This one makes me go hmmm. Is “I’m a credulous oaf” a way to pivot towards impeachment after you stuck up for Trump 24 hours ago? Perhaps someone who makes an old fashioned with brandy instead of whiskey could give me a little more insight on this dolt’s strategy in the comments:
NEWS: GOP Sen. Ron Johnson tells WSJ that the U.S. ambassador to the EU told him in August that the status of aid to Ukraine was tied to Trump’s interest in having Kiev investigate certain matters. Johnson confronted Trump, who denied it. w/@siobhanehughes https://t.co/GPLBKsc9rm
— Rebecca Ballhaus (@rebeccaballhaus) October 4, 2019
You can always safely take the under with Marco, who’s looking like a human sweat drop in the video below:
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida tells reporters he thinks Trump was just kidding when he publicly asked China to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden.
“I don’t think it’s a real request,” Rubio told reporters on Friday. “I think he did it to get you guys. I think he did it to provoke you to ask me and others and get outraged by it.”
This morning in the Florida Keys, @marcorubio was asked about the President calling on China to investigate @JoeBiden – see his answer ?@CBSMiami @MiamiHerald @alextdaugherty @MarcACaputo @PatriciaMazzei pic.twitter.com/3t1nTMWixn
— Jim DeFede (@DeFede) October 4, 2019
Yes, Marco, we know that Daddy is always joking when he calls Mommy bad names, and she’s only wearing big sunglasses today because her eyes are sometimes sensitive to sunlight.
And, oh yeah, Mitt thinks Trump has been very, very naughty and might well not get a second slice of cake after dinner, or something. Not to piss on him too much – it’s a good statement – but he has a history of big talk and no action.
By all appearances, the President’s brazen and unprecedented appeal to China and to Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden is wrong and appalling.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) October 4, 2019
Jeffro
Ask the obvious follow-up questions, snooze media!
“If it’s ‘brazen and unprecedented’, then what should the president* do in order to clearly demonstrate he is not on the path to dictatorship and endless lawbreaking?”
“If he was ‘just kidding’…would ‘kidding’ of this nature by a Democratic president be okay with you? Does it strike you as a good way to conduct our foreign policy?”
“Wouldn’t a thorough inquiry – one where the WH withholds no witnesses, witholds no documents – be the best way to ensure that both Congress AND the American people know once and for all whether this president* was attempting to subvert the 2020 elections with the assistance of foreign powers?”
This is NOT rocket science, snooze media. Follow. Up.
JPL
GOP Sen. Ron Johnson tells WSJ that the U.S. ambassador to the EU told him in August that the status of aid to Ukraine was tied to Trump’s interest in having Kiev investigate certain matters. Johnson confronted Trump, who denied it.
And Johnson is now licking trump’s boots.
Mary G
Still nothing more than furrowed brows by people not up for re-election next year. I did see George Conway and a couple of other guys on Twitter say that if the incriminating shit keeps coming, Republican senators will support Twitler right up to where they vote to impeach him heavy hearts. Nice fairy tale.
MattF
The Romney statement is interesting because with Mitt, the prime motive is always ambition. He’s sensing an opening.
Another Scott
That’s OK. Moscow Mitch will make sure he gets a fair trial in the Senate.
Repost – TheHill:
It’s oh so very expensive to vote “No”.
Not the least bit surprising, of course. Though I doubt that the press that was touting MM’s earlier statement that the Senate would “have to take up” the case will cover this as loudly.
Grr…
Cheers,
Scott.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
For a Republican it’s pretty brazen.
I am also wondering what Trump really thinks he is doing now. Even if the Ukrainians showed corruption from Biden now everyone would laugh it off as just fabricated to get their US aid. It really feels this is were the Republicans have slid over the Wingnut Event Horizon.
Mary G
Patricia Kayden
Well, at least Romney is calling Trump out …. for now at least. That’s more than any other Republican Senator including Manchin.
trollhattan
@Another Scott:
Don’t know why but this image just cracks me up. My imaginary mob sports a lot of man buns. Thanks again, Kentucky, Mitch and li’l Rand are great guys.
[Individual 1] mistermix
@Patricia Kayden: Agreed, but in the words of a famous Memphis philosopher, “a little less conversation, a little more action”.
clay
@Mary G: Oh no! If this goes as well as his Middle East Peace Plan (TM), then the Democrats are DOOOOOOMED!
The Moar You Know
Mitt is worse than useless. As long as they’re not coming for the Mormons, he’ll sign off on anything no matter how appalling.
I want to give a gold medal to the commenter who said “shoulders big enough to land a 747 on, miraculously supported by no spine”
SRW1
Rubio: “Jesus, guys, can’t a president muck around any more?”
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@JPL:
Isn’t this the same Johnson who claimed it was super duper a-ok if Trump asked China to investigate the Bidens since he’s the nation’s “chief law enforcement officer”?
Naked authoritarianism. I fucking hate that. This is the language of fetishizing LEOs and soldiers. Every time I see “Thin Blue Line” American flag, all I see is someone who doesn’t give a shit about holding LEOs accountable as public servants
Ruckus
@Mary G:
They will support trump right up to the very moment that they are in more danger doing that than being the self serving jackasses they are. They don’t have the balls to come out and say their president is wrong, we should do something about this, and they are going to sit on that fence till they fall one way or another into the pig pen.
Sebastian
@Mary G:
Hahahahahaha
Fantastic news. Mr Firing-Comey-Is-Great-Idea.
Nancy will slice him up like a salami.
JCJ
Well, I think it is easiest to remember that Ron Johnson is in a tight contest for “dumbest member of the senate” in order to understand where he is coming from. Trump still has a fair amount of popularity here in Cheeseland so it is not a bad strategy for him. Too lazy to check, but the hypothetical polls showing Trump trailing various Dems by whatever per cent are probably similar to the pre-election polls of 2016. On top of that, these current polls show him even with some of the Dems.
Yutsano
@Mary G: @Sebastian: “ALEXA!!! ORDER ALL THE POPCORN!!!”
The Moar You Know
@Mary G: Thank you. It is a fucking fairy tale. NOT ONE will do it. That’s what happens to a political entity who ties their fortunes to one person, which the GOP chose to do in 2016.
The term “cult of personality” did not originate in a vacuum.
JPL
How can so many republican Senators be afraid of the tweet. It is just mind boggling. If Nancy Pelosi can stand up to him, you’d think other republicans would be able to. Such cowards.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
Reposted from below, from the WaPo:
WaPo speculating that the Ukrainian government is trying to buy time with the WH. Hopefully they don’t give in to Trump’s extortion
Citizen Alan
@trollhattan:
I believe that’s spelled liddle’.
James Powell
@trollhattan:
As I tell my RW relatives, I’m a member of the left wing mob and we wish we had Nancy Pelosi in our clutches, we really do.
J R in WV
Off Topic news from our farm.
A week ago last Wednesday we got two new puppies, 7 months old from a little of 9 ! at a goat dairy farm some friends have in the next county. A boy and a girl, they are adorable leggy black dogs. I’ll send a photo soon. They had never even been inside a house before, just running with the other dogs, chickens, goats, etc.
They had a rough trip over in the back of A’s Subaru, well equipped for nauseated puppies as they carry goats around back there.
Then Thursday, the very next day, as I sat out front watching them sniff around and reading, they walked off, as in ran away from their new home because it wasn’t a goat dairy. OMG what a catastrophe~!!
So that evening and the next day I drove up on the ridge, calling Puppies, Puppies. Then I put together a flier about lost dogs, with a picture and description and our phone number, and drove around the mountain passing them out to everyone I could find, knocking on doors. It took all afternoon. No luck.
I was mortified, lost brand new puppies into the deep woods ! mortified.
Just a couple of hours ago, after being gone 8 days, we looked out the front door and there they were — both of them, really skinny but unharmed, hoping it was lunch time, which of course it was.
Now all I have to do is keep them around until they really understand this is home, forever home. Maybe the mere fact that they came back means that is no longer an issue. Between the political news and the lost puppies I have been really stressed out. Hard to even take a nap!
Maybe I should get a GPS radio finder collar for them?? Now I’m getting crazy, or crazier…
You cannot imagine the relief and joy I am feeling now that they have come back~!!~
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@The Moar You Know:
Pressure can be put on these people. Do you honestly think that non-stop harassment will have no effect on them?
trollhattan
@Citizen Alan:
You’re probably right, that’s how they say it up in the holler. Or is that down in the hollar, I gets a confused.
Keith P.
@MattF: Or payback.
Ruckus
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
Public servants are no better than private servants to someone like trump, or his ilk. The servants are there to serve the hoi polloi while trump and those like him are there to be served by everyone else. Their money (or claimed money-trump) makes them the masters and everyone else their slaves. And masters can do anything they want, to anyone they want, any time they want and no one can say or do anything because they are the masters. This is the way a lot of racists claim they are not racists, they are just superior. It’s how more than once I’ve been called poor, just because I’m walking down the street. An old white guy called poor because I had the sense to walk somewhere rather than drive. And every time my car I could have taken is better than theirs. Money, even money that doesn’t exist is the predictor of all that is good and valuable, nothing else for a lot of people.
Betty Cracker
The cooling saucers in the Senate won’t crack a minute before it becomes clear that sticking with Trump will hurt them politically. We may or may not get there, but let’s keep in mind that public opinion is the only thing that matters. That’s why Mitt is the boldest of the timid sheep; he’s in the only deeply red state that doesn’t approve of Trump.
Amir Khalid
@Mary G:
Yaaaaaaaaaaay!
(It’s okay, you guys. I’m on the other side of the planet. Trump can’t hear me.)
Betty Cracker
@J R in WV: OMG, what a relief! So glad they came home.
trollhattan
@J R in WV:
Wow, I would have been worried sick. Glad they’re back and yeah, call of the wild must be addressed somehow or they’ll launch more adventures.
Our first Dalmatian ran away 4th of July and we looked and looked and looked, through the night and into the next morning, finally collapsing in bed. In the afternoon I heard a noise and found Bruno at the side gate, which we’d left open just in case. He never told us and we never knew where he’d been, but I suspect he just ran and ran until he could run no more. Was literally crusty from the misadventure and from that time would never tolerate fireworks, thunder or anything loud and percussive.
catclub
@JCJ: I went back and looked at states that Obama lost in 2012, that he won in 2008. I think he was upside down in general approval in all those states in 2012. Which says to me that being upside down in approval is not helpful and fairly indicative of voting results. Also, I think he was NOT upside down in all the states he won in 2012.
Mary G
Ruckus
@JPL:
You expected more? I didn’t. They don’t choose a leader, they choose a figurehead. They have no courage, they don’t understand the concept, other than they have none. A politician in a tough fight who can’t see right from wrong isn’t worth the spit it takes to say their name.
jl
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: ” Pressure can be put on these people. Do you honestly think that non-stop harassment will have no effect on them? ”
It will have some effect if from their constituents. I agree with the commenters who think that the only things that will move the Senate GOPers are fear of losing their seats or losing their majority in the Senate, in that order. Losing their seats is by far the most important factor. Anything that helps making that fear realistic is useful.
Amir Khalid
@J R in WV:
Let’s hope they learned their lesson from a week on the lam. I am of course hoping for pictures, once they’ve put their weight back on.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Ruckus:
Yeah. It’s a sick mindset that belongs in the distant past. They sure like to put on a good show about “Supporting the Troops” and police, don’t they? They’re the “good” kind of government workers in Republican eyes because they enforce their will and can be used to oppress undesirables as well as politcal opponents
Mary G
jl
Rubio looked very nervous in that clip until he was reassured that no one was going to laugh out loud at his ridiculous response. Then his response got halfway to half hearted.
Jeffro
Just a thought: opening this impeachment inquiry was an absolute imperative for the Democrats. This scumbag of a president* is clearly willing to use any means at all in order to get re-elected and continue his criminal enterprise. It is all out in the open now, there is no more ‘hearsay’ defense, and if the GOP thinks Captain Meltdown is going to get any better over the next 13 months, then they’re the delusional ones.
Keep up with the inquiry, Rep Schiff & Co. Keep turning over rocks and stomping the creepy-crawlies that come squirming out. Publish a list of impeachment charges already drafted and keep adding to that list as needed.
Keep pounding on the GOP, Dem activists. Don’t let these Reps and Senators get away with non-responses to questions about trumpov’s crimes.
Keep up the pressure on the national snooze media, everyone. Make them ask the right questions and make them ask the follow-ups that leave Trumpublican elected officials with nothing but obvious lies in response.
Elie
This will be, in my opinion anyway, “a little bit at a time then all at once”
There will be more stuff — a lot more AND a lot more overt behavior from Trump. He is gonna trip and fall down the stairs from his show-off bluff of walking on the banister railing….”Come and get me, I dare you!” He thinks he is gonna get away with it. He will be at the bottom with a broken neck. He is out of control and his party is without a rudder of any kind… Its gonna get much much wilder..
Amir Khalid
Republicans seem to be grifters first, Republicans second, and Americans last. I have always believed they will stick with Trump until/unless forced to choose between his downfall and their own. I think they are still some way from that.
LuciaMia
Well, since young Jad has apparently straightened out the Middle East hes got plenty of time on his hands.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@jl:
I know the talking points that were leaked a week ago that were to be sent to all GOP Congress members really pissed my father off. He’s a Dem, but definitely of the CW, “the far-left is just as bad as the far-right”, and “we all have to come together and compromise” and takes every “moderate” Republican mumbling disapproval at Trump at face value. He’s gotten away from a lot of the worst of that, but still takes guys like Sasse etc seriously. I always tell him, pay attention to what they do, not what they say. Just like Susan Collins, it’s just a facade to fool middle of the road voters like him.
But, those set of talking points did piss him off. He wants to know who Rob Portman is actually working for, the public or the WH. If he’s going to use WH talking points, he should go work at the WH directly
catclub
This is a very interesting set of poll results I saw highlighted. Trump approval, for each state, is available over time. I wish they had it for more historical data.
eric
from CNN
Former US special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker explained in his opening statement to Congress that he connected the President’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani with Ukraine’s leadership in an effort to convince Giuliani — and, through him, President Donald Trump — there was new leadership in Ukraine that could be trusted.
….
Volker said that Trump was “skeptical” of Ukraine’s leadership, which he said was understandable given the country’s history of corruption, but he also added that the President suggested that Ukraine “tried to take me down,” a reference to the unproven allegations that Ukraine was involved in the 2016 election meddling.
zhena gogolia
You’re on point today, mistermix!
Very much like Joni Ernst yesterday.
piratedan
well, perhaps the Dems need to take a very pragmatic approach to all of this… I wonder what it buys us if they took a different approach by whacking minions first, i.e.e those that are propping up the power…
I would indict Barr first… after all, he’s the one (outside of Moscow Mitch) that is running the most interference. Once he’s removed, that puts the remainder of the Trumpians inhabiting the DOJ on notice and removes their cover, and it unshields Trumps left flank. Plus it appears that impeaching Barr would be doable because he’s already been named by the other players as a prominent co-conspirator.
Then, Pompeo would be up, as this would effectively drive a stake thru the foreign office shenanigans that are currently in play. He’s already been named as well, so while I think it may be pro-foirma to add his name to the list, it seems doable.
Then, I would go after Pence, he’s already been implicated as well and his removal doesn’t give the GOP many outs when it comes to compromise offers to tender, but his ascension to the White House should be removed as he’s been just as complicit as everyone else that has been named.
Then Trump himself.
you pick off the lackeys first, leaving the man himself exposed. If there was a way to censure, charge McConnell with crimes (that there was proof of), he would go to the top of my list.
That odious bastard provides more cover than a forest and his ouster would be paramount to cleaning up the country.
J R in WV
@Amir Khalid:
Yes, let’s hope. Part of me wants to never let them outside ever again. ETA, but that’s delusional…
They’re an interesting mix of breeds. Their dad is 1/2 Lab and 1/2 great pyrenees, while their mom is some kind of Austrailian cattle dog. They’re both mostly sleek shiny black, he has a big white blaze on his chest, and she has grey spotted front legs, like a blue heeler dog.
They’re very hound looking, odd because no hound in either of their breeding, although that said, they were born on a goat dairy farm up a hollow, so no telling what’s in their deep background. Mom could LOOK like an Aussy cattle dog.
Yarrow
As I said in an earlier thread, if Senate Republicans don’t indicate they’ll vote to convict Trump in the Senate then uncomfortable things about them will begin to be leaked. Their political careers aren’t the only things that may be in jeopardy.
JoyceH
Guys, Romney is moving. Yeah, like a glacier, but ‘troublesome’ means there MIGHT be something there, whereas ‘wrong and appalling’ means that there IS something there.
Everyone has to just keep pushing.
And one thing I’d like to see us pushing on is the news media and the way they’re framing the story. They keep saying that Trump was pushing Ukraine to ‘dig up dirt’ on the Bidens. Wrong. You want to start a scandal, you call Fox News. Trump wanted Ukraine to open up a CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION of the Bidens. He’s making this ask of the country that until like a year ago was one of the most corrupt places on earth. They don’t have a history of a fair and impartial judiciary, though they’re trying to build one now. But perhaps, to get the military assistance they need for their country’s very survival, they might decide they had to accede to one more corrupt prosecution – is that impossible?
And! If Ukraine knuckled under to pressure and handed down indictments on Joe and Hunter Biden, does anyone believe that THIS White House and THIS Justice Department would refuse to extradite them?
Once again – Trump doesn’t want to create a scandal for the man he sees as his primary rival in 2020. He wants his primary rival locked up in a foreign jail!
Impossible? Kafkaesque? We see this happen in the real world, right now. THIS IS WHAT PUTIN DOES! This is how the man Trump admires most in the world deals with political rivals. He charges them with crimes and he locks them up.
Betty Cracker
@eric: My husband was watching the news on either MSNBC or CNN a little while ago, and they did a short review of Trump’s long history of crackpot conspiracy mongering. Good. That angle needs to get more play.
Miss Bianca
@J R in WV: Yay!!
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@catclub:
God, he’s underwater by 5 points in Ohio according to September polling. If you hover over the lines for the state polls, the most recent data for Ohio was from Sep 1st
Yarrow
@J R in WV: So glad they’ve returned. What a relief. Is there any kind of fenced-in area where they can be let outside for the short term until they get familiar with the place? Or maybe on a leash so they get to smell everything but have to go back inside? I know that’s more work but they sound like runners.
Humdog
The EU should expel our US ambassador to them, Sond something. The texts prove he is willing to play games with the national security of other nations for Shitstain’s personal gain.
It is astonishing that there are so few elected Rs wiling to stand up for the principles they espoused. It also shows they do not believe in their religion at all. I thought they were scummy but thought it was only mostly scummy, not completely diseased down to the last man.
rikyrah
@J R in WV:
Awe…..they sound adorable. Please send pictures
Humdog
@J R in WV: Great Pyrenees are big wanderers. I dog sit for a 190 lb. one who sees fences as a challenge and calling her name means nothing. I should say, I used to dog sit one.
catclub
I want to hammer that Trump will give China a sweetheart trade deal if they come up with dirt on Biden for him. never mind the US interest.
catclub
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: I really want to see what the curves were like for Obama in states he won, then lost in 2012
NotMax
“By all appearances, the brazen and unprecedented gunning down of seven people in a garage on a day devoted to celebrate love and romance is wrong and appalling.”
– Mitt Romney (alternate dimension version), February 14, 1929
Marvel Vigil
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Incidents like this have been reported several times over the last three years. Imagine what has been happening to people without a platform.
To get to the story at DefenseOne, where this propagandist works, I had to click through an ad for Raytheon.
Patricia Kayden
@Mary G: I can’t tell if this is a joke or for real. Trump has a battery of attorneys at his fingertips. Surely Jared is not the person he chooses for something so important.
Omnes Omnibus
FWIW I just called Johnson’s DC office to say that I thought Johnson was an embarrassment to the state and that I was ashamed that he represented us.
Gin & Tonic
@JoyceH:
Ukraine has had issues since its independence, but this is just flat-out bullshit.
Patricia Kayden
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Good that the journalist filed a civil rights complaint about this incident. Absolutely outrageous conduct.
hells littlest angel
Trump shot a man on 5th Avenue just to watch the media cry.
Ruckus
@Patricia Kayden:
He doesn’t trust lawyers unless he owns them. OK he doesn’t trust anyone he doesn’t own. He does however trust people that own him. Which strangely enough are foreign dictators. Leaders of foreign democracies he doesn’t trust nearly as much because they recognize their countries as democracies, not dictatorships, which is how he sees this country, now that he’s in charge.
Patricia Kayden
@JoyceH: If Ukraine all of a sudden now decides to indict the Bidens and this provide dirt to Trump, that would look blatantly like a quid pro quo. Could happen though.
Patricia Kayden
@Ruckus: When you’re such a horrible human being that you advocate the shooting of asylum seekers, it’s not surprising that you have trust issues.
Yarrow
Seen over on a Brexit twitter thread. It’s kind of hard to absorb that both the UK and US are dealing with the same kind of leaders.
I don’t know if it’s true for the Tories but the Republicans over here seem just fine with it. Probably because they’re captives too.
jl
@JoyceH: In clips I’ve watched the news celebrities not clear enough that simply requesting assistance from a foreign government for political purposes is a serious crime. You don’t need to receive it, you don’t need to see it, merely requesting it is a crime. I thnik there there is too much dithering whether there was a quid pro quo or not.
From what I’ve seen on youtube, Shep Smith and Judge Napalitano, on Fox News of all places, have done the best job at hammering away at this point, explaining it very clearly, and calling out BS GOP defenses of Trump and Trumpsters.
Millard Filmore
@piratedan:
You have run into a big problem here. Barr will not allow the DOJ to indict himself, and Moscow Mitch in the Senate will not allow Barr to be convicted and removed through impeachment.
patrick II
Yeah, he especially succeeded at stealing the pensions of guys who worked hard at a company for 30 on 40 years.
How happy is Romney that Trump didn’t end offering him that SOS job?
trollhattan
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Chilling. And probably intended as such.
“No, I work for Fox News.”
“Right this way, sir, have a nice day!”
trollhattan
@jl:
Shep doesn’t surprise me but Napalitano sure does. He’s normally all-in with any Republican hijinks.
jl
@Yarrow: Russian hacks and theft of GOP databases during 2016 campaign did not lead to sensational releases. So it is not considered news worthy, and almost no remembrance that it happened at all in the corporate news media. And, never has been considered newsworthy.
HalfAssedHomesteader
When Trump’s enablers defend his public remarks as “just kidding” the clear implication is that the administration’s policy, such as it is, is none of our business.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Yarrow: isn’t it more or less accepted in the UK that Russia played dirty in the run up to the Brexit vote? wasn’t that Farage character on the take ?
ETA: well, I guess the Leavers don’t accept it, in any case
zhena gogolia
@HalfAssedHomesteader:
Right.
MattF
@jl: I think the quid pro quo part of the impeachable offense is essential politically. Trump is ready to betray the Ukrainians, and might reconsider, if they indict a Biden. A lot of people will find that offensive, and that’s what’s important politically.
Yarrow
@jl: I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about targeting leaks from the IC about certain Senators.
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: No, it’s not generally accepted in the UK that Russia impacted the Brexit vote. It’s discussed in some places but hasn’t broken through to the larger public understanding. The UK government has held very few hearings on it, mostly by committees and those have gone nowhere.
jl
@trollhattan: Look on youtube. Napolitano has gone Deep State and has joined UK/Ukraine/Australia/Italy on treasonous anti-Trump coup plotting. He has some little legal analysis spot he does for Fox News, and he’s devoted recent ones to stepping through the details of Trump’s crimes. I read someplace that Fox News brass have warned Shep Smith and Napolitano to lay off ridiculing and debunking the opinion liars like Carlson and Hannity specifically. I wonder if S and N mentioned and debunked them by name? Was there a post on that here? Maybe some commenter left a link. Was last week I think.
Yutsano
@Yarrow: @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Oh they know. There’s a fairly large number of MPs who have holdings in real estate in London. They know who has been buying up all the apartments for exorbitant prices all over the city. The Chinese to a lesser extent but the Russian oligarchs LOVE London real estate. Another reason for Brexit: If the UK leaves they’re no longer bound by the sanctions regime that the EU has over Ukraine. And unless there’s a specific UK one (there might be) then all of a sudden a FLOOD of Russian money can buy up London as soon as the ink is dry on the signatures. Or no deal by 10/31.
Yarrow
@Yutsano: Don’t forget the new EU financial regulations that go into place on January 1, 2020. They’re desperate to get out of the EU before they have to comply with those.
WaterGirl
@J R in WV: It’s stressful just reading about it! So glad they came back home.
It is SO easy to fall in love with a puppy – I’m sure you were devastated at the thought of them being in harm’s way.
When I was 20, my normally well-behaved pup that I could walk without a leash, ran off while we were walking home. I was wandering everywhere, in tears, calling her name, looking for her everywhere. At some point I crossed paths with the mailman, who asked who I was looking for. He told me that my sweet pup was sitting on the porch of my house, waiting to be let in. What a relief!
My other “oh my god” dog story: My beloved cocker spaniel of 16 years was not doing well and was on new medication, and the vet had just said the day before that we wouldn’t have to make any decisions for a few days. But I got up in the morning and I picked her up to take her outside, and she snapped at me, which she had never done in the 6,000 days we had lived together. I put her down in the grass to pee and she looked up at me and said “I’m done”. So, shaking like a leaf, I got dressed and called my best friend so he could come over to say goodbye, and we left for the vet school where I worked, and where the vets I knew could do what needed to be done. I had a long goodbye with my sweet girl, sitting under a tree on the expanse of lawn on the vet school campus.
She died in my arms, and we sat there a long time afterwards before I was willing to let her go, and then I went to my office. I worked all day, left at 5, drove home and pulled into the driveway, only to see that in the sadness and distraction of suddenly knowing it was the end for my sweet girl, I had left the gate open. I was in a panic, certain that I had now lost both of my dogs in one day. Totally beside myself in despair, I got out of the car, only to discover my other dog sitting patiently at the door, waiting for me to come home, where he had apparently been waiting for 8 hours.
So one terrible loss that day, but not two.
So happy for you J. R. that you have added to your family and that the new pups are okay.
lee
This pretty much is what we are dealing with
patrick II
Has foreign been released to Ukraine yet? If not, should we call our congress people to encourage them to pass a bill calling for the immediate dispersal of already approved aid and perhaps chip in a few more bucks?
Yutsano
@Yarrow: Boris has his marching orders. Get out before 01/01/2020 no matter what. Except no one is playing his game and his majority is gone. He really has no power here.
Betty Cracker
@Omnes Omnibus: Good job! I called my three shitty Republican federal representatives to urge them to sack up. I have no expectation that they will unless and until public opinion becomes a roar, but I’ll add my meow to that roar as best I can at every opportunity.
Yarrow
@Yutsano: He’s looking to defy the law. If you click through on that tweet you can read the thread by Jo Maugham about the legal ins and outs. It sounds like next week is going to be very interesting where Brexit is concerned.
Gin & Tonic
@patrick II: It’s unclear whether 100%, but certainly the vast majority of the military assistance package has been disbursed (not dispersed). It needed to be done before Sep 30, the end of FY ’19.
Mary G
@WaterGirl: What a terrible day for you. I hate to sound like a bitch, but I cried more over my two cats that died than the divorce from my ex.
MattF
Alexandra Petri (yes, again) on the stages of freeing yourself from a principle:
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/10/04/guide-stages-trump-denial/
Jinchi
I’m not going to knock Romney when he’s doing the right thing. These guys need some sign that there’s an up side to taking on Trump. At the very least I see his move as creating space for people like Collins and Sasse to start breaking free. Trump’s less likely to start a war ifhe sees cracks in his coalition.
Marcopolo
@Betty Cracker: Thanks both to you and Omnes! I sure hope that everyone who spends 20 minutes here going through a thread will likewise spend 15 minutes calling their Rep & Senators (5 min @). Everyone needs to remember that we can have an active role (albeit a small one) in what is now unfolding.
I am actually calling several times a week now. Gotta keep the pressure on.
Sebastian
@lee:
Never forget that in post-WW2 Germany, after all the destruction and suffering and absolute defeat of Nazi ideology, there were a LOT of people who still said that Nazism was the best thing that happened in their lives.
We have to come to terms that a quarter of humans are inherently evil and filled with hate. We need to act accordingly.
WaterGirl
@Mary G: In all fairness, I’d say that reaction might say just as much about your -ex as it says about devastating loss of your two kitties. I don’t think that makes you a bitch; I would, however, suggest that that makes your -ex a dick.
Marcopolo
@Jinchi: I agree w/ your comment re Romney creating space but Trump will go to war with anyone regardless of their numbers.
oatler.
Reminds me of Cornball Jason, the card sharp who would pretend to be drunk and beat them by cheating at poker, then walk out sober with their fortunes in his pocket.
WaterGirl
@MattF: Alexandra Petri is a national treasure.
dmsilev
@MattF: She’s really been on a hot streak this past week or so.
Aleta
Post
How long do they wait for him to not fully comply before they subpoena the docs?
How long can he drag it out (and how is that done—by denials from departments?), before they have confidence in charging him over obstruction of justice ?
Or will they stand down after he delivers some items and withholds others?
(Asking as a novice)
Jinchi
@Marcopolo: I’m more worried about him starting a real war than a metaphorical one with the Senate.
Starfish
@zhena gogolia: What did Joni Ernst do yesterday? She is not covering herself in glory refusing to answer a constituent.
WaterGirl
I’m thinking that perhaps when all the confederate statues are taken down then monuments to the whistleblower should be put up in their places.
As more and more information comes out, it surely seems likely that over 1,000 people in every branch of government – including the generals and cabinet members and a shit ton of other people – had first-hand evidence that of the corruption and law-breaking, and said abso-fucking-lutely nothing about it. All praise the whistleblower!
cain
@J R in WV:
OMG, what a awful experience for both you and the puppies! Glad you were able to get them back.
immanentize
Once used as a call to heroic patriotism is now the truth of the Republican Cabal:
Aleta
Re: “I don’t think it’s a real request,” Rubio told reporters on Friday. “I think he did it to get you guys. I think he did it to provoke you to ask me and others and get outraged by it.”
He was hurried out to say ‘just kidding, joke’s on you’ about 30 minutes before the Post was informed that
cain
@piratedan:
Exactly.. I said the same thing a couple of days ago. Remove the competent people who will give him cover – that is Barr and possibly Pompeo. Once you get rid of them, there won’t be anyone to cover for him. The rest won’t have any power to stop Trump anyways.
As for the Senate.. we need to have an all hands on deck effort to get rid of McConnell. There has to be some investigative stuff that we can do to uncover shenanigans.
We are not doing enough out of the box thinking for Kentucky. I know the Dems are weak there, but surely there must be something we can do?
cain
@Yarrow:
Yes I did not think that our intelligence could dig up dirt on them. Yes.. that’s true.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Aleta:
Whoops
That this is the defense is so pathetic. That’s impeachable in and of itself
Mai naem mobile
Ron Johnson is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I remember watching him during the Benghazi hearings and Hils owned him. I cannot believe he defeated Russ Feingold. I know Feingold could be a little holier than thou but to be beat by a lightweight nothing like Johnson does not speak well of Wisconsin voters. Neither does Scott Walker. I guess neither does Joe McCarthy.
Betty Cracker
Do y’all think there are more whistleblowers out there? I hope so. If anyone was inspired by the courage of the original whistleblower to call bullshit on the Trump crime cabal, we probably wouldn’t know about it yet since there’s a process that takes time.
Mai naem mobile
@cain: I don’t think you can take out McConnell. I am not even sure having McConnell on tape taking a bribe from somebody to get some legislation passed and being involved in an extramarital affair would cause him to lose in the red state of Ky.
Yarrow
@Betty Cracker: Wasn’t there a whistleblower who said something about interference with the release of Trump’s taxes?
RedDirtGirl
@J R in WV: That is a happy ending! In slightly related news!
dmsilev
@Betty Cracker: I do. I think one factor that a potential whistleblower would be weighing is whether anyone is willing to listen, and hopefully Pelosi, Schiff, et al. have shown by their actions that they are listening and taking what they hear very seriously.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I heard on MSNBC a bit ago that Republicans are making the “second hand news” argument again, also that Adam Schiff can’t lead the inquiry because he’s a material witness because the WB spoke to a member of his staff. IANAL or a parliamentarian, but arent’ those arguments, besides being nonsense on their own, contradictory?
Steve in the ATL
@Betty Cracker: shouldn’t you be focused on football right now? You aren’t playing a cupcake like we are.
Steve in the ATL
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: stupidity, lies, and bad faith. That’s what we will get from the republicans.
Leto
I came across this while scrolling through various tweets. It’s Trumpov dipshit supporter #1 talking about Trumpov asking Ukraine/China to investigate Biden:
Dipshit #1: “I think what most liberals are missing is that this isn’t about right and wrong, it’s about winning and losing. I’ve attached my entire worldview to this man and I am going down with the ship. Not one of. You is going to convince me otherwise.
Dipshit #2: “Can we close this sub now? This man has finally said what everyone has been dancing around for years. Every question can all be answered by this simple mindset. Every. Single. Question.”
twitter.com/jaredpolis/status/1179987708598349825?s=20
This is the base. As we’ve talked about for years, but is becoming increasingly clearer, it’s simply about winning. They don’t care if they have to rig every election, ask foreign countries to make up shit on other candidates, sell our democracy to the highest bidder and become a client state in the process, it’s all about winning. It’s going further than cleek’s law. These are your modern day Republicans. These are the people who those worthless skin suits in the House and Senate are answering to. It’s essentially a Terminator: it can’t be reasoned with, it can’t be bargained with, it shows no mercy or compassion. All it wants is death. Fuck’em forever.
Elizabelle
@piratedan: I like your timeline. Barr, Pompeo, Pence. Then Trump, who will be liquid by that time.
Let’s watch for evidence that is happening, because I would bet that might be the strategy. To stop the malfeasance of and brain drain from DOJ and State.
@J R in WV: Puppies on the lam for 8 days! Yikes! Glad that had a happy ending. How anxiety-provoking. Let us know how you handle keeping the pupsters closer to home.
Sab
@J R in WV: We took in a weird skittish whitish labrador retriever when I lived in Vegas. A rescue. I guessed he was a bit over a year old. We think he was abandoned by a family that moved and turned him loose, hoping for the best.
The first time I took him for a walk he literally (sorry SteveATL but true) crawled around the block on his belly, because he had never been on a leash before and he didn’t want to be dumped again.
He learned to LOVE walks.
After the divorce he was understandably nervous since most of the other dogs were gone ( bye silly goldens, but most of our dogs.) Then I rented a U Haul. He was beside himself. It took me about three days to load it. When I finally finished, and loaded my lovely shepherd into it, and then him, I couldn’t believe how grateful he was. He had thought he was being abandoned again.
Drove him cross country, over/through the Rockies, across the midwest to Ohio. Didn’t mind the long drive. Grateful to be in the truck every morning. Grateful to be in the hotel or the truck every night. He loved it. A home, an owner, a german shepherd pack leader.
Still the weirdest, most skittish dog ever. Never trusted more than three humans, and only one other dog. Fuck up their puppyhood and they are always a tad weird. But loyal and loving. I have never met a rescue dog that wasn’t utterly grateful to be home at last.
Jinchi
@Betty Cracker: I think it was critical that Democrats took the whistleblower seriously. There were clearly lots of people troubled by Trump’s actions just in the Ukraine scandal, but most of them decided to keep their heads down rather than risk their careers lodging a complaint that accomplished nothing.
And considering that this whistleblower’s complaint got reported straight to the White House, it’s hard to blame them.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Sebastian:
They say history isn’t a Che T-shit and it takes more than two colors to understand; In in 1946 your typical German would have been born in the Wiermer Republic which was the rump state of Imperial Germany, because of WWI the streets are filled with nearly insane vets and a lot widows, the country is bankrupted by the victorious allies who were trying to get the Rhineland to split off, inflation was out of control, food shortages and if that wasn’t enough, Joseph Stalin was likely to invade. So yes, from that point of view Hitler was the good times.
J R in WV
@cain:
Well, they found their way back to where they had last been fed a square meal. I fed them 2 small servings as soon as they came back. Then a milk bone just a little while ago. Then we opened the front door, and all three dogs went out. OK, you can’t keep them locked up, right?
Wife suspects the black puppies chased a deer into the woods, so we may be on missing puppy watch all over again. I sure hope they show up for dinner before dark!! UP and back down again…
cain
Apparently Rubio believes that only under oath can we believe anything Trump says because you know any other place hes just kidding. We should never take anything he says seriously. Moron.
Jay
@J R in WV:
They make invisible fences now. A signal wire that is buried to create a perimeter, and a signal collar to let the dog know they are only supposed to go that far on their own.
Lots of leashed walks and playtime to burn off that puppy energy.
Supervised off leash romps and rambles.
Glad they came home, send photos.
joel hanes
@Yarrow:
both the UK and US are dealing with the same kind of leaders.
Both are cursed with the endeavors of Rupert Murdoch and sons.
Australia too also.
The man has done more actual damage to the United States than Osama Bin Laden
lgerard
If trump is reinventing himself as a corruption fighter he might want to go back and look at this
Then there is the SEC probe into Kushner selling EB 5 visas in China, which also disappeared into the ether.
Jay
Jay
Jay
John Revolta
@joel hanes: I’d say more than anybody since Hitler. And it ain’t over yet.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Sab: We have a beagle-mix rescue who came to our local shelter from WV at the age of 18 months. He came with every parasite a dog can get. The vet was kind of startled when they called us with his initial stool sample results and told us he had three different intestinal parasites. And now, a year later, we’re in the middle of heartworm treatments.
We have no idea what his puppyhood was like. He didn’t seem to have any concept of play or know how to be in a house, so we presume he was kept outside and treated as livestock. He’s adapted nicely to house living and learned quickly how to play tug of war, which he is now fanatical about. Still doesn’t get the idea of fetch though.
And yet he’s remarkably good-natured. The type of dog who will let you take stuff out of his mouth. Chases the cat, but the cat seems to be honestly fond of him (sometimes). Very friendly and fearless with all people. Insanely fond of playing with other dogs, but his energy seems to make little dogs nervous and defensive so he does better with big guys who like to roughhouse.
So whatever his puppyhood was, at least it didn’t seem to involve abuse.
Aleta
@Sab: Sweet vid of a guy tenderizing a defensive fearful dog. He says, “We will be friends. In 3 days. Wait and see. You will love me.”
Elizabelle
@Sab: What a sweet dog story. Grateful doggo.
Bill Arnold
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
The Snakes and Alligators piece[1] at DefenseOne refed in a previous thread was funny
The funniest part (to me at least) was that it low-balled the cost estimate by a factor of 100 or so, per tradition. I mean, “10 alligators per mile”?
[1] The Snake-And-Alligator Border Moat: A Budget Analysis (Peter W. Singer, October 3, 2019)
zhena gogolia
@Starfish:
That’s what I meant. I thought that was yesterday because I watched it in the middle of the night. Didn’t I?
Bill Arnold
A couple of Polish people I know are wondering what quid pro quo was involved in this. Any ideas?
Trump says U.S. has granted Polish entry into visa waiver program (October 4, 2019)
TomatoQueen
@J R in WV: GPS equipped collars are available for goats (saw this on an episode of Vet Life on Animal Planet), so maybe get them a goat. And collars. And micro-chips.
J R in WV
Our new puppies were raised outside as farm dogs, but did get early puppy-hood vaccinations including Parvo and Distemper, as those are available to farmers. Rabies can only be administered by licensed Vets, not even by a Vet Tech under the supervision of a Vet, so that’s scheduled for next week.
I have to consider getting the puppies able to deal with a leash, which they are not aware of and able to function with so far. I think I’ll walk the older dog with a leash while the puppies watch, just out the driveway each afternoon.
I tried to take the little girl out on a leash before they disappeared the first time, and had to just pick her up and carry her back to the house, which didn’t endear me to her at all.