Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

This is dead girl, live boy, a goat, two wetsuits and a dildo territory.  oh, and pink furry handcuffs.

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

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you do not.

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

The snowflake in chief appeared visibly frustrated when questioned by a reporter about egg prices.

They are not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Republicans in disarray!

Humiliatingly small and eclipsed by the derision of millions.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

We can’t confuse what’s necessary to win elections with the policies that we want to implement when we do.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

You are here: Home / Politics / Goddamned Traitors / “We’ve always been at war with Eastasia…”

“We’ve always been at war with Eastasia…”

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The GOP is selling it hard on Twitter today:

Adam Schiff ain’t buying it:

I have no idea how this shakes out. Anyhoo, open thread, I guess.

Reader Interactions

170Comments

  1. 1.

    TenguPhule

    I have no idea how this shakes out

    Big talk upfront.

    No delivery once the media’s attention is distracted by a shiny new object.

    /Talking about This “Tough on Russia” talk by Trumpers.

  2. 2.

    Corner Stone

    Garry Kasparov
    ‏Verified account @Kasparov63
    2h2 hours ago

    Garry Kasparov Retweeted Adam Schiff

    Yes, the new sanctions look more like a response to Democrats’ attacks than to Putin’s attacks. “See, we’re doing something,” not real deterrence.

  3. 3.

    Corner Stone

    Garry Kasparov
    ‏Verified account @Kasparov63
    2h2 hours ago

    Obama made a similar mistake, treating Putin’s aggression as a domestic political matter to be managed instead of one of vital national & global security.

  5. 5.

    VeniceRiley

    It also sends a message to PM Ms. May in the UK. And that message is: You’re on your own.

  8. 8.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Thank gods, finally, an Open Thread!

    It’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s 85th birthday!! Happy birthday, Notorious RBG, and I hope you keep on kickin’ ass for many years to come!

    She really deserves her own thread, but absent that, let’s cheer this remarkable woman on a nice milestone birthday, shall we?

  10. 10.

    cosima

    @VeniceRiley: Apart from the EU nations who have given their support? I’m sure it comes as no surprise at all to Ms. May that he was not going to be helpful.

  13. 13.

    TenguPhule

    @cosima:

    Apart from the EU nations who have given their support?

    And even that has been less then optimal. Brexit is really biting them in the ass here.

  17. 17.

    Elizabelle

    I truly don’t like posts illustrated with photos of Trump.

    Betty: couldn’t you use your mad art skillz and put him in a Mexican wrestling mask? Excise him with a cockroach costume? Something???

  18. 18.

    VeniceRiley

    @cosima: I’m all for cheering on European countries being very very aggressive in their pushback and protection of each other, the Baltics, the stans, and wherever else they can counter Putin’s malign forces.

    By the way, SoCalers, I found a restaurant and am planning an April adventure. They only seat once per night! This is the kind of experience I crave, rather than typical dinner and a show. Others, feast your eyes and be jealous. I hear you must wear shoes though. So bogus, that!
    hobbitrestaurant.com/

    It’s 10 minutes from my apartment!
    Do you have a unique spot where you are? What is it?

  19. 19.

    Corner Stone

    @zhena gogolia: I enjoyed his suit that was highlighted the other day. However, he enjoys his trousers a little more blousy than I would suggest.

  20. 20.

    hellslittlestangel

    HB, RBG.

    Yeah, he’s been very tough on Russia. For instance, he refused to appoint Rex Tillerson SoS until Putin said, “please.”

  24. 24.

    piratedan

    @Corner Stone: while I understand where Kasparov is coming from, Obama still had the mistaken belief that the GOP had issues with him personally (they did) but felt that they would still do what was right for the sake of the country (they didn’t). So in a way, sure you can ping Obama for believing that these guys would place the good of the country over the evidence of a foreign power meddling in our affairs but to be honest, how many of us would have refused to believe how incredibly craven these bastards actually are?

    I mean, I’ve always believed that they were wrong in their approach to policy and goals and such, but to find out that they’re only in it for themselves and those who have bought them is still an incredibly disappointing revelation.

  28. 28.

    cosima

    @TenguPhule: Putin worked so hard to make Brexit happen. I’d love for this to be something that works against that. It would be interesting if EU countries came to the realisation that supporting the UK could effect two important changes: 1) reversing anti-EU biases that exist in the UK, thereby 2) leading to a higher likelihood of Brexit being reversed… There’s not really justification for reversing Brexit right now, though public opinion is more against than for it, but a strong show of support from EU countries could justify it, especially if the response from the US is tepid.

    However, the headlines I’ve seen on this side of the pond today seem to say that the EU nations’ responses were unequivocal. There are EU countries that have their own issues, and perhaps their responses were not as vocal or emphatic as one might have liked, but I’d say the UK feels supported by its neighbours.

  29. 29.

    TenguPhule

    Some humans are just fucking bastards.

    A Northern California man shot more than 130 hawks and other legally protected birds of prey on his land, leaving the carcasses to pile up at the foot of trees and telephone poles, wildlife officials said today.

    Authorities booked property owner Richard Parker, 67, into the Lassen County jail on charges including take of birds of prey and take of migratory non-game birds protected by the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The website of the county jail did not show whether Parker had a lawyer to comment on the charges.

    Birds of prey are broadly valued by farmers and others for helping keep down rodent populations. State law bars killing them.

    All of the birds appear to have been shot, Foy said. Most were red-tailed hawks, but they also included an owl, at least one magpie songbird, and North America’s largest hawk, the migratory ferruginous hawk.

  33. 33.

    tobie

    I guess Mumbai made the US news because Hillary Clinton was there. Chuck Toddles did not approve of her speech–in fact, he didn’t seem to approve of her speaking at all. Heidi Heitkamp said on talk radio in response to the question when Hillary will go away, “Not soon enough.” I so regret having contributed to Heitkamp’s campaign in 2012. She’s awful. I’m not expecting a California-style liberal in North Dakota but, sheesh, the state should be able to find a blue dog with a bit more class than this.

  35. 35.

    Corner Stone

    @piratedan:

    So in a way, sure you can ping Obama for believing that these guys would place the good of the country over the evidence of a foreign power meddling in our affairs but to be honest, how many of us would have refused to believe how incredibly craven these bastards actually are?

    This is the mistake people continue to make. They are arguing from a false premise. It’s not a political issue, it is a national security issue.

  39. 39.

    MisterForkbeard

    So, Trump is getting tough by still not enacting the sanctions that Congress passed, right?

  40. 40.

    debbie

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    SNL often has Kate McKinnon portray RBG at their news desk. The real RBG likes it!

    According to Variety, Ginsburg admitted to referencing McKinnon’s bits while at work. “I would like to say ‘Ginsburged’ sometimes to my colleagues,” she said, before offering praise to the SNL cast member. “I liked the actress who portrayed me.”

    Imagine! An august jurist has a sense of humor!

  41. 41.

    Corner Stone

    @tobie: Chuck Toddler served up that slow softball to his panel and they all got their HRC hate on. Bloody Bill Kristol already had desirable GOP ads they could make to bust D’s in red state elections.
    Chuck looked like he wanted to spit every time he said Hillary’s name or referenced her.

  43. 43.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Hee hee

    EXCLUSIVE
    Vanessa Trump files for divorce from Donald Trump Jr.
    The president’s daughter-in-law filed for an uncontested proceeding, meaning she’s not expecting a legal battle over custody of the couple’s five children or their assets.

    I hope she’s got fifteen nasty lawyers with some investigators straight out of a TV show

  44. 44.

    TenguPhule

    @MisterForkbeard:

    So, Trump is getting tough by still not enacting the sanctions that Congress passed, right?

    With new boasts of sanctions he won’t be enforcing any time soon.

    And like his boasts about “saving jobs”, there will be no big media blowup about how he didn’t do shit down the road.

  45. 45.

    TenguPhule

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    filed for an uncontested proceeding, meaning she’s not expecting a legal battle over custody of the couple’s five children or their assets.

    Boy is she in for an unpleasant surprise.

  47. 47.

    tobie

    @schrodingers_cat: I can imagine. Things are so screwed up here right now. I’ve always liked the feel of Mumbai, though I haven’t spent much time there. Chennai’s my usual port of call.

  50. 50.

    Yarrow

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Could be that they know Jr. is going to prison so they’re sheltering assets with her divorce settlement. Or she can see the writing on the wall and is taking the money and running.

  51. 51.

    Corner Stone

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Divorce, especially with kids involved, is never a really great thing. But I hope he fucks up publicly and she fucking buries his sorry ass for all time. So Mueller has to dig DJT JR up from a plot somewhere so he can frogmarch him to prison.

  53. 53.

    TenguPhule

    @Yarrow:

    so they’re sheltering assets with her divorce settlement.

    Given that they’re all greedy fucking grifters, how exactly does he expect to get any of the money back from her?

  54. 54.

    Corner Stone

    Jeebus. Kathleen Parker is much worse than I remembered. And I already hated her guts.

  55. 55.

    Geeno

    @VeniceRiley: OMG That looks good. Have a blast. We used to have a couple places like that around here, but they closed up a while ago. Now it seems like I find a restaurant I want to go to, and it closes the next week.

  56. 56.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @debbie: as a gruff friend of mine said to his 24YO son and DIL who need his help with the bills when they told him he was gonna be a grandpa for the third time: “You know, they know what causes that now”

    (Oh, dear god. Kathleen Parker and Donna Brazile? Why, Ari, why?)

  57. 57.

    Brachiator

    @Corner Stone:

    The video MSNBC showed of HRC speaking in India misspelled the location as Mumbia. It was a jab at their mistake.

    What a bunch of dopes! I’d love to see a still of that caption.

    @tobie:

    Chuck Toddles did not approve of her speech–in fact, he didn’t seem to approve of her speaking at all.

    Jeez. Where do these goons get off? I can see reporting on a speech. I can even see criticizing it, in context. But who gives a fuck about whether they approve of her speech?

  58. 58.

    Roger Moore

    @Corner Stone:

    It’s not a political issue, it is a national security issue.

    It’s both. The underlying problem is that it was an attack on our political system, so normal national security approaches weren’t going to work. The moment Obama made a big deal about it, the Republicans were going to claim he was trying to use vague national security claims to discredit Trump for blatantly political reasons. Worse, they were obviously going to get away with it because our news media sucks so badly they would have played up the political wrangling angle without bothering to investigate the truth of the underlying allegations.

  61. 61.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @VeniceRiley: @debbie:

    Imagine!! An august jurist has a sense of humor!

    I think I’ve mentioned here before that I saw RBG about in, 2015? Maybe 2014. Anyhow, she was delivering a talk on “The Law in Opera” at the Castleton Opera Festival. One of the people I was with was on crutches, so we got priority handicapped seating and ended up in the front row about 6 feet away from Justice G.

    She was super-funny, very thoughtful and perceptive, and showed a real knowledge of opera. And FWIW, it was clear that she really cherished Scalia as a colleague and friend (he was still alive at the time) no matter how profoundly they disagreed on points of law.

  62. 62.

    Corner Stone

    @Roger Moore: Any political fallout is one aspect. But the way to address it is from a national security perspective. You don’t go into a fight against a thug like Putin with one hand chained to your opposite leg.

  64. 64.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Roger Moore: I think the reason Rs started clinging tighter and tighter to trump is 1) they’re pleasantly surprised (I’m neither) to find out he didn’t mean any of his campaign rhetoric about not cutting taxes on the rich or defending the safety net and 2) they are pleasantly surprised (I’m surprised, not pleasantly) at the largely ho-hum response of the public to Russian interference

  68. 68.

    MomSense

    Yikes. I’m enjoying an adult beverage and somehow got in the middle of a football discussion. It seems that everyone hates the Patriots.

  69. 69.

    Hungry Joe

    The Russians are a threat, and Trump’s just the guy to deal with them; he’s WAY ahead of the game. As he pointed out the other day, we’re going to need a … Space Force! Yeah! Can I play? I wanna be captain of a space ship. With ray guns! Fire all ray guns! **PYOO**PYOO**!!! Got him! … Uh-oh, we’re hit! Gotta crash land on Planet Zzyxon! Look out — monsters! **PYOO!**PYOO**!!! … Yeah. Space Force. Love it.

  71. 71.

    Corner Stone

    @Yarrow:

    Could be that they know Jr. is going to prison so they’re sheltering assets with her divorce settlement.

    I’m not a member of Mueller’s team but isn’t there something about proceeds of criminal activity? Can’t all their shit be attached and confiscated if it can be proven DJT JR did the RICO?

  72. 72.

    Brachiator

    @tobie:

    Vanessa Trump files for divorce from Donald Trump Jr.

    I’ll be catty. This is schadenfreudelicious!

    Come on, Melania! You can do it, too!!

  75. 75.

    Corner Stone

    @ruemara: Neither of those things was required for him to act. Much less have Susan Rice tell the NSC team looking for countermeasures to “stand down”.

  76. 76.

    Roger Moore

    @Corner Stone:

    You don’t go into a fight against a thug like Putin with one hand chained to your opposite leg.

    If one political party in the country is already cutting deals with him, we’re going into the fight with less than full strength no matter how much we might wish otherwise. To put it another way, what specifically should Obama have done differently that would have produced a better outcome?

  79. 79.

    Corner Stone

    @Roger Moore: I am not the CinC. However, they apparently had a working team of NSC professionals who had a catalog of potential countermeasures they could have been implemented or maybe threatened. Telling Putin to “knock it off” didn’t seem to get the desired results.

  83. 83.

    MomSense

    @Corner Stone:

    It has been reported that we did take counter measures which apparently cannot be canceled by trump. Some of them were apparently planted in some fashion and can be initiated ar any time. I keep looking for bizarre things like when accounts were drained from a Cypriot bank known to hold a lot of Russian money.

  84. 84.

    rikyrah

    The blood of America’s poor fuels a multibillion-dollar industry

    Medicaid, housing subsidies, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—these are some of the things that make up the backbone of the U.S.’s social safety net. And the federal government, guided by President Trump’s proposed budget for 2019, is seeking to make deep cuts to all three of them

    Yet while this threatens the government’s social safety net, one of a different kind continues to expand. Americans are flooding into the country’s blood-plasma donation centers in greater numbers than ever before, seeking to make up for low wages or small benefits checks, or even as their only source of cash income during a spell of extreme poverty. Their blood plasma—which historically has been collected disproportionately in the country’s poorest communities—is fueling a multibillion-dollar worldwide industry.

    Blood plasma, being a vital component of certain medical treatments, is extremely valuable, and there’s not much standing in the way of American adults who want to make some money off of what’s in their veins—so long as they weigh more than 110 pounds and are in good health. A standard visit lasts 90 minutes and usually pays between $30 and $50. Unlike other countries that ban giving plasma more than once a week or limit the number of sales in a year out of concerns for donors’ health, the U.S. permits up to two plasma donations a week, every week.

    msn.com/en-us/money/markets/the-blood-of-americas-poor-fuels-a-multibillion-dollar-industry/ar-BBKfN…

  86. 86.

    Elizabelle

    @eclare: Yeah. NYDaily News has it too. Uncontested. Interesting. Save those assets.

    Oh, and you can have the five kiddies too. Looks like they have four young sons and a daughter.

  88. 88.

    Brachiator

    Heard about this earlier today. It was inevitable but still kinda sad

    Toys R Us to close or sell all U.S. stores

    The company decided to close or sell its remaining stores after its executives met with creditors today, according to three people briefed on the discussions. More than 30,000 American jobs are at risk as a result.

    I knew that much of the collapse of the company had to do with competition from Amazon, etc. But I didn’t realize the extent to which kids are no longer buying “traditional” toys.

    Toys R Us was felled by a combination of too much debt and an antiquated business model that could not keep up with Amazon and Walmart.

    The global toy industry has been fighting a losing battle for the attention of children obsessed with smartphones and tablets. Global toy sales have been growing slightly each year, but at a slower pace than electronics and video games.

    And of course, there is crushing debt, partly thanks to firms like Bain Capital.

    The company is owned by the private equity firms Bain Capital and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and the real estate firm Vornado Realty Trust, which bought the company in 2005.

    Weighed down by the debt that its owners heaped on the company when they bought it, Toys R Us has not adequately invested in its fading stores and e-commerce operations. Unable to compete with other retailers, Toys R Us has lost market share to better capitalized toy sellers.

  89. 89.

    Chyron HR

    @Corner Stone:

    “SUSAN RICE DIDN’T SAY THE RIGHT WORDS! OBAMA SENT THE STAND DOWN ORDER! WAS HE ALONE THAT NIGHT!?!?!”

    I legitimately can’t tell if you’re doing this on purpose.

  90. 90.

    piratedan

    @ruemara: @Roger Moore: when you consider how this presidency has been covered, I think Roger has it pegged correctly that if Obama had thrown down the gauntlet and gone public, we’d be in the process of having the Constitutional crisis on the doorstep of the election rather than now, 18 months later.

    Is there a preference here? Perhaps it would have been way better to have had the blood bath then….

    In certain respects, Putin understands us really well and he may continue to pull strings here for a while longer because he’s played the white nationalists, the evangelicals and greens superbly. The GOP has essentially been compromised, if not outright purchased. Our problems are manifold, the media is not mandated to report the news with any kind of accuracy, they’re allowed to spin and frame it however they wish. Currently, how they wish to frame things favors those people who prefer to wreck our established political and societal norms.. that generates rage clicks and drives advertising money. Plus the folks behind the scenes are probably making money for guiding the framing of the stories themselves, its hard otherwise to explain the reason for the shitshow of Oped hires that we see that are so blatantly stupid, out of touch and wholly apologetic of the GOP. The GOP is desperate and the Putin threw them a lifeline to allow them to stay in power, fuck tomorrow, we’re in charge today!

  92. 92.

    bystander

    @Yarrow:

    Or she can see the writing on the wall and is taking the money and running.

    But that makes her look like she is just in it for the money.

    I’m almost enjoying this as much as seeing Tillerson get all choked up last week. It does add to the “rats/ship” simile.

  94. 94.

    rikyrah

    Prince Henry to wed Rachel: Queen uses Harry and Meghan’s real names as she gives formal consent to their marriage

    In a letter to the Privy Council, she expressed her approval of upcoming wedding
    The first six people in the line of succession must obtain the Monarch’s consent
    Those who do not seek prior approval are banned from ascending to the throne
    Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan set to marry on May 19 at Windsor Castle

    By Rebecca English, Royal Correspondent for the Daily Mail and Alexander Robertson For Mailonline

    PUBLISHED: 09:45 EDT, 15 March 2018 | UPDATED: 15:42 EDT, 15 March 2018

    dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5505117/The-Queen-formally-gives-consent-Prince-Harry-Meghan.html#ixzz5…

  95. 95.

    TenguPhule

    @Corner Stone:

    But the way to address it is from a national security perspective. You don’t go into a fight against a thug like Putin with one hand chained to your opposite leg.

    So President Obama should have had the GOP leadership discreetly killed to send a warning to the rest of them?

  96. 96.

    lgerard

    @Sm*t Cl*de:

    Ben Carson taking advice from an egregious fraudster.

    Again, the lack of even the rudimentary due diligence in trump world never ceases to amaze me

    A simple credit report would have exposed this clown

  98. 98.

    Fair Economist

    @VeniceRiley:

    It’s 10 minutes from my apartment!

    We live very close. I’ve walked past the Hobbit on occasion although I never ate there.

  100. 100.

    Roger Moore

    @Brachiator:

    I knew that much of the collapse of the company had to do with competition from Amazon, etc.

    I had heard the main culprit was their attempt to expand beyond toys and into baby stuff with Babies-R-Us. The markets seem similar enough, but they’re actually very different so Toys-R-Us lost a lot of money trying to expand.

  101. 101.

    The Simp in the Suit

    @Roger Moore:

    To put it another way, what specifically should Obama have done differently that would have produced a better outcome?

    Nuked them from outer space? It’s the only way to be sure…

  102. 102.

    Brachiator

    @rikyrah:

    Prince Henry to wed Rachel: Queen uses Harry and Meghan’s real names as she gives formal consent to their marriage

    Ah, that explains it. Some dope falsely claimed that the Queen was confused and referred to Meghan as “Rachel” because that’s her character’s name on the tv show “Suits.”

  103. 103.

    Jeffro

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: for #2 there, I’m sure that most every day they wake up and go “you know, if it was Clinton who was compromised by, say, China our people would’ve already birth this fucking country to the ground – LOL!”

  106. 106.

    VeniceRiley

    @Fair Economist: Lets brunch sometime if you like. I am under this name on twitter. How are Orange county Mining Co. and Orange Hill?
    I live on the other side of the baseball stadium.

  108. 108.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Asawin Suebsaeng swin24
    Again, I can’t get over the fact Trump still goes around talking to people about Gorka & how great he thinks he is on TV. Per WH sources, Trump has been known to literally, unprompted, start telling people in the WH about specific Gorka clips he’s seen

    President T. V. Fuddlehead

  109. 109.

    Brachiator

    @Roger Moore:

    I had heard the main culprit was their attempt to expand beyond toys and into baby stuff with Babies-R-Us. The markets seem similar enough, but they’re actually very different so Toys-R-Us lost a lot of money trying to expand.

    Oddly enough, they started out in the baby stuff business.

    It is a colossal failure for a company that started out in 1948 as a small store that sold cribs, strollers and other baby items in Washington, D.C.

    I guess the Babies-R-Us expansion might be mentioned in more detailed stories about the company’s collapse, but most only mention how the company’s debt prevented them from being better able to invest in strategies to deal with online retailers. I don’t know whether there was really much that they could do in any event. Brick and mortar stores are having a tough time unless they offer some special experience.

  110. 110.

    trollhattan

    Florida construction firm participating in building the collapsed bridge evidently not familiar with memes and internet traditions.

    Munilla Construction company (MCM), a family-owned contractor that helped build the bridge, tweeted “thoughts and prayers” for those affected by the tragedy.

  111. 111.

    Origuy

    @VeniceRiley: Have you ever been to the Magic Castle? You have to be a member or guest of a member. It’s a private club in North Hollywood for stage magicians. You don’t have to be a magician to be an associate member, but only magician members can use the library. I went with the husband of a woman who decided to become a magician member and practiced until she was able to pass the reviewing committee. They do offer classes. Dinner includes a couple of performances of various types of magic.There is a dress code.

  113. 113.

    VeniceRiley

    @Origuy: Yes I have been to The Magic Castle (twice, ages ago!) and enjoyed the shows and the drinks. The food not so much.

  114. 114.

    raven

    @VeniceRiley:

    Gus is absolutely the sort of person who would be a member of Los Angeles’s exclusive Magic Castle — a real place, in case you’re not aware, that requires a (paid) membership and formal attire to enter. He’s the sort of guy who enjoys seeing a guy pull a necktie out of a magazine, and he truly believes Mickey is the sort of girl who would appreciate seeing the Castle’s “ghost piano,” Irma. He’s also the sort of guy who really lets it bother him when it turns out she’s not that sort of girl.

  116. 116.

    TenguPhule

    US Senate candidate proposes arming homeless people with shotguns

    A Michigan candidate for US Senate has proposed arming homeless people with pump-action shotguns in an effort to reduce crime.

    Brian Ellison, who is running against Democratic incumbent Debbie Stabenow, says homeless people are “constantly victims of violent crime” and providing them with firearms would provide a deterrent.

    Ellison, a Libertarian who is expected to be the party’s candidate in the November midterm election, said he had settled on pump-action shotguns for practicality purposes.

    “Frankly I think the ideal weapon would be a pistol,” he told the Guardian, “but due to the licensing requirements in the state we’re going to have a hard enough time getting homeless people shotguns as it is.

    SMH.

  117. 117.

    TenguPhule

    Saudi crown prince warns it will build nuclear bomb if Tehran does the same

    Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has set out plans for Saudi Arabia to develop nuclear weapons if Tehran makes the same move in the event of a collapse of the international nuclear deal signed in 2015.

    The prospect of a Middle East nuclear arms race will unnerve European leaders who are urging Donald Trump to retain the Iran nuclear deal which imposed strict curbs on the Iranian nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.

    The Saudi crown prince is due in Washington on Monday, and is pressing the US to give it the reserved right to enrich uranium in return for Saudi Arabia choosing American nuclear technology.

    “Saudi Arabia does not want to acquire any nuclear bomb, but without a doubt, if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as soon as possible,” bin Salman told CBS television.

    Unexpected Consequences, The LARP!

  120. 120.

    WhatsMyNym

    @Brachiator: That debt is crushing, no way it would survive…

    Sep 19, 2017 … (Reuters) – Toys “R” Us Inc has been making $400 million in interest payments on its debt every year, largely due to its $6.6 billion leveraged buyout in 2005.

    Margins are always tight in retail. With large interest payments they have no cash to invest in keeping the stores current.

  121. 121.

    Steve in the ATL

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Thank gods, finally, an Open Thread!

    You know this, but for the newbies: all threads are, in theory, open threads, regardless of how they are tagged.

    In practice, however, certain specialized threads tend not to devolve into open threads, to wit: Anderson/Mayhew insurance, on the road, and meet ups.

    You’re welcome.

  122. 122.

    Brachiator

    @Fair Economist:

    The Bain Capital looting is the primary cause of the Toys-R-Us bankruptcy. They took literally billions.

    iHeart Media has filed for bankruptcy. And what do we have here…

    Second bankruptcy for Bain deal, after Toys ‘‘R’’ Us collapse

    IHeartMedia Inc. has gone bust, but that doesn’t mean the two private equity firms that bought the broadcaster during the past decade’s mega-buyout spree got wiped out.

    They’ll almost break even, because of iHeart debt they bought at deep discounts and millions of dollars in management fees, according to people familiar with the matter. And the two firms, Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners, might gain even more from parts of the company that they’ll get to keep after it filed for Chapter 11 protection on Wednesday.

    Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners teamed up in 2008 to buy Clear Channel Communications, as iHeart was then known, for about $24 billion. They invested about $2 billion of equity for a combined 72 percent stake.

    The firms scored much of the return on cash interest they garnered on about $2.5 billion face-value of iHeart loans and notes that they bought as the broadcaster’s income tanked, the people said. They have since unloaded much of that debt, according to the people, who asked not to be identified as the details aren’t public.

    All told, Bain and Lee wagered as much as an additional $900 million on the debt, one of the people said. They financed their debt stakes with borrowings, pocketing the difference between their financing cost and the high effective interest rate on their debt. Until Feb. 1, iHeart hadn’t missed an interest payment.

  123. 123.

    efgoldman

    @piratedan:

    you can ping Obama for believing that these guys would place the good of the country over the evidence of a foreign power meddling in our affairs

    To yonder Stone, Obama is the most clueless, feckless, out of touch president since maybe Buchanan or Harding.
    Because CS from his perch, glued to MSNBC, was all-knowing and all-seeing

  124. 124.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Origuy:

    I went with the husband of a woman who decided to become a magician member

    I assume that was the beginning of the end of that marriage?

  126. 126.

    Tenar Arha

    @Fair Economist: Yep. One thread I was reading was saying something about how Bain even saddled Toys R’ Us with Kay Bee Toys debt. It seems Bain killed the last two toy store chains standing….

  127. 127.

    Gretchen

    Mrs. Trump is probably wise to start the divorce while there is still money to split. It’s interesting that this happened the same day that Trump Org. Documents were subpoenaed. The lawyer bills are going to start really hurting now.

  128. 128.

    Fair Economist

    @VeniceRiley: The hill spots are pretty fancy for brunch. I’m a cheap date most of the time. Anything you like at the Orange Circle?

    I think you have to follow me back for me to PM you. I followed you, tag of the greek philosopher who invented the arrow paradox followed by 10 times 41. It’s supposed to be a different one of my online personas but I’ve never made a twitter account for FairEconomist.

  129. 129.

    Fair Economist

    @Tenar Arha:

    It seems Bain killed the last two toy store chains standing….

    Two birds with one stone, eh! You have to admire their technique…
    @Brachiator:
    I’m content that they killed iHeartRadio, nee Clear Channel, which had a heavy right wing bent. Good riddance on that one.

  130. 130.

    Aleta

    @TenguPhule: But let’s give him points for thinking it through.

    The homeless people would not be forced to carry pump-action shotguns, Ellison said.

    Ammunition would be provided with the shotguns, probably in five- or six-shell magazines, Ellison said. More shells would be provided if the owners legitimately used their guns to defend themselves, however, if people spent their ammunition “shooting cans in somebody’s private property” then they would not be given more shells.

  133. 133.

    Brachiator

    @TenguPhule:

    The prospect of a Middle East nuclear arms race will unnerve European leaders who are urging Donald Trump to retain the Iran nuclear deal which imposed strict curbs on the Iranian nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.

    Oh my, this is about to get interesting. Those naughty White House sources have been whispering that Trump is just itching to bust out of the Iran deal when parts of the agreement come up for renewal in May. He’s hot to do it, especially with Tillerson out and new advisors surrounding him.

    In his own special realm, he probably thinks he will look weak if he goes back on one of his signature promises to bust up the “bad” Iran deal. And besides, his best buddy Bibi Netanyahu keeps telling him that the Iranians are even worse than the North Koreans.

    Decisions, decisions…

  134. 134.

    TenguPhule

    @Aleta:

    however, if people spent their ammunition “shooting cans in somebody’s private property” then they would not be given more shells.

    I would like to note the two absurdities here.

    1) If you’re using a shotgun to plink at cans….you are doing it wrong.

    2) Hock the shells for food/cash. Stealth Welfare?

  141. 141.

    patrick II

    @bystander:

    I’m almost enjoying this as much as seeing Tillerson get all choked up last week. It does add to the “rats/ship” simile.

    It is amazing how much more he cared about his own job at State than the hundreds of career State Department officials he pushed out of the door .

  143. 143.

    lgerard

    Arming the homeless could easily make panhandlers self sufficient and thus no longer in need of public services.

    Problem solved!

  144. 144.

    p.a.

    Open Thread, so: My first visit to Smashburger yesterday. Barely ‘meh’ level. Lots of options, wasn’t impressed with the beef quality, sandwich was barely above lukewarm, and the fries would have been at home at McDivot’s. I’ll stay with 5 Guys. Since I live on the proper coast, In n Out is not an option. Some local establishments do a good job too.

  148. 148.

    Mnemosyne

    @VeniceRiley:

    In her big scene with Carrie Fisher, you could see that her inner 8-year-old was screaming, OMG I’M HERE WITH PRINCESS LEIA AND SHE’S MY BEST FRIEND AND I HOPE THIS DREAM NEVER ENDS!!!

  158. 158.

    Amir Khalid

    @Aleta:
    I wonder if combat veteran Brian Ellison is aware that homeless people don’t have a lot of options for safely storing a shotgun and shells.

  159. 159.

    Jay

    @cosima:

    You need anything to read Chris Grey’s Brexit Blog.

    Nothing, nothing, will ever fix Brexiteer’s attitudes towards the EU. They voted to leave because they hate the EU, they whine about the EU “punishing them” for leaving the EU because they were too stupid to actually understand the complex political, economic and security relationships built over more than 50 years of negotiations. And even to this day, they have no idea what the EU actually is, and how leaving it will change their relationship with the entire world.

    Eg. The Irish Border.

    Another example, on March 29th, 2018, with Brexit, hard, soft, doesn’t matter, UK Carriers can no longer fly transAtlantic under the EU CATA or EU Open Skys Agreements. Both those agreements took years to negotiate, and the UK hasn’t even started talks with Canada or the US about air travel.

  162. 162.

    VeniceRiley

    @Feebog: Happy Anniversary, Feebog! That’s sweet. Glad I shared! <3
    (A friend who has been says the house made champagne is outstanding)

  163. 163.

    VeniceRiley

    @Fair Economist: I like Anapalco at Alo Hotel for brunch. They have this duck dish that cooks a raw egg inside that satisfies my every desire for spicy protein and saucy cravings.

  164. 164.

    Sm*t Cl*de

    @Amir Khalid:

    I wonder if combat veteran Brian Ellison is aware that homeless people don’t have a lot of options for safely storing a shotgun and shells.

    They will also be provided with Claymore mines to protect their weapons caches.

  166. 166.

    Jay

    @Corner Stone:

    A day after telling Putin to “knock it off”,

    The Russian FSB hacker group “Shadowbrokers” put the stolen NSA hacker tools up for auction, basically a “bring it on” Cyberwar challenge.

    Russia’s spent the last decade building a Russian language based secure Linux network, and getting rid of Windows and other common Western software.

    The NSA hacker tools don’t target Russian language Linux systems.

    Yurtle the Turtle then told President Obama basically that The GOP wouldn’t back America in a cyberwar with Russia.

  167. 167.

    Geeno

    @TenguPhule:

    filed for an uncontested proceeding, meaning she’s not expecting a legal battle over custody of the couple’s five children or their assets.

    Why does this make me think she knows something.

  168. 168.

    Corner Stone

    @Geeno: She knows he is a little dick, pencil neck geek who has been fucking someone on the side. Get out while the getting’s good.

  169. 169.

    cosima

    @Jay: I well understand that there are hard Brexiteers — they are the equivalent of our RWNJs in the US, and their racism & stupidity makes them unmoveable. However, that leaves a lot of others who now feel very stupid for having voted for it. My husband works with one of them. He’s the only one that I know of who will admit to having voted for it and regretted it, but we keep a small social circle.

    All of this Russia drama is shaping up to move the needle dramatically. The UK was complacent and now it’s biting them in the ass. How did they end up with all of these Russian exiles being targeted? Sweet Russian money. There are a lot of moving parts to this, and to EU, and quite a bit of overlap between the two — how that will shape things remains to be seen. However, it was a miscalculation, something rare for Putin, and I do take some small comfort from that. Or perhaps it was very calculated, in which case things will get much uglier, and (imo) Brexit even shakier.

  170. 170.

    Stephen

    @cosima: Five minutes after the deadline expired, Australia’s High Commissioner in London, Alexander Downer, tweeted out his support. FVEY got this.

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