Pro-tip: When asked by a woman how an outfit looks for an afternoon party, “that’ll do” is not the optimal response.
This better not be true…
Via New York Mag:
MSNBC is in talks with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt about creating a show for him on weekend evenings, four well-placed sources at the network tell Daily Intelligencer. Initially MSNBC was keen on having Hewitt host a program on weekend mornings, but that idea is off the table because Hewitt wants to be on in the evening, according to two sources. At one point, network management also floated moving Joy-Ann Reid’s popular weekend program AM Joy to the afternoon to serve as a lead-in for Hewitt and help jumpstart his ratings, but that plan has seemingly been dropped.
It’s bad enough that they already have that ambulatory cream cheese sculpture on board as an analyst — now they’re giving him his own show? Fuck that bullshit. I get that network execs are stuck on the idea that if they “balance” the points of view, they’ll attract a larger audience. It’s not true, but I get that they are wedded to this falsehood.
But Hugh Motherfucking Hewitt? That googley-eyed, mealy-mouthed, chickenshit non-entity? And this after giving Nicolle Wallace and Greta Van Susteren their own shows? If this Hewitt deal goes down, fuck MSNBC. I’ll catch Joy Reid and Rachel Maddow online.
Saturday Morning Open Thread: “I Thought It Would Be Easier”
"I thought it would be easier" is really not what you're hoping to hear from the guy you just hired for the most important job in the world.
— McKay Coppins (@mckaycoppins) April 28, 2017
It's not even what you're hoping to hear from the contractor you hired to fix your driveway. https://t.co/zMVpDawrii
— Michael T. Rose (@MikeTRose) April 28, 2017
THANKS, REPUBLICANS!
Lazy weekend morning, time for the BJ hive mind to ‘enjoy’ the full panoply of this week’s Worst Interview(s) Ever…
EXCLUSIVE: Trump says he thought being president would be easier than his old life. Read more: https://t.co/UBh0bCCzhd pic.twitter.com/LUuq6HDhuO
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) April 28, 2017
… More than five months after his victory and two days shy of the 100-day mark of his presidency, the election is still on Trump’s mind. Midway through a discussion about Chinese President Xi Jinping, the president paused to hand out copies of what he said were the latest figures from the 2016 electoral map.
“Here, you can take that, that’s the final map of the numbers,” the Republican president said from his desk in the Oval Office, handing out maps of the United States with areas he won marked in red. “It’s pretty good, right? The red is obviously us.”
He had copies for each of the three Reuters reporters in the room…
He frequently turns to outside friends and former business colleagues for advice and positive reinforcement. Senior aides say they are resigned to it.
The president has been at loggerheads with many news organizations since his election campaign and decided not to attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington on Saturday because he felt he had been treated unfairly by the media.
“I would come next year, absolutely,” Trump said when asked whether he would attend in the future…
He thought being commander in chief of the US armed forces and the chief exec of the USA would be easier than being a pampered billionaire? https://t.co/NsRjWuIhmn
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) April 28, 2017
1 Thought the press would start loving me
2 Thought it would be easier
3 Life comes at you fast
4 Life is hard, especially when your stupid— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) April 28, 2017
That he keeps maps of the election results on his desk is more amazing than that he thought the job would be easier. https://t.co/mmlbV9aBKl
— Philip Bump (@pbump) April 28, 2017
I assume staff keep those around to distract him when he’s angry. Like keeping crackers in the diaper bag in case your toddlers need them https://t.co/wtxgfP1Xqf
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) April 28, 2017
And it gets… “better”!…
Trump tells Reuters: I want to see peace with Israel & Palestinians. There is no reason there's not peace between them – none whatsoever
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) April 28, 2017
I told someone the other day that I've reached a point where nothing Trump could say would shock me.
I was wrong https://t.co/cdOGBYWljO
— Michael Cohen (@speechboy71) April 28, 2017
Saturday Morning Open Thread: “I Thought It Would Be Easier”Post + Comments (173)
I Like Pleasure Spiked With Pain
So ABC has had the travel day worthy of a John Candy movie. I was supposed to pick her up at the airport this morning at 11 am, but got a frantic phone call she had overslept and missed her plane, but she had rescheduled and would be in at 3:30. No big deal, I dealt with the hvac guy and worked and did other things.
At about oneish, I got a text that she had to reschedule and would be leaving at 6:30. No problem, I would get some Chico Fiesta (my favorite Mexican place) and be there to pick her up.
And then the fun started. Her plane was delayed an hour, and when they finally boarded, got 500 feet from the gate and had to turn around for some tests because something was wrong with the engine. That took about an hour, and they determined that the plane was tits up and they unboarded them and poured them all back into the airport bar/lounge. I had to turn around and go home because I had been grocery shopping on the way to the airport, and Chico Fiesta had a wedding rehearsal dinner and was packed and I could not eat.
At this point I realized how smart it was for them to put them all back in the bar (where she had basically been since 1 o’clock), because if I had been there I would have already been starring in a viral video on the internet of things. At any rate, the hits kept on coming with multiple new departure times that were all scratched, and she finally is airborne at 11:30 with a 1:15 landing time.
Wheeee.
Late Night Foreign Intrigue Open Thread: In Like (Mike) Flynn
NBC News: Trump transition did vet Mike Flynn. https://t.co/YgYYlH26hf
— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) April 29, 2017
Earlier today, per Politico:
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Friday that his recusal from Justice Department investigations into the 2016 campaign for president will extend into inquiries into the activities of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, under fire for his ties to foreign governments.
“My recusal deals with the campaign issues,” Sessions told NBC’s “Today” show. “But I would expect not to be involved in this one.”…
Flynn, a former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency who served briefly as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, has been the subject of scrutiny in recent weeks amid reports surrounding lobbying work he did for the Turkish government and a paid speech he delivered at an event for RT, a propaganda arm of the Russian government.
Sessions, too, has been tied to Russia: The attorney general recused himself from the Justice Department’s investigation into Russian interference in last year’s election amid reports that he had met on multiple occasions with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. during the campaign even though he had testified during his Senate confirmation hearing that he had not interacted with Russian officials…
… [W]hile the FBI has acknowledged that it is investigating Russian interference in last year’s election as well as possible ties between Trump’s presidential campaign and the Kremlin, Sessions said he was unaware of any specific investigation into Flynn.
“I really don’t know whether there’s an investigation or should be,” Sessions said. “And we don’t confirm investigations of – you know, in the Department of Justice.”
Why, Ah barely even *met* that Yankee fella, Flynn or whatevah. Why should mah good name be linked to his?…
Rep Cummings: "I dont understand why the White House is covering up for Michael Flynn"
— Alex Moe (@AlexNBCNews) April 27, 2017
Because if he goes down, they all do? https://t.co/Slq2dX0gYa
— Schooley (@Rschooley) April 27, 2017
Flynn's ascendance in the far-right and Trump world is directly linked to his being fired for being an incompetent, leaky conspiracy nut.
— ~unintelligible~ (@ZeddRebel) April 27, 2017
So don't sleep on that. He joined the Trump admin BECAUSE Obama didn't trust him & fired him. Spicer's latest line is weapons-grade bullshit
— ~unintelligible~ (@ZeddRebel) April 27, 2017
Late Night Foreign Intrigue Open Thread: In Like (Mike) FlynnPost + Comments (60)
Florida Man: We Have Found a Superior Specimen Edition
A Tampa man, Andrew Lumish, spends his one day off a week doing something unusual: he cleans the dirty and neglected graves of veterans at cemeteries in the Tampa area.
TAMPA – The story of Andrew Lumish’s selfless and up until now anonymous service to veterans struck a chord. More than 8 million people around the world have viewed the story on Facebook and on abcactionnews.com in just two days.
“I’ve gotten phone calls and messages from people I haven’t seen since kindergarten. I’ve been on three radio shows across the country already this morning” said Lumish reeling from the reaction.
Among the more than 10,000 comments on Facebook, Lumish is called a blessing, an inspiration, even a hero for his work cleaning old and often forgotten grave stones of veterans and their families at Cemeteries around the Tampa Bay Area.
Just a nice, positive story for the end of a busy and somewhat nerve wracking week.
Florida Man: We Have Found a Superior Specimen EditionPost + Comments (216)
Introduction
Now that the important introduction is out of the way, I thought I’d say a few words about myself and what I see as my role here. First, thanks for all the warm welcomes!
I’m a chemist, retired from the Los Alamos National Laboratory after 35 years there. I’ve been realizing lately that the projects I worked on all had significant policy ramifications. Laser isotope separation, chemical warfare agents, environmental cleanup, and a bunch of other things. I’ve worked on environmental issues in Estonia and Kazakhstan and, maybe best of all, learned strategy both within a bureaucratic environment and more generally from people who are very good at it. So I write about a lot of things.