All humans and animals accounted for.
Good thing there was no major news. I mean of fucking course the Mueller report dropped while I was on the road.
by John Cole| 95 Comments
This post is in: Open Threads
All humans and animals accounted for.
Good thing there was no major news. I mean of fucking course the Mueller report dropped while I was on the road.
by Adam L Silverman| 249 Comments
This post is in: 2020 Elections, America, Domestic Politics, Election 2016, Foreign Affairs, Open Threads, Politics, Popular Culture, Post-racial America, Silverman on Security
BREAKING: The House Judiciary Committee is told to expect notification by 5pm that the Mueller report has been delivered to Barr
— Ellen Nakashima (@nakashimae) March 22, 2019
https://twitter.com/ktbenner/status/1109199280408092677
From The New York Times:
WASHINGTON — The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has delivered a report on his inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election to Attorney General William P. Barr, according to the Justice Department, bringing to an apparent close an investigation that has consumed the nation and cast a shadow over President Trump for nearly two years.
Mr. Barr will decide how much of the report to share with Congress and, by extension, the American public. The House voted unanimously in March on a nonbinding resolution to make public the report’s findings, an indication of the deep support within both parties to air whatever evidence prosecutors uncovered.
Since Mr. Mueller’s appointment in May 2017, his team has focused on how Russian operatives sought to sway the outcome of the 2016 presidential race and whether anyone tied to the Trump campaign, wittingly or unwittingly, cooperated with them. While the inquiry, started months earlier by the F.B.I., unearthed a far-ranging Russian influence operation, no public evidence has emerged that the president or his aides illegally assisted it.
Nonetheless, the damage to Mr. Trump and those in his circle has been extensive. A half-dozen former Trump aides have been indicted or convicted of crimes, mostly for lying to federal investigators or Congress. Others remain under investigation in cases that Mr. Mueller’s office handed off to federal prosecutors in New York and elsewhere. Dozens of Russian intelligence officers or citizens, along with three Russian companies, were charged in cases that are likely to languish in court because the defendants cannot be extradited to the United States.
Even though Mr. Mueller’s report is complete, some aspects of his inquiry remain active and may be overseen by the same prosecutors once they are reassigned to their old jobs within the Justice Department. For instance, recently filed court documents suggest that investigators are still examining why the former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort turned over campaign polling data in 2016 to a Russian associate whom prosecutors said was tied to Russian intelligence.
Mr. Mueller looked extensively at whether Mr. Trump obstructed justice to protect himself or his associates. But despite months of negotiations, prosecutors were unable to personally interview the president.
Those who know Mr. Mueller, a former F.B.I. director, predicted a concise, legalistic report devoid of opinions — nothing like the 445-page treatise that Kenneth W. Starr, who investigated President Bill Clinton, produced in 1998. Operating under a now-defunct statute that governed independent counsels, Mr. Starr had far more leeway than Mr. Mueller to set his own investigative boundaries and to render judgments.
The regulations that govern Mr. Mueller, who is under the supervision of the Justice Department, only require him to explain his decisions to either seek or decline to seek criminal charges in a confidential report to the attorney general. The attorney general is then required to notify the leadership of the House and Senate judiciary committees.
During his Senate confirmation hearing, Mr. Barr promised to release as much information as possible, saying “the country needs a credible resolution of these issues.” But he may be reluctant to release the part of Mr. Mueller’s report that may be of most interest: who the special counsel declined to prosecute and why, especially if Mr. Trump is on that list.
As of now no one knows anything more than they did 10 minutes ago before Special Counsel Mueller delivered his report to the Attorney General. So we will have a long weekend of fevered and feverish speculation about what is or is not in the report. About what information will and will not be released from the report to Congress or the American people.
Remember: NO ONE KNOWS ANYTHING MORE THAN THEY DID TEN MINUTES AGO!!!!!
Updated at 5:30 PM EDT
Update at 5:56 PM EDT
Speaker Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Schumer have responded to Attorney General Barr’s notification to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees that Special Counsel Mueller has turned in his report:
Pelosi, Schumer Joint Statement On Special Counsel Mueller’s Report
MARCH 22, 2019
Washington, D.C. – Today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer released the following statement regarding Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report to Attorney General William Barr:
“Now that Special Counsel Mueller has submitted his report to the Attorney General, it is imperative for Mr. Barr to make the full report public and provide its underlying documentation and findings to Congress. Attorney General Barr must not give President Trump, his lawyers or his staff any ‘sneak preview’ of Special Counsel Mueller’s findings or evidence, and the White House must not be allowed to interfere in decisions about what parts of those findings or evidence are made public.
“The Special Counsel’s investigation focused on questions that go to the integrity of our democracy itself: whether foreign powers corruptly interfered in our elections, and whether unlawful means were used to hinder that investigation. The American people have a right to the truth. The watchword is transparency.”
Updated at 6:47 PM EDT
Principal conclusions of the special counsel's report will be made public when it is delivered to Congress, according to officials at @TheJusticeDept.
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) March 22, 2019
Open thread!
Breaking News: We May Have Breaking NewsPost + Comments (249)
This post is in: Foreign Affairs, Open Threads, Politics, Republican Stupidity, Assholes, General Stupidity
So, Trump just reversed his own Treasury Department’s sanctions on North Korea:
His spokesman says the president canceled his own government’s sanctions on North Korea because “President Trump likes Chairman Kim, and he doesn’t think these sanctions will be necessary.”
https://t.co/pHvdTwDgWn— Steve Inskeep (@NPRinskeep) March 22, 2019
More at The Times.
To recap, you can be a top contender for the planet’s most horrifying despot, starve millions of people, feed relatives who’ve annoyed you to packs of dogs / execute them with anti-aircraft fire, develop nukes and bomb delivery systems that threaten millions of Americans and citizens of allied nations, etc. But if you compliment Trump’s absurd bouffant and write flowery letters addressing him as “Your Excellency,” it’s all good.
This sort of thing tends to flush out neocons, who will descend on news show panels to denounce the move with quavering jowls. That’ll be Trump’s cue to repeat the lie that he brought the U.S. back from the brink of all-out war with North Korea.
He’s going to get that Nobel Peace Prize, damn it, and if he has to give away U.S. leverage and force the world to accept that a lunatic can have the ability to incinerate millions of people anywhere in the world on a whim to obtain that prize, that’s okay with Trump. The fact that a guy follows Trump around with nuclear codes is a convincing argument that that particular bag is bereft of cats these days anyway.
by Betty Cracker| 172 Comments
This post is in: Open Threads, Politics, Sports, General Stupidity
“I swear I hit save.” pic.twitter.com/f0OmwgYWrK
— Emily Favreau (@ebfavs) March 22, 2019
Supposedly, there’s a lot of chatter in DC about Mueller wrapping up his report, possibly TODAY? I’ll believe it when I see it.
Meanwhile, here’s a nice fresh open thread for you to indulge in speculation about the report, mock those who indulge in speculation about the report, trash-talk each other over basketball, brag about your cooking skills, complain about the weather, discuss weekend plans, etc.
This post is in: Domestic Politics, John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House", Open Threads
Y’all were so helpful last time I mentioned I was looking for budget design tips as I redecorate this ramshackle money pit. So, I thought I’d go to the well again, only this time for your advice on a specific design challenge.
Our master bedroom closet has these horrible mirrored sliding doors — two doors that are collectively 6 feet wide and 6 and 1/2 feet tall and trimmed in a hideous gold-like color. It’s not a particularly large room, and these awful mirrors dominate the space.
I can’t afford to replace the doors, but I’ve got to do something to cover the damned mirrors. I would have hated such a feature in the 80s, back when the doors were first installed by the previous occupants, because it’s fundamentally tacky, IMO. But 30-some years later, not only is it still tacky, such reflective capacity is positively bracing for the middle-aged. The mirrored doors must go!
And yet I can’t afford to replace them, so covering the mirrored surfaces is the only option. I’ve looked at opaque window film online, and there are patterns that mimic the look of glass tile and so forth. But since they’re made for windows, they’re designed to make the most of the light that will stream through. Barring a ceiling collapse, no light will be emanating from our closet.
Also, I’m not sure I want a patterned element to cover that much space in a small room. But a solid color seems a bit drab. I like the look of sliding screen doors, sorta like this:
That photo is from an HGTV episode about this very problem, but they have more of a budget to solve their design conundrums than I do. Honestly, I’m not sure I could pull off that look with, say, textured wall paper and fake wood strips. Thoughts, ideas or advice?
Otherwise, open thread!
by Alain Chamot (1971-2020)| 6 Comments
This post is in: On The Road, Open Threads, Readership Capture
Good Morning All,
On The Road and In Your Backyard is a weekday feature spotlighting reader submissions. From the exotic to the familiar, please share your part of the world, whether you’re traveling or just in your locality. Share some photos and a narrative, let us see through your pictures and words. We’re so lucky each and every day to see and appreciate the world around us!
Submissions from commenters are welcome at tools.balloon-juice.com
If it’s Friday, it is (thankfully, again!) otmar!
Today, pictures from valued commenter otmar.
A few weeks back my job brought me to a meeting with the government of the city of Salzburg. The original City Hall in the old town is far too small for the current requirements, thus the Major and a good part of the local administration and even the elected representatives moved into Schloss Mirabell shortly after WW2.
After the meeting our hosts gave us a quick tour of the building.
(see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirabell_Palace or https://www.salzburg.info/en/sights/top10/mirabell-palace-gardens)
Regrettably, the fire from 1818 destroyed the majority of the baroque decoration. As Salzburg just had lost its independence, there was no motivation to rebuild the palace in its old splendor. Thus only a few elements are really remarkable.
One of those is the marble staircase, the “Angel Staircase”.
There are marble cherubs decorating the staircase.
This hall is mainly used for weddings. For whatever reason it has become really popular for foreigners as well: at high season the weddings are done organized close to the assembly line prinicple.
See also https://www.salzburg.info/en/salzburg/weddings .
At the end of the tour we were shown the room where the city council (der Stadtsenat) meets. This body comprises the top 12 elected politicians and acts as the core governance body of the city.
See https://www.stadt-salzburg.at/internet/politik_verwaltung/stadtpolitik/stadtsenat_332002.htm
The stove in the corner shows the Salzburg coat of arms, the castle with towers and the gate.
Looking out of the windows of the senate room, you can see the baroque gardens, the cathedral and the castle “Hohensalzburg”.
On the left side, the Kapuzinerberg is visible with its monastery in yellow.
This is very close to the most common postcard view of Salzburg.
Thank you so much otmar, do send us more when you can.
Travel safely everybody, and do share some stories in the comments, even if you’re joining the conversation late. Many folks confide that they go back and read old threads, one reason these are available on the Quick Links menu.
One again, to submit pictures: Use the Form or Send an Email
This post is in: Excellent Links, Open Threads, Daydream Believers, Seriously
spring is here darth pic.twitter.com/kntZoxQbtg
— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) March 15, 2019
Teresa Vargas, in the Washington Post:
… When I wrote about Alice’s Kids earlier this month, I did so with the hope of showing what child poverty in this nation looks like on a day-to-day level.
Many of the requests for short-term financial help that come into the Virginia nonprofit are for seemingly small items that make significant differences for children whose families can’t afford them. Among the things asked for are shoes that fit, instruments that soothe and new glasses for children who have relied on broken ones.
The organization has paid for band trips that wouldn’t have been attended otherwise, birthday parties that wouldn’t have been held and, in one case this month, funeral clothes for a teenager who unexpectedly lost her mother.
Most of that financial help, I noted in that column, benefited children in the D.C. region and some as far as California and Texas. But now, because of you, even more children, in states that previously had no connection to the organization, will find help.
After the column was published, so many of you contacted Alice’s Kids, offering donations, and in some cases your time, that the small nonprofit run out of an Alexandria home office is expanding its reach to other cities across the country and anticipates helping more children this year than it has ever had the capacity to do in its eight-year history…
Fitzsimmons and his sister, Laura Fitzsimmons Peters, came up with the idea for the organization based on their own childhood. Their mother was forced to go on welfare after their father left the family, and they remembered “humiliating” moments of wearing donated clothes and shoes with holes. They also remembered how their mother, Alice, at times would clean houses for extra money and, on those occasions, treat them to something new.
The way the organization works is that requests are made by teachers, counselors and social workers, people who know best which school-age children are most in need. Once that request is approved, Alice’s Kids then sends an electronic gift certificate for the needed item that can be printed and handed to a parent or other adult to take that child shopping. That way the children never know they received help from strangers…
Because that work doesn’t require much more than a computer, Fitzsimmons runs the organization from his home office.
His desk overlooks his backyard, and on a windowsill, directly in front of his laptop, sits a well-worn stuffed dog, with the name “Scrappy” sewn onto its side.
“It’s my reminder,” Fitzsimmons said when I asked him about it. His mother made it for him when he was 5 years old, and he once had to rescue it when all of the family’s belongings were tossed outside their home during an eviction. He lost a box of baseball cards that day because it started to rain, he recalled. “Scrappy keeps me grounded,” he said…
In a better world, such tiny bits of decency wouldn’t require handouts from strangers. But in this one, there are so many kids (and adults) who need help right now…
Friday Morning Open Thread: Sometimes Small Things Are Big EnoughPost + Comments (111)