In the run up to the 2016 election, the FBI did indeed give one campaign special treatment: Its director, James Comey, publicly trashed Hillary Clinton at the conclusion of the bureau’s investigation into how Clinton handled emails as secretary of state and precipitously and needlessly revealed that the investigation had been reopened in the final days of the campaign. The FBI remained silent about the far more serious and substantial allegations that the Trump campaign had been infiltrated by figures acting on behalf of a hostile foreign power.
Now, the beneficiary of that special treatment is waging all-out war on the FBI and his own Department of Justice, which appears to be intimidated enough to roll over and piddle on its own belly.
During the 2016 campaign, candidate Trump loudly complained about corruption in Washington DC and endlessly invoked the specter of the “forgotten men and women” who were getting ripped off by elites.
Now, Trump has installed a breathtakingly corrupt cabinet and auctioned off U.S. foreign policy for the financial benefit of himself and his family members. A Trump-installed Supreme Court justice just wrote the majority opinion on a decision that allows companies to force workers into individual arbitration rather than pursuing class action lawsuits.
Some days, I think the Trump junta won’t get away with its many crimes. Other days, I think maybe they will. In the morning thread, Kay said we keep breaking through institutional safety nets, and the last one is the vote. She’s right. If we don’t roll these bastards back hard in November, they’ll cut enough holes in that final safety net to destroy it too. Fellow citizens, I think 2018 is our last shot.
cervantes
Oh I dunno, Germany got its democracy back, admittedly there was a bit of inconvenience in between.
germy
Everyday is a winding road.
I am hoping for record turnout at the voting booths.
Capri
Why can’t everyone else just ignore tweets? They certainly aren’t standard channels. Wouldn’t an official inquiry need something like a letter to the head of the agency? Still not sure why every tweet causes such a dither.
Corner Stone
I don’t know why they never seem to learn that there can be no appeasement with Trump. These sly little side games they think they are playing with him only open the door a little wider. He’s not going away now. He had them react and that was all he wanted. The DoJ had an out and they decided not to use it and instead engaged. Now they’re fucked.
Michael Bersin
On Friday in Jefferson City after the end of the regular session the Speaker and republican super majority held their end of session press conference celebrating their successes with cuts to state revenue, insufficient resources for education and higher education, and the continued diminution of workers’ ability to collectively bargain.
Jefferson City: House majority end of session press conference – May 18, 2018
It’s opposite year almost everywhere.
Corner Stone
@cervantes: I believe they had the maid service do a bit of dusting in the interim.
SFAW
@Capri:
I hear by demand that you pay The Most attention to the orange-skinned Deadbeat liar.
Uncle Ebeneezer
Post title immediately made me think of this lovely song by Andrew Byrd. Not sure if there’s any relevance or insights in the lyrics but hey, a good song is always a good salve for trying times.
Michael Bersin
At a 47-114 disadvantage in the Missouri House the minority tried to hang on to as much as the could:
Jefferson City: House minority end of session press conference – May 18, 2018
tobie
Thanks for sounding the alarm. Everything will come down to the November elections. We’re all going to have to work overtime on GOTV efforts.
Waldo
Starting to think Jade Helm was our best shot.
jeffreyw
@germy: A turnout increase is a double-edged sword. The trumpists will hope to improve theirs, too. They have tasted the blood of the poor and brown and are thirsty for more.
TaMara (HFG)
I’m with Betty on this – some days I’m confident we’ll get the ship back up and going in the right direction. Other days I’m rooting for the meteor.
In better news, our very own lamh36 is on a dream trip and she’s blogging about it here: Journey to the Land of Oz. If you want to keep up, as I do, with her adventures.
SFAW
Although it would never happen, I sometimes wish the KKKeebler Elf would respond to Lying Littledick’s daily tirade with something like “If you don’t STFU, and I mean right the fuck NOW!!!, I’m going to release ALL the evidence of the fraud, corruption, illegal business deals, and tax evasion you did back when you ‘ran’ your ‘Organization.’ You think you can’t be indicted for that shit? Think again, you fucking moron.”
Hey, a kid can dream, can’t I?
gene108
@cervantes:
If history is any guide, the rednecks/conservatives will pin the blame on 90% of the country being reduced to rubble on “those people” and institute a wave of terror to make themselves feel better for their own screw ups.
**********************************************
I am honestly of the opposite opinion that our institutions are not holding. They have not totally crumbled in the way Trump and Republicans would love. A lot of what were “norms”, but not laws, have been shot to hell by the corruption of Trump and his Cabinet, but I think formal institutions have not been broken.
The judiciary still puts a hold on dump Trump rule changes. The States that have strong Democratic majorities are pushing back against Trump & Republicans. The DOJ has not yet been turned into Trump’s personal secret police force to round up his political enemies. The Press still reports what it wants (which is sort of the problem, because the Press has poor judgement and then there’s the alternate reality of Fox News).
Anyway, I think why this feels different is because of how right-wing media has a large portion of this country thinking Mueller is a partisan “Witch Hunt” and Trump is innocent and pure as freshly fallen snow. Depending on what news source you believe, your world view on what’s going on in this country will be radically different. For a long time, we all, at least worked off of the same baseline of facts.
rachel
@Capri: Because it’s the President–the guy with the nuclear footbal and the power to start trade wars (and other foreign-relations disasters)–who’s doing it.
GregB
Congrats to the suckers that thought Trump was going to support the forgotton man. Justice Gorsuch of the fascist five just drove a stame through the heart of individual workers.
sublime33
When are we going to stop calling it a “witch hunt” and start calling it a “snake hunt”. Because they have caught a lot of snakes and there are a lot more hiding under the rocks.
GregB
Stake…..
Hungry Joe
Yeah, if we can’t win big in 2018, then 2020 becomes a long shot. And if the GOP retains the presidency and both houses of congress in 2020 it’s beyond Game Over: We’ll be in stuck in TILT mode forever. (Remember “TILT”? If not, well, you’ll know it when it happens.)
tobie
Reuters is reporting that Giuliani invented the line that Mueller’s team said they would wrap up the investigation by Sep 1:
But, heck, they got the line out there, Mukasey reiterated it in an op ed today, and just about every GOP Congressman running for re-election reiterated it. I still say: the Dem party needs to figure out an effective strategy for countering the GOP assault on truth. I don’t have any magic answers but the propaganda war cannot go unchecked. I was glad to see Sally Yates out there this morning. That’s a start.
p.a.
You’re wrong Betty:
Should be “…behalf of hostile foreign powers…”
Betty Cracker
Nancy’s keeping it real:
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
The Trump regime will not last forever. They along with the GOP will collapse from their own internal contradictions. Practically every authoritarian regime in history has eventually. They are inherently unstable in the long-run.
SFAW
@p.a.:
Which includes Shitgibbon itself/himself, that traitorous fuck.
gene108
@GregB:
All the “forgotten man” wants is to be able to use the N-word in public again, without getting into trouble. The rest of this stuff gutting worker protections is just the whining of liberal elitists.
SFAW
@Betty Cracker:
I think someone — not Pelosi, but someone with good name recognition — should say, every day, that Shitgibbon is acting the way a guilty person acts when he’s trying to keep the rest of the world from learning the truth. Eventually, that can transform into “What is he trying to hide NOW?” every time he says something.
PS: Although I loves me some Nancy Pelosi, I’d rather see someone else get the flak that will certainly follow once that truth-telling campaign starts. She’s put up with enough shit already from those traitorous motherfuckers.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@tobie: I skimmed that piece by Bush AG Mukasey. If he mentions his son’s past or present relationships with (I’m pretty sure) multiple witnesses/subjects of the Meuller probe, and his recently dissolved partnership with Rudi Giuliani, I scrolled through it.
Nice work, USA Today! Guests in La Quintas and Hampton Inns around the county deserve better as they wolf down their free waffles.
Mike J
The fact that they talked about the Clinton investigation was proof that everyone knew it was bullshit. The fact that nobody talked about the Trump investigation was proof that everyone knew it was serious.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
I still have hope because these assholes are so fucking stupid. That’s what’s going to bring this whole thing down, the staggering idiocy of these clowns. If they were remotely competent, I’d worry about the long haul.
Barbara
@Mike J: “Everyone” connected with law enforcement, perhaps, but not everyone, and especially not everyone who was considering whether to vote or not.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
If the Dems take back the House, there needs to be open hearings on the trump tower meetings. I don’t think overgrown, entitled, dimwitted trust-fund babies whispering with their lawyers before saying, “Congressman Schiff, I do not recall….” over and over again is gonna play well
Teddys Person
@SFAW: I nominate Ted Lieu. Here’s his twitter profile:
Elizabelle
FTF NY Times has shown its ass on its headline and coverage of Giuliani’s self-serving proclamation re Mueller’s schedule.
Seriously, I think we should send their writers kneepads and mouthwash. If they got a lot of them, and we tipped off the WashPost or NY Mag the gifts were arriving, I think we could get some traction.
Yesterday’s story was written by the execrable Maggie Haberman and Michael Schmidt. Executive Editor who has taken the Times off the rails is Dean Baquet. Publisher is whatever Sulzberger the 47th or so (actually, it’s “AG” — mnemonic Absolutely Ghastly).
Have no idea which jackass writes the misleading headlines.
What say you, jackals?
I’ll look at what the Dollar Store has in stock today when I’m out. Items don’t have to be top quality, but I’d suggest this crew needs a BIG bottle of mouthwash.
ET
I am going to hope for a long term correction and a history is going to trash this administration position and cross my fingers. Too many people are either blinded byt their short-term benefits, short term views — are intimidated, confused, and/or flat out don’t know how to effective fight/respond/combat this type of administration.
Up to now, we are used dealing with administrations operting within a band of acceptable behavior (Nixon being the exception) and who even if you disagree with positions you don’t necessarily feel are out right trying to damage the country and in such an overt, over the top fashion with the goal to enrich/protect themselves. Not so with this administration and this president.
tobie
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Wouldn’t it be the job of USA Today editorial staff to include the info in the biographical blurb at the end of the piece? They could say “Michael Mukasey was Attorney General of the US from 2007-2009. His son Mark Mukasey is an attorney currently representing several figures interviewed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.” It’s the job of the paper to note conflicts of interest when they pertain to the subject matter of the op ed. The reader should have this information when reading and evaluating the piece.
ruemara
Heh, you’re saying what I said after the election. We only have this election to ensure we have elections in 2020. So, resting or quitting isn’t an option.
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): They are. The problem is, there’s enough corrupt yet smart folks in the right positions. Plus that base is dumb and evil as well.
No Drought No More
“Fellow citizens, I think 2018 is our last shot”.
If it’s any comfort, Abe Lincoln felt much the same way in 1864. He wrote a note that the Union would perish from the earth were he defeated by McClellan, in fact. He then sealed the note in an envelope, upon which had his cabinet sign their names.
Donald Trump is no Jefferson Davis, and Mitch McConnell is no Robert E. Lee. Republican voters are not the Army of Northern Virginia, and their powers to destroy American democracy can be suppressed without resorting to war. So take heart, and remember it is true: you can’t fool all the people, all the time.
sdhays
@Uncle Ebeneezer: Andrew Bird is awesome!
Mike Furlan
@Corner Stone: “Now, the beneficiary of that special treatment is waging all-out war on the FBI and his own Department of Justice, which appears to be intimidated enough to roll over and piddle on its own belly.”
They are not intimidated, they are fellow reactionaries who want to have a “Strong Man” in charge. Facts, laws, and morality are incidental.
We are watching the FBI taking “it’s” country back.
Elizabelle
FTF Vichy NY Times is learning. They have corrected their headline to what it should have been from the start:
But’s it’s not the top story, and it’s not the breaking news alert they sent out.
They’re awful.
trollhattan
Attention rich people: climate change sourced ocean rise is coming for you. Might want to reconsider who you’ve been voting for.
chris
This should be interesting.
trollhattan
@Teddys Person:
Ted Lieu and Adam Schiff have been heroes amidst the chaos. I’d love to see either have DiFi’s seat. I’d also love a pony.
MattF
Trump knows it’s his own skin that’s on the line here– so he has no hesitation whatever about trashing the FBI or any intelligence secrets to save himself. IRL, though, he has to rely on the likes of Giuliani, Nunes, Fox, and an army of less-than-mediocre minions to advance his agenda. And then he has to report to Vladimir about it. It’s going to be ugly no matter what.
James E. Powell
@Betty Cracker:
If we don’t throw them out this November, they will take that as the nation’s approval of everything they’ve done and everything they plan to do. So will the press/media, who will fall all over themselves to see who can lick their boots first and best. Sadly, so will that great mass of low information voters who never seem to grasp that elections have consequences.
MattF
@Elizabelle: Suggests some, ah, back-and-forth in the editorial offices.
bemused
A local white 70 plus dumb as dirt male wingnut is irritated that media is reporting on anything and everything trump has done. He is ok with that but he has Obama questions. “There doesn’t seem to be any recorded history” on (Barack Hussein) Obama. He wants to hear from anyone who went to college with Obama, who graduated with Obama, who had a class with Obama. And where are the pictures of his wedding with Michelle? He says IF there is an Obama presidential library, it’s likely it won’t be very big, not any recorded history.
These are the people that we are told we should respect.
Jay
@tobie:
It’s hard to win a propaganda war, when the Government controls the media. Behind the Iron Curtain and in other countries, distributed social media was the means to counter the “official narrative”.
In the US, the issue the Democratic Party faces, is that FAux et al are official arms to the Rethug party, the MSM alternates between being in the bag for the Rethugs, and bothsiderism, and the social media platforms are again, dominated by the crazies, haters and wingnuttia, and the social media platforms are fine with that, ’cause it makes them moar money.
Betty Cracker
@Elizabelle: A lot more skill needs to go into writing headlines and article summaries, including tweets and smartphone alerts. That’s all most people see.
Barbara
@trollhattan: The message to these people is that no one will accept any assurances from them any longer that climate change isn’t going to affect their property — its value, its insurability and so on — and there is no reason to think that people not living in prize beachfront locations will want to pay higher taxes to preserve an exclusive view. North Carolina has steadfastly refused to permit officials to talk or plan in certain ways about the impact of rising sea levels in the misguided belief that if everyone just shuts up no one will figure out that investing in a house on the Outer Banks might be problematic. Heck, the entire eastern half of the state, for 100 miles or more inland is at risk from extreme flooding events. People are still buying houses on the Outer Banks, but I suspect they have shortened the timeline during which they plan to try to recover their investment.
Mary G
We consider them incompetent, but a Politco article shows how the administration is going beneath the radar to muster support.
and
He’s playing to the Republican urge to fall in line.
Eljai
@James E. Powell: I’m really concerned with how lazy the press has been in parsing things out for people. On NPR this morning, they made it sound like Trump demanding an investigation was normal, instead of the ominous march to authoritarianism that it is.
azlib
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:
True, but in the short run a lot of people are going to be hurt or killed which makes your comment little comfort.
MattF
@Eljai: The press has (mostly) persuaded itself that ‘parsing things out’ is not its job. ‘Logic’ is what libruls do.
James E. Powell
@tobie:
We’ve been saying this since the Clinton administration. It’s much worse now. I don’t know why attacking the press/media is not a standard feature of every Democratic campaign. Especially the entitled, elitist, Republican promoting Beltway Courtiers.
MattF
@Barbara: Sounds like the makings of a bubble. Is there a way to go short on Outer Banks real estate?
chris
When you throw these evil bastards out the fixit list is going to be daunting. This is just bigoted cruelty for the sake of bigoted cruelty.
Peale
@Jay: yep. The Information Age is not working out as promised,that’s for sure.
MattF
@Peale: Via MetaFilter. I expect some of these thing to show up sooner than you might imagine.
Uncle Ebeneezer
@sdhays: He is an amazing talent and great song-writer.
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@Mary G:
How the fuck does she figure? Does the author ask her what she thinks he’s done that’s so terrific? I don’t feel like reading it to find out
Mary G
This is on whitehouse.gov right now: What You Need To Know About The Violent Animals Of MS-13. It gives examples of specific horrific crimes in Maryland, Texas, and New York.
Translation: “I alone can protect you from the scary brown people.”
ETA: In ten paragraphs the word animals is used 10 times.
patrick II
He did more than that. Comey’s FBI was the reason Hillary had “classified” material on her email server in the first place. Hillary had asked that the post-classification of her conversation (allegedly about drones) be not classified. The information had appeared in the NY Times before her emails. (Her even asking was a minor scandal on FOX). She was turned down.
Trump — a known and major infiltration of a foreign adversary into his campaign.
Clinton — Phantom reasons for classifying publicly known information.
Solution — Teach that woman a lesson.
Elizabelle
@Betty Cracker: I think “errors” like the FTF NYTimes is making are no errors.
And absolutely: the headline and blurb are all that most people see, especially if they’re not subscribers and there is a paywall.
kindness
Only partially joking:
We’re going to need a bigger wall to put all these traitors up against.
Kay
@Elizabelle:
It’s right up there with this one in the annals of excellent journalism:
Yes, unbelievably, they did it again.
H.E.Wolf
Hello to all. I’m not often around BJ in time to comment these days – because I’m using as much of my spare time as possible to help our state Dems get out the vote. It is a very effective antidote to despair.
I’m encouraged by the thousands of volunteers who have signed up. The teenagers, many of them not yet old enough to vote, are a beacon of light and an inspiration to me.
If the news of corruption and malfeasance is getting you down (and how could it not?), I recommend – most strongly – contributing some volunteer time to the 2018 election cycle.
It doesn’t have to be a giant time commitment. Tiny amounts are welcome, and they add up. I’m seeing it in action, and it’s great.
Mandalay
@Teddys Person:
That’s true. Lieu takes his marching orders from AIPAC.
Elizabelle
@H.E.Wolf: Yea you. Good work.
catclub
@p.a.: I still say that ignoring the same thing from Israel in 2012 was a bad precedent. I would noy be surprised to find that in 2012 both Israel and Saudi Arabia were up to the same thing as in 2016.
Mary G
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:
These are very small fish, but locally control a lot of voters. They even have to pay their own way to DC. But they are listened to, which probably doesn’t happen much.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Thank god for the Keepers of the Real, Man.
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@Mary G:
Holy shit. I thought you were using hyperbole with that title. That’s disgusting. The people who wrote that racist shit are the real “animals”. They want to use that as justification to mistreat all Latinos and hold onto power as long as they can.
Mary G
Kilauea is erupting spectacularly – link to Periscope on Twitter. Pele is mad Jeff Sessions called Hawaii some little island.
TenguPhule
@cervantes:
I don’t think we want to have to be divided between Russia and Democracy for 50 years.
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@Mary G:
That scares me. Are the Trump team trying to do an end around the decentralized nature of American elections? What do we have left if we can’t even trust that our elections are fair?
I don’t care. She’s being used as a tool and she’s happy about that. She’s a traitor too though I suspect she would object to that characterization. I’m sure the local tax collectors in the Third Reich thought they were good people as well.
TenguPhule
@Corner Stone:
Everything Trump touches, dies.
TenguPhule
@Mary G:
This looked much more sophisticated in the original German.
So we have internment camps, the dehumanization of all opponents, the calls for political enemies to be destroyed by the justice department. All we’re missing are the gas chambers and looting gold teeth from the corpses.
Mary G
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: They are very much the “good Germans.” This is bad because it will increase turnout of Republicans in November.
Capri
@rachel: But presidents have always said stuff off the cuff. If a president says “I wish there were no more wars” or some similar sentiment, the Army doesn’t take that as a direct order to dismantle.
It would seem to me that tweets should be considered the same as off-the-cuff speech, not official edicts that demand a response from other parts of the government.
TenguPhule
@Hungry Joe:
As Dr. Silverman has constantly mentioned, other countries get a say in this.
I welcome our new Canadian overlords.
Libraryguy
Hi all,
Libraryguy here.
just off the phone with my electric company, finally got them to back off and accept this weekend’s payment as a deposit (took two hours).
We’d like to get caught up so they can’t mess with us again. If you feel like helping (and helping animal rescue / sanctuaries), the link is here.
Thanks, again, for all you folks have already done for us.
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@Mary G:
How? It’s high time for the Republicans to have their own version of 2010.
ruemara
@Capri: A new kleptokaistocratic day, Capri. Government by rage tweet is now the norm. Why? Because people want order over anything else. These people in charge may be booksmart, but they’re dumb as fuck about who not to trust.
TenguPhule
@James E. Powell:
“When they go low, we go high.”
Extending common decency to the media has been a feature, not a bug of the Democratic campaigns.
The Sith have changed since their near destruction, the Jedi have not. And its biting us on the ass hard.
H.E.Wolf
@Elizabelle:
Thanks, and it’s definitely not just me – when I wrote “thousands”, it was not an exaggeration:
I put a state map on my bulletin board and bought a box of 100 map pins, so that I could mark the cities where people were signing up. (Too many people per city to mark individuals.)
I had to go back and get a 2nd box of 100 pins… and I’m almost out of those.
Something’s happening. It’s like… a WAVE.
chopper
@Mandalay:
just say ‘the jews’, it’s easier for the rest of us.
Elizabelle
@H.E.Wolf: Yours was such good advice. An antidote to cynicism and despair.
Come on, wave. (The MSM will be the last to know, bless their bought and paid for little hearts.)
tobie
OT…as we all agree we’re going to need to hit the pavement in the fall for the GOTV efforts, what’s the best shoe leather you would recommend? (I also ask because I’m leaving for a trip on Sunday and would like to buy good walking shoes that also have a decent look. Mephisto? Ecco?)
TenguPhule
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:
In the long run everyone is dead.
Recall that the worst regime in history did all of its damage in just 12 years.
Brachiator
Right now, I guess the main thing is to vote. I’m trying to go through my California June primary ballot, with about a thousand people running for governor and senator. Then, on to November.
dnfree
There is a poll on the USA Today Mukasey article. So far the other side is winning, in case anyone feels inclined to vote.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/05/20/end-robert-mueller-investigation-michael-mukasey-editorials-debates/35157745/
TenguPhule
@SFAW:
Someone like Al Franken?
trnc
@tobie: Yes, thanks again to the NYT for quoting Rudy without checking with Mueller team first.
Maggie H wrote it, because Maggie H.
Tenar Arha
@bemused: Yeaahh. ?♂️?♀️
(If he is someone you care about & he was serious rather than looking for propaganda to confirm his biases, I’d recommend the snopes article & his local library & reference librarian).
eemom
@TenguPhule:
I like Michelle Obama, but that is beyond a doubt the dumbest thing she ever said.
TenguPhule
@eemom: Yes, that comment did not age well.
I increasingly get the feeling that the Democratic party is still trying to fight the last election of 2008.
The enemy has changed, the political environment has changed. This is not the time to be playing fair.
gbbalto
@tobie: Check sasshoes.com. My (mens’) shoes are very comfortable casual-dress and they last a long time. Quality worth the $$$.
Kay
The DOJ should just change everything he says like this, and then ignore it. If he’s going to fire them he’ll fire them no matter what they do, so they really could just opt to do and say absolutely nothing, every time.
He’s already called all of them corrupt. Next he’ll call them “fat” or whatever. Who gives a shit?
H.E.Wolf
@Elizabelle:
Another antidote to cynicism and despair was when I dropped the 2nd box of map pins while I was waiting in line at the cash register. I found 96 and the cashier found 3 more. Alas for the 100th pin.
Several weeks later I was at the same store, and the same cashier was on duty. His face lit up and he handed me the missing 100th pin – “We found it when we were sweeping under the display cases, and I saved it for you!”
I put it into the map to mark his tiny rural hometown… where, as it happens, there was already a volunteer.
It’s a WAVE, I tell ya.
hilts
Mark Penn, former chief strategist and pollster to Hillary Clinton, has officially become batshit crazy:
h/t http://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/388549-stopping-robert-mueller-to-protect-us-all
TenguPhule
@Kay:
Kay, his preferred method of getting rid of people is to make their work environment so toxic and unbearable that they quit on their own. Unfortunately, its fucking effective.
No matter how dedicated a civil servant may be, everyone has their limit.
Mayur
@TenguPhule: The media also turns into a bunch of fucking whiners the moment they get *any* criticism from the left or center, and seem to respond with instant cringe to any such criticism from the right. So there’s that.
TenguPhule
@hilts:
I have always maintained that he was a Republican Trojan horse. He simply doesn’t have to pretend anymore.
TenguPhule
@Mayur:
Yes, because more often then not, they get an apology in return.
Its a set of learned behavior.
trnc
@dnfree: Do the Koch brothers own USA today now?
Steeplejack
@H.E.Wolf:
What group(s) are you volunteering with?
Libraryguy
@TenguPhule: I disagree.
Dems need to play forcibly, passionately, and always with a sense of the dreadful urgency of what is at stake. We need to be fighting daily, hourly, and for the long-term.
But we don’t need to be lying cheating fools who will say or do anything to get power. That’s the Tea Party, that’s Republicans, that’s their base. Not ours.
“When they go low, we go high” shouldn’t be read as capitulation, but as standing up for values and beliefs that _deserve_ to be defended and embraced. We can do that without being like them.
Kay
Aaron Blake
Now it comes clear why they all loved Hope Hicks. She’s a giant liar, too. Like all of them. She was probably in the meetings.
It’s sort of mildly interesting to see how far they’ve moved the goalposts. They went from “no communication” to “collusion isn’t a crime”
They’ve somehow managed to assemble a whole administration composed of Nixonian-level liars. They all lie. Constantly.
LAO
Well, this should be interesting. And by interesting, I mean horrible and stupid.
LongHairedWeirdo
It’s true that this year’s elections are critical. IMHO. If the Republicans maintain both houses, excuses will be found to shut down the Mueller probe and the media lapdogs will yap, happily or Very Sadly And With Deep Concern. No Congressional investigations will occur, of course, and the court will be packed for decades with another justice who is too busy giving fat, sloppy kisses to right wing causes to remember how to render a fair decision.
Kay
@TenguPhule:
Okay, but there should be a certain level of fatalism kicking in here. They aren’t going to survive. Do as much damage to the regime as you can on your way out because if you are in any way a decent or ethical person you’re going down. So go down fighting.
lollipopguild
@Kay: They have no choice, they are always lying so when they get caught they have to keep lying.
Brachiator
@Mary G:
I liked Eric Burdon and the Animals; the crap Trump is pulling, not so much.
SFAW
@James E. Powell:
Agreed. The Rethugs and RWNJs worked the refs — i.e., screaming at the top of their lungs about the Liberal Media — for 20 or 30 years before they had the MSM so scared that they now bend over backwards to grant legitimacy to any/every lie spouted by the wingnuts. Until the MSM feel the same pain coming from the left side, not much will change.
And fuck Pinche’ Sulzberger.
TenguPhule
@Kay:
Conspiracy. Its conspiracy.
Collusion is the gaslighting that Trump is using.
Steeplejack
@Libraryguy:
Before someone starts screeching “Troll!” (as they were the other night), I will note that Libraryguy’s link goes to a store where you can actually buy stuff, located in New York. Notorious troll Jurassic Pork is located, as far as I could tell when I investigated, in Florida and sells nothing but hard-luck stories. It is unlikely that they are the same person.
bemused
@Tenar Arha:
Nah, he’s just a guy who has a weekly small town paper who writes editorials bashing Obama/praising trump all the time. If he gets negative letters responding to his bilge, he’s happy. He has actually stated that angering people with his fact-free editorials is great. I guess he thinks he’s “winning”. That’s how idiotic he is. Most people in the town avoid him and not just liberals. He thinks he’s a great newspaper guy even though he barely has a vocabulary and that he is popular and smart…a trump mini-me.
JPL
@LAO: When I saw that I loudly said oh f..k, and once again scared the mutt.
germy
Some Narratives For The Democrats (Free Of Charge)
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@SFAW: I spent a lot of time on the road in the last few weeks, feeding my MSNBC addiction on XM. Ari Melber was doing a Dem/Repub “strategist” segment, and the R kept harping on “Why aren’t the Democrats stepping up!” I kept waiting for someone to point out the obvious, that there isn’t a whole helluva a lot the Dems can do in the minority. Member took the bait and asked the Dem, “Why aren’t the Democrats doing more?” I don’t think Melber is stupid, and I know his history is all pretty liberal, but it just shows how easy it is for Rs to manipulate the media. Josh Marshall did a long piece years ago on how DC is wired for Repbulicans, and that kind of reflexive Broderism is a big part of it.
tobie
@hilts: Mark Penn was always for sale. The only question is who’s paying him.
TenguPhule
@Kay:
Unfortunately all the good ways of fighting involve hefty fines and prison sentences.
And the long serving civil service people know they have better options, they know how badly the private sector wants their experience, especially in a tightening job market.
They’re not heroes Kay, they’re ordinary people who know how to do their jobs well. They’re not going to risk their lives and livelyhoods for a lost cause, they’re just going to move on.
TenguPhule
@Steeplejack: Their advertising on EVERY fucking thread was annoying AF. If they want to peddle on BJ, let them pay Cole for advertising like everyone else.
SFAW
@Libraryguy:
Yes, and we don’t need to torture animals nor send children to bed without supper. But since TenguPhule wasn’t suggesting any of those things, not sure what you’re getting on your high horse about.
I know, I know, when the Rethugs bring a knife to a fist fight, we should NEVER do anything but follow the Marquis of Queensbury, because we NEED to maintain our purity.
No one’s talking about lying. We’re talking about kicking the Rethugs et al. in the figurative cojones, every goddam day.
tobie
@gbbalto: never heard of sasshoes. will check them out!
Corner Stone
@LAO: Do we think they’ll have their letters of resignation in their suit pocket?
Gravenstone
@Elizabelle:
“Punch” begat “Pinch” begat … “Pustule”?
randy khan
@Hungry Joe:
I will be a lot happier if the Dems win big in 2018 (and the risks are too big to even think about if they don’t), but it’s worth noting that the 2020 Senate map is as bad for the Republicans as the 2018 map is for the Dems.
Kay
Aaaand now he’s summoning them to the White House so he can obstruct justice live and in-person.
This campaign to retain the credibility of institutions is working out great, I must say. Doing a bang up job on that.
Now not only will the FBI be completely discredited, the DOJ will be too. Maybe they should try standing up to him? As a last resort having tried every possible appeasement?
Elizabelle
@Steeplejack: Yeah, I was wondering if Mr. Pork had acquired a store …. mysteries, mysteries.
Elizabelle
@Gravenstone: “Pustule” works for me. LOL.
germy
@Elizabelle: If I recall, Mr. Pork was a writer? I think he had a bunch of novels he’d written, but was always in a financial jam.
Kay
Remember the olden days? When Bill Clinton talking to Lynch on an airplane was a constitutional crisis of epic proportions?
Now Trump calls them in to give them marching orders and 5000 lawyers on Fox can’t locate the specific statutory provision that violates.
Technically.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I posted up-thread that USA Today fucked up by not telling its readers (or retweeters, cable hosts who will cite it– there are probably more of those than readers) that Papa Mukasey was massively conflicted because of his son’s connections to Giuliani and Meuller’s witnesses/targets. Turns out I underestimated their lack of professionalism
Fair Economist
@dnfree: That’s a really dumb poll, or intended to be confusing. It’s not even obvious which way to vote.
Corner Stone
@Kay:
The decision to engage ahead of any official action was foolish. I understand some believe they wanted to say something first in an effort to maybe shape what the official request might look like. But that is garbage. Why not try what Mattis does? Say nothing until pressed and then say you’re looking into it but nothing is changing right now. That’s how the damn thing is supposed to work!
All these fucking Republicans in the DoJ, seems like a legacy of really low quality hires we’re stuck with.
JR
@cervantes: France is at #5 and counting
randy khan
@tobie:
When I read about Rudy’s comments, I figured that they were made up and mostly for Trump’s consumption, sort of like the fake deadlines his previous lawyers used to mention.
In truth, September 1 wouldn’t really be great timing for the Republicans unless the report exonerates Trump and his team. Better than October 1, but still too close to the election for the impact to really dissipate.
Corner Stone
@TenguPhule: That slogan did not age at all. I hated it immediately. What a great way to sum up a royal decades long ass kicking.
Steeplejack
@TenguPhule:
Get real. He commented on a few threads at the time of his “crisis” last week, and that was about it. Hadn’t heard a peep from him before that in a month or two.
But by all means express your rage glands over that—which, incidentally, refutes the idea that he’s a troll—while Taboola really does shit on every goddamn thread. But, hey, at least we’re making money!
jonas
@GregB: We have to remember that Trump’s base isn’t the fabled “economically insecure” WWC, it’s embittered Republican activists who have two priorities: dismantling the administrative state at every level, and entrenching white supremacy/rolling back acceptance of non-whites as full-enfranchised citizens. They don’t give a shit about workers, about the economy (save for tax cuts, and they got those, natch), and definitely don’t give a shit about some unemployed coal miner except in as far as they can get that guy to vote against his own interests to their advantage.
*These* are Trump’s base, and he is serving them well. Fortunately, they’re also not an electoral majority unless our side throws its hands up and stays home.
germy
I didn’t care for the “policy wonk centrism” crack, but he’s moving in the right direction.
VeniceRiley
Yes we need huge wins in 2018 and 2020 … then some smart and fast legislating, nuclear optioning, and supreme court packing, then impeach all the unqualified Trump trolls that got lifetime appointments to the bench. The list of things to do is long long long, but that’s a foundation.
If we are not successful, we may be beginning to face CalExit and such for real. ATP I would do almost anything to get the red state numerical minority’s feet off our collective majority throats.
SFAW
@Teddys Person:
He certainly gives good tweet.
But then again, as someone wanted to point out above, you can’t spell “Likud” without 75 percent of the letters in his last name. Or something like that. But as we all know, AIPAC is SO MUCH WORSE than Putin, because of the Rothschilds or something. (Although it’s not clear to me that Lieu really is an AIPAC shill. But even if he were — so what?)
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@germy: I really don’t see anything there Dems aren’t saying. How do you make (white) people care?
and for all the Michelle Obama bashing, I thought during the closing weeks of the campaign, she was trying to bait trump into going after her. His lizard-brained survival instincts kicked in and he didn’t take the bait
SFAW
@Gravenstone:
Pinche’ (in its Mexican usage).
ETA: Or perhaps Pendejo. Or Pinche’ Pendejo.
Tokyokie
@Brachiator:
I’m afraid I have to take vigorous exception. Everything good that the band did was primarily from the contributions of Alan Price, not Eric Burdon. But then, Price is a proud Geordie, and Burdon liked to pretend he was born black in Detroit.
Can’t argue with the Trump part though.
germy
An article from 2015:
TenguPhule
Via Wapo.
This goes about as bad as you can imagine.
Brachiator
@Kay:
The FBI and DOJ work for the president, who is supposed to represent the people. There is no such thing as standing up to Trump short of resigning. The Congress might be able to intervene, but obviously a Republican dominated Congress will not do anything.
The mid-terms become more and more important.
Libraryguy
@Steeplejack: I don’t know about the Troll part from the other day, but I’ve been on BJ for years and you can see what people have done for us in the past here: Tis the Season
I’m having a slight emergency right now, that’s all. Sorry to spam the open thread with this.
Thanks.
TenguPhule
@Kay:
I’m sure there’s a few more appeasements we haven’t seen them use yet.
Libraryguy
@TenguPhule: I don’t want to peddle on BJ. Just looking for some emergency help. Sorry to be annoying.
Libraryguy
@SFAW: He wasn’t impressed with Michelle’s phrase, and I thought it could mean a lot to us as Democrats and as opponents of Trump/Republicanism et al. That’s all.
SFAW
@Libraryguy:
If you’re going to do it, own it. If you’re going to apologize, don’t do it in the first place — especially since you’ve already done it a lot in the past week.
TenguPhule
@Steeplejack: Never claimed they were a troll. But if they wanna solicit here, the polite thing to do would be to send some money to John Cole.
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@germy:
That’s basically what Democrats are already saying. Personally? I think that a hands off approach would be best. Elections are local, after all. Let candidates run their campaigns as they see fit. They should know their districts better than anyone.
germy
JPL
@Corner Stone: If they don’t agree to his hearby demand, then Trump will pull them out of his pocket and tell them to sign. We are about to see whether or not Wray and Rosenstein care more about their jobs, or the country.
Libraryguy
@SFAW: I agree, kick away. No Marquis of Queensbury rules, just not being like them. I think that’s what M Obama was after.
TenguPhule
@Libraryguy: The first 3 times I could understand. But once it started practically on every single post for days on end, that’s when it crosses the line. You end up driving away more people instead of getting them to click on your site. Ask an FP for a favor next time for a dedicated thread and pay back the site when you can.
Libraryguy
@SFAW: “If you’re going to do it, own it. If you’re going to apologize, don’t do it in the first place — especially since you’ve already done it a lot in the past week.”
I do own it, thanks.
Sorry to have an emergency. Go back to you thread and enjoy it.
Steeplejack
@Libraryguy:
You’re not the problem.
TenguPhule
@germy: That’s reassuring. //
SFAW
@Libraryguy:
The way you responded, you equated his comment about “not the time to be playing fair” with lying. Although you didn’t write the words “TenguPhule, don’t encourage lying,” that was the strong implication in your comment.
Steeplejack
@TenguPhule:
You do realize that Cole front-paged the guy and his charity back around the first of the year?
Libraryguy
@TenguPhule: “Never claimed they were a troll. But if they wanna solicit here, the polite thing to do would be to send some money to John Cole.”
I’ve donated to fellow BJ’s with issues. I see if John is bothered, that wasn’t my intention.
TenguPhule
@VeniceRiley:
Good legislation is anything but fast. Just saying.
Libraryguy
@TenguPhule: “The first 3 times I could understand. But once it _started practically on every single post for days on end_ that’s when it crosses the line. You end up driving away more people instead of getting them to click on your site. Ask an FP for a favor next time for a dedicated thread and pay back the site when you can.”
Damn, block me if I’m such an ass. I’ll make sure to keep it focused on politics from now on.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
when you really want the crazy, nuclear-armed, brutal dictator to know just how desperate you are for a photo-op…
Libraryguy
@Steeplejack: Thanks.
SFAW
@Libraryguy:
I don’t even know what point you’re trying to make here.
TenguPhule is saying kick them in the nuts, Mrs. Obama was saying don’t do that.
When the refs are going to look the other way when the Rethugs try to kick you in the nuts, it doesn’t do much good to take the high road.
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
That can’t be fucking real…
Libraryguy
@SFAW: Got it.
Didn’t mean that. Sorry about the misunderstanding.
Steeplejack
@TenguPhule:
That is complete bullshit. Google
and let us know if you find more than four or five hits in the last month.
TenguPhule
@Steeplejack: And a dedicated thread is much more reasonable then a bombardment of solicitations in other threads.
It was my personal observation of the issue, not looking for an argument on this.
JPL
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: This is not going to end well.
dexwood
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Bet our Supreme Tweeter covets the Supreme Leader title.
Libraryguy
@SFAW: Guess I was saying that we can fight tough and fight hard without being like them. Kick them in the nuts but not by going to the extremes they do. Seriously, kick away.
I feel like that’s what she was saying, that’s all.
Libraryguy
@TenguPhule: Got it. I’m ok and done with it.
Doug R
@jeffreyw:
They shot their wad. The dead-enders all voted. Supporters are peeling off and Democrats are voting-look at the D+13 to D+28 results of the special elections so far.
TenguPhule
@Steeplejack:
It was last week. The first couple of times was fine. After that, it got annoying.
Jeffro
@SFAW: That’s the thing, right? Taking the high road works well on a personal level; when we’re talking about running a country, there is no “ref” other than the norms and laws that govern that country. When one side doesn’t give a shit about the norms OR half the laws (and right now it’s only half…but it’s still half), then it’s up to the other side to unite, roll up their sleeves, and do whatever it takes to push back and restore the rule of law (including making some former norms into law).
Libraryguy
TenguPhule
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Okay Onion, pack it in. You’re done.
LAO
What a bunch of cowards:
H.E.Wolf
@Steeplejack:
I’m volunteering with the State Democratic party, which has an office nearby. Because (thankfully) my reps at state and national level are already Democrats, I wanted to find a way to help other districts in my state turn blue, and the Dems in my state appear to have a strong coordinated campaign underway.
(Kay will be pleased to know that they kept some of their local field organizers from the 2016 campaign, and those folks are very knowledgeably involved in the 2018 effort.)
I’m also hearing from various local acquaintances who are involved with other groups in GOTV activities, ranging from the League of Women Voters to a bunch of groups that sprang into being in the past year or two – so there are many options to explore.
FYI: I have always loved your ‘nym!
TenguPhule
FTFNYT headline.
So many dopes, not enough slaps.
Jay
@jonas:
Yup, case in point:
https://mobile.twitter.com/theseantcollins/status/998197114650980352
Sean T. Collins
@theseantcollins
This is the gofundme for the man with terminal cancer whose wife had to go back to work to pay for it and was murdered in school the other day.
Lung stem cell treatment for IPF
gofundme.com
7:41 AM · May 20, 2018
MisterForkbeard
@TenguPhule: “Trump’s China Trade War Ends Without Success After China Guarantees $500million loan to a Trump Hotel Project.”
That’s certainly more accurate and informative. Maybe they should use that.
Peale
@hilts: as I wrote below, my guess is that this is as much professional circling the wagons around manafort as it is anything. They are in the same business. If influencers and campaign directors aren’t allowed to break the law overseas and come back and remain members of good standing in society, why he could be next. Is there no end to this kind of madness?
Corner Stone
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: KJU already owns Trump’s stupid ass. He and Xi are looking to rent it out while Putin isn’t whipping it. Is there anybody Trump won’t sell out to?
TenguPhule
Having read more on this, Fuck those 5 assholes sitting on the bench.
If there is no recourse to justice in the law, there is going to be a swell towards justice by other means fair or foul.
Workplace violence is going to start going through the roof if companies do what I’m afraid they’re gonna do in light of this incredibly stupid decision.
Steeplejack
@H.E.Wolf:
Thanks. I know that a number of groups have sprung up since 2016; I’m always interested in finding out which ones are actually getting stuff done.
Corner Stone
@Jay: I read on twitter somewhere the other day that someone asked (para), “I wonder if the founders of gofundme.com realized they were starting a Healthcare company?”
Jay
@SFAW:
“When the refs are going to look the other way when the Rethugs try to kick you in the nuts, it doesn’t do much good to take the high road.”
Remember Whitwater?
The ref’s have been deliberately looking the other way, every time the Rethug’s have engaged in illegal tackles, nut kicking and even Full 3 Stooges eye poking, for the past 40 years.
In the same time period they have constantly called ever offside, footfault and audible on the Democratic Party at all times, going so far as to make shit up and try to call back goals for imaginary infractions.
You arn’t going to get anywhere with nut kicking or even trying to work the refs.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
This is going last up until Trump makes being “white male” a humiliating insult.
Jay
@TenguPhule:
The Onion was done a long time ago, from Jan. 17, 2001:
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/politics.theonion.com/bush-our-long-national-nightmare-of-peace-and-prosperi-1819565882/amp
randy khan
@MisterForkbeard:
What do you mean “without success”? He got the loan, didn’t he?
stinger
@Steeplejack: I checked out the link before screeching. My screech connoted a similarity of style and intent, rather than an identity of person. I’m of the opinion still. Again, I’d be happy to be proven wrong. Which hasn’t happened yet, and likely won’t be by any third-party efforts. But thanks for trying — it shows you have a good heart.
Signed,
A. Screecher
Corner Stone
My God. Why is Tony Shaffer on MSNBC’s air right now? WHY!?
schrodingers_cat
@tobie: Putin.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@Libraryguy: Thank you – we truly value fair play, and recognize the threat posed by unmitigated corruption.
mad citizen
Having a great travel day, stuck at O Hare for 3 to 4 hours, cancelled flight, rebooking etc. All I want to say to Betty’s post and many other action-oriented thoughts is Fuckin’ A!
Corner Stone
@randy khan: He sure did! And China got restrictions pulled off industry that might have cost them billions in future growth. See how easy that is?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Corner Stone: I keep thinking of the dark joke from 2005-06, ‘the US-Iraq War is over, and Iran won.” Putin (and Sanders and Comey) fucked up the ’16 election, and China won.
mad citizen
Oh, on the plane I read the Wired story on Meuller’s Vietnam experience. Pretty good piece. I’m positive if there are crimes committed his team is finding them, but like most of you, hurry up! As someone posted the other day, a major card played this week would be nice.
WaterGirl
@germy: Imm’s succinct list last week was even better.
Peale
@Corner Stone: You’re not looking at the big picture. He got an agreement! For them to buy things that they were already likely to buy like agricultural goods and LNG. Victory!
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@mad citizen: the way the O-rage-atang is stalking around his cage, flinging twitter-poo and chewing on his tireswing, you get the feeling maybe something’s brewing.
How did the news about the Saudi/UAE meeting with DJTJ get out? Another pre-emptive leak from the defense? Abbe Lowell trying to knee-cap Junior to save Jared’s narrow behind?
Corner Stone
@Peale: As we are all aware, Trump is the best negotiator, ever.
TenguPhule
A recipe for complete disaster.
Tokyokie
@Corner Stone:
A black man.
germy
Report: Hillary Clinton to Endorse Andrew Cuomo Over Cynthia Nixon
Steeplejack
@Peale:
I thought we were selling all our LNG to Morocco. Get Scott Pruitt on the secure phone-booth line!
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@germy:
Link?
I don’t like Cuomo, but I don’t like Nixon for the fact that she has refused to release her tax returns.
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@Peale:
So no soybean farms going out of business in red states? Fuck.
Stan
yes.
Good job for our prospective 2020 presidential candidates. Take him on now and see how they do
germy
https://www.thecut.com/2018/05/hillary-clinton-endorse-andrew-cuomo-over-cynthia-nixon.html
germy
Corner Stone
Rouhani has straight shade and a burn on Pompeo and this admin.
I saw the quote on MSNBC but they did not attribute. I found this source online so FWIW, Bourse&Bazaar
“But Rouhani dismissed the administration of President Donald Trump as a
“move 15 years backwards to the era of Bush junior and a repeat of the same
statements as 2003.”
“The world does not accept the logic by which a gentleman who was head of the spy service… decides for others,” said Rouhani, referring to Pompeo’s recent job as head of the CIA.”
Elizabelle
@stinger: I was getting a spidey sense too.
Corner Stone
@germy: IMO, Clinton’s endorsement of Cuomo probably helps Nixon. It certainly can’t hurt her at this stage.
germy
Off topic, but
burnspbesq
@Mandalay:
Shit, a crock of, that is. GFY.
Jonothan
@No Drought No More: Phew (seriously)!
Jay
@germy:
“The New York Times reports that Hillary Clinton, in a rare public endorsement since the 2016 election, is expected to announce that she’s backing Cuomo over activist and actress Cynthia Nixon at a state party convention in Long Island this week. Numerous elected officials have already offered their support of Cuomo, including New York junior senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who endorsed him shortly after Nixon announced her run.”
Given how much Hillary Hate, libtard triggering and Ghoulianni/Trump dick sucking the FTFNYT is engaged in, I’ll wait until there is an actual public endorsement from Hillary Clinton.
James Powell
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:
Can’t imagine what that’s all about. I’m for making it mandatory.
Elizabelle
Moar FTF NY Times: their top website headline at the moment:
What charm? And if he had any, shouldn’t he use some of it on Americans?
Vichy NY Times.
SFAW
@Libraryguy:
I disagree, but that’s me. Not a problem.
pluky
@Barbara: The entire eastern seaboard will flood back to where ever the local fall line is. In some places, that can be WAY inland.
JPL
@Jay: She backed Stacey Abrams and I wish she hadn’t.
Corner Stone
This is a little lighter fare for the afternoon. Click through to watch a cat redirect a Roomba like it ain’t a thang.
Brief twit GIF.
catclub
@germy: why do I think this is goofy? Solar input is non-negligible number of watts per sq meter. I suspect that the energy density of raindrops sliding down the solar panel is not very high.
Calculation: raindrops mass on panel is 20g/sq m, and they slide 0.6m down in 10 seconds.
delta PE/sec = mgh/time = 20g *9.8* 0.6 /10 = 9.8watts I think all of my estimates were generous. never mind how efficiently those 10W are converted into electrical energy.
catclub
@TenguPhule: who wants to bet there will be mis-spellings on the coin?
Jay
@JPL:
She can back whom ever she want’s. The DCC and DNC backings are more of an issue.
Bill Arnold
@bemused:
Let’s see how B Obama fares on published material:
14 articles listed in pubmed
another in Science, and another in Harvard Law Review
eric
@catclub: They’re going two bee.
Matt McIrvin
Ok, if it’s our last shot, what do we do if we lose?
Jay
@catclub:
Full summer moonlight on my 2kw solar array, generates on average a 1.5 amp/hour charge overnight. That’s just a trickle charge, but it keeps the batteries topped up.
If you don’t use a lot of electricity, even nominal amounts are significant.
A significant portion of solar arrays and installs are micro-power projects for places that have never had electricity, not even generators. A few amp hours can charge a cell phone, a radio, a flashlight or lantern. A few amps at night can be a big deal, in places that have no power, or cumulatively, in large arrays.
JPL
@Jay: I know.
Corner Stone
Full capitulation from Rosenstein.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
tobie
@Corner Stone: What did Rosenstein agree to? Couldn’t find anything on the WashPost front page.
Corner Stone
@tobie: They are giving the classified source info to J Kelly and Congressional Leaders. According to MSNBC.
The IG investigation to include a look into Trump’s campaign “irregularities”.
Corner Stone
dww44
@JPL: Why do you wish that Clinton had not endorsed Stacey Abrams? BTW, I got a robo call today from Clinton endorsing the Stacey with an “A”. But, interestingly, Stacey Evans traveled south to this part of the state a couple of months ago and asked for and received the endorsement of several local officials, including some African-American ones.
The two Dem primary candidates are attacking each other on policy issues, mainly the lottery funded hope scholarships. The 4 GOP candidates are all trying to out trump each other. There is a real difference between the two parties. But we Dems almost have to have a truly charismatic candidate to gain any traction in the state wide elections. It’s too early to tell if we are gonna have a chance in November.
tobie
@Corner Stone: Thanks. I need to find a rock to crawl under for a while.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:
They seem to be hideously unstable in the short run to. The current Trump master plan is “Worse than Watergate”so we’re back to Obama is the shadow president of the United States and Trump is president in name only. It really seems like all that is needed is the right shoe to drop and the Conservatives will abandon Trump is droves.
Mnemosyne
@catclub:
The article made it sound like they came up with a more efficient way to collect the static electricity from the raindrop slides without affecting the solar collection part, but math frightens and confuses me, so I don’t know how they did it other than by getting the tiny wizards who run my computer to cast some additional spells. ?♂️
TenguPhule
This is how you turn a source to treason.
First you get them to take baby steps.
Then before they know it, they’re in too deep and its betray your country or fry.
Rosenstein is being led by Trump into treason. Fucking idiot.
JPL
@dww44: I voted for Abrams, but actually think Evans aligns with me more. Abrams worked with republicans to loosen state banking regulations and the hope scholarship. Those actions bother me greatly. Now I voted for her hoping that she can bring out the vote to flip some state seats. A democrat will not win the governorship, but someone who can turnout votes might flip other seats. I wasn’t going to vote in the primary, but changed my mind.
The repubs will use the Bernie and Hillary backing against her in order to draw their supporters to the polls.
We live in strange times.
TenguPhule
@Corner Stone:
I look forward to our shining new era of every criminal suspect being in the American Justice system allowed unfettered access to any and all investigations into them. //
JPL
@dww44: Another thing.. During the debate Sunday, Abrams was quite strong on further tax cuts. One of my friends who is a republican and is black refuses to vote. I told her that was her choice, but remember when religious liberty is passed, that is discrimination.
JPL
@TenguPhule: Although unlikely if charged with a crime, I am hearby demanding to know what party they vote in. Also I want this access stuff.
ruemara
@JPL: Just an FYI, but the people who need to be motivated to come out and vote for Abrams, are not the people who’d be turned off by HRC endorsing her.
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: Earthquakes are inherently unstable yet manage to cause permanent damage.
Rand Careaga
@eemom:
My preferred take is “When they kick us in the shin, we go for their nuts.”
Kay
@Corner Stone:
All the subjects of criminal investigation can “demand” that prosecutors turn over investigation materials prior to indictment.
Then they can “demand” the federal police force investigate their political enemies. And the federal police force will comply!
This is normal. Sure it is. Another nothingburger.
Kay
If anyone is interested, this is the honorable way to deal with a corrupt President. All this nonsense about “working on the inside” is just that- nonsense. He’s compromising all of them. They’re kidding themselves if they think they can stay in those jobs and not get infected.
Every single one of them has been tainted and lessened because they cooperated with him. They will not be the same people when he’s done with them- they will be worse.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:
Not to mention were were these Good Republicans during the special elections when the off cycle dynamics naturally favored the Republicans?
jonas
I think it needs to be pointed out and emphasized between now and November, and even more heading towards 2020, that it’s bloody obvious that Trump and the Republicans will try to use the IC to infiltrate Democratic campaigns. He thinks it was done to him, because that’s precisely what he’d do. So why not do it? Nixon’s only mistake was getting caught. Wray and Rosenstein appear in turns to defy and then obsequiously defend Trump, so it’s hard to tell what they’d do.
J R in WV
@Elizabelle:
They can’t be errors. If someone made one of those errors in any real newspaper, they would be out of there, fired for cause, the next morning. Their stuff would be in a box at the front door, they wouldn’t be allowed into the offices.
These aren’t trivial “errors” at all! They transform the meaning of the real facts into the reverse of the reality. This happened to Hillary Clinton when the security staff classified information published in the N Y Times… how can anyone justify that?
Her private email server was to provide a private non-government communications tool for her private affairs, completely aside from her public responsibilities within the government. So the FBI found that her private email server was only used for her private personal purposes, except for the data they classified retroactively, and Trump was conspiring with multiple foreign governments before, during and after the election.
But Hillary was whom Comey trashed in his public pronouncements, and Trump was… not mentioned at all. Evil at work in Comey’s heart right there. He should be indicted by Mueller’s team in the grand climax for failure to follow clear existing government policy and procedure. Then let him drown in defending himself for his many indefensible acts.
TenguPhule
@Kay:
Of course this means that the only people left in government are increasingly Fascist Republicans.
TenguPhule
@jonas:
They’ll cave and fall in line.
That’s the only thing reliable about Republicans anymore.
They will surrender to evil. Always.
JPL
@ruemara: True, but she needs to attract females of both parties. It’s so upside down because it was Evans who needed the Hope Scholarship the most to climb out of poverty. The Abrams vote on the banking regulation really bothered me.
Lucy McBath is running in the 6th only on gun control and who could blame her. I voted for Abel because he wants health care, DACA and health care. Plus he lives across the street from my son. They tried to convince McBath to run for a state seat, but no avail. I can’t imagine what it is like to lose a son, so I don’t blame her.
Brachiator
@Kay:
I don’t know. It’s a tough call. This is not high school, where we declare that Trump’s got cooties. And many people take an oath to uphold the Constitution, not to be Trump puppets. And the government will continue to operate with Trump replacements for whoever resigns.
There are no optimal solutions until we vote the bastards out of office. And fortunately, there are a lot of people working hard to make that happen.
debbie
@Kay:
Even rats know when to jump ship.
debbie
@debbie:
P.S. Sherrod Brown’s already running ads against Renacci. I saw it three times this weekend. Labeling him as a swampy lobbyist. Wonder if that will stick?
Corner Stone
@Kay:
There is no one home. Trump lives inside his own head. These people are just as egotistical and stupid as Comey was/is.
What’s that you say, McMaster? Oh, nothing amirite? You’re not saying shit now, are you?
Brachiator
Some reactions to the White House calling MS-13 “animals.”
debbie
@Corner Stone:
My guess is that he’s otherwise occupied at the moment.
Corner Stone
@debbie: While that is a personal tragedy, I don’t think it’s tracking to the subject at hand.
John Fremont
@jonas: This!!!!
TenguPhule
@Corner Stone: Tragedy or pointed message by Russia?
TenguPhule
@Brachiator:
There are only so many clogs that the machine can take before crashing to a halt.
The Republicans are trying to break the federal government. The people working in it are only human.
germy
Michael Cohen threatened The Onion a few years ago, and they’ve finally released the letter and their response.
https://www.theonion.com/the-onion-has-finally-read-michael-cohen-s-2013-email-1826197533
Brachiator
@TenguPhule:
The federal government is not going to crash to a halt, and you would not want it to even if it could. Would you stop paying federal workers? Stop sending out Social Security checks?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
anybody thrown up the Fresh (Open) Thread Bat Signal yet?
Corner Stone
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Looks like we got one about Oscar the Grouch.
TenguPhule
@Brachiator:
What remains will not be the federal government as we remember it. There will be something there. It will perform enough of the functions that things probably keep going, but it will not be the non-partisan professional civil service of the last century. It will be a foul machine of bribes, favoritism and corruption.
Tehanu
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: It’s the short run I’m worried about. It’s so much easier to destroy than to build. And I have grandchildren who may have to clean up this mess.