Yesterday, George Michael.
I can’t even make a joke about who might be next as I don’t want to give the Fates any ideas.
Open thread, and yes I’ll make those site changes soon. Other things are taking my attention today.
by Alain Chamot (1971-2020)| 62 Comments
This post is in: Open Threads
Yesterday, George Michael.
I can’t even make a joke about who might be next as I don’t want to give the Fates any ideas.
Open thread, and yes I’ll make those site changes soon. Other things are taking my attention today.
by Betty Cracker| 204 Comments
This post is in: Politics, Republican Stupidity, Assholes, General Stupidity
I was mostly out of the loop news-wise over the holiday weekend (and a sweet relief it was, too), but did we discuss this outrageous bullshit from the Netanyahu government? Via The Guardian:
Israel has escalated its already furious war with the outgoing US administration, claiming that it has “rather hard” evidence that Barack Obama was behind a critical UN security council resolution criticising Israeli settlement building, and threatening to hand over the material to Donald Trump.
The latest comments come a day after the US ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, was summoned by Netanyahu to explain why the US did not veto the vote and instead abstained.
The claims have emerged in interviews given by close Netanyahu allies to US media outlets on Monday after the Obama administration denied in categorical terms the claims originally made by Netanyahu himself.
The Guardian terms it a “furious war with the outgoing US administration,” and it is. But I’d argue it goes further than that; it’s an expression of contempt for Democrats in general.
I thought Netanyahu was foolish for openly campaigning for Romney in 2012. But luckily for him, PBO is a famously circumspect man, which largely shielded Israel from the consequences of Netanyahu’s partisan meddling.
Trump’s ascension with an assist from Putin signals that it’s open season for foreign meddling in US politics. So there’s a certain logic to Netanyahu’s interference.
But this action strikes me as a further placement of all of Israel’s eggs in the Republican basket, which is now the Trump basket. And we know what else is in that basket, even if Netanyahu doesn’t. What an incredibly foolish move.
This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Open Threads, Trump Crime Cartel
A laudable but minor step. The big question is what he does to avoid the appearance of any conflict of interest with the Trump Organization. https://t.co/RUynYvz3cl
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) December 24, 2016
In case you missed this latest attempt to obfuscate Trump’s rampant criminality, over the holiday. The Washington Post takes a well-deserved victory lap:
President-elect Donald Trump said he plans to shut down his charitable foundation, a decision that comes after repeated controversies over how it collected and disbursed funds.
In a statement Saturday, Trump offered no timeline for when his foundation would close down but said he had directed his attorney to take the steps needed to close it. It was not immediately clear when the foundation would be able to dissolve, given an ongoing investigation in New York…
The Donald J. Trump Foundation has come under intense scrutiny this year after a series of reports in The Washington Post detailing its practices, including cases in which Trump apparently used the charity’s money to settle lawsuits involving his for-profit businesses.
New York’s attorney general has been investigating the charity after some of these reports, and a spokeswoman for that office said the foundation could not officially shut down until that probe is over…
Schneiderman’s office is also investigating the Trump Foundation after reports in The Post describing apparent cases of self-dealing that date back to 2007. The Trump Foundation spent $30,000 to buy two large portraits of Trump himself, including one that was hung up in the sports bar at a Trump-owned resort. Trump also appears to have used $258,000 of his foundation’s money — legally earmarked for charitable purposes — to settle lawsuits involving two of his for-profit clubs…
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Apart from beseeching Murphy the Trickster God for this to be the millipede’s worth of shoes that trips up the President-Asterisk, preferably before January 20, what’s on the agenda for the day?
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Eric Trump: GIve me money and I'll give to St. Jude
America: I'd rather just give directly to St. Jude
Eric: Why do you hate sick children?— Wyeth Ruthven (@wyethwire) December 23, 2016
Based on what's been reported, I count at least four lies/misleading statements in here. See if you can spot them. pic.twitter.com/cbWPrkuEwx
— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) December 27, 2016
As I (and others) wrote, this just isn't true. A large chunk of money went to advance Trump's political prospects https://t.co/J1nCG82iCn https://t.co/NHMEzMviOc
— Rebecca Berg (@rebeccagberg) December 27, 2016
Backstory on Trump Fdn. It appeared to violate laws by buying portraits of him, paying to settle his biz's lawsuits. https://t.co/MCDKWiTqNx https://t.co/GXlpVgND4T
— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) December 27, 2016
Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Not So FastPost + Comments (152)
This post is in: Don't Mourn, Organize, Election 2016, Music, Open Threads, Daydream Believers
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Unsaintly, but probably irresistable (at least to David Axelrod:
Obama says he would have defeated Trump for a third term https://t.co/gskiozEN4A pic.twitter.com/yAAoUXbxYe
— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) December 26, 2016
… “I’m confident that if I — if I had run again and articulated it, I think I could’ve mobilized a majority of the American people to rally behind it,” Mr. Obama said on Mr. Axelrod’s podcast, “The Axe Files,” referring to his message of inclusion and helping middle-class Americans.
“I know that in conversations that I’ve had with people around the country, even some people who disagreed with me, they would say the vision, the direction that you point towards is the right one,” he said…
by Adam L Silverman| 198 Comments
This post is in: Music, Open Threads
We are clearly overdue for an open thread and since I can’t be bothered doing anything on major international incidents, here’s me and a bunch of my relatives.
Also, berserker Baby Groot at the 1:07 mark…
Which has put this earworm in my head since the trailer debuted. You’re welcome!
And from what I can tell none of their instruments and gear is even plugged in. The 1970s, what are you gonna do.
by Betty Cracker| 288 Comments
This post is in: Birdwatching, Open Threads
I’ve been tramping through preserves and traversing trails all day. Saw this lovely tricolored heron:
Also these beautiful and huge white pelicans:
And now it’s nap time. Open thread!
This post is in: Don't Mourn, Organize, Open Threads, Daydream Believers
So many fucks will need to be given, in 2017. Start growing yours now
— William Gibson (@GreatDismal) December 22, 2016
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What’s on the agenda, as we prepare to power through to the new year?
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For your consideration. https://t.co/LBgzHXHJUq pic.twitter.com/gnxQBg4aVJ
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) December 21, 2016
From the Advocate article:
… As both an Asian-American and an LGBT American, I have borne witness to some of the most egregious injustices and tragedies of our national history, where both the public and the politicians turned against us to devastating effect. Many know that I grew up in internment camps where we were held without trial or even charge for years, simply because we happened to look like the people who bombed Pearl Harbor. Fewer remember that, as a young man, it was illegal for me in many states to marry a Caucasian person due to antimiscegenation laws. And as a gay man, I stayed deeply in the closet out of fear that I would not find work as an “out” actor. That same fear rendered me silent even as the scourge of the AIDS epidemic in the ’80s and ’90s took so many of our community, while the government turned a blind, callous eye.
But know this: I do not look upon all those difficult years solely as blights in my life. To the contrary, they helped forge who I am today. As both an ethnic and sexual minority, an “outsider” in nearly every sense, I was forced to learn the rules of society very early on. Unlike my straight white male counterparts, out of pure necessity I grew keenly aware of the way our society was ordered. I had to take note of the system so that I did not run afoul of it…
It is axiomatic that little worth fighting for has ever come without a fight. New veterans of our struggle will emerge from the coming clashes. And while we all wish that future generations would not have to face the terror, isolation, and even deadly effects of hatred and bigotry, we are reminded today, more than ever, that the struggle may truly never be over. Enemies of progress, equality, and justice often slip away unnoticed for years, regroup and change their names and strategies, then re-emerge to challenge what we have gained.
This does not mean, however, that we are starting again from ground zero. When they came for my family and my community back in 1942, very few others stood up for us. The Japanese-American community felt alone. Similarly, when drag queens rioted at Stonewall in 1969, the LGBT community also had few allies. But today, when the incoming administration threatened Muslim registries and racial profiling, the progressive response was collective and swift to say we would register as well. When Native Americans camped out in the freezing cold to oppose the Dakota Access Pipeline, veterans came to stand with them. And when Trump began to name a cabinet of homophobic and hateful bigots, communities of all colors and creeds decried it. We truly have grown stronger together, and with each new assault upon our dignity and humanity, we will grow stronger still.
So welcome to the resistance. It’s where the next heroes of our movement will emerge. Be ready. Be vigilant. Be strong.
Monday Morning Open Thread: Welcome to the ResistancePost + Comments (383)