Midterms are referendums on the party in power. I think a message of "I'm not those guys" is more than enough.
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) August 5, 2018
how narrow is Trump's base?
in new Gallup poll, his rating among whites without college degrees is 58% approve, 39% disapprove
among all other Americans, it's 29% approve, 66% disapprove
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) August 6, 2018
I am not a historian, but I endorse this thread:
Why are all the #twitterstorians arguing with Dinesh DSouza? He’s not a historian, he’s just a right wing grifter and propagandist, he’s not interested in truth and neither are any of his followers. Every time you argue with him you’re just promoting him and increasing his sales.
— Moshik Temkin (@moshik_temkin) August 6, 2018
These corrections aren't aimed at him or any of his followers.
They're aimed at normal people who don't have the actual facts at hand and have to encounter this nonsense from friends or family members in the real world and, of course, random partisans here on the internet.
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) August 7, 2018
I'm not going to suggest any causality here, but as the opening of this film has apparently been the weakest opening he's ever had, I'm not sure there's much to the argument that we're boosting his ticket sales.https://t.co/A8bCM3JxFO
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) August 7, 2018
I understand the arguments against, but personally I feel we have a duty to engage with this hackish history, as much as scientists have a duty to push back on climate change deniers and doctors have a duty to push back on the anti-vaxxers.
Because if we don't do it, who will?
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) August 7, 2018
And yes, a lot of times it feels like mopping back the ocean.
But in the end, I'd rather push back with the truth than let the lie stand. As I see it, that's a basic part of our job description.
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) August 7, 2018
As Kevin says, it’s not about the nonsense-peddlers; it’s about the prospective buyers.
— Eric Rauchway (@rauchway) August 7, 2018
"it's still magic, even if you know how it's done"
(Terry Pratchett) pic.twitter.com/fo7oaFKZKt
— Paul Bronks (@BoringEnormous) August 5, 2018
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone ???
OzarkHillbilly
I think I’m in love with that little girl.
Platonailedit
The furtive look on the girl on the right is hilarious.
msb
Kevin M. Kruse is right. The battle over history doesn’t just take place in academe, but also out in the public square, and online resources allow anyone to play. It’s important for professionals to participate in this discussion, not least to help people learn to evaluate the quality of sources that they access and to push back against garbage and lies. This doesn’t stop bad faith actors like pardoned felon D’Souza, but can help promote an honest and accurate public discussion.
Alain the site fixer
Test comment, and good morning to all.
MomSense
@OzarkHillbilly:
Me too. Morning from the tropics. Another 90’s day with humidity to match in store for us. Everyone is cranky.
Alain the site fixer
@Alain the site fixer: ok so it looks like WP added a new twitch to the comment saga. When I’m a bit more awake, I’ll see what I can do to re-enable the checkbox.
Bjacques
I think it goes for any subject in which you have hard-won expertise. You owe it to the community to help defend it from charlatans.
Baud
I thought the last thread was the morning thread. Now I’m going to be off for the rest of the day.
By all means engage D’Souza’s lies. Just do it with contempt.
satby
@msb: it’s on everyone to push back against the lies and nonsense. I do it as often as I can (boy, am I popular! /), but without a counter argument the lie builds and propagates.
OzarkHillbilly
@Alain the site fixer: Thanx for all you do.
debbie
One can never, ever let the lie stand.
And yes, that little girl is a hoot.
Anne Laurie
@debbie:
Whichever ‘trusted’ adult patiently taught her that routine is gonna be in trouble. And the little girl on her left just doesn’t want to share the blame!
Platonailedit
Lapassionara
Good morning all. Polls open in the STL area at 6 am. Let’s go, team blue!
debbie
@Anne Laurie:
It’s all in the eyes!
Cermet
So, more bad news – like all blood sucking parasites like tRump and his hanger-on’s, a new invasive tick – the Asian Longhorn – has been found in seven Eastern States. Unlike most ticks, this one can carry’s a very deadly virus: it is claimed in 538 that 15% of the people infected with that virus die! So like the thug party and its plague of blood sucking losers. I bet another benifit of human induced climate change (AGW.)
Oh, and good morning fellow Jackals.
debbie
@Platonailedit:
“Democarate”? Must be some kind of Q thing.
I so want O’Connor to squeak out a victory.
OzarkHillbilly
@Anne Laurie: Guilty.
Steeplejack (phone)
Good morning, all! Let’s see if I can get my nym to stick.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Steeplejack (phone):
Yeah, no.
rikyrah
@Alain the site fixer:
Morning Alain?
rikyrah
I appreciate Kruse, not because I believed D’SOUZA, but because he supplies the rest of us with receipts that we can call up later.
Betty Cracker
Glad Kruse pushed back on that garbage argument. The idea that we should ignore lunatic ravings in the hope that they’ll dissipate through lack of attention is partly what put us in our current pickle.
Dorothy A. Winsor
I’m driving to Iowa today by myself. Doc says it’s ok. I’m packing pills and feel like an official old person. But I’m going to stay with my friend who’s an FBI agent and am hoping for good gossip that she would never put in writing.
Baud
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Awesome. Gossip is highly valued here.
raven
First day of school here. We love the kids walking down our street but miss those who have moved on to middle school.
rikyrah
Miller’s next targets:
LEGAL IMMIGRANTS ? ?
https://twitter.com/JuliaEAinsley/status/1026773069828907008
Immanentize
Hello all! Like Ozark we are looking at another “peak energy use!” day here in the Boston area — read “hot as hell and humid as well.”
Immanentize
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Take care and drink plenty of coffee.
A Ghost To Most
@Dorothy A. Winsor: But will you have coffee? It would be irresponsible not to speculate.
Immanentize
@raven: That is so early! Most schools still start on the day after Labor Day around here.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Immanentize: @A Ghost To Most: Not to worry.
Amir Khalid
@debbie:
“Democarate” doesn’t even make sense as an incorrect spelling.
Or maybe it’s deliberate — you know, to tick off you Democrats and yo’ fancy lernin.
Leto
Onion or real life? (you already know the answer)
EPA is now allowing asbestos back into manufacturing
‘Approved by Donald Trump’: Asbestos sold by Russian company is branded with the president’s face
The bold part is some mealy mouth bullshit on the WaPo’s part: asbestos causes bronchogenic carcinoma at a MUCH higher rate, and asbestos is the only known cause of mesothelioma. I guess this is another gift to the TV lawyer lobby. /s
Amir Khalid
@Amir Khalid:
Okay, now the edit box is FUBARed too. FYWP must really hate Aiain.
Just One More Canuck
@Alain the site fixer: thanks for all your work here
randy khan
My theory in pushing back against obvious right wing trolls/true believers (as if there’s a difference) is that I’m not trying to persuade them – although occasionally I do shame them into silence – but that I’m writing for other people who might come across the threads. So, kind of the same idea as Krause has.
Matt McIrvin
As replies to Harwood’s tweet pointed out, “white people without college degrees” is not a narrow base. It’s half the country.
OzarkHillbilly
@Leto:
What is mealy mouthed about that? Is not bronchogenic carcinoma a serious health concern?
Melusine
@rikyrah:
How many legal illegal immigrants has shitgibbon employed at his properties over the years?
I mean, besides his wives…
OzarkHillbilly
Ya don’t say…..
Booger
@Cermet: Are you a tree? Because if you were a tree, I’d worry about the Asian Longhorn.
Mathguy
@Leto: ‘m trying to figure out who would knowingly buy something with asbestos in it. Oh, that’s right, MAGAts.
Raven
@Immanentize: zI know and some area schools started the 1st!
lowtechcyclist
If I had the money, I’d put up a billboard somewhere that said something like:
Dear Wingnuts: you’re not ‘owning the libs.’
When the Republicans repealed Obama’s overtime rules, you ‘owned’ workers who won’t get paid for their overtime.
As Trump sabotages Obamacare, you’re ‘owning’ working families that can’t afford to go to the doctor.
When Trump forcibly separated children from their parents, you ‘owned’ thousands of little kids who will live with that trauma for the rest of their lives.
Who are you going to ‘own’ today?
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Matt McIrvin:
Yeah, but how many of them are going to turn out? They can be swamped.
Jeffro
I could swear WaPo columnist is reading BJ on a regular basis (and good for her!).
Here she is, channeling what Kay and others have been noting for, oh, the past couple of years or so: The US is Massively Under-Prosecuting White Collar Crime
Hey Dem pols – you wanna unite the country? Let’s go with this as a campaign plank!
This is what happens when absolutely everything shifts to fighting terrorism, justified or not, while cutting the IRS drastically.
In the meantime, there it is Dems – just pick it up and run with it!
Gin & Tonic
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
But you will, right? Right?
Elizabelle
Good morning, jackals.
I love that “recent comments” is back. Thanks, Alain!
OzarkHillbilly
@Raven: I blame air conditioning.
Gin & Tonic
@Elizabelle: But it’s back to not remembering my nym when I comment.
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly: Never ever say anything bad about A/C. Have you even been outside?
gvg
The republicans cutting government and taxes policy of decades has looked to me for a long time like a way to allow the rich to get away with tax fraud. they deliberately have been underfunding and attacking the IRS for years, so that there are fewer and fewer actual investigators, physical bodies to do the work. So the rich get richer and the crooked rich do best. See the results?
I also think they have been slowing immigration the same way. Too few actual employees to handle the work, years of backlog. Old computer systems, because no money, etc.
rikyrah
Manafort’s corruption is not deviance.
https://twitter.com/djchefron/status/1026770021987635200
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: Some years back I made a small discovery. I walked out of my parents ACed house on a hot July day and took a breath and thought, “So that’s what air tastes like.” and came to the realization that along with heat and humidity AC takes the world out of the air. Our house is of course ACed, but I find myself going outside on even the hottest of days just to taste the air.
Manyakitty
@lowtechcyclist: You could totally meme that.
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
My favorite times are the pleasant days of fall and spring when I don’t need to run the A/C or the heat.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Leto: Holy crap. Who would have thought there’d be any doubt about the need to keep asbestos out of our environment?
Baud
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Hillary would have put asbestos in your cereal.
Jeffro
@Baud: I thought that was uranium in my cereal…the asbestos, she sold off to the Russians in exchange for the dossier (during the meeting at the “pizza” place, remember?)
sherparick
@msb: Also, if they don’t push back, “bad” history becomes accepted history. Historians are still trying to correct the “Dunning” school that dominated U.S. History texts for 70 years that told the story of the “War between the States” and that it was fought for “State’s Rights and Tariffs” and that Reconstruction was “cruel and oppressive” because it gave Black men the right to vote and protected their civil rights.
That his history still affects us is revealed in an article in the Guardian of all places yesterday about the Battle Flag of Treason and Slavery (a/k/a the Battle Flag of the Northern of Northern Virginia), which stated: “The flag’s history is fraught and complicated, as was the bloody civil war that erupted in 1861 between the US south – where America’s slave trade had relocated and expanded by the mid-1800s – and the north. After the north won, it imposed a harsh Reconstruction on the south that still fuels white resentment today…” As Erick Loomis states, “No, just no!!” http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2018/08/long-arm-dunningism
D’Souza is trying to propagandize a myth, one he know is a myth (he graduated from Dartmouth in 1983 and participated in the Conservative Movement’s Dartmouth Review publication that attacked black students at Dartmouth as “affirmative action” beneficiaries who should be driven from the campus – the Southern Strategy of Nixon and Reagan was something he lived through and participated in). Historians and truth tellers have to respond and troll him to at least plant a little doubt in the hive mind of the brethren about this particular pied piper.
FlipYrWhig
@gvg: Another piece is that everyday people are terrified of the IRS, which contributes to the existence of a massive and unnecessary tax-preparation industry. So over time the IRS becomes both a watchword for oppressive and arbitrary government for you and me AND a toothless watchdog for the nefarious rich. Nice racket.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Baud: Or worse, my coffee.
rikyrah
I hope a FrontPager picks this up:
Now the Trump administration wants to limit citizenship for legal immigrants
The most significant change to legal immigration in decades could affect millions of would-be citizens, say lawyers and advocates.
by Julia Ainsley / Aug.07.2018 / 5:01 AM ET
Patricia Kayden
@OzarkHillbilly: She’s adorable. I was expecting her magic trick to take a different turn though.
Patricia Kayden
@rikyrah: The ACA is the law of the land. Why should prospective citizens be penalized for using it?
kindness
I prefer mockery as a form of rebuttal to Dinesh. It doesn’t really effect him so much but it makes me laugh. Dinesh et al are locked in their own bubble. They only see what they want to and nothing else means anything to them. So yes, his ideas need to be refuted by any means so the rest of the folks out there don’t get complacent and give his stuff any credence.
schrodiners_cat
@rikyrah: They have been floating some version of this memo since the day T took office.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: Same here (open windows and all that) I never minded winter all that much either tho I find of late my body complains about the cold more than it used to.
rikyrah
rue,
please have your t’s crossed and your i’s dotted before you apply for citizenship.
and, good look.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: I put asbestos on my cereal in place of sugar.
schrodingers_cat
@rikyrah: Agreed. Have it looked over by an immigration attorney before mailing it. Also send it using certified mail, so you have proof that you sent it in.
They have been floating some version of this memo from the day T took office. I think the function is deterrence, people who are eligible for citizenship read it and it keeps them from applying.
tobie
@rikyrah: These people need some biblical punishment. The misery they’re causing is so staggering. I just filled out the American Community Survey (a monthly survey run by the Census Bureau of randomly selected households) and they asked for citizenship information on every member of the household. I did not feel good about answering it.
rikyrah
The entire piece is enraging. Utterly enraging.
……………………………
How Trump Radicalized ICE
A long-running inferiority complex, vast statutory power, a chilling new directive from the top—inside America’s unfolding immigration tragedy
schrodingers_cat
I agree with Kevin K’s reasoning wrt DD but I still think that if cable TV had ignored the racist troll when he was pushing his birther nonsense he wouldn’t be in the WH right now.
Leto
@OzarkHillbilly: I replaced my coffee filters with a perma-asbestos filter. Adds a unique flavor I can’t find anywhere else. I think I’m ahead of the curve on this trend.
OzarkHillbilly
@tobie:
I won’t.
rikyrah
@tobie:
That’s why I’ve taken to calling them Demons.
OzarkHillbilly
@Leto: Where can I get them? I want to try this!
rikyrah
AWE….
“I just wanted to make her day special”: Walmart cashier steps in to paint disabled woman’s nails when salon refuses. https://t.co/hHdM7kddvZ pic.twitter.com/FnNc6SgL7B
— ABC News (@ABC) August 7, 2018
rikyrah
In tonight’s Last Word: Boston’s new Police Commissioner breaks a barrier. #msnbc #lastword @Lawrence pic.twitter.com/EgN0Nl9kbz
— The Last Word (@TheLastWord) August 7, 2018
Leto
@OzarkHillbilly: They’re a special order out of England. All of the military bases still in use there have tons and tons of asbestos in the buildings(i.e. majority of the bases). BUT I have a Civil Engineering friend who makes them, small batch artisinal style, so I can hook ya up!
rikyrah
UH HUH
Trump campaign deputy Rick Gates just confessed in court that he committed crimes with Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. In case you haven’t figured it out yet: @realDonaldTrump hires so many criminals because he is a criminal too. #TrumpCrimeSyndicate
— Ryan Knight ? (@ProudResister) August 7, 2018
A great legal mind once told me you can say whatever you want on TV but inside a court of law, when you put your hand on a bible you have to tell the truth. That’s why this pathologically lying POTUS will never sit with Mueller. Tweets will not save him from treason. VOTE!!!
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) August 6, 2018
rikyrah
Silverman,
If you’re reading this, can you explain what’s happening between Saudi Arabia and Canada right now?
rikyrah
Ohio special election ‘should be a slam dunk and it’s not’
08/07/18 08:41 AM
By Steve Benen
Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) was asked over the weekend about today’s congressional special election in his state’s 12th district, which is a traditional Republican stronghold. The governor conceded that the race is “very close.”
Quite right. This a district the GOP presidential ticket won by 11 points. Since World War II, the district has been represented by a Democrat for exactly one term, which paints a striking portrait of the area: a Republican has held this seat 77 of the last 79 years. Two years ago, then-incumbent Rep. Pat Tiberi (R) won re-election in this district by 37 points.
rikyrah
I’m going to say it again:
THEY NEVER INTENDED TO REUNITE THIS CHILDREN WITH THEIR PARENTS.
Trump admin still unable to formulate reunification plan for kids
Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Projects, discusses the Donald Trump administration’s failure to have a plan for reuniting families separated under Trump’s border policy, and continued failure to come up with a plan despite a court’s order to do so.
rikyrah
Democrat in reach of flipping red seat in Ohio special election
Robert Costa, national political reporter for The Washington Post, discusses Democratic candidate Danny O’Connor’s hopeful polling in a historically red district in Ohio that Donald Trump won by 11 points in 2016, and what this special election could portend for this year’s midterm elections.
rikyrah
Hicks visit raises concern over potential Trump witness tampering
Donald Trump’s conversations with White House staffers about his role in the 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians have raised concerns that he could be vulnerable to charges of witness tampering. Chuck Rosenberg, former U.S. attorney, and Frank Figliuzzi, former FBI assistant director of counterintelligence under Robert Mueller, discuss the legal ins and outs.
rikyrah
Trump frets over Jr’s legal liability as Mueller advances: report
Ashley Parker, White House reporter for The Washington Post, talks about reporting that Donald Trump is worried about his son’s legal liability in the 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians as his own legal liability worsens with each ill-considered tweet.
rikyrah
Gates’ utility to Mueller extends far beyond Manafort case
Barbara McQuade and Chuck Rosenberg, former U.S. attorneys, discuss the role Rick Gates played not only in Paul Manafort’s business, but as part of the Donald Trump campaign as well as serving on the Trump transition team, and what might be the broader legal implications of his cooperating with Robert Mueller.
rikyrah
Gates testifies in court to committing crimes with Paul Manafort
Josh Gerstein, who covers the trial of Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman for Politico, reports on the latest developments from court, with testimony today from the prosecution’s star witness, former Manafort assistant and Trump transition team member Rick Gates.
Aleta
@rikyrah:
Canada said it is “gravely concerned” about the recent arrests of Saudi civil society and women’s rights activists. Yesterday Saudi Arabia responded by expelling the Canada’s ambassador and “halting all new trade and investment deals between the two countries.”
It’s said that this also represents the weakness of “Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (who) has led a drive to reform his country…, lifting some social restrictions while curbing the influence of the once-powerful “religious police” who enforced austere moral codes. The changes, though, have been accompanied by a steady drumbeat of repression, including the arrest of popular clerics, prominent business executives and the women’s rights advocates — sending a message, analysts said, that the reforms do not include a sliver of tolerance for political expression.”
–From WaPo
rikyrah
Rand Paul is a fraud. A phucking fraud. All that libertarian bullshyt, and shilling for an authoritarian regime.
……………………….
Russian lawmaker Leonid Slutsky said he asked Rand Paul to speak out in defense of Mariia Butina.
“If you, Senator Paul, are able to raise your voice in defense of Mariia … you would show yourself to be a real man,” Interfax reported Slutsky saying.https://t.co/y3RzYTeZvS
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 6, 2018
Alain the site fixer
Test comment
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@rikyrah:
I’m hoping the district flips today. Gov. Golly Gee is my gov unfortunately but it’s a positive sign that he’s nervous about it.
Aleta
@Aleta: Also
Alain the site fixer
@Alain the site fixer: and a fail.
rikyrah
And, don’t forget about the unaccounted for funds from the Inauguration. …in the ballpark of 50 million.
………………………………………
Trump raised $135M at 29 fundraisers. But nearly half the events were for himself
August 07, 2018 05:00 AM
President Donald Trump has headlined 29 fundraisers since he was sworn into office, raising at least $135 million — but unlike the five previous presidents, nearly half of the events benefited himself, instead of just his party or candidates, according to an analysis by McClatchy.
Trump is the first U.S. president since at least the 1970s to raise money for his own re-election campaign during the first two years of his term when the political world’s attention is usually focused on midterm elections for Congress. And Trump has held the fewest total fundraisers at this point in his term since Jimmy Carter, according to records of presidential fundraising compiled by Brendan J. Doherty, a political science professor at the U.S. Naval Academy.
That’s a sign he’s more focused on himself and less tied to his party 18 months into presidency.
rikyrah
@Alain the site fixer:
You’ll fix it, Alain. I have faith :)
Amir Khalid
@rikyrah:
The short version is that the Crown Prince is having a hissy fit because Canada had the nerve — the nerve! — to criticise his Crown Princeitude’s oppressive ways.
Brachiator
@rikyrah:
The GOP must feel that they are getting a strong return on their investment even though Trump is a selfish self-absorbed grifter who demands loyalty but who gives nothing back in return.
satby
@Leto: this infuriates me. My dad died at age 54 from mesothelioma, his exposure to asbestos was primarily from the heat he spent as a pipefitter’s assistant before he went into the police academy. Asbestos plus smoking creates an almost 100% cancer risk.
MCA1
@raven: WTF? It’s still the first week of August! Most of America hasn’t even gone on its summer vacation, and kids in your neck of the woods are back in school already? ‘sup with that?
IMnsHO, public schools should be pushing their start dates back, and finishing later to match, rather than the opposite. Let the kids be out in the warm air into mid-September, and stay in school the early part of June when the weather usually sucks, anyways.
Msb
@ satby and sherpatrick
Indeed, yes!
Central Planning
@OzarkHillbilly: I huff asbestos just to own the libs.