  124. 124.

    Kay

    January 26, 2020 at 1:17 pm

    @Brachiator:

    Thanks. I love the local info.

  125. 125.

    Jay

    January 26, 2020 at 1:18 pm

    @ThresherK:

    there is Rogan, Peterson, Molneux(sp) and others. Edgelords on youtube and podcasts working their stichk, who are “popular” with certain subsets, of subsets of the population, ( not all Americans, it is the internet).

    They get “held up” as exemplars of “xxxxxx” when convenient by specific grifters, based on their “views”, (intertubes stats). While their stats look impressive, compared to Old Media, it’s not comperable. Faux News eyeballs are real human eyeballs, mostly in the US. Not all internet “clicks” are human, and not all human clicks result in a watch or listen.

    Claiming that because someone doesn’t know racist, transphobe, mysogenist, manosphere Joe Rogan, one isn’t in touch with “the real America”, makes less sense than claiming that because one does not follow “The 24 Hours of Lemons”*, one is not in touch with the “Real America”.*

    It’s a typical Conservative “gotcha”.

    *24 Hours of Lemons is a road race series, held across America, based mostly on the SCCA rules, with a few of their own, such as it is a 2 x 8 hour, or 24 hour, endurance race, for $500 “beater” cars only. Fun is the goal, not so much winning.

  126. 126.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 26, 2020 at 1:19 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Haha.  In passing I saw ‘Tim Allen’, ‘evil’ and ‘Pass this on.’

    Oh noes, seven years of bad luck if you don’t send this to 7 people in the next 7 seconds?!

    Good to see stupid chain letters live on.

  127. 127.

    James E Powell

    January 26, 2020 at 1:19 pm

    @debbie:

    From Tim Allen’s post:

    We are one election away from open borders, socialism, gun confiscation, and full-term abortion nationally. We are fighting evil.

    He either forgot to mention that black & brown will take over the country or he knows he doesn’t need to say it in writing.

    This is a summary of the political thought of the majority of white Americans for the last thirty years. It’s why the Republicans can crush them with their economic policies and still get their votes. It’s why it’s ridiculous for Sanders or anyone else to argue that Democrats need to reach out to them or understand their grievances.

  128. 128.

    joel hanes

    January 26, 2020 at 1:19 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Is it racist just to ask

    Sea lions always wondering

  129. 129.

    Barbara

    January 26, 2020 at 1:20 pm

    @debbie: “So, basically, he doesn’t have any more brains than the cartoon character he plays.  Maybe that’s why most of what he says in public is written by other people.”

  130. 130.

    artem1s

    January 26, 2020 at 1:22 pm

    @gene108:

    I assume the Koch Foundation money, and other conservative funders, probably comes with some unwritten rules about how far they can push their reporting to be overly critical of Republicans.

    reportedly (PND Philanthropy News Digest), the Koch kids and grandkids aren’t all that keen on the Grandpas blowing the inheritance on political crap.  Charles’ doesn’t have a say anymore and David (I think) was never as keen about the Heritage Fdn crap as his brother was.  There is going to be a big hole in the conservative money bag and the GOP has been in full panic about how to replace it as it dries up.  NPR was not endowed by the Kochs so they are probably looking for their next sugar daddy and it’s far more likely to come from some Soro’s Pledge money than the NeoCons, TeaParty, or Liberty University grifters.

  131. 131.

    joel hanes

    January 26, 2020 at 1:23 pm

    @debbie:

    I’m sorry I read that.

    Until this moment, I had no particular dislike for Tim Allen, and have enjoyed some of his work.

  132. 132.

    Jay

    January 26, 2020 at 1:24 pm

    Tom Cotton, a military veteran, on CBS defends Trump calling head injuries suffered by American service members in the Iranian missile strike “headaches.”"He’s not dismissing their injuries. He’s describing their injuries."— Rebecca Ballhaus (@rebeccaballhaus) January 26, 2020

    MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Thune said he would prefer Trump's lawyers not spread conspiracy theories about Ukraine during the impeachment trial.@SenTomCotton: "That's a Democratic talking point."BRENNAN: Thune is a Republican leader.COTTON: "It's a Democratic talking point." pic.twitter.com/BZp0b3d5OE— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 26, 2020

  133. 133.

    Amir Khalid

    January 26, 2020 at 1:28 pm

    Shrewsbury get a penalty after Liverpool youth defender Yasser Larouci brings down an attacker. Routine conversion. Shrewsbury 1-2 Liverpool.

  134. 134.

    debbie

    January 26, 2020 at 1:29 pm

    @joel hanes:

    I saw him somewhere badmouthing Obama during his administration. That did it for me.

  135. 135.

    Brachiator

    January 26, 2020 at 1:30 pm

    @artem1s:

    reportedly (PND Philanthropy News Digest), the Koch kids and grandkids aren’t all that keen on the Grandpas blowing the inheritance on political crap.

    There’s such a thing as Philanthropy News Digest?

  136. 136.

    debbie

    January 26, 2020 at 1:32 pm

    I just realized that a couple of times today, when NPR reports about Saturdays’ impeachment hearing, they say the attorneys are arguing against explicit quid pro quo. I don’t remember hearing “explicit” before and am wondering if we’re headed into Dershowitz-level parsing territory.

  137. 137.

    Ksmiami

    January 26, 2020 at 1:32 pm

    @Roger Moore: praying for plenty of myocardial infarctions all around

  138. 138.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 26, 2020 at 1:33 pm

    @Brachiator: Well, we all now know who isn’t very philanthropic. :)

  139. 139.

    Amir Khalid

    January 26, 2020 at 1:38 pm

    Shrewsbury equalise with a long ball from the keeper that catches out Liverpool’s high line and a low shot that squirms under keeper Adrián. 2-2.

    ETA: Mo Salah comes on for Joel Matip.

  140. 140.

    Amir Khalid

    January 26, 2020 at 1:54 pm

    It finishes 2-2. Replay at Anfield next week.

  141. 141.

    Another Scott

    January 26, 2020 at 2:04 pm

    @artem1s:

    NPR got a bunch of cash in an endowment from Joan B. Kroc (of the McDonald’s fortune), but the NPR foundation only provides about 5% of their annual budget.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  142. 142.

    WaterGirl

    January 26, 2020 at 2:09 pm

    @Patricia Kayden:  You are apparently in good company!

    Information here:

    https://balloon-juice.com/2020/01/26/cafe-press-balloon-juice-calendar-hiccup-temporarily/

  143. 143.

    J R in WV

    January 26, 2020 at 2:41 pm

    @Mandalay:

    January 26, 2020 at 1:03 pm

    @debbie:

    Maxine Waters opposes voter ID laws; She thinks that they are racist. You need to have a photo ID to attend her town hall meetings.

    An interesting claim, but I can’t find any independent links which support or refute that.

    Either way, I give her points for even having town hall meetings. Lil’ Marco stopped doing them completely, because he found that people weren’t civil.

    Congresswoman and committee chair Maxine Waters has had many death threats, probably way too many to even keep track of the current total number.

    Maybe, just maybe, those death threats were made known to federal law enforcement, and they require the Photo ID in order to keep out the people they are aware of who have sent those death threats to Maxine, whom I admire for her courage.

    In my book she is right there beside Dr. King, who we should recall was murdered by a hired killer. Both brave fighters for freedom.

    Most of those bits by Tim Allen (whoever that is?) are either fabrications, aka lies, or wilful distortions of almost true events. He must be a RWNJ ass, so I’m glad I don’t even know who he is.

    ETA: The right to vote has nothing to do with good security for someone receiving death threats, for just one massive distortion in that list of fabrications.

  144. 144.

    dww44

    January 26, 2020 at 2:55 pm

    @joel hanes: I read that and Tim Allen has been who he is for a long time.  The kind of conservative who cannot overlook an opportunity to take his digs at the libs.  Seriously, I’ve watched a bit of the current situation comedy of his and his arrogance and contempt for liberals is always just a throw away line on the ready.   I’ve absolutely NO USE for him, notwithstanding his work in the Toy Story movies.

    Honestly I lose regard for any artist whose politics are front and center in his/her work.  Notably in my area there’s Steve Penley, illustrator and painter of murals and such for Coca Cola, Chick-fil-A, and painter of portraits of his favorite Presidents, Reagan and Trump. He’s adored by conservatives and thanks to their patronage he makes a pretty darn good living, being the avowed capitalist that he is.

  145. 145.

    germy

    January 26, 2020 at 2:56 pm

    UPDATE: NYT obtained emails between @NPRKelly & press aide to @SecPompeo — Kelly said explicitly the day before the interview that she would ask about Iran & Ukraine. And: "I never agree to take anything off the table.” Pompeo’s attack on her was baseless. https://t.co/9nyH1FOzAl— Edward Wong (@ewong) January 26, 2020

    Not surprising at all.

  146. 146.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    January 26, 2020 at 3:19 pm

    Story is, the reporter was asked to come *without recording* – seems an aide didn’t know the difference between “don’t record” and “off the record”.

    It’s worth noting that “off the record” is a courtesy; free speech/press means once someone tells you something, you can report it. If a journalist agreed a conversation was off the record, then it’s a horrible thing to reveal it without fighting tooth an nail (eta: against all efforts to get you to reveal it); but if you haven’t *specified* “off the record” and gotten agreement from the reporter, you’re a dumbass for complaining later if it’s reported.

    He had an aide make the request – he didn’t hear the agreement. Ergo, Pompeo’s a dumbass.

  147. 147.

    marklar

    January 26, 2020 at 4:59 pm

    @Jeffro: “speaking of blasphemy, how ‘bout that crazy WH high priestess Paula White calling for god to abort all “satanic pregnancies “

     

    Oy Gevalt!  I wonder how this will play with the Right to Life marchers?

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