Reminder: Nunberg was less than a Scaramucci ago
March 8, 2018 8:06 AM Subscribe
It seems very fitting that Merriam-Webster chose this week to add "dumpster fire" to the dictionary.
Some of the choice chunks of flaming refuse today:Mother Jones releases its first excerpt of Michael Isikoff and David Corn's upcoming book Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trump
.
The WaPo discovers that Erik Prince may have misspoken about the reasons for his January 2017 vacation in the Seychelles.
Hope Hicks has some email trouble.
As questions swirl around his NDA with adult film entrepreneur Stormy Daniels,
the president is less than pleased with his press secretary's handling of the isssue.
The president has expressed mild interest in the discussions his staff have been having with the special counsel.
Some of the choice chunks of flaming refuse today:
My new thread reminder: with everything going on, let’s all remember to be nice to each other here. Everyone is stressed and anxious and angry so let’s be good to each other.
posted by skycrashesdown at 8:12 AM on March 8, 2018 [34 favorites]
posted by skycrashesdown at 8:12 AM on March 8, 2018 [34 favorites]
The Hicks email thing is certainly interesting, mostly because Trump has publicly proclaimed over the years that he personally doesn't use email.
If Hicks was sending and receiving DJT email traffic for him, you have to wonder what was stolen from Hicks' account.
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:14 AM on March 8, 2018 [18 favorites]
If Hicks was sending and receiving DJT email traffic for him, you have to wonder what was stolen from Hicks' account.
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:14 AM on March 8, 2018 [18 favorites]
Mod note: Official reminder: help keep these threads information-dense and not a headache to moderate. If you haven't read that MetaTalk, give it a go; if you have but not recently, give it another skim. Life's weird these days, we're all in this together, I love you all, and don't make me turn this car around.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:15 AM on March 8, 2018 [121 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:15 AM on March 8, 2018 [121 favorites]
I can't believe for real this Russia nonsense is going to come back to us Malaysians, not just via 1MDB (that investment arm that the DOJ is investigating), but also with the downing of MH17 over Ukraine. I strongly suspect it was through this Broidy guy was how my PM's wife got in touch with Putin (she was taking credit over the change of attitude of allowing international investigators into the crash site)
posted by cendawanita at 8:19 AM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by cendawanita at 8:19 AM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
This is fascinating in light of Jane Mayer's report. WSJ, Rob Barry and Shelby Holliday, Russian Trolls Tried to Torpedo Mitt Romney’s Shot at Secretary of State
posted by zachlipton at 8:22 AM on March 8, 2018 [31 favorites]
Romney for Secretary of State! #NeverRomney,” wrote the Twitter account USA_Gunslinger on Nov. 25 to its then more than 26,000 followers. Around that time, Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway said Mr. Romney had been “nothing but awful” to Mr. Trump during the campaign, and tweeted that she was getting a “deluge” of negative comments about him from Trump loyalists.This appears to be based off their own analysis of social media posts from accounts that were taken down after being identified as propaganda accounts, rather than the usual sloppy Hamilton 68 reporting (that site didn't exist at the time either).
The Russian front accounts tried to do more than just spread messages on social media.
One group, “Being Patriotic,” which earlier purchased pro-Trump advertisements on Facebook, encouraged people to gather outside Trump Tower in New York City and protest Mr. Romney’s possible nomination, according to an event listing linked to the group.
“We did NOT fight this hard to get backstabbing Romney as Secretary of State! He will run it like the Clinton Foundation!” the event post said.
...
Most of the posts about Mr. Tillerson in the Journal’s analysis were repetitions of news reports, though a scattering of Russian accounts voiced a positive opinion about the formerly “dark horse” candidate. “Trump to name Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State! Good! #NeverRomney,” wrote the Twitter account ELEVEN_GOP on Dec. 10.
posted by zachlipton at 8:22 AM on March 8, 2018 [31 favorites]
Finding Common Threads In Trump Cabinet Members' 'Unethical Behavior' (NPR, March 7, 2018)
A weird piece that both catalogs a number of ethics issues with Trump appointees who abuse tax payer funds (naming Ben Carson and Tom Price, former Cabinet secretary of Health and Human Services), but then interviews Elizabeth Sanders, a political scientist at Cornell University, who says these sort of ethics violations come up in every administration, only to cite ... Ronald Reagan. Yes, there have been federal political scandals in every past presidency (helpful Wikipedia list), but Trump is worse in the scope and scale, as well as in their casual dismissal of these issues as even being issues.
Sanders said "Is Trump worse than others? I think he's different because the scandals are more related to the incompetence and venality, one might say, of people that he brought in." Regarding Reagan, Sanders noted that after there was public backlash, "He appointed people who were not only competent but who had experience and who didn't have personal interests in conflict with the agencies they were heading." As if Trump might be like Reagan and come along and appoint qualified, non-conflicted people at some point in the future. This is after a year of record turn-overs, with a president who said "I like conflict" after denying that the West Wing was in chaos.
Peter Overby, with NPR, went on to say about Trump's administration
THIS is my biggest fear - that ethics breaches become the norm, and get worse.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:25 AM on March 8, 2018 [89 favorites]
A weird piece that both catalogs a number of ethics issues with Trump appointees who abuse tax payer funds (naming Ben Carson and Tom Price, former Cabinet secretary of Health and Human Services), but then interviews Elizabeth Sanders, a political scientist at Cornell University, who says these sort of ethics violations come up in every administration, only to cite ... Ronald Reagan. Yes, there have been federal political scandals in every past presidency (helpful Wikipedia list), but Trump is worse in the scope and scale, as well as in their casual dismissal of these issues as even being issues.
Sanders said "Is Trump worse than others? I think he's different because the scandals are more related to the incompetence and venality, one might say, of people that he brought in." Regarding Reagan, Sanders noted that after there was public backlash, "He appointed people who were not only competent but who had experience and who didn't have personal interests in conflict with the agencies they were heading." As if Trump might be like Reagan and come along and appoint qualified, non-conflicted people at some point in the future. This is after a year of record turn-overs, with a president who said "I like conflict" after denying that the West Wing was in chaos.
Peter Overby, with NPR, went on to say about Trump's administration
One common thread of these current scandals is a sense of privilege. Federal officials are supposed to fly coach whenever possible, not first class and certainly not charter. And they're not allowed to bill the government for pleasure trips as Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin tried to do. This leads to the other common thread - a tendency to say, my staff did it.They also interview Ethics consultant Susan Liautaud, who notes "The more dangerous part is that not only does unethical behavior spread, but it mutates into other forms of unethical behavior."
THIS is my biggest fear - that ethics breaches become the norm, and get worse.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:25 AM on March 8, 2018 [89 favorites]
@AJentleson (Former DCoS for Harry Reid)
On this Seychelles meeting where Erik Prince acted as a conduit for Trump:
The server connecting the Trump Organization with Russia ran through a company owned by Betsy Devos’ husband.
Erik is Betsy’s brother.
Doesn’t seem so crazy anymore, does it?
posted by chris24 at 8:28 AM on March 8, 2018 [104 favorites]
On this Seychelles meeting where Erik Prince acted as a conduit for Trump:
The server connecting the Trump Organization with Russia ran through a company owned by Betsy Devos’ husband.
Erik is Betsy’s brother.
Doesn’t seem so crazy anymore, does it?
posted by chris24 at 8:28 AM on March 8, 2018 [104 favorites]
The Associated Press's Jill Colvin @colvinj, last night—"An update on the Nunberg will-he, won’t-he drama: He says he’s now compiled all the docs Mueller asked for, tells me, 'It ended up not being as onerous as I thought it would be.'"
This was of course after his mentor Roger Stone was invited to NBC for an interview with Chuck Todd, during which he insisted, "I didn't ask Sam Nunberg to protect me. I don't think I require any protection." Later, in a statement, he declared, "I don't know what Donald Trump knew about the WikiLeaks disclosures regarding Hillary or the DNC if anything and who he learned it from if anyone."
So, the end result of Nunberg's Monday meltdown is that he's completed Mueller's request for his e-mails and made Roger Stone seem reliable and reasonable by comparison...
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:28 AM on March 8, 2018 [10 favorites]
This was of course after his mentor Roger Stone was invited to NBC for an interview with Chuck Todd, during which he insisted, "I didn't ask Sam Nunberg to protect me. I don't think I require any protection." Later, in a statement, he declared, "I don't know what Donald Trump knew about the WikiLeaks disclosures regarding Hillary or the DNC if anything and who he learned it from if anyone."
So, the end result of Nunberg's Monday meltdown is that he's completed Mueller's request for his e-mails and made Roger Stone seem reliable and reasonable by comparison...
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:28 AM on March 8, 2018 [10 favorites]
Trump donor Eliott Broidy discussed setting up a consulting contract with Jho Low a Malaysian on the run who has just had his 250 million dollar yacht siezed.
This blossoming scandal also features white house visitor and Trump hotel guest Najib Razak
posted by adamvasco at 8:38 AM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
This blossoming scandal also features white house visitor and Trump hotel guest Najib Razak
posted by adamvasco at 8:38 AM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
Pelosi swung and missed on Stormy Daniels: "I’m more concerned about the president’s policies," she says. Adds that she doesn't think Democrats need to get involved, but says "you can be sure" that if it were a Democratic president doing this, Republicans would be "very involved."
Problem is, it's not about the affair. It's the fact that he's open to blackmail, paying hush money, FEC issues, and sketchy legal maneuvers. And his behavior with Clifford broadly helps corroborate the stories of Jessica Drake and Summer Zervos, who report non-consensual harassment and assault at the same location around the same time period. I understand Pelosi not wanting to fan the fires and completely turn this into a partisan issue, but if everybody would stop snickering at "porn star," there are serious problems here.
posted by zachlipton at 8:40 AM on March 8, 2018 [106 favorites]
Problem is, it's not about the affair. It's the fact that he's open to blackmail, paying hush money, FEC issues, and sketchy legal maneuvers. And his behavior with Clifford broadly helps corroborate the stories of Jessica Drake and Summer Zervos, who report non-consensual harassment and assault at the same location around the same time period. I understand Pelosi not wanting to fan the fires and completely turn this into a partisan issue, but if everybody would stop snickering at "porn star," there are serious problems here.
posted by zachlipton at 8:40 AM on March 8, 2018 [106 favorites]
I don't think this made Roger Stone seem reliable or reasonable.
I think Nunberg just splashed a huge bucket of collusion and flop-sweat all over his mentor. Stone is not some sort of Machiavellian genius playing 9-dimensional chess. Most people weren't even thinking about Stone until Nunberg spent all of Monday dumping out his purse all over the news networks.
If Stone were smart, he would have told Nunberg to shut the fuck up and keep his name out of his mouth.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 8:41 AM on March 8, 2018 [16 favorites]
I think Nunberg just splashed a huge bucket of collusion and flop-sweat all over his mentor. Stone is not some sort of Machiavellian genius playing 9-dimensional chess. Most people weren't even thinking about Stone until Nunberg spent all of Monday dumping out his purse all over the news networks.
If Stone were smart, he would have told Nunberg to shut the fuck up and keep his name out of his mouth.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 8:41 AM on March 8, 2018 [16 favorites]
Trump donor Eliott Broidy discussed setting up a consulting contract with Jho Low a Malaysian on the run who has just had his 250 million dollar yacht siezed.
This blossoming scandal also features white house visitor and Trump hotel guest Najib Razak
Don't forget, if you're talking about that lot, that will have to also involve the Trump Tower in Vancouver!
posted by cendawanita at 8:41 AM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
This blossoming scandal also features white house visitor and Trump hotel guest Najib Razak
Don't forget, if you're talking about that lot, that will have to also involve the Trump Tower in Vancouver!
posted by cendawanita at 8:41 AM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
Doesn’t seem so crazy anymore, does it?
"Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk." (Henry David Thoreau)
posted by thelonius at 8:46 AM on March 8, 2018 [46 favorites]
"Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk." (Henry David Thoreau)
posted by thelonius at 8:46 AM on March 8, 2018 [46 favorites]
I suspect that this whole Stormy Daniels NDA is going to become a part of contract law curriculum in the not so distant future in law school. What a hot mess.
posted by azpenguin at 8:50 AM on March 8, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by azpenguin at 8:50 AM on March 8, 2018 [16 favorites]
cendanita i see Adam Khan was all over that - Trump Tower Vancouver is funded by a Malaysian tycoon Tiah–who was implicated in stock fraud–his son was told to woo Ivanka to seal the deal.
posted by adamvasco at 8:53 AM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by adamvasco at 8:53 AM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
I don't think this made Roger Stone seem reliable or reasonable.
I think Nunberg just splashed a huge bucket of collusion and flop-sweat all over his mentor. Stone is not some sort of Machiavellian genius playing 9-dimensional chess. Most people weren't even thinking about Stone until Nunberg spent all of Monday dumping out his purse all over the news networks.
If Stone were smart, he would have told Nunberg to shut the fuck up and keep his name out of his mouth.
I agree. This isn't a chess move. These are not brilliant tacticians, and I think Democrats and anti-Trumpers don't do ourselves any favors by seeing subtle, chess-y, headfake-y moves rather than taking things at face value until proven otherwise. If Sam Nunberg was doing some high-level "let's fake 'em out" move then he's given the finest professional actors a run for their money and has missed his calling.
I think Nunberg just had a public Bring Me My Brown Pants! moment. This was a man who was freaking the fuck out on TV because he was going to have to face the music.
I believe we demoralize ourselves by attributing massive genius and tactical skills to our opponents. People were screaming "ratfuck!" when Al Franken's first accuser came forward - nope, It Happened. "Headfake!" when the first travel bans were announced - nope, it was a travel ban and largely stymied due to protests. What you see is really what you get with these people.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 8:54 AM on March 8, 2018 [71 favorites]
I think Nunberg just splashed a huge bucket of collusion and flop-sweat all over his mentor. Stone is not some sort of Machiavellian genius playing 9-dimensional chess. Most people weren't even thinking about Stone until Nunberg spent all of Monday dumping out his purse all over the news networks.
If Stone were smart, he would have told Nunberg to shut the fuck up and keep his name out of his mouth.
I agree. This isn't a chess move. These are not brilliant tacticians, and I think Democrats and anti-Trumpers don't do ourselves any favors by seeing subtle, chess-y, headfake-y moves rather than taking things at face value until proven otherwise. If Sam Nunberg was doing some high-level "let's fake 'em out" move then he's given the finest professional actors a run for their money and has missed his calling.
I think Nunberg just had a public Bring Me My Brown Pants! moment. This was a man who was freaking the fuck out on TV because he was going to have to face the music.
I believe we demoralize ourselves by attributing massive genius and tactical skills to our opponents. People were screaming "ratfuck!" when Al Franken's first accuser came forward - nope, It Happened. "Headfake!" when the first travel bans were announced - nope, it was a travel ban and largely stymied due to protests. What you see is really what you get with these people.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 8:54 AM on March 8, 2018 [71 favorites]
The Banking Lobbyist Act Democrats are helping Trump pass keeps getting worse:
SENATE CLAIMS TO FIX ITS WALL STREET BILL, BUT A LOOK AT THE TEXT SAYS IT’S STILL A GIVEAWAY
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:56 AM on March 8, 2018 [39 favorites]
SENATE CLAIMS TO FIX ITS WALL STREET BILL, BUT A LOOK AT THE TEXT SAYS IT’S STILL A GIVEAWAY
The last-minute moves were made partially in an attempt to insulate lawmakers from criticism about giveaways to big banks. But more alterations are likely, because House Financial Services Committee chair Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, has demanded his imprint on the final product, in the form of a load of deregulatory bills that the House has approved over the past year.Not only are at least 12 and possibly 17 or more Democrats helping Trump repeal Dodd-Frank, they’re also giving away a wishlist of other financial deregulation bills none of them have seen or read, or the public has seen. Just a tour de force of Democratic selling out. You literally could not write a more stereotypical caricature of Democratic cravenness.
“We’re up to four dozen bills that we’re expecting to be included in the final package,” Hensarling told Bloomberg News on Wednesday. Those could be tucked into a final manager’s amendment to the Senate bill, without much advance warning, and put on the floor before senators have had a chance to read or analyze it. “[Hensarling’s] going to get a bunch of bills he can crow about,” said one financial services lobbyist working on the bill.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:56 AM on March 8, 2018 [39 favorites]
People were screaming "ratfuck!" when Al Franken's first accuser came forward
Still screaming this, more now that Roger Stone and emails to Roger Stone have popped up.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 8:56 AM on March 8, 2018 [6 favorites]
Still screaming this, more now that Roger Stone and emails to Roger Stone have popped up.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 8:56 AM on March 8, 2018 [6 favorites]
Pelosi swung and missed on Stormy Daniels
how, exactly? she was asked a question and appeared to give a reasonable answer. I don't think the Democrats should be sucking all the air out of the room by demanding PORN STAR HUSH MONEY hearings. just a friendly reminder that every time a Democrat opens her mouth we don't need to frame it as incompetence and failure thx
posted by prize bull octorok at 8:56 AM on March 8, 2018 [71 favorites]
how, exactly? she was asked a question and appeared to give a reasonable answer. I don't think the Democrats should be sucking all the air out of the room by demanding PORN STAR HUSH MONEY hearings. just a friendly reminder that every time a Democrat opens her mouth we don't need to frame it as incompetence and failure thx
posted by prize bull octorok at 8:56 AM on March 8, 2018 [71 favorites]
> Doesn’t seem so crazy anymore, does it?
You could go back and post this comment multiple times in every Trump-related thread since the very first one and it would always fit.
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:57 AM on March 8, 2018 [25 favorites]
You could go back and post this comment multiple times in every Trump-related thread since the very first one and it would always fit.
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:57 AM on March 8, 2018 [25 favorites]
Sanders said "Is Trump worse than others? I think he's different because the scandals are more related to the incompetence and venality, one might say, of people that he brought in."
Well, I think he's different because this is the first time in US history that the leadership of both the executive and legislative branches have ceded the US government and its decision making to the influence of a foreign power.
But what she said was also right. We can both be right on this one.
posted by Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam at 8:58 AM on March 8, 2018 [12 favorites]
Well, I think he's different because this is the first time in US history that the leadership of both the executive and legislative branches have ceded the US government and its decision making to the influence of a foreign power.
But what she said was also right. We can both be right on this one.
posted by Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam at 8:58 AM on March 8, 2018 [12 favorites]
Regarding the Stormy Daniels NDA, is there a breakdown anywhere online which explains whether it is likely to be voided by the court? My google fu is failing me.
posted by zarq at 9:01 AM on March 8, 2018
posted by zarq at 9:01 AM on March 8, 2018
"Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk." (Henry David Thoreau)
This means the dairy farmer watered down the milk by dipping the bucket in a stream in case you were wondering and didn't want to wander off googling it (I just wandered for you).
posted by srboisvert at 9:01 AM on March 8, 2018 [182 favorites]
This means the dairy farmer watered down the milk by dipping the bucket in a stream in case you were wondering and didn't want to wander off googling it (I just wandered for you).
posted by srboisvert at 9:01 AM on March 8, 2018 [182 favorites]
WaPo, Greg Sargent, How Trump’s big mouth accidentally undermined his case for tariffs:
NYT, Michael Tackett, Blue-Collar Trump Voters Are Shrugging at Their Tax Cuts, in which the Times once again ventures into the Real America where the Real Americans live (pro tip: all the parts of America are the real America)...and the blue collar workers we parachute in to meet aren't all that impressed by their tax cuts. Missing from this though is any sense of the inequality, that they're getting a few bucks a week while CEOs are getting millions, and I hope that can become more of a campaign theme:
NYT op-ed, Sylvie Kauffmann, Why Europe Is Giving Up on Trump’s America:
McSweeney's, Dan Carroll, WELCOME TO NEWSCYCLE: THE WORLD’S MOST EXHAUSTING CYCLING WORKOUT
The administration is defending Trump’s unilateral action on the tariffs — which are opposed by most Republicans and Democrats in Congress — on national security grounds, invoking an obscure, rarely used legal provision to justify it both in terms of U.S. law and international trade rules.What terrifies me is that Trump is setting himself up to lose a trade dispute with the WTO over these tariffs, and he reacts rather poorly when he loses things. And I fear that may be precisely what people like Peter Navarro are counting on, starting a total war against the WTO by intentionally provoking Trump.
But Trump has openly said that the tariffs are designed, at least in part, to exert pressure on Canada and Mexico in NAFTA talks, and other countries challenging the tariffs before the World Trade Organization could make use of this against the U.S. case.
“That statement hurts the fundamental defense that the U.S. will need to make in the World Trade Organization — that this is about national security,” Holleyman told me this morning.
NYT, Michael Tackett, Blue-Collar Trump Voters Are Shrugging at Their Tax Cuts, in which the Times once again ventures into the Real America where the Real Americans live (pro tip: all the parts of America are the real America)...and the blue collar workers we parachute in to meet aren't all that impressed by their tax cuts. Missing from this though is any sense of the inequality, that they're getting a few bucks a week while CEOs are getting millions, and I hope that can become more of a campaign theme:
“He’s pulling out jazz hands and shiny stuff up front and will screw us on the back end,” said Brian Barkalow, a worker at Requarth Lumber, where the Wright Brothers once bought wood for their planes.WaPo, Danielle Paquette, Why a white town paid for a class called ‘Hispanics 101’. In which Branson, Mo is desperate for workers in hospitality and health care, yet the number of H-2B visas to bring in foreign workers has been cut (unless you're Trump), so they're looking to encourage people to come from Puerto Rico. It's not going so smoothly, with racists being racist, a class on how to recruit and retain Hispanic workers inexplicably making its employer attendees do the merengue, and even a mayor who says crap like "I would love to give all of our jobs to folks in the mainland U.S," but they're slowly working on it.
...
When asked which candidate he supported in 2016, Mr. Eifert said, “Regretfully now, I voted for Trump.”
He said the president’s manner, more than his policies, put him off and he would not vote for him again. “It’s somewhat embarrassing to hear how he talks, tacky and uneducated.”
NYT op-ed, Sylvie Kauffmann, Why Europe Is Giving Up on Trump’s America:
For those who still bought it, the “adults in the room” theory took a serious beating last month at the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of top dogs in foreign and defense policy. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis came, but surprisingly did not take the floor. Gen. H. R. McMaster, the national security adviser, did speak but was very publicly chided a few hours later by a presidential tweet because he “forgot” to say that Russian interference had no impact on Mr. Trump’s election.Democrats have been introducing a bunch of legislation lately, not that it's going anywhere. The "Undo Sabotage and Expand Affordability of Health Insurance Act of 2018" looks like a lovely example of what could be, a sort of "Obamacare 2.0" that expands subsidies beyond 400% FPL, lowers out-of-pocket costs, and undoes various Republican sabotage to the ACA. Charles Gaba has a wonkish summary of the bill. And we can all go back to 2018, where none of that is happening.
Senior European officials admit that however good their cooperation may be with counterparts in the Trump administration, the president’s unpredictability looms too large over decision-making. We have now entered the third stage of the great European disbelief. It could be called the “Angela Merkel was right” stage, in a nod to the German chancellor’s statement after the NATO and Group of 7 meetings last May that “we Europeans must really take our destiny into our own hands.”
American officials keep trying to reassure their puzzled European interlocutors: “Don’t look at the tweets, look at what we do.” Repeated over and over, it is truly an extraordinary line. Think of representing your administration and telling foreigners every day: Ignore our president. But that’s a pipe dream. This president cannot be ignored because he is already profoundly transforming international relations, well beyond promoting unilateralism at the expense of multilateralism.
McSweeney's, Dan Carroll, WELCOME TO NEWSCYCLE: THE WORLD’S MOST EXHAUSTING CYCLING WORKOUT
The class can last an hour, or the point when everyone is sobbing — which tends to happen around after seven or eight Twitter refreshes. Either way, I promise you’ll get your $51 worth and will have never felt so emotionally drained. To my ladies in the room, it looks like Fox News is hosting a town hall called “A Woman’s Place in Women’s Health,” so prepare to be what we call SadSore™ tomorrow!posted by zachlipton at 9:11 AM on March 8, 2018 [42 favorites]
Trump on Gary Cohn: "This is Gary Cohn’s last cabinet meeting. He’s been terrific. He may be a globalist, but I still like him. He’s seriously globalist, no question, but he’s also a nationalist because he loves our country."
Worst. Fucking. People.
posted by zachlipton at 9:13 AM on March 8, 2018 [73 favorites]
Worst. Fucking. People.
posted by zachlipton at 9:13 AM on March 8, 2018 [73 favorites]
Regarding the Stormy Daniels NDA, is there a breakdown anywhere online which explains whether it is likely to be voided by the court? My google fu is failing me.
Here ya go.
TL;DR: the fact that Donny didn't sign probably doesn't matter, but there are terms which are so grossly unfair and disproportionate that it may get the whole thing tossed. Plus, if there was coercion by Donny's lawyer, it may also get the agreement tossed and Donny's lawyer disciplined.
posted by Capt. Renault at 9:14 AM on March 8, 2018 [10 favorites]
Here ya go.
TL;DR: the fact that Donny didn't sign probably doesn't matter, but there are terms which are so grossly unfair and disproportionate that it may get the whole thing tossed. Plus, if there was coercion by Donny's lawyer, it may also get the agreement tossed and Donny's lawyer disciplined.
posted by Capt. Renault at 9:14 AM on March 8, 2018 [10 favorites]
He said the president’s manner, more than his policies, put him off and he would not vote for him again. “It’s somewhat embarrassing to hear how he talks, tacky and uneducated.”
it's a real shame how much the mellifluous oratory of candidate trump has declined since he was elected
posted by murphy slaw at 9:18 AM on March 8, 2018 [116 favorites]
it's a real shame how much the mellifluous oratory of candidate trump has declined since he was elected
posted by murphy slaw at 9:18 AM on March 8, 2018 [116 favorites]
I don't think this made Roger Stone seem reliable or reasonable.
Well, I did say, "by comparison". Everyone knows that Stone is an inveterate liar and self-propagandist, and yet the media still allows him airtime. Chuck Todd had the opportunity to really grill Stone, which he failed to do (did he want to seem less aggressive after the pushback against the media for "exploiting" Nunberg?). Instead, he permitted Stone to deliver his carefully worded version of the Trump-Russia scandal virtually unchallenged. Blogger-indepedent journalist Marcy Wheeler expertly dissects Stone's performance such as how he deflected Todd's questions about the (GRU-backed) Guccifer 2.0 to answer instead about his ties to Julian Assange (a "courageous journalist” with a “track record for accuracy and authenticity is superior than the New York Times or The Washington Post.”).
Stone is not some sort of Machiavellian genius playing 9-dimensional chess.
None of them are, from Putin and Trump on down. They are sociopathic opportunists who'll snatch whatever advantage presents itself. This doesn't lend itself to long-term planning, though, and their windows for taking action are contracting every day. Stone doubtless wants to buy himself some time, the same way Rick Gates apparently did when he was stalling Mueller while the Nunes Memo donnybrook was unfolding on Capitol Hill. They're all about political tactics but no strategy.
People were screaming "ratfuck!" when Al Franken's first accuser came forward
That was a classic Stone rat-fuck, beginning with his tip-offs to friendly rightwing fringe outlets that the initial story was coming. What he accomplished was opening up the subject of Franken's misconduct for other people to come forward (note how Franken's initial accuser stepped out of the spotlight once more women spoke out against Franken). Give credit to Stone—he has an instinct for when someone's got something to hide.
Most people weren't even thinking about Stone until Nunberg spent all of Monday dumping out his purse all over the news networks.
And yet people seem to have mostly forgotten about it only a few days later. Stone's an acute judge of the contemporary media cycle and the court of public opinion, if nothing else. Mueller won't forget, though, and he has a grand jury.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:19 AM on March 8, 2018 [10 favorites]
Well, I did say, "by comparison". Everyone knows that Stone is an inveterate liar and self-propagandist, and yet the media still allows him airtime. Chuck Todd had the opportunity to really grill Stone, which he failed to do (did he want to seem less aggressive after the pushback against the media for "exploiting" Nunberg?). Instead, he permitted Stone to deliver his carefully worded version of the Trump-Russia scandal virtually unchallenged. Blogger-indepedent journalist Marcy Wheeler expertly dissects Stone's performance such as how he deflected Todd's questions about the (GRU-backed) Guccifer 2.0 to answer instead about his ties to Julian Assange (a "courageous journalist” with a “track record for accuracy and authenticity is superior than the New York Times or The Washington Post.”).
Stone is not some sort of Machiavellian genius playing 9-dimensional chess.
None of them are, from Putin and Trump on down. They are sociopathic opportunists who'll snatch whatever advantage presents itself. This doesn't lend itself to long-term planning, though, and their windows for taking action are contracting every day. Stone doubtless wants to buy himself some time, the same way Rick Gates apparently did when he was stalling Mueller while the Nunes Memo donnybrook was unfolding on Capitol Hill. They're all about political tactics but no strategy.
People were screaming "ratfuck!" when Al Franken's first accuser came forward
That was a classic Stone rat-fuck, beginning with his tip-offs to friendly rightwing fringe outlets that the initial story was coming. What he accomplished was opening up the subject of Franken's misconduct for other people to come forward (note how Franken's initial accuser stepped out of the spotlight once more women spoke out against Franken). Give credit to Stone—he has an instinct for when someone's got something to hide.
Most people weren't even thinking about Stone until Nunberg spent all of Monday dumping out his purse all over the news networks.
And yet people seem to have mostly forgotten about it only a few days later. Stone's an acute judge of the contemporary media cycle and the court of public opinion, if nothing else. Mueller won't forget, though, and he has a grand jury.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:19 AM on March 8, 2018 [10 favorites]
We should be thanking Stone for exposing Franken.
posted by Pope Guilty at 9:21 AM on March 8, 2018 [31 favorites]
posted by Pope Guilty at 9:21 AM on March 8, 2018 [31 favorites]
Problem is, it's not about the affair. It's the fact that he's open to blackmail, paying hush money, FEC issues, and sketchy legal maneuvers. And his behavior with Clifford broadly helps corroborate the stories of Jessica Drake and Summer Zervos, who report non-consensual harassment and assault at the same location around the same time period. I understand Pelosi not wanting to fan the fires and completely turn this into a partisan issue, but if everybody would stop snickering at "porn star," there are serious problems here.
Yeah, Pelosi should have hammered the point that the world already knew that Trump was an adulterer, and for some reason only Democrats seem to care about that standard any more, so the real scandal is that we know the President of the United States is paying hush money to cover it up.
Which is one of the things that brought down Nixon.
posted by Gelatin at 9:24 AM on March 8, 2018 [38 favorites]
Yeah, Pelosi should have hammered the point that the world already knew that Trump was an adulterer, and for some reason only Democrats seem to care about that standard any more, so the real scandal is that we know the President of the United States is paying hush money to cover it up.
Which is one of the things that brought down Nixon.
posted by Gelatin at 9:24 AM on March 8, 2018 [38 favorites]
We should be thanking Stone for exposing Franken.
Yep. Personally I feel entitled to elected officials I can stand next to without fear of being groped.
posted by Emmy Rae at 9:39 AM on March 8, 2018 [55 favorites]
Yep. Personally I feel entitled to elected officials I can stand next to without fear of being groped.
posted by Emmy Rae at 9:39 AM on March 8, 2018 [55 favorites]
A new poll (PDF) cited by melissasaurus toward the end of the previous thread throws cold water on Republican hopes that their shiny tax cut will allow them to turn aside an oncoming Democratic wave:
Democrats should be braver about saying that their ideas on the economy -- that more money in the hands of the middle class, not the wealthy, is what creates prosperity in this country -- are simply and inherently better than the Republican "give it all to the rich and hope for the best" plan. And that we've known that since Reagan -- if not the Great Depression.
posted by Gelatin at 9:40 AM on March 8, 2018 [29 favorites]
>Do you approve or disapprove of the Republican tax plan?And that's leaving aside the question whether garden-variety Republican incompetence on the economy takes the wind out of Republicans sails as well.
--All: 36-50% approve-disapprove (up slightly from Jan #s, down slightly from Feb #s)
--Net negative among Democrats, independents, women, white w/ college degree, all age groups, all women, white women, all races.
--Net positive only among Republicans, white w/out college, and white men; break-even with all men.
Democrats should be braver about saying that their ideas on the economy -- that more money in the hands of the middle class, not the wealthy, is what creates prosperity in this country -- are simply and inherently better than the Republican "give it all to the rich and hope for the best" plan. And that we've known that since Reagan -- if not the Great Depression.
posted by Gelatin at 9:40 AM on March 8, 2018 [29 favorites]
Why Isn’t Trump President for Life Yet?
"He is following the same playbook as other authoritarian populists around the world. He’s just bad at it—so far."
By Yascha Mounk for Slate.
"He is following the same playbook as other authoritarian populists around the world. He’s just bad at it—so far."
By Yascha Mounk for Slate.
From Hugo Chávez in Venezuela to Jaroslaw Kaczyński in Poland and from Viktor Orbán in Hungary to Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey, many populists around the world have remained sufficiently popular for a long enough span of time to concentrate vast powers in their own hands. Trump has some important commonalities with them. Like them, for example, he is a master at riling up his base with lofty promises of big improvements and urgent warnings about imminent dangers.posted by ZeusHumms at 9:40 AM on March 8, 2018 [32 favorites]
But the ways in which Trump differs from his populist peers are even more important: So far, he has been far less interested than them in rewarding his base with tangible material improvements. He has been far less strategic about abolishing independent institutions. And he has also been far less effective at hammering home a consistent worldview that recasts any harm to him as a threat to the whole nation.
This is heartening: Unless Trump suddenly starts to learn on the job—something he has stubbornly resisted doing for the past 18 months—he is unlikely to emulate the successes of Chávez, Kaczyński, and cohorts.
But it is also scary: If American institutions have, so far, stood up to Donald Trump, the reason for this seems to have at least as much to do with his personal failings as it does with the structural differences between the United States and countries like Poland or Venezuela. If Trump, or one of his successors, should learn to emulate the playbook developed by authoritarian populists around the world, he too could concentrate enormous powers in his own hands.
Gelatin: so the real scandal is that we know the President of the United States is paying hush money to cover it up.
Which is one of the things that brought down Nixon.
It also brought down Denny "Child Molester" Hastert. Depressing af to know that it was hush money and not just abusing kids, but the point is that hush money was Haster's downfall. Fingers crossed that hush money does the same for Trump.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 9:44 AM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
Which is one of the things that brought down Nixon.
It also brought down Denny "Child Molester" Hastert. Depressing af to know that it was hush money and not just abusing kids, but the point is that hush money was Haster's downfall. Fingers crossed that hush money does the same for Trump.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 9:44 AM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
If Trump, or one of his successors, should learn to emulate the playbook developed by authoritarian populists around the world, he too could concentrate enormous powers in his own hands.
And that's why, once the Republicans are out of power, there must be a systematic, no-holds-barred effort to codify norms as law, increase congressional and judicial oversight of the executive branch, and take some powers away from the executive outright and move others from the president and political appointees and into the civil service.
posted by jedicus at 9:45 AM on March 8, 2018 [100 favorites]
And that's why, once the Republicans are out of power, there must be a systematic, no-holds-barred effort to codify norms as law, increase congressional and judicial oversight of the executive branch, and take some powers away from the executive outright and move others from the president and political appointees and into the civil service.
posted by jedicus at 9:45 AM on March 8, 2018 [100 favorites]
Updates on the UK assassination attempt.
NYT: Ex-Russian Spy ‘Stable’ After Nerve Agent Attack in U.K.
Skripal and his daughter are critical-but-stable and the police officer seems to be recovering.
The expected weaksauce was dispensed from the UK Home Secretary. Weaker than HP. Certainly weaker than Henderson's Relish.
The poisoning of Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, 65, and his daughter Yulia, 33, in Salisbury, Wiltshire, was described by Home Secretary Amber Rudd on Thursday as "attempted murder in the most cruel and public way".
The Cabinet minister promised a "robust" response once responsibility for the attack is established, but she told the House of Commons her current priority is on the immediate response to the incident.
BBC: Russian spy: State TV anchor warns 'traitors'
"I don't wish death on anyone, but for purely educational purposes, I have a warning for anyone who dreams of such a career," he said. "The profession of a traitor is one of the most dangerous in the world," [...] Alcoholism, drug addiction, stress and depression resulting in heart attacks and even suicide were the "professional illnesses of a traitor", according to Kleimenov. He also had a second piece of advice for such "traitors or those who simply hate their country in their free time": "Don't choose Britain as a place to live. [...] Something is wrong there. Maybe it's the climate, but in recent years there have been too many strange incidents with grave outcomes there."
If you look close enough at the footage of Kleimenov you can see Putin's fingers behind his uvula.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:54 AM on March 8, 2018 [39 favorites]
NYT: Ex-Russian Spy ‘Stable’ After Nerve Agent Attack in U.K.
Skripal and his daughter are critical-but-stable and the police officer seems to be recovering.
The expected weaksauce was dispensed from the UK Home Secretary. Weaker than HP. Certainly weaker than Henderson's Relish.
The poisoning of Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, 65, and his daughter Yulia, 33, in Salisbury, Wiltshire, was described by Home Secretary Amber Rudd on Thursday as "attempted murder in the most cruel and public way".
The Cabinet minister promised a "robust" response once responsibility for the attack is established, but she told the House of Commons her current priority is on the immediate response to the incident.
BBC: Russian spy: State TV anchor warns 'traitors'
"I don't wish death on anyone, but for purely educational purposes, I have a warning for anyone who dreams of such a career," he said. "The profession of a traitor is one of the most dangerous in the world," [...] Alcoholism, drug addiction, stress and depression resulting in heart attacks and even suicide were the "professional illnesses of a traitor", according to Kleimenov. He also had a second piece of advice for such "traitors or those who simply hate their country in their free time": "Don't choose Britain as a place to live. [...] Something is wrong there. Maybe it's the climate, but in recent years there have been too many strange incidents with grave outcomes there."
If you look close enough at the footage of Kleimenov you can see Putin's fingers behind his uvula.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:54 AM on March 8, 2018 [39 favorites]
systematic, no-holds-barred effort to codify norms as law, increase congressional and judicial oversight of the executive branch, and take some powers away from the executive outright
It's a good idea, and shoring up the foundations of our democracy will help it last longer under the assult by authoritarian populists... But it won't last forever unless we rally to defend it, no matter how well buttressed.
After all, we've got a constitution already which nominally checks executive power. It's just that the people in power are unwilling to do that job. And their supporters don't want them too. Ultimately the laws and the Constitution are just pieces of paper unless real live humans take action to enact them, and we have seen in Turkey and Venezuela and Poland how easily laws and constitutions can be changed.
We need an educated, secure, equitable society, or else the best laws in the world won't last long.
posted by OnceUponATime at 9:54 AM on March 8, 2018 [46 favorites]
It's a good idea, and shoring up the foundations of our democracy will help it last longer under the assult by authoritarian populists... But it won't last forever unless we rally to defend it, no matter how well buttressed.
After all, we've got a constitution already which nominally checks executive power. It's just that the people in power are unwilling to do that job. And their supporters don't want them too. Ultimately the laws and the Constitution are just pieces of paper unless real live humans take action to enact them, and we have seen in Turkey and Venezuela and Poland how easily laws and constitutions can be changed.
We need an educated, secure, equitable society, or else the best laws in the world won't last long.
posted by OnceUponATime at 9:54 AM on March 8, 2018 [46 favorites]
Was just talking about norms and laws today: that perhaps a part of the reason Trump wasn’t actively stopped as soon as it became clear to enough people that there were shenanigans involved, shenanigans that originated in Russia, is because too much of the political process in the US is based on ‘this is the way it is done’ and the inflexibility that arises from that kind of assumption. Inflexibility because there is no rule book for what should happen if things don’t go the way they always have. Germany had no ‘government’ for almost five months yet it wasn’t the end of the nation because provisions were in place to inform what should be done next. Flexibility is strength and Trump’s election has illuminated many many weak spots in America’s democracy
posted by From Bklyn at 9:55 AM on March 8, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by From Bklyn at 9:55 AM on March 8, 2018 [23 favorites]
Trampling all over norms that were previously followed but not codified in law was part of Rob and Doug Ford’s playbook, too. They’d practically dare people to do something about it, and too often nobody could, really.
posted by The Card Cheat at 10:01 AM on March 8, 2018 [33 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 10:01 AM on March 8, 2018 [33 favorites]
Doesn’t seem so crazy anymore, does it?
It also makes Devos' long-standing interest in destroying US public education look like something more than simple profiteering.
posted by ryanshepard at 10:13 AM on March 8, 2018 [26 favorites]
It also makes Devos' long-standing interest in destroying US public education look like something more than simple profiteering.
posted by ryanshepard at 10:13 AM on March 8, 2018 [26 favorites]
The (thankfully ex-) Prime Minister Harper was the same, to a lesser extent. He specialized in picking out arcane ones like contempt of Parliament and prorogation, though. I shudder to think what he'd have been like if he'd had Trump's chutzpah -- he was a competent guy.
posted by Quindar Beep at 10:13 AM on March 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Quindar Beep at 10:13 AM on March 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
A. Lincoln to Major General Hooker
January 26, 1863
January 26, 1863
I have heard, in such way as to believe it, of your recently saying that both the Army and the Government needed a Dictator. Of course it was not for this, but in spite of it, that I have given you the command. Only those generals who gain successes, can set up dictators.posted by Huffy Puffy at 10:15 AM on March 8, 2018 [14 favorites]
Reuters, U.S. judge questions whether Trump can block Twitter users. Judge Buchwald seemed skeptical that Trump is allowed to block people, and—I swear this is the dumbest damn timeline—reportedly asked why he can't mute people instead, encouraging a settlement. DOJ's argument didn't go great (yep, we're spending government resources litigating this):
A bit later, Buchwald answered the DOJ's argument that she doesn't have jurisdiction over the president more pointedly.posted by zachlipton at 10:30 AM on March 8, 2018 [54 favorites]
"And he's above the law?" she asked.
"No, your honor," DOJ attorney Michael Baer replied.
(Laughter in the court)
To clarify my understanding of the entire hush-money arrangement possibly constituting campaign-finance violation... is that mainly because it could only have come out of campaign funds (like, no one thinks any money was from Trump the individual)? Or because it involved facts which, if disclosed, would have affected the election? Or perhaps both?
Like, is it generally legal to draw up that sort of contract, but if one of the signers is running for public office, they need to tell certain public authorities about the payment (which obviously would render the whole deal pointless)?
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:34 AM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
Like, is it generally legal to draw up that sort of contract, but if one of the signers is running for public office, they need to tell certain public authorities about the payment (which obviously would render the whole deal pointless)?
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:34 AM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
Republicans are starting to panic about next week's Pennsylvania congressional election
posted by msalt at 10:35 AM on March 8, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by msalt at 10:35 AM on March 8, 2018 [11 favorites]
To clarify my understanding of the entire hush-money arrangement possibly constituting campaign-finance violation... is that mainly because it could only have come out of campaign funds (like, no one thinks any money was from Trump the individual)? Or because it involved facts which, if disclosed, would have affected the election? Or perhaps both?
I think it's because Cohen (or whoever) was spending money to directly help the Trump campaign, and operating on Trump's behalf (as the signed agreement says). It would be fundamentally no different than Cohen paying to rent a stadium for a big Trump rally, or hire the campaign staff airplane for his campaign.
It's still a contribution even if you write a check directly to the recipient, instead of writing a check to the Trump campaign so they can write another check to the recipient.
posted by msalt at 10:38 AM on March 8, 2018 [11 favorites]
I think it's because Cohen (or whoever) was spending money to directly help the Trump campaign, and operating on Trump's behalf (as the signed agreement says). It would be fundamentally no different than Cohen paying to rent a stadium for a big Trump rally, or hire the campaign staff airplane for his campaign.
It's still a contribution even if you write a check directly to the recipient, instead of writing a check to the Trump campaign so they can write another check to the recipient.
posted by msalt at 10:38 AM on March 8, 2018 [11 favorites]
Republicans are starting to panic about next week's Pennsylvania congressional election
It's an election to replace the former incumbent in PA-18, which will be redistricted out of existence when this term ends. Republicans are really desperate for a momentum shift.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:42 AM on March 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
It's an election to replace the former incumbent in PA-18, which will be redistricted out of existence when this term ends. Republicans are really desperate for a momentum shift.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:42 AM on March 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
Surely someone with deep pockets can make it worth her while for Stormy Daniels to just ignore the NDA? Guarantee to cover all costs of violation, plus some on top to line her own pocket.
There has to be a dollar amount that tips the scale.
posted by yesster at 10:43 AM on March 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
There has to be a dollar amount that tips the scale.
posted by yesster at 10:43 AM on March 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
Brent Bozell of the Media Research Center, whose "sole mission is to expose and neutralize the propaganda arm of the Left: the national news media."
Things I learned on his Wikipedia page: he apparently was once very focused on the violence WWF and other televised pro-wrestling were spreading within society. Genuinely curious if anyone is going to bring up the presidents past . . . endorsements or such violence.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 10:44 AM on March 8, 2018 [12 favorites]
Things I learned on his Wikipedia page: he apparently was once very focused on the violence WWF and other televised pro-wrestling were spreading within society. Genuinely curious if anyone is going to bring up the presidents past . . . endorsements or such violence.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 10:44 AM on March 8, 2018 [12 favorites]
Ryan Bundy, Cliven Bundy’s son and inexplicably aquitted leader of the Oregon and Bundy Ranch standoffs, flies to run for governor of Nevada.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:47 AM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:47 AM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
One of the patterns Trump seems to follow is trying to get around legal restrictions on money flow by transparently false means.
When his casino was losing money he got his father to try and get around the bailout limits by sending a lawyer over to buy a few million worth of chips. It didn't work, because law enforcement isn't incredibly stupid.
But people seldom change, especially when they encounter no significant penalty for their behavior, and we see the same pattern with Stormy Daniels. Trump knew that paying her off himself would look bad, so he sent a lawyer by with the transparently false story that the lawyer, just totally randomly and with no intent of doing anything to benefit Trump at all, just happened to decide to pay a porn star six figures in hush money. And it looks as if there was some blatant money shuffling to get his campaign fund to pay it off.
Trump can't be competent about this, because he's never needed to learn competence. In the past he has been able to blatantly and openly break the law and pay no penalty. And I fear we may be seeing that repeat with his Presidential lawbreaking, as the Republicans are completely unwilling to enforce the law.
It turns out that being rich and shameless really is a way to evade the law.
posted by sotonohito at 10:47 AM on March 8, 2018 [54 favorites]
When his casino was losing money he got his father to try and get around the bailout limits by sending a lawyer over to buy a few million worth of chips. It didn't work, because law enforcement isn't incredibly stupid.
But people seldom change, especially when they encounter no significant penalty for their behavior, and we see the same pattern with Stormy Daniels. Trump knew that paying her off himself would look bad, so he sent a lawyer by with the transparently false story that the lawyer, just totally randomly and with no intent of doing anything to benefit Trump at all, just happened to decide to pay a porn star six figures in hush money. And it looks as if there was some blatant money shuffling to get his campaign fund to pay it off.
Trump can't be competent about this, because he's never needed to learn competence. In the past he has been able to blatantly and openly break the law and pay no penalty. And I fear we may be seeing that repeat with his Presidential lawbreaking, as the Republicans are completely unwilling to enforce the law.
It turns out that being rich and shameless really is a way to evade the law.
posted by sotonohito at 10:47 AM on March 8, 2018 [54 favorites]
Stupidest timeline, part 172837... WSJ, U.S. Asks China for Plan to Reduce Trade Deficit by $100 Billion. Hey, remember that time Trump tweeted he was asking China to come up with a plan to reduce the trade deficit by a billion dollars? That would have been less than 0.3% of the trade deficit between the two countries.
Turns out Trump was wrong by a couple orders of magnitude: we're asking them to reduce the trade deficit by $100 billion.
Please remember this is the guy who announced he consults himself on foreign policy because he has "a very good brain."
posted by zachlipton at 10:47 AM on March 8, 2018 [12 favorites]
Turns out Trump was wrong by a couple orders of magnitude: we're asking them to reduce the trade deficit by $100 billion.
Please remember this is the guy who announced he consults himself on foreign policy because he has "a very good brain."
posted by zachlipton at 10:47 AM on March 8, 2018 [12 favorites]
Surely someone with deep pockets can make it worth her while for Stormy Daniels to just ignore the NDA?
I don't know. If this type of unsigned three-party arrangement is typical for Trump, I think it might be better in the long run to pursue the court case and show that Trump's NDAs are unenforceable shams. Does anyone think Stormy Daniels is the only one who has damaging information on Trump under a nondisclosure agreement?
posted by stopgap at 10:48 AM on March 8, 2018 [54 favorites]
I don't know. If this type of unsigned three-party arrangement is typical for Trump, I think it might be better in the long run to pursue the court case and show that Trump's NDAs are unenforceable shams. Does anyone think Stormy Daniels is the only one who has damaging information on Trump under a nondisclosure agreement?
posted by stopgap at 10:48 AM on March 8, 2018 [54 favorites]
Trump's brother is on the board of directors at ZeniMax.
posted by amarynth at 10:48 AM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by amarynth at 10:48 AM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
seriously? This is the line you wanna take here on the topic?
Well, I certainly never expected Donald Trump to take any substantive action to deal with school shootings effectively. Any movement on that topic is going to be driven by popular protest, electoral victory, and pressure on lawmakers to finally put common sense legislation in place. Meanwhile, dipshits at r/The_Donald and elsewhere are busy freaking out about their precious games while demonstrably not caring about the victims of this horrifying administration, so yeah, I'll take a bit of amusement where I can.
posted by Existential Dread at 10:49 AM on March 8, 2018 [21 favorites]
Well, I certainly never expected Donald Trump to take any substantive action to deal with school shootings effectively. Any movement on that topic is going to be driven by popular protest, electoral victory, and pressure on lawmakers to finally put common sense legislation in place. Meanwhile, dipshits at r/The_Donald and elsewhere are busy freaking out about their precious games while demonstrably not caring about the victims of this horrifying administration, so yeah, I'll take a bit of amusement where I can.
posted by Existential Dread at 10:49 AM on March 8, 2018 [21 favorites]
Democrats should be braver about saying that their ideas on the economy -- that more money in the hands of the middle class, not the wealthy, is what creates prosperity in this country -- are simply and inherently better than the Republican "give it all to the rich and hope for the best" plan. And that we've known that since Reagan -- if not the Great Depression.
Yes - this. One of the things that frustrate me most as a left-leaning economist is the refusal, at times, for lefties to couch their policies in a positive economic lens before the right frames it as bad for the economy. There's so much reliance on some variant of the "we're doing the thing that's right" talking point that does not intersect with a lot of the center's key priority which is their job, house, and personal prosperity over ethics, identity, or the right thing to do.
Minimum wage increases lead to more customers with money in their pockets to spend. Affordable housing means people spend their money on other things than just houses. Universal child care would create a lot of child care jobs, free a lot of parents up for their own pursuits, and the money parents spend today on child care will be spent in the economy. Health care means fewer people debilitated by illness and therefore working for and spending their money on local businesses. Having a net to prevent people from falling socially to the very bottom means they're that much closer to getting back into the economy. Students not paying loans banks back for decades mean they're buying houses, cars, and investing in businesses. Putting up windmills, legalizing pot, and building electric cars are great job creators in rural communities.
All of it is GREAT for the economy. GREAT. That should be the first-line talking point - while the Republicans are driving us cripplingly into debt and forcing people out of the economy. Democrats have a vision for getting more people back to work, investing in businesses and into your stores. We're talking about less of your money going to multi-billion dollar corporations and more jobs available for you and customers in your local community.
posted by notorious medium at 10:49 AM on March 8, 2018 [161 favorites]
Yes - this. One of the things that frustrate me most as a left-leaning economist is the refusal, at times, for lefties to couch their policies in a positive economic lens before the right frames it as bad for the economy. There's so much reliance on some variant of the "we're doing the thing that's right" talking point that does not intersect with a lot of the center's key priority which is their job, house, and personal prosperity over ethics, identity, or the right thing to do.
Minimum wage increases lead to more customers with money in their pockets to spend. Affordable housing means people spend their money on other things than just houses. Universal child care would create a lot of child care jobs, free a lot of parents up for their own pursuits, and the money parents spend today on child care will be spent in the economy. Health care means fewer people debilitated by illness and therefore working for and spending their money on local businesses. Having a net to prevent people from falling socially to the very bottom means they're that much closer to getting back into the economy. Students not paying loans banks back for decades mean they're buying houses, cars, and investing in businesses. Putting up windmills, legalizing pot, and building electric cars are great job creators in rural communities.
All of it is GREAT for the economy. GREAT. That should be the first-line talking point - while the Republicans are driving us cripplingly into debt and forcing people out of the economy. Democrats have a vision for getting more people back to work, investing in businesses and into your stores. We're talking about less of your money going to multi-billion dollar corporations and more jobs available for you and customers in your local community.
posted by notorious medium at 10:49 AM on March 8, 2018 [161 favorites]
Surely someone with deep pockets can make it worth her while for Stormy Daniels to just ignore the NDA?
It's probably worth it now; the book/tv special deals would cover the $130k. That's probably why she's willing to risk it, because it's not guaranteed the NDA will be found invalid. But hey, she'd also like to keep that money! If she can make a compelling argument that she didn't violate the contract, she gets both the payout AND whatever celebrity status she can pull off.
I'd love for this to be one more thing that sets off the campaign finance watchdogs. I believe that's both from "in case he used campaign money, even indirectly, to pay it" and "in case the settlement was partially done to influence the election," which is a much stronger case; money spent on press is campaign money, and that may include "money spent to avoid bad press."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:53 AM on March 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
It's probably worth it now; the book/tv special deals would cover the $130k. That's probably why she's willing to risk it, because it's not guaranteed the NDA will be found invalid. But hey, she'd also like to keep that money! If she can make a compelling argument that she didn't violate the contract, she gets both the payout AND whatever celebrity status she can pull off.
I'd love for this to be one more thing that sets off the campaign finance watchdogs. I believe that's both from "in case he used campaign money, even indirectly, to pay it" and "in case the settlement was partially done to influence the election," which is a much stronger case; money spent on press is campaign money, and that may include "money spent to avoid bad press."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:53 AM on March 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
Meanwhile, dipshits at r/The_Donald and elsewhere are busy freaking out about their precious games while demonstrably not caring about the victims of this horrifying administration, so yeah, I'll take a bit of amusement where I can.
Legitimization of people like Bozell - a man who has spent decades attacking media that he feels is unclean because he wants to control what media people consume - should scare you.
posted by NoxAeternum at 10:53 AM on March 8, 2018 [27 favorites]
Legitimization of people like Bozell - a man who has spent decades attacking media that he feels is unclean because he wants to control what media people consume - should scare you.
posted by NoxAeternum at 10:53 AM on March 8, 2018 [27 favorites]
Ryan Bundy, Cliven Bundy’s son and inexplicably aquitted leader of the Oregon and Bundy Ranch standoffs, flies to run for governor of Nevada.
I was explaining this elsewhere - the blue wave predictions based on “generic Republicans” are crap, because “generic Republicans” are not appearing to run right now and/or making it through primaries held hostage by populists. Bundy won’t win, but he might win the primary, making a D Governor almost certain.
posted by corb at 10:55 AM on March 8, 2018 [6 favorites]
I was explaining this elsewhere - the blue wave predictions based on “generic Republicans” are crap, because “generic Republicans” are not appearing to run right now and/or making it through primaries held hostage by populists. Bundy won’t win, but he might win the primary, making a D Governor almost certain.
posted by corb at 10:55 AM on March 8, 2018 [6 favorites]
The server connecting the Trump Organization with Russia ran through a company owned by Betsy Devos’ husband.
Wait, what? The "AlfaBank-only" server? Is this a known thing?
Hm
From May 4 until September 23, the Russian bank looked up the address to this Trump corporate server 2,820 times -- more lookups than the Trump server received from any other source.
As noted, Alfa Bank alone represents 80% of the lookups, according to these leaked internet records.
Far back in second place, with 714 such lookups, was a company called Spectrum Health.
Spectrum is a medical facility chain led by Dick DeVos, the husband of Betsy DeVos, who was appointed by Trump as U.S. education secretary.
Together, Alfa and Spectrum accounted for 99% of the lookups.
posted by petebest at 10:56 AM on March 8, 2018 [44 favorites]
Wait, what? The "AlfaBank-only" server? Is this a known thing?
Hm
From May 4 until September 23, the Russian bank looked up the address to this Trump corporate server 2,820 times -- more lookups than the Trump server received from any other source.
As noted, Alfa Bank alone represents 80% of the lookups, according to these leaked internet records.
Far back in second place, with 714 such lookups, was a company called Spectrum Health.
Spectrum is a medical facility chain led by Dick DeVos, the husband of Betsy DeVos, who was appointed by Trump as U.S. education secretary.
Together, Alfa and Spectrum accounted for 99% of the lookups.
posted by petebest at 10:56 AM on March 8, 2018 [44 favorites]
re: hacked Hope, anyone else old enough to remember Rose Mary Woods?
posted by homerica at 10:56 AM on March 8, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by homerica at 10:56 AM on March 8, 2018 [17 favorites]
Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, author of books including Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill: A Call to Action Against TV, Movie and Video Game Violence, and Assassination Generation: Video Games, Aggression, and the Psychology of Killing, who has argued that playing violent games trains children to use weapons and hardens them against the emotional impact of killing.
This strikes such a chord. Just last week, my 10 year old son asked me if we could get exploding homing turtles for our car, like in Mario Kart.
In all seriousness, Lt. Col Grossman is the fearmongering schmuck (the self-described "killologist" and "Professor of Killology") who keeps telling crowds of NRA supporters that stricter gun control laws result in increased incidence of mass shootings. He considers gun control treason, and thinks we should arm everybody, including having armed adults in schools. The man isn't just a gun nut. He's a fanatic.
posted by zarq at 10:58 AM on March 8, 2018 [33 favorites]
This strikes such a chord. Just last week, my 10 year old son asked me if we could get exploding homing turtles for our car, like in Mario Kart.
In all seriousness, Lt. Col Grossman is the fearmongering schmuck (the self-described "killologist" and "Professor of Killology") who keeps telling crowds of NRA supporters that stricter gun control laws result in increased incidence of mass shootings. He considers gun control treason, and thinks we should arm everybody, including having armed adults in schools. The man isn't just a gun nut. He's a fanatic.
posted by zarq at 10:58 AM on March 8, 2018 [33 favorites]
Surely someone with deep pockets can make it worth her while for Stormy Daniels to just ignore the NDA? Guarantee to cover all costs of violation, plus some on top to line her own pocket.
Inducing someone to break a contract is a tort. Bankrolling her lawsuit against Trump would generally be permissible, though.
posted by jedicus at 10:58 AM on March 8, 2018 [6 favorites]
Inducing someone to break a contract is a tort. Bankrolling her lawsuit against Trump would generally be permissible, though.
posted by jedicus at 10:58 AM on March 8, 2018 [6 favorites]
Bundy won’t win, but he might win the primary, making a D Governor almost certain.
Bundy says he’s running as an independent, which might relegate him to an afterthought, or potentially draw substantial Republican votes from the fringe on the flag / infowars wing.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:00 AM on March 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
Bundy says he’s running as an independent, which might relegate him to an afterthought, or potentially draw substantial Republican votes from the fringe on the flag / infowars wing.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:00 AM on March 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
Just to be perfectly clear, stricter gun control laws help prevent mass shootings. In Australia, Europe and elsewhere.
posted by zarq at 11:01 AM on March 8, 2018 [43 favorites]
posted by zarq at 11:01 AM on March 8, 2018 [43 favorites]
re: hacked Hope, anyone else old enough to remember Rose Mary Woods?
it's going to turn out that hope hicks locked herself out of her email account by standing on her computer's foot pedal while she entered her password, isn't it
posted by murphy slaw at 11:03 AM on March 8, 2018 [18 favorites]
it's going to turn out that hope hicks locked herself out of her email account by standing on her computer's foot pedal while she entered her password, isn't it
posted by murphy slaw at 11:03 AM on March 8, 2018 [18 favorites]
Legitimization of people like Bozell - a man who has spent decades attacking media that he feels is unclean because he wants to control what media people consume - should scare you.
I apologize for the sarcastic tenor of my original comment. Sinclair is already running uncomfortably fascist pro-Trump messages across the 173 stations they own or operate, and they're poised to add dozens more pending acquisition of the Tribune Company, and so I personally find one more meeting of deeply shitty people with Trump to just be unsurprising icing on that cake, but I can certainly understand that others may not feel the same way.
posted by Existential Dread at 11:06 AM on March 8, 2018 [12 favorites]
I apologize for the sarcastic tenor of my original comment. Sinclair is already running uncomfortably fascist pro-Trump messages across the 173 stations they own or operate, and they're poised to add dozens more pending acquisition of the Tribune Company, and so I personally find one more meeting of deeply shitty people with Trump to just be unsurprising icing on that cake, but I can certainly understand that others may not feel the same way.
posted by Existential Dread at 11:06 AM on March 8, 2018 [12 favorites]
Legitimization of people like Bozell - a man who has spent decades attacking media that he feels is unclean because he wants to control what media people consume - should scare you.
His articles have appeared in such publications as The Wall Street Journal,[30] Washington Post,[31][32] Washington Times, New York Post, Los Angeles Times, USA Today,[33] and National Review. He is a nationally syndicated columnist with the Creators Syndicate, and he is a regular on television, including the Fox News Channel program Hannity.[6]
That ship sailed already, because right-wing Christian extremism has been welcome in the American mainstream for decades.
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:08 AM on March 8, 2018 [18 favorites]
His articles have appeared in such publications as The Wall Street Journal,[30] Washington Post,[31][32] Washington Times, New York Post, Los Angeles Times, USA Today,[33] and National Review. He is a nationally syndicated columnist with the Creators Syndicate, and he is a regular on television, including the Fox News Channel program Hannity.[6]
That ship sailed already, because right-wing Christian extremism has been welcome in the American mainstream for decades.
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:08 AM on March 8, 2018 [18 favorites]
If Trump, or one of his successors
Successors? That's the optimism we need around here!
posted by pracowity at 11:08 AM on March 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
Successors? That's the optimism we need around here!
posted by pracowity at 11:08 AM on March 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
[Grossman] considers gun control treason, and thinks we should arm everybody, including having armed adults in schools.
So let me get this straight: He's in favor of preventing kids from playing Grand Theft Auto video games because the horrific simulated violence warps their brains. But he's also in favor of turning our schools and businesses into a live-fire Grand Theft Auto LARP, because the constant background threat of horrific actual violence is the only way to make people behave?
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:11 AM on March 8, 2018 [55 favorites]
So let me get this straight: He's in favor of preventing kids from playing Grand Theft Auto video games because the horrific simulated violence warps their brains. But he's also in favor of turning our schools and businesses into a live-fire Grand Theft Auto LARP, because the constant background threat of horrific actual violence is the only way to make people behave?
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:11 AM on March 8, 2018 [55 favorites]
We need laws that codify all these norms around the presidency to stop people like Trump from taking advantage of our apparently unwarranted faith that presidents would at least pretend to adhere to basic standards. But that's not enough, because frankly there are already many, many laws on the books that these people are breaking in wide open and with brazen confidence that they will receive no consequences.
I think what we need the most is to prove their expectation wrong and ensure that all the people engaged in the Russian collusion, the corruption, the ethics breaches, the money laundering, the insider trading, so on and so forth... all those people face SEVERE consequences. I want them to spend the rest of their lives in prison and I want all their assets stripped so their miserable families inherit none of that ill-gotten wealth. I don't want to settle for anything less than that. And I will make it a priority to support Democrats or progressive candidates who agree. None of this looking forward not backward business. What they've done is unforgivable and I want them to actually suffer for it for a change.
posted by the turtle's teeth at 11:14 AM on March 8, 2018 [34 favorites]
I think what we need the most is to prove their expectation wrong and ensure that all the people engaged in the Russian collusion, the corruption, the ethics breaches, the money laundering, the insider trading, so on and so forth... all those people face SEVERE consequences. I want them to spend the rest of their lives in prison and I want all their assets stripped so their miserable families inherit none of that ill-gotten wealth. I don't want to settle for anything less than that. And I will make it a priority to support Democrats or progressive candidates who agree. None of this looking forward not backward business. What they've done is unforgivable and I want them to actually suffer for it for a change.
posted by the turtle's teeth at 11:14 AM on March 8, 2018 [34 favorites]
Grossman also trains police with the lesson that after killing someone they will have the best sex of their lives.
posted by rhizome at 11:15 AM on March 8, 2018 [24 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 11:15 AM on March 8, 2018 [24 favorites]
"Democrats should be braver about saying that their ideas on the economy -- that more money in the hands of the middle class, not the wealthy, is what creates prosperity in this country -- are simply and inherently better than the Republican "give it all to the rich and hope for the best" plan. "
I hope for the next few election cycles, at least, any "business as usual" Republican policies are tarred with the treason brush: "Paul Ryan wants to give tax cuts to the rich, which is a policy that Vladimir Putin approved of to weaken the United States." "Joe Republican wants to cut education spending, a policy that Vladimir Putin's allies spent millions of dollars to advance in order to weaken the United States and make it less competitive." I mean basically the entire GOP agenda now has a stamp of approval from our geopolitical enemies as being bad for the United States and likely to weaken us, and voters need to be reminded of that ON THE REGULAR.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 11:15 AM on March 8, 2018 [72 favorites]
I hope for the next few election cycles, at least, any "business as usual" Republican policies are tarred with the treason brush: "Paul Ryan wants to give tax cuts to the rich, which is a policy that Vladimir Putin approved of to weaken the United States." "Joe Republican wants to cut education spending, a policy that Vladimir Putin's allies spent millions of dollars to advance in order to weaken the United States and make it less competitive." I mean basically the entire GOP agenda now has a stamp of approval from our geopolitical enemies as being bad for the United States and likely to weaken us, and voters need to be reminded of that ON THE REGULAR.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 11:15 AM on March 8, 2018 [72 favorites]
The videogames endanger the guns, that's the ultimate crime.
posted by Artw at 11:15 AM on March 8, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Artw at 11:15 AM on March 8, 2018 [7 favorites]
We may have to send out for more red thread:
Saudi Arabia Using Law Firm Tied to Trump to Lobby U.S. for Nuclear Deal
A law firm that reportedly has advised President Trump’s real estate empire registered last month to lobby the Trump administration as part of Saudi Arabia’s bid for U.S. approval for a civilian nuclear power program, federal documents show.
King & Spalding, an international law firm headquartered in Atlanta that reportedly has worked for Trump’s real estate concerns, disclosed that Saudi Arabia was paying the firm up to $450,000 for a 30-day period. The disclosures were made in a filing with the Justice Department, as required by the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
The contract was registered with the DOJ on February 21. Five days later, Energy Secretary Rick Perry canceled a trip to India so he could fly to London to discuss a nuclear cooperation agreement with senior Saudi officials. Such an agreement could open the door for lucrative U.S. contracts to build the kingdom’s new power plants.
Half a million dollars a month ain't bad. Flogging uranium to the Saudis... hey, what could possibly go wrong?
posted by Devonian at 11:17 AM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
Saudi Arabia Using Law Firm Tied to Trump to Lobby U.S. for Nuclear Deal
A law firm that reportedly has advised President Trump’s real estate empire registered last month to lobby the Trump administration as part of Saudi Arabia’s bid for U.S. approval for a civilian nuclear power program, federal documents show.
King & Spalding, an international law firm headquartered in Atlanta that reportedly has worked for Trump’s real estate concerns, disclosed that Saudi Arabia was paying the firm up to $450,000 for a 30-day period. The disclosures were made in a filing with the Justice Department, as required by the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
The contract was registered with the DOJ on February 21. Five days later, Energy Secretary Rick Perry canceled a trip to India so he could fly to London to discuss a nuclear cooperation agreement with senior Saudi officials. Such an agreement could open the door for lucrative U.S. contracts to build the kingdom’s new power plants.
Half a million dollars a month ain't bad. Flogging uranium to the Saudis... hey, what could possibly go wrong?
posted by Devonian at 11:17 AM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
Affordable housing means people spend their money on other things than just houses. Universal child care would create a lot of child care jobs, free a lot of parents up for their own pursuits, and the money parents spend today on child care will be spent in the economy. Health care means fewer people debilitated by illness and therefore working for and spending their money on local businesses.
And all of the above would mean that middle and working class people would be less dependent on lousy jobs that provide their only source of health care or income for housing, freeing more people to start their own businesses or look for a better job. That development -- which has already taken place to a degree with Obamacare -- gives even more economic power to the working and middle classes at the expense of the wealthy, who would prefer to have a captive working populace with few options.
In other words, to paraphrase the ironic title of Hayek's treatise on conservative economics, trickle down economics is the true road to serfdom.
posted by Gelatin at 11:20 AM on March 8, 2018 [23 favorites]
And all of the above would mean that middle and working class people would be less dependent on lousy jobs that provide their only source of health care or income for housing, freeing more people to start their own businesses or look for a better job. That development -- which has already taken place to a degree with Obamacare -- gives even more economic power to the working and middle classes at the expense of the wealthy, who would prefer to have a captive working populace with few options.
In other words, to paraphrase the ironic title of Hayek's treatise on conservative economics, trickle down economics is the true road to serfdom.
posted by Gelatin at 11:20 AM on March 8, 2018 [23 favorites]
As we hold our breath for the forthcoming afternoon public performance of Trump signing steel and aluminum tariffs, NPR notes Congressional Republicans Unlikely To Act To Counter Trump On Tariffs
posted by filthy light thief at 11:22 AM on March 8, 2018 [23 favorites]
Congress has the power to challenge President Trump on new tariffs, but it's unlikely lawmakers will act even though nearly all congressional Republicans oppose the president's trade policy because they believe it will harm the U.S. economy.That's also why you have the power to strip him of that power.
"It's a conundrum, really, because you do not want 100 senators and our counterparts in the House doing basically any trade initiative. That's why we give that (power) to the executive," said Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan.
Like most Senate Republicans, Roberts strongly opposes Trump's impending decision to impose new tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum imports. Lawmakers like Roberts fear retaliation from foreign nations on U.S. exports, and agriculture is primed to take a hit. Specifically, Kansans are concerned about China retaliating on U.S. sorghum exports.Behold, the eternally concerned Republicans. Look, you can see them physically quake, but take no action to reduce their concerns. Most puzzling, is it not?
...
"I don't know that there is a legislative fix that will garner the support in both chambers that will be able to override a veto because that's what would have to happen," said Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, R-N.C., "So I'm sure there's going to be bills and co-sponsors, but it would be disingenuous to suggest there will be enough votes to override a veto."
One of those bills is by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. He introduced legislation in January that would amend a 1974 trade law to require the president to get congressional approval before making any major trade policy moves, including imposing new tariffs. The proposal has no co-sponsors and Republicans have not warmed to the idea of limiting executive powers on trade just yet. "I don't think we're at the point where we need to consider that bill yet," said Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:22 AM on March 8, 2018 [23 favorites]
Trump's brother is on the board of directors at ZeniMax.
I have no idea what to make of this. Does Donald think that Robert Trump, who's only one member of a board that includes Jerry Bruckheimer, Les Moonves, and Cal Ripkin, Jr., will lean on the chairman and force him to publicly abase their company before a lineup of dimwitted moralizers? If so, did Donald actually run this plan by Robert first?
posted by Iridic at 11:25 AM on March 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
I have no idea what to make of this. Does Donald think that Robert Trump, who's only one member of a board that includes Jerry Bruckheimer, Les Moonves, and Cal Ripkin, Jr., will lean on the chairman and force him to publicly abase their company before a lineup of dimwitted moralizers? If so, did Donald actually run this plan by Robert first?
posted by Iridic at 11:25 AM on March 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
Grossman also trains police with the lesson that after killing someone they will have the best sex of their lives.
He describes this as a job benefit. In case anybody was wondering. Not some, 'oh by the way, you might find yourself experiencing some emotional lability after shooting somebody to death.' It's straight up, 'it's a hard job but at least you'll have intense fucking so there's that'
posted by angrycat at 11:25 AM on March 8, 2018 [21 favorites]
I hope for the next few election cycles, at least, any "business as usual" Republican policies are tarred with the treason brush
Not to mention the incompetence brush: Republicans love to complain about things like "unelected bureaucrats" and "the DMV" (which in my experience here in Indiana, is courteous and efficient, thank you very much), but all of this first-class-flying, expensive-dining-table-buying, sticking-taxpayers-with-the-bill high on the hog living is of a course with executives who are more about hobnobbing with their fellow plutocrats and enjoying the trappings of wealth than they are about actually adding value to their companies. Their workers do that, and time and again, what does management do? Sell them out.
posted by Gelatin at 11:31 AM on March 8, 2018 [12 favorites]
Not to mention the incompetence brush: Republicans love to complain about things like "unelected bureaucrats" and "the DMV" (which in my experience here in Indiana, is courteous and efficient, thank you very much), but all of this first-class-flying, expensive-dining-table-buying, sticking-taxpayers-with-the-bill high on the hog living is of a course with executives who are more about hobnobbing with their fellow plutocrats and enjoying the trappings of wealth than they are about actually adding value to their companies. Their workers do that, and time and again, what does management do? Sell them out.
posted by Gelatin at 11:31 AM on March 8, 2018 [12 favorites]
We need laws that codify all these norms around the presidency to stop people like Trump from taking advantage of our apparently unwarranted faith that presidents would at least pretend to adhere to basic standards.
Step 1 is a bill to remove the president's exemption from conflict of interest laws. Nothing more, just that one change. It should be able to pass with a veto-proof majority.
If it doesn't, make it a huge issue in the congressional elections, and set it up as bill #1 to be passed the day after Trump's impeachment, and if need be again when a Democrat is elected.
posted by msalt at 11:34 AM on March 8, 2018 [19 favorites]
Step 1 is a bill to remove the president's exemption from conflict of interest laws. Nothing more, just that one change. It should be able to pass with a veto-proof majority.
If it doesn't, make it a huge issue in the congressional elections, and set it up as bill #1 to be passed the day after Trump's impeachment, and if need be again when a Democrat is elected.
posted by msalt at 11:34 AM on March 8, 2018 [19 favorites]
msalt: "Republicans are starting to panic about next week's Pennsylvania congressional election"
Worth noting that preemptively bashing candidates that look like they might lose is sort of a thing for the GOP.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:38 AM on March 8, 2018 [7 favorites]
Worth noting that preemptively bashing candidates that look like they might lose is sort of a thing for the GOP.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:38 AM on March 8, 2018 [7 favorites]
From the PC Gamer article quoted by Existential Dread: Lt. Col. Dave Grossman... has argued that playing violent games trains children to use weapons and hardens them against the emotional impact of killing.
From the WaPo article linked by rhizome: In the class recorded for “Do Not Resist,” Grossman at one point tells his students that the sex they have after they kill another human being will be the best sex of their lives. The room chuckles. But he’s clearly serious. “Both partners are very invested in some very intense sex,” he says. “There’s not a whole lot of perks that come with this job. You find one, relax and enjoy it.”
This is the same Dave Grossman. The only way it can cohere is if he sees real-vs-videogame violence the way many people naturally perceive sex-vs-porn. "We're raising a generation of young people on simulated violence that fails to capture the glorious beauty of the real thing! They're passively sitting in darkened rooms pretending to kill each other when they could be using actual guns, like the founders intended. Why, when it comes time for their first murder, their emotions will have hardened too much to appreciate what is happening"
posted by InTheYear2017 at 11:44 AM on March 8, 2018 [19 favorites]
From the WaPo article linked by rhizome: In the class recorded for “Do Not Resist,” Grossman at one point tells his students that the sex they have after they kill another human being will be the best sex of their lives. The room chuckles. But he’s clearly serious. “Both partners are very invested in some very intense sex,” he says. “There’s not a whole lot of perks that come with this job. You find one, relax and enjoy it.”
This is the same Dave Grossman. The only way it can cohere is if he sees real-vs-videogame violence the way many people naturally perceive sex-vs-porn. "We're raising a generation of young people on simulated violence that fails to capture the glorious beauty of the real thing! They're passively sitting in darkened rooms pretending to kill each other when they could be using actual guns, like the founders intended. Why, when it comes time for their first murder, their emotions will have hardened too much to appreciate what is happening"
posted by InTheYear2017 at 11:44 AM on March 8, 2018 [19 favorites]
Here are the 17 Democrats who voted to end debate on the Dodd-Frank rollback (source; apologies if these names have already been posted!):
Michael Bennet of Colorado
Tom Carper of Delaware
Chris Coons of Delaware
Joe Donnelly of Indiana
Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire
Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota
Doug Jones of Alabama
Tim Kaine of Virginia
Angus King of Maine
Joe Manchin of West Virginia
Claire McCaskill of Missouri
Bill Nelson of Florida
Gary Peters of Michigan
Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire
Debbie Stabenow of Michigan
Jon Tester of Montana
Mark Warner of West Virginia
posted by hexaflexagon at 11:45 AM on March 8, 2018 [23 favorites]
Michael Bennet of Colorado
Tom Carper of Delaware
Chris Coons of Delaware
Joe Donnelly of Indiana
Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire
Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota
Doug Jones of Alabama
Tim Kaine of Virginia
Angus King of Maine
Joe Manchin of West Virginia
Claire McCaskill of Missouri
Bill Nelson of Florida
Gary Peters of Michigan
Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire
Debbie Stabenow of Michigan
Jon Tester of Montana
Mark Warner of West Virginia
posted by hexaflexagon at 11:45 AM on March 8, 2018 [23 favorites]
It feels to me like the GOP is setting itself up to tout a potential narrow Saccone victory as a rousing success rather than the bare fucking minimum given the district and how much money and star power they had to throw at the problem.
I still hope Lamb wins, obviously, but this is just the GOP hedging their bets.
posted by lydhre at 11:47 AM on March 8, 2018 [7 favorites]
I still hope Lamb wins, obviously, but this is just the GOP hedging their bets.
posted by lydhre at 11:47 AM on March 8, 2018 [7 favorites]
Mark Warner is VA, not WV.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:52 AM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 11:52 AM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
Does Trump think there are more gunnuts in his base than there are gamers?
I would hazard a guess that he doesn't realize anyone other than children play video games.
posted by Quindar Beep at 11:56 AM on March 8, 2018 [30 favorites]
I would hazard a guess that he doesn't realize anyone other than children play video games.
posted by Quindar Beep at 11:56 AM on March 8, 2018 [30 favorites]
Isn’t it the same Grossman who wrote a book about how the military learned to train people to kill after WW2? Because they figured out that it is deeply unnatural and traumatizing to human beings to kill other human beings, so naturally they were like, how can we systematically train people to instinctively do things that go against their very humanity?
Like he literally wrote the book on systematic production of psychopathic traits. Borrowing heavily, I believe, from the Nazis?
So.
That’s not terrifying at all.
posted by schadenfrau at 11:57 AM on March 8, 2018 [30 favorites]
Like he literally wrote the book on systematic production of psychopathic traits. Borrowing heavily, I believe, from the Nazis?
So.
That’s not terrifying at all.
posted by schadenfrau at 11:57 AM on March 8, 2018 [30 favorites]
I think it's just more evidence he's stuck, cognitively, imaginatively, politically in the 1990s.
posted by notyou at 11:58 AM on March 8, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by notyou at 11:58 AM on March 8, 2018 [6 favorites]
homerica: "re: hacked Hope, anyone else old enough to remember Rose Mary Woods?"
Mostly, but there's 18 1/2 minutes that I'm blanking on.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:01 PM on March 8, 2018 [45 favorites]
Mostly, but there's 18 1/2 minutes that I'm blanking on.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:01 PM on March 8, 2018 [45 favorites]
"This is Gary Cohn’s last cabinet meeting. He’s been terrific. He may be a globalist, but I still like him. He’s seriously globalist, no question..."
I'm not at all surprised by Trump repeatedly referring to Gary Cohn with the dog-whistle term "globalist" but what's up with members of the White House press corps blithely doing this?
posted by theory at 12:03 PM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
I'm not at all surprised by Trump repeatedly referring to Gary Cohn with the dog-whistle term "globalist" but what's up with members of the White House press corps blithely doing this?
posted by theory at 12:03 PM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
I'm not at all surprised by Trump repeatedly referring to Gary Cohn with the dog-whistle term "globalist" but what's up with members of the White House press corps blithely doing this?
Normalization.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:03 PM on March 8, 2018 [44 favorites]
Normalization.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:03 PM on March 8, 2018 [44 favorites]
Congress has the power to challenge President Trump on new tariffs, but it's unlikely lawmakers will act even though nearly all congressional Republicans oppose the president's trade policy because they believe it will harm the U.S. economy.
"It's a conundrum, really, because you do not want 100 senators and our counterparts in the House doing basically any trade initiative. That's why we give that (power) to the executive," said Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan.
Jeezy creezy. It's not just American voters who need a brush-up on civics; it's (some of) our actual congresspeople! Repeat after me - checks and balances! I learned this in freaking high school! Yes, I know that the Republicans in Congress are inept, corrupt, or both, but they can't even pretend to know what their jobs are? Smh.
That is something I think Dems can hammer home during these midterms. "Republican Congressmember X didn't know about the checks-and-balances principle that is a basic principle of Our Sacred Constitution!"
One of the things I think we have to do is get rid of the "imperial presidency" that we've had since Bush II post-9/11. Many Democrats were apprehensive when that was first implemented, and for good reason. But then when Obama was President, it was "We need an imperial President to get things done! Obama must be TOUGH! Obama must BULLY CONGRESS like Lyndon Johnson did!*" And now we have Imperial President Donald "Joffrey" Trump, and the shoe is on the other foot again.
*It wasn't that simple; Johnson had a Congressional majority, as well as tremendous latitude because of JFK's assassination (rather like what Bush had post 9/11).
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 12:04 PM on March 8, 2018 [6 favorites]
"It's a conundrum, really, because you do not want 100 senators and our counterparts in the House doing basically any trade initiative. That's why we give that (power) to the executive," said Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan.
Jeezy creezy. It's not just American voters who need a brush-up on civics; it's (some of) our actual congresspeople! Repeat after me - checks and balances! I learned this in freaking high school! Yes, I know that the Republicans in Congress are inept, corrupt, or both, but they can't even pretend to know what their jobs are? Smh.
That is something I think Dems can hammer home during these midterms. "Republican Congressmember X didn't know about the checks-and-balances principle that is a basic principle of Our Sacred Constitution!"
One of the things I think we have to do is get rid of the "imperial presidency" that we've had since Bush II post-9/11. Many Democrats were apprehensive when that was first implemented, and for good reason. But then when Obama was President, it was "We need an imperial President to get things done! Obama must be TOUGH! Obama must BULLY CONGRESS like Lyndon Johnson did!*" And now we have Imperial President Donald "Joffrey" Trump, and the shoe is on the other foot again.
*It wasn't that simple; Johnson had a Congressional majority, as well as tremendous latitude because of JFK's assassination (rather like what Bush had post 9/11).
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 12:04 PM on March 8, 2018 [6 favorites]
I'm not at all surprised by Trump repeatedly referring to Gary Cohn with the dog-whistle term "globalist" but what's up with members of the White House press corps blithely doing this?
The White House press corps has been blithely letting Republicans get away with calling Democrats "the Democrat Party" for a decade now, maybe two.
posted by Gelatin at 12:05 PM on March 8, 2018 [29 favorites]
The White House press corps has been blithely letting Republicans get away with calling Democrats "the Democrat Party" for a decade now, maybe two.
posted by Gelatin at 12:05 PM on March 8, 2018 [29 favorites]
Trump hasn't formed any new ideas since the 80s, so stay tuned for foul language in rap lyrics, fear-mongering regarding the influence of Dungeons and Dragons, and maybe playing LPs backward to discover hidden messages.
I watched the first couple episodes of the West Wing the other day, and they were talkin' gun control. Nearly 20 years later, the gun debate has actually gotten even stupider.
posted by aspersioncast at 12:07 PM on March 8, 2018 [17 favorites]
I watched the first couple episodes of the West Wing the other day, and they were talkin' gun control. Nearly 20 years later, the gun debate has actually gotten even stupider.
posted by aspersioncast at 12:07 PM on March 8, 2018 [17 favorites]
"It's a conundrum, really, because you do not want 100 senators and our counterparts in the House doing basically any trade initiative. That's why we give that (power) to the executive," said Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan.
That's also why you have the power to strip him of that power.
This is why I think things need to go beyond simply codifying standard practices to stand in the way of an authoritarian executive. It's a fine start, sure, but we have standards already in place that Congress simply won't take any action on. Any treaty, convention, law or regulation only has as much power as the willingness of people with the power to execute it to do so. Which leads us back to the complicated and messy prospect of throwing the weight of support behind potential lawmakers who will enforce said practices, and back that up with direct action on the ground level.
(Not to imply that y'all don't already know this; just reiterating.)
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 12:11 PM on March 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
That's also why you have the power to strip him of that power.
This is why I think things need to go beyond simply codifying standard practices to stand in the way of an authoritarian executive. It's a fine start, sure, but we have standards already in place that Congress simply won't take any action on. Any treaty, convention, law or regulation only has as much power as the willingness of people with the power to execute it to do so. Which leads us back to the complicated and messy prospect of throwing the weight of support behind potential lawmakers who will enforce said practices, and back that up with direct action on the ground level.
(Not to imply that y'all don't already know this; just reiterating.)
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 12:11 PM on March 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo released a podcast episode this week where he pulls together a bunch of information about Jared Kushner and the Trump scandals in general. Before becoming a journalist he did his PhD in history, and it really shows in this, because it's a bit like listening to a historian pull together a bunch of different data to give an interpretation of events from the past, except he's doing it for the present moment. If you're interested in the various things Robert Mueller is investigating, it's worth a listen.
posted by Kattullus at 12:15 PM on March 8, 2018 [32 favorites]
posted by Kattullus at 12:15 PM on March 8, 2018 [32 favorites]
"We're raising a generation of young people on simulated violence that fails to capture the glorious beauty of the real thing! They're passively sitting in darkened rooms pretending to kill each other when they could be using actual guns, like the founders intended. Why, when it comes time for their first murder, their emotions will have hardened too much to appreciate what is happening"
His problem with that video games seems to be less a matter of fetishistic gun worship (although that's certainly part of it) and more that the games don't also come with ethical lessons about who should be targeted or defended. He keeps condemning society as raising children to be psychopaths who worship violence, but at the same time talks about making sure there are "good guys with guns" everywhere.
This is very "us vs them." A simplistic military mindset which claims that guns should be in the hands of people with the proper skills, training and judgement to use them. So they can kill "bad guys." Of course, the facts don't bear this out either. Veterans have been the perpetrators of some of our worst mass shooting incidents. Nidal Hasan was a United States Army Medical Corps psychiatrist.
posted by zarq at 12:17 PM on March 8, 2018 [6 favorites]
His problem with that video games seems to be less a matter of fetishistic gun worship (although that's certainly part of it) and more that the games don't also come with ethical lessons about who should be targeted or defended. He keeps condemning society as raising children to be psychopaths who worship violence, but at the same time talks about making sure there are "good guys with guns" everywhere.
This is very "us vs them." A simplistic military mindset which claims that guns should be in the hands of people with the proper skills, training and judgement to use them. So they can kill "bad guys." Of course, the facts don't bear this out either. Veterans have been the perpetrators of some of our worst mass shooting incidents. Nidal Hasan was a United States Army Medical Corps psychiatrist.
posted by zarq at 12:17 PM on March 8, 2018 [6 favorites]
Just another thing showing that it's not video games that are the problem, but that the stereotype of them persists onwards and is a really great distraction, I guess.
So I'm in a really weird position, where I both think that a lot of the people saying this are bullshit bullshitters what have agendas, and also have come around to thinking that yes, some of the games out there for gamers are really fucking dehumanizing and may have contributed to our current crisis.
So I am setting up an older-console game area in my home, and was looking at the games that I had from about five years ago. And some of them, looking around at the world we are living in, are not just terrible but I think actively terrible for some of the weaponized Gamergaters that have now become strong supporters of the Trump Presidency. Like, there's an entire subgenre that focuses around "other people have slighted you, now it's time to kill them".
Naughty Bear, for example, released in 2010 and sold about 400,000 copies - a game whose entire premise is that you are a bear who has been made fun of by other bears and now it is your turn to kill them or drive them to insanity so they kill themselves.
I was one of those people who laughed in the 1990s about "haha they think video games are a problem", but now I'm actively considering - when people spend hours a day on video games, if the video games they're focusing on are all dark, does that do good or bad things for our society?
posted by corb at 12:20 PM on March 8, 2018 [24 favorites]
So I'm in a really weird position, where I both think that a lot of the people saying this are bullshit bullshitters what have agendas, and also have come around to thinking that yes, some of the games out there for gamers are really fucking dehumanizing and may have contributed to our current crisis.
So I am setting up an older-console game area in my home, and was looking at the games that I had from about five years ago. And some of them, looking around at the world we are living in, are not just terrible but I think actively terrible for some of the weaponized Gamergaters that have now become strong supporters of the Trump Presidency. Like, there's an entire subgenre that focuses around "other people have slighted you, now it's time to kill them".
Naughty Bear, for example, released in 2010 and sold about 400,000 copies - a game whose entire premise is that you are a bear who has been made fun of by other bears and now it is your turn to kill them or drive them to insanity so they kill themselves.
I was one of those people who laughed in the 1990s about "haha they think video games are a problem", but now I'm actively considering - when people spend hours a day on video games, if the video games they're focusing on are all dark, does that do good or bad things for our society?
posted by corb at 12:20 PM on March 8, 2018 [24 favorites]
Engadget already has us covered in yet another article in the "do video games cause violence?" saga.
posted by Twain Device at 12:22 PM on March 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Twain Device at 12:22 PM on March 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
corb - from what I have seen of gamer culture they could be playing Peggle all day and a subset of people would turn weird from it. Gamer culture is a very bad culture.
(A very Trumpy one too, which makes for some morbid curiosity over how this stupid shit is going to go down)
posted by Artw at 12:24 PM on March 8, 2018 [10 favorites]
(A very Trumpy one too, which makes for some morbid curiosity over how this stupid shit is going to go down)
posted by Artw at 12:24 PM on March 8, 2018 [10 favorites]
Gamer culture exists and is a toxic cesspool. It gave us the likes of Elliot Rodger and Gamergate
posted by zarq at 12:24 PM on March 8, 2018 [29 favorites]
posted by zarq at 12:24 PM on March 8, 2018 [29 favorites]
ThinkProgress with more on the good DA election results this week in Texas.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:24 PM on March 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Chrysostom at 12:24 PM on March 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Mod note: A few comments removed. If folks want to talk about the details of the specific We're Very Concerned About These Violent Video Games circus being orchestrated by the Trump admin, fine, but let's skip another broad go-around on games and people who play them.
posted by cortex (staff) at 12:26 PM on March 8, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 12:26 PM on March 8, 2018 [12 favorites]
From happier times in the Gamer/nazi alliance: How 'Cheating' Gamers Fueled Steve Bannon's Rise to Power
posted by Artw at 12:29 PM on March 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 12:29 PM on March 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Gamergate--and the Sad Puppies and other similar movements--were made up of people who were already bigots and Nazis directing violence inward, that is, at other gamers, SFF authors/fans, etc. Games don't dehumanize the wannabe Elliot Rodgers, they already see marginalized people and their allies as less than human and operate accordingly. So the issue isn't with everybody that plays games or reads/writes SFF or whatever, it's the assholes and gatekeepers and their enablers.
posted by zombieflanders at 12:37 PM on March 8, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 12:37 PM on March 8, 2018 [13 favorites]
And more...
Here’s how Steve Bannon used angry white gamers to build himself up to Trump’s chief strategist
NBC News Traces the Link Between GamerGate, Trump Supporters, Alt-Right
posted by Artw at 12:38 PM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
Here’s how Steve Bannon used angry white gamers to build himself up to Trump’s chief strategist
NBC News Traces the Link Between GamerGate, Trump Supporters, Alt-Right
posted by Artw at 12:38 PM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
Building on what I said earlier, this is Grossman's take:
posted by zarq at 12:40 PM on March 8, 2018
From a military and law enforcement perspective, violent videogames are “murder simulators” that train kids to kill. They act just like police and military simulators, providing conditioned responses, killing skills and desensitization, except they are inflicted on children without the discipline of military and police training.
posted by zarq at 12:40 PM on March 8, 2018
Sarah Jeong has a nice story on Maciej Ceglowski's (mefi's own Pinboard) Great Slate: Meet the campaign connecting affluent techies with progressive candidates around the country.
I'm in awe of what Maciej has done, but I've always been somewhat skeptical of the slate of candidates, who are somewhat of a mixed bag, ideologically, and seem to have been chosen a bit haphazardly, focusing more on low-income rural Republican leaning districts, rather than based on emphasizing the best chances for taking back the House. But this article makes a case for the importance of funding these types of candidates, who live in districts where Democrats can't pull in this kind of cash. I think I mainly still come down on the "fund the most viable candidates" strategy, but building roots in these districts shouldn't be overlooked.
There's plenty of Eric S. Raymond bashing in there too, which is always fun.
----
As a sidenote, does anyone have a good current state of play as to what's going on with the banking bill? The Crapo amendment changed a lot, closing some loopholes but possibly opening others, and I've heard rumors that the House isn't on board and the whole thing might have to go to a conference committee. I'm trying to get a handle on what's changed exactly, and would appreciate links or education.
posted by zachlipton at 12:42 PM on March 8, 2018 [12 favorites]
I'm in awe of what Maciej has done, but I've always been somewhat skeptical of the slate of candidates, who are somewhat of a mixed bag, ideologically, and seem to have been chosen a bit haphazardly, focusing more on low-income rural Republican leaning districts, rather than based on emphasizing the best chances for taking back the House. But this article makes a case for the importance of funding these types of candidates, who live in districts where Democrats can't pull in this kind of cash. I think I mainly still come down on the "fund the most viable candidates" strategy, but building roots in these districts shouldn't be overlooked.
There's plenty of Eric S. Raymond bashing in there too, which is always fun.
----
As a sidenote, does anyone have a good current state of play as to what's going on with the banking bill? The Crapo amendment changed a lot, closing some loopholes but possibly opening others, and I've heard rumors that the House isn't on board and the whole thing might have to go to a conference committee. I'm trying to get a handle on what's changed exactly, and would appreciate links or education.
posted by zachlipton at 12:42 PM on March 8, 2018 [12 favorites]
You know it just might be that Trump is fully aware that video games don't cause mass shootings, just like plenty of other people who tow this line. It's a red herring - it doesn't matter if there is no causal link between the two if you can waste enough time and oxygen and energy on keeping people from expending that energy on actual gun control.
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 12:43 PM on March 8, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 12:43 PM on March 8, 2018 [13 favorites]
Regulating videogames is a (effective!) distraction. A distraction.
From the Washington Post:
Trump is really good at distracting. He'll say shit that makes him look foolish, is objectively outlandish and ridiculous, and instantly distract the conversation. Unless we are all (myself included) savvy to these techniques, and resist them, we'll succumb to them.
I'm not certain that Trump is engineering it, but I'm also certain that the Trump Porn star story is completely a distraction. It does not matter. Oh, maybe illegal shit happened, but then what? He runs afoul the toothless FEC? What if the (Republican controlled) FEC suddenly grows a spine and does something? Will that something really really matter? The best outcome is that the affair will help the Democrats in the upcoming elections. But honestly, if the Democrats start campaigning on porn-star hush money instead of the real issues that face the country, voters might not be impressed (I wouldn't be).
There are enough real issues that are mindblogging in their impact and nontrivial to address, and the Democrats should keep their eye on the ball. Healthcare. Tradewars. Integrity of elections. Possible treason. International relations. The EPA. The Department of Education.
I know I'm missing some big ones, but I've been too busy reading stories about porn stars and videogames. When I implore everyone to ignore these 'stories' that are straight up distractions from things that matter, I'm speaking to myself more than to any of you.
posted by el io at 12:46 PM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
From the Washington Post:
Even then, though, the promise of greater transparency and oversight didn’t satisfy all policymakers. In California, the state legislature in 2005 adopted a law that banned the sale of violent video games to anyone under age 18. Apoplectic at the prohibition, the video game industry sued the state in response, and in 2011, they emerged victorious after the Supreme Court invalidated the restriction.From NPR:
The Supreme Court on Monday struck down a California law banning the sale of violent video games to children, saying it ran afoul of the First Amendment right to free speech.Thankfully to (rightfully) concerned parents of children, they can regulate access to the content they consume.
In one of the most closely watched cases this term, in a 7-to-2 vote, the justices said governments did not have the authority to "restrict the ideas to which children may be exposed."
Trump is really good at distracting. He'll say shit that makes him look foolish, is objectively outlandish and ridiculous, and instantly distract the conversation. Unless we are all (myself included) savvy to these techniques, and resist them, we'll succumb to them.
I'm not certain that Trump is engineering it, but I'm also certain that the Trump Porn star story is completely a distraction. It does not matter. Oh, maybe illegal shit happened, but then what? He runs afoul the toothless FEC? What if the (Republican controlled) FEC suddenly grows a spine and does something? Will that something really really matter? The best outcome is that the affair will help the Democrats in the upcoming elections. But honestly, if the Democrats start campaigning on porn-star hush money instead of the real issues that face the country, voters might not be impressed (I wouldn't be).
There are enough real issues that are mindblogging in their impact and nontrivial to address, and the Democrats should keep their eye on the ball. Healthcare. Tradewars. Integrity of elections. Possible treason. International relations. The EPA. The Department of Education.
I know I'm missing some big ones, but I've been too busy reading stories about porn stars and videogames. When I implore everyone to ignore these 'stories' that are straight up distractions from things that matter, I'm speaking to myself more than to any of you.
posted by el io at 12:46 PM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
This is the same Donald Trump who spooked the NRA lapdogs by suggesting the government should take away people's guns without due process. He's not fully aware of anything, he just says whatever comes to his mind and then gauges how people react.
posted by biogeo at 12:47 PM on March 8, 2018 [48 favorites]
posted by biogeo at 12:47 PM on March 8, 2018 [48 favorites]
Manafort pleded not guilty to the Virginia charges, with the judge setting a very early trial date: July 10 (that's before the September date on the DC charges).
He was put on home confinement, just as in the DC case, but will have to wear a second ankle monitor, because apparently the probation officers can't just talk on the phone or something.
posted by zachlipton at 12:49 PM on March 8, 2018 [25 favorites]
He was put on home confinement, just as in the DC case, but will have to wear a second ankle monitor, because apparently the probation officers can't just talk on the phone or something.
posted by zachlipton at 12:49 PM on March 8, 2018 [25 favorites]
Al-Monitor's Laura Rozen delves into George Nader's murky past and digs up a Putin connection: The Dealmaker: Mueller Witness Helped Broker $4.2 Billion Iraq-Russia Arms Deal
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:50 PM on March 8, 2018 [15 favorites]
A Lebanese-American businessman reported to be cooperating with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe helped broker a controversial 2012 Iraq-Russian arms deal valued at $4.2 billion, Iraqi sources tell Al-Monitor.Mueller may now be able to connect Nader directly with Moscow in addition to his relationship with oligarch Kirill Dmitriev, potentially putting Erik Prince one degree of separation from Vladimir Putin.
George Nader, 58, traveled to Moscow in 2012, telling Russian interlocutors that he represented Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the deal should be negotiated through him, according to two Iraqi sources. Nader’s role in the deal was controversial to Iraqi officials because Iraq’s minister of defense was in Russia to conduct the negotiations, and they were unaware that Maliki was working with Nader to bypass official channels.
One of the Iraqi sources, a former Iraqi official who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition that he not be named, personally witnessed Nader’s interactions with Maliki in their Moscow hotel when he accompanied Maliki to Moscow in October 2012 to sign the arms deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:50 PM on March 8, 2018 [15 favorites]
He's not fully aware of anything, he just says whatever comes to his mind and then gauges how people react.
This is probably so, but the Trump Whisperers du jour seem to know exactly what they're doing with this tired video game demonization.
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 12:51 PM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
This is probably so, but the Trump Whisperers du jour seem to know exactly what they're doing with this tired video game demonization.
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 12:51 PM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
As a sidenote, does anyone have a good current state of play as to what's going on with the banking bill?
Republicans Eye Making Bank Bill Even Weaker For Consumers
David Dayen’s Update linked earlier
And Mike Konczal’s Twitter feed
Edit:The CBOs analysis
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:55 PM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
Republicans Eye Making Bank Bill Even Weaker For Consumers
David Dayen’s Update linked earlier
And Mike Konczal’s Twitter feed
Edit:The CBOs analysis
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:55 PM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
There are enough real issues that are mindblogging in their impact and nontrivial to address, and the Democrats should keep their eye on the ball. Healthcare. Tradewars. Integrity of elections. Possible treason. International relations. The EPA. The Department of Education.
You don't need to lecture us on what you think is or is not important, thanks.
I have two children in public school. They go through active shooter drills, where they are asked to hide in their classrooms with the doors locked and shades drawn, because this country's legislators have been bought by a lobbying group who promotes the prevailing mindset that guns are more precious than their actual lives. This country has been plagued by mass shootings for years. And no one with the power to do so takes action to prevent them.
It's not a distraction. It's a revealing look at their lack of interest in solving what is in fact a very solvable problem. It's additional evidence that they don't give a shit about gun control or protecting children from mass shootings.
I'm glad we're talking about that here. And talking about who they're trotting out as experts on the issue, and discussing just how dangerous their views are.
posted by zarq at 12:56 PM on March 8, 2018 [88 favorites]
You don't need to lecture us on what you think is or is not important, thanks.
I have two children in public school. They go through active shooter drills, where they are asked to hide in their classrooms with the doors locked and shades drawn, because this country's legislators have been bought by a lobbying group who promotes the prevailing mindset that guns are more precious than their actual lives. This country has been plagued by mass shootings for years. And no one with the power to do so takes action to prevent them.
It's not a distraction. It's a revealing look at their lack of interest in solving what is in fact a very solvable problem. It's additional evidence that they don't give a shit about gun control or protecting children from mass shootings.
I'm glad we're talking about that here. And talking about who they're trotting out as experts on the issue, and discussing just how dangerous their views are.
posted by zarq at 12:56 PM on March 8, 2018 [88 favorites]
Pete Souza continues his excellent trolling by posting a picture showing a group of people, including Obama, trying intensely to fix some other WH dude's shirt collar, and captioning it, "Chaos at the White House!"
posted by angrycat at 12:56 PM on March 8, 2018 [36 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 12:56 PM on March 8, 2018 [36 favorites]
The Guardian: Russian spy attack inquiry widens after medics treat 21 people
posted by Existential Dread at 12:58 PM on March 8, 2018 [14 favorites]
The investigation into the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal has widened, as police sealed off the graves of his late wife, Liudmila, and son, Alexander, and confirmed that a total of 21 people had been treated as a result of the incident.Reuters: Britain will respond if Russia is proved to be behind nerve attack: PM May
The police officer who was exposed to the nerve agent used on the Skripals, named on Thursday as DS Nick Bailey, remained in a serious but stable condition.
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will respond appropriately if evidence shows Moscow was behind a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter in England, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday.Meanwhile, the Russian Embassy in the UK appears to be continuing its confrontational social media presence.
posted by Existential Dread at 12:58 PM on March 8, 2018 [14 favorites]
This is going great!
@pdmcleod“Your father is looking down on you, he’s very proud,” Trump tells steel worker at his press conference. “He’s still alive,” the guy responds.
There's video. Trump follows up with "then he's even more proud of you."
posted by zachlipton at 1:03 PM on March 8, 2018 [60 favorites]
@pdmcleod“Your father is looking down on you, he’s very proud,” Trump tells steel worker at his press conference. “He’s still alive,” the guy responds.
There's video. Trump follows up with "then he's even more proud of you."
posted by zachlipton at 1:03 PM on March 8, 2018 [60 favorites]
Trump follows up with "then he's even more proud of you."
For once, he actually makes a funny joke
posted by OverlappingElvis at 1:04 PM on March 8, 2018 [7 favorites]
For once, he actually makes a funny joke
posted by OverlappingElvis at 1:04 PM on March 8, 2018 [7 favorites]
@pdmcleod“Your father is looking down on you, he’s very proud,” Trump tells steel worker at his press conference. “He’s still alive,” the guy responds.
There's video. Trump follows up with "then he's even more proud of you."
Trump continues writing new episodes of Veep in real-time.
posted by scarylarry at 1:05 PM on March 8, 2018 [14 favorites]
There's video. Trump follows up with "then he's even more proud of you."
Trump continues writing new episodes of Veep in real-time.
posted by scarylarry at 1:05 PM on March 8, 2018 [14 favorites]
I was one of those people who laughed in the 1990s about "haha they think video games are a problem", but now I'm actively considering...
The problem isn't video games; it's cishet white male privilege. There's no sign that girls and women who play games turn vicious because of them.
The issue isn't "video games make boys turn violent;" it's "video games are just one more medium that tells boys that it's okay to kill people who piss you off." Removing the games while encouraging gun ownership won't change that message a bit.
(However, if someone wanted to fund a report on "history of violence in players of exclusively first-person-shooter games with a white male protagonist," I'd love to see that.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:11 PM on March 8, 2018 [76 favorites]
The problem isn't video games; it's cishet white male privilege. There's no sign that girls and women who play games turn vicious because of them.
The issue isn't "video games make boys turn violent;" it's "video games are just one more medium that tells boys that it's okay to kill people who piss you off." Removing the games while encouraging gun ownership won't change that message a bit.
(However, if someone wanted to fund a report on "history of violence in players of exclusively first-person-shooter games with a white male protagonist," I'd love to see that.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:11 PM on March 8, 2018 [76 favorites]
“Your father is looking down on you..."
trump can't imagine a reality wherein a father doesn't look down on his son.
posted by Atom Eyes at 1:13 PM on March 8, 2018 [31 favorites]
trump can't imagine a reality wherein a father doesn't look down on his son.
posted by Atom Eyes at 1:13 PM on March 8, 2018 [31 favorites]
To be fair (ugh, even to a Republican), I assume what he's getting at is the conventional wisdom that trade/tariff policy is especially susceptible to politicking that leads to dysfunction. My state makes cars and yours grows wheat, so I'll vote for your tariff on wheat imports if you vote for mine on car imports... and before you know it, the whole country is spinning down a drain of economic isolation. At least earmarks (which posed similar issues and have been kinda-sorta banned) generated public spending/jobs."It's a conundrum, really, because you do not want 100 senators and our counterparts in the House doing basically any trade initiative. That's why we give that (power) to the executive," said Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan.Jeezy creezy. It's not just American voters who need a brush-up on civics; it's (some of) our actual congresspeople! Repeat after me - checks and balances! I learned this in freaking high school! Yes, I know that the Republicans in Congress are inept, corrupt, or both, but they can't even pretend to know what their jobs are? Smh.
Yes, in theory, all of trade policy could be "congress's job", but there are a lot of things that aren't, sometimes with sensible reason.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:14 PM on March 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Britain will respond appropriately if evidence shows Moscow was behind a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter in England, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday.
Oh really? Can someone remind me how they responded to Alexander Litvenenko's polonium poisoning in London? I mean, as far as I can recall, the only real sanction against the person(s) responsible came years later when Obama put them on the Magnitsky Act list. Did the UK take any action? I mean, they filed extradition requests (which were declined, natch) and had an inquiry but it doesn't seem to me like the UK government ever successfully did anything to the assassins. Sure, it's possible their actions were all hush-hush, spy-vs-spy stuff. But when one of your turned assets is being assassinated in an incredibly high-profile way (in the heart of London no less!), it might behoove you to take at least some public actions.
posted by mhum at 1:17 PM on March 8, 2018 [13 favorites]
Oh really? Can someone remind me how they responded to Alexander Litvenenko's polonium poisoning in London? I mean, as far as I can recall, the only real sanction against the person(s) responsible came years later when Obama put them on the Magnitsky Act list. Did the UK take any action? I mean, they filed extradition requests (which were declined, natch) and had an inquiry but it doesn't seem to me like the UK government ever successfully did anything to the assassins. Sure, it's possible their actions were all hush-hush, spy-vs-spy stuff. But when one of your turned assets is being assassinated in an incredibly high-profile way (in the heart of London no less!), it might behoove you to take at least some public actions.
posted by mhum at 1:17 PM on March 8, 2018 [13 favorites]
Apparently there will be sanctions.
posted by zarq at 1:21 PM on March 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by zarq at 1:21 PM on March 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Britain will respond appropriately if evidence shows Moscow was behind a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter in England, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday.
I'm, uh, sceptical on this one. Even if they wished to do so, they have little scope for it. There's not much more sanctioning to do. Thanks to Brexit, they've marooned themselves on their island, and without a strong banking sector, they're screwed; they could employ the leverage given by the Magnitsky Act, but London needs that foreign money.
"Poisons can be untraceable, so that they are useful for covert forms of warfare. But they can also be used very obviously, as a signal and to make a point."
Kremlin representatives are making cracks in Russian media about Britain being the true master poisoners of the world. One of the people swapped for the victim straight-up was trolling on her Insta. Hell, Putin essentially offered confirmation, though in code. Russia put a fair amount of effort into researching novel nerve agents, and I suspect there's a reason they decided to hit their targets with one just outside Porton Down, and I would not be surprised if it ends up being VR, as a clever little military warfare in-joke of sorts.
And, of course, the effort to defend Putin has begun. The UK will awkwardly ignore this. Like it always does. Partly because there's not much else they could do. (Maybe if the US could step in to help an ally out, to work with their intelligence services, but we all know that's not happening any time soon, given the state that we're also in.)
posted by halation at 1:22 PM on March 8, 2018 [20 favorites]
I'm, uh, sceptical on this one. Even if they wished to do so, they have little scope for it. There's not much more sanctioning to do. Thanks to Brexit, they've marooned themselves on their island, and without a strong banking sector, they're screwed; they could employ the leverage given by the Magnitsky Act, but London needs that foreign money.
"Poisons can be untraceable, so that they are useful for covert forms of warfare. But they can also be used very obviously, as a signal and to make a point."
Kremlin representatives are making cracks in Russian media about Britain being the true master poisoners of the world. One of the people swapped for the victim straight-up was trolling on her Insta. Hell, Putin essentially offered confirmation, though in code. Russia put a fair amount of effort into researching novel nerve agents, and I suspect there's a reason they decided to hit their targets with one just outside Porton Down, and I would not be surprised if it ends up being VR, as a clever little military warfare in-joke of sorts.
And, of course, the effort to defend Putin has begun. The UK will awkwardly ignore this. Like it always does. Partly because there's not much else they could do. (Maybe if the US could step in to help an ally out, to work with their intelligence services, but we all know that's not happening any time soon, given the state that we're also in.)
posted by halation at 1:22 PM on March 8, 2018 [20 favorites]
I assume what he's getting at is the conventional wisdom that trade/tariff policy is especially susceptible to politicking that leads to dysfunction.
Planet Money did a great show on all of what goes into trade agreements. It blew my mind just how complex it gets - so many special interests and all of them only interested in once tiny sliver of the giant pie.
posted by mosst at 1:28 PM on March 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Planet Money did a great show on all of what goes into trade agreements. It blew my mind just how complex it gets - so many special interests and all of them only interested in once tiny sliver of the giant pie.
posted by mosst at 1:28 PM on March 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Mike Pence Gets Roasted for International Women’s Day Tweet
posted by Capt. Renault at 1:31 PM on March 8, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by Capt. Renault at 1:31 PM on March 8, 2018 [23 favorites]
AP, Interior mum on whether Zinke spent $139K on office door. This is still thin, but if the $139,000 work order labeled "Secretary’s Door" actually included other important work or something, you'd think it would be easy enough for the press office to say so.
posted by zachlipton at 1:37 PM on March 8, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 1:37 PM on March 8, 2018 [16 favorites]
Trump Blocks Access to Puppy Mill Inspections
- In May of last year, the Tampa Bay Times asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide the three most recent inspections of 15 puppy breeders who supply Tampa-area stores.
- It took nine months, but the reply arrived last week: 54 pages of total blackout.
- Every word of every inspection — from the date to the violations — were redacted from the documents provided. Providing "personnel and medical files," the agency said, would "constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."
- These records used to be available on the USDA website for anyone to search and find. But in the first month after President Donald Trump took office, the information was scrubbed entirely from the website.
AP, Interior mum on whether Zinke spent $139K on office door.
$9,000 was for the door.
I think we all know what the remaining $130,000 will buy you in this White House.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 1:39 PM on March 8, 2018 [75 favorites]
$9,000 was for the door.
I think we all know what the remaining $130,000 will buy you in this White House.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 1:39 PM on March 8, 2018 [75 favorites]
Richard Painter, the Republican ethics lawyer suing Donald Trump over emoluments, is exploring a run for Franken's Senate seat.
“I have seen corruption firsthand. I have seen corruption in Washington, D.C., and I will emphasize that the corruption we see today is not to be blamed principally on President Donald Trump, even though I have criticized him,” he said. “It is to be blamed on the role of money in politics.” Painter said that issue would drive his campaign.posted by xyzzy at 1:40 PM on March 8, 2018 [7 favorites]
Maybe if the US could step in to help an ally out, to work with their intelligence services
Nah, the FSB seems to be doing fine on their own.
Oh, you meant the Brits.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 1:44 PM on March 8, 2018 [8 favorites]
Nah, the FSB seems to be doing fine on their own.
Oh, you meant the Brits.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 1:44 PM on March 8, 2018 [8 favorites]
Forgive me if this was posted already and I missed it, but HEY GUESS WHAT Sinclair's found a way to make its must-run propaganda segments somehow even worse:
Thanks again, Ajit Pai!
posted by halation at 1:49 PM on March 8, 2018 [53 favorites]
The instructions to local stations say that the promos "should play using news time, not commercial time." Like the Epshteyn commentaries, this takes away from local news time.The internal memo also offers sartorial suggestions: talent is to "avoid totally red, blue and purple" ties, dresses, or suits and instead favour "jewel tones" because "the goal is to look apolitical, neutral, nonpartisan yet professional" while delivering said propaganda.
"Please produce the attached scripts exactly as they are written," the instructions say. "This copy has been thoroughly tested and speaks to our Journalistic Responsibility as advocates to seek the truth on behalf of the audience."
The promos begin with one or two anchors introducing themselves and saying "I'm [we are] extremely proud of the quality, balanced journalism that [proper news brand name of local station] produces. But I'm [we are] concerned about the troubling trend of irresponsible, one sided news stories plaguing our country."
Then the media bashing begins.
Thanks again, Ajit Pai!
posted by halation at 1:49 PM on March 8, 2018 [53 favorites]
Richard Painter, the Republican ethics lawyer suing Donald Trump over emoluments, is exploring a run for Franken's Senate seat.
This is a bit weird. Painter has said he's considering running as GOP, DFL (Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor), or an independent.
Which...I understand he's trying to figure out where he belongs, but how does this practically work? Does the MN GOP really want a never-Trump Republican whose commitment to the party is so weak he's considering running as a Democrat? Are the Democrats really going to toss Tina Smith? And what kind of ticket-splitting mess would an independent campaign stir up?
posted by zachlipton at 1:49 PM on March 8, 2018 [10 favorites]
This is a bit weird. Painter has said he's considering running as GOP, DFL (Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor), or an independent.
Which...I understand he's trying to figure out where he belongs, but how does this practically work? Does the MN GOP really want a never-Trump Republican whose commitment to the party is so weak he's considering running as a Democrat? Are the Democrats really going to toss Tina Smith? And what kind of ticket-splitting mess would an independent campaign stir up?
posted by zachlipton at 1:49 PM on March 8, 2018 [10 favorites]
Good news, everyone! Trump confirms steel is steel, but no word on whether up is still up, or possibly down. Oh, and he signed the tariffs:
posted by filthy light thief at 1:58 PM on March 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
The president ordered a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and a 10 percent levy on imported aluminum to take effect in 15 days. Although Trump initially wanted to apply the tariffs worldwide, carve-outs were added for Canada and Mexico for the time being. Aides say exceptions could be made for other U.S. allies.So the first question is how long will other countries wait to see if they get added to exception lists before issuing counter-tariffs? And Paul Ryan was concerned, but partially appeased:
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., issued a statement disagreeing with the administration's approach, arguing instead for "targeted enforcement" against bad trade practices by countries like China.Thoughts and prayers, Ryan. Thoughts and prayers.
"I disagree with this action and fear its unintended consequences. I am pleased that the president has listened to those who share my concerns and included an exemption for some American allies, but it should go further," Ryan said. "We will continue to urge the administration to narrow this policy so that it is focused only on those countries and practices that violate trade law."
posted by filthy light thief at 1:58 PM on March 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
And to show everyone that this has already worked, U.S. Steel announced plans to restart one of two idle blast furnaces in Granite City, Ill., and call back some 500 workers. Century Aluminum plans to invest $100 million to restart its idled smelter in Hawesville, Ky. and hire 300 additional workers.
Both links are press releases, FYI.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:01 PM on March 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Both links are press releases, FYI.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:01 PM on March 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Does the MN GOP really want a never-Trump Republican whose commitment to the party is so weak he's considering running as a Democrat?
No.
Are the Democrats really going to toss Tina Smith?
No.
And what kind of ticket-splitting mess would an independent campaign stir up?
Hard to say, could be a real problem.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:08 PM on March 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
No.
Are the Democrats really going to toss Tina Smith?
No.
And what kind of ticket-splitting mess would an independent campaign stir up?
Hard to say, could be a real problem.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:08 PM on March 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
Hard to say, could be a real problem.That's the reason I posted the link to the article. Painter, due to the unique nature of his politics, could peel off voters from both parties and be very attractive to independents. Probably not enough to win if he ran as an independent, but could be enough to cause trouble for Tina Smith. Which I don't want to happen.
posted by xyzzy at 2:13 PM on March 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
Funfact: Granite City is home to Ken Bone
posted by fluttering hellfire at 2:14 PM on March 8, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 2:14 PM on March 8, 2018 [11 favorites]
Paul Ryan was concerned, but partially appeased:
Goddamn is it infuriating to see again and again that although Ryan and McConnell, among others, spent 8 years doing their best to see to it that Obama couldn't do a damn thing , even things that both sides had traditionally agreed a President had every right to do -- and even things the Republicans had originally proposed!!!! -- they keep claiming utter powerlessness when faced with Trump's excesses, incompetence, and overreach.
posted by lord_wolf at 2:20 PM on March 8, 2018 [41 favorites]
Goddamn is it infuriating to see again and again that although Ryan and McConnell, among others, spent 8 years doing their best to see to it that Obama couldn't do a damn thing , even things that both sides had traditionally agreed a President had every right to do -- and even things the Republicans had originally proposed!!!! -- they keep claiming utter powerlessness when faced with Trump's excesses, incompetence, and overreach.
posted by lord_wolf at 2:20 PM on March 8, 2018 [41 favorites]
And to show everyone that this has already worked, U.S. Steel announced plans to restart one of two idle blast furnaces in Granite City, Ill., and call back some 500 workers. Century Aluminum plans to invest $100 million to restart its idled smelter in Hawesville, Ky. and hire 300 additional workers.
Both links are press releases, FYI.
Yep. Let's wait and see how many manufacturing jobs are lost due to the cost of raw materials. It'll be more than 800.
posted by azpenguin at 2:26 PM on March 8, 2018 [10 favorites]
Both links are press releases, FYI.
Yep. Let's wait and see how many manufacturing jobs are lost due to the cost of raw materials. It'll be more than 800.
posted by azpenguin at 2:26 PM on March 8, 2018 [10 favorites]
WH press pool is reporting that about 15 mins ago Trump stuck his head into the briefing room to say that South Korea will be making a "major statement on a big subject" and I just cant wait to see if they are gonna give Stormy the rose or not. . .
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 2:27 PM on March 8, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 2:27 PM on March 8, 2018 [6 favorites]
I was kind of speculating last night when I mentioned how the consensual Stormy Daniels story is important to understanding the many allegations of nonconsensual behavior by Trump, but I wasn't expecting this direct of a link today:
@mj_lee: NEW: A woman named in Stormy Daniels' NDA as having confidential info about Stormy's affair with Trump -- "Angel Ryan" -- is Jessica Drake, an adult film performer who herself accused Trump of sexual misconduct. Gloria Allred, the lawyer representing Drake, confirms to CNN that Drake = Angel Ryan. But Allred would not comment further on the nature of Drake's relationship with Stormy Daniels.
Drake's publicist said that she signed an NDA, then retracted that. And now here she is in Daniels' NDA under a pseudonym.
posted by zachlipton at 2:35 PM on March 8, 2018 [21 favorites]
@mj_lee: NEW: A woman named in Stormy Daniels' NDA as having confidential info about Stormy's affair with Trump -- "Angel Ryan" -- is Jessica Drake, an adult film performer who herself accused Trump of sexual misconduct. Gloria Allred, the lawyer representing Drake, confirms to CNN that Drake = Angel Ryan. But Allred would not comment further on the nature of Drake's relationship with Stormy Daniels.
Drake's publicist said that she signed an NDA, then retracted that. And now here she is in Daniels' NDA under a pseudonym.
posted by zachlipton at 2:35 PM on March 8, 2018 [21 favorites]
There's plenty of Eric S. Raymond bashing in there too, which is always fun.
Courtesy my old friend Tom Ptacek, @tqbf. ESR really is a worthless human being; repurposing him to raise money for worthwhile Democrats was a genius move.
posted by scalefree at 2:55 PM on March 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
Courtesy my old friend Tom Ptacek, @tqbf. ESR really is a worthless human being; repurposing him to raise money for worthwhile Democrats was a genius move.
posted by scalefree at 2:55 PM on March 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
Meanwhile, in the Kansas voting rights trial, Kris Kobach presents as evidence a spreadsheet showing 38 cases of non-citizen voting activity as proof of the need for proof-of-citizenship for registered voters.
Those alleged non-citizen voters cast collectively about 10-12 votes, the earliest in 2004, testimony revealed. According to the challengers in the case, that’s out of 1.3 million votes cast in the relevant time period in the county. Sedgwick County accounts for a little over one sixth of Kansas’ population.posted by murphy slaw at 2:57 PM on March 8, 2018 [17 favorites]
Yet Kobach is using those examples to defend his proof-of-citizenship requirement, which was implemented in 2013. An appeals court has said Kobach must prove that non-citizen voting is a “substantial” problem in Kansas. So the spreadsheet — along with testimony expected in the days to come from “experts” in voter fraud — is key to Kobach’s argument.
…
The spreadsheet details 38 cases where non-citizens purportedly voted, registered to vote or attempted to register to vote. Eighteen successfully registered before the law was enacted, 16 were blocked by the law, and four registered after the law was temporarily blocked in 2016, the spreadsheet alleges.
…
Many of the people cited on the spreadsheet as non-citizens had registered at the DMV, where people getting drivers licenses or state IDs are also asked if they want to register to vote.
Shorter Kobach:
Better that 10,000 legitimate (Democratic) voters be disenfranchised than to allow one non-citizen to (unsuccessfully) attempt to register to vote.
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:09 PM on March 8, 2018 [34 favorites]
Better that 10,000 legitimate (Democratic) voters be disenfranchised than to allow one non-citizen to (unsuccessfully) attempt to register to vote.
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:09 PM on March 8, 2018 [34 favorites]
18 non-citizen votes out of 1.3 million total votes = huge problem that requires immediate action
Around 15% of Americans living below the poverty line = enjoy yourrations Harvest Box™
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 3:09 PM on March 8, 2018 [53 favorites]
Around 15% of Americans living below the poverty line = enjoy your
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 3:09 PM on March 8, 2018 [53 favorites]
The first Democrat to point out 69,105 flagrant examples of Republicans using word and deed to attempt to, quite literally, dehumanize the poor, the left and everyone outside of the conservative tribe gets a cookie.
And also gets to write the Democratic response to Trump, Bozell & Co. bemoaning how HORRIBLE it is that violent video games supposedly train teenagers to dehumanize those that they hate.
posted by delfin at 3:15 PM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
And also gets to write the Democratic response to Trump, Bozell & Co. bemoaning how HORRIBLE it is that violent video games supposedly train teenagers to dehumanize those that they hate.
posted by delfin at 3:15 PM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
18 non-citizen votes out of 1.3 million total votes = huge problem that requires immediate action
Voter ID advocates could make a bigger impact by several orders of magnitude in more accurately tallying votes by pushing for better ballots design.
posted by PenDevil at 3:15 PM on March 8, 2018 [11 favorites]
Voter ID advocates could make a bigger impact by several orders of magnitude in more accurately tallying votes by pushing for better ballots design.
posted by PenDevil at 3:15 PM on March 8, 2018 [11 favorites]
Speaking of voter ID laws I was required to vote via provisional ballot in Texas because I got married and updated my voter registration and my ID and even got a card with my new last name but the voter Database still had my old name.
Voter ID laws are bullshit. They are designed to disenfranchise voters and that’s fucking it. Even if you follow the steps you are still at the mercy of their fucking system.
Guess whose names never change?
Men, that’s who.
posted by Annika Cicada at 3:18 PM on March 8, 2018 [133 favorites]
Voter ID laws are bullshit. They are designed to disenfranchise voters and that’s fucking it. Even if you follow the steps you are still at the mercy of their fucking system.
Guess whose names never change?
Men, that’s who.
posted by Annika Cicada at 3:18 PM on March 8, 2018 [133 favorites]
Goddamn is it infuriating to see again and again that although Ryan and McConnell, among others, spent 8 years doing their best to see to it that Obama couldn't do a damn thing , even things that both sides had traditionally agreed a President had every right to do -- and even things the Republicans had originally proposed!!!! -- they keep claiming utter powerlessness when faced with Trump's excesses, incompetence, and overreach.
GOP Über Alles. The GOP nominated Trump for the Presidency. They're all on the same team, so there is of course no pushback.
posted by mikelieman at 3:21 PM on March 8, 2018 [10 favorites]
GOP Über Alles. The GOP nominated Trump for the Presidency. They're all on the same team, so there is of course no pushback.
posted by mikelieman at 3:21 PM on March 8, 2018 [10 favorites]
And what kind of ticket-splitting mess would an independent campaign stir up?
In Minnesota? Ask Jesse Ventura.
posted by nickmark at 3:22 PM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
In Minnesota? Ask Jesse Ventura.
posted by nickmark at 3:22 PM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
The instructions to local stations say that the promos "should play using news time, not commercial time." Like the Epshteyn commentaries, this takes away from local news time.
"Please produce the attached scripts exactly as they are written," the instructions say. "This copy has been thoroughly tested and speaks to our Journalistic Responsibility as advocates to seek the truth on behalf of the audience."
I would pay $MANY_DOLLARS for someone to forge Sinclair Media instructions. Have them broadcast that aliens were about to land at Devil's Table and all true Americans were instructed to come greet them. Have them pass on a message from the Great Lord Satan, and his Son on Earth Donald Trump. The possibilities are endless.
I also acknowledge, upon reflection, that Sinclair Media is terrifying and fucking with the Midwest is probably not as important as withdrawing their broadcast license.
posted by Merus at 3:22 PM on March 8, 2018 [8 favorites]
"Please produce the attached scripts exactly as they are written," the instructions say. "This copy has been thoroughly tested and speaks to our Journalistic Responsibility as advocates to seek the truth on behalf of the audience."
I would pay $MANY_DOLLARS for someone to forge Sinclair Media instructions. Have them broadcast that aliens were about to land at Devil's Table and all true Americans were instructed to come greet them. Have them pass on a message from the Great Lord Satan, and his Son on Earth Donald Trump. The possibilities are endless.
I also acknowledge, upon reflection, that Sinclair Media is terrifying and fucking with the Midwest is probably not as important as withdrawing their broadcast license.
posted by Merus at 3:22 PM on March 8, 2018 [8 favorites]
(The senate seat in question, incidentally, has been held by two of the three former wrestlers to win statewide elections in Minnesota in the time I've lived here.)
posted by nickmark at 3:25 PM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by nickmark at 3:25 PM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
@JenGriffinFNC: EXCLUSIVE Sr US official tells me S Korean National Security Adviser will announce at 7 pm EST from WH: an invitation from Kim Jong Un to meet Trump; no change to planned US South Korea military exercises in April and commitment by Kim Jong Un to stop nuclear & missile testing.
@ArmsControlWonk: So, teeing up this presser on the DPRK. Its good if we are willing to talk. But our expectations are unrealistic IMHO. Kim ain't giving up the bomb. So, what happens when these expectations meet reality? Do we settle for less? Or do we blow it up because we didn't get a pony?
@MiraRappHooper: This. If Trump gets all valedictory over simple willingness to talk, he may also tack hard in the other direction when hopes are dashed.
posted by zachlipton at 3:27 PM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
@ArmsControlWonk: So, teeing up this presser on the DPRK. Its good if we are willing to talk. But our expectations are unrealistic IMHO. Kim ain't giving up the bomb. So, what happens when these expectations meet reality? Do we settle for less? Or do we blow it up because we didn't get a pony?
@MiraRappHooper: This. If Trump gets all valedictory over simple willingness to talk, he may also tack hard in the other direction when hopes are dashed.
posted by zachlipton at 3:27 PM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
@headfallsoff:
you best believe the ESA were popping bottles when trump started rambling about violent video games and suddenly all the headlines about them being scum fighting for the right to sell gambling traps to children went away
posted by Artw at 3:30 PM on March 8, 2018 [14 favorites]
you best believe the ESA were popping bottles when trump started rambling about violent video games and suddenly all the headlines about them being scum fighting for the right to sell gambling traps to children went away
posted by Artw at 3:30 PM on March 8, 2018 [14 favorites]
I find it more likely that Kim is going to flatter Trump and get an enormous concession out of him in exchange for a token gesture of deference. Trump has always been a cheap date.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 3:31 PM on March 8, 2018 [60 favorites]
posted by J.K. Seazer at 3:31 PM on March 8, 2018 [60 favorites]
"...and make South Korea pay for it!"
posted by Artw at 3:31 PM on March 8, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by Artw at 3:31 PM on March 8, 2018 [14 favorites]
Good grief, this is an invitation to a fiasco for Trumpian diplomacy in the Korean Penninsula, if true. Kim Jong Un has unquestionably seen how easy it is to flatter and manipulate Trump, especially with pomp and circumstance (see the Saudi Arabia trip), how inept the Trump White House is at statecraft (see Mike Pence's pathetic Olympics visit and Ivanka's inexperienced Seoul stopover), and how unprepared the administration is diplomatically (see the continued absence of a US ambassador to South Korea). Trump spent his first year in office by blustering and bumbling about on the world stage while autocrats everywhere took note. For his second, they're going to line up to play him like a harp.
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:36 PM on March 8, 2018 [32 favorites]
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:36 PM on March 8, 2018 [32 favorites]
Inside Trump’s private meeting with the video-game industry — and its critics
posted by zachlipton at 3:42 PM on March 8, 2018 [10 favorites]
Trump himself opened the meeting by showing “a montage of clips of various violent video games,” said Rep. Vicky Hartzler, a Republican from Missouri. Then, Hartzler said the president would ask, “This is violent isn’t it?”The White House has now posted their montage, a minute and a half worth of clips from video games cut together at taxpayer expense so the President, who has previously enjoyed making his son fast-forward through all the non-violent bits of a movie for him, can ask whether things are violent.
posted by zachlipton at 3:42 PM on March 8, 2018 [10 favorites]
So, not to get too far into a video game derail, but what I've been thinking about since the last shooting and the fallout is about violence in media in general. When was the last time you watched a movie, TV show, or read a book that didn't involve prolonged action scenes? What I've been noticing is this normalization of heroic violence, particularly by untrained "normal" people. So often there are scenes where some average civilian is given a gun or just put in an intense situation, and suddenly they're a fucking badass.
And we wonder why there are people seriously suggesting that arming bystanders is the answer.
Meanwhile the people actually trained in this stuff hesitated to engage a crazed shooter with an AR-15, and they are relentless hounded and castigated for it. BUT THAT'S THE NORMAL HUMAN REACTION. The normal human reaction to violence is to hide, to freeze, to do really stupid things and make big mistakes. We AREN'T action heroes. We panic. We are cowards. We shoot innocent people because we're scared. That is what happens in real world violent situations.
We've just all seemingly forgotten that what we've seen endlessly in entertainment ISN'T REAL. I'm not arguing for censorship or anything. I'm a gamer. But our media landscape has REALLY been taking over by action tropes to the point where it's tough to find ANY property free of them. And seeing human beings acting in the same way over and over has affected us. It's changed the conversation about violence, and NOT in a good way.
posted by threeturtles at 3:54 PM on March 8, 2018 [37 favorites]
And we wonder why there are people seriously suggesting that arming bystanders is the answer.
Meanwhile the people actually trained in this stuff hesitated to engage a crazed shooter with an AR-15, and they are relentless hounded and castigated for it. BUT THAT'S THE NORMAL HUMAN REACTION. The normal human reaction to violence is to hide, to freeze, to do really stupid things and make big mistakes. We AREN'T action heroes. We panic. We are cowards. We shoot innocent people because we're scared. That is what happens in real world violent situations.
We've just all seemingly forgotten that what we've seen endlessly in entertainment ISN'T REAL. I'm not arguing for censorship or anything. I'm a gamer. But our media landscape has REALLY been taking over by action tropes to the point where it's tough to find ANY property free of them. And seeing human beings acting in the same way over and over has affected us. It's changed the conversation about violence, and NOT in a good way.
posted by threeturtles at 3:54 PM on March 8, 2018 [37 favorites]
Counterpoint: No, it hasn't.
Society has not in general become unable to discriminate between fiction and reality. Music, movies, and games have not made us all forget that fictional depictions aren't real. This is a nonsense argument that sounds plausible, which is why they're using it. Because it works. And because if it works, they have a better chance to keep their guns.
posted by SpaceBass at 4:08 PM on March 8, 2018 [29 favorites]
"We discussed the numerous scientific studies establishing that there is no connection between video games and violence, First Amendment protection of video games, and how our industry’s rating system effectively helps parents make informed entertainment choices," ESA said in a statement.Emphasis added by me. I don't wonder why people are suggesting arming bystanders is the answer to gun violence. They're suggesting it so we won't take away their guns.
Society has not in general become unable to discriminate between fiction and reality. Music, movies, and games have not made us all forget that fictional depictions aren't real. This is a nonsense argument that sounds plausible, which is why they're using it. Because it works. And because if it works, they have a better chance to keep their guns.
posted by SpaceBass at 4:08 PM on March 8, 2018 [29 favorites]
The White House has now posted their montage
Boy, their montage of the horrors of video game violence sure seems to have an emphasis on Nazis being killed. I see 2 Wolfenstein clips and at least 3 other clips of violence against WW2 German military, for a total of 5 clips of antifascist violence.
In contrast, 2 clips depict violence against people of color.
Huh. Odd!
posted by Rust Moranis at 4:08 PM on March 8, 2018 [14 favorites]
Boy, their montage of the horrors of video game violence sure seems to have an emphasis on Nazis being killed. I see 2 Wolfenstein clips and at least 3 other clips of violence against WW2 German military, for a total of 5 clips of antifascist violence.
In contrast, 2 clips depict violence against people of color.
Huh. Odd!
posted by Rust Moranis at 4:08 PM on March 8, 2018 [14 favorites]
I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
Breaking: North Korean leader has invited Trump to a meeting, U.S. officials say (WaPo)
Trump has now said he will meet with Kim Jong Un soon — “by May.”
posted by Barack Spinoza at 4:15 PM on March 8, 2018 [6 favorites]
Breaking: North Korean leader has invited Trump to a meeting, U.S. officials say (WaPo)
Trump has now said he will meet with Kim Jong Un soon — “by May.”
posted by Barack Spinoza at 4:15 PM on March 8, 2018 [6 favorites]
The should show some footage of some Pepe the Frog Discord servers blowing the fuck up.
posted by Artw at 4:16 PM on March 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Artw at 4:16 PM on March 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
Society has not in general become unable to discriminate between fiction and reality. Music, movies, and games have not made us all forget that fictional depictions aren't real.
Counterpoint: A significant minority of Americans voted for Donald Trump for president because they believed he was a smart businessman and not just a reality TV star.
posted by biogeo at 4:17 PM on March 8, 2018 [43 favorites]
Counterpoint: A significant minority of Americans voted for Donald Trump for president because they believed he was a smart businessman and not just a reality TV star.
posted by biogeo at 4:17 PM on March 8, 2018 [43 favorites]
@Reuters: BREAKING: U.S. President Donald Trump said he will meet with North Korea's Kim by May, according to South Korean National Security Adviser Chung Eui-Yong
Some insta-reaction from Jeffrey Lewis, who does not think Trump has a clue what he's just done:
posted by zachlipton at 4:19 PM on March 8, 2018 [61 favorites]
Some insta-reaction from Jeffrey Lewis, who does not think Trump has a clue what he's just done:
North Korea has been seeking a summit with an American president for more than twenty years. It has literally been a top foreign policy goal of Pyongyang since Kim Jong Il invited Bill Clinton. I wonder if Trump's "aides" have explained that to him. Or, if in their toddler-handling, they have led him to believe that this offer is something unusual. Or perhaps he imagines that only he can go Pyongyang. This is literally how the North Korean film "The Country I Saw" ends. An American President visits Pyongyang, compelled by North Korea's nuclear and missile programs to treat a Kim as an equal.Also, having this announced by South Korean officials, at the White House, with nobody from the US government on-camera, is weird as hell.
posted by zachlipton at 4:19 PM on March 8, 2018 [61 favorites]
Remember when GOP candidate Mitt Romney was livid that Obama would meet with Hugo Chavez without "preconditions"? Has Trump declared what critical "preconditions" are associated with this meeting?
posted by 0xFCAF at 4:19 PM on March 8, 2018 [38 favorites]
posted by 0xFCAF at 4:19 PM on March 8, 2018 [38 favorites]
Also, I think the point threeturtles is making is that seeing action heroes in media makes us think we could be action heroes in real life, the proverbial good guy with a gun. That trope absolutely contributes to the national dialogue and attitude about guns.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 4:21 PM on March 8, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by J.K. Seazer at 4:21 PM on March 8, 2018 [11 favorites]
Trump has said he will meet with Kim Jong Un soon — “by May.”
Say, isn't May when US special representative for North Korea Joseph Yun will retire, as per his sudden announcement late last month?
(The real worst-case scenario would be if an unrestrained Trump sabotaged these talks himself as a prelude to military action.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:23 PM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
Say, isn't May when US special representative for North Korea Joseph Yun will retire, as per his sudden announcement late last month?
(The real worst-case scenario would be if an unrestrained Trump sabotaged these talks himself as a prelude to military action.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:23 PM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
Remember when GOP candidate Mitt Romney was livid that Obama would meet with Hugo Chavez without "preconditions"? Has Trump declared what critical "preconditions" are associated with this meeting?
The good news is the President of the United States of America no longer reports to Vladimir Putin. The bad news is...
posted by Artw at 4:23 PM on March 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
The good news is the President of the United States of America no longer reports to Vladimir Putin. The bad news is...
posted by Artw at 4:23 PM on March 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
That trope absolutely contributes to the national dialogue and attitude about guns.
Does that come from video games though? Seems this trope is as old as America itself. If anything, I think modern media is incorporating old tropes to strikes chords with potential consumers, rather than relatively new media like video games inventing these trope whole cloth.
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 4:24 PM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
Does that come from video games though? Seems this trope is as old as America itself. If anything, I think modern media is incorporating old tropes to strikes chords with potential consumers, rather than relatively new media like video games inventing these trope whole cloth.
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 4:24 PM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
Remember when GOP candidate Mitt Romney was livid that Obama would meet with Hugo Chavez without "preconditions"? Has Trump declared what critical "preconditions" are associated with this meeting?
I know that the temptation to flip things around on the current administration because of Trump's mirror, but I say we let this one go since Hugo Chavez was not capable of starting an actual nuclear war.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:25 PM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
I know that the temptation to flip things around on the current administration because of Trump's mirror, but I say we let this one go since Hugo Chavez was not capable of starting an actual nuclear war.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:25 PM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
Remember when GOP candidate Mitt Romney was livid that Obama would meet with Hugo Chavez without "preconditions"? Has Trump declared what critical "preconditions" are associated with this meeting?
I wouldn't hold my breath. Everything Obama was slammed for by the GOP is totally okie-dokie when Trump does/doesn't do it. Hell if Obama did a fraction of the stuff Trump has gotten up to he'd be facing monthly impeachment hearings.
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 4:26 PM on March 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
I wouldn't hold my breath. Everything Obama was slammed for by the GOP is totally okie-dokie when Trump does/doesn't do it. Hell if Obama did a fraction of the stuff Trump has gotten up to he'd be facing monthly impeachment hearings.
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 4:26 PM on March 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
Only Stupid-Nixon can go to Next-to-China.
posted by Artw at 4:30 PM on March 8, 2018 [93 favorites]
posted by Artw at 4:30 PM on March 8, 2018 [93 favorites]
Remember when GOP candidate Mitt Romney was livid that Obama would meet with Hugo Chavez without "preconditions"?
Or the GOP freakout over Obama meeting Raul Castro.
posted by chris24 at 4:33 PM on March 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
Or the GOP freakout over Obama meeting Raul Castro.
posted by chris24 at 4:33 PM on March 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
North Korea has been seeking a summit with an American president for more than twenty years.
I get that it's a major PR plus for North Korea, but I don't understand why that also makes it bad. I think the obvious solution to the NK situation is one that is unfathomable according to conventional wisdom: welcome them back into the international community, and treat them like any other state. We certainly have no compunction about treating other authoritarian states with terrible human rights records (like Saudia Arabia, cough cough) as though they were legitimate members of the international community. Remove the sanctions, let them know they won't be reuiniting with the South and be done with this idiocy.
I have no idea what Trump's plan here is, but why not meet with Kim?
posted by dis_integration at 4:37 PM on March 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
I get that it's a major PR plus for North Korea, but I don't understand why that also makes it bad. I think the obvious solution to the NK situation is one that is unfathomable according to conventional wisdom: welcome them back into the international community, and treat them like any other state. We certainly have no compunction about treating other authoritarian states with terrible human rights records (like Saudia Arabia, cough cough) as though they were legitimate members of the international community. Remove the sanctions, let them know they won't be reuiniting with the South and be done with this idiocy.
I have no idea what Trump's plan here is, but why not meet with Kim?
posted by dis_integration at 4:37 PM on March 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
I mean what possible end game is there here? North Korea isn't really giving up their nuclear program, because their nuclear program is precisely the one thing that just got them what they've wanted for decades: recognition by the President of the United States. So Trump goes and does this, North Korea does what they always do, and then we're in the same place we are now, except Trump is madder.
North Korea gets their PR coup simply by having these talks. Is there any actual objective for the talks under which we receive anything too? Once we get past "give up your nuke," "I'd prefer not to," what's part 3 of the plan? And what are the odds of Jared coming up with a plan all on his own since nobody in this administration talks to experts and they're all quitting?
On the bright side, I guess there's a lower chance of a nuclear war between now and May, and we all know how the White House likes to stretch deadlines, so that's nice.
posted by zachlipton at 4:40 PM on March 8, 2018 [22 favorites]
North Korea gets their PR coup simply by having these talks. Is there any actual objective for the talks under which we receive anything too? Once we get past "give up your nuke," "I'd prefer not to," what's part 3 of the plan? And what are the odds of Jared coming up with a plan all on his own since nobody in this administration talks to experts and they're all quitting?
On the bright side, I guess there's a lower chance of a nuclear war between now and May, and we all know how the White House likes to stretch deadlines, so that's nice.
posted by zachlipton at 4:40 PM on March 8, 2018 [22 favorites]
Personally, totally fine with de-escalation with regard to DPRK. I just have grave trepidations about Trump at the helm.
It's like learning you're finally going to get that badly-needed bypass surgery, but that it will be performed by a chocolate Labrador.
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 4:41 PM on March 8, 2018 [105 favorites]
It's like learning you're finally going to get that badly-needed bypass surgery, but that it will be performed by a chocolate Labrador.
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 4:41 PM on March 8, 2018 [105 favorites]
Conspiracy Theorists Arrested After Harassing Sutherland Springs Pastor The pair have spent months stalking families of victims and their communities in a failed attempt to prove the November 2017 mass shooting in Texas was a "false flag."
posted by Artw at 4:43 PM on March 8, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Artw at 4:43 PM on March 8, 2018 [13 favorites]
but why not meet with Kim?
Because long-term you can make a case this increases chances of a war there. Once Trump doesn't get what he expects, he's more likely to react badly. And he'll have the excuse that "well, I went there and tried."
Plus it's fucking Trump, not Obama or hell even Nixon. He's stupid, awful, and a terrible negotiator. What possibly good can come of this.
posted by chris24 at 4:44 PM on March 8, 2018 [26 favorites]
Because long-term you can make a case this increases chances of a war there. Once Trump doesn't get what he expects, he's more likely to react badly. And he'll have the excuse that "well, I went there and tried."
Plus it's fucking Trump, not Obama or hell even Nixon. He's stupid, awful, and a terrible negotiator. What possibly good can come of this.
posted by chris24 at 4:44 PM on March 8, 2018 [26 favorites]
I have no idea what Trump's plan here is...
Well that's one problem here, isn't it? Nobody knows what Trump's plan is, nor his goals, so it's impossible to evaluate. Whatever they are, they probably don't align with many of our goals. We can probably also trust that the traditional checks to executive opacity and overreach -- the bureaucracy and the formal checks and balances set out in the Constitution -- are today so weakened that we may never know his goals or plans, nor be in position to evaluate them and hold him accountable later.
...but why not meet with Kim?
So far Trump has been offering the Stick -- the Carrot is the face-to-face and the normalization of relations. What's the point of either -- but especially the Carrot -- unless there's a get (reduced tensions, shuttering of the nuke facilities, expansion of democratic and human rights, etc in the DPRK) for the United States and the broader community?
It's terrible that the United States has been cozy with authoritarians elsewhere. That the U.S. has been is not a convincing argument that it should be here.
posted by notyou at 4:56 PM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
Well that's one problem here, isn't it? Nobody knows what Trump's plan is, nor his goals, so it's impossible to evaluate. Whatever they are, they probably don't align with many of our goals. We can probably also trust that the traditional checks to executive opacity and overreach -- the bureaucracy and the formal checks and balances set out in the Constitution -- are today so weakened that we may never know his goals or plans, nor be in position to evaluate them and hold him accountable later.
...but why not meet with Kim?
So far Trump has been offering the Stick -- the Carrot is the face-to-face and the normalization of relations. What's the point of either -- but especially the Carrot -- unless there's a get (reduced tensions, shuttering of the nuke facilities, expansion of democratic and human rights, etc in the DPRK) for the United States and the broader community?
It's terrible that the United States has been cozy with authoritarians elsewhere. That the U.S. has been is not a convincing argument that it should be here.
posted by notyou at 4:56 PM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
@joshledermanAP: Secretary Tillerson, just a few hours ago: "In terms of direct talks with the United States – and you asked negotiations, and we’re a long ways from negotiations."
Whatever Trump's plan is, that it didn't involve a friendly chat with the Secretary of State before making this announcement is a pretty good clue that there isn't one.
posted by zachlipton at 4:58 PM on March 8, 2018 [52 favorites]
Whatever Trump's plan is, that it didn't involve a friendly chat with the Secretary of State before making this announcement is a pretty good clue that there isn't one.
posted by zachlipton at 4:58 PM on March 8, 2018 [52 favorites]
Whatever Trump's plan is
Trump's plan is the same one as always: to simultaneously please and get revenge on the ghost of his dad.
How that relates to what will happen when he sits down with Kim is a mystery to all, probably including Trump himself. The only certainty is that it will not be good.
posted by Rust Moranis at 5:04 PM on March 8, 2018 [11 favorites]
Trump's plan is the same one as always: to simultaneously please and get revenge on the ghost of his dad.
How that relates to what will happen when he sits down with Kim is a mystery to all, probably including Trump himself. The only certainty is that it will not be good.
posted by Rust Moranis at 5:04 PM on March 8, 2018 [11 favorites]
Society has not in general become unable to discriminate between fiction and reality. Music, movies, and games have not made us all forget that fictional depictions aren't real.
Counterpoint: A significant minority of Americans voted for Donald Trump for president because they believed he was a smart businessman and not just a reality TV star.
Might want to check the age demographics on Trump supporters. Not exactly a big demo for video games. Or violent rap music, or much of their other straw men.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 5:05 PM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
Counterpoint: A significant minority of Americans voted for Donald Trump for president because they believed he was a smart businessman and not just a reality TV star.
Might want to check the age demographics on Trump supporters. Not exactly a big demo for video games. Or violent rap music, or much of their other straw men.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 5:05 PM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
Here come the walk-backs!
CNN's Will Ripley @willripleyCNN reports, "Press Secretary Sarah Sanders: 'President Trump greatly appreciates the nice words of the South Korean delegation & President Moon. He will accept the invitation to meet with Kim Jong Un at a place and time to be determined. We look forward to the denuclearization of North Korea'"
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:06 PM on March 8, 2018 [6 favorites]
CNN's Will Ripley @willripleyCNN reports, "Press Secretary Sarah Sanders: 'President Trump greatly appreciates the nice words of the South Korean delegation & President Moon. He will accept the invitation to meet with Kim Jong Un at a place and time to be determined. We look forward to the denuclearization of North Korea'"
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:06 PM on March 8, 2018 [6 favorites]
This administration has made me want to become a gambler so badly. I feel like I could win $20 easily with this particular circumstance. Like, I bet $20 that Trump goes to N. Korea and says on TV something like "It's a pretty nice place!"
posted by gucci mane at 5:10 PM on March 8, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by gucci mane at 5:10 PM on March 8, 2018 [6 favorites]
that denuclearized quickly
posted by murphy slaw at 5:10 PM on March 8, 2018 [24 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 5:10 PM on March 8, 2018 [24 favorites]
The reason I don't want Trump to meet with North Korea is that we've seen over and over again that there exactly two possible outcomes when Trump tries to negotiate:
* He utterly fucks up the negotiation and leaves both participants more pissed off than when they started and no closer to a deal
* He says something placating and his senior staff walks it all back immediately afterwards
Neither of these are good outcomes in a meeting with an entitled, childish, monomaniacal nuclear-wielding idiot and a 30-something dictator.
posted by 0xFCAF at 5:11 PM on March 8, 2018 [31 favorites]
* He utterly fucks up the negotiation and leaves both participants more pissed off than when they started and no closer to a deal
* He says something placating and his senior staff walks it all back immediately afterwards
Neither of these are good outcomes in a meeting with an entitled, childish, monomaniacal nuclear-wielding idiot and a 30-something dictator.
posted by 0xFCAF at 5:11 PM on March 8, 2018 [31 favorites]
Meanwhile, in the Kansas voting rights trial, Kris Kobach presents as evidence a spreadsheet showing 38 cases of non-citizen voting activity as proof of the need for proof-of-citizenship for registered voters.
The other side should enter the very same spreadsheet -- the best Kobach could do, presumably --
as an admission that there's practically no evidence voter fraud is the problem he claims it to be.
posted by Gelatin at 5:11 PM on March 8, 2018 [10 favorites]
The other side should enter the very same spreadsheet -- the best Kobach could do, presumably --
as an admission that there's practically no evidence voter fraud is the problem he claims it to be.
posted by Gelatin at 5:11 PM on March 8, 2018 [10 favorites]
but why not meet with Kim?
Because long-term you can make a case this increases chances of a war there. Once Trump doesn't get what he expects, he's more likely to react badly. And he'll have the excuse that "well, I went there and tried.
Yeah if his goal here is denuclearization then that's just bonkers. I can't even imagine what bargain we could possibly offer them in exchange for denuclearization. "We won't invade you" is 100% not the wise strategy here. The only realistic viewpoint is: they've got nukes and icbms and that's not going to change without war. Apparently South Africa is the only nation to have a succesful nuclear program and then abandon it? North Korea is not going to be next one. Now that I talk about it, I'm terrified of a Trump meeting with Kim. But in principle I think it's fine. I think Obama should've had bilateral talks.
posted by dis_integration at 5:13 PM on March 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
Because long-term you can make a case this increases chances of a war there. Once Trump doesn't get what he expects, he's more likely to react badly. And he'll have the excuse that "well, I went there and tried.
Yeah if his goal here is denuclearization then that's just bonkers. I can't even imagine what bargain we could possibly offer them in exchange for denuclearization. "We won't invade you" is 100% not the wise strategy here. The only realistic viewpoint is: they've got nukes and icbms and that's not going to change without war. Apparently South Africa is the only nation to have a succesful nuclear program and then abandon it? North Korea is not going to be next one. Now that I talk about it, I'm terrified of a Trump meeting with Kim. But in principle I think it's fine. I think Obama should've had bilateral talks.
posted by dis_integration at 5:13 PM on March 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
Might want to check the age demographics on Trump supporters. Not exactly a big demo for video games.
Sadly all that new alt-right/white supremacist growth is /all/ fucking the age demographic for video games. It’s hugely scary, especially given people are actively trying to “redpill” from within communities offering depression support, as another Mefite posted a thread or two ago.
posted by corb at 5:14 PM on March 8, 2018 [15 favorites]
Sadly all that new alt-right/white supremacist growth is /all/ fucking the age demographic for video games. It’s hugely scary, especially given people are actively trying to “redpill” from within communities offering depression support, as another Mefite posted a thread or two ago.
posted by corb at 5:14 PM on March 8, 2018 [15 favorites]
@RadioFreeTom (NeverTrumper, Naval War College prof)
I’m sorry, do we not remember how awful that photo of Albright toasting Kim Jong Il was? She took a raft of shit for that - and *rightly so* - and the new answer is “let’s do that again, this time with his weird freak of a kid and a sitting POTUS?” Has everyone lost their minds?
@GenMhayden (former Director CIA and NSA)
Replying to @RadioFreeTom
I got a bad feeling here
@RadioFreeTom
Replying to @GenMhayden
You’re worrying me, sir, and I don’t worry easily :/
@GenMhayden
Probably gonna give him a sword dance or parade or something
@RadioFreeTom
And then backtrack on everything, and leave us worse off TVs if we had just declined as all previous POTUSes did. This trap is so obvious even Wile E. Coyote wouldn’t walk into it.
posted by chris24 at 5:22 PM on March 8, 2018 [31 favorites]
I’m sorry, do we not remember how awful that photo of Albright toasting Kim Jong Il was? She took a raft of shit for that - and *rightly so* - and the new answer is “let’s do that again, this time with his weird freak of a kid and a sitting POTUS?” Has everyone lost their minds?
@GenMhayden (former Director CIA and NSA)
Replying to @RadioFreeTom
I got a bad feeling here
@RadioFreeTom
Replying to @GenMhayden
You’re worrying me, sir, and I don’t worry easily :/
@GenMhayden
Probably gonna give him a sword dance or parade or something
@RadioFreeTom
And then backtrack on everything, and leave us worse off TVs if we had just declined as all previous POTUSes did. This trap is so obvious even Wile E. Coyote wouldn’t walk into it.
posted by chris24 at 5:22 PM on March 8, 2018 [31 favorites]
oh my god how are we in a timeline where gen. michael hayden is star wars catchphrasing on twitter about foreign policy
posted by halation at 5:26 PM on March 8, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by halation at 5:26 PM on March 8, 2018 [18 favorites]
Which...I understand he's trying to figure out where he belongs, but how does this practically work? Does the MN GOP really want a never-Trump Republican whose commitment to the party is so weak he's considering running as a Democrat? Are the Democrats really going to toss Tina Smith? And what kind of ticket-splitting mess would an independent campaign stir up?
Conventional wisdom: If he runs as a Republican, the current state of the MN GOP probably wouldn't let him get past a primary, much less get a party endorsement. (Standard disclaimer: the conventional wisdom is not always right.)
If he runs as an independent, he could act as a spoiler for one party or the other. The actual Independence Party (think Jesse Ventura) lost major-party ballot status after 2014, though, so he wouldn't have automatic ballot access via that route.
Pawlenty got elected governor in 2002 and 2006 in races where there were strong Independence Party candidates, one could argue whether that was correlation or causation. High-water mark for the Independence Party after Ventura was 15%-16% (Penny, 2002 for governor, or Barkley, 2008 for Senate--2008 was Franken's first election, which was memorable for being extremely close).
In a close race, even a couple of percent drawn into an "independent" bucket would be uncomfortable and unpredictable. In the current climate, tough to say which side would lose more to the spoiler.
posted by gimonca at 5:28 PM on March 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Conventional wisdom: If he runs as a Republican, the current state of the MN GOP probably wouldn't let him get past a primary, much less get a party endorsement. (Standard disclaimer: the conventional wisdom is not always right.)
If he runs as an independent, he could act as a spoiler for one party or the other. The actual Independence Party (think Jesse Ventura) lost major-party ballot status after 2014, though, so he wouldn't have automatic ballot access via that route.
Pawlenty got elected governor in 2002 and 2006 in races where there were strong Independence Party candidates, one could argue whether that was correlation or causation. High-water mark for the Independence Party after Ventura was 15%-16% (Penny, 2002 for governor, or Barkley, 2008 for Senate--2008 was Franken's first election, which was memorable for being extremely close).
In a close race, even a couple of percent drawn into an "independent" bucket would be uncomfortable and unpredictable. In the current climate, tough to say which side would lose more to the spoiler.
posted by gimonca at 5:28 PM on March 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
@jonathanvswan (Axios)
Text of an email I just got from a Republican official who has worked on North Korea & non-proliferation for >20 years:
And the media idiocy has begun.
@erichartmane
Erin Burnett on CNN: If Trump solves the North Korea problem he "would be going down as a great president, and there's no getting around that."
VIDEO
posted by chris24 at 5:33 PM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
Text of an email I just got from a Republican official who has worked on North Korea & non-proliferation for >20 years:
There is zero chance that Kim talked about "denuclearization" in the sense of giving up his weapons. I have no idea what the South Koreans heard. Or convinced themselves they heard. Trump either got it wrong, is exaggerating, or is putting pressure on Kim by publicly committing him to this. Or the South Koreans, in their eagerness, are being a bit too expansive on what he actually said.---
And the media idiocy has begun.
@erichartmane
Erin Burnett on CNN: If Trump solves the North Korea problem he "would be going down as a great president, and there's no getting around that."
VIDEO
posted by chris24 at 5:33 PM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
Erin Burnett on CNN: If Trump solves the North Korea problem he "would be going down as a great president, and there's no getting around that."
even his detractors have to admit, having no plan, terms, or functional diplomatic corps is an approach that hasn’t been tried
posted by murphy slaw at 5:38 PM on March 8, 2018 [137 favorites]
even his detractors have to admit, having no plan, terms, or functional diplomatic corps is an approach that hasn’t been tried
posted by murphy slaw at 5:38 PM on March 8, 2018 [137 favorites]
Might want to check the age demographics on Trump supporters. Not exactly a big demo for video games. Or violent rap music, or much of their other straw men.
57% of white America voted for Trump. Presumably all of Gamer Gate voted for Trump.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 5:41 PM on March 8, 2018 [32 favorites]
57% of white America voted for Trump. Presumably all of Gamer Gate voted for Trump.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 5:41 PM on March 8, 2018 [32 favorites]
also, people always remember “only nixon could go to china” but that’s because if anyone else went nixon would have called them a commie stooge
posted by murphy slaw at 5:43 PM on March 8, 2018 [39 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 5:43 PM on March 8, 2018 [39 favorites]
Nixon went to China. Definitely went down. Just not as a great president.
posted by chris24 at 5:47 PM on March 8, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 5:47 PM on March 8, 2018 [12 favorites]
I think it's entirely possible Trump could "solve" the Korea situation by effectively capitulating to Kim. Why not, he doesn't have any particular moral aversion toward dictators who brutalize their own people. All he has to say is that he trusts his good friend Kim's claim that their nuclear program has been dismantled, and no we don't even need to check. I mean once Kim throws him one of those ginormous parades it's game over.
posted by xigxag at 5:49 PM on March 8, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by xigxag at 5:49 PM on March 8, 2018 [20 favorites]
Last week I heard Republican apologists telling me Trump could make gun control happen 'cause Nixon went to China. Now he's talking about video game bullshit and a tariff nobody wants and I'm not seeing much happen with guns.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 5:50 PM on March 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by scaryblackdeath at 5:50 PM on March 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
This is a nonsense argument that sounds plausible, which is why they're using it. Because it works. And because if it works, they have a better chance to keep their guns.
Are there absolutely people pushing this narrative for very cynical reasons in order to keep the gun money flowing and their power from waning? Of course. But why does this argument work? Because a lot of people out there have trouble telling fantasy from reality on a grand scale.
I'm not saying that anyone is confusing a particular depiction of violence with reality. I'm saying that our entertainment has become so saturated with action scenes and people acting like action heroes that it's become just The Way The World Works. I mean, I'm physically disabled and even I would be likely to spin some kind of narrative about how I could fight off an attacker, or how I could survive in an apocalypse type situation. And yet I tried to carry some stuff to the garbage a few days ago and fell, injured my ankle, shattered a bunch of glass, and came close to seriously injuring my eye.
Some of us are educated and honest enough to realize we wouldn't really do well in these action movie scenarios. I don't think that's a majority, though.
posted by threeturtles at 6:02 PM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
Are there absolutely people pushing this narrative for very cynical reasons in order to keep the gun money flowing and their power from waning? Of course. But why does this argument work? Because a lot of people out there have trouble telling fantasy from reality on a grand scale.
I'm not saying that anyone is confusing a particular depiction of violence with reality. I'm saying that our entertainment has become so saturated with action scenes and people acting like action heroes that it's become just The Way The World Works. I mean, I'm physically disabled and even I would be likely to spin some kind of narrative about how I could fight off an attacker, or how I could survive in an apocalypse type situation. And yet I tried to carry some stuff to the garbage a few days ago and fell, injured my ankle, shattered a bunch of glass, and came close to seriously injuring my eye.
Some of us are educated and honest enough to realize we wouldn't really do well in these action movie scenarios. I don't think that's a majority, though.
posted by threeturtles at 6:02 PM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
And I'm not talking about video games at all here. I'm talking about The Walking Dead and Marvel movies and fucking every cop show on TV.
posted by threeturtles at 6:05 PM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by threeturtles at 6:05 PM on March 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
Victor Cha @VictorDCha asks, pointedly, "Nk agreed to freeze, us-sk xercises, meet with DJT. The question becomes what r we putting on table: sanctions? Normalization? Peace treaty?"
Cha had, of course, been under consideration by the Trump administration for US ambassador to South Korea until he cautioned against the White House's bellicose posturing with regard to Kim Jong Un.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:08 PM on March 8, 2018 [14 favorites]
Cha had, of course, been under consideration by the Trump administration for US ambassador to South Korea until he cautioned against the White House's bellicose posturing with regard to Kim Jong Un.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:08 PM on March 8, 2018 [14 favorites]
I feel like violence in media is very much worth discussion (perhaps not here) regardless of any possible direct impact on real-world violence. Like, even though I'm unaware of any statistical correlation between Confederate statues and hate crimes, I still want them taken down, either by public removal or voluntarily if on private land. Messages can matter in themselves.
The effect, if any, could be highly indect. Maybe playing hours upon hours of certain sorts of violence-celebrating games doesn't make anyone violent, but could nudge some people in the direction of policies that proliferate guns. There is some sort of neo-reactionary, authoritarian, blood-hungry sociopathy in this culture that gave us Trump, and I think all its facets are worth examination.
I say this as someone who has consumed, and enjoyed, plenty of violent media. The GoldenEye game was an important middle-school bonding experience before I even knew about the film. I still love action movies. I just wish they were… less violent, plain and simple. Or rather, more honest about the nature of violence. I dunno.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:19 PM on March 8, 2018 [10 favorites]
The effect, if any, could be highly indect. Maybe playing hours upon hours of certain sorts of violence-celebrating games doesn't make anyone violent, but could nudge some people in the direction of policies that proliferate guns. There is some sort of neo-reactionary, authoritarian, blood-hungry sociopathy in this culture that gave us Trump, and I think all its facets are worth examination.
I say this as someone who has consumed, and enjoyed, plenty of violent media. The GoldenEye game was an important middle-school bonding experience before I even knew about the film. I still love action movies. I just wish they were… less violent, plain and simple. Or rather, more honest about the nature of violence. I dunno.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:19 PM on March 8, 2018 [10 favorites]
Why not, he doesn't have any particular moral aversion toward dictators who brutalize their own people
More than that, Kim and Trump are both emotionally-stunted megalomaniac starfuckers who capitalized on inheritances from their fathers by being more vicious than their rivals could anticipate. They have far more in common with each other than with the people they rule, or with any other world leader. Perhaps they recognize that on some level and can bond over their common monstrosity—god help us.
posted by Iridic at 6:25 PM on March 8, 2018 [39 favorites]
More than that, Kim and Trump are both emotionally-stunted megalomaniac starfuckers who capitalized on inheritances from their fathers by being more vicious than their rivals could anticipate. They have far more in common with each other than with the people they rule, or with any other world leader. Perhaps they recognize that on some level and can bond over their common monstrosity—god help us.
posted by Iridic at 6:25 PM on March 8, 2018 [39 favorites]
Erin Burnett on CNN: If Trump solves the North Korea problem he "would be going down as a great president, and there's no getting around that."
HOW HOW HOW are you expecting this to happen? How can those words come out of your mouth without a presumable plan where it could be possible?
posted by corb at 6:42 PM on March 8, 2018 [35 favorites]
HOW HOW HOW are you expecting this to happen? How can those words come out of your mouth without a presumable plan where it could be possible?
posted by corb at 6:42 PM on March 8, 2018 [35 favorites]
I have no idea what Trump's plan here is, but why not meet with Kim?
Please enter into the record Exhibit A: Everything Donald Trump has ever said or done, ever.
Exhibit B: Russia's relationship with North Korea.
Exhibit C: Trump meets with a terrible gardening accident while there, US forced to go to war as if we were mad about it
posted by petebest at 6:44 PM on March 8, 2018 [13 favorites]
Please enter into the record Exhibit A: Everything Donald Trump has ever said or done, ever.
Exhibit B: Russia's relationship with North Korea.
Exhibit C: Trump meets with a terrible gardening accident while there, US forced to go to war as if we were mad about it
posted by petebest at 6:44 PM on March 8, 2018 [13 favorites]
@Robert_E_Kelly (Pusan U poli sci prof, dad from the hilarious kids walk in on his live BBC interview video)
On the Trump-Kim Summit: Summits normally come at the end of a long series of negotiations at lower levels in which lots of devils in the details r hammered out. Trump, always the publicity-seeker, is just diving right in, which is why the Korea analyst community is responding so hesitantly to the May summit news. So sure talks are good, and were this any other POTUS in the last 3 decades, I'd be thrilled. But consider that B Clinton wanted to visit North Korea only after 5 years of negotiating the Agreed Framework, & George W. Bush never seriously considered a summit despite years of effort in the Six Party Talks. But now, less than a year after the 'armada,' fire and fury,' & 'totally destroy NK,' Trump is suddenly going to have a break-through summit? Wait, what? Just like that? Maybe. But that 'art of the deal' stuff has mostly been vacuous fluff, and we know Trump doesn't study or even read.
He also tends to fly wildly off-script (will he make some unpredictable, off-the-wall concession to NK?). And May means there's almost no time for all the staff prep necessary. Nor has public or elite opinion in S Korea and the US been consulted. And the ideological and strategic differences between the US & NK remain basically as wide as ever; NK has not, despite all the upbeat atmospherics this year, actually made or even suggested any real concessions yet. Test freezes, not pulling provocations on the border, family reunions, or reopening the Kaesong industrial park are not concessions. These are costless to the North, easily taken away or reversed, or profitable to it. The acid test is if the North will actually give up something real, something they really value, like movement on human rights or nuclear safety. Of course denuclearization is the ultimate concession, but it is highly unlikely Pyongyang will just suddenly do that in the next few months after 40 years trying to develop these weapons.
It is far more likely that there would be a series of concessions and counter-concessions building trust and credibility over time (likely years) eventually rising to a serious discussion of denuclearization. Yet somehow Trump is going to get around all this? Even though we know about Trump's chaotic management style, erratic, moody personality, and chronic staffing problems, especially regarding East Asia. I just don't see it, We can always hope, but it is just as reasonable to fear that Trump, the reality TV star who somehow stumbled into the presidency for which he is woefully unfit, will wander from decades of joint US-South Korea policy, about which he naturally knows nothing, and make some kind of deal for a 'win' that no other US official would endorse.
Obviously I hope I am wrong, but nothing in Trump's management of his campaign or White House says he is focused or knowledgeable enough for something this high stakes. And that's not ideology talking. I am a registered Republican and worked once for a GOP congressman. It's just from watching 3 years of Trump's shambolic incompetence.
posted by chris24 at 6:44 PM on March 8, 2018 [65 favorites]
On the Trump-Kim Summit: Summits normally come at the end of a long series of negotiations at lower levels in which lots of devils in the details r hammered out. Trump, always the publicity-seeker, is just diving right in, which is why the Korea analyst community is responding so hesitantly to the May summit news. So sure talks are good, and were this any other POTUS in the last 3 decades, I'd be thrilled. But consider that B Clinton wanted to visit North Korea only after 5 years of negotiating the Agreed Framework, & George W. Bush never seriously considered a summit despite years of effort in the Six Party Talks. But now, less than a year after the 'armada,' fire and fury,' & 'totally destroy NK,' Trump is suddenly going to have a break-through summit? Wait, what? Just like that? Maybe. But that 'art of the deal' stuff has mostly been vacuous fluff, and we know Trump doesn't study or even read.
He also tends to fly wildly off-script (will he make some unpredictable, off-the-wall concession to NK?). And May means there's almost no time for all the staff prep necessary. Nor has public or elite opinion in S Korea and the US been consulted. And the ideological and strategic differences between the US & NK remain basically as wide as ever; NK has not, despite all the upbeat atmospherics this year, actually made or even suggested any real concessions yet. Test freezes, not pulling provocations on the border, family reunions, or reopening the Kaesong industrial park are not concessions. These are costless to the North, easily taken away or reversed, or profitable to it. The acid test is if the North will actually give up something real, something they really value, like movement on human rights or nuclear safety. Of course denuclearization is the ultimate concession, but it is highly unlikely Pyongyang will just suddenly do that in the next few months after 40 years trying to develop these weapons.
It is far more likely that there would be a series of concessions and counter-concessions building trust and credibility over time (likely years) eventually rising to a serious discussion of denuclearization. Yet somehow Trump is going to get around all this? Even though we know about Trump's chaotic management style, erratic, moody personality, and chronic staffing problems, especially regarding East Asia. I just don't see it, We can always hope, but it is just as reasonable to fear that Trump, the reality TV star who somehow stumbled into the presidency for which he is woefully unfit, will wander from decades of joint US-South Korea policy, about which he naturally knows nothing, and make some kind of deal for a 'win' that no other US official would endorse.
Obviously I hope I am wrong, but nothing in Trump's management of his campaign or White House says he is focused or knowledgeable enough for something this high stakes. And that's not ideology talking. I am a registered Republican and worked once for a GOP congressman. It's just from watching 3 years of Trump's shambolic incompetence.
posted by chris24 at 6:44 PM on March 8, 2018 [65 favorites]
He also tends to fly wildly off-script (will he make some unpredictable, off-the-wall concession to NK?).
It's going to be like when he has those negotiation meetings with members of Congress and casually throws long-held Republican non-negotiables under the bus, but with actual consequences instead of Ryan and McConnell sticking their fingers in their ears and saying "lalala can't hear you".
posted by jason_steakums at 6:54 PM on March 8, 2018 [7 favorites]
It's going to be like when he has those negotiation meetings with members of Congress and casually throws long-held Republican non-negotiables under the bus, but with actual consequences instead of Ryan and McConnell sticking their fingers in their ears and saying "lalala can't hear you".
posted by jason_steakums at 6:54 PM on March 8, 2018 [7 favorites]
Vox: The Trump administration is stepping in to stop Idaho’s plan to allow non-Obamacare insurance coverage back onto the market, in a rebuke of the conservative state’s brazen flouting of the health care law.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:56 PM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 6:56 PM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
@nktpnd: Who is sweating the details on North Korea outside of the sanctions folks at Treasury right now? Serious question. If this is going to be serious, Trump will have to show up in May with some form of an agreement prepared, ready to negotiate the finer points. Who will prepare it?
WaPo, Trump’s North Korea gambit blindsides U.S. diplomats
WaPo, Trump’s North Korea gambit blindsides U.S. diplomats
Hours earlier, Tillerson said there may be no talks at all. “We’re a long way from negotiations. We just need to be very clear-eyed and realistic about it,” Tillerson said. He said he did not yet know whether “the conditions are right to even begin thinking about negotiations.”posted by zachlipton at 6:58 PM on March 8, 2018 [12 favorites]
...
“It’s going to take time to get this underway under any circumstances. I would get going right away,” said Wendy Sherman, who served as North Korea policy coordinator for the Clinton administration and lead negotiator with Iran during the Obama administration.
“When we did the Iran negotiation, we wrote an entire agreement, over 100 pages, before we began the negotiation, so we had a sense of what we were trying to achieve,” Sherman said. “It was incredibly detailed and incredibly technical. There’s homework to be done.”
Traditionally, talks would require a lead negotiator with gravitas and the trust of both the White House and Congress, who would nail down the details of any agreement over a series of meetings before proposing any summit with the U.S. commander in chief. But Trump has long fashioned himself his own negotiator, potentially rendering past diplomatic playbooks void.
el io: "I'm not certain that Trump is engineering it, but I'm also certain that the Trump Porn star story is completely a distraction. It does not matter."
The porn star story doesn't matter; the NDA story matters. Both the existence of so many personal detail NDAs associated with Trump which provides all sorts of leverage for anyone wanting to wear him as a puppet and the specifics of this NDA execution where it appears the payment made was shady at best and likely illegal.
posted by Mitheral at 7:05 PM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
The porn star story doesn't matter; the NDA story matters. Both the existence of so many personal detail NDAs associated with Trump which provides all sorts of leverage for anyone wanting to wear him as a puppet and the specifics of this NDA execution where it appears the payment made was shady at best and likely illegal.
posted by Mitheral at 7:05 PM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
So.... This North Korea thing. When I saw the headline my reaction was "OMG we're all going to die." Is anyone available to reassure me that that is not going to be the likely outcome?
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:07 PM on March 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:07 PM on March 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
Accidentally committing genocide in North or South Korea remains a more likely bad outcome than NK being able to do anything to the US, though it should be noted that China has an actual no kidding nuclear capacity and a long standing interest in maintaining NK as a border state.
Most likely it’ll just end in a big embarrassing mess when it turns out both leaders are expecting bribes from the other.
posted by Artw at 7:19 PM on March 8, 2018 [20 favorites]
Most likely it’ll just end in a big embarrassing mess when it turns out both leaders are expecting bribes from the other.
posted by Artw at 7:19 PM on March 8, 2018 [20 favorites]
The Trump administration is stepping in to stop Idaho’s plan to allow non-Obamacare insurance coverage back onto the market, in a rebuke of the conservative state’s brazen flouting of the health care law.
Yeah, except not really. They are simply eliminating outright defiance of the Obamacare rules preventing the sale of non-compliant long term insurance policies.
But Trump has another (arguably legal) method of effectively doing the same thing. Obamacare allows the sale of non-compliant short term insurance often used as a temporary bridge between jobs or situations in which people purchase fully compliant coverage. Short term typically means no more than three months because that is the maximum coverage gap for non-compliant coverage allowed without paying an Obamacare penalty.
Trump is simply using HHS regulatory power to change the definition of "short-term" to be up to 12 months, in which case it effectively becomes the equivalent of long term insurance. And in 2019 the penalty for non-compliant coverage goes to zero (Obamacare penalty repeal) so there's nothing to discourage people from buying these non-compliant policies every year.
So HHS is preventing the sale of "long term" non-compliant insurance because that would be a direct violation of Obamacare law. But by changing the definition of "short term" to be 12 months, they can accomplish the same thing without direct conflict with Obamacare.
This is within the regulatory power of HHS as managed by the president -- once again demonstrating that elections have consequences.
posted by JackFlash at 7:21 PM on March 8, 2018 [11 favorites]
Yeah, except not really. They are simply eliminating outright defiance of the Obamacare rules preventing the sale of non-compliant long term insurance policies.
But Trump has another (arguably legal) method of effectively doing the same thing. Obamacare allows the sale of non-compliant short term insurance often used as a temporary bridge between jobs or situations in which people purchase fully compliant coverage. Short term typically means no more than three months because that is the maximum coverage gap for non-compliant coverage allowed without paying an Obamacare penalty.
Trump is simply using HHS regulatory power to change the definition of "short-term" to be up to 12 months, in which case it effectively becomes the equivalent of long term insurance. And in 2019 the penalty for non-compliant coverage goes to zero (Obamacare penalty repeal) so there's nothing to discourage people from buying these non-compliant policies every year.
So HHS is preventing the sale of "long term" non-compliant insurance because that would be a direct violation of Obamacare law. But by changing the definition of "short term" to be 12 months, they can accomplish the same thing without direct conflict with Obamacare.
This is within the regulatory power of HHS as managed by the president -- once again demonstrating that elections have consequences.
posted by JackFlash at 7:21 PM on March 8, 2018 [11 favorites]
If Russia really wanted to help Trump get a second term, one way they could do it would be to somehow (?) induce North Korea to let the situation seem "solved" to Americans. Unrelatedly, does anyone know who sells cheap, reasonably fashionable tinfoil hats?
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 7:22 PM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 7:22 PM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
I have faith that Trump will not rest until Kim finally relinquishes the remains of Lt. Colonel Henry Blake.
posted by delfin at 7:41 PM on March 8, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by delfin at 7:41 PM on March 8, 2018 [12 favorites]
Hello, he crashed into the Sea of Japan.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:43 PM on March 8, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 7:43 PM on March 8, 2018 [14 favorites]
There's a non-zero chance Trump would just get on Air Force One and fly to Pyongyang if Kim promised him a parade. Maybe they'll keep him.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:48 PM on March 8, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:48 PM on March 8, 2018 [16 favorites]
Trump has now said he will meet with Kim Jong Un soon — “by May.”
Trump is about to get outmaneuvered by a dynasty dictator.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 7:50 PM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
Trump is about to get outmaneuvered by a dynasty dictator.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 7:50 PM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
@hughesroland: It would be quite something if Donald Trump visits Pyongyang before London.
This is one of those tweets that becomes a little more astonishing every time you think about it. Trump is more welcome in the palaces of authoritarian regimes than he is in the world's major cities.
posted by zachlipton at 7:54 PM on March 8, 2018 [101 favorites]
This is one of those tweets that becomes a little more astonishing every time you think about it. Trump is more welcome in the palaces of authoritarian regimes than he is in the world's major cities.
posted by zachlipton at 7:54 PM on March 8, 2018 [101 favorites]
ELECTIONS NEWS
** PA-18 special: Roll Call: Unions are working hard to elect Lamb.
** 2018 Senate:
** PA-18 special: Roll Call: Unions are working hard to elect Lamb.
** 2018 Senate:
-- Axios/SurveyMonkey polling shows several Dems in trouble. Note that there has been some strong criticism of the demographics used in these polls (here's an example).** 2018 House:
-- MS: Sen Wicker is out with ads laying into possible GOP challenger McDaniel. Basically, the GOP wants McDaniel out, whether he sticks with the run against Wicker, or switches to the special for the Cochran seat.
-- IL-03: Bernie Sanders endorses Dem primary challenger Marie Newman. Sanders won this district in the Dem primary 54-45, so the endorsement might carry some weight.** Odds & ends:
-- Dems are +12 on the generic ballot in Virginia.
-- Linked earlier, Sabato moved 26 district ratings, all towards the Dems.
-- Overall generic ballot lead has been quite stable, points out Nate Cohn.
-- One of the GOP challengers in the TX Lt Gov primary has endorsed the Democratic nominee.posted by Chrysostom at 8:05 PM on March 8, 2018 [35 favorites]
-- Utah and Washington are about to enact automatic voter registration legislation.
-- A last look at Texas Dem primary turnout, showing how the surge was mostly in metro areas (note that a lot of those panhandle counties have *very* low populations).
-- Elizabeth Warren has donated $5K to every state Democratic party. This is a good thing that more senators should do, but obviously can be seen as laying groundwork for a White House run.
So I just discovered Department of Influence this incredibly useful website that gives a deep dive into Trump's Interior Department appointees, from Zinke on down to people like the Undersecretary for Water and Science or the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. It is exhaustive and terrifying.
Department of Influence is a project of the Western Values Project, which also produces well researched blogs and reports, such as One year of corruption at Interior under Secretary Ryan Zinke.
posted by rockindata at 8:40 PM on March 8, 2018 [43 favorites]
Department of Influence is a project of the Western Values Project, which also produces well researched blogs and reports, such as One year of corruption at Interior under Secretary Ryan Zinke.
posted by rockindata at 8:40 PM on March 8, 2018 [43 favorites]
Goddamn is it infuriating to see again and again that although Ryan and McConnell, among others, spent 8 years doing their best to see to it that Obama couldn't do a damn thing
Robert Draper Book: GOP’s Anti-Obama Campaign Started Night Of Inauguration
posted by kirkaracha at 9:15 PM on March 8, 2018 [78 favorites]
Robert Draper Book: GOP’s Anti-Obama Campaign Started Night Of Inauguration
As President Barack Obama was celebrating his inauguration at various balls, top Republican lawmakers and strategists were conjuring up ways to submarine his presidency at a private dinner in Washington.The Party of No: New Details on the GOP Plot to Obstruct Obama
...
According to Draper, the guest list that night (which was just over 15 people in total) included Republican Reps. Eric Cantor (Va.), Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), Paul Ryan (Wis.), Pete Sessions (Texas), Jeb Hensarling (Texas), Pete Hoekstra (Mich.) and Dan Lungren (Calif.), along with Republican Sens. Jim DeMint (S.C.), Jon Kyl (Ariz.), Tom Coburn (Okla.), John Ensign (Nev.) and Bob Corker (Tenn.). The non-lawmakers present included Newt Gingrich, several years removed from his presidential campaign, and Frank Luntz, the long-time Republican wordsmith. Notably absent were Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) — who, Draper writes, had an acrimonious relationship with Luntz.
...secret meetings led by House GOP whip Eric Cantor (in December 2008) and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (in early January 2009) in which they laid out their daring (though cynical and political) no-honeymoon strategy of all-out resistance to a popular President-elect during an economic emergency.The Opposition Strategy
...
Vice President Biden told me that during the transition, he was warned not to expect any bipartisan cooperation on major votes. “I spoke to seven different Republican Senators who said, ‘Joe, I’m not going to be able to help you on anything,’ ” he recalled. His informants said McConnell had demanded unified resistance. “The way it was characterized to me was, ‘For the next two years, we can’t let you succeed in anything. That’s our ticket to coming back,’ ” Biden said.
This oral history of that pivotal night is drawn from hours of FRONTLINE interviews conducted over the course of the Obama years — most recently for the documentary Divided States of America. It includes first-hand accounts from GOP lawmakers who attended the dinner; the event organizer, Frank Luntz; Obama administration officials and veteran Washington journalists.Strict Obstructionist
McConnell, [76], is owlish, phlegmatic, and gray, and often looks bothered, as though lunch isn’t agreeing with him. He has been described as having “the natural charisma of an oyster.” Yet you sense that this is not so much a burden as a choice, that he has pared away any qualities extraneous to his political advancement.MCCONNELL: The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.
...
McConnell called TARP’s passage “one of the finest moments in the history of the Senate.” Obama took over expecting this spirit to endure. But from the outset, McConnell blocked or frustrated just about everything the administration tried to do, including the government’s distribution of TARP funds, in January 2009, just three months after McConnell voted to authorize them.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:15 PM on March 8, 2018 [78 favorites]
MetaFilter: Goddamn is it infuriating.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:15 PM on March 8, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 9:15 PM on March 8, 2018 [21 favorites]
It seems like part of Trump's affinity for authoritarian regimes is not just the macho ruthless leader image, but also the fact that they're almost all corrupt, which turns his eyeballs into big dollar signs.
So whatever goes down between DJT and N. Korea, I hope intelligence communities will be watching closely. It's like a cornucopia of counterfeit and black market crap over there, which I'm sure the Trump family would happily invest in if given the chance.
posted by p3t3 at 9:16 PM on March 8, 2018 [8 favorites]
So whatever goes down between DJT and N. Korea, I hope intelligence communities will be watching closely. It's like a cornucopia of counterfeit and black market crap over there, which I'm sure the Trump family would happily invest in if given the chance.
posted by p3t3 at 9:16 PM on March 8, 2018 [8 favorites]
Boy, their montage of the horrors of video game violence sure seems to have an emphasis on Nazis being killed. I see 2 Wolfenstein clips and at least 3 other clips of violence against WW2 German military, for a total of 5 clips of antifascist violence.
Well, for the last year or so I have really enjoyed playing video games where you kill the fuck out of a bunch of Nazis, or watching movies where they kill the fuck out of a bunch of Nazis, or reading books where they kill the fuck out of a bunch of Nazis, or listening to songs about killing the fuck out of a bunch of Nazis. I've wondered what to wear to smash the state and daydreamed about punching some fucking Nazis in the face. And I'm angry! I'm really, really angry! But I haven't even punched anyone in the face, not even an extremely punchable fucking Nazi, much less killed anyone. So, no, I don't think video games are the problem.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:30 PM on March 8, 2018 [15 favorites]
Well, for the last year or so I have really enjoyed playing video games where you kill the fuck out of a bunch of Nazis, or watching movies where they kill the fuck out of a bunch of Nazis, or reading books where they kill the fuck out of a bunch of Nazis, or listening to songs about killing the fuck out of a bunch of Nazis. I've wondered what to wear to smash the state and daydreamed about punching some fucking Nazis in the face. And I'm angry! I'm really, really angry! But I haven't even punched anyone in the face, not even an extremely punchable fucking Nazi, much less killed anyone. So, no, I don't think video games are the problem.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:30 PM on March 8, 2018 [15 favorites]
Odds on him bringing Junior along to pitch Trump Tower Kaesong?
posted by fluttering hellfire at 9:33 PM on March 8, 2018
posted by fluttering hellfire at 9:33 PM on March 8, 2018
Maybe they'll put his name on the Ryugyong Hotel.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 9:40 PM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by J.K. Seazer at 9:40 PM on March 8, 2018 [9 favorites]
The NK want's photo ops that they can parade around showing KJU is a world statesman and equal with the POTUS. Remember when NK kidnapped those two US journalists and literally all they wanted in return was a shitty Bill Clinton and Kim Jong Il photo.
posted by PenDevil at 10:54 PM on March 8, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by PenDevil at 10:54 PM on March 8, 2018 [7 favorites]
I mean, it's gotta say something: who else is inviting Trump anywhere? Nobody.
posted by rhizome at 11:03 PM on March 8, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 11:03 PM on March 8, 2018 [13 favorites]
Trump has now said he will meet with Kim Jong Un soon — “by May.”
am I the only one thinking, hmmm, they don't have an extradition treaty with America (obviously), this is actually Trump cunningly escaping justice ... in broad daylight?
posted by philip-random at 11:19 PM on March 8, 2018 [15 favorites]
am I the only one thinking, hmmm, they don't have an extradition treaty with America (obviously), this is actually Trump cunningly escaping justice ... in broad daylight?
posted by philip-random at 11:19 PM on March 8, 2018 [15 favorites]
I mean, it's gotta say something: who else is inviting Trump anywhere? Nobody.
Well, a visit to London is still on the cards.
Emmanuel Macron and Shinzo Abe have both scheduled return visits to the US, so I assume he'd be welcome in Paris and Tokyo.
posted by lovelyzoo at 11:44 PM on March 8, 2018
Well, a visit to London is still on the cards.
Emmanuel Macron and Shinzo Abe have both scheduled return visits to the US, so I assume he'd be welcome in Paris and Tokyo.
posted by lovelyzoo at 11:44 PM on March 8, 2018
I can't even imagine what bargain we could possibly offer them in exchange for denuclearization.
Donald Trump, May 11, 2018: "North Korea has agreed to give up nukes! In return for a few small Pacific islands no one ever heard of. Who knew Hawaii had more than 3?!?"
posted by msalt at 11:45 PM on March 8, 2018 [19 favorites]
Donald Trump, May 11, 2018: "North Korea has agreed to give up nukes! In return for a few small Pacific islands no one ever heard of. Who knew Hawaii had more than 3?!?"
posted by msalt at 11:45 PM on March 8, 2018 [19 favorites]
57% of white America voted for Trump. Presumably all of Gamer Gate voted for Trump.
This. The notion that support for Trump is just an old people thing, or a rural thing, or a blue-collar thing, or whatever, has really, really got to go into the fucking trashbin.
posted by non canadian guy at 11:56 PM on March 8, 2018 [79 favorites]
This. The notion that support for Trump is just an old people thing, or a rural thing, or a blue-collar thing, or whatever, has really, really got to go into the fucking trashbin.
posted by non canadian guy at 11:56 PM on March 8, 2018 [79 favorites]
WP:
posted by flabdablet at 12:11 AM on March 9, 2018 [63 favorites]
Dumpster fire was one of hundreds of new phrases and words the dictionary introduced into its online version Monday. Others included “hate-watch,” “bandwidth” as a figurative term referring to emotional capacity, “embiggen” and “mansplain.”So "embiggen" really is a perfectly cromulent word now.
posted by flabdablet at 12:11 AM on March 9, 2018 [63 favorites]
Trump has now said he will meet with Kim Jong Un soon — “by May.”
Is this actual May, or just the same bullshit "within six weeks" he always pulls out when he wants to look like he's actually going to do something?
I know which way I'm betting.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 1:42 AM on March 9, 2018 [10 favorites]
Is this actual May, or just the same bullshit "within six weeks" he always pulls out when he wants to look like he's actually going to do something?
I know which way I'm betting.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 1:42 AM on March 9, 2018 [10 favorites]
Emmanuel Macron and Shinzo Abe have both scheduled return visits to the US, so I assume he'd be welcome in Paris and Tokyo.
Well I can only speak as an Australian, but just because our prime minister has been to the White House, don't assume there wouldn't be protests if Trump came here. That stuff makes diplomacy a bit tricky.
posted by chiquitita at 2:08 AM on March 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
Well I can only speak as an Australian, but just because our prime minister has been to the White House, don't assume there wouldn't be protests if Trump came here. That stuff makes diplomacy a bit tricky.
posted by chiquitita at 2:08 AM on March 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
Breaking: North Korean leader has invited Trump to a meeting, U.S. officials say (WaPo)
It's going to be like Russell Brand vs. Jordan Peterson, only with nukes!
I suspect that Trump will come back saying what a great guy Kim is, a solid leader and a guy you can really do business with. Perhaps he'll even be inspired to bring Juche ideology to the US.
posted by acb at 2:48 AM on March 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's going to be like Russell Brand vs. Jordan Peterson, only with nukes!
I suspect that Trump will come back saying what a great guy Kim is, a solid leader and a guy you can really do business with. Perhaps he'll even be inspired to bring Juche ideology to the US.
posted by acb at 2:48 AM on March 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
Well this is certainly a great time to have John Bolton in the mix. /spits
posted by angrycat at 3:47 AM on March 9, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 3:47 AM on March 9, 2018 [10 favorites]
Well, 57% of just over half of white america (those who actually voted in unpopular election).
This tends to happen. (Pew Research election demographics)
posted by rc3spencer at 4:11 AM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
This tends to happen. (Pew Research election demographics)
posted by rc3spencer at 4:11 AM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Trump is going to love North Korea.
Military parades.
President for life.
No illegal immigration: who'd want to go there.
Border wall with their southern neighbor.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 4:53 AM on March 9, 2018 [54 favorites]
Military parades.
President for life.
No illegal immigration: who'd want to go there.
Border wall with their southern neighbor.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 4:53 AM on March 9, 2018 [54 favorites]
This. The notion that support for Trump is just an old people thing, or a rural thing, or a blue-collar thing, or whatever, has really, really got to go into the fucking trashbin.
I mean, I get what you're saying, but -- majority of old white people + majority of rural white people + majority of blue collar white people easily = 57% of all white people. Which is why it's simultaneously true that the majority of white people voted for Trump and also that a lot of the young, educated, urban white people who *didn't* vote for Trump don't know a single person in their own demographic who did. Their primary encounters with Trump voters are their older relatives, hence the sad jokes about Thanksgiving tables.
I do think there's some value in recognizing that because it gets to the core of why the political divide / culture war is becoming intractable -- because we are simply extremely isolated from each other, not just in the media we consume online, but in our actual real-life communities. And why I personally feel that building a strong progressive movement for the future means that young educated white people like myself need to work much harder to reach out and build connections with rural and blue collar folks of our own generation. I just wish I knew better how to do it.
posted by the turtle's teeth at 5:14 AM on March 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
I mean, I get what you're saying, but -- majority of old white people + majority of rural white people + majority of blue collar white people easily = 57% of all white people. Which is why it's simultaneously true that the majority of white people voted for Trump and also that a lot of the young, educated, urban white people who *didn't* vote for Trump don't know a single person in their own demographic who did. Their primary encounters with Trump voters are their older relatives, hence the sad jokes about Thanksgiving tables.
I do think there's some value in recognizing that because it gets to the core of why the political divide / culture war is becoming intractable -- because we are simply extremely isolated from each other, not just in the media we consume online, but in our actual real-life communities. And why I personally feel that building a strong progressive movement for the future means that young educated white people like myself need to work much harder to reach out and build connections with rural and blue collar folks of our own generation. I just wish I knew better how to do it.
posted by the turtle's teeth at 5:14 AM on March 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
I don't know why it's unreasonable to expect them to make the first move. We've been reaching across the divide for years, in some cases decades. That feeling you have that you're fighting against the evils of the world one-handed is because you've got it reached out across the divide expecting them to take it.
posted by Merus at 5:31 AM on March 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Merus at 5:31 AM on March 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
Presumably all of Gamer Gate voted for Trump.
Exactly: that was what I was trying to get across in my unfortunate Mountain Dew calumny of yesterday. Gun people buy guns to trick out their gunsafes and dream of future glory, but gamers use their toys, on the daily. Talking out loud before witnesses about trying to take away GTA? That's easily the stupidest thing he's done this entire time.
posted by Don Pepino at 5:40 AM on March 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Exactly: that was what I was trying to get across in my unfortunate Mountain Dew calumny of yesterday. Gun people buy guns to trick out their gunsafes and dream of future glory, but gamers use their toys, on the daily. Talking out loud before witnesses about trying to take away GTA? That's easily the stupidest thing he's done this entire time.
posted by Don Pepino at 5:40 AM on March 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
I don't know why it's unreasonable to expect them to make the first move.
Well, just speaking for myself -- despite being educated and relatively well-off, I live here in rural America and I am very aware of how privileged I actually am: to have health insurance, to be able to access dental care, to have enough food every month, to be literate, to not suffer from unmanageable chronic pain, to not have the health conditions that arise from a childhood without proper nutrition or healthcare, to not have to care for family members with heroin and meth addictions, etc etc. So as the innumerably more privileged one, I do take the burden on myself. But my privilege also means it's hard for me to know how to begin to breach that divide without coming off like a patronizing asshole.
However, the "compassion for ignorant, hateful rural people: should we or shouldn't we" conversation is already well-trod here and not super relevant to the current thread, so I'm going to bow out of this now.
posted by the turtle's teeth at 5:51 AM on March 9, 2018 [14 favorites]
Well, just speaking for myself -- despite being educated and relatively well-off, I live here in rural America and I am very aware of how privileged I actually am: to have health insurance, to be able to access dental care, to have enough food every month, to be literate, to not suffer from unmanageable chronic pain, to not have the health conditions that arise from a childhood without proper nutrition or healthcare, to not have to care for family members with heroin and meth addictions, etc etc. So as the innumerably more privileged one, I do take the burden on myself. But my privilege also means it's hard for me to know how to begin to breach that divide without coming off like a patronizing asshole.
However, the "compassion for ignorant, hateful rural people: should we or shouldn't we" conversation is already well-trod here and not super relevant to the current thread, so I'm going to bow out of this now.
posted by the turtle's teeth at 5:51 AM on March 9, 2018 [14 favorites]
Word of Trump-Kim Summit Meeting Stirs Concern in Asia (Motoko Rich | NYT)
As North Korea conducted ballistic missile and nuclear tests and President Trump threatened fiery responses last year, Japan and South Korea feared the worst: a nuclear conflict on their front doorsteps.posted by Barack Spinoza at 5:54 AM on March 9, 2018 [10 favorites]
But now, as President Trump accepts an offer from North Korea’s Kim Jong-un to discuss the country’s nuclear program, another fear is looming: that President Trump might offer concessions that the North’s Asian neighbors would find unpalatable, or, if the talks fail, resort to a military option. ...
“I think there’s real concern about a deal-maker president [sic] talking one-on-one with Kim, accepting something less than” verifiable and irreversible denuclearization, said Tobias Harris, a Japan analyst at Teneo Intelligence, a political risk consultancy based in New York.
But analysts quickly noted the risks for Washington and Seoul if Mr. Kim did not live up to American expectations for negotiations, or if South Korea pursued better relations with the North should Mr. Kim not take any steps toward denuclearization. ...
“Announcing intention for a U.S.-North Korea summit, with so many details yet undetermined, carries risks,” said Leif-Eric Easley, associate professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. “If the Trump-Kim meeting breaks down, both engagement and pressure campaigns could suffer.”
... Any talks could end up offering only a temporary reprieve, given the American readiness for military action.
“What is worth paying attention to is whether North Korea will state very clearly that they are willing to give up their nuclear weapons,” said Zhang Liangui, professor of international studies at the Central Party School of the Communist Party. ...
“If North Korea tries to beat around the bush again this time,” Mr. Zhang added, “I think the U.S. is ready to resolve the problem with force.”
... Euan Graham, director of the international security program at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Australia, said it was worrying that the North Koreans were dictating the pace of events.
“Kim Jong-un is playing this very well,” he said. “He’s got South Korea acting as his emissary, and now an unprecedented summit with the U.S. president, all on the basis of a vague and untested commitment to denuclearization.”
“My concern is the U.S. is being drawn into a negotiation prematurely, without the internal coherence required to hold the North Koreans to a meaningful bargain that doesn’t compromise U.S. interests, and those of its allies,” he added.
Charles Koch Complains About Corporate Influence In Politics. WTF does he think he is doing?
posted by yoga at 5:56 AM on March 9, 2018 [36 favorites]
posted by yoga at 5:56 AM on March 9, 2018 [36 favorites]
a lot of the young, educated, urban white people who *didn't* vote for Trump don't know a single person in their own demographic who did
I think maybe - didn’t know a single person in their own demographic who admitted it. Remember all that polling that said he had no chance? A lot of people denied voting for Trump on the phone or online, but went ahead and pulled the lever. And I suspect a lot of these voters are closer than they may appear. In the heart of NYC, or even Chicago, there were a surprising amount of Trump voters. Hell, over half of Staten Island voted for him. If you live in a major city, it’s likely 1-2 of 10 people you know voted for Trump.
They’re just not talking about it. Which means it’s convenient to blame it all on “the other”, people who aren’t like you, but some people like you did vote for Trump. And that’s what makes him and his poison ideology such a danger.
posted by corb at 5:57 AM on March 9, 2018 [29 favorites]
I think maybe - didn’t know a single person in their own demographic who admitted it. Remember all that polling that said he had no chance? A lot of people denied voting for Trump on the phone or online, but went ahead and pulled the lever. And I suspect a lot of these voters are closer than they may appear. In the heart of NYC, or even Chicago, there were a surprising amount of Trump voters. Hell, over half of Staten Island voted for him. If you live in a major city, it’s likely 1-2 of 10 people you know voted for Trump.
They’re just not talking about it. Which means it’s convenient to blame it all on “the other”, people who aren’t like you, but some people like you did vote for Trump. And that’s what makes him and his poison ideology such a danger.
posted by corb at 5:57 AM on March 9, 2018 [29 favorites]
Hell, over half of Staten Island voted for him.
I mean, that is standard operating procedure for Staten Island, it is the city's conservative bastion -- it's older and whiter than most other parts of the city, demographically speaking, and has fewer immigrants too, although that's been changing in the past decade or so. It's much closer to Long Island in spirit, and it's pretty insular; few people who live in other parts of the city trek out to SI. People on SI might come in to the city for work, but the reverse is not true. It's a miniature version of the rural/urban divide described above (except that a lot of people on SI do have pretty good healthcare, since a fair number work for NYPD or NYFD, and it's a pretty prosperous place overall).
A lot of major cities can be like this, and I don't necessarily disbelieve those who say they don't know anyone who voted for Trump, depending on where they live and where they work. These divides are not going to be easily transcended.
posted by halation at 6:07 AM on March 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
I mean, that is standard operating procedure for Staten Island, it is the city's conservative bastion -- it's older and whiter than most other parts of the city, demographically speaking, and has fewer immigrants too, although that's been changing in the past decade or so. It's much closer to Long Island in spirit, and it's pretty insular; few people who live in other parts of the city trek out to SI. People on SI might come in to the city for work, but the reverse is not true. It's a miniature version of the rural/urban divide described above (except that a lot of people on SI do have pretty good healthcare, since a fair number work for NYPD or NYFD, and it's a pretty prosperous place overall).
A lot of major cities can be like this, and I don't necessarily disbelieve those who say they don't know anyone who voted for Trump, depending on where they live and where they work. These divides are not going to be easily transcended.
posted by halation at 6:07 AM on March 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
*writes The Following Sentence Has Nothing To Do With The Primary So Don't Go There 100 times on the chalkboard*
It's likely 1-2 of 10 people you know would say "I didn't vote for Trump. I voted AGAINST Hillary."
posted by delfin at 6:08 AM on March 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
It's likely 1-2 of 10 people you know would say "I didn't vote for Trump. I voted AGAINST Hillary."
posted by delfin at 6:08 AM on March 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
Koch understands that the tech giants have finally been roused to become politically involved, and they are not on his side.
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:26 AM on March 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:26 AM on March 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
and they are not on his side.
They are also not on our side. They're on their own side. That they occasionally overlap with progressive goals should not be mistaken for them having progressive goals.
posted by chris24 at 6:29 AM on March 9, 2018 [78 favorites]
They are also not on our side. They're on their own side. That they occasionally overlap with progressive goals should not be mistaken for them having progressive goals.
posted by chris24 at 6:29 AM on March 9, 2018 [78 favorites]
Urban/rural is a distracting false dichotomy: in general, the conservative vote is concentrated in the suburbs.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 6:42 AM on March 9, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 6:42 AM on March 9, 2018 [27 favorites]
In the heart of NYC, or even Chicago, there were a surprising amount of Trump voters. Hell, over half of Staten Island voted for him
Lolololol Staten Island, with the exception of the Wu and a few other enclaves, is literally where we keep our non-oligarch Republicans. It is really isolated from the rest of the city (seriously no one who doesn’t live there goes there, not even to get laid), really white, and really racist, and rightfully belongs to Nassau County or New Jersey.
My experience of people who vote Republican in NYS is that they are almost universally pretty racist, pretty misogynist, pretty wealthy, or some mix of the triad. They tend to self-sort, both in terms of where they live and what kind of work they do.
So it’s the same cultural divide as everywhere else, I think. And they don’t tend to mix.
posted by schadenfrau at 6:50 AM on March 9, 2018 [15 favorites]
Lolololol Staten Island, with the exception of the Wu and a few other enclaves, is literally where we keep our non-oligarch Republicans. It is really isolated from the rest of the city (seriously no one who doesn’t live there goes there, not even to get laid), really white, and really racist, and rightfully belongs to Nassau County or New Jersey.
My experience of people who vote Republican in NYS is that they are almost universally pretty racist, pretty misogynist, pretty wealthy, or some mix of the triad. They tend to self-sort, both in terms of where they live and what kind of work they do.
So it’s the same cultural divide as everywhere else, I think. And they don’t tend to mix.
posted by schadenfrau at 6:50 AM on March 9, 2018 [15 favorites]
Urban/rural is a distracting false dichotomy: in general, the conservative vote is concentrated in the suburbs.
It's more a partial picture than a distracting false dichotomy. You're correct that suburbs are problems too, because a lot of suburbs are white flight communities. But those of us who live in mostly rural states with two or three urban centers know very well that the urban/rural split is real and fundamental to state politics.
Here in Arkansas, the contrast is starkest up in the northwest. If you live in Fayetteville (where the largest state university is), you'll see a very (by US standards) liberal climate. You visit a four-figure-population town in that region chosen randomly, someone might literally hit you with a bible.
You can even see it in some churches. Methodist churches in Little Rock frequently have openly gay members and staff. Out in the country, the same UMC churches preach fire and brimstone against it.
posted by middleclasstool at 7:03 AM on March 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
It's more a partial picture than a distracting false dichotomy. You're correct that suburbs are problems too, because a lot of suburbs are white flight communities. But those of us who live in mostly rural states with two or three urban centers know very well that the urban/rural split is real and fundamental to state politics.
Here in Arkansas, the contrast is starkest up in the northwest. If you live in Fayetteville (where the largest state university is), you'll see a very (by US standards) liberal climate. You visit a four-figure-population town in that region chosen randomly, someone might literally hit you with a bible.
You can even see it in some churches. Methodist churches in Little Rock frequently have openly gay members and staff. Out in the country, the same UMC churches preach fire and brimstone against it.
posted by middleclasstool at 7:03 AM on March 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
It’s a lot easier to demonize people you never see, I guess.
Diverse, accessible, neighborhood-friendly cities for everyone!
posted by schadenfrau at 7:07 AM on March 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
Diverse, accessible, neighborhood-friendly cities for everyone!
posted by schadenfrau at 7:07 AM on March 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
My guess is that Kim Jong-un is bargaining for world prestige -- another picture with Bill Clinton.
posted by JackFlash at 7:17 AM on March 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by JackFlash at 7:17 AM on March 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
Even in the super-duper indigo-blue San Francisco Bay Area, there are a few Trump supporters. I've seen two or three "Trump/Pence" stickers on vehicles, and there was a man sitting at a folding table in front of a strip mall with a "Sign Here To Support Donald Trump" sign. (Lotsa luck getting anyone to pull over in rush hour traffic, buddy.) There were even some in San Francisco! Nobody's shit is stink-free.
I think Democrats' biggest issue is nonvoters. Here is a profile of nonvoters. And here is a whole website dedicated to them. (Note how many are "pessimists" and how many are "too busy.") Waiting for old people to die isn't going to cut it. Nor is counting on the diversity of the younger generation, if those young people are to demoralized and/or too busy and/or disenfranchised. Nor will the GamerGate crowd turn into woke social-justice activists If Only they would stop playing violent video games.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 7:26 AM on March 9, 2018 [21 favorites]
I think Democrats' biggest issue is nonvoters. Here is a profile of nonvoters. And here is a whole website dedicated to them. (Note how many are "pessimists" and how many are "too busy.") Waiting for old people to die isn't going to cut it. Nor is counting on the diversity of the younger generation, if those young people are to demoralized and/or too busy and/or disenfranchised. Nor will the GamerGate crowd turn into woke social-justice activists If Only they would stop playing violent video games.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 7:26 AM on March 9, 2018 [21 favorites]
My gut feeling on the NK visit is that the planning is being taken care of by Putin, who has more leverage over Trump than is publicly known (though anticipated help with 2018 is plenty). And who essentially owns Kim Jong Un as well.
Putin choreographs a performance (core competency), Trump basks in the glory (core competency), NK stays nuclear for the foreseeable future with sanctions lifted. Putin is thanked by Trump in words and deeds diverse. Repercussions from Japan et. al. trading and diplomatic partners? Trump is not statesman enough to worry about that, and probably easily talked out of it.
Say Trump basically welcomes NK as an ally, with no real concessions. The backlash in the US would serve to further damage our government. One of the Russian state's strategies against the US is to undermine our government and stimulate civil war. It's already happening, viz. the past election.
I don't worry that much about nuclear war. Putin doesn't want that, he wants supremacy. War is but one tool in the kit, and all the better if he can get his adversaries to fight on both sides when the occasion calls for war. Not unlike US global imperial policy. When it was run by competent despots, anyhow.
ps - Can the Skirpal poisoning not be seen through the same strategic lens? Given Trump's deference to Russia, Skirpal drives a wedge between US and UK.
posted by maniabug at 7:29 AM on March 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
Putin choreographs a performance (core competency), Trump basks in the glory (core competency), NK stays nuclear for the foreseeable future with sanctions lifted. Putin is thanked by Trump in words and deeds diverse. Repercussions from Japan et. al. trading and diplomatic partners? Trump is not statesman enough to worry about that, and probably easily talked out of it.
Say Trump basically welcomes NK as an ally, with no real concessions. The backlash in the US would serve to further damage our government. One of the Russian state's strategies against the US is to undermine our government and stimulate civil war. It's already happening, viz. the past election.
I don't worry that much about nuclear war. Putin doesn't want that, he wants supremacy. War is but one tool in the kit, and all the better if he can get his adversaries to fight on both sides when the occasion calls for war. Not unlike US global imperial policy. When it was run by competent despots, anyhow.
ps - Can the Skirpal poisoning not be seen through the same strategic lens? Given Trump's deference to Russia, Skirpal drives a wedge between US and UK.
posted by maniabug at 7:29 AM on March 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
Kim is playing Trump for a sucker, which he is. This is perfectly in keeping with the pattern of North Korea going back decades, they continually escalate until a breaking point, then turn on their version of charm and extract as many concessions as possible to pad the Kim family pocket or increase their legitimacy.
A meeting with Kim isn't by itself ridiculous, it really could be a positive development in the right context. But giving it to them just because they asked for it is idiotic. A face to face meeting should be the culmination of a series of engagements and concessions made by North Korea, not a gift in return for nothing. We should of course be open to diplomacy, but not unconditionally. If we had a competent Secretary of State, this would be what you want your State Department doing. Not the President himself. At least not the first meeting, and not without appropriate groundwork.
And that doesn't even consider whatever Trump concedes to them in the meeting, because he will undoubtedly offer major concessions out of the blue. And they'll take him at his word. It's not like the US has a set of asks worked up for this meeting, we've done no preparation for this because before yesterday it wasn't even on the table under any serious persons framework of US interests. But when Trump gives away the farm at the meeting, then walks it back after the entire US government tells him how much he just fucked us, North Korea will use that to fuel their next cycle of escalation, and this time they'll be justified.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:33 AM on March 9, 2018 [43 favorites]
A meeting with Kim isn't by itself ridiculous, it really could be a positive development in the right context. But giving it to them just because they asked for it is idiotic. A face to face meeting should be the culmination of a series of engagements and concessions made by North Korea, not a gift in return for nothing. We should of course be open to diplomacy, but not unconditionally. If we had a competent Secretary of State, this would be what you want your State Department doing. Not the President himself. At least not the first meeting, and not without appropriate groundwork.
And that doesn't even consider whatever Trump concedes to them in the meeting, because he will undoubtedly offer major concessions out of the blue. And they'll take him at his word. It's not like the US has a set of asks worked up for this meeting, we've done no preparation for this because before yesterday it wasn't even on the table under any serious persons framework of US interests. But when Trump gives away the farm at the meeting, then walks it back after the entire US government tells him how much he just fucked us, North Korea will use that to fuel their next cycle of escalation, and this time they'll be justified.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:33 AM on March 9, 2018 [43 favorites]
from the "deadline, what deadline?" dept.:
White House Refuses House Oversight Committee’s Info Request On Rob Porter
posted by murphy slaw at 7:39 AM on March 9, 2018 [15 favorites]
White House Refuses House Oversight Committee’s Info Request On Rob Porter
White House Director of Legislative Affairs Marc Short sent a letter to House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-SC) and ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-MD) politely neglecting to cooperate with their demands for information on how and why Porter was allowed to continue to work as White House staff secretary, a senior position, for months after the FBI had informed senior White House staff of allegations of spousal abuse. The letter was obtained by TPM Thursday evening, shortly after the committee received it.my money is on "hide under his desk until everyone forgets" but i could be surprised.
“Consistent with your letters’ requests, we would be pleased to update you and others on the progress of the working group at the appropriate time,” Short writes to Gowdy at the end of the letter after detailing what the White House is doing differently now on security clearance procedures, a courteous way of ignoring Gowdy’s specific requests on what the White House’s procedures were at the time and who knew what when about Porter.
…
Gowdy’s letter was the most aggressive he’s been towards the White House since Trump’s inauguration.
It’s unclear how he’ll react. If he so chooses, he could subpoena the information. Gowdy’s office didn’t immediately respond to questions about what his next steps would be or what he thought of the White House’s response.
posted by murphy slaw at 7:39 AM on March 9, 2018 [15 favorites]
The North Koreans must feel like they've won the lottery.
There has never been a stupider, more disorganized, or easily manipulatable American administration with which to negotiate and probably never will be again in Kim's tenure. It is a once in a lifetime chance to extract concessions, drive wedges between allies, and generally spread the sort of diplomatic FUD that will pay dividends for many years to come. The hasty, haphazard path to these talks is a plain signal to the Europeans that America is no longer as reliable an ally as they once supposed.
posted by Chrischris at 7:39 AM on March 9, 2018 [46 favorites]
There has never been a stupider, more disorganized, or easily manipulatable American administration with which to negotiate and probably never will be again in Kim's tenure. It is a once in a lifetime chance to extract concessions, drive wedges between allies, and generally spread the sort of diplomatic FUD that will pay dividends for many years to come. The hasty, haphazard path to these talks is a plain signal to the Europeans that America is no longer as reliable an ally as they once supposed.
posted by Chrischris at 7:39 AM on March 9, 2018 [46 favorites]
Ann Coulter went batshit insane on Twitter last night saying the quiet parts of (((globalist))) very loudly.
posted by Talez at 7:39 AM on March 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Talez at 7:39 AM on March 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
went batshit insane
i don't think she's earned that "went"
posted by murphy slaw at 7:44 AM on March 9, 2018 [53 favorites]
i don't think she's earned that "went"
posted by murphy slaw at 7:44 AM on March 9, 2018 [53 favorites]
Nigel Farage was on Fox News just now for his take on the Skripal poisoning. Summary:
"This is terribly embarrassing for May but there's just nothing we can do about it other than maybe pull out of the upcoming football game and the last time it happened here we didn't do anything, so oh well. Putin doesn't like traitors and this should just be a lesson about what happens when you cross him."
The anchor didn't respond with "this was a WMD attack on UK soil and your response is to shrug and say sic semper anti-Putinis? Where is your loyalty to your own country as a supposed nationalist?" because the anchor is himself as much of the operation as Nigel. The difference being that Farage knows his turn could come too if he doesn't parrot RT talking points correctly.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:48 AM on March 9, 2018 [29 favorites]
"This is terribly embarrassing for May but there's just nothing we can do about it other than maybe pull out of the upcoming football game and the last time it happened here we didn't do anything, so oh well. Putin doesn't like traitors and this should just be a lesson about what happens when you cross him."
The anchor didn't respond with "this was a WMD attack on UK soil and your response is to shrug and say sic semper anti-Putinis? Where is your loyalty to your own country as a supposed nationalist?" because the anchor is himself as much of the operation as Nigel. The difference being that Farage knows his turn could come too if he doesn't parrot RT talking points correctly.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:48 AM on March 9, 2018 [29 favorites]
"This is terribly embarrassing for May but there's just nothing we can do about it other than maybe pull out of the upcoming football game and the last time it happened here we didn't do anything, so oh well. Putin doesn't like traitors and this should just be a lesson about what happens when you cross him."
Or, and this is just an alternative suggestion, you could remove Russia completely from SWIFT and release all the intelligence we've been hoarding on Putin's murders over the past god knows how long.
That's just off the cuff.
posted by Talez at 7:50 AM on March 9, 2018 [23 favorites]
Or, and this is just an alternative suggestion, you could remove Russia completely from SWIFT and release all the intelligence we've been hoarding on Putin's murders over the past god knows how long.
That's just off the cuff.
posted by Talez at 7:50 AM on March 9, 2018 [23 favorites]
Ann Coulter went batshit insane on Twitter last night saying the quiet parts of (((globalist))) very loudly.
For those who don't twitter:
For those who don't twitter:
Israel must be defended as last redoubt of the globalists.and
Jake Tapper is half Globalist.posted by Sophie1 at 7:55 AM on March 9, 2018 [32 favorites]
'Stand down': How the Obama team blew the response to Russian meddling
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:56 AM on March 9, 2018 [28 favorites]
Knowing that Putin was notoriously protective of any information about his family, Wallander suggested targeting Putin himself. She proposed leaking snippets of classified intelligence to reveal the secret bank accounts in Latvia held for Putin’s daughters — a direct poke at the Russian president that would be sure to infuriate him. Wallander also brainstormed ideas with Victoria Nuland, the assistant secretary of state for European affairs and a fellow hard-liner. They drafted proposals to dump dirt on Russian websites about Putin’s money, about the girlfriends of top Russian officials, about corruption in Putin’s United Russia party — essentially to give Putin a taste of his own medicine. “We wanted to raise the cost in a manner Putin recognized,” Nuland recalled.Obama's response to Russia looks worse and worse with every passing day. When American Democracy is gone, we should remember who declined to fight for it at the time.
One idea Daniel proposed was unusual: The United States and NATO should publicly announce a giant “cyber exercise” against a mythical Eurasian country, demonstrating that Western nations had it within their power to shut down Russia’s entire civil infrastructure and cripple its economy.
But Wallander and Daniel’s bosses at the White House were not on board. One day in late August, national security adviser Susan Rice called Daniel into her office and demanded he cease and desist from working on the cyber options he was developing. “Don’t get ahead of us,” she warned him. The White House was not prepared to endorse any of these ideas. Daniel and his team in the White House cyber response group were given strict orders: Stand down. She told Daniel to “knock it off,” he recalled.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:56 AM on March 9, 2018 [28 favorites]
When American Democracy is gone, we should remember who declined to fight for it at the time.
yeah but it might have tarnished his brand slightly and subsequently made it more difficult to bag a content deal with Netflix so
posted by halation at 8:02 AM on March 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
yeah but it might have tarnished his brand slightly and subsequently made it more difficult to bag a content deal with Netflix so
posted by halation at 8:02 AM on March 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
So as the innumerably more privileged one, I do take the burden on myself. But my privilege also means it's hard for me to know how to begin to breach that divide without coming off like a patronizing asshole.
In the conflict resolution world, they say, when you're pretty damned sure you're right about something, get curious, ask questions.
posted by philip-random at 8:02 AM on March 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
In the conflict resolution world, they say, when you're pretty damned sure you're right about something, get curious, ask questions.
posted by philip-random at 8:02 AM on March 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
I mean, people who support their party over the rule of law, and use their political leverage to provide coverage for foreign adversaries to manipulate our political process, and endorse fascism and white supremacy, and directly subvert the electoral system through legal and extralegal mechanisms, these people are pretty bad, I guess.
But you know who I really hate? People who sometimes make the wrong decision.
posted by biogeo at 8:04 AM on March 9, 2018 [122 favorites]
But you know who I really hate? People who sometimes make the wrong decision.
posted by biogeo at 8:04 AM on March 9, 2018 [122 favorites]
Ann Coulter went batshit insane on Twitter last night saying the quiet parts of (((globalist))) very loudly.
I was hoping this was an undeniable example of anti-Semitism that I could use to discredit Coulter to my conservative relatives. But looking at her twitter I think she was actually trying to claim that "globalist" is NOT code for "Jewish" by giving a bunch of examples where it would make no sense to substitute the one for the other, and where no one does.
Her first tweet on this subject was: (1) .@HuffPost: "This Anti-Semitic Term Was Casually Used At The White House 3 Times This Week" (The "Anti-Semitic Term" is "Globalist"!)
Bunch of people replying to say that of course "globalist" doesn't mean "Jewish." And then Ann goes on to say stuff like (2) "Paul Newman is only half Globalist" and (3) "Israel must be defended as last redoubt of the Globalists."
So I think this is supposed to be some kind of reductio ad absurdum proof that "globalist" doesn't mean "Jewish." Conservatives don't actually use the word this way.
She is also trying to imply that conservatives can't be anti-Semitic because they "defend" Israel. But then in her replies people say stuff like: "How about all of the Jews will be sent back to Izrael. Problem solved." ... I think that kind of "support" for Israel is not exactly evidence FOR her argument.
And one of Ann's examples of how it supposedly makes no sense to use "globalist" as a synonym for "Jewish people" is (4) "Boy, a lot of Globalists popped up in the #MeToo scandals!"
I think she's trying to say something here like "Liberal women are the ones who really hate Jews." I mean presumably she thinks all #MeToo allegations are politically motivated attacks based on lies. So liberal women are the ones really attacking Jews. And also this is supposed to be another example of something you wouldn't actually hear a conservative say, as evidence that conservatives don't use "globalist" as a synonym for "Jewish."
But actually I can easily imagine a conservative saying this! And so can many other people! That's why a lot of people are assuming she really meant it!
And I have yet to meet a conservative who thinks Harvey Weinstein was innocent, even if they think the rest of the #MeToo men were unfairly targeted (conservatives really hate Harvey Winstein). So the #MeToo accusations against him weren't actually attacks by liberal women targeted at him because he was Jewish, then? So this particular tweet really undermines her point.
It kind of bothers me that I understand Ann Coulter's mindset well enough to parse this stuff.
posted by OnceUponATime at 8:08 AM on March 9, 2018 [26 favorites]
I was hoping this was an undeniable example of anti-Semitism that I could use to discredit Coulter to my conservative relatives. But looking at her twitter I think she was actually trying to claim that "globalist" is NOT code for "Jewish" by giving a bunch of examples where it would make no sense to substitute the one for the other, and where no one does.
Her first tweet on this subject was: (1) .@HuffPost: "This Anti-Semitic Term Was Casually Used At The White House 3 Times This Week" (The "Anti-Semitic Term" is "Globalist"!)
Bunch of people replying to say that of course "globalist" doesn't mean "Jewish." And then Ann goes on to say stuff like (2) "Paul Newman is only half Globalist" and (3) "Israel must be defended as last redoubt of the Globalists."
So I think this is supposed to be some kind of reductio ad absurdum proof that "globalist" doesn't mean "Jewish." Conservatives don't actually use the word this way.
She is also trying to imply that conservatives can't be anti-Semitic because they "defend" Israel. But then in her replies people say stuff like: "How about all of the Jews will be sent back to Izrael. Problem solved." ... I think that kind of "support" for Israel is not exactly evidence FOR her argument.
And one of Ann's examples of how it supposedly makes no sense to use "globalist" as a synonym for "Jewish people" is (4) "Boy, a lot of Globalists popped up in the #MeToo scandals!"
I think she's trying to say something here like "Liberal women are the ones who really hate Jews." I mean presumably she thinks all #MeToo allegations are politically motivated attacks based on lies. So liberal women are the ones really attacking Jews. And also this is supposed to be another example of something you wouldn't actually hear a conservative say, as evidence that conservatives don't use "globalist" as a synonym for "Jewish."
But actually I can easily imagine a conservative saying this! And so can many other people! That's why a lot of people are assuming she really meant it!
And I have yet to meet a conservative who thinks Harvey Weinstein was innocent, even if they think the rest of the #MeToo men were unfairly targeted (conservatives really hate Harvey Winstein). So the #MeToo accusations against him weren't actually attacks by liberal women targeted at him because he was Jewish, then? So this particular tweet really undermines her point.
It kind of bothers me that I understand Ann Coulter's mindset well enough to parse this stuff.
posted by OnceUponATime at 8:08 AM on March 9, 2018 [26 favorites]
Well, I reported her ass anyway.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:13 AM on March 9, 2018 [36 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:13 AM on March 9, 2018 [36 favorites]
Ann Coulter absofuckinglutely knows what she's doing. She thinks it's clever and nudgey and winky, when it's just Nazi.
Fourteen days before Trump's inauguration, she tweeted "14!" Well, she had made prior tweets with a similar countdown... but not in weeks. Like there was a "30!" tweet or something beforehand, but no 15 or 16 or 17. She picked the number quite intentionally. And if you could somehow get her to admit it was deliberate, she'd probably say the point was to mock all the snowflakes who think an innocent ol' number like 14 has anything to do with white nationalism. Which, come the fuck on.
It's entirely within her power to just clarify things for once. Block her more overtly racist followers. Acknowledge how her "JOAKS" could maaaaybe be perceived as the dog bullhorns they are. Draw a line or two to establish where exactly she stands. Of course she won't because she is a neo-Nazi.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:22 AM on March 9, 2018 [34 favorites]
Fourteen days before Trump's inauguration, she tweeted "14!" Well, she had made prior tweets with a similar countdown... but not in weeks. Like there was a "30!" tweet or something beforehand, but no 15 or 16 or 17. She picked the number quite intentionally. And if you could somehow get her to admit it was deliberate, she'd probably say the point was to mock all the snowflakes who think an innocent ol' number like 14 has anything to do with white nationalism. Which, come the fuck on.
It's entirely within her power to just clarify things for once. Block her more overtly racist followers. Acknowledge how her "JOAKS" could maaaaybe be perceived as the dog bullhorns they are. Draw a line or two to establish where exactly she stands. Of course she won't because she is a neo-Nazi.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:22 AM on March 9, 2018 [34 favorites]
One thing you can say about the steel and aluminum tariffs - it shifts the focus back on the rust belt, which makes for good stories about life-long white, working class Democrats who voted for Trump (NPR, March 9, 2018)
Mahoning County, Ohio, is the focus, where President Barack Obama had won by 22 percentage points in 2012, went for a Republican president for the first time since 1972.
Also missing from that article: any questions about how the Republican Tax Scam, the biggest thing the Republicans have done with their control of the White House, Senate and House, helped these folks.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:27 AM on March 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
Mahoning County, Ohio, is the focus, where President Barack Obama had won by 22 percentage points in 2012, went for a Republican president for the first time since 1972.
And the initial evidence, based on more than a dozen interviews with Obama/Trump voters and disillusioned Democrats across the Mahoning Valley, is mixed. Some, like Kessler, say they're ashamed of modern day Democrats and no longer want to be a part of the party. Others insist they're still loyal to the party and will grab a Democratic ballot in the Ohio primary this May.My knee-jerk response to this is to say "oh, so they're in favor of companies over minorities?" And they value short-term gains over long-term pains, citing the tariffs as a good thing for local steel mills but ignoring the fact that a global trade war is a very bad thing for everyone.
In 2016, there was a massive discrepancy between national and local Democratic performance. Even though Trump won Trumbull County by 22 percentage points, Democrats won every county-level race. In neighboring Mahoning County, Clinton pulled off a slim victory — 25 points behind Obama's 2012 victory there — and, again, local Democrats won many races. In fact, the Democratic congressman from the region, Tim Ryan, won re-election with nearly 70 percent of the vote.
Many in the Mahoning Valley say that divide is evidence that the national Democratic Party has moved too far left — prioritizing "transgenders" and "immigration," as multiple people said, at the expense of the economy.
Also missing from that article: any questions about how the Republican Tax Scam, the biggest thing the Republicans have done with their control of the White House, Senate and House, helped these folks.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:27 AM on March 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
When the history books are written about the challenges to American democracy in the first decades of the 21st century, Russian meddling will merit a sentence or two, maybe just a footnote. Whole chapters will be devoted to conservative talk radio, Fox News, and the erosion of political norms by the GOP starting at least as far back as the Clinton presidency and reaching its peak during the Obama years. Mitch McConnell refusing to hold a confirmation hearing for Merrick Garland will be pointed to as a turning point when democratic norms and institutions were dealt a critical blow. The rise of Trumpism will be identified as a natural evolution of this anti-democratic beast the GOP created. And when discussing the undermining of democratic responses to Trumpism during the 2016 election, Russian meddling may merit some discussion, if it turns out to have been effective in changing voters' decisions (something we still don't know for sure). But much ink will be spilled discussing Jim Comey's attack on Hillary Clinton immediately before the election, something polling data tells us definitely had a large impact on voters' decisions.
External attacks on our democracy are serious, but pale in comparison to our home-grown anti-democracy movement that has captured the GOP.
posted by biogeo at 8:27 AM on March 9, 2018 [76 favorites]
External attacks on our democracy are serious, but pale in comparison to our home-grown anti-democracy movement that has captured the GOP.
posted by biogeo at 8:27 AM on March 9, 2018 [76 favorites]
I agree with OnceUponATime that she is attempting some sort of rhetorical "smackdown" that will slay her opponents but it doesn't succeed by half. With that said, from reading the comments on her facebook postings of this ideas it is clear her followers have no idea she is doing this. It is an awful toxic-cesspool-train wreck of terrible people.
posted by mmascolino at 8:28 AM on March 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by mmascolino at 8:28 AM on March 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
I wish Obama had taken a more aggressive stance against Putin in his presidency - just one of my disappointments with him - but the two options from Wallander and Daniels would have brought significant risk. Going after Putin personally, to embarrass him, would have hardened his resolve to try something else later, the way he took revenge for the Panama Papers by interfering with the 2016 election. Holding a cyberwar exercise could have tacitly endorsed digital warfare as acceptable for all nation-states. A dilemma looks very different in retrospect than when you're in caught in the middle of one (and I certainly don't have an answer for what the optimal response would have been).
This comes out in the Mother Jones article:
While it's fine to acknowledge shortcomings in the past, we have more in the present to concern ourselves with. For all the inadequacy of Obama's response, Trump's total dereliction of duty, not only to investigate the 2016 interference, but also to prevent further such meddling, is of paramount importance.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:30 AM on March 9, 2018 [41 favorites]
This comes out in the Mother Jones article:
“If we got into a tit-for-tat on cyber with the Russians, it would not be to our advantage,” a participant later remarked. “They could do more to damage us in a cyber war or have a greater impact.” In one of the meetings, Clapper said he was worried that Russia might respond with cyberattacks against America’s critical infrastructure—and possibly shut down the electrical grid.[...]While we know now where the loyalties of Ryan and McConnell truly lie, it's hard to berate Obama for not being so pessimistic about American politics that he should have assumed a complete absence of patriotism. It also would have helped if his FBI Director had, you know, informed him fully about the Bureau's investigation into Putin's infiltration of the Trump campaign.
After two weeks or so of deliberations, the White House put these options on hold. Instead, Obama and his aides came up with a different plan. First, DHS would keep trying to work with the state voting systems. For that to succeed, the administration needed buy-in from congressional Republicans. So Obama would reach out to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan to try to deliver a bipartisan and public message that the Russian threat to the election was serious and that local officials should collaborate with the feds to protect the electoral infrastructure.
While it's fine to acknowledge shortcomings in the past, we have more in the present to concern ourselves with. For all the inadequacy of Obama's response, Trump's total dereliction of duty, not only to investigate the 2016 interference, but also to prevent further such meddling, is of paramount importance.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:30 AM on March 9, 2018 [41 favorites]
External attacks on our democracy are serious, but pale in comparison to our home-grown anti-democracy movement that has captured the GOP.
It's probably no accident that Putin is a keen student of judo, one of whose fundamental principles is using your opponent's strength and momentum against them.
posted by acb at 8:31 AM on March 9, 2018 [18 favorites]
It's probably no accident that Putin is a keen student of judo, one of whose fundamental principles is using your opponent's strength and momentum against them.
posted by acb at 8:31 AM on March 9, 2018 [18 favorites]
A more positive story about the impacts of Trump, indirectly: Statehouses Have A Ways To Go To Accommodate New Moms - but they're addressing the need, thanks to the first wave of women to run for office after President Trump's election, including women with babies and young kids.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:31 AM on March 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by filthy light thief at 8:31 AM on March 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
Obama's response to Russia looks worse and worse with every passing day. When American Democracy is gone, we should remember who declined to fight for it at the time.
I think Obama and Rice's response was correct. To engage in cyber tit for tat, while emotionally satisfying, is extremely dangerous, civilization ending dangerous, like nuclear warfare. They needed to tamp down the cyber war hawks before this spiraled out of control.
This type of thing could lead to the collapse of world wide banking system, the power grid, medical systems, global communications, cell phones, the internet.
Unlike nuclear warfare, in the case of cyber propaganda warfare duck and cover really works. You can immunize the public to some extent by massive information campaigns pointing out the dangers of Russian interference. The NSA could use all their computing power to flag Russian bots on Facebook and Twitter and show the public where they are and expose them so the public becomes more discerning. Don't censor the data, just flag it so the public can see for themselves how Russians are trying to influence them.
But Mitch McConnell refused to cooperate in this moderate counter propaganda. Obama was in a delicate situation because of the timing before the election. If he acted alone he would be attacked as politically motivated which could be just as damaging as the Russians, discrediting the election. You can second guess Obama on which was worse, the foreign Russian attack or the domestic political attack -- either of which would cause a disruption to democracy. Obama apparently calculated that with a Clinton victory in hand, it was better to wait, given McConnell's intransigence. In hindsight, that turns out to be wrong but it wasn't necessary a bad decision at the time.
But in any case, direct cyber warfare, as suggested by the war hawks, should be avoided because the consequences are too dire.
posted by JackFlash at 8:32 AM on March 9, 2018 [50 favorites]
I think Obama and Rice's response was correct. To engage in cyber tit for tat, while emotionally satisfying, is extremely dangerous, civilization ending dangerous, like nuclear warfare. They needed to tamp down the cyber war hawks before this spiraled out of control.
This type of thing could lead to the collapse of world wide banking system, the power grid, medical systems, global communications, cell phones, the internet.
Unlike nuclear warfare, in the case of cyber propaganda warfare duck and cover really works. You can immunize the public to some extent by massive information campaigns pointing out the dangers of Russian interference. The NSA could use all their computing power to flag Russian bots on Facebook and Twitter and show the public where they are and expose them so the public becomes more discerning. Don't censor the data, just flag it so the public can see for themselves how Russians are trying to influence them.
But Mitch McConnell refused to cooperate in this moderate counter propaganda. Obama was in a delicate situation because of the timing before the election. If he acted alone he would be attacked as politically motivated which could be just as damaging as the Russians, discrediting the election. You can second guess Obama on which was worse, the foreign Russian attack or the domestic political attack -- either of which would cause a disruption to democracy. Obama apparently calculated that with a Clinton victory in hand, it was better to wait, given McConnell's intransigence. In hindsight, that turns out to be wrong but it wasn't necessary a bad decision at the time.
But in any case, direct cyber warfare, as suggested by the war hawks, should be avoided because the consequences are too dire.
posted by JackFlash at 8:32 AM on March 9, 2018 [50 favorites]
External attacks on our democracy are serious, but pale in comparison to our home-grown anti-democracy movement that has captured the GOP.
russian interference in the election was an opportunistic infection made possible by the intentional attacks on the norms and institutions that act as the country's immune system against despotism
posted by murphy slaw at 8:33 AM on March 9, 2018 [30 favorites]
russian interference in the election was an opportunistic infection made possible by the intentional attacks on the norms and institutions that act as the country's immune system against despotism
posted by murphy slaw at 8:33 AM on March 9, 2018 [30 favorites]
"Sign Here To Support Donald Trump" sign.
These are just your garden-variety LaRouchies. Last week, they set up shop on the main shopping drag in Boston's West Roxbury neighborhood - they had three Burma-Shave-type signs leading people to a card table staffed by one lone woman outside the local Bank of America (normally they show up in clusters, but West Roxbury is kind of out of the way; maybe the rest of her cadre got lost). Kind of startling to see, but she wasn't getting much business.
posted by adamg at 8:41 AM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
These are just your garden-variety LaRouchies. Last week, they set up shop on the main shopping drag in Boston's West Roxbury neighborhood - they had three Burma-Shave-type signs leading people to a card table staffed by one lone woman outside the local Bank of America (normally they show up in clusters, but West Roxbury is kind of out of the way; maybe the rest of her cadre got lost). Kind of startling to see, but she wasn't getting much business.
posted by adamg at 8:41 AM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Here, deep in buggy whip country, the people are still reeling from the shutdown of the factory in 1938. One resident, Joe Johnson, says he's waiting for the factory to reopen. "My daddy was a buggy whip maker, his daddy was a buggy whip maker, and I don't intend to be the first man in my family to give that up. I think President Trump's election is good for us here in buggy whip country, he'll bring back the jobs. The Democrats spent too much time worrying about illegals and Muslims, Trump is about us real Americans!"
That sentiment is shared among most of the locals. "Those latte sipping elitists want us to give up our way of life, they think we should 'move with the times' and give up on buggy whips." says Tom Wilting, another out of work buggy whip maker. "Well, that just shows how out of touch they are with the values that made America great, and why we support President Trump."
Democrats say they care about the people in buggy whip country, but so far that message doesn't seem to resonate with people here.
I'm Susan Bland with NPR, back to you Ari
posted by sotonohito at 8:44 AM on March 9, 2018 [96 favorites]
That sentiment is shared among most of the locals. "Those latte sipping elitists want us to give up our way of life, they think we should 'move with the times' and give up on buggy whips." says Tom Wilting, another out of work buggy whip maker. "Well, that just shows how out of touch they are with the values that made America great, and why we support President Trump."
Democrats say they care about the people in buggy whip country, but so far that message doesn't seem to resonate with people here.
I'm Susan Bland with NPR, back to you Ari
posted by sotonohito at 8:44 AM on March 9, 2018 [96 favorites]
biogeo:
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:47 AM on March 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
When the history books are written about the challenges to American democracy in the first decades of the 21st century, Russian meddling will merit a sentence or two, maybe just a footnote. Whole chapters will be devoted to conservative talk radio, Fox News, and the erosion of political norms by the GOP starting at least as far back as the Clinton presidency and reaching its peak during the Obama years.Given the way history books today talk about the Civil War... eh. Unless you're talking, like 500 years from now, sure.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:47 AM on March 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
While we know now where the loyalties of Ryan and McConnell truly lie, it's hard to berate Obama for not being so pessimistic about American politics that he should have assumed a complete absence of patriotism.
I mean, Obama acted like he'd just met Mitch McConnell for the first time, every time he met him. As he was counting on McConnell to issue a bipartisan statement in defense of democratic values, McConnell had been stealing his SCOTUS pick for over a year. You can defend Obama's choices in terms on not wanting to escalate against Russia to avoid open war, but you can't defend him trusting Mitch McConnell.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:48 AM on March 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
I mean, Obama acted like he'd just met Mitch McConnell for the first time, every time he met him. As he was counting on McConnell to issue a bipartisan statement in defense of democratic values, McConnell had been stealing his SCOTUS pick for over a year. You can defend Obama's choices in terms on not wanting to escalate against Russia to avoid open war, but you can't defend him trusting Mitch McConnell.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:48 AM on March 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
[snip]
...I'm Susan Bland with NPR, back to you Ari
Needs [real] of [fake] tag.
(but marvelously done)
posted by Twain Device at 8:48 AM on March 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
It's probably no accident that Putin is a keen student of judo, one of whose fundamental principles is using your opponent's strength and momentum against them.
I would probably love this Pierce Brosnan Bond movie if I weren't living it.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:54 AM on March 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
I would probably love this Pierce Brosnan Bond movie if I weren't living it.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:54 AM on March 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
External attacks on our democracy are serious, but pale in comparison to our home-grown anti-democracy movement that has captured the GOP.
Recall that FDR's hands were tied, even as Britain was under daily bombardment, because of the fascists, anti-communists and anti-semites in the U.S. Republican Party. Henry Ford refused to manufacture war equipment for the British. It took the Pearl Harbor attack to finally unify the public.
posted by JackFlash at 9:01 AM on March 9, 2018 [75 favorites]
Recall that FDR's hands were tied, even as Britain was under daily bombardment, because of the fascists, anti-communists and anti-semites in the U.S. Republican Party. Henry Ford refused to manufacture war equipment for the British. It took the Pearl Harbor attack to finally unify the public.
posted by JackFlash at 9:01 AM on March 9, 2018 [75 favorites]
Obama's response to Russia looks worse and worse with every passing day. When American Democracy is gone, we should remember who declined to fight for it at the time.
Substitute "Fascist Republicans" for "Russia" above, and you get pretty much the same thing. Obama never struck me as "fighting" for anything; while he played '11-dimension chess', his adversaries were flipping the table on a regular basis.
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:10 AM on March 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
Substitute "Fascist Republicans" for "Russia" above, and you get pretty much the same thing. Obama never struck me as "fighting" for anything; while he played '11-dimension chess', his adversaries were flipping the table on a regular basis.
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:10 AM on March 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
Obama never struck me as "fighting" for anything
Something something Affordable Care Act...something something tens of millions more Americans have insurance coverage now...
posted by darkstar at 9:16 AM on March 9, 2018 [67 favorites]
Something something Affordable Care Act...something something tens of millions more Americans have insurance coverage now...
posted by darkstar at 9:16 AM on March 9, 2018 [67 favorites]
WNYC's On The Media has a great episode about how most mainstream media journalists' naivete and credulousness (to be charitable) has given media-savvy white supremacists a platform: Face The Racist Nation. One of the guests is Ibram X. Kendi (his bit starts around 51:00), author of Stamped From The Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas (somebody recommended that book in one of the previous threads).
I can't find a transcript, sorry.
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 9:23 AM on March 9, 2018 [10 favorites]
I can't find a transcript, sorry.
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 9:23 AM on March 9, 2018 [10 favorites]
As he was counting on McConnell to issue a bipartisan statement in defense of democratic values, McConnell had been stealing his SCOTUS pick for over a year. You can defend Obama's choices in terms on not wanting to escalate against Russia to avoid open war, but you can't defend him trusting Mitch McConnell.
This wasn't about trust. This was about the fact that for such a proclamation to be seen as nonpartisan coming in an election, it required the signoff of not only the President, but also the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader. And it was that which gave McConnell the power to unilaterally scrap such an agreement. Now in hindsight, we can say that Obama should have gone ahead anyways, but at the time, it's understandable why he was reluctant to do so.
Stop blaming McConnell being an asshole on Obama. It's tiresome to always have the Democrat being the one "responsible" for Republican shitiness.
posted by NoxAeternum at 9:27 AM on March 9, 2018 [104 favorites]
This wasn't about trust. This was about the fact that for such a proclamation to be seen as nonpartisan coming in an election, it required the signoff of not only the President, but also the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader. And it was that which gave McConnell the power to unilaterally scrap such an agreement. Now in hindsight, we can say that Obama should have gone ahead anyways, but at the time, it's understandable why he was reluctant to do so.
Stop blaming McConnell being an asshole on Obama. It's tiresome to always have the Democrat being the one "responsible" for Republican shitiness.
posted by NoxAeternum at 9:27 AM on March 9, 2018 [104 favorites]
Dorsey decides to just give up responsibility as a company owner. Twitter to open verification until its meaningless?
posted by rc3spencer at 9:31 AM on March 9, 2018
posted by rc3spencer at 9:31 AM on March 9, 2018
“The intention is to open verification to everyone,” Dorsey said during a Periscope livestream. “And to do it in a way that’s scalable, where we’re not in the way and people can verify more facts about themselves. And we don’t have to be the judge or imply any bias on our part.”
...make it a bunch of dumb algorithms more easily gamed by bots and nazis. Got it.
posted by Artw at 9:33 AM on March 9, 2018 [21 favorites]
...make it a bunch of dumb algorithms more easily gamed by bots and nazis. Got it.
posted by Artw at 9:33 AM on March 9, 2018 [21 favorites]
Can we add relitigating the Obama Presidency to the don't go there dumpster fire with relitigating the 2016 primaries?
posted by fluttering hellfire at 9:43 AM on March 9, 2018 [52 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 9:43 AM on March 9, 2018 [52 favorites]
Obama never struck me as "fighting" for anything
Alternatively -- Obama held back the rising fascist tide for 8 years. He imposed DACA by executive order, commuted the sentences of thousands of people who had been mistreated by the criminal justice system (far more than any other president), took executive action to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, stopped the Keystone XL pipeline, and order the review which handed a victory to the standing rock protestors, signed the Paris Accords, negotiated the Iran Deal, etc. All without congressional involvement. There is a reason that Republicans called him an "Imperial president." He did the best he could, to get around their obstruction.
posted by OnceUponATime at 9:44 AM on March 9, 2018 [121 favorites]
Alternatively -- Obama held back the rising fascist tide for 8 years. He imposed DACA by executive order, commuted the sentences of thousands of people who had been mistreated by the criminal justice system (far more than any other president), took executive action to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, stopped the Keystone XL pipeline, and order the review which handed a victory to the standing rock protestors, signed the Paris Accords, negotiated the Iran Deal, etc. All without congressional involvement. There is a reason that Republicans called him an "Imperial president." He did the best he could, to get around their obstruction.
posted by OnceUponATime at 9:44 AM on March 9, 2018 [121 favorites]
The Jeff Sessions DOJ's focus on "religious liberty" cases has produced this monstrosity: The DOJ is helping an anti-vaxxer nurse sue her public employer (a county-owned nursing home) because she was required to get a flu shot.
posted by jedicus at 9:52 AM on March 9, 2018 [50 favorites]
posted by jedicus at 9:52 AM on March 9, 2018 [50 favorites]
OMG. I always thought the most ridiculous possible 'religious liberty' argument would be if one day Sarah Huckabee Sanders decided to tell Trump that it's against her religion to lie. (I would laugh.)
posted by puddledork at 9:54 AM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by puddledork at 9:54 AM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
I’m basically just going to assume that’s not accidental and that anti-vax is an official Republican position at this point TBH.
posted by Artw at 9:55 AM on March 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by Artw at 9:55 AM on March 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
It's like learning you're finally going to get that badly-needed bypass surgery, but that it will be performed by a chocolate Labrador.
I'm so sorry that the operation dingo well!
posted by hexaflexagon at 9:59 AM on March 9, 2018 [22 favorites]
I'm so sorry that the operation dingo well!
posted by hexaflexagon at 9:59 AM on March 9, 2018 [22 favorites]
For all the finger-crossed pee pee tape hopers out there. You may want to buy Russian Roulette
posted by rc3spencer at 10:00 AM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by rc3spencer at 10:00 AM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
The mention of religious liberty also reminds me of the fix Obama created to allow Catholic organizations to opt out of covering birth control for their employees -- by requiring the insurance companies to cover it instead. And the mention of Sessions reminds me of how Obama de-prioritized the enforcement of federal marijuana laws in states where marijuana is legal under state law.
And something about the combination of those topics reminds me of how Obama's justice department issued guidance to schools saying that under title IX, they were required to let trans students use the bathroom of the gender they identify with. And how the state department started issuing passports that reflected the correct gender for trans people as well.
Okay, I'll stop. Even though I'm pretty sure I could come up with a lot more examples.
(editing to correct my previous comment. Truman seems to have granted even more clemency than Obama. But no one else is event close.)
posted by OnceUponATime at 10:01 AM on March 9, 2018 [34 favorites]
And something about the combination of those topics reminds me of how Obama's justice department issued guidance to schools saying that under title IX, they were required to let trans students use the bathroom of the gender they identify with. And how the state department started issuing passports that reflected the correct gender for trans people as well.
Okay, I'll stop. Even though I'm pretty sure I could come up with a lot more examples.
(editing to correct my previous comment. Truman seems to have granted even more clemency than Obama. But no one else is event close.)
posted by OnceUponATime at 10:01 AM on March 9, 2018 [34 favorites]
jedicus: The Jeff Sessions DOJ's focus on "religious liberty" cases has produced this monstrosity: The DOJ is helping an anti-vaxxer nurse sue her public employer (a county-owned nursing home) because she was required to get a flu shot.
Reviving a classic Onion article, like reviving nearly eradicated diseases, with a minor edit: I Don’t VaccinateMy Child Myself Because It’s My Right To Decide What Eliminated Diseases Come Roaring Back
posted by filthy light thief at 10:02 AM on March 9, 2018 [10 favorites]
Reviving a classic Onion article, like reviving nearly eradicated diseases, with a minor edit: I Don’t Vaccinate
posted by filthy light thief at 10:02 AM on March 9, 2018 [10 favorites]
Obama did a lot of great things, but calling him a fighter is just weird. He is a negotiator and a debater and a bringer-together of people. He believes in the best of things.
Which made him completely unable to appropriately deal with the Republicans and Russians, who were completely uninterested in dealing in good faith at any time ever. He is a good and pure man, but we needed a fighter.
posted by TypographicalError at 10:07 AM on March 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
Which made him completely unable to appropriately deal with the Republicans and Russians, who were completely uninterested in dealing in good faith at any time ever. He is a good and pure man, but we needed a fighter.
posted by TypographicalError at 10:07 AM on March 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
Obama did a lot of great things, but calling him a fighter is just weird.
Eh, Obama killed OBL, ramped up drone strikes worldwide, and God knows what else. Let's step back from the hagiography.
Even Jimmy Carter's hands are bloody.
posted by notyou at 10:14 AM on March 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
Eh, Obama killed OBL, ramped up drone strikes worldwide, and God knows what else. Let's step back from the hagiography.
Even Jimmy Carter's hands are bloody.
posted by notyou at 10:14 AM on March 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
I'm not affiliated with a church but Jesus came to me in a vision and told me not to pay income tax, so hopefully Jeff Sessions has got my back
posted by salix at 10:14 AM on March 9, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by salix at 10:14 AM on March 9, 2018 [21 favorites]
He is a good and pure man, but we needed a fighter.
Good, pure men don't drone-murder 100+ innocent people, regardless of whatever justifications they might find along the way. Obama is as morally compromised as anyone who ever held the office, because it is the nature of the position to force otherwise good men to do evil things. That he had other admirable qualities is undisputed, but lets be clear: there are many, many maimed kids and childless mothers in this world because of his direct decisions.
posted by Chrischris at 10:20 AM on March 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
Good, pure men don't drone-murder 100+ innocent people, regardless of whatever justifications they might find along the way. Obama is as morally compromised as anyone who ever held the office, because it is the nature of the position to force otherwise good men to do evil things. That he had other admirable qualities is undisputed, but lets be clear: there are many, many maimed kids and childless mothers in this world because of his direct decisions.
posted by Chrischris at 10:20 AM on March 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
my god can we not with the Obama: quisling or monster? shit
posted by prize bull octorok at 10:22 AM on March 9, 2018 [130 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 10:22 AM on March 9, 2018 [130 favorites]
Stray thought -- it's weird how Obama had to become an "imperial president" because the Republican controlled congress opposed everything he did. But Trump is acting like an "imperial president" because a (dysfunctional) Republican controlled congress refuses to oppose anything he does.
posted by OnceUponATime at 10:22 AM on March 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by OnceUponATime at 10:22 AM on March 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
If you live in a major city, it’s likely 1-2 of 10 people you know voted for Trump.
I think people badly underestimate the degree of geographic sorting that exists in this country.
In Seattle's 43rd district, which had about 90,000 votes in 2016, Clinton voters outnumbered Trump voters 15:1. There were nearly as many Johnson/Stein voters (4,300) as Trump voters (5,300). And Seattle is one of the whitest large cities in the country -- if you look at cities with large majority-minority areas, I suspect you could find even more drastic ratios.
This is all before accounting for age effects - if you're under 50 and live in a liberal enclave, you could easily have a social circle of 30-50 people and not know a single Trump voter.
posted by 0xFCAF at 10:23 AM on March 9, 2018 [32 favorites]
I think people badly underestimate the degree of geographic sorting that exists in this country.
In Seattle's 43rd district, which had about 90,000 votes in 2016, Clinton voters outnumbered Trump voters 15:1. There were nearly as many Johnson/Stein voters (4,300) as Trump voters (5,300). And Seattle is one of the whitest large cities in the country -- if you look at cities with large majority-minority areas, I suspect you could find even more drastic ratios.
This is all before accounting for age effects - if you're under 50 and live in a liberal enclave, you could easily have a social circle of 30-50 people and not know a single Trump voter.
posted by 0xFCAF at 10:23 AM on March 9, 2018 [32 favorites]
salix: I'm not affiliated with a church but Jesus came to me in a vision and told me not to pay income tax, so hopefully Jeff Sessions has got my back
That depends on how much you owe. Was it under a hundred thousand, because you're a deadbeat parasite? Or was it in the millions to billions, because you're an industrious job-creator, a shining genius whose tricklings are undeserved by the sniveling masses downstream? I know which one my Jesus would give his blessing to.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:35 AM on March 9, 2018 [31 favorites]
That depends on how much you owe. Was it under a hundred thousand, because you're a deadbeat parasite? Or was it in the millions to billions, because you're an industrious job-creator, a shining genius whose tricklings are undeserved by the sniveling masses downstream? I know which one my Jesus would give his blessing to.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:35 AM on March 9, 2018 [31 favorites]
Mod note: Everybody please, yes, drop the "No, here's why Obama was very good/very bad" rehash already. This is not new ground to tread.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:38 AM on March 9, 2018 [31 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:38 AM on March 9, 2018 [31 favorites]
New Yorker, Jonathan Blitzer, Why Are Undocumented Minors Spending So Much Time in Custody?, in which the Office of Refugee Resettlement is supposed to be helping kids, yet seems to be locking them up on the basis of unsubstantiated gang affiliations, even after an immigration judge rejects the government's evidence.
WaPo, James Hohmann, The Daily 202: Trump reversal of elephant trophy ban underscores the need to watch what he does, not what he says
posted by zachlipton at 10:39 AM on March 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
WaPo, James Hohmann, The Daily 202: Trump reversal of elephant trophy ban underscores the need to watch what he does, not what he says
posted by zachlipton at 10:39 AM on March 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
If you live in a major city, it’s likely 1-2 of 10 people you know voted for Trump.
I can tell you with near-certainty that this is not the case for me. My friend group isn't a random sampling of people who live in my city, and from conversations and Facebook posts I know what all of my friends' political leanings are - because I self-select for people who care about the same stuff as me.
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:39 AM on March 9, 2018 [16 favorites]
I can tell you with near-certainty that this is not the case for me. My friend group isn't a random sampling of people who live in my city, and from conversations and Facebook posts I know what all of my friends' political leanings are - because I self-select for people who care about the same stuff as me.
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:39 AM on March 9, 2018 [16 favorites]
if you're under 50 and live in a liberal enclave, you could easily have a social circle of 30-50 people and not know a single Trump voter.
This is kind of me (I know a handful of folks I have Suspicions about, but they're people at work, not folks in my social circle as such); I remember seeing a couple of Trump bumper stickers around in 2016 but not a lot.
So the other day I was a little startled to see a Trump bumper sticker - until I did a double take and realized it actually read "Putin/Trump 2020".
posted by nickmark at 10:39 AM on March 9, 2018 [14 favorites]
This is kind of me (I know a handful of folks I have Suspicions about, but they're people at work, not folks in my social circle as such); I remember seeing a couple of Trump bumper stickers around in 2016 but not a lot.
So the other day I was a little startled to see a Trump bumper sticker - until I did a double take and realized it actually read "Putin/Trump 2020".
posted by nickmark at 10:39 AM on March 9, 2018 [14 favorites]
PA-18 special poll has Lamb [D] up 48-44 on Saccone [R]. Eyebrows have been raised at the demographics, though.
Sounds like we'll be getting a couple of more polls on this race yet before the election on Tuesday.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:40 AM on March 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
Sounds like we'll be getting a couple of more polls on this race yet before the election on Tuesday.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:40 AM on March 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
A while back, they claimed that they donated Trump Organization profits from foreign governments to the Treasury, but refused to even say how much that was. Somebody gave a number to the Daily Mail (I know, I know, blech, worst timeline, etc...): $151,470.
That's profit, not revenue, but we also have no idea how it was calculated, so we're just taking their word for it. That always works well when it's Trump and money.
posted by zachlipton at 10:42 AM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
That's profit, not revenue, but we also have no idea how it was calculated, so we're just taking their word for it. That always works well when it's Trump and money.
posted by zachlipton at 10:42 AM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Years ago (in my Major City) I met a guy I really liked, and on our second date he said we probably shouldn't talk about politics because he got the feeling we wouldn't agree on a lot of stuff. It turned out that he had been raised Republican and, as he just wasn't a very politically-minded guy in general, he'd stuck with it.
I went along with the 'not talking about it' thing for a while, but ultimately I just couldn't NOT talk about it, especially because his beliefs didn't seem to be that strongly held and I thought maybe I could talk him out of them. (If not for one or two other late-appearing dealbreakers, I might actually have attempted this.)
But the point is - my politics are a big enough part of who I am that this guy picked up on them almost immediately without my having to specifically mention them, and not discussing politics with him was actively hard for me to do. Given all of this, any Trump voter in my friend circle (or among my colleagues) is doing an Oscar-worthy job of hiding it, and I can't think of a single person I even vaguely suspect of doing so.
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:45 AM on March 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
I went along with the 'not talking about it' thing for a while, but ultimately I just couldn't NOT talk about it, especially because his beliefs didn't seem to be that strongly held and I thought maybe I could talk him out of them. (If not for one or two other late-appearing dealbreakers, I might actually have attempted this.)
But the point is - my politics are a big enough part of who I am that this guy picked up on them almost immediately without my having to specifically mention them, and not discussing politics with him was actively hard for me to do. Given all of this, any Trump voter in my friend circle (or among my colleagues) is doing an Oscar-worthy job of hiding it, and I can't think of a single person I even vaguely suspect of doing so.
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:45 AM on March 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
if you're under 50 and live in a liberal enclave, you could easily have a social circle of 30-50 people and not know a single Trump voter.
Pauline Kael is vindicated.
posted by non canadian guy at 10:48 AM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Pauline Kael is vindicated.
posted by non canadian guy at 10:48 AM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
I wonder if one unintended consequence of this Trump/Kim confab will be the rapid promotion of Japan and South Korea from "nuclear latent" nation status to "secret" (Ala Israel) members of the Big Bang Club. Because it sure as hell looks like we as a nation are becoming more and more willing to punch holes in our strategic umbrella--holes that will need to be plugged one way or another...
posted by Chrischris at 10:48 AM on March 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Chrischris at 10:48 AM on March 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
If you live in a major city, it’s likely 1-2 of 10 people you know voted for Trump.
This really depends on whether you mean "know" as in "knowingly choose to associate with" or as in "somehow connected on a social graph." Yeah, over a certain population density a certain number of those voters are around me, statistically, but that doesn't mean I really "know" them.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:54 AM on March 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
This really depends on whether you mean "know" as in "knowingly choose to associate with" or as in "somehow connected on a social graph." Yeah, over a certain population density a certain number of those voters are around me, statistically, but that doesn't mean I really "know" them.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:54 AM on March 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
NYT, North Korea Asks for Direct Nuclear Talks, and Trump Agrees
One of the strangest things about all this is that he, personally, stuck his head in the briefing room to tell the press there would be an announcement last night. His approach is so much centered around announcing things before anyone on his staff can offer him any information or try to change his mind that he just does whatever the first thing that comes to mind.
posted by zachlipton at 10:55 AM on March 9, 2018 [47 favorites]
Behind the scenes, events unfolded even more haphazardly. Mr. Trump was not scheduled to meet Mr. Chung until Friday, but when he heard that the envoy was in the West Wing seeing other officials, the president summoned him to the Oval Office, according to a senior administration official.He had no clue what he was doing by accepting this invitation whatsoever because he just "let's just do it and be legends, man'd" this without speaking to anyone first.
Mr. Trump, the official said, then asked Mr. Chung to tell him about his meeting with Mr. Kim. When Mr. Chung said that the North Korean leader had expressed a desire to meet Mr. Trump, the president immediately said he would do it, and directed Mr. Chung to announce it to the White House press corps.
Mr. Chung, nonplused, said he first needed approval from Mr. Moon, who quickly granted it in a phone call. Mr. Trump later called Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, and the two discussed coordinating diplomatic efforts. Mr. Trump also plans to call President Xi Jinping of China.
By day’s end, dazed White House officials were discussing whether Mr. Trump would invite Mr. Kim to come to the United States. That seemed entirely likely, the senior administration official said, though American officials doubt the North Korean leader would accept.
One of the strangest things about all this is that he, personally, stuck his head in the briefing room to tell the press there would be an announcement last night. His approach is so much centered around announcing things before anyone on his staff can offer him any information or try to change his mind that he just does whatever the first thing that comes to mind.
posted by zachlipton at 10:55 AM on March 9, 2018 [47 favorites]
Some news to warm the heart cockles:
'Pharma Bro' Martin Shkreli cries in court, is sentenced to 7 years for securities fraud
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:03 AM on March 9, 2018 [81 favorites]
'Pharma Bro' Martin Shkreli cries in court, is sentenced to 7 years for securities fraud
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:03 AM on March 9, 2018 [81 favorites]
Dan Harmon captured and posted... this bit of Nunberg. "I'm not going to jail. Come on."
posted by loquacious at 11:12 AM on March 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by loquacious at 11:12 AM on March 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
The judge ruled earlier this week that Shkreli would have to forfeit more than $7.3 million in a brokerage account and personal assets including his one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album that he boasted he bought for $2 million.Ol' Dirty Bastard smiles down upon us all today.
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:12 AM on March 9, 2018 [58 favorites]
Mr. Chung, nonplused, said
That is 1) a weird word to see in a major newspaper, even the snooty NYT; 2) a weird characterization for a reporter to assume; 3) evidence the Times' weird decision to erase the Copy Desk was a bad one.
posted by notyou at 11:16 AM on March 9, 2018 [25 favorites]
That is 1) a weird word to see in a major newspaper, even the snooty NYT; 2) a weird characterization for a reporter to assume; 3) evidence the Times' weird decision to erase the Copy Desk was a bad one.
posted by notyou at 11:16 AM on March 9, 2018 [25 favorites]
A while back, they claimed that they donated Trump Organization profits from foreign governments to the Treasury, but refused to even say how much that was. Somebody gave a number to the Daily Mail (I know, I know, blech, worst timeline, etc...): $151,470.
So, as far as I'm aware, there are two ways to donate money to the federal government: a gift designated to pay down the public debt (aggregate monthly numbers reported here, Feb #s not released yet), or a general gift -- the check is made out to different places depending on the type of gift. The Bureau of Fiscal Service's website for general gifts implies that it's only possible for citizen individuals to make such a gift, and it's not clear if a business entity can do so (there's no similar implication in the law allowing for gifts for the public debt, but this 2011 report states only that individuals can do so). Which type of gift did the Trump Org make? Who was the check made payable to? Is it standard and legal for the US government to accept gifts from business entities? And if so, are there restrictions on which types of entities can make a gift (e.g., organized in the US, controlled by US persons, not delinquent in tax payments, etc.)? Does the Trump Org plan to deduct the gift as a business expense, and if so, under what theory?
Also, because gifts to the US government go to the Treasury' Bureau of Fiscal Service (not the IRS) and are not related to tax returns, it is likely that the same privacy restrictions do not apply, so hopefully we'll get some FOIA answers eventually, if in fact a payment was made, which I'm still skeptical actually happened.
posted by melissasaurus at 11:20 AM on March 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
So, as far as I'm aware, there are two ways to donate money to the federal government: a gift designated to pay down the public debt (aggregate monthly numbers reported here, Feb #s not released yet), or a general gift -- the check is made out to different places depending on the type of gift. The Bureau of Fiscal Service's website for general gifts implies that it's only possible for citizen individuals to make such a gift, and it's not clear if a business entity can do so (there's no similar implication in the law allowing for gifts for the public debt, but this 2011 report states only that individuals can do so). Which type of gift did the Trump Org make? Who was the check made payable to? Is it standard and legal for the US government to accept gifts from business entities? And if so, are there restrictions on which types of entities can make a gift (e.g., organized in the US, controlled by US persons, not delinquent in tax payments, etc.)? Does the Trump Org plan to deduct the gift as a business expense, and if so, under what theory?
Also, because gifts to the US government go to the Treasury' Bureau of Fiscal Service (not the IRS) and are not related to tax returns, it is likely that the same privacy restrictions do not apply, so hopefully we'll get some FOIA answers eventually, if in fact a payment was made, which I'm still skeptical actually happened.
posted by melissasaurus at 11:20 AM on March 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
If Once Upon a Time in Shaolin were forfeited to the federal government, would that make its content public domain, or would the album be sold at auction, or what? I'm guessing the latter, but I'm very much not a lawyer. All I can say is that every dang day of this timeline brings another marvelous conundrum of legal thorniness
posted by InTheYear2017 at 11:24 AM on March 9, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by InTheYear2017 at 11:24 AM on March 9, 2018 [15 favorites]
The Nation, Sean McElwee, It’s Time to Abolish ICE
posted by zachlipton at 11:28 AM on March 9, 2018 [83 favorites]
The call to abolish ICE is, above all, a demand for the Democratic party to begin seriously resisting an unbridled white supremacist surveillance state that it had a hand in creating. Though the party has moved left on core issues from reproductive rights to single-payer healthcare, it’s time for progressives to put forward a demand that deportation not be taken as the norm, but rather as a disturbing indicator of authoritarianism.As Chris Hayes noted, this is an issue Democratic candidates for 2020 are going to have to grapple with, which will be inordinately painful, but the conversation needs to keep happening.
White supremacy can no longer be the center of the immigration debate. Democrats have voted to fully fund ICE with limited fanfare, because in the American immigration discussion, the right-wing position is the center and the left has no voice. There has been disturbing word fatigue around “mass deportation,” and the threat of deportation is so often taken lightly that many have lost the ability to conceptualize what it means. Next to death, being stripped from your home, family and community is the worst fate that can be inflicted on a human, as many societies practicing banishment have recognized. It’s time to rein in the greatest threat we face: an unaccountable strike force executing a campaign of ethnic cleansing.
posted by zachlipton at 11:28 AM on March 9, 2018 [83 favorites]
Hmm, looks like "nonplused" is ok by some dictionaries, but Garner claims it's incorrect.
nonplus, the verb meaning “to baffle or confound unexpectedly,” preferably makes nonplussed and nonplussing in AmE and BrE alike, because the second syllable is stressed. But the variant *nonplused appears in some American writing.posted by cybertaur1 at 11:30 AM on March 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
@seungminkim: .@PressSec says "We’re not going to have this meeting take place" between Trump and Kim Jong-Un without seeing “concrete actions” from North Korea
Did...did we just accept the meeting, going so far as to set a date by which it would happen even, and then impose conditions a day later?
She's now attacking the media for "elevating" North Korea in their Olympics coverage.
posted by zachlipton at 11:31 AM on March 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
Did...did we just accept the meeting, going so far as to set a date by which it would happen even, and then impose conditions a day later?
She's now attacking the media for "elevating" North Korea in their Olympics coverage.
posted by zachlipton at 11:31 AM on March 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
I think the main issue with 'nonplussed' is that it assumes the mind state of a third party. It would have been better to have written "Mr. Chung, seemingly nonplussed, said..."
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:32 AM on March 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:32 AM on March 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
listen, this demand that unconditional talks not have conditions is just the kind of hide-bound thinking that Trump was elected to overthrow
posted by murphy slaw at 11:33 AM on March 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 11:33 AM on March 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
Did...did we just accept the meeting, going so far as to set a date by which it would happen even, and then impose conditions a day later?
are you just tuning in? (I know youre not) or did you seriously think this thing would be different (and if so why)?
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:33 AM on March 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
are you just tuning in? (I know youre not) or did you seriously think this thing would be different (and if so why)?
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:33 AM on March 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
It’s Time to Abolish ICE
It's time to abolish DHS. It's an Orwellian manifestation of post 9-11 overreaction and capitulation on civil rights and in some ways represents Osama Bin Laden's most lasting victory over the US citizenry.
We don't need a cabinet level DHS and the extraordinary powers it's been ceded just to solve the problems of intelligence stove-piping and inter-agency coordination. It needs to go.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:35 AM on March 9, 2018 [119 favorites]
It's time to abolish DHS. It's an Orwellian manifestation of post 9-11 overreaction and capitulation on civil rights and in some ways represents Osama Bin Laden's most lasting victory over the US citizenry.
We don't need a cabinet level DHS and the extraordinary powers it's been ceded just to solve the problems of intelligence stove-piping and inter-agency coordination. It needs to go.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:35 AM on March 9, 2018 [119 favorites]
I’m basically just going to assume that’s not accidental and that anti-vax is an official Republican position at this point TBH.
It's getting closer, yes. Not 100% yet, but getting closer. What's interesting is before California voted to end all exemptions except for medical, the states with the toughest exemptions were Mississippi & Alabama and they have increased exemptions since.
posted by The_Vegetables at 11:36 AM on March 9, 2018
It's getting closer, yes. Not 100% yet, but getting closer. What's interesting is before California voted to end all exemptions except for medical, the states with the toughest exemptions were Mississippi & Alabama and they have increased exemptions since.
posted by The_Vegetables at 11:36 AM on March 9, 2018
@seungminkim: .@PressSec says "We’re not going to have this meeting take place" between Trump and Kim Jong-Un without seeing “concrete actions” from North Korea.
American citizens currently held for political crimes in North Korean prisons:
Kim Dong Chul
Kim Sang-duk (Tony Kim)
Kim Hak-song
posted by scalefree at 11:44 AM on March 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
American citizens currently held for political crimes in North Korean prisons:
Kim Dong Chul
Kim Sang-duk (Tony Kim)
Kim Hak-song
posted by scalefree at 11:44 AM on March 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
It’s Time to Abolish ICE
Last week I learned that ICE was only founded in 2003. That the organization is barely old enough to get a Learner's Permit came as a huge surprise: I had thought it was....30 years old, maybe? That I (a person who without exaggeration or irony considers ICE a fascist paramilitary currently operating genocide test-runs) had normalized them to this degree this fast was downright chilling.
Fuck ICE. If there's ever another actual election, the whole criminal organization needs to be abolished the day the other side takes control. Maybe a severance package for ICE employees, maybe just a notification to be glad that they're not locked up like their superiors. It needs to be over and done with the second the worm turns.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:55 AM on March 9, 2018 [52 favorites]
Last week I learned that ICE was only founded in 2003. That the organization is barely old enough to get a Learner's Permit came as a huge surprise: I had thought it was....30 years old, maybe? That I (a person who without exaggeration or irony considers ICE a fascist paramilitary currently operating genocide test-runs) had normalized them to this degree this fast was downright chilling.
Fuck ICE. If there's ever another actual election, the whole criminal organization needs to be abolished the day the other side takes control. Maybe a severance package for ICE employees, maybe just a notification to be glad that they're not locked up like their superiors. It needs to be over and done with the second the worm turns.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:55 AM on March 9, 2018 [52 favorites]
2020 watch: Kirsten Gillibrand endorsed seven women running for Congress in Texas. All advanced to a runoff or won the primary outright.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:56 AM on March 9, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 11:56 AM on March 9, 2018 [27 favorites]
She's now attacking the media for "elevating" North Korea in their Olympics coverage.
That was a thing that happened in the right wing bubble. During the opening ceremonies it appeared that Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong was doing a much better job at charming the South Koreans than grimace-faced Mike Pence and there was coverage to this effect (nytimes, ABC, AP, WaPo). The rightwingospere called this an elevation of the North Korean regime's message and an attack on Trump. From the WaPo, How Kim Jong Un's sister fueled Trump's war on the media:
posted by peeedro at 11:59 AM on March 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
That was a thing that happened in the right wing bubble. During the opening ceremonies it appeared that Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong was doing a much better job at charming the South Koreans than grimace-faced Mike Pence and there was coverage to this effect (nytimes, ABC, AP, WaPo). The rightwingospere called this an elevation of the North Korean regime's message and an attack on Trump. From the WaPo, How Kim Jong Un's sister fueled Trump's war on the media:
Yet by chronicling the show, the media drew charges of glorifying Kim and lending credence to North Korea's charade.I caught about two minutes of SHS's press briefing and the funniest part is when she was asked "what does N Korea get out of this?" Her answer was something like, "they get what they've wanted for the past twenty years, they get to denuclearize."
“The American press is buying into it,” Brian Kilmeade said Monday on “Fox & Friends,” pointing to the three aforementioned reports as evidence. “I would contest it is because this administration is hated so much by the American press they're actually taking the side of Kim Jong Un's sister.”
...
The conservative Daily Caller criticized a CNN report that described Kim as “a foil to the perception of North Korea as antiquated and militaristic.” In the very next sentence, CNN added that “as North Korea's brutal dictator, Kim's brother has ruled with an iron fist since coming to power, operating Nazi-style prison camps, repressing political opposition and even executing senior officers and his own family members in an effort to consolidate power.”
Unsatisfied, the Daily Caller wrote that “the media has been providing a megaphone for North Korean propaganda.”
posted by peeedro at 11:59 AM on March 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
I will admit, building nuclear weapons is a novel strategy for getting rid of your nuclear weapons.....
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:02 PM on March 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:02 PM on March 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
Back in January, Trump tweeted:
Trump turned it into a campaign issue to attack Clinton's handling of classified information.
Well, he just pardoned Kristian Saucier.
There are thousands of pardon and clemency petitions pending, but they belong to people who Trump didn't use as props during his campaign.
posted by zachlipton at 12:04 PM on March 9, 2018 [32 favorites]
Crooked Hillary Clinton’s top aid, Huma Abedin, has been accused of disregarding basic security protocols. She put Classified Passwords into the hands of foreign agents. Remember sailors pictures on submarine? Jail! Deep State Justice Dept must finally act? Also on Comey & othersWhen he says "sailors pictures on submarine," he's talking about a sailor who was sentenced to a year in prison for taking pictures inside the propulsion area of a nuclear submarine, then destroyed the laptop and camera, throwing the laptop in the woods, after learning he was under investigation (Trump should take note here on what prosecutors think of obstruction of justice).
Trump turned it into a campaign issue to attack Clinton's handling of classified information.
Well, he just pardoned Kristian Saucier.
There are thousands of pardon and clemency petitions pending, but they belong to people who Trump didn't use as props during his campaign.
posted by zachlipton at 12:04 PM on March 9, 2018 [32 favorites]
Last week I learned that ICE was only founded in 2003.
Immigration enforcement functions were part of INS before that - DHS was founded in 2003 and there was a lot of restructuring at the time. INS was not any better than ICE, just had a different name.
posted by InfidelZombie at 12:06 PM on March 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
Immigration enforcement functions were part of INS before that - DHS was founded in 2003 and there was a lot of restructuring at the time. INS was not any better than ICE, just had a different name.
posted by InfidelZombie at 12:06 PM on March 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
Yeah, it was basically just a renaming with a bit of shift in mission since pretty much everything was thrown into the blender to create DHS. The Border Patrol have always been dicks.
posted by rhizome at 12:11 PM on March 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 12:11 PM on March 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
After Defeating Cohn, Trump’s Trade Warrior Is on the Rise Again
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:17 PM on March 9, 2018 [32 favorites]
"This is the president’s vision,” said Peter Navarro, Trump’s ascendant trade adviser. “My function, really, as an economist is to try to provide the underlying analytics that confirm his intuition. And his intuition is always right in these matters.”*pukes*
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:17 PM on March 9, 2018 [32 favorites]
Fuck ICE. If there's ever another actual election, the whole criminal organization needs to be abolished the day the other side takes control. Maybe a severance package for ICE employees, maybe just a notification to be glad that they're not locked up like their superiors. It needs to be over and done with the second the worm turns.
We don't want to put a bunch of radicalized nuts with weapons training out on the street. They can all go guard the Aleutians.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 12:17 PM on March 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
We don't want to put a bunch of radicalized nuts with weapons training out on the street. They can all go guard the Aleutians.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 12:17 PM on March 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
"This is the president’s vision,” said Peter Navarro, Trump’s ascendant trade adviser. “My function, really, as an economist is to try to provide the underlying analytics that confirm his intuition. And his intuition is always right in these matters.”
This is literally, actually working towards the Führer.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:20 PM on March 9, 2018 [80 favorites]
This is literally, actually working towards the Führer.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:20 PM on March 9, 2018 [80 favorites]
They did definitely increase in dickishness (dickitude?) since being renamed, though. Something about that branding as ICE strikes racist shitheads as hardcore or something.
I think this has to do with the shift in responsibilities that focused them much more politically, not to mention that the renaming happened during a politically charged time, so lots of people polarized themselves in support.
posted by rhizome at 12:20 PM on March 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
I think this has to do with the shift in responsibilities that focused them much more politically, not to mention that the renaming happened during a politically charged time, so lots of people polarized themselves in support.
posted by rhizome at 12:20 PM on March 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
Center for budget and policy proposals: Alabama’s Medicare plan won’t work, won’t lead to more jobs
It’s basically” if you don’t work you can’t get Medicare (what?) and if you start working you can’t get Medicare (hair pulling out)”
posted by The Whelk at 12:20 PM on March 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
It’s basically” if you don’t work you can’t get Medicare (what?) and if you start working you can’t get Medicare (hair pulling out)”
posted by The Whelk at 12:20 PM on March 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
We don't want to put a bunch of radicalized nuts with weapons training out on the street. They can all go guard the Aleutians.Ahem.. Speaking as an Alaskan (though not an Aleutian resident): find someplace else.
posted by Nerd of the North at 12:21 PM on March 9, 2018 [16 favorites]
WSJ, Trump Lawyers Seek Deal With Mueller to Speed End of Russia Probe
posted by zachlipton at 12:23 PM on March 9, 2018 [67 favorites]
President Donald Trump’s lawyers are seeking to negotiate a deal with special counsel Robert Mueller that uses an interview with the president as leverage to spur a conclusion to the Russia investigation, according to a person familiar with the discussions.Yeah, I'm sure that provided for hours of laughter at Mueller's office.
The president’s legal team is considering telling Mr. Mueller that Mr. Trump would agree to a sit-down interview based on multiple considerations, including that the special counsel commit to a date for concluding at least the Trump-related portion of the investigation. One idea is to suggest a deadline of 60 days from the date of the interview, the person said.
Another consideration for the legal team is reaching an agreement with Mr. Mueller on the scope of his questioning of the president, which they expect to focus largely on his decision to fire former national security adviser Mike Flynn and former FBI director James Comey, according to people familiar with the matter.
posted by zachlipton at 12:23 PM on March 9, 2018 [67 favorites]
It seems a little early for a plea bargain, are they sure they're not tipping their cards?
posted by rhizome at 12:24 PM on March 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 12:24 PM on March 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
Maybe a severance package for ICE employees, maybe just a notification to be glad that they're not locked up like their superiors.
I started out my career in nonprofits which worked to help heal various societal wounds in post-conflict countries. I've been thinking a lot about what I learned in those jobs recently, for obvious reasons! But the thing I keep coming back to is the relatively new field of security sector reform (which covers military, police, etc). There are lessons to be gained from the past couple decades of SSR work, and (god willing) we are going to need those lessons sometime in the next few years, not just regarding ICE but also the police forces and the military (though in my opinion the urgency is greater for the police forces).
One of those lessons is that you really can't/shouldn't do a totally clean sweep of security sector institutions where you just fire everyone and ban them from re-entering the sector. Which is not to say ICE shouldn't be disbanded - it should - but you create a couple new problems when you try to do a clean sweep.
If we're talking about an institution which will need to continue to exist after the firings in some form, then you lose a ton of institutional knowledge and skills, resulting in a totally green security sector. But an arguably even bigger problem is, suddenly all the people with military and police training in your country are unemployed and possibly unemployable, and also they have a new and personal reason to hate the new regime, even if they didn't before (even if they personally supported it before). That's a perfect recipe for quick radicalization. That's how you get attempted coups and guerrilla-occupied territories and what-have-you, and your new green security forces just won't be able to cope.
The 'best practices' for this stuff as I understand them are to quickly remove the worst actors, change and clarify the laws governing security sector behavior, and then rigorously enforce those laws. (Usually this is in the context of a broader national conversation about reconciliation and transition.) Many people will then wind up quickly fired, but more will actually change their behavior, if not necessarily their thinking.
All of which is to say, I get the impulse to say "shitcan them all and give them nothing." But as satisfying as it would be, it isn't a good idea. A severance package and/or some form of retraining are called for. It may not seem fair, in a country where ordinary people don't have access to those things, but if we want to transition back to the general neighborhood of the rule of law anytime soon, we are going to have to recon with stuff like this.
posted by showbiz_liz at 12:26 PM on March 9, 2018 [116 favorites]
I started out my career in nonprofits which worked to help heal various societal wounds in post-conflict countries. I've been thinking a lot about what I learned in those jobs recently, for obvious reasons! But the thing I keep coming back to is the relatively new field of security sector reform (which covers military, police, etc). There are lessons to be gained from the past couple decades of SSR work, and (god willing) we are going to need those lessons sometime in the next few years, not just regarding ICE but also the police forces and the military (though in my opinion the urgency is greater for the police forces).
One of those lessons is that you really can't/shouldn't do a totally clean sweep of security sector institutions where you just fire everyone and ban them from re-entering the sector. Which is not to say ICE shouldn't be disbanded - it should - but you create a couple new problems when you try to do a clean sweep.
If we're talking about an institution which will need to continue to exist after the firings in some form, then you lose a ton of institutional knowledge and skills, resulting in a totally green security sector. But an arguably even bigger problem is, suddenly all the people with military and police training in your country are unemployed and possibly unemployable, and also they have a new and personal reason to hate the new regime, even if they didn't before (even if they personally supported it before). That's a perfect recipe for quick radicalization. That's how you get attempted coups and guerrilla-occupied territories and what-have-you, and your new green security forces just won't be able to cope.
The 'best practices' for this stuff as I understand them are to quickly remove the worst actors, change and clarify the laws governing security sector behavior, and then rigorously enforce those laws. (Usually this is in the context of a broader national conversation about reconciliation and transition.) Many people will then wind up quickly fired, but more will actually change their behavior, if not necessarily their thinking.
All of which is to say, I get the impulse to say "shitcan them all and give them nothing." But as satisfying as it would be, it isn't a good idea. A severance package and/or some form of retraining are called for. It may not seem fair, in a country where ordinary people don't have access to those things, but if we want to transition back to the general neighborhood of the rule of law anytime soon, we are going to have to recon with stuff like this.
posted by showbiz_liz at 12:26 PM on March 9, 2018 [116 favorites]
After Defeating Cohn, Trump’s Trade Warrior Is on the Rise Again
Jonathan Swan, Axios's Anonymous Senior White House Official Whisperer: "Senior officials tell me they expect the entire National Economic Council staff would quit their posts immediately if Trump appoints Navarro; and Republicans on the Hill would go crazy."
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:27 PM on March 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
Jonathan Swan, Axios's Anonymous Senior White House Official Whisperer: "Senior officials tell me they expect the entire National Economic Council staff would quit their posts immediately if Trump appoints Navarro; and Republicans on the Hill would go crazy."
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:27 PM on March 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
The president’s legal team is considering telling Mr. Mueller that Mr. Trump would agree to a sit-down interview based on multiple considerations, including that the special counsel commit to a date for concluding at least the Trump-related portion of the investigation. One idea is to suggest a deadline of 60 days from the date of the interview, the person said.
This plan feels like it originated with trump. "Listen, if I can give him my side of the story, it'll clear everything up in an hour or so. After that, we give him a couple of weeks to finish up his paperwork and then we're good."
posted by murphy slaw at 12:34 PM on March 9, 2018 [18 favorites]
This plan feels like it originated with trump. "Listen, if I can give him my side of the story, it'll clear everything up in an hour or so. After that, we give him a couple of weeks to finish up his paperwork and then we're good."
posted by murphy slaw at 12:34 PM on March 9, 2018 [18 favorites]
The 'best practices' for this stuff as I understand them are to quickly remove the worst actors, change and clarify the laws governing security sector behavior, and then rigorously enforce those laws.
"Remove the worst actors," in this case, can involve "prosecute them." Just stop skipping past crimes committed by various law enforcement personnel, and that gives an easy way to "phase out" the corruption without firing everyone.
Let the asshole talkers keep their jobs (until you've finished reshaping the whole organization); throw out the people who've used their position to actively assault or kill people who dared not defend themselves. Push that in the media - "look look we found The Bad Guys! And to keep this from happening again, we're gonna restructure the whole thing and create accountability!"
Add in a personality test and complaints history review, and let the not-quite-as-bad guys know they're on watch and need to improve their behavior, or they may be gradually replaced by newcomers who "show better commitment to the agency's core values."
(Of course, all that requires a justice department that's at least marginally interested in justice, so it may be a while.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:35 PM on March 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
"Remove the worst actors," in this case, can involve "prosecute them." Just stop skipping past crimes committed by various law enforcement personnel, and that gives an easy way to "phase out" the corruption without firing everyone.
Let the asshole talkers keep their jobs (until you've finished reshaping the whole organization); throw out the people who've used their position to actively assault or kill people who dared not defend themselves. Push that in the media - "look look we found The Bad Guys! And to keep this from happening again, we're gonna restructure the whole thing and create accountability!"
Add in a personality test and complaints history review, and let the not-quite-as-bad guys know they're on watch and need to improve their behavior, or they may be gradually replaced by newcomers who "show better commitment to the agency's core values."
(Of course, all that requires a justice department that's at least marginally interested in justice, so it may be a while.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:35 PM on March 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
"Remove the worst actors," in this case, can involve "prosecute them."
Oh, yes, I didn't mean to imply that wasn't the case!
We desperately need a group of people who investigate and charge cops and prosecutors and who are not... those exact same cops and prosecutors.
posted by showbiz_liz at 12:35 PM on March 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
Oh, yes, I didn't mean to imply that wasn't the case!
We desperately need a group of people who investigate and charge cops and prosecutors and who are not... those exact same cops and prosecutors.
posted by showbiz_liz at 12:35 PM on March 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
This is literally, actually working towards the Führer.
Jesus H. Christ, if you file the names "Hitler" and "Nazi Germany" off that section it could describe the executive branch under Trump to a....er, T.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:35 PM on March 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
Jesus H. Christ, if you file the names "Hitler" and "Nazi Germany" off that section it could describe the executive branch under Trump to a....er, T.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:35 PM on March 9, 2018 [13 favorites]
Regarding this attempt at a "deal" with Mueller, it's fun to imagine the president's lawyers going "Look, our client has already confessed to tons of obstruction on social media, television, and in speeches to his supporters. His various conspiracies with Putin are basically a matter of public record! How much longer can it possibly take you to drag this thing out? He just wants this over with. Give the man a little peace and quiet."
posted by InTheYear2017 at 12:50 PM on March 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by InTheYear2017 at 12:50 PM on March 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
@MichaelCBender: White House clarifies Sarah Sanders’ statement on N Korea that “president will not agree to the meeting without concrete steps and action." Not so fast: “The invitation has been extended and accepted, and that stands,” WH official tells WSJ.
The rapid reversals here are frankly unusual even by Trump Administration standards, which is saying a lot.
posted by zachlipton at 12:51 PM on March 9, 2018 [42 favorites]
The rapid reversals here are frankly unusual even by Trump Administration standards, which is saying a lot.
posted by zachlipton at 12:51 PM on March 9, 2018 [42 favorites]
Legal experts said they were skeptical that the special counsel would be open to the Trump legal team’s requests…
after taking several minutes to stop laughing and catch their breath.
posted by murphy slaw at 12:52 PM on March 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
after taking several minutes to stop laughing and catch their breath.
posted by murphy slaw at 12:52 PM on March 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
Chaos? That’s actually good, high energy.
posted by notyou at 12:54 PM on March 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by notyou at 12:54 PM on March 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
Not so fast: “The invitation has been extended and accepted, and that stands,” WH official tells WSJ.
For Pete's sake, which White House official? We're just making international policy announcements on background now? That contradict the public ones?
posted by saturday_morning at 12:55 PM on March 9, 2018 [54 favorites]
For Pete's sake, which White House official? We're just making international policy announcements on background now? That contradict the public ones?
posted by saturday_morning at 12:55 PM on March 9, 2018 [54 favorites]
The rapid reversals here are frankly unusual even by Trump Administration standards, which is saying a lot.
I guess Hope Hicks was doing more Communications Directing than people gave her credit for.
posted by Uncle Ira at 12:58 PM on March 9, 2018 [16 favorites]
I guess Hope Hicks was doing more Communications Directing than people gave her credit for.
posted by Uncle Ira at 12:58 PM on March 9, 2018 [16 favorites]
see the misapprehension that you are all operating under is that the statements of the Press Secretary represent the policy of the administration.
or that any number of human syllables could represent the policy of the administration.
posted by murphy slaw at 12:59 PM on March 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
or that any number of human syllables could represent the policy of the administration.
posted by murphy slaw at 12:59 PM on March 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
Loony Left Uodate: Austin’s paid sick leave win supported by local DSA charters that knocked on over 5,000 doors in support of the ordinance as part of the nationalwide Medicare For All movement
posted by The Whelk at 1:10 PM on March 9, 2018 [62 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 1:10 PM on March 9, 2018 [62 favorites]
For Pete's sake, which White House official? We're just making international policy announcements on background now? That contradict the public ones?
Isn't there a rumor that sometimes when it says that it means Trump said it off the record?
posted by drezdn at 1:19 PM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Isn't there a rumor that sometimes when it says that it means Trump said it off the record?
posted by drezdn at 1:19 PM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
For Pete's sake, which White House official? We're just making international policy announcements on background now? That contradict the public ones?
At this point it seems like there's absolutely nothing stopping journalists from just writing national policy themselves, and releasing it in the form of anonymous policy statements from the White House.
posted by MrVisible at 1:22 PM on March 9, 2018 [54 favorites]
At this point it seems like there's absolutely nothing stopping journalists from just writing national policy themselves, and releasing it in the form of anonymous policy statements from the White House.
posted by MrVisible at 1:22 PM on March 9, 2018 [54 favorites]
Am I overfitting too few data points or has Trump been tweeting less now that there's hardly anyone left to prevent him from bopping into a press conference and unilaterally announcing policy?
posted by murphy slaw at 1:22 PM on March 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 1:22 PM on March 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
drezdn, I think that mainly gets suggested in response to “a person familiar with [X]’s thoughts on the matter”-style attributions.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 1:23 PM on March 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 1:23 PM on March 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
murphy slaw or that any number of human syllables could represent the policy of the administration.
That's because this administration has no policy. Trump is neither intelligent nor interested enough to have a policy.
He wants all the money, all the sex, and all the admiration. Beyond that he doesn't give a shit.
posted by sotonohito at 1:25 PM on March 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
That's because this administration has no policy. Trump is neither intelligent nor interested enough to have a policy.
He wants all the money, all the sex, and all the admiration. Beyond that he doesn't give a shit.
posted by sotonohito at 1:25 PM on March 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
So the other day I was a little startled to see a Trump bumper sticker - until I did a double take and realized it actually read "Putin/Trump 2020".
Сделайте Америку прекрасной
posted by kirkaracha at 1:26 PM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Сделайте Америку прекрасной
posted by kirkaracha at 1:26 PM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Not so fast: “The invitation has been extended and accepted, and that stands,” WH official tells WSJ.
we sure could use a mole in the WH Graphics and Calligraphy Office
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:33 PM on March 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
we sure could use a mole in the WH Graphics and Calligraphy Office
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:33 PM on March 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
ABC News, Michael Cohen dismisses claims of email as proof that Trump knew about payment to porn star to buy her silence
Bonus: Rolling Stone has Clifford's friend saying Trump would call "all the time" while they were on set, to the point she'd "put him on speakerphone and walk away and he'd still be talking."
posted by zachlipton at 1:37 PM on March 9, 2018 [43 favorites]
“Mr. Avenatti has clearly allowed his 15 minutes of fame to affect his ludicrous conclusions. The earth-shattering uncovered email between myself and the bank corroborates all my previous statements; which is I transferred money from one account at that bank into my LLC and then wired said funds to Ms. Clifford’s attorney in Beverly Hills, California. How Mr. Avenatti or the media at large believes this to be ‘breaking news’ is a mystery to me,” Cohen told ABC News.Wait. Cohen's story is that he took on personal debt to make the payment? Yeah he's got issues with the state bar here.
When asked where the $130,000 sent to Daniels’ attorney came from, Cohen told ABC News “the funds were taken from my home equity line and transferred internally to my LLC account in the same bank.”
"I think this document seriously calls into question the prior representation of Mr. Cohen and the White House relating to the source of the monies paid to Ms. Clifford in an effort to silence her," Avenatti told NBC News, which first reported the use of the email. "We smell smoke."
When asked about this statement, Cohen responded: " “He should either evacuate the room he’s standing in or immediately seek the attention of an ENT doctor.”
Bonus: Rolling Stone has Clifford's friend saying Trump would call "all the time" while they were on set, to the point she'd "put him on speakerphone and walk away and he'd still be talking."
posted by zachlipton at 1:37 PM on March 9, 2018 [43 favorites]
The president himself being the anonymous source has almost definitely happened, because his old habits die hard. Once or twice, a hilariously obvious Donald line gets attributed to "a high-level official" (I recall it happening in the New Yorker). And it would match his documented love of chaos to intentionally undercut underlings with a simple "anonymous" call to the press.
(Personally, I think he doesn't "love chaos" so much as rationalize it by telling himself he does. Deep down, he hates change and craves consistency. He just dislikes anyone consistently telling the world what he, Trump, thinks. It's a personality trait would obviously would pose problems for the manager of a small office supply store but I'm sure is totally fine and cool for the presidency.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:46 PM on March 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
(Personally, I think he doesn't "love chaos" so much as rationalize it by telling himself he does. Deep down, he hates change and craves consistency. He just dislikes anyone consistently telling the world what he, Trump, thinks. It's a personality trait would obviously would pose problems for the manager of a small office supply store but I'm sure is totally fine and cool for the presidency.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:46 PM on March 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
He's obviously expecting an offer on his house for 3X market value from overseas any day now.
InTheYear2017: "If Once Upon a Time in Shaolin were forfeited to the federal government, would that make its content public domain, or would the album be sold at auction, or what? I'm guessing the latter, but I'm very much not a lawyer. "
The copyright, barring specific transfer, still resides with the artist. They can sell the media but they can't upload it to thepiratebay.
Iris Gambol: "we sure could use a mole in the WH Graphics and Calligraphy Office"
Good luck, thoose guys can keep a Top Secret Clearance.
posted by Mitheral at 1:47 PM on March 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
InTheYear2017: "If Once Upon a Time in Shaolin were forfeited to the federal government, would that make its content public domain, or would the album be sold at auction, or what? I'm guessing the latter, but I'm very much not a lawyer. "
The copyright, barring specific transfer, still resides with the artist. They can sell the media but they can't upload it to thepiratebay.
Iris Gambol: "we sure could use a mole in the WH Graphics and Calligraphy Office"
Good luck, thoose guys can keep a Top Secret Clearance.
posted by Mitheral at 1:47 PM on March 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
One of those lessons is that you really can't/shouldn't do a totally clean sweep of security sector institutions where you just fire everyone and ban them from re-entering the sector. Which is not to say ICE shouldn't be disbanded - it should - but you create a couple new problems when you try to do a clean sweep.
Example #1: the Iraqi Republican Guard.
posted by scalefree at 1:47 PM on March 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
Example #1: the Iraqi Republican Guard.
posted by scalefree at 1:47 PM on March 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
Am I overfitting too few data points or has Trump been tweeting less now that there's hardly anyone left to prevent him from bopping into a press conference and unilaterally announcing policy?
I genuinely thought it was because his tweets were actually typed out by Hope Hicks while he shouted them from another room. It seems like that would explain the drop in tweeting, too.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 1:49 PM on March 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
I genuinely thought it was because his tweets were actually typed out by Hope Hicks while he shouted them from another room. It seems like that would explain the drop in tweeting, too.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 1:49 PM on March 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
Wow, so Cohen wants us to believe he was just being a good buddy and deciding to pay $130,000 to quiet someone he says is lying about having an affair with Trump? But he also still was Trump's lawyer and didn't mention it to him? In what world does any of that make sense? They really do think we're stupid.
posted by downtohisturtles at 1:50 PM on March 9, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by downtohisturtles at 1:50 PM on March 9, 2018 [21 favorites]
he just pardoned Kristian Saucier.
Inevitable follow-up: Saucier's lawyer says that going on Fox & Friends was part of a strategy to attract the President's attention and get a pardon. It worked.
----
@mkraju: A stone-faced Sam Nunberg leaves his grand jury testimony and refuses to answer questions, shakes his head when asked for comment. He escapes to a waiting white car, which zooms away
Well, this has not been an enjoyable week at all.
posted by zachlipton at 1:54 PM on March 9, 2018 [40 favorites]
Inevitable follow-up: Saucier's lawyer says that going on Fox & Friends was part of a strategy to attract the President's attention and get a pardon. It worked.
----
@mkraju: A stone-faced Sam Nunberg leaves his grand jury testimony and refuses to answer questions, shakes his head when asked for comment. He escapes to a waiting white car, which zooms away
Well, this has not been an enjoyable week at all.
posted by zachlipton at 1:54 PM on March 9, 2018 [40 favorites]
More bad news for Kobach in the Kansas voter fraud case:
In order to impeach the testimony of Hans von Spakovsky, a witness called to defend Kansas’ proof-of-citizenship requirement, ACLU lawyer Dale Ho introduced as evidence an email von Spakovsky wrote about the now-defunct Trump voter fraud commission.posted by murphy slaw at 1:58 PM on March 9, 2018 [29 favorites]
In the email, von Spakovsky said that putting Democrats or even “mainstream Republicans” on the commission would result in “abject failure.” The email was eventually passed on to Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
…
The email was presented by the ACLU’s Ho when he was asking von Spakovsky who else he considered to be an expert in non-citizens registering to vote, as von Spakovsky claims to be. Von Spakovsky has refused to name other experts, claiming that he is not aware of other people’s expertise and can only speak to his own.
Kobach objected to the admission of the transcript of the audio recording of von Spakovsky denying to the reporter that he wrote the email. Kobach argued that the transcript shouldn’t be admitted because, he said, Pro Publica has in the past misrepresented itself to Kobach. The reporter who asked von Spakovsky about the email (and tweeted audio of his response) is in the courtroom.
The judge allowed the audio, which Ho had provided, to be played.
@mkraju: A stone-faced Sam Nunberg leaves his grand jury testimony and refuses to answer questions, shakes his head when asked for comment. He escapes to a waiting white car, which zooms away
And...scene! Good job everyone. If we hurry we can get this all broken down and back on the truck in time for happy hour.
posted by notyou at 2:01 PM on March 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
And...scene! Good job everyone. If we hurry we can get this all broken down and back on the truck in time for happy hour.
posted by notyou at 2:01 PM on March 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
On North Korea, it seems likely that Trump will find a reason to bail on the meeting. At that point, Kim Jong Un will go around bragging that he stared down the most powerful leader in the world and made him blink.
And he'll be right.
posted by msalt at 2:12 PM on March 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
And he'll be right.
posted by msalt at 2:12 PM on March 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
A Trump-Kim Summit: How Did We Get Here, and What's Next?
8 Questions the Trump Administration Must Answer Before the Summit With Kim Jong-un
Republicans to Trump on North Korea: Verify Before You Trust
How Would U.S. Verify That North Korea Is Disarming?
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:18 PM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
8 Questions the Trump Administration Must Answer Before the Summit With Kim Jong-un
Republicans to Trump on North Korea: Verify Before You Trust
How Would U.S. Verify That North Korea Is Disarming?
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:18 PM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Perry Bacon Jr., FiveThirtyEight: Making sense of Trump's two big moves on North Korea and tariffs.
I'm honestly wondering if this is, at least partly, a way to try to get the sinking ship to sail on. Trump's ratings seem to have stayed steady at around 40% approval (FiveThirtyEight again), the Democrats are energized specifically by opposition to Trump, various aides and staff are leaving or having public meltdowns, the revelation of the Stormy Daniels affair is tawdry at the least, even taking away the "hush money" aspect, there looks to be blood in the water for the FBI...Trump may be thinking that the Kim Jong Un meeting will be the Big Win he needs to no longer be a monster or a laughingstock (read: Big Loser).
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 2:19 PM on March 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
I'm honestly wondering if this is, at least partly, a way to try to get the sinking ship to sail on. Trump's ratings seem to have stayed steady at around 40% approval (FiveThirtyEight again), the Democrats are energized specifically by opposition to Trump, various aides and staff are leaving or having public meltdowns, the revelation of the Stormy Daniels affair is tawdry at the least, even taking away the "hush money" aspect, there looks to be blood in the water for the FBI...Trump may be thinking that the Kim Jong Un meeting will be the Big Win he needs to no longer be a monster or a laughingstock (read: Big Loser).
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 2:19 PM on March 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
Perry Bacon Jr., FiveThirtyEight: Making sense of Trump's....
There are two possibilities here:
1) Here is the 11th-dimension chess interpretation, in which the president's actions serve some long-view purpose, or serve to distract from other recent dramas.
2) The president thought "oh hey that sounds awesome!" and announced what he was going to do.
Guess which one I think is correct. Guess which one is the general plot of most articles about the president's actions.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 2:28 PM on March 9, 2018 [25 favorites]
There are two possibilities here:
1) Here is the 11th-dimension chess interpretation, in which the president's actions serve some long-view purpose, or serve to distract from other recent dramas.
2) The president thought "oh hey that sounds awesome!" and announced what he was going to do.
Guess which one I think is correct. Guess which one is the general plot of most articles about the president's actions.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 2:28 PM on March 9, 2018 [25 favorites]
Trump is a yawning maw of need and impulse. There is no plan other than the base need to satisfy the first with very little control of the second.
posted by chris24 at 2:32 PM on March 9, 2018 [28 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 2:32 PM on March 9, 2018 [28 favorites]
If you want to follow the Kobach trial, in addition to Tierney Sneed's Twitter and TPM writeup, Jessica Huseman of ProPublica is also at the trial and tweeting.
IANAL, but it seems to me that, a) Kobach's essential case is fairly weak, and b) his decision to represent himself is not going well at all.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:43 PM on March 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
IANAL, but it seems to me that, a) Kobach's essential case is fairly weak, and b) his decision to represent himself is not going well at all.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:43 PM on March 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
Well this doesn't sound good. “Trump is Going for a Clean Reset”: Fuming in the West Wing, Trump Prepares to Defenestrate Cuck Allies and go Full MAGA. The president will meet with potential chief-of-staff candidates at Mar-a-Lago next weekend. McMaster is likely next to go. Then Jivanka.
Even before he decided to launch a trade war and roll the nuclear dice by agreeing in the course of a West Wing afternoon to a risky sit-down with Kim Jong Un, Donald Trump was telling friends he was tired of being reined in. “I’m doing great, but I’m getting all these bad headlines,” Trump told a friend recently. A Republican in frequent contact with the White House told me Trump is “frustrated by all these people telling him what to do.”posted by scalefree at 2:48 PM on March 9, 2018 [23 favorites]
Mark Follman for Mother Jones: "Trump Spoke to a Russian Activist About Ending Sanctions—Just Weeks After Launching His Campaign"
subtitle: "Here’s the video of their exchange."
subtitle: "Here’s the video of their exchange."
Just a month after Trump announced his campaign for the White House, he spoke directly to Maria Butina, the protégé of the powerful Russian banking official and Putin ally Alexander Torshin. During a public question and answer session at FreedomFest, a libertarian convention in Las Vegas in July 2015, Butina asked Trump what he would do as president about “damaging” US sanctions. Trump suggested he would get rid of them.posted by OnceUponATime at 3:00 PM on March 9, 2018 [36 favorites]
“I am visiting from Russia,” Butina said into the mic.
“Ahhhhh, Putin!” Trump interjected, prompting laughter from the audience as he added a mocking riff about the current president: “Good friend of Obama, Putin. He likes Obama a lot. Go ahead.”
“My question will be about foreign politics,” Butina continued. “If you will be elected as president, what will be your foreign politics especially in the relationships with my country? And do you want to continue the politics of sanctions that are damaging of both economy [sic]? Or you have any other ideas?”
After going off on Obama and digressing into trade policy, Trump responded: “I know Putin, and I’ll tell you what, we get along with Putin… I believe I would get along very nicely with Putin, OK? And I mean, where we have the strength. I don’t think you’d need the sanctions. I think we would get along very, very well.”
For right now the comments on that YouTube video seem like preserved-in-amber specimens of the IRA's work from two years ago.
speterson085 2 years ago
Trump and Putin would be great allies.
riva2003 2 years ago (edited)
hes really talking sense...if you have any idea of geopolitics you would understand it. im surprised that mr.trump has such vision. this is a true leader you americans need.
Neveah Lorne 2 years ago
Go Trump ☺ you should've been president 8years ago.
regolo gellini 2 years ago
As a liberal or even more as a socialist I admire this guy for his clear ideas (which of course I don't share entirely but his clear speaking is so refreshing after the hypocritical SOBs we are always confronted with starting from Ms fucking Clinton !
Of course if I could vote in US I'd give my vote to Bernie Sanders, but if he is not in the race it will be Trump for me !
Notice his practical, business sense when he says : with our hunky punky we managed to have Russia and China go to bed together and that's no good . We must be friends with everybody and make money for all ! That's common sense !
posted by OnceUponATime at 3:03 PM on March 9, 2018 [30 favorites]
speterson085 2 years ago
Trump and Putin would be great allies.
riva2003 2 years ago (edited)
hes really talking sense...if you have any idea of geopolitics you would understand it. im surprised that mr.trump has such vision. this is a true leader you americans need.
Neveah Lorne 2 years ago
Go Trump ☺ you should've been president 8years ago.
regolo gellini 2 years ago
As a liberal or even more as a socialist I admire this guy for his clear ideas (which of course I don't share entirely but his clear speaking is so refreshing after the hypocritical SOBs we are always confronted with starting from Ms fucking Clinton !
Of course if I could vote in US I'd give my vote to Bernie Sanders, but if he is not in the race it will be Trump for me !
Notice his practical, business sense when he says : with our hunky punky we managed to have Russia and China go to bed together and that's no good . We must be friends with everybody and make money for all ! That's common sense !
posted by OnceUponATime at 3:03 PM on March 9, 2018 [30 favorites]
I wonder if one unintended consequence of this Trump/Kim confab will be the rapid promotion of Japan and South Korea from "nuclear latent" nation status to "secret" (Ala Israel) members of the Big Bang Club. Because it sure as hell looks like we as a nation are becoming more and more willing to punch holes in our strategic umbrella--holes that will need to be plugged one way or another...
Japan's situation is capital-C Complicated, and probably a derail here, but: Just like the rest of the world they've been having a rash of radical right-wing politicians. The prime minister Shinzo Abe is not only a nationalist, but the Japanese equivalent of a Holocaust denier - he denies that their WW2 war crimes even happened - and he wants to remilitarize. And he at least thinks that public opinion favors his hawkish stance. He called a snap election back in September, won a slightly bigger majority, and now has the majority he needs to amend the constitution so they can remilitarize. (if I'm reading those results right.)
However, nuclear weapons are a bridge too far for pretty much everyone. Abe is on record saying that nukes are "not constitutionally prohibited", but public opinion is so strongly against them that the topic is practically taboo. For obvious reasons.
Japan's situation is particularly complicated because they've been heavily reliant on the USA since WW2. Not just for the post-war stability that the US maintained, not just the shipping lanes staying open (which they very much rely on), not just for trade, but they depend on the US for explicit military protection even more than South Korea does. Trump's flipped the table on every single one of those things. The entire post-war order, as far as Japan's concerned. And in addition to North Korea, who keeps throwing fake bombs at them, China is pulling some funny business in the South China Sea. So: it's Complicated.
quick edit: another news story about right wing politicians in Japan
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 3:08 PM on March 9, 2018 [25 favorites]
Japan's situation is capital-C Complicated, and probably a derail here, but: Just like the rest of the world they've been having a rash of radical right-wing politicians. The prime minister Shinzo Abe is not only a nationalist, but the Japanese equivalent of a Holocaust denier - he denies that their WW2 war crimes even happened - and he wants to remilitarize. And he at least thinks that public opinion favors his hawkish stance. He called a snap election back in September, won a slightly bigger majority, and now has the majority he needs to amend the constitution so they can remilitarize. (if I'm reading those results right.)
However, nuclear weapons are a bridge too far for pretty much everyone. Abe is on record saying that nukes are "not constitutionally prohibited", but public opinion is so strongly against them that the topic is practically taboo. For obvious reasons.
Japan's situation is particularly complicated because they've been heavily reliant on the USA since WW2. Not just for the post-war stability that the US maintained, not just the shipping lanes staying open (which they very much rely on), not just for trade, but they depend on the US for explicit military protection even more than South Korea does. Trump's flipped the table on every single one of those things. The entire post-war order, as far as Japan's concerned. And in addition to North Korea, who keeps throwing fake bombs at them, China is pulling some funny business in the South China Sea. So: it's Complicated.
quick edit: another news story about right wing politicians in Japan
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 3:08 PM on March 9, 2018 [25 favorites]
@rabrowne75: CNN Exclusive: The Pentagon has issued a memo outlining how President Trump's sought after military parade on Veterans Day will look. Parade will include period uniforms, airplanes but no tanks to avoid damaging infrastructure. Route will go from the White House to the Capitol
We're told we can't afford Medicaid, but sewing period uniforms is a necessity. And just practically, that's a long-ass parade
posted by zachlipton at 3:18 PM on March 9, 2018 [47 favorites]
We're told we can't afford Medicaid, but sewing period uniforms is a necessity. And just practically, that's a long-ass parade
posted by zachlipton at 3:18 PM on March 9, 2018 [47 favorites]
But he also still was Trump's lawyer and didn't mention it to him? In what world does any of that make sense? They really do think we're stupid.
Yeah, if the cover story is a slam-dunk on you 'only' getting disbarred, then the actual story must be really fucking bad.
posted by Capt. Renault at 3:20 PM on March 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
Yeah, if the cover story is a slam-dunk on you 'only' getting disbarred, then the actual story must be really fucking bad.
posted by Capt. Renault at 3:20 PM on March 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
It's also worth noting that this Veterans Day parade is going to be five days after the midterm elections.
posted by Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam at 3:41 PM on March 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam at 3:41 PM on March 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
can someone who has a better understanding of the law than me elucidate the ways that Cohen’s recent statements put him at risk of being disbarred?
posted by murphy slaw at 3:43 PM on March 9, 2018
posted by murphy slaw at 3:43 PM on March 9, 2018
IANAL summary:
-Used an email address identifying himself as a member of his client's business for personal purposes
-Those personal purposes were to use his own money to act on his erstwhile client's behalf without said client's knowledge
-Lied like a rug about the whole thing
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 3:46 PM on March 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
-Used an email address identifying himself as a member of his client's business for personal purposes
-Those personal purposes were to use his own money to act on his erstwhile client's behalf without said client's knowledge
-Lied like a rug about the whole thing
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 3:46 PM on March 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
I predicted a while ago they would manage to convince him to do the exact same thing they do every year and tell him it’s just for him. People already use period uniforms in the Veterans Day parade. Because if you’re a veteran you wear uniforms from your era of service.
He is the stupidest fucker that has ever stupided. I wonder if even the airplanes are just the Blue Angels or something similar.
posted by corb at 3:46 PM on March 9, 2018 [67 favorites]
He is the stupidest fucker that has ever stupided. I wonder if even the airplanes are just the Blue Angels or something similar.
posted by corb at 3:46 PM on March 9, 2018 [67 favorites]
Senate Campaign In Tennessee Fears Hack After Impostor's Emails Request Money
posted by Artw at 3:52 PM on March 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 3:52 PM on March 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Here's a summary of some of Choen's legal ethics problems. Taking out a loan against your house to pay hush money for your client doesn't seem to be a situation precisely contemplated by the rules of legal ethics, but you can't provide "financial assistance to a client in connection with pending or contemplated litigation." There are also questions about whether Cohen had Trump's authorization to speak in all his many statements about this matter, and indeed whether he had Trump's authorization and kept his client informed while negotiating the deal.
Philip Bump also walks through the campaign finance issues. If you buy the theory that the payment constituted a contribution to the campaign, Cohen made an illegal $130,000 campaign contribution. His use of a Trump Organization email raises the question of who he was working for; corporations, like say the Trump Organization, can't contribute to political campaigns.
posted by zachlipton at 4:00 PM on March 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
Philip Bump also walks through the campaign finance issues. If you buy the theory that the payment constituted a contribution to the campaign, Cohen made an illegal $130,000 campaign contribution. His use of a Trump Organization email raises the question of who he was working for; corporations, like say the Trump Organization, can't contribute to political campaigns.
posted by zachlipton at 4:00 PM on March 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
Nixon Goes to McDonaldland
(Jeffrey Lewis | Foreign Policy)
(Jeffrey Lewis | Foreign Policy)
It’s like Richard Nixon going to China, but if Nixon was a moron.posted by Barack Spinoza at 4:00 PM on March 9, 2018 [14 favorites]
By now, you’ve heard that Donald Trump is meeting with Kim Jong Un by May. You’ve probably also seen the White House walking it back. And then, anonymously, walking it forward again. Things are crazy. Let’s try to sort through them all.
murphy slaw, see the ABA's Model Rules of Professional Conduct section on the Client/Lawyer Relationship. Rule 1.8 Conflict Of Interest: Current Clients: Specific Rules --
(3) e. A lawyer shall not provide financial assistance to a client in connection with pending or contemplated litigation, except that:
(1) a lawyer may advance court costs and expenses of litigation, the repayment of which may be contingent on the outcome of the matter; and
(2) a lawyer representing an indigent client may pay court costs and expenses of litigation on behalf of the client.
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:00 PM on March 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
(3) e. A lawyer shall not provide financial assistance to a client in connection with pending or contemplated litigation, except that:
(1) a lawyer may advance court costs and expenses of litigation, the repayment of which may be contingent on the outcome of the matter; and
(2) a lawyer representing an indigent client may pay court costs and expenses of litigation on behalf of the client.
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:00 PM on March 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
So far as I can tell, the supposed dodge is that Cohen is a member/manager of EC, LLC. It's bullshit, and he's probably inviting the wrath of the Delaware Court of Chancery too.
posted by snuffleupagus at 4:04 PM on March 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by snuffleupagus at 4:04 PM on March 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
About that potential hack in Tennessee, involving the campaign of former governor Bredesen (D) running for Corker's seat:
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 4:34 PM on March 9, 2018
"The sender knew that the campaign was preparing to purchase air time for a TV commercial and knew the dates of the proposed media buy," wrote campaign lawyer Robert Cooper Jr. "These emails urged the campaign to wire funds to an international bank account."So... someone on the campaign staff told someone else when they were planning to buy ads? Either the article is missing some details, or the campaign managers are oblivious to how much info their copy-room staff has.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 4:34 PM on March 9, 2018
Trump's bold stroke on North Korea dissolves into confusion
Reading between the lines on this and other pieces, I just get the impression that all the worlds dictators want to have private meetings and slice up the pie. And Trump desperately wants to be a part of that club.
posted by valkane at 4:42 PM on March 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
Reading between the lines on this and other pieces, I just get the impression that all the worlds dictators want to have private meetings and slice up the pie. And Trump desperately wants to be a part of that club.
posted by valkane at 4:42 PM on March 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
Michael Cohen signed the certificate of organization as an "authorized person" which, while not absolutely 100% the case, typically means the signer is not a member of the LLC. So who is? Who is the responsible person for tax purposes?
posted by melissasaurus at 4:44 PM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by melissasaurus at 4:44 PM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Kind of a quiet Friday aftern—WaPo, In a personal letter, Trump invited Putin to the 2013 Miss Universe pageant
Donald Trump was so eager to have Vladimir Putin attend the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow that he wrote a personal letter to the Russian president inviting him to the event, according to multiple people familiar with the document.posted by zachlipton at 4:49 PM on March 9, 2018 [23 favorites]
At the bottom of the typed letter, Trump scrawled a postscript adding that he looked forward to seeing “beautiful” women during his trip.
At the bottom of the typed letter, Trump scrawled a postscript adding that he looked forward to seeing “beautiful” women during his trip.
PUTIN: Yes, we will give you many beautiful women - who will pee on you! Wait, you're into that? Yes, OK, we'll still send them over. Who knows, might come in handy some day.
posted by scalefree at 4:59 PM on March 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
PUTIN: Yes, we will give you many beautiful women - who will pee on you! Wait, you're into that? Yes, OK, we'll still send them over. Who knows, might come in handy some day.
posted by scalefree at 4:59 PM on March 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
Kris Kobach and the terrible, no good, very bad day in court:
Jessia Huseman (ProPublica):
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:26 PM on March 9, 2018 [56 favorites]
Jessia Huseman (ProPublica):
Today in court (after, you know, he called me a “reported reporter”) the ACLU showed a much anticipated deposition in which he discussed 1) a proposal to amend the NVRA and 2) a sheet of paper he took w him into a meeting w then President-Elect Trump in November. That sheet of paper mentioned amending the NVRA, and he gave one to everyone in the meeting: Trump, Stephan Miller, Bannon, Kushner and Priebus. It was also discovered that Kobach’s proposed amendment contained IDENTICAL language to a filing in the case from the ACLU that indicated how the NVRA would need to be updated in order for his proof of citizenship law to be legal. He denied copying the language. Kobach also denied writing the draft and proposing such an amendment to Trump was an attempt to impact this case, or an admission that he knows his proof of citizenship law violates the NVRA. Repeatedly called it a “contingency plan” in case he lost this case He also said he’d twice approached Rep @SteveKingIA about sponsoring a bill to amend the NVRA as per his draft, and King had said he would do it. He said the amendment would be necessary after trial to “restore the original intent” of the NVRA if he were to lose, and he said he felt he would not lose. During the deposition, Kobach looks visibly pained and, at times, frazzled. His face was often obscured by his hands - rubbing his eyes irritatedly, resting his face on his fists, etc. He was clearly not pleased to be answering the questions.So, Kobach essentially admitted in a deposition forced by the ACLU in the separate case against the sham Trump vote suppression committee that he knew the Kansas law at issue in this case was against the NVRA, and that sheet of paper we saw him carrying 1 billion Trump-adjusted years ago was in fact his proposal to amend the NVRA to retroactively legalize the Kansas law. And that deposition was played in open court in the case against the Kansas ID law.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:26 PM on March 9, 2018 [56 favorites]
While we know now where the loyalties of Ryan and McConnell truly lie, it's hard to berate Obama for not being so pessimistic about American politics that he should have assumed a complete absence of patriotism.
It's the GOP mirror. They assumed Obama was up to something, so they dismissed the threat as political posturing. After all, political posturing's all the GOP does.
posted by Mental Wimp at 5:27 PM on March 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
It's the GOP mirror. They assumed Obama was up to something, so they dismissed the threat as political posturing. After all, political posturing's all the GOP does.
posted by Mental Wimp at 5:27 PM on March 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
Lawfare has a really interesting piece about how Mueller charging those Russian hackers with, essentially, impeding the functions of government, opens the door to all kinds of conspiracy charges for other parties over actions that are not, in and of themselves, actually crimes.
posted by Andrhia at 5:35 PM on March 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by Andrhia at 5:35 PM on March 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
The president will meet with potential chief-of-staff candidates at Mar-a-Lago next weekend. McMaster is likely next to go. Then Jivanka.
Even before he decided to launch a trade war and roll the nuclear dice by agreeing in the course of a West Wing afternoon to a risky sit-down with Kim Jong Un, Donald Trump was telling friends he was tired of being reined in.
Here's the thing: Trump is an idiot who cannot accept blame for anything, so he needs to blame everyone around him and complain about them constantly. It's standard procedure. Might rise and fall in intensity, but if things aren't going well, he has to blame someone other than himself.
Speculating about who might go or when is a waste of time until they actually go. They are all Schrodinger's scapegoats: forever about to be sacrificed, while simultaneously never going anywhere.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 5:36 PM on March 9, 2018 [18 favorites]
Even before he decided to launch a trade war and roll the nuclear dice by agreeing in the course of a West Wing afternoon to a risky sit-down with Kim Jong Un, Donald Trump was telling friends he was tired of being reined in.
Here's the thing: Trump is an idiot who cannot accept blame for anything, so he needs to blame everyone around him and complain about them constantly. It's standard procedure. Might rise and fall in intensity, but if things aren't going well, he has to blame someone other than himself.
Speculating about who might go or when is a waste of time until they actually go. They are all Schrodinger's scapegoats: forever about to be sacrificed, while simultaneously never going anywhere.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 5:36 PM on March 9, 2018 [18 favorites]
@Preet Bharara ("banned by Putin, fired by trump") : Sometimes my personal lawyer will just pay my mortgage off. Without asking. Such a good guy. I'm lucky.
posted by Dashy at 6:11 PM on March 9, 2018 [69 favorites]
posted by Dashy at 6:11 PM on March 9, 2018 [69 favorites]
John Dowd, an attorney for President Trump, said he was not familiar with the letter. “It’s all nonsense,” he said. A White House spokesman and attorneys for the Trump Organization declined to comment.
why would you make a comment like that
why are his lawyers so bad at lawyering
posted by murphy slaw at 6:11 PM on March 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
why would you make a comment like that
why are his lawyers so bad at lawyering
posted by murphy slaw at 6:11 PM on March 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
At the bottom of the typed letter, Trump scrawled a postscript adding that he looked forward to seeing “beautiful” women during his trip.
This is...so stupid. Is Trump a masochist? Is he into humiliation? "Hey Putin, compromise me!"
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 6:15 PM on March 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
This is...so stupid. Is Trump a masochist? Is he into humiliation? "Hey Putin, compromise me!"
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 6:15 PM on March 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
I can only hope that Trump's endorsement for Josh Hawley turns out to be poison.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 6:21 PM on March 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 6:21 PM on March 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
We didn't talk about Dean Heller today, and it's probably worth mentioning. The endangered GOP senator who thinks Justice Kennedy could save him
Heller, for his part, was supposed to file for re-election on Monday, but did it today, claiming he had to get back to DC early. Which I'm sure is a totally credible story and there's no way he isn't trying to avoid the press.
posted by zachlipton at 6:42 PM on March 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
“Kennedy is going to retire around sometime early summer,” Heller predicted in Las Vegas last week, according to audio of an event he spoke at that was obtained by POLITICO. “Which I’m hoping will get our base a little motivated because right now they’re not very motivated. But I think a new Supreme Court justice will get them motivated.”So that's going to be a reason I don't sleep at night.
Heller, for his part, was supposed to file for re-election on Monday, but did it today, claiming he had to get back to DC early. Which I'm sure is a totally credible story and there's no way he isn't trying to avoid the press.
posted by zachlipton at 6:42 PM on March 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
I've been hoping SO HARD that Trump's policies wouldn't make it to my town, but they have.
I understand that non-citizens don't have constitutional rights, but being captured, separated from children and family and detained indefinitely ignores and denies basic human rights. This is criminal.
Not helping me at all: my 76 year old dad in South Carolina sent me a link to a youtube vid talking shit about immigrants that consists of a single static frame of "Triumphant Trump" and text-to-speach audio. The take-away is that dems are putting the welfare of illegal immigrants above the rights of citizens. I didn't assault my dad, but I definitely chopped that vid into pieces to illustrate what kind of enemy propaganda he's spreading.
I am not exaggerating at all now: I feel like I'm living in late 1930s Europe and my friends and neighbors are being dragged away for no better reasons than simple racism. There is no benefit for anyone. Everyone loses when the government prays on the most vulnerable.
(Ok, oligarchs and Mega-Corps don't lose...everyone else does.)
posted by snsranch at 6:44 PM on March 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
I understand that non-citizens don't have constitutional rights, but being captured, separated from children and family and detained indefinitely ignores and denies basic human rights. This is criminal.
Not helping me at all: my 76 year old dad in South Carolina sent me a link to a youtube vid talking shit about immigrants that consists of a single static frame of "Triumphant Trump" and text-to-speach audio. The take-away is that dems are putting the welfare of illegal immigrants above the rights of citizens. I didn't assault my dad, but I definitely chopped that vid into pieces to illustrate what kind of enemy propaganda he's spreading.
I am not exaggerating at all now: I feel like I'm living in late 1930s Europe and my friends and neighbors are being dragged away for no better reasons than simple racism. There is no benefit for anyone. Everyone loses when the government prays on the most vulnerable.
(Ok, oligarchs and Mega-Corps don't lose...everyone else does.)
posted by snsranch at 6:44 PM on March 9, 2018 [17 favorites]
" The president will meet with potential chief-of-staff candidates at Mar-a-Lago next weekend. McMaster is likely next to go. Then Jivanka. "
Is this sort of business typically done outside the actual Whitehouse/government offices?
posted by Mitheral at 7:05 PM on March 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Is this sort of business typically done outside the actual Whitehouse/government offices?
posted by Mitheral at 7:05 PM on March 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
It's possible Kennedy is going to retire this summer. On the other hand, a) Kennedy already hired his fall clerks, which seems pretty weird, if he's planning to leave, and b) Heller has every reason to make it up, considering he's in a very challenging Senate race.
I'm filing this under, "worry about it when it comes."
posted by Chrysostom at 7:06 PM on March 9, 2018 [27 favorites]
I'm filing this under, "worry about it when it comes."
posted by Chrysostom at 7:06 PM on March 9, 2018 [27 favorites]
"I understand that non-citizens don't have constitutional rights"
That's not even a little bit true. Every person within the borders of the United States -- legally or illegally -- has the same rights to free speech, free religion, a fair and speedy trial, equal protection, not to be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, and so on.
Non-citizens don't have the rights that pertain to citizenship -- to vote, to run for office, to live freely anywhere in the US -- but every person within the borders of the United States has the general rights granted to ALL people that are enumerated in the Constitution, and it's part of what distinguished the Constitution from other forms of government when it was written, and it's part of America's greatness that we have sought equal justice and due process for EVERY person in contact with America's legal system and granted freedom of speech, press, religion, and association to EVERY person within our borders.
Don't buy this bullshit that white nationalists are pushing about undocumented immigrants not having Constitutional rights. It is flatly unamerican to deny someone due process of law and equal protection of those laws based on their national origin. Don't let them create this false narrative that only citizens have rights -- that has never been how our laws work, and people fought damn hard to keep it that way and to expand those rights so that "all people" truly meant "all people."
(In general, aside from issues related to living and working freely in the country, which non-citizens do need papers for, the question to ask yourself is, "Would a 16-year-old child have this right?" If the answer is YES, then a non-citizen has that right too -- freedom of speech and religion, right to a fair and speedy trial, right to equal protection of laws, etc. If NO, a non-citizen doesn't have that right -- right to vote, right to serve on a jury, etc. It's not a perfect rule of thumb (16-year-olds can run for office in some places!), but it's a good gut-check!)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:11 PM on March 9, 2018 [220 favorites]
That's not even a little bit true. Every person within the borders of the United States -- legally or illegally -- has the same rights to free speech, free religion, a fair and speedy trial, equal protection, not to be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, and so on.
Non-citizens don't have the rights that pertain to citizenship -- to vote, to run for office, to live freely anywhere in the US -- but every person within the borders of the United States has the general rights granted to ALL people that are enumerated in the Constitution, and it's part of what distinguished the Constitution from other forms of government when it was written, and it's part of America's greatness that we have sought equal justice and due process for EVERY person in contact with America's legal system and granted freedom of speech, press, religion, and association to EVERY person within our borders.
Don't buy this bullshit that white nationalists are pushing about undocumented immigrants not having Constitutional rights. It is flatly unamerican to deny someone due process of law and equal protection of those laws based on their national origin. Don't let them create this false narrative that only citizens have rights -- that has never been how our laws work, and people fought damn hard to keep it that way and to expand those rights so that "all people" truly meant "all people."
(In general, aside from issues related to living and working freely in the country, which non-citizens do need papers for, the question to ask yourself is, "Would a 16-year-old child have this right?" If the answer is YES, then a non-citizen has that right too -- freedom of speech and religion, right to a fair and speedy trial, right to equal protection of laws, etc. If NO, a non-citizen doesn't have that right -- right to vote, right to serve on a jury, etc. It's not a perfect rule of thumb (16-year-olds can run for office in some places!), but it's a good gut-check!)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:11 PM on March 9, 2018 [220 favorites]
Is this sort of business typically done outside the actual Whitehouse/government offices?
He's soliciting his club members for recommendations / resumes.
posted by ryanrs at 7:11 PM on March 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
He's soliciting his club members for recommendations / resumes.
posted by ryanrs at 7:11 PM on March 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
Kennedy rumors have been going for the last two years of "this summer", so. Also, the clerks thing may not mean anything. Souter hired a full slate of clerks before he retired. SC clerks would be absorbed into other Justice's offices when one voluntarily retires, they don't just get kicked to the curb. But yea, there's nothing to be done either way and it's not like Democrats can stop another Gorsuch anyway without winning the Senate. This is the price of losing in 2016. Democratic voters have never cared about the Court, and Republicans have, so its not a surprise that they're able to reap the benefits of thwarting likely the only chance to flip the Court's ideology in any of our lifetimes. It's win the Senate in 2018 (and hold the line against the Joe Manchin's for two years) or live with a Trump Court for the next several decades.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:21 PM on March 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:21 PM on March 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
I understand that non-citizens don't have constitutional rights,
I've NEVER understood that reasoning.
Starting with the Magna Carta, Clause 39,
posted by mikelieman at 7:23 PM on March 9, 2018 [33 favorites]
I've NEVER understood that reasoning.
Starting with the Magna Carta, Clause 39,
No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land.And the US Constitution
No person shall be subject, except in cases of impeachment, to more than one punishment or trial for the same offense; nor shall be compelled to be a witness against himself; nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor be obliged to relinquish his property, where it may be necessary for public use, without just compensation....do not say "Citizen". They say "free man" and "person" respectively.
posted by mikelieman at 7:23 PM on March 9, 2018 [33 favorites]
Today's edition of "pay state reps enough money to live on."
@josheidelson: Just had a state representative pause our interview to deliver someone Panda Express as part of his side job with Postmates
posted by zachlipton at 7:30 PM on March 9, 2018 [34 favorites]
@josheidelson: Just had a state representative pause our interview to deliver someone Panda Express as part of his side job with Postmates
posted by zachlipton at 7:30 PM on March 9, 2018 [34 favorites]
Trump administration studies seeking the death penalty for drug dealers (Katie Zezima and Josh Dawsey, WaPo)
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:36 PM on March 9, 2018 [36 favorites]
Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, is leading much of the work on opioids for the White House. Singaporean representatives have briefed senior White House officials on their country’s drug policies, which include treatment and education, but also the death penalty, and they provided a PowerPoint presentation on that country’s laws.This is fine.
Singapore’s model is more in line with the administration’s goals for drug policy than some other countries, a senior administration official said.
“That is seen as the holistic approach that approximates what this White House is trying to do,” a senior administration official said.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:36 PM on March 9, 2018 [36 favorites]
Eyebrows: Non-citizens don't have the rights that pertain to citizenship -- to vote, to run for office, to live freely anywhere in the US --
This confuses me. I've never heard of restrictions on where non-citizens can live. I understand that certain types of work visa's essentially indenture you to the sponsoring company, and they could dictate where you work, but that's a decision between you and your employer. Am I missing something?
posted by michswiss at 7:42 PM on March 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
This confuses me. I've never heard of restrictions on where non-citizens can live. I understand that certain types of work visa's essentially indenture you to the sponsoring company, and they could dictate where you work, but that's a decision between you and your employer. Am I missing something?
posted by michswiss at 7:42 PM on March 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Sure, Trump will be gung-ho for executing opioid dealers right up until he realizes it would literally kill off members of his hardcore base.
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:44 PM on March 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:44 PM on March 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
aren’t half of the “drug dealers” in the opioid crisis doctors with hyperactive prescription pads? we gonna hang them, too?
posted by murphy slaw at 7:44 PM on March 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 7:44 PM on March 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
just ignore the word anywhere.
posted by Bovine Love at 7:45 PM on March 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Bovine Love at 7:45 PM on March 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Singapore’s model is more in line with the administration’s goals for drug policy than some other countries, a senior administration official said.
“That is seen as the holistic approach that approximates what this White House is trying to do,” a senior administration official said.
In that model, holistic approach, possession of a pound of weed or an ounce of cocaine gets you a mandatory death sentence.
This is rule by death cultists.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:47 PM on March 9, 2018 [26 favorites]
“That is seen as the holistic approach that approximates what this White House is trying to do,” a senior administration official said.
In that model, holistic approach, possession of a pound of weed or an ounce of cocaine gets you a mandatory death sentence.
This is rule by death cultists.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:47 PM on March 9, 2018 [26 favorites]
"I've never heard of restrictions on where non-citizens can live."
Yeah, just that you need permission to live in the country generally if you're not a citizen, ignore anywhere, that was coming in from a different but related rant about federalism. :)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:53 PM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Yeah, just that you need permission to live in the country generally if you're not a citizen, ignore anywhere, that was coming in from a different but related rant about federalism. :)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:53 PM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
aren’t half of the “drug dealers” in the opioid crisis doctors with hyperactive prescription pads? we gonna hang them, too?
No, of course mandatory death sentences would follow preexisting racial disparities in sentencing. Pill mill doctors would keep on milling, while 19yr old black kids in Baltimore would be summarily executed. That's what they mean by "holistic approach".
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:02 PM on March 9, 2018 [40 favorites]
No, of course mandatory death sentences would follow preexisting racial disparities in sentencing. Pill mill doctors would keep on milling, while 19yr old black kids in Baltimore would be summarily executed. That's what they mean by "holistic approach".
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:02 PM on March 9, 2018 [40 favorites]
aren’t half of the “drug dealers” in the opioid crisis doctors with hyperactive prescription pads? we gonna hang them, too?
Absolutely, along with all the evil OxyContin pushers, i.e., entire sales and marketing divisions of of Big Pharma.
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:06 PM on March 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
Absolutely, along with all the evil OxyContin pushers, i.e., entire sales and marketing divisions of of Big Pharma.
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:06 PM on March 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
I would imagine trump would use lethal prosecution of "drug dealers" much like his idols do, which is to selectively and "legally" kill people he doesn't like. His base would be unaffected.
posted by codacorolla at 9:01 PM on March 9, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by codacorolla at 9:01 PM on March 9, 2018 [10 favorites]
That's pretty much his m.o. for everything - announce the maximum, then selectively enforce/negotiate. Look at the steel tariffs.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:09 PM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 9:09 PM on March 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Trump is already going after immigrants of all types, since it's been easy to lock them up without appeals thus far, next up is how to get rid of/disemfranchise black americans, who are inarguably citizens. Kobach failed for the most part with his bullshit disenfranchisement panel, thus the need for a new strategy -- and what better playbook to use than Reagan's war on drugs brown people. Thus Sessions' ridiculous and unpopular war on weed, which will be enforced selectively against blue states and nonwhites. I would not be surprised if Sessions gets a hold of dispensary records in blue states and tries to disenfranchise all of them in bulk right before the 2018 elections.
posted by benzenedream at 9:16 PM on March 9, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by benzenedream at 9:16 PM on March 9, 2018 [10 favorites]
Annie Linskey, Boston Globe: Trump wants new authority over polling places. Top election officials say no.
President Trump would be able to dispatch Secret Service agents to polling places nationwide during a federal election, a vast expansion of executive authority, if a provision in a Homeland Security reauthorization bill remains intact.posted by adamg at 9:26 PM on March 9, 2018 [26 favorites]
For crying out loud, they have almost all the same constitutionally-guaranteed rights as everyone else in the United States, so long as they are in the U.S. Even the disgusting Jennings v. Rodriguez case had to impliedly concede that this is the case, punting on that particular issue by creating a stupid fiction about whether, in detention, they are technically within the U.S. for constitutional rights purposes. FWIW, I fully agree with the dissent, but the majority did not actually go so far as to hold that immigrants lack constitutional rights.
they have the same Constitutionally guaranteed rights as everyone else except they are locked up without trial and appeals within the US borders. Jennings vs. Rodriguez invents a stupid fiction but that stupid fiction goes against the intent of the constitution, is a violation of basic human rights, and is functionally ruining the lives of immigrants (unless you're white and rich). You are never going to win over immigrants by pointing to the Constitution to split hairs ("see! you have rights!") while they are getting dragged away.
If the Dems ever get back in power they need to make the path to citizenship 3 years or less.
posted by benzenedream at 9:42 PM on March 9, 2018 [16 favorites]
they have the same Constitutionally guaranteed rights as everyone else except they are locked up without trial and appeals within the US borders. Jennings vs. Rodriguez invents a stupid fiction but that stupid fiction goes against the intent of the constitution, is a violation of basic human rights, and is functionally ruining the lives of immigrants (unless you're white and rich). You are never going to win over immigrants by pointing to the Constitution to split hairs ("see! you have rights!") while they are getting dragged away.
If the Dems ever get back in power they need to make the path to citizenship 3 years or less.
posted by benzenedream at 9:42 PM on March 9, 2018 [16 favorites]
Trump wants new authority over polling places. Top election officials say no.
Alarming as this sounds, I'm not really getting where the "Trump wants new authority" part comes from, and it's kind of sloppy of the Globe to report it that way absent some reason to believe it's true. It sounds more like they intended a clarification of existing law that prohibits armed federal forces from being sent to polling places (except if they want to vote or they need to "repel armed enemies of the United States"). The new language (which the Senate apparently already stripped out in its bill) said:
posted by zachlipton at 10:01 PM on March 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
Alarming as this sounds, I'm not really getting where the "Trump wants new authority" part comes from, and it's kind of sloppy of the Globe to report it that way absent some reason to believe it's true. It sounds more like they intended a clarification of existing law that prohibits armed federal forces from being sent to polling places (except if they want to vote or they need to "repel armed enemies of the United States"). The new language (which the Senate apparently already stripped out in its bill) said:
SEC. 4012. Secret Service protection at polling places.This really sounds like someone was trying to make sure that nobody is technically breaking the law if a protectee goes to vote and the Secret Service is doing their jobs at the time. Fixing the language to make damn sure it's not used to tamper with elections is important, but this doesn't seem to me like the start of a voter suppression plot.
Section 592 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
“ This section shall not prevent any officer or agent of the United States Secret Service from providing armed protective services authorized under section 3056 or pursuant to a Presidential memorandum at any place where a general or special election is held.”.
posted by zachlipton at 10:01 PM on March 9, 2018 [11 favorites]
So this is something. Stormy Daniels's attorney is claiming Michael Cohen isn't licensed to practice in CA, which is where the arbitration was filed. These people. There's just no bottom.
posted by scalefree at 10:09 PM on March 9, 2018 [24 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 10:09 PM on March 9, 2018 [24 favorites]
On the lighter side: Pittsburghers pissed by politicization of Pirate Parrot.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:15 PM on March 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 10:15 PM on March 9, 2018 [8 favorites]
This really sounds like someone was trying to make sure that nobody is technically breaking the law if a protectee goes to vote and the Secret Service is doing their jobs at the time. Fixing the language to make damn sure it's not used to tamper with elections is important, but this doesn't seem to me like the start of a voter suppression plot.
Between uniformed officers & investigative/protective agents Secret Service has 4500 men & women to bring to bear. Assuming they were all tasked with interfering with the election that makes 90 per state; there's over 100,000 polling places in the US. I suppose you could distribute them more intelligently, identify hot spots that need suppression the most. But still, they'd either be spread very thin or the places chosen to deploy them would give away the game. I don't see it.
posted by scalefree at 10:24 PM on March 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
Between uniformed officers & investigative/protective agents Secret Service has 4500 men & women to bring to bear. Assuming they were all tasked with interfering with the election that makes 90 per state; there's over 100,000 polling places in the US. I suppose you could distribute them more intelligently, identify hot spots that need suppression the most. But still, they'd either be spread very thin or the places chosen to deploy them would give away the game. I don't see it.
posted by scalefree at 10:24 PM on March 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
On the lighter side: Pittsburghers pissed by politicization of Pirate Parrot.
Sadly, the best line was not in that article: “Neither I, nor the Parrot, were promoting any candidate".
posted by dirigibleman at 10:30 PM on March 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
Sadly, the best line was not in that article: “Neither I, nor the Parrot, were promoting any candidate".
posted by dirigibleman at 10:30 PM on March 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
That line is being *relentlessly* dragged on Pirates Twitter.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:32 PM on March 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Chrysostom at 10:32 PM on March 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
I love how surprising this is North Korea meeting is when Trump heavily hinted at it a week ago.
Anyone else have the feeling that Pres. Moon is using Trump's obliviousness and DGAF to just kinda bypass US Dep't of State / Intelligence Community and get this done? The way it was announced, as a surprise, at the White House, by the South Korean officials... like they wanted to get it out there live before someone could shut the whole thing down.
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 12:18 AM on March 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
Anyone else have the feeling that Pres. Moon is using Trump's obliviousness and DGAF to just kinda bypass US Dep't of State / Intelligence Community and get this done? The way it was announced, as a surprise, at the White House, by the South Korean officials... like they wanted to get it out there live before someone could shut the whole thing down.
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 12:18 AM on March 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
I love how surprising this is North Korea meeting is when Trump heavily hinted at it a week ago.
What is so weird about the whole thing is that the Korean media is reporting on last weekend's North/South dialog and saying that North Korea has already agreed to disarm.
posted by Literaryhero at 12:56 AM on March 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
What is so weird about the whole thing is that the Korean media is reporting on last weekend's North/South dialog and saying that North Korea has already agreed to disarm.
posted by Literaryhero at 12:56 AM on March 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
The Economist: "Proceed with caution: Donald Trump’s gift for Kim Jong Un. A premature summit will do more for the North Korean leader than for America’s president".
"Mr Trump no doubt believes that it is his toughness alone that has brought Mr Kim to the negotiating table and that, once there, his unique force of personality and his genius for the deal will bully and coax Mr Kim into giving up his nukes.posted by amf at 1:41 AM on March 10, 2018 [15 favorites]
In fact hell will freeze over before Mr Kim voluntarily surrenders a capability that his father and grandfather believed would be the ultimate guarantor of their dynasty’s survival and which has taken decades and huge sacrifices to construct.
Tightening sanctions and loose talk in Washington of a bloody-nose strike on his nuclear facilities may indeed have persuaded Mr Kim that this was a good moment to strike up a dialogue. But he will also believe that it is only because he is very close to having nuclear-armed missiles which can hit the United States that Mr Trump is so keen to meet him.
In other words, it is his nukes that demand respect. They have created the conditions for him to be treated by an American president as an equal rather than as an awkward pariah."
Second excerpt of the new book by Mother Jones' David Corn and Michael Isikoff is posted:
“Why the Hell Are We Standing Down?”The secret story of Obama’s response to Putin’s attack on the 2016 election.
posted by OnceUponATime at 4:56 AM on March 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
“Why the Hell Are We Standing Down?”The secret story of Obama’s response to Putin’s attack on the 2016 election.
At this point, Obama’s top national security officials were uncertain how to respond. As they would later explain it, any steps they might take-calling out the Russians, imposing sanctions, raising alarms about the penetrations of state systems—could draw greater attention to the issue and maybe even help cause the disorder the Kremlin sought. A high‑profile U.S. government reaction, they worried, could amplify the psychological effects of the Russian attack and help Moscow achieve its end.(Both of these reporters were mentioned in the Nunes memo as people Steele talked to and, according to Republicans, should not have. But a lot of people seem to talk to them, based on the depth of information in these excerpts!)
posted by OnceUponATime at 4:56 AM on March 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
Stormy Daniels's attorney is claiming Michael Cohen isn't licensed to practice in CA, which is where the arbitration was filed. These people. There's just no bottom.
So, going further down this rabbit hole.... Essential Consultants LLC is not registered to do business in CA. But EC LLC (the entity that got the restraining order), is a Delaware entity that registered to do business in California in Jan 2017 as an alternate name for Enterprise Court LLC [you can view the docs using CA's business entity search]. That LLC was formed in Delaware in Dec 2016 using a registered agent service, but that's where the online paper trail ends. What is Cohen's relationship to EC LLC? And how does that entity have standing in the case? The registered agent for EC LLC in California is George Mayer, the founder of a property management company called Coastline Equity - how is he connected to all this? (And why has no one reported on this? Am I just way off base here??)
posted by melissasaurus at 4:59 AM on March 10, 2018 [13 favorites]
So, going further down this rabbit hole.... Essential Consultants LLC is not registered to do business in CA. But EC LLC (the entity that got the restraining order), is a Delaware entity that registered to do business in California in Jan 2017 as an alternate name for Enterprise Court LLC [you can view the docs using CA's business entity search]. That LLC was formed in Delaware in Dec 2016 using a registered agent service, but that's where the online paper trail ends. What is Cohen's relationship to EC LLC? And how does that entity have standing in the case? The registered agent for EC LLC in California is George Mayer, the founder of a property management company called Coastline Equity - how is he connected to all this? (And why has no one reported on this? Am I just way off base here??)
posted by melissasaurus at 4:59 AM on March 10, 2018 [13 favorites]
Here's some datapoints to support the claim against Cohen: he's not listed in the CA Bar Association website & his entry in Martindale-Hubbell, the national lawyer database, only lists him as licensed in NY. And CA Bar Rule Rule 5.5 (Unauthorized Practice of Law; Multi-jurisdictional Practice of Law) says that's not enough to practice law in CA. IANAL but he might be in some trouble over this.
posted by scalefree at 5:26 AM on March 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 5:26 AM on March 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
This really sounds like someone was trying to make sure that nobody is technically breaking the law if a protectee goes to vote and the Secret Service is doing their jobs at the time. Fixing the language to make damn sure it's not used to tamper with elections is important, but this doesn't seem to me like the start of a voter suppression plot.
I don't feel there's any reason for a protectee to go to a polling place other than a photo op, when they can just use an absentee ballot.
posted by mikelieman at 5:31 AM on March 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
I don't feel there's any reason for a protectee to go to a polling place other than a photo op, when they can just use an absentee ballot.
posted by mikelieman at 5:31 AM on March 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
So, going further down this rabbit hole.... Essential Consultants LLC is not registered to do business in CA. But EC LLC (the entity that got the restraining order), is a Delaware entity that registered to do business in California
I feel this is simply Michael Cohen's stupidity/laziness/privilege. He never considered that there was a reason that entities have names for reasons, and just initialed it. FWIW, the official spelling of MY LLC ends in L.L.C. for reasons of my own. ( I'm a dork )
posted by mikelieman at 5:35 AM on March 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
I feel this is simply Michael Cohen's stupidity/laziness/privilege. He never considered that there was a reason that entities have names for reasons, and just initialed it. FWIW, the official spelling of MY LLC ends in L.L.C. for reasons of my own. ( I'm a dork )
posted by mikelieman at 5:35 AM on March 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
I understand that non-citizens don't have constitutional rights,
The problem to solve here isn't the definition of the rights they have.
The problem to respond to here is the fact that so, so very many people both implicitly and explicitly believe that non-citizens don't have rights (and/or aren't human).
posted by Dashy at 5:37 AM on March 10, 2018 [15 favorites]
The problem to solve here isn't the definition of the rights they have.
The problem to respond to here is the fact that so, so very many people both implicitly and explicitly believe that non-citizens don't have rights (and/or aren't human).
posted by Dashy at 5:37 AM on March 10, 2018 [15 favorites]
hus Sessions' ridiculous and unpopular war on weed, which will be enforced selectively against blue states and nonwhites. I would not be surprised if Sessions gets a hold of dispensary records in blue states and tries to disenfranchise all of them in bulk right before the 2018 elections.
If you want to feel reassured, the blue states are not going to meekly comply. Sessions came to California, he threatened, California laughed in his face. Blue states are the economic powerhouses and account for much of the US tax revenue - the rest of the US needs California and other blue states more than we need them, and the blue states know it.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 5:54 AM on March 10, 2018 [18 favorites]
If you want to feel reassured, the blue states are not going to meekly comply. Sessions came to California, he threatened, California laughed in his face. Blue states are the economic powerhouses and account for much of the US tax revenue - the rest of the US needs California and other blue states more than we need them, and the blue states know it.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 5:54 AM on March 10, 2018 [18 favorites]
"Not human" is unreachable, but "don't have rights" can be untaught.
As I've mentioned before, a lot of people maintain it all in their minds by assuming that citizenship itself can't possibly be too difficult to obtain. Part of that is extrapolation from their own dealings with bureaucracy ("It took agonizing months but I finally had a passport / paid my taxes / got a fishing license, so I know that red tape can always be overcome"). Part of it is assumptions of base-level fairness (not dissimilar to the assumptions that if politicians do something especially destructive or unconstitutional, "somebody" would intervene). Either way, it's assumed that noncitizens are just being stubborn or something. So if they have almost zero rights, and they want some rights, they should just "get in the back of the line" for them.
Once people are informed on the fundamental near-impossibility of legal status in some cases, they might reveal whether those beliefs were just a cover for basic xenophobia, which of course they often are.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 5:55 AM on March 10, 2018 [10 favorites]
As I've mentioned before, a lot of people maintain it all in their minds by assuming that citizenship itself can't possibly be too difficult to obtain. Part of that is extrapolation from their own dealings with bureaucracy ("It took agonizing months but I finally had a passport / paid my taxes / got a fishing license, so I know that red tape can always be overcome"). Part of it is assumptions of base-level fairness (not dissimilar to the assumptions that if politicians do something especially destructive or unconstitutional, "somebody" would intervene). Either way, it's assumed that noncitizens are just being stubborn or something. So if they have almost zero rights, and they want some rights, they should just "get in the back of the line" for them.
Once people are informed on the fundamental near-impossibility of legal status in some cases, they might reveal whether those beliefs were just a cover for basic xenophobia, which of course they often are.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 5:55 AM on March 10, 2018 [10 favorites]
Some thoughts in no particular order:
-You don't have to be licensed in the state to represent a client at an arb - it's not court. You do have to register with the Bar -- but the actual determination is actually made by the arbitration company, not the bar and it does not appear to be something that would show up in attorney search. And for all I know, ADR, Inc. might let you register at the same time as making an emergency application for a TRO. It's not discussed in their rules (at least the ones floating around the web).
- We haven't seen the emergency application by EC, LLC -- so we don't know if there's local counsel. Although Daniels' lawyer presumably has.
-The nuts and bolts of the LLC stuff isn't being fully reported because it makes most people's eyes glaze over. That there are two 'EC LLCs' out of Delaware involved is....weird. Having a registered agent in a state for service of process in a remote state is not. That it's someone with an equity/property company instead of a local law firm or one of the registered agent services is a bit unusual maybe.
-The two LLCs -- it's been previously speculated that there may have been a series of shell LLCs set up to handle additional payoffs. Off the top of my head, maybe their signature laziness and sloppiness saw them using form documents that refer to EC, LLC for convenience, creating multiple LLCs with the same initials, then bungling the foreign registration.
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:00 AM on March 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
-You don't have to be licensed in the state to represent a client at an arb - it's not court. You do have to register with the Bar -- but the actual determination is actually made by the arbitration company, not the bar and it does not appear to be something that would show up in attorney search. And for all I know, ADR, Inc. might let you register at the same time as making an emergency application for a TRO. It's not discussed in their rules (at least the ones floating around the web).
- We haven't seen the emergency application by EC, LLC -- so we don't know if there's local counsel. Although Daniels' lawyer presumably has.
-The nuts and bolts of the LLC stuff isn't being fully reported because it makes most people's eyes glaze over. That there are two 'EC LLCs' out of Delaware involved is....weird. Having a registered agent in a state for service of process in a remote state is not. That it's someone with an equity/property company instead of a local law firm or one of the registered agent services is a bit unusual maybe.
-The two LLCs -- it's been previously speculated that there may have been a series of shell LLCs set up to handle additional payoffs. Off the top of my head, maybe their signature laziness and sloppiness saw them using form documents that refer to EC, LLC for convenience, creating multiple LLCs with the same initials, then bungling the foreign registration.
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:00 AM on March 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
This is old news (lo these many Scaramuccis ago), but I had somehow missed it until yesterday, so:
SPECIAL ELECTIONS NEWS
(ragtag edition, with apologies to Chrysostom)
posted by ragtag at 6:04 AM on March 10, 2018 [18 favorites]
SPECIAL ELECTIONS NEWS
(ragtag edition, with apologies to Chrysostom)
- NYS is conducting special elections on April 24th to fill out a number of vacancies in the state assembly (including one in my district ♥) and, notably, two vacancies in the state senate.
- The state assembly holds a safe Democratic supermajority.
- The state senate, however, is Republican-controlled despite a minority, because of the IDC, a group of Democrats that caucus with the Republicans. There is an agreement between the Democrats and the IDC to reunify if both state senate seats up for this special election are won by Democrats. This would allow the Democrats to regain the trifecta they lost in 2014.
- The two vacant state senate districts are 32 (Bronx) and 37 (Westchester).
- District 32 is contested between Sepulveda (D), Delices (R), and Stewart-Martinez (I). The district is considered safe D. [The other candidates don't seem to have a web presence o__o]
- District 37 is contested between Mayer (D) and Killian (R). Killian ran and lost to Latimer (D) in 2016 (by an 11-point margin).
posted by ragtag at 6:04 AM on March 10, 2018 [18 favorites]
He never considered that there was a reason that entities have names for reasons, and just initialed it.
This seems likely, and another likely professional responsibility violation. I feel like that should void the TRO. I suppose that could be the underlying basis for calling it a "bogus arbitration proceeding" in Daniels' complaint.
posted by melissasaurus at 6:06 AM on March 10, 2018
This seems likely, and another likely professional responsibility violation. I feel like that should void the TRO. I suppose that could be the underlying basis for calling it a "bogus arbitration proceeding" in Daniels' complaint.
posted by melissasaurus at 6:06 AM on March 10, 2018
Something else that might not be clear to people is that ADR, Inc.'s "TRO" is not the same as a real judicial restraining order. ADR's toughest saction is basically ruling against you in the underlying matter.
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:12 AM on March 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:12 AM on March 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
And to be clear I think mikelieman’s explanation is probably the correct one, and the “Essential Courts/EC” LLC with the CA foreign registration is uninvolved.
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:27 AM on March 10, 2018
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:27 AM on March 10, 2018
Arrgh. Make that "Enterprise Courts/EC" -- Spectrum is having trouble in SoCal this morning and it's making it hard to preview and correct.
I suppose that could be the underlying basis for calling it a "bogus arbitration proceeding" in Daniels' complaint.
The complaint itself basically asserts the arb is bogus because the contract is void. Daniels' attorney's comments to the media emphasized lack of notice and opportunity to be heard on the arb app -- but of course this is in the nature of an ex parte order and we don't know what kind of service Cohen will claim was attempted. That is a potentially hazardous area for Cohen (or whoever filed the emergency arb application) given that they will have had to give a sworn declaration. Here's ADR's rule (at least as of mid 2017):
I'm hesitating to assign too much importance to the arbitrator referring to Essential Consultants, LLC as EC, LLC despite the existence of another EC, LLC, and issuing the arb order that way because it's entirely likely that in the arb app there was language like 'Essential Consultants, LLC (hereinafter "EC, LLC" or "EC"),' and you read them together. Plus that language exists in the settlement agreement/NDA that the arb order refers to. Also not sure it really matters unless/until they try to seek some judicial enforcement of the TRO, as opposed to a subsequent and better worded preliminary injunction, or arb award -- after all, ADR knows who it means.
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:51 AM on March 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
I suppose that could be the underlying basis for calling it a "bogus arbitration proceeding" in Daniels' complaint.
The complaint itself basically asserts the arb is bogus because the contract is void. Daniels' attorney's comments to the media emphasized lack of notice and opportunity to be heard on the arb app -- but of course this is in the nature of an ex parte order and we don't know what kind of service Cohen will claim was attempted. That is a potentially hazardous area for Cohen (or whoever filed the emergency arb application) given that they will have had to give a sworn declaration. Here's ADR's rule (at least as of mid 2017):
The notice must also be accompanied by a completed sworn declaration that includes one of the following: (a) that notice was given, including the date, time, manner, and name of the party informed, the relief sought, any response, and whether opposition is expected; (b) that the applicant in good faith attempted to informthe opposing party but was unable to do so, specifying the efforts made to inform the opposing party; or (c) that, for reasons specified, the applicant should not be required to inform the opposing party. I'm hesitating to assign too much importance to the arbitrator referring to Essential Consultants, LLC as EC, LLC despite the existence of another EC, LLC, and issuing the arb order that way because it's entirely likely that in the arb app there was language like 'Essential Consultants, LLC (hereinafter "EC, LLC" or "EC"),' and you read them together. Plus that language exists in the settlement agreement/NDA that the arb order refers to. Also not sure it really matters unless/until they try to seek some judicial enforcement of the TRO, as opposed to a subsequent and better worded preliminary injunction, or arb award -- after all, ADR knows who it means.
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:51 AM on March 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
Trump-Kim Meeting Could Have Negative Implications for Iranian Nuclear Deal, Officials Say (Laurence Norman | WSJ)
posted by Barack Spinoza at 7:00 AM on March 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
The planned meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by May will make it more likely the administration will kill the Iranian nuclear agreement, some current and former western officials said.I’m sure Trump carefully weighed the possibility of such unintended (?) consequences.
The Kim meeting could come within days of Mr. Trump’s May 12 deadline for deciding whether to extend U.S. sanctions waivers on Iran. The president has repeatedly attacked the Iran agreement and warned he may refuse to sign the waivers, a step that would likely breach the agreement’s terms and could see Iran revive key nuclear work.
People involved in the Iran deal have long said its fate could weigh heavily on diplomacy with Pyongyang. They argued that abandoning the 2015 Iranian accord will lead Mr. Kim to conclude that security guarantees he will almost certainly seek from the U.S. in exchange for scaling back his nuclear program can’t be relied on.
Now, some of the same voices said they fear the opposite will happen. With the diplomatic window suddenly opening with North Korea, it could persuade Mr. Trump that killing the Iran deal could strengthen his hand with Mr. Kim.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 7:00 AM on March 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
I wonder what Michael Cohen's wife, Laura, thinks of him using their HELOC--a valuable marital asset--to pay off Stormy Daniels with, as he would have us believe, no expectation of being reimbursed. I've never had a HELOC. If the collateral is in both their names, I presume she would have had to sign the original application, but would she also have had to sign off on drawing down this chunk?
posted by carmicha at 7:01 AM on March 10, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by carmicha at 7:01 AM on March 10, 2018 [12 favorites]
If the collateral is in both their names, I presume she would have had to sign the original application, but would she also have had to sign off on drawing down this chunk?
Yes to the former (unless it's his separate property), probably no to the latter. My Dad never needed my Mom's permission to draw on their HELOC in down months, much to her consternation. (However we did record those draws as short term loans to the firm by the household.) No one believes this no reimbursement bullshit. If direct repayment became too dangerous it was going to come back in later favors and lump sum invoices for services rendered. Nothing particularly new there, that's how Roy Cohn did business with the Trump family. (And this Cohen would do well to consider how that Cohn wound up.)
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:06 AM on March 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
Yes to the former (unless it's his separate property), probably no to the latter. My Dad never needed my Mom's permission to draw on their HELOC in down months, much to her consternation. (However we did record those draws as short term loans to the firm by the household.) No one believes this no reimbursement bullshit. If direct repayment became too dangerous it was going to come back in later favors and lump sum invoices for services rendered. Nothing particularly new there, that's how Roy Cohn did business with the Trump family. (And this Cohen would do well to consider how that Cohn wound up.)
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:06 AM on March 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
Trade Is An Identity Issue, And Trump Knows It
posted by octothorpe at 7:09 AM on March 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by octothorpe at 7:09 AM on March 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
snuffleupagus, I’m enjoying these breakdowns of things even though it’s making my head spin. It’s also a reminder that there’s a reason you want a lawyer if you’re facing a court proceeding of any real consequence. Things that may seem cut and dry can get picked apart by people who do this stuff for a living. Trump thought his NDAs have been cut and dry. Now we may get to see how they hold up.
posted by azpenguin at 7:36 AM on March 10, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by azpenguin at 7:36 AM on March 10, 2018 [8 favorites]
I’m enjoying these breakdowns of things even though it’s making my head spin
Glad it helps! This is honestly all a little exotic for me -- the little corner of professional liability and business law I'm used to gives me some familiarity with the procedures and some of the underlying issues w/the NDA, but the matters I handle tend be a lot more cut and dried than this mess. (The most unprofessional thing I've dealt with personally so far is probably an attorney going completely AWOL at the end of a case he was about to lose.)
There are more experienced attorneys hanging around here that could probably offer more insight into probable outcomes -- but they're also busier so you get my musings. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:56 AM on March 10, 2018 [25 favorites]
Glad it helps! This is honestly all a little exotic for me -- the little corner of professional liability and business law I'm used to gives me some familiarity with the procedures and some of the underlying issues w/the NDA, but the matters I handle tend be a lot more cut and dried than this mess. (The most unprofessional thing I've dealt with personally so far is probably an attorney going completely AWOL at the end of a case he was about to lose.)
There are more experienced attorneys hanging around here that could probably offer more insight into probable outcomes -- but they're also busier so you get my musings. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:56 AM on March 10, 2018 [25 favorites]
Thanks for the preview of next week's Sarah Huckabee Sanders talking points. Can't wait.
Putin: Jews might have been behind U.S. Election interference
In an interview with NBC News broadcast Friday, the Russian president stated that he "could not care less" about indictments issued by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller accusing Russian nationals and companies of election interference, stating that "they do not represent the interests of the Russian state" and are unrelated to the Kremlin.
"Maybe they're not even Russians," said Putin. "Maybe they're Ukrainians, Tatars, Jews, just with Russian citizenship, even that needs to be checked."
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:02 AM on March 10, 2018 [36 favorites]
Putin: Jews might have been behind U.S. Election interference
In an interview with NBC News broadcast Friday, the Russian president stated that he "could not care less" about indictments issued by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller accusing Russian nationals and companies of election interference, stating that "they do not represent the interests of the Russian state" and are unrelated to the Kremlin.
"Maybe they're not even Russians," said Putin. "Maybe they're Ukrainians, Tatars, Jews, just with Russian citizenship, even that needs to be checked."
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:02 AM on March 10, 2018 [36 favorites]
Trump thought his NDAs have been cut and dry. Now we may get to see how they hold up.
Oh please please please let there be consequences to this fuckery, and let those consequences be that anyone who ever signed an NDA with Trump is now released and can tell the world everything
posted by schadenfrau at 8:03 AM on March 10, 2018 [39 favorites]
Oh please please please let there be consequences to this fuckery, and let those consequences be that anyone who ever signed an NDA with Trump is now released and can tell the world everything
posted by schadenfrau at 8:03 AM on March 10, 2018 [39 favorites]
Thanks for mentioning that NY Senate stuff, ragtag. This could be a big deal - a lot of progressive legislation has been bottled up by these turncoats.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:13 AM on March 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 8:13 AM on March 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
"Maybe they're not even Russians," said Putin. "Maybe they're Ukrainians, Tatars, Jews, just with Russian citizenship, even that needs to be checked."
This is a head of a sovereign state announcing that many citizens of his state are not true citizens, because of their heritage or religion. This is not a good thing. It's not a good thing when Putin does it, it wasn't a good thing when Hitler did it, and it's not a good thing when Trump does it.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:51 AM on March 10, 2018 [118 favorites]
This is a head of a sovereign state announcing that many citizens of his state are not true citizens, because of their heritage or religion. This is not a good thing. It's not a good thing when Putin does it, it wasn't a good thing when Hitler did it, and it's not a good thing when Trump does it.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:51 AM on March 10, 2018 [118 favorites]
“The last time Obama was too timid, the Republicans roared. His party can’t afford to see Obama make that same mistake once again.”
If we look forward-not-backward, does Obama have a leadership role to play right now? Do (we) Dems need him to stir up some midterm energy, or nah?
posted by GrammarMoses at 9:08 AM on March 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
If we look forward-not-backward, does Obama have a leadership role to play right now? Do (we) Dems need him to stir up some midterm energy, or nah?
posted by GrammarMoses at 9:08 AM on March 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
does Obama have a leadership role to play right now
Let the man be retired and do what he wants. Remember, we are the cavalry we've been waiting for.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 9:14 AM on March 10, 2018 [45 favorites]
Let the man be retired and do what he wants. Remember, we are the cavalry we've been waiting for.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 9:14 AM on March 10, 2018 [45 favorites]
Say what you will about Putin, but the guy knows how to throw an American-style bomb.
posted by rhizome at 9:23 AM on March 10, 2018
posted by rhizome at 9:23 AM on March 10, 2018
And does "President Trump" mean we throw out all traditions and it's now desirable for ex-presidents to talk shit about the current one? I'm not going to give him that power.
posted by rhizome at 9:24 AM on March 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by rhizome at 9:24 AM on March 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
Let the man be retired and do what he wants.
President Obama has the right to relax and enjoy his retirement, and I have the right to criticize him for seeking and achieving such power and influence, only to seemingly abandon it at the time of greatest need. He’s the hero we need. Whether we deserve him is, at this point, academic.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:27 AM on March 10, 2018 [16 favorites]
President Obama has the right to relax and enjoy his retirement, and I have the right to criticize him for seeking and achieving such power and influence, only to seemingly abandon it at the time of greatest need. He’s the hero we need. Whether we deserve him is, at this point, academic.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:27 AM on March 10, 2018 [16 favorites]
NYT: Obama's in negotiation with Netflix on some kind of civic-oriented project.
Former President Barack Obama is in advanced negotiations with Netflix to produce a series of high-profile shows that will provide him a global platform after his departure from the White House, according to people familiar with the discussions.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:35 AM on March 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
Former President Barack Obama is in advanced negotiations with Netflix to produce a series of high-profile shows that will provide him a global platform after his departure from the White House, according to people familiar with the discussions.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:35 AM on March 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
rhizome: "And does "President Trump" mean we throw out all traditions and it's now desirable for ex-presidents to talk shit about the current one? I'm not going to give him that power."
This is a pretty late developing "tradition" that mostly arose because most of the latter 20th century presidents either died in office or shortly thereafter or were succeeded by members of their own party. Looking earlier, Hoover was a vocal critic of FDR, TR strongly opposed Taft, etc.
Selling out the way Bush 41 did is bad. Devoting your life to service like Carter is awesome. But I see no issue with remaining politically active in the post-presidency, if you want to.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:52 AM on March 10, 2018 [14 favorites]
This is a pretty late developing "tradition" that mostly arose because most of the latter 20th century presidents either died in office or shortly thereafter or were succeeded by members of their own party. Looking earlier, Hoover was a vocal critic of FDR, TR strongly opposed Taft, etc.
Selling out the way Bush 41 did is bad. Devoting your life to service like Carter is awesome. But I see no issue with remaining politically active in the post-presidency, if you want to.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:52 AM on March 10, 2018 [14 favorites]
Let the man be retired and do what he wants. Remember, we are the cavalry we've been waiting for.
Since when has a former POTUS just retired and done nothing?
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 9:57 AM on March 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
Since when has a former POTUS just retired and done nothing?
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 9:57 AM on March 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
Bush 43 has laid pretty low.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:00 AM on March 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 10:00 AM on March 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
Bush 43 has laid pretty low.
And we thank him for that service to his country.
posted by scalefree at 10:04 AM on March 10, 2018 [77 favorites]
And we thank him for that service to his country.
posted by scalefree at 10:04 AM on March 10, 2018 [77 favorites]
Barack Obama is not doing nothing. He's running the Obama Foundation, for one thing.
I'm of two minds. There's no doubt that Obama is not viewed as just another ex-president by the opposition. He's the devil incarnate, and he inflames right wingers in a manner comparable only to Hillary Clinton. Is it a good or bad thing to have him taking a leadership position in the left? I don't know, but I do know that we definitely need to stop trying to find a singular hero. Those people come along once in a generation. We are the ones we've been waiting for.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:05 AM on March 10, 2018 [23 favorites]
I'm of two minds. There's no doubt that Obama is not viewed as just another ex-president by the opposition. He's the devil incarnate, and he inflames right wingers in a manner comparable only to Hillary Clinton. Is it a good or bad thing to have him taking a leadership position in the left? I don't know, but I do know that we definitely need to stop trying to find a singular hero. Those people come along once in a generation. We are the ones we've been waiting for.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:05 AM on March 10, 2018 [23 favorites]
Since when has a former POTUS just retired and done nothing?
This has been the pattern for most 20th century former Presidents. Only real exceptions are Carter and Clinton. But to be fair, JFK died, LBJ died basically immediately after leaving office, Nixon was disgraced, Ford was a big dummy, Reagan was senile. HW Bush got up to a thing or two but it was mostly getting himself nice and rich, W. was disgraced (paints). And only Clinton has been "political" in the traditional sense. Carter has restricted himself to philanthropic and humanitarian efforts.
posted by dis_integration at 10:05 AM on March 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
This has been the pattern for most 20th century former Presidents. Only real exceptions are Carter and Clinton. But to be fair, JFK died, LBJ died basically immediately after leaving office, Nixon was disgraced, Ford was a big dummy, Reagan was senile. HW Bush got up to a thing or two but it was mostly getting himself nice and rich, W. was disgraced (paints). And only Clinton has been "political" in the traditional sense. Carter has restricted himself to philanthropic and humanitarian efforts.
posted by dis_integration at 10:05 AM on March 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
Personally, I would love Obama pulling a John Quincy Adams and returning to Congress, but that's just as a political trivia guy.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:10 AM on March 10, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 10:10 AM on March 10, 2018 [11 favorites]
All he really needs to do is win an Emmy.
posted by mochapickle at 10:23 AM on March 10, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 10:23 AM on March 10, 2018 [21 favorites]
Personally, I would love Obama pulling a John Quincy Adams and returning to Congress, but that's just as a political trivia guy.
I wanted Clinton to put him on the Supreme Court. Now I'm holding out hope he'll return to the presidency as the first under the new Constitution.
posted by gerryblog at 10:26 AM on March 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
I wanted Clinton to put him on the Supreme Court. Now I'm holding out hope he'll return to the presidency as the first under the new Constitution.
posted by gerryblog at 10:26 AM on March 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
Metafilter Politics Thread: Trump is a disaster....Thanks Obama
Sincerely,
the circular firing squad
posted by Anchorite_of_Palgrave at 10:28 AM on March 10, 2018 [50 favorites]
Sincerely,
the circular firing squad
posted by Anchorite_of_Palgrave at 10:28 AM on March 10, 2018 [50 favorites]
soren_lorensen: There's no doubt that Obama is not viewed as just another ex-president by the opposition. He's the devil incarnate, and he inflames right wingers in a manner comparable only to Hillary Clinton. Is it a good or bad thing to have him taking a leadership position in the left? I don't know, but I do know that we definitely need to stop trying to find a singular hero. Those people come along once in a generation. We are the ones we've been waiting for.
I agree with both your points. Obama's very election tapped into a great big vein of ugliness running through much of the American population. The right-wingers went NUTS, and, unfortunately, a visible Obama leadership as ex-president will just serve to inflame the opposition even if it inspires us. It seems he's in a damned-if-he-does-and-damned-if-he-doesn't position. (And Obama might just be exhausted and demoralized after battling the Party of No, hearing that he wasn't an American citizen, etc. for eight years. Maybe he just can't with the limelight for right now.)
We are the ones we've been waiting for. Charismatic heroes and heroines might inspire, but it takes the participation of ordinary people to really get the job done. That goes for Civil Rights, feminism, #MeToo, LGBT rights, in fact every social justice movement one can think of. It's not healthy in many ways to look for heroes to do our jobs.
Depending on heroes can be toxic - for instance, the women that got thrown under the bus because we "couldn't afford to lose" Bill Clinton. And the idea of charismatic leadership disadvantages women: we are still reluctant to look for leadership potential beyond the people who self-nominate for the role — mostly by bullying and stepping on others. This is one of the principal reasons for the low representation of female leaders in senior political or corporate roles (Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Harvard Business Review).
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 10:29 AM on March 10, 2018 [45 favorites]
I agree with both your points. Obama's very election tapped into a great big vein of ugliness running through much of the American population. The right-wingers went NUTS, and, unfortunately, a visible Obama leadership as ex-president will just serve to inflame the opposition even if it inspires us. It seems he's in a damned-if-he-does-and-damned-if-he-doesn't position. (And Obama might just be exhausted and demoralized after battling the Party of No, hearing that he wasn't an American citizen, etc. for eight years. Maybe he just can't with the limelight for right now.)
We are the ones we've been waiting for. Charismatic heroes and heroines might inspire, but it takes the participation of ordinary people to really get the job done. That goes for Civil Rights, feminism, #MeToo, LGBT rights, in fact every social justice movement one can think of. It's not healthy in many ways to look for heroes to do our jobs.
Depending on heroes can be toxic - for instance, the women that got thrown under the bus because we "couldn't afford to lose" Bill Clinton. And the idea of charismatic leadership disadvantages women: we are still reluctant to look for leadership potential beyond the people who self-nominate for the role — mostly by bullying and stepping on others. This is one of the principal reasons for the low representation of female leaders in senior political or corporate roles (Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Harvard Business Review).
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 10:29 AM on March 10, 2018 [45 favorites]
It's not like Trump is going to abide by the tradition of ex-presidents staying out of politics anyways.
posted by lumnar at 10:30 AM on March 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by lumnar at 10:30 AM on March 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
P.S: Anchorite of Palgrave: Metafilter Politics Thread: Trump is a disaster....Thanks Obama
I lol'd bitterly because it's so true. I couldn't blame Obama if he gave us all the finger, said "Fuck you, you ungrateful little shits, I am going to retire and live in a nice little beachfront house and enjoy my family and leisure and never appear in public again."
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 10:33 AM on March 10, 2018 [14 favorites]
I lol'd bitterly because it's so true. I couldn't blame Obama if he gave us all the finger, said "Fuck you, you ungrateful little shits, I am going to retire and live in a nice little beachfront house and enjoy my family and leisure and never appear in public again."
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 10:33 AM on March 10, 2018 [14 favorites]
Reminder: Nunberg was less than a Scaramucci ago
Nunberg is talking to the press again. Today he gave an interview to ABC's Good Morning America:
FLASHBACK .7 Scaramuccis ago (March 3) to MSNBC's Ari Melber: "If they're trying to build a case against Roger, I'm not going to be part of it. I'm not. Roger didn't do anything. Roger didn't do anything but get treated like crap by Donald Trump, the President."
FLASHBACK 2 Scaramuccis ago (February 22) to MSNBC's Ari Melber: "What I worry about is, what Michael [Cohen]’s going to say when he’s called in by somebody like Andrew Weissman about the payouts.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:04 AM on March 10, 2018 [25 favorites]
Nunberg is talking to the press again. Today he gave an interview to ABC's Good Morning America:
Five and a half hours after testifying before a grand jury in the Russia probe, a former political adviser to Donald Trump told ABC News exclusively that he believes the investigation is “warranted.”FLASHBACK .1 Scaramuccis ago (March 9) the Washington Post's Spencer Hsu: "Mueller prosecutors Andrew Weissmann and Brian Richardson entered the courthouse after 4 p.m., entered the chambers of Chief Judge Beryl Howell. Minutes later one went to the grand jury area, the other to the court clerk's office area for new filings. Only then did Nunberg leave [...] with his attorney Patrick Brackley. They were followed immediately by Weissmann, who exited in a separate direction. Whatever was filed, and whether it relates to Nunberg or another party, or will be made public, will have to wait for Monday. Stay tuned."
“No, I don't think it's a witch hunt. It's warranted because there's a lot there and that's the sad truth. [...] I'm very worried about [Roger Stone]. He's certainly at least the subject of this investigation, in the very least he's a subject.”[...]
It's unclear what exactly Nunberg testified about before the grand jury. He declined to publicly elaborate on what prosecutors wanted to know, saying he “got into enough trouble this week” already.[...]
“They said it was a media meltdown. I felt I melted down the media,” Nunberg said in an interview with ABC News on Friday. “I felt it was a good game… And if you want to know the truth it’s kind of therapeutic too.”
He did admit that the performance was partially due to the pressure of testifying in the special counsel’s probe.
“I wanted to show what this independent counsel, this independent investigation does to people like me,” Nunberg said. “I'm collateral damage in this independent special investigation.”[...]
Nunberg declined to say whether he’d be back in front of the special counsel’s attorneys or the grand jury. A source close to him said he is scheduled to testify five more times.
“Look I can't talk. I can't. I'm just not going to talk about it. Maybe, maybe yes, maybe no, I'll give you a Donald Trump answer,” he said. “We'll see.”
FLASHBACK .7 Scaramuccis ago (March 3) to MSNBC's Ari Melber: "If they're trying to build a case against Roger, I'm not going to be part of it. I'm not. Roger didn't do anything. Roger didn't do anything but get treated like crap by Donald Trump, the President."
FLASHBACK 2 Scaramuccis ago (February 22) to MSNBC's Ari Melber: "What I worry about is, what Michael [Cohen]’s going to say when he’s called in by somebody like Andrew Weissman about the payouts.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:04 AM on March 10, 2018 [25 favorites]
I repeat myself but, no one is coming to save us, we must save each other.
“We'll live together or we'll die alone“ and all that
posted by The Whelk at 11:09 AM on March 10, 2018 [22 favorites]
“We'll live together or we'll die alone“ and all that
posted by The Whelk at 11:09 AM on March 10, 2018 [22 favorites]
Rosie M. Banks: "I lol'd bitterly because it's so true. I couldn't blame Obama if he gave us all the finger, said "Fuck you, you ungrateful little shits, I am going to retire and live in a nice little beachfront house and enjoy my family and leisure and never appear in public again.""
We have to be able to talk honestly about the things that cause the rise of fascism. Appeasement doesn't work, even if our virtue asks us to do it. Obama's inability or unwillingness to directly address Republican duplicity was a problem that stemmed from his incredible, wonderful commitment to statemanship. Future leaders must treat Republicans as bad faith actors by default--this is dangerous and bad for our democracy, but the alternative is worse.
None of these things is a condemnation of Obama so much as an admission that our goodness makes us vulnerable. He wanted to see the best in McConnell, and the American people paid (and pay) for it. I think he was wrong (and I thought he was wrong at the time), but it's hard to blame him wanting to be the man that fixed the schism in this country rather than deepening it.
As always, hindsight is 20/20. I think Obama will go down in history as a tragic figure whose abilities fell incredibly short of his beautiful vision, but if things had gone differently, if Republican malfeasance wasn't so terribly ingrained, maybe right now we'd be talking about the new progressive America leading the way for the world. Ultimately the amount that you blame him depends on how real you think that vision ever was, I think.
posted by TypographicalError at 11:22 AM on March 10, 2018 [31 favorites]
We have to be able to talk honestly about the things that cause the rise of fascism. Appeasement doesn't work, even if our virtue asks us to do it. Obama's inability or unwillingness to directly address Republican duplicity was a problem that stemmed from his incredible, wonderful commitment to statemanship. Future leaders must treat Republicans as bad faith actors by default--this is dangerous and bad for our democracy, but the alternative is worse.
None of these things is a condemnation of Obama so much as an admission that our goodness makes us vulnerable. He wanted to see the best in McConnell, and the American people paid (and pay) for it. I think he was wrong (and I thought he was wrong at the time), but it's hard to blame him wanting to be the man that fixed the schism in this country rather than deepening it.
As always, hindsight is 20/20. I think Obama will go down in history as a tragic figure whose abilities fell incredibly short of his beautiful vision, but if things had gone differently, if Republican malfeasance wasn't so terribly ingrained, maybe right now we'd be talking about the new progressive America leading the way for the world. Ultimately the amount that you blame him depends on how real you think that vision ever was, I think.
posted by TypographicalError at 11:22 AM on March 10, 2018 [31 favorites]
I still don't understand the framing "Obama unwisely trusted McConnell" when the far more obvious conclusion to me is "Obama took that traitorous weasel at his word when he threatened to incite a civil war over 'election tampering.'"
posted by Freon at 11:25 AM on March 10, 2018 [50 favorites]
posted by Freon at 11:25 AM on March 10, 2018 [50 favorites]
s/Obama/the Democratic party for the last 40 years/g
posted by LarsC at 11:26 AM on March 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by LarsC at 11:26 AM on March 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
I repeat myself but, no one is coming to save us, we must save each other.
“We'll live together or we'll die alone“ and all that.
On this note, I've been thinking about this a lot like a lot of others, and one of those things I've been thinking about is strikes.
I would like to ask people to carefully consider the following - and I mean this without any kind of disaster porn or intent to instill fear at all.
Mentally or logistically preparing yourself, your life and your home for the general idea of a general strike, and what that might mean.
I'm not sure what that means, either, but I think it means a couple of things:
Networking locally and getting involved, be it being aware of union activities, local community groups and more. Libraries and food banks are sometimes good places to start for this. Also, Food Not Bombs, LGTBQA centers and more. Get active and aware beyond voting. Step outside of your class and comfort, too. If you're fairly well off, reach down. If you're not, reach up and sideways.
Thinking about food. Attempting to store food and non-perishables is almost always a good idea anyway, but thinking in terms of having a garden and some stores enables a lot of freedom to do things like participate in a general strike. I'm working out plans for my first own basic garden mainly because I'm craving fresh veggies a lot more, and I want the work. (And, apparently, the battle of wills with the local kale-fed deer.)
Thinking about work. Do you work somewhere not shitty that's politically favorable? Maybe you have an opportunity to talk about the idea of general strikes and exploring what that means with respect to your employers and to develop theoretical contingency plans. Work somewhere totally shitty and/or corporate? Maybe it's time to explore what that really means in the face of a constitutional crisis or coup.
Savings/rent/housing: Well, we're almost all up the creek, here. We can talk about how late stage capitalism makes it nearly impossible to save money or resources another time, but if possible, people should be looking to build some housing stability in the 1-3 month range whether it's through savings, discussions with independent landlords or being willing to risk and miss mortgage payments and make sticking it to the banks part of the general strike action. (No, seriously, if a significant fraction of the home owning population suddenly stopped paying mortgages at the same time? That would get their attention, fast.)
And last, spending some time mentally/physically preparing oneself for this kind of thing. It's not a happy thought. It's not a safe, easy thing to even think about doing.
Reviewing the history of striking and civil disobedience techniques may help. Mentally preparing oneself for using this dire tool may help.
And in an age of modern and highly asymmetrical warfare, corporate influence and the current state of affairs, it may end up being the only rational choice left to preserve democracy for the actual people, not just the few.
posted by loquacious at 11:40 AM on March 10, 2018 [27 favorites]
“We'll live together or we'll die alone“ and all that.
On this note, I've been thinking about this a lot like a lot of others, and one of those things I've been thinking about is strikes.
I would like to ask people to carefully consider the following - and I mean this without any kind of disaster porn or intent to instill fear at all.
Mentally or logistically preparing yourself, your life and your home for the general idea of a general strike, and what that might mean.
I'm not sure what that means, either, but I think it means a couple of things:
Networking locally and getting involved, be it being aware of union activities, local community groups and more. Libraries and food banks are sometimes good places to start for this. Also, Food Not Bombs, LGTBQA centers and more. Get active and aware beyond voting. Step outside of your class and comfort, too. If you're fairly well off, reach down. If you're not, reach up and sideways.
Thinking about food. Attempting to store food and non-perishables is almost always a good idea anyway, but thinking in terms of having a garden and some stores enables a lot of freedom to do things like participate in a general strike. I'm working out plans for my first own basic garden mainly because I'm craving fresh veggies a lot more, and I want the work. (And, apparently, the battle of wills with the local kale-fed deer.)
Thinking about work. Do you work somewhere not shitty that's politically favorable? Maybe you have an opportunity to talk about the idea of general strikes and exploring what that means with respect to your employers and to develop theoretical contingency plans. Work somewhere totally shitty and/or corporate? Maybe it's time to explore what that really means in the face of a constitutional crisis or coup.
Savings/rent/housing: Well, we're almost all up the creek, here. We can talk about how late stage capitalism makes it nearly impossible to save money or resources another time, but if possible, people should be looking to build some housing stability in the 1-3 month range whether it's through savings, discussions with independent landlords or being willing to risk and miss mortgage payments and make sticking it to the banks part of the general strike action. (No, seriously, if a significant fraction of the home owning population suddenly stopped paying mortgages at the same time? That would get their attention, fast.)
And last, spending some time mentally/physically preparing oneself for this kind of thing. It's not a happy thought. It's not a safe, easy thing to even think about doing.
Reviewing the history of striking and civil disobedience techniques may help. Mentally preparing oneself for using this dire tool may help.
And in an age of modern and highly asymmetrical warfare, corporate influence and the current state of affairs, it may end up being the only rational choice left to preserve democracy for the actual people, not just the few.
posted by loquacious at 11:40 AM on March 10, 2018 [27 favorites]
Planting seeds today. (Zone 4a)
posted by MtDewd at 12:02 PM on March 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by MtDewd at 12:02 PM on March 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
It's unclear what exactly Nunberg testified about before the grand jury. He declined to publicly elaborate on what prosecutors wanted to know, saying he “got into enough trouble this week” already.[...]
He's still shilling for Trump, because AFAIK you can talk about your grand jury testimony all you want.
posted by rhizome at 12:07 PM on March 10, 2018
He's still shilling for Trump, because AFAIK you can talk about your grand jury testimony all you want.
posted by rhizome at 12:07 PM on March 10, 2018
It's not like Trump is going to abide by the tradition of ex-presidents staying out of politics anyways.
He can follow Martin Luther King's example & write Letters From Federal Prison.
posted by scalefree at 12:10 PM on March 10, 2018 [8 favorites]
He can follow Martin Luther King's example & write Letters From Federal Prison.
posted by scalefree at 12:10 PM on March 10, 2018 [8 favorites]
He's still shilling for Trump, because AFAIK you can talk about your grand jury testimony all you want.
You can but you don't have to (and in many cases probably shouldn't). He almost certainly didn't mean he'd be in legal trouble if he spoke out only that maybe it was time to shut up and stop spinning out publicly. Nurnberg deserves all the shit that's rolling over him but "doesn't want to keep talking about the grand jury" doesn't even rate on the "shilling for Trump" scale.
In other news, I still don't understand people. Trump's approval rating etc is on the upswing again and may test his highs soon. He is the luckiest asshole on the planet; completely and utterly incompetent but handed the strongest economy in decades, not faced with any real crisis outside that of his own making, and supported by a solid base of ignorant diehards.
Like on the one hand we need his incompetence to be revealed even to the ignorant diehards, but on the other hand if that happens because of a major crisis we're all screwed. So... 🤷
posted by Justinian at 12:15 PM on March 10, 2018 [27 favorites]
You can but you don't have to (and in many cases probably shouldn't). He almost certainly didn't mean he'd be in legal trouble if he spoke out only that maybe it was time to shut up and stop spinning out publicly. Nurnberg deserves all the shit that's rolling over him but "doesn't want to keep talking about the grand jury" doesn't even rate on the "shilling for Trump" scale.
In other news, I still don't understand people. Trump's approval rating etc is on the upswing again and may test his highs soon. He is the luckiest asshole on the planet; completely and utterly incompetent but handed the strongest economy in decades, not faced with any real crisis outside that of his own making, and supported by a solid base of ignorant diehards.
Like on the one hand we need his incompetence to be revealed even to the ignorant diehards, but on the other hand if that happens because of a major crisis we're all screwed. So... 🤷
posted by Justinian at 12:15 PM on March 10, 2018 [27 favorites]
Justinian: I still don't understand people. Trump's approval rating etc is on the upswing again and may test his highs soon.
As I see it, changes to approval ratings are statistical noise unless they are extreme. What matters foremost is whether the rating is generally low or high. (His is very consistently low — remember, his people get excited about outlier, low-quality polls that maybe suggest 50%. It's just assumed by everybody that 50% is his absolute ceiling — I wouldn't be surprised if he said things like "So really, when you think about it, that's like 100%" or some such gobbledygook.). It also matters whether it has changed dramatically, and I'm not aware that happening any time in his whole term.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 12:25 PM on March 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
As I see it, changes to approval ratings are statistical noise unless they are extreme. What matters foremost is whether the rating is generally low or high. (His is very consistently low — remember, his people get excited about outlier, low-quality polls that maybe suggest 50%. It's just assumed by everybody that 50% is his absolute ceiling — I wouldn't be surprised if he said things like "So really, when you think about it, that's like 100%" or some such gobbledygook.). It also matters whether it has changed dramatically, and I'm not aware that happening any time in his whole term.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 12:25 PM on March 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
AYFKM? Out of Public View, Trumps and Kushners Are Talking Business
Jared Kushner’s family company recently began construction on an oceanfront development in this Jersey Shore city, a project that has the strong backing of local officials, who agreed to support it with $20 million in bonds.posted by zachlipton at 12:27 PM on March 10, 2018 [9 favorites]
But unknown to Long Branch officials, the Kushners have been in talks to team up with another family-run company that has an even bigger presence in the White House: the Trump Organization.
The Kushners are in private discussions to have President Trump’s company manage at least one hotel at the center of the development known as Pier Village, according to people briefed on the previously unreported talks. The Kushner Companies and the Trump Organization have signed a letter of intent, though no deal is final and the Kushners are not required to inform city officials.
...
Last year, in another previously unreported endeavor involving the two family businesses, the Trump Organization began managing a Kushner-owned hotel in Livingston, N.J., people briefed on the matter said. That property, the Westminster Hotel, is believed to be the only hotel that the Trumps manage but do not brand.
This article from upthread, about how Kellyann Conway is taking the lead on the administrations approach to the opioid crisis by looking at the Singaporean model and mandatory death sentences etc, should set off every alarm bell everywhere.
Kellyann Conway isn’t a policy expert. She’s a messaging expert. She’s there to defend the midterms and Trump’s re-election.
They’re going to roll out something deeply horrifying and manipulative wrt to drug policy ahead of the midterms. They’re going back to the old racist drug scare playbook, but, you know. More extreme.
I don’t know if it will work, politically. But people will probably suffer for it.
posted by schadenfrau at 12:33 PM on March 10, 2018 [29 favorites]
Kellyann Conway isn’t a policy expert. She’s a messaging expert. She’s there to defend the midterms and Trump’s re-election.
They’re going to roll out something deeply horrifying and manipulative wrt to drug policy ahead of the midterms. They’re going back to the old racist drug scare playbook, but, you know. More extreme.
I don’t know if it will work, politically. But people will probably suffer for it.
posted by schadenfrau at 12:33 PM on March 10, 2018 [29 favorites]
The GOP tried to celebrate Women’s History Month with an Instagram story about how many women he's appointed. This message of equal opportunity is rather undercut by a quarter of the women featured consist of Karen Pence, Melania Trump, and Ivanka Trump
posted by zachlipton at 12:47 PM on March 10, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:47 PM on March 10, 2018 [18 favorites]
David Smith in Teh Guardian 'Hollowed out' White House: Trump is on a dangerous path toward no advisers
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:00 PM on March 10, 2018 [54 favorites]
[…] The existing staff are stretched increasingly thin. Martha Joynt Kumar, director of the White House Transition Project, told the Associated Press: “You have situations where people are stretched to take on more than one job.”It's still hard to believe that this really is a real thing that is happening. At some point there won't be enough people to cover a whole host of basic jobs, like reminding their bosses to promote and/or hire staff. Natural attrition will mean that government departments are run by under-under-secretaries or whatever, without the authority to manage policy and coordinate with other departments. This isn't the sort of thing you get from normal government; it's usually the result of a revolution or civil war.
She offered the example of Johnny DeStefano, who oversees the White House offices of personnel, public liaison, political affairs and intergovernmental affairs. “Those are four positions that in most administrations are each headed by an assistant to the president or a deputy assistant,” Kumar said.
At first glance, the endless comings and goings appear to have little impact on ordinary Americans. But on another, personnel is policy. If tumbleweed is blowing through the West Wing, there are fewer voices to dissuade Trump from the view he expressed at the 2016 Republican national convention: “I alone can fix it.”
[…]
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:00 PM on March 10, 2018 [54 favorites]
This is really real too, not an outtake from Cabaret: Steve Bannon tells French far-right 'history is on our side'
As Bannon entered the hall to cheers and applause, the US flag was unfurled above the stage.posted by Joe in Australia at 1:17 PM on March 10, 2018 [28 favorites]
[…]
“Our dear President Trump said: ‘We’ve had enough of globalists’,” he told FN members.
“Today’s politics cannot be summed up by the left-right divide. During the 2008 financial crisis, the governments and banks looked after themselves above all, they saved themselves and not the people.”
[…]
“You fight for your country and they call you racist. But the days when those kind of insults work is over. The establishment media are the dogs of the system. Every day, we become stronger and they become weaker. Let them call you racists, xenophobes or whatever else, wear these like a medal.”
Dog whistle pretty much gone on the antisemitism I see.
posted by Artw at 1:19 PM on March 10, 2018 [34 favorites]
posted by Artw at 1:19 PM on March 10, 2018 [34 favorites]
Another exhibit in the ironies of our time: French fascists loving an American waving an American flag specifically because of how much they hate "internationalism".
As Alexandra Erin put it in a thread about the politics of trade policy, "Nationalism isn't founded out of an abhorrence to the idea of a global ruling elite, but rather out of being enthralled by the idea of one. The right one."
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:28 PM on March 10, 2018 [42 favorites]
As Alexandra Erin put it in a thread about the politics of trade policy, "Nationalism isn't founded out of an abhorrence to the idea of a global ruling elite, but rather out of being enthralled by the idea of one. The right one."
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:28 PM on March 10, 2018 [42 favorites]
And the supreme irony is that their hero, Donald Trump, dedicated his life to kissing the asses of many of the Global Elite (primarily, the non-Jewish, fossil-fueled and mob-connected) and still does, and when he deviates from their standards, it comes from the belief that he himself is the most elite of the Elite.
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:58 PM on March 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:58 PM on March 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
Obama's inability or unwillingness to directly address Republican duplicity was a problem that stemmed from his incredible, wonderful commitment to statemanship.
No, it was a problem that arose from America's racism. As a black man in a position of authority, he's wasn't allowed the luxury of righteous anger. In order to get where he was, he already had to ignore his rage and disgust and find a place of calm, because otherwise he would've been spewing disgust and rage every single day. If he had had the impulsive fury he's been blamed for lacking, he would never have made it past his first primary. Once elected he quickly learned, six months into his presidency, when his friend Skip Gates was wrongfully arrested by the white Sgt. James Crowley, that his condemnation of any white man could lead to a backlash where he would be humiliated. And doubtless the last thing he wanted was being made to publicly apologize to scum like Donald Trump. Because you are all tripping if you think that an overt accusation by Obama's White House would've ended any other way, after being instantly undermined by the Republican machine. And, considering what we already know about how Trump reacted to the tepid investigation that actually took place, who knows what would've happened if Obama had gone all-in and lost. And maybe Obama thought 8 years of having a target on his back, and Michelle, Sasha and Malia's backs, was long enough. It's frankly ridiculous for people to imply that Obama lacked courage and resolve.
We've seen since that the entire Republican establishment is willing to do anything, no matter how craven or outright treasonous, to maintain grip on power. Obama couldn't even get a hearing for his Supreme Court nominee, something clearly within his right. He couldn't even get the Republicans on board with their own health care plan. And people are still pretending he could've single handedly held back a tsunami of fascism spearheaded by kaiju Trump, and blaming him for not doing so.
posted by xigxag at 1:58 PM on March 10, 2018 [155 favorites]
No, it was a problem that arose from America's racism. As a black man in a position of authority, he's wasn't allowed the luxury of righteous anger. In order to get where he was, he already had to ignore his rage and disgust and find a place of calm, because otherwise he would've been spewing disgust and rage every single day. If he had had the impulsive fury he's been blamed for lacking, he would never have made it past his first primary. Once elected he quickly learned, six months into his presidency, when his friend Skip Gates was wrongfully arrested by the white Sgt. James Crowley, that his condemnation of any white man could lead to a backlash where he would be humiliated. And doubtless the last thing he wanted was being made to publicly apologize to scum like Donald Trump. Because you are all tripping if you think that an overt accusation by Obama's White House would've ended any other way, after being instantly undermined by the Republican machine. And, considering what we already know about how Trump reacted to the tepid investigation that actually took place, who knows what would've happened if Obama had gone all-in and lost. And maybe Obama thought 8 years of having a target on his back, and Michelle, Sasha and Malia's backs, was long enough. It's frankly ridiculous for people to imply that Obama lacked courage and resolve.
We've seen since that the entire Republican establishment is willing to do anything, no matter how craven or outright treasonous, to maintain grip on power. Obama couldn't even get a hearing for his Supreme Court nominee, something clearly within his right. He couldn't even get the Republicans on board with their own health care plan. And people are still pretending he could've single handedly held back a tsunami of fascism spearheaded by kaiju Trump, and blaming him for not doing so.
posted by xigxag at 1:58 PM on March 10, 2018 [155 favorites]
Coming back around to something from yesterday....
> I predicted a while ago they would manage to convince him to do the exact same thing they do every year and tell him it’s just for him. People already use period uniforms in the Veterans Day parade. Because if you’re a veteran you wear uniforms from your era of service.
I bet you're right; it's certainly the least damaging option. And the essay Barack Spinoza posted about Trump and the meeting with Kim Jong-Un makes essentially the same argument: that the staff allowed Trump to believe that something completely commonplace (namely, perennial invitations from DPRK for a leader-to-leader summit) was in fact special to him.
I'm sensing a pattern.
posted by Westringia F. at 2:03 PM on March 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
> I predicted a while ago they would manage to convince him to do the exact same thing they do every year and tell him it’s just for him. People already use period uniforms in the Veterans Day parade. Because if you’re a veteran you wear uniforms from your era of service.
I bet you're right; it's certainly the least damaging option. And the essay Barack Spinoza posted about Trump and the meeting with Kim Jong-Un makes essentially the same argument: that the staff allowed Trump to believe that something completely commonplace (namely, perennial invitations from DPRK for a leader-to-leader summit) was in fact special to him.
I'm sensing a pattern.
posted by Westringia F. at 2:03 PM on March 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
Side note, there was a protest against the Sackler family’s involvement in the opioid crisis in the Sackler Wing of the Met
posted by The Whelk at 2:07 PM on March 10, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 2:07 PM on March 10, 2018 [10 favorites]
As a black man in a position of authority, he's wasn't allowed the luxury of righteous anger.
See also: Jackie Robinson and Martin Luther King, Jr.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:17 PM on March 10, 2018 [14 favorites]
See also: Jackie Robinson and Martin Luther King, Jr.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:17 PM on March 10, 2018 [14 favorites]
They’re going to roll out something deeply horrifying and manipulative wrt to drug policy ahead of the midterms.
Rick Wilson: I asked a Singaporean one time to explain their system. He said: "You ever play D&D? Lawful Evil."
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 2:17 PM on March 10, 2018 [18 favorites]
Rick Wilson: I asked a Singaporean one time to explain their system. He said: "You ever play D&D? Lawful Evil."
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 2:17 PM on March 10, 2018 [18 favorites]
Rick Wilson, of course, prefers a Neutral Evil judicial system.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:20 PM on March 10, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:20 PM on March 10, 2018 [9 favorites]
If this is what conservatism has become, count me out, by Max Boot:
In the Orwellian language of the far right, someone who wants to combat Russian aggression is a “Russian propagandist,” whereas someone who echoes Russian propaganda is putting “America first.” . . .
Being conservative used to be central to my identity. But now, frankly, I don’t give a damn. I prefer to think of myself as a classical liberal, because “conservative” has become practically synonymous with “Trump lackey.”
Principled conservativism continues to exist, primarily at small journals of opinion, but it is increasingly disconnected from the stuff that thrills the masses. I remember as a high school student in the 1980s attending a lecture at UCLA by William F. Buckley Jr. I was dazzled by his erudition, wit and oratorical skill. Today, young conservatives flock to the boorish and racist performance art of Milo Yiannopoulos and Ann Coulter. The Conservative Political Action Conference couldn’t find room for critics of Trump, save for the brave and booed Mona Charen, but it did showcase French fascist scion Marion Maréchal-Le Pen.
posted by flug at 2:50 PM on March 10, 2018 [20 favorites]
In the Orwellian language of the far right, someone who wants to combat Russian aggression is a “Russian propagandist,” whereas someone who echoes Russian propaganda is putting “America first.” . . .
Being conservative used to be central to my identity. But now, frankly, I don’t give a damn. I prefer to think of myself as a classical liberal, because “conservative” has become practically synonymous with “Trump lackey.”
Principled conservativism continues to exist, primarily at small journals of opinion, but it is increasingly disconnected from the stuff that thrills the masses. I remember as a high school student in the 1980s attending a lecture at UCLA by William F. Buckley Jr. I was dazzled by his erudition, wit and oratorical skill. Today, young conservatives flock to the boorish and racist performance art of Milo Yiannopoulos and Ann Coulter. The Conservative Political Action Conference couldn’t find room for critics of Trump, save for the brave and booed Mona Charen, but it did showcase French fascist scion Marion Maréchal-Le Pen.
posted by flug at 2:50 PM on March 10, 2018 [20 favorites]
It seems that Trump's finally figured out that Mueller isn't just going to go away. He's talking to Emmet Flood (again)
Maggie Haberman, NYTimes Trump Talks With Clinton Impeachment Lawyer About Aiding in Mueller Response
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 3:02 PM on March 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
Maggie Haberman, NYTimes Trump Talks With Clinton Impeachment Lawyer About Aiding in Mueller Response
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 3:02 PM on March 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
It's still hard to believe that this really is a real thing that is happening. At some point there won't be enough people to cover a whole host of basic jobs, like reminding their bosses to promote and/or hire staff. Natural attrition will mean that government departments are run by under-under-secretaries or whatever, without the authority to manage policy and coordinate with other departments. This isn't the sort of thing you get from normal government; it's usually the result of a revolution or civil war.
This is already the case across many agencies, I posted at the bottom of the last thread about how the Social Security Administration is without a Commissioner, or Acting Commissioner, without anyone even nominated to any Senate confirmed position, and operating on bootstraped memos developed after 9/11 for what would happen in case of another terrorist attack. SSA employs 68,000 people and is probably the biggest public footprint of the federal government next to the military and post office.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:14 PM on March 10, 2018 [17 favorites]
This is already the case across many agencies, I posted at the bottom of the last thread about how the Social Security Administration is without a Commissioner, or Acting Commissioner, without anyone even nominated to any Senate confirmed position, and operating on bootstraped memos developed after 9/11 for what would happen in case of another terrorist attack. SSA employs 68,000 people and is probably the biggest public footprint of the federal government next to the military and post office.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:14 PM on March 10, 2018 [17 favorites]
Maggie Haberman, NYTimes Trump Talks With Clinton Impeachment Lawyer About Aiding in Mueller Response
OMG. Reading this, they go into all of his prior legal counsel, and I get the sense it's clear to everyone ( but Michael Cohen, it seems ) that it's clear to all of them that DJT is roadkill on the Robert S. Mueller III Highway to Justice, and they don't want to be anywhere nearby.
posted by mikelieman at 3:40 PM on March 10, 2018 [16 favorites]
OMG. Reading this, they go into all of his prior legal counsel, and I get the sense it's clear to everyone ( but Michael Cohen, it seems ) that it's clear to all of them that DJT is roadkill on the Robert S. Mueller III Highway to Justice, and they don't want to be anywhere nearby.
posted by mikelieman at 3:40 PM on March 10, 2018 [16 favorites]
DJT is roadkill on the Robert S. Mueller III Highway to Justice,
This is my most fervent hope and wish.
posted by bluesky43 at 3:54 PM on March 10, 2018 [46 favorites]
This is my most fervent hope and wish.
posted by bluesky43 at 3:54 PM on March 10, 2018 [46 favorites]
Pete Souza or maybe the Obama plus kids twitter account sent out a tweet today/yesterday that shows some gathering that looks a bit like a wedding reception, with seperate little tables. There are two kids plus Obama in the foreground of the picture. One of the kids is Zonked. Out. Like, head back, drool, just sleeping in his chair, oblivious to everything. His little friend is looking into the camera with a smile that is like four-year-old body language for "I'm in on the joke!"
And then you have Obama casually leaning over the sleeping, zonked-out kid and seriously pointing a finger at him.
In the background are a table of people of color, looking at what's going on and apparently laughing their fucking asses off at seeing the POTUS take a picture with Zonked Kid.
I've been thinking about this photo a lot today, because it's a little messed up. I mean, imagine you lived from age seven-on being that kid sleeping with his mouth hanging open as Obama seriously points to him. That's a little fucked up.
But it's like 1/100 fucked up, and that's what makes it funny, the fact that POTUS is being teasing with a sleeping child. But the sleeping kid is surrounded by his allies, I guess, including the kid by his side who looks like he will be narrating this moment for the rest of his life. And also, who wouldn't want to be that kid, even if you were drooling, your mouth hung open, as the leader of the free word fake-sternly pointed at you? That is COOL. That is AWESOME. That is fucking the story you tell the woman you want to impress on the first date.
That Obama was always, as far as I know, able to thread that needle, of being funny while also so empathetic, strikes me as part of the package that we're dealing with now, even though Obama is out of the picture. He was SO graceful. He was SO excellent in SO many things. Yes, I know, drones are horrible, but looking at in the context of the pantheon of POTUSes, man, he was good.
And now we have Trump, who I sort of doubt has produced a nobly-shaped poop. He is SO bad, SO irredeemable, and we as a nation chose this, I'd say POS, but going back to the earlier poop thing, there are literal pieces of shit I respect more than Trump.
Anyways, yeah, I'm sure Obama was problematic for a host of historical reasons, presidents, even the great ones, are, but for now I need my Obama night light and my Obama sleeping bag and my Obama wallpaper NO YOU CAN'T TAKE IT FROM ME I NEED IT
posted by angrycat at 3:56 PM on March 10, 2018 [58 favorites]
And then you have Obama casually leaning over the sleeping, zonked-out kid and seriously pointing a finger at him.
In the background are a table of people of color, looking at what's going on and apparently laughing their fucking asses off at seeing the POTUS take a picture with Zonked Kid.
I've been thinking about this photo a lot today, because it's a little messed up. I mean, imagine you lived from age seven-on being that kid sleeping with his mouth hanging open as Obama seriously points to him. That's a little fucked up.
But it's like 1/100 fucked up, and that's what makes it funny, the fact that POTUS is being teasing with a sleeping child. But the sleeping kid is surrounded by his allies, I guess, including the kid by his side who looks like he will be narrating this moment for the rest of his life. And also, who wouldn't want to be that kid, even if you were drooling, your mouth hung open, as the leader of the free word fake-sternly pointed at you? That is COOL. That is AWESOME. That is fucking the story you tell the woman you want to impress on the first date.
That Obama was always, as far as I know, able to thread that needle, of being funny while also so empathetic, strikes me as part of the package that we're dealing with now, even though Obama is out of the picture. He was SO graceful. He was SO excellent in SO many things. Yes, I know, drones are horrible, but looking at in the context of the pantheon of POTUSes, man, he was good.
And now we have Trump, who I sort of doubt has produced a nobly-shaped poop. He is SO bad, SO irredeemable, and we as a nation chose this, I'd say POS, but going back to the earlier poop thing, there are literal pieces of shit I respect more than Trump.
Anyways, yeah, I'm sure Obama was problematic for a host of historical reasons, presidents, even the great ones, are, but for now I need my Obama night light and my Obama sleeping bag and my Obama wallpaper NO YOU CAN'T TAKE IT FROM ME I NEED IT
posted by angrycat at 3:56 PM on March 10, 2018 [58 favorites]
And then you have Obama casually leaning over the sleeping, zonked-out kid and seriously pointing a finger at him.
It was a father's day event in 2013 and it's adorable.
posted by peeedro at 4:09 PM on March 10, 2018 [27 favorites]
It was a father's day event in 2013 and it's adorable.
posted by peeedro at 4:09 PM on March 10, 2018 [27 favorites]
Trump, or presumably Scavino since I think Trump was on stage at the time, just tweeted and deleted the word "Epic"
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by zachlipton at 4:11 PM on March 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by zachlipton at 4:11 PM on March 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
It was probably somebody on a bed who weighs a lot.
posted by contraption at 4:14 PM on March 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by contraption at 4:14 PM on March 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
I promise I'm not going to liveblog this, but good god this is just unhinged.
@seungminkim: Trump now pivots to @chucktodd, calls him "Sleepy eyes Chuck Todd .... sleeping son of a bitch"
posted by zachlipton at 4:17 PM on March 10, 2018 [14 favorites]
@seungminkim: Trump now pivots to @chucktodd, calls him "Sleepy eyes Chuck Todd .... sleeping son of a bitch"
posted by zachlipton at 4:17 PM on March 10, 2018 [14 favorites]
On Monday night, President Donald Trump welcomed Seb Gorka back into the White House.
posted by adamvasco at 4:25 PM on March 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by adamvasco at 4:25 PM on March 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
The Toronto Star's Washington correspondent Daniel Dale @ddale8 is live-tweeting the Trump rally. After a week of scandals erupting right and left, his enablers and aides falling by the wayside, and Mueller inexorably moving closer, he sounds like he has a lot of pent-up rage to uncork. He's already referred to D.C. as "evil" with a "lot of bad people there", "joked" about being president for life, and attacked Elizabeth Warren and Oprah.
Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy night.
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:27 PM on March 10, 2018 [13 favorites]
Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy night.
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:27 PM on March 10, 2018 [13 favorites]
Trump just tried to claim he won 52% of women. He won about 52% of white women.
That's awfully on the nose, even for him.
Insulting Maxine Waters intelligence was the next topic after this, in case there was any doubt.
posted by zachlipton at 4:34 PM on March 10, 2018 [36 favorites]
That's awfully on the nose, even for him.
Insulting Maxine Waters intelligence was the next topic after this, in case there was any doubt.
posted by zachlipton at 4:34 PM on March 10, 2018 [36 favorites]
As he did at the Gridiron dinner, going with racist bullhorn after Waters.
@ddale8
Trump calls Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters "a very low-IQ individual."
He repeats: "She's a low-IQ individual."
Likely uncoincidentally, Waters is Black.
posted by chris24 at 4:37 PM on March 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
@ddale8
Trump calls Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters "a very low-IQ individual."
He repeats: "She's a low-IQ individual."
Likely uncoincidentally, Waters is Black.
posted by chris24 at 4:37 PM on March 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
That Max Boot piece, in the part flug quotes, very unsurprisingly contrasts Trump's boorish racism with the "erudite" manner of (retches groaningly) William F Buckley. As a refresher, Buckley endorsed the entirety of Southern legal segregation based on some nonsense about whites being "for the time being, the advanced race". (His own brother-in-law L Brent Bozell Jr condemned it a while later, saying "This magazine has expressed views on the racial question that I consider dead wrong, and capable of doing great hurt to the promotion of conservative causes. There is a law involved, and a Constitution, and the editorial gives White Southerners leave to violate them both in order to keep the Negro politically impotent.")
So now I wonder, has any NeverTrumper correctly identified just how far back the rot goes? Or at least traced it to Reagan? I guess they'd have to be well and truly ex-Republican to make such a proclamation (is Jennifer Rubin there yet?).
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:49 PM on March 10, 2018 [42 favorites]
So now I wonder, has any NeverTrumper correctly identified just how far back the rot goes? Or at least traced it to Reagan? I guess they'd have to be well and truly ex-Republican to make such a proclamation (is Jennifer Rubin there yet?).
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:49 PM on March 10, 2018 [42 favorites]
Good lord he's just babbling out his perceived greatest hits again.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 5:15 PM on March 10, 2018
posted by fluttering hellfire at 5:15 PM on March 10, 2018
The Washington Post's Ashley Parker @AshleyRParker observes, "For those watching this Trump rally with... interest, many West Wing aides say this what to expect in the midterms: Trump, unleashed, traveling the country, 'campaigning' as he pleases."
And the New York Times' Maggie Haberman @maggieNYT adds, "+ a West Wing trying to figure out a) who will want him to come campaign for them given his negatives and b) where they can safely send him"
Daniel Dale, with admirable Canadian understatement, remarks, "Trump's current hingedness level is not extremely high."
Each time Trump says something so insane it seems important to quote here, he's moved on to even crazier statements before I finish typing. We haven't seen Trump like this since the last stretch of the 2016 campaign, and this is just a warm-up for the 2018 mid-terms and 2020 election.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:22 PM on March 10, 2018 [23 favorites]
And the New York Times' Maggie Haberman @maggieNYT adds, "+ a West Wing trying to figure out a) who will want him to come campaign for them given his negatives and b) where they can safely send him"
Daniel Dale, with admirable Canadian understatement, remarks, "Trump's current hingedness level is not extremely high."
Each time Trump says something so insane it seems important to quote here, he's moved on to even crazier statements before I finish typing. We haven't seen Trump like this since the last stretch of the 2016 campaign, and this is just a warm-up for the 2018 mid-terms and 2020 election.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:22 PM on March 10, 2018 [23 favorites]
Good. I hope he tanks Josh Hawley. I also hope that Postcards to Voters goes HAM for McCaskill.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 5:34 PM on March 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 5:34 PM on March 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
Bit of trivia re: the Max Boot piece: I remember as a high school student in the 1980s attending a lecture at UCLA by William F. Buckley Jr. I was dazzled by his erudition, wit and oratorical skill.
Larry Hama, who created the GI Joe characters and comics of the 1980s, said William F. Buckley Jr. was his inspiration for Cobra Commander.
I'm sorry, go on, what was that about how conservatism used to be great?
posted by scaryblackdeath at 5:36 PM on March 10, 2018 [41 favorites]
Larry Hama, who created the GI Joe characters and comics of the 1980s, said William F. Buckley Jr. was his inspiration for Cobra Commander.
I'm sorry, go on, what was that about how conservatism used to be great?
posted by scaryblackdeath at 5:36 PM on March 10, 2018 [41 favorites]
It was a father's day event in 2013 and it's adorable.
This kid pretending to be on a phone call at the Resolute Desk is more presidential and a better phone call faker than Trump.
posted by kirkaracha at 5:36 PM on March 10, 2018 [8 favorites]
This kid pretending to be on a phone call at the Resolute Desk is more presidential and a better phone call faker than Trump.
posted by kirkaracha at 5:36 PM on March 10, 2018 [8 favorites]
has he mentioned the candidate he’s purportedly out there to support yet or nah
posted by murphy slaw at 5:38 PM on March 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 5:38 PM on March 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
Mod note: Take chatty reactions to the chat room!
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 5:50 PM on March 10, 2018
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 5:50 PM on March 10, 2018
to answer my own question, he did, after ranting for an hour. CNN Chyron guy has fun with it: BREAKING NEWS - TRUMP INTRODUCES GOP CANDIDATE ONE HOUR INTO SPEECH
said candidate looks shell-shocked
posted by murphy slaw at 5:51 PM on March 10, 2018 [35 favorites]
said candidate looks shell-shocked
posted by murphy slaw at 5:51 PM on March 10, 2018 [35 favorites]
"Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it."
And to prove it, I will fix it alone.
posted by kirkaracha at 5:58 PM on March 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
And to prove it, I will fix it alone.
posted by kirkaracha at 5:58 PM on March 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
When Trump travels around for electioneering, does he now use his own plane or a government one?
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:21 PM on March 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:21 PM on March 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
One of the many corrosive effects of Trump and his presidency is the way it emboldens others to copy and mimic his style, rhetoric and his ignorance. For example, the New Zealand Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, ever the populist, is claiming is no evidence that Russia was involved in the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine. And, what's more, speaking of the "alleged" Russian meddling in the US elections, "We have a lot of allegations, but we do not have the facts laid out clearly," said Mr Peters. Now this is in the context of negotiating a free trade agreement with Russia, but why on earth Peters feels to pander to the Russians and their "unproven" meddling is beyond me. Peters, unlike Trump, isn't stupid and he has a ton of political cunning, but parroting pro-Russian propaganda is an appalling way to act as Foreign Minister.
posted by vac2003 at 6:21 PM on March 10, 2018 [14 favorites]
When Trump travels around for electioneering, does he now use his own plane or a government one?
The President, any US President, always flies in Air Force One for security reasons. When it's flown for campaigning the campaign is required to pay a portion of the cost.
posted by scalefree at 6:33 PM on March 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
The President, any US President, always flies in Air Force One for security reasons. When it's flown for campaigning the campaign is required to pay a portion of the cost.
posted by scalefree at 6:33 PM on March 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
Note: a tiny, tiny fraction of the cost. The campaign pays an amount similar to a first class commercial ticket.
But this is not unique to Trump, and it's not even bad policy unless abused.
posted by ryanrs at 6:38 PM on March 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
But this is not unique to Trump, and it's not even bad policy unless abused.
posted by ryanrs at 6:38 PM on March 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
Also, to be super pedantic, whatever plane the President is on is called Air Force One.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:39 PM on March 10, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 6:39 PM on March 10, 2018 [9 favorites]
said candidate looks shell-shocked
And it couldn't happen to a bigger asshole. Rick Saccone had been campaigning on being "Trump before Trump was Trump." He might be a bit peeved that prez couldn't remember his name but make no mistake, this dude is a Trumpist 100%. He deserves every bit of blowback that may arise due to the cavalry arriving in the form of this Nazi rally.
I'm sitting in a room with a PA 18 voter right now. He had been duly grilled regarding house plans to vote a la my canvasser training.
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:40 PM on March 10, 2018 [29 favorites]
And it couldn't happen to a bigger asshole. Rick Saccone had been campaigning on being "Trump before Trump was Trump." He might be a bit peeved that prez couldn't remember his name but make no mistake, this dude is a Trumpist 100%. He deserves every bit of blowback that may arise due to the cavalry arriving in the form of this Nazi rally.
I'm sitting in a room with a PA 18 voter right now. He had been duly grilled regarding house plans to vote a la my canvasser training.
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:40 PM on March 10, 2018 [29 favorites]
To add to the pedantry, the president doesn't always fly in the 747 we call Air Force One, just most of the time. I've read somewhere that the Secret Service and the Air Force strongly prefer the president fly in a jet with more than two engines.
The notable exceptions are when GW Bush landed on the USS Abraham Lincoln in a Lockheed S-3 Viking called Navy One. Obama flew in a Gulfstream V on a 2009 date night with Michelle and Clinton flew in a Gulfstream IV for a surprise trip to Pakistan in 2000 but both of these planes went by the callsign "Air Force One" while the president was onboard.
posted by peeedro at 6:53 PM on March 10, 2018
The notable exceptions are when GW Bush landed on the USS Abraham Lincoln in a Lockheed S-3 Viking called Navy One. Obama flew in a Gulfstream V on a 2009 date night with Michelle and Clinton flew in a Gulfstream IV for a surprise trip to Pakistan in 2000 but both of these planes went by the callsign "Air Force One" while the president was onboard.
posted by peeedro at 6:53 PM on March 10, 2018
the "erudite" manner of (retches groaningly) William F Buckley
If you watch the Cambridge Union debate between Buckley and James Baldwin (on the subject "Has the American Dream been achieved at the expense of the Negro?"), you can hear Buckley putting on his Virginia accent. Quite deliberately, I'm sure. Which, given the time, context, and setting, is a very particular sort of dickishness.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 6:54 PM on March 10, 2018 [10 favorites]
If you watch the Cambridge Union debate between Buckley and James Baldwin (on the subject "Has the American Dream been achieved at the expense of the Negro?"), you can hear Buckley putting on his Virginia accent. Quite deliberately, I'm sure. Which, given the time, context, and setting, is a very particular sort of dickishness.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 6:54 PM on March 10, 2018 [10 favorites]
WP: The GOP’s messages don’t seem to be working in Pennsylvania. Is that a warning sign?
posted by Chrysostom at 6:59 PM on March 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 6:59 PM on March 10, 2018 [7 favorites]
The Trump White House having people way overstretched is going to really hurt them when a crisis breaks out, for instance if someone starts a trade war.
I think one of the notable things about a lot of these approval polls is that they seem to be vulnerable to a massive shift in how many people identify as Republicans, which does not seem to be something they're correcting for.
posted by Merus at 7:12 PM on March 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
I think one of the notable things about a lot of these approval polls is that they seem to be vulnerable to a massive shift in how many people identify as Republicans, which does not seem to be something they're correcting for.
posted by Merus at 7:12 PM on March 10, 2018 [6 favorites]
UPCOMING SPECIAL ELECTIONS - APRIL - part 1
Boilerplate: Lots of law comes out of state legislatures, plenty of it bad. These elections don't get much attention, doubly so for special elections. Because of the small scope, a small amount of your money or time could help elect these folks! Please pitch in, if you can!
Lots of special elections in April, so I will post this in three chunks.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:39 PM on March 10, 2018 [36 favorites]
Boilerplate: Lots of law comes out of state legislatures, plenty of it bad. These elections don't get much attention, doubly so for special elections. Because of the small scope, a small amount of your money or time could help elect these folks! Please pitch in, if you can!
Lots of special elections in April, so I will post this in three chunks.
====More to come.
April 3 - Massachusetts House Second Bristol - Jim Hawkins
HD-Second Bristol is currently a D seat (the incumbent resigned to become mayor of Attleboro); D was unopposed in 2016, won 61-39 in 2014, won 58-42 in 2012. The district was won by by Clinton 51-42 and by Obama 54-44. The Ds control the Massachusetts House by about 90 seats.
=> Should be safe Dem. We did lose a MA race earlier, but that one had an indy candidate who split the left vote.
====
April 3 - Rhode Island Senate 8 - Sandra Cano
SD-8 is currently a D seat (the incumbent resigned due to health issues); D was unopposed in 2016, 2014, and 2012. The district was won by by Clinton 63-32 and by Obama 73-26. The Ds control the Rhode Island Senate by about 25 seats.
=> Should be safe Dem.
====
April 3 - Wisconsin Supreme Court - Rebecca Dallet
Rare non-legislative item here. The previous (conservative) justice chose not to run again. The election is nominally non-partisan, but a Dem win here would reduce conservative control of the WI SC to 4-3.
=> The R candidate won in the three person open primary, but the combined Dem candidate total was about 55% of the vote. So, outlook is positive for a win.
====
April 10 - Florida Senate 31 - Lori Berman
SD-31 is currently a D seat (the incumbent resigned after it emerged that he was having an affair with a lobbyist); D was unopposed in 2016, the D won 84-16 in 2012. The district was won by by Clinton 61-36 (district lines were different in 2012). The Rs control the Florida Senate by about 8 seats.
=> Should be safe Dem.
====
April 24 - US House Arizona 8 - Hiral Tipirneni
AZ-8 is currently an R seat (the incumbent resigned after a sexual harassment scandal); R was unopposed in 2016 and 2014, R won 63-35 in 2012. The district was won by by Trump 58-37 and by Romney 62-37. The Rs control the US House by about 45 seats.
=> This is a reach for the Dems. It's not out of the question, given the current environment and the fact that there has already been some scandal about the GOP candidate.
====
posted by Chrysostom at 7:39 PM on March 10, 2018 [36 favorites]
I just wrote 5 Postcards to Voters reminding registered Democrats that early voting starts soon for AZ-8! It's my Thing to Do when these threads make me anxious (which is always.) Chrysostom, thanks for keeping us all abreast of these local races!
posted by WidgetAlley at 7:56 PM on March 10, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by WidgetAlley at 7:56 PM on March 10, 2018 [23 favorites]
Even in Trumpworld this is both weird & disturbing. Shulkin cancels meetings with Trump appointees amid VA strife: report.
Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin has reportedly cut off contact with top agency officials and now operates out of an office with an armed guard at the door amid ongoing tensions with top staff.posted by scalefree at 8:10 PM on March 10, 2018 [34 favorites]
Shulkin, a VA holdover from the Obama administration promoted to the head job by President Trump, has canceled morning meetings with top Trump appointees in the department and hasn't spoken to his public affairs chief in weeks. He fears that his aides in the nation's second-largest bureaucracy, behind only the Pentagon, are actively lobbying the White House for his ouster, The Washington Post reports.
In addition, several senior officials Shulkin personally suspects of disloyalty have lost access to the secretary's 10th floor executive suite.
UPCOMING SPECIAL ELECTIONS - APRIL - part 2
posted by Chrysostom at 8:19 PM on March 10, 2018 [28 favorites]
====One more batch to come.
April 24 - New York Senate 32 - Luis Sepulveda
SD-32 is currently a D seat (the incumbent resigned when elected to NYC City Council); D was major party unopposed in 2016, 2014, and 2012. The Bronx district was won by Clinton 93-5 and by Obama 97-3. As mentioned earlier in this thread, the Ds *should* control the Senate, but there's a splinter group of Dems who effectively have given the GOP control.
=> Dead safe seat.
====
April 24 - New York Senate 37 - Shelley Mayer
SD-37 is currently a D seat (the incumbent resigned on becoming Westchester County executive); D won 56-44 in 2016, won 50-46 in 2014, and 54-46 in 2012. The suburban NYC district was won by Clinton 59-38 and by Obama 54-45.
=> Much closer than the other Senate race, but in the current environment, this should pretty easily be a Dem win.
====
April 24 - New York Assembly 5 - Deborah Slinkosky
AD-5 is currently an R seat (the incumbent resigned to become a judge); R won 64-35 in 2016, won 67-33 in 2014, and 59-41 in 2012. The Islip-based district was won by Trump 60-36 and by Romney 51-47. The New York Assembly is controlled by the Dems by about 65 seats.
=> Definitely a reach, but it was much closer in the Romney race, there might be a shot.
====
April 24 - New York Assembly 10 - Steve Stern
AD-10 is currently an R seat (the incumbent resigned for another government job); R won 59-41 in 2016, won 63-37 in 2014, and 55-45 in 2012. The Huntington (Long Island)-based district was won by Clinton 52-45 and by Obama 51-48.
=> Good opportunity here - the long-term incumbent is out and the district seems to me light blue.
====
April 24 - New York Assembly 17 - Matthew Malin
AD-17 is currently an R seat (the incumbent resigned for a seat on county legislature); R won 63-37 in 2016, won 69-31 in 2014, and 57-43 in 2012. The Levittown-based district was won by Trump 58-39 and by Romney 53-46.
=> Bit of a reach, but not impossible.
====
posted by Chrysostom at 8:19 PM on March 10, 2018 [28 favorites]
With a White House staff catering to every whim, can President Trump really improve his diet?
I'm picturing something like this.
posted by Joe in Australia at 8:42 PM on March 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'm picturing something like this.
posted by Joe in Australia at 8:42 PM on March 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
UPCOMING SPECIAL ELECTIONS - APRIL - part 3
====posted by Chrysostom at 8:46 PM on March 10, 2018 [27 favorites]
April 24 - New York Assembly 39 - Ari Espinal
AD-39 is currently a D seat (the incumbent resigned to take a seat on NYC City Council); D won unopposed in 2016, 2014, and 2012. The Brooklyn district was won by Clinton 83-15 and by Obama 85-14.
=> Should be very safe seat.
====
April 24 - New York Assembly 74 - Harvey Epstein
AD-74 is currently a D seat (the incumbent was elected to state Senate); D won 82-15 in 2016, won 85-15 in 2014, and was unopposed in 2012. The Manhattan district was won by Clinton 85-11 and by Obama 82-16.
=> Also very safe seat.
====
April 24 - New York Assembly 80 - Nathalia Fernandez
AD-80 is currently a D seat (the incumbent was elected to NYC City Council); D won 85-12 in 2016, won 84-16 in 2014, and won 71-9 in 2012. The Bronx district was won by Clinton 82-16 and by Obama 84-15.
=> Also very safe seat.
====
April 24 - New York Assembly 102 - Aidan O'Connor
AD-102 is currently an R seat (the incumbent resigned for an EPA job); R won unopposed in 2016 and 2014, R won 66-34 in 2012. The suburban Albany district was won by Trump 59-36 and Romney 52-46.
=> Not impossible to flip, but definitely a reach.
====
April 24 - New York Assembly 107 - Cindy Doran
AD-107 is currently an R seat (the incumbent was elected county executive); R won unopposed in 2016, won 66-34 in 2014, and won 52-48 in 2012. The suburban Albany district was won by Trump 49-45 but by Obama 53-45.
=> Good flip opportunity here.
====
April 24 - New York Assembly 142 - Patrick Burke
AD-142 is currently an D seat (the incumbent was elected county clerk); D won unopposed in 2016, 2014, and 2012. The suburban Buffalo district was won by Trump 51-45 but by Obama 54-44.
=> Little bit of a danger zone on this one, given the move to Trump. I would guess it's probably a hold in the current environment, though.
====
Politico: A bloc of Senate Republicans is readying legislation to halt Donald Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs, in the most provocative step yet taken to thwart the president on trade.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:53 PM on March 10, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 8:53 PM on March 10, 2018 [12 favorites]
That Politico article implies that the difficulty in achieving a veto-proof Congressional majority to prevent the tariffs lies with Democrats who are not in favor of free trade. I find that extremely hard to believe. It surely lies with Republicans who are scared to overrule their own party’s President attempting to fulfil a campaign promise, at least while he remains popular with their base.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:03 PM on March 10, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:03 PM on March 10, 2018 [16 favorites]
Also, he seems to think he personally won The Olympics.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 9:34 PM on March 10, 2018
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 9:34 PM on March 10, 2018
First, Mitch McConnell isn't going to allow a vote against Trump, period. Next, lame duck Jeff Flake is the supposed sponsor, and there's only a couple Republicans quoted in favor, none with a hard committment, and one of those is Orrin Hatch. Then they'd need either a unified vote from Repulbicans against Trump plus a few Dems, which is absolutely farsical, or basically every Democrat plus some free trade Republicans, and at least a couple in rust belt states actually like the tarffis, plus theres zero incentive for any 2020 prospect to help, or really for any Democrat that doesn't represent a giant steel producting state to go along with an override. Politically working with Trump is absolute posion within the party outside of red states. Even if Flake got a vote on this I can't see how it gets 50 much less 60 or 67.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:40 PM on March 10, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:40 PM on March 10, 2018 [10 favorites]
It seems that Trump's finally figured out that Mueller isn't just going to go away. He's talking to Emmet Flood (again)
Maggie Haberman, NYTimes Trump Talks With Clinton Impeachment Lawyer About Aiding in Mueller Response
This interesting snapshot from Trumpland also provides us with an example of how journalists cover it. The current version of this article ends with the damning disclosure, "Through intermediaries, Mr. Trump’s advisers have reached out to prominent lawyers to feel out their interest in joining his legal team. Most have expressed no interest." This undercuts the official position earlier on, "Mr. Flood had been on the wish list of some of the president’s advisers to join his legal team last year, and he is the only person the White House has been in contact with about such a leading role."
The Internet Archive's capture of the original, however, doesn't contain that conclusion at all. Instead, it closes with the official Team Trump line about Flood as the only one talking with the White House, which is now in the middle of the piece. (There are multiple versions of this article, although the NYT site doesn't mention it's been rewritten.) In fact, it looks like Haberman tested that in a tweet yesterday evening after the piece was first posted, "Trump intermediaries have done soft approaches to a number of top lawyers in recent months to join the team. They've gotten almost no takers."
Here's another of her tweets about her article, providing some analysis she can't (yet) put in print: "One aspect of what Flood would do day to day is be intermediary between WH and DoJ, with subtext being that Cobb hasn’t and McGahn can’t."
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:59 AM on March 11, 2018 [27 favorites]
Maggie Haberman, NYTimes Trump Talks With Clinton Impeachment Lawyer About Aiding in Mueller Response
This interesting snapshot from Trumpland also provides us with an example of how journalists cover it. The current version of this article ends with the damning disclosure, "Through intermediaries, Mr. Trump’s advisers have reached out to prominent lawyers to feel out their interest in joining his legal team. Most have expressed no interest." This undercuts the official position earlier on, "Mr. Flood had been on the wish list of some of the president’s advisers to join his legal team last year, and he is the only person the White House has been in contact with about such a leading role."
The Internet Archive's capture of the original, however, doesn't contain that conclusion at all. Instead, it closes with the official Team Trump line about Flood as the only one talking with the White House, which is now in the middle of the piece. (There are multiple versions of this article, although the NYT site doesn't mention it's been rewritten.) In fact, it looks like Haberman tested that in a tweet yesterday evening after the piece was first posted, "Trump intermediaries have done soft approaches to a number of top lawyers in recent months to join the team. They've gotten almost no takers."
Here's another of her tweets about her article, providing some analysis she can't (yet) put in print: "One aspect of what Flood would do day to day is be intermediary between WH and DoJ, with subtext being that Cobb hasn’t and McGahn can’t."
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:59 AM on March 11, 2018 [27 favorites]
The news vortex just keeps spinning. This morning, Trump tweeted, at length, in reaction to the NYT article about his legal search:
** @maggieNYT: Lol
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:05 AM on March 11, 2018 [25 favorites]
The Failing New York Times purposely wrote a false story stating that I am unhappy with my legal team on the Russia case and am going to add another lawyer to help out. Wrong. I am VERY happy with my lawyers, John Dowd, Ty Cobb and Jay Sekulow. They are doing a great job and....** To which Haberman responded, "Several people close to Trump confirmed our story. Trump also met with Emmet Flood in the Oval last week for purpose of potentially hiring him. Our story was confirmed by other outlets." And furthermore, "....which raises possibility Flood has turned him down"
...have shown conclusively that there was no Collusion with Russia..just excuse for losing. The only Collusion was that done by the DNC, the Democrats and Crooked Hillary. The writer of the story, Maggie Haberman, a Hillary flunky, knows nothing about me and is not given access.**
** @maggieNYT: Lol
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:05 AM on March 11, 2018 [25 favorites]
If the NYT is A/B testing which truth it feels like enshrining, that's the biggest scandal of the week(end) and is frankly horrifying.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:12 AM on March 11, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:12 AM on March 11, 2018 [20 favorites]
If the NYT is A/B testing which truth it feels like enshrining, that's the biggest scandal of the week(end) and is frankly horrifying.
It's not at all uncommon, at least for the Times, for stories hosted at a single URL to evolve several times over the course of the day, without any acknowledgement of the changes. While some equivalent of Track Changes might indeed be some kind of gold-standard best practice for online journalism in a better world, and the Times practice clearly falls short of that, neither do I think we need to go seeing dark Conspiracies Against The Truth where there are none.
posted by adamgreenfield at 7:26 AM on March 11, 2018 [31 favorites]
It's not at all uncommon, at least for the Times, for stories hosted at a single URL to evolve several times over the course of the day, without any acknowledgement of the changes. While some equivalent of Track Changes might indeed be some kind of gold-standard best practice for online journalism in a better world, and the Times practice clearly falls short of that, neither do I think we need to go seeing dark Conspiracies Against The Truth where there are none.
posted by adamgreenfield at 7:26 AM on March 11, 2018 [31 favorites]
I suspect the NYT reporters rushed the story yesterday evening in order to make the Sunday print edition and continued to investigate/confirm it over the course of last night (and possibly this morning). It's nevertheless annoying that their disclosure - "A version of this article appears in print on March 11, 2018, on Page A20 of the New York edition with the headline: Trump Is Said to Want Clinton Impeachment Lawyer to Deal With Mueller" - doesn't reflect this. Anyone who read the earlier versions wouldn't know they weren't getting the whole story.
Twitter does, however, furnish reporters with an outlet for airing details and opinions that didn't make it into their published pieces. It's certainly a stage for them to try out preliminary reports on their subjects.
It's also fascinating and unnerving to watch Trump push back against a news story - essentially accusing the reporters of lying - after his numerous attacks on the press last night in Pennsylvania.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:27 AM on March 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
Twitter does, however, furnish reporters with an outlet for airing details and opinions that didn't make it into their published pieces. It's certainly a stage for them to try out preliminary reports on their subjects.
It's also fascinating and unnerving to watch Trump push back against a news story - essentially accusing the reporters of lying - after his numerous attacks on the press last night in Pennsylvania.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:27 AM on March 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
Also, if you think anyone in the chain between keyboard and live server on the NYT doesn't know that early versions are captured the moment they appear, you are sadly underestimating how aware NYT editorial is of basic web truths.
I'd like versioning to be more explicit than de-facto, but the fact that how stories are openly revised after first pub is right out there, is a good thing. It has always happened in print between editions - sometimes uproariously so - but been much harder to spot. It's standard newsroom practice that is now harder to abuse than before.
posted by Devonian at 7:55 AM on March 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
I'd like versioning to be more explicit than de-facto, but the fact that how stories are openly revised after first pub is right out there, is a good thing. It has always happened in print between editions - sometimes uproariously so - but been much harder to spot. It's standard newsroom practice that is now harder to abuse than before.
posted by Devonian at 7:55 AM on March 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
It's pretty standard practice for stories to be revised while keeping the same URL. It's not just the NYT, it's basically everyone who expects their news sites to be linked. (This is why you sometimes see sites with ridiculous URLs attached to innocuous-seeming articles.)
If you want to criticise the NYT for not versioning their articles, that's one thing, but it's not commonly done so it's not a standard they're failing to meet. The obvious question they would ask is 'why should we provide a history of the article when the whole reason we changed it was that the old version was less accurate?'
posted by Merus at 8:01 AM on March 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
If you want to criticise the NYT for not versioning their articles, that's one thing, but it's not commonly done so it's not a standard they're failing to meet. The obvious question they would ask is 'why should we provide a history of the article when the whole reason we changed it was that the old version was less accurate?'
posted by Merus at 8:01 AM on March 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
Making minor or even major revisions to a story after first print is also what Trump and Republicans use to cry "fake news!", pretending that any later revision invalidates the entire story and proves political bais by the entire outlet.
The NYT has enough legitimate problems with how they cover for and enable Trump already without liberals buying into the same practice of criminalizing basic journalism.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:06 AM on March 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
The NYT has enough legitimate problems with how they cover for and enable Trump already without liberals buying into the same practice of criminalizing basic journalism.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:06 AM on March 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
Yup, take a look at newsdiffs.org if you think this is a new or idiosyncratic practice. Major media's been rearranging stories after printing, sometimes changing their headline and entire central argument, for some time now.
posted by jackbishop at 8:06 AM on March 11, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by jackbishop at 8:06 AM on March 11, 2018 [10 favorites]
In the Information Age, transparency between edits and updates is essential—especially since Trumpists are ready to decry "fake news" for any pretext. Editing history is a cornerstone of Wikipedia's policy and inspires more confidence, not less, in their commitment to accuracy. It's infuriating staid journalistic institutions like the NYT haven't caught up.
In this case, acknowledging the updated reporting would provide readers with a better understanding of why Trump reacted so furiously this morning. The official line that the White House had supplied was supposed to be the end of the story. Instead, the NYT's reporters dug a bit more and came up with some embarrassing details, e.g. that Team Trump's indirect overtures to other legal counsel were unsuccessful. Now that the story's out there, other sources may be willing to come forward with more potentially awkward information. On top of that, after Trump's attack, the NYT reporters can unload more ammo, at least on Twitter.
Haberman just tweeted, "For additional context on Trump tweets re story about his legal team, some of his advisers are unhappy about prospect of a newcomer and had highlighted for him Flood’s Dem background."
n.b. Please note that Trump didn't attack, or even mention, Haberman's co-writer, Michael Schmidt. By this time, Trump's Law of Misogyny should be indisputable: When Trump feels angry and insecure, he attacks women personally.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:19 AM on March 11, 2018 [41 favorites]
In this case, acknowledging the updated reporting would provide readers with a better understanding of why Trump reacted so furiously this morning. The official line that the White House had supplied was supposed to be the end of the story. Instead, the NYT's reporters dug a bit more and came up with some embarrassing details, e.g. that Team Trump's indirect overtures to other legal counsel were unsuccessful. Now that the story's out there, other sources may be willing to come forward with more potentially awkward information. On top of that, after Trump's attack, the NYT reporters can unload more ammo, at least on Twitter.
Haberman just tweeted, "For additional context on Trump tweets re story about his legal team, some of his advisers are unhappy about prospect of a newcomer and had highlighted for him Flood’s Dem background."
n.b. Please note that Trump didn't attack, or even mention, Haberman's co-writer, Michael Schmidt. By this time, Trump's Law of Misogyny should be indisputable: When Trump feels angry and insecure, he attacks women personally.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:19 AM on March 11, 2018 [41 favorites]
"The Democrats continue to Obstruct the confirmation of hundreds of good and talented people [...etc.]" -trump
Does he know that he still needs to nominate them first?
Trump hits Dems on ‘record’ number of unconfirmed nominees [The Hill]
"“And that's not good,” he continued. “It's never been like this, ever. They've never held them this long. Republicans have never done this to this extent with the Democrats." - in which trump forgets once again that the Republicans stole an entire supreme court seat for him.
posted by mrgoat at 8:30 AM on March 11, 2018 [32 favorites]
Does he know that he still needs to nominate them first?
Trump hits Dems on ‘record’ number of unconfirmed nominees [The Hill]
"“And that's not good,” he continued. “It's never been like this, ever. They've never held them this long. Republicans have never done this to this extent with the Democrats." - in which trump forgets once again that the Republicans stole an entire supreme court seat for him.
posted by mrgoat at 8:30 AM on March 11, 2018 [32 favorites]
A profile of voters in PA-18 on the eve of the special election. I'm struck by the factoids that the district is 93.7 percent white and has a median age of 44.6 years. Not that I'm surprised that Western PA is old and white but I am surprised at how poorly Saccone is doing in a district that seems like a canonical example of Trump country. He obviously still has a good chance to win but it's a good sign that he's struggling so much.
This kind of stuff is so baffling and infuriating though:
This kind of stuff is so baffling and infuriating though:
Local resident Frank Dallas, 80, was finishing up his cup of coffee at The Diner, where he’s a regular.posted by octothorpe at 8:33 AM on March 11, 2018 [17 favorites]
He said his primary concerns are health care and the cost of medications.
“I have three prescriptions that cost $600 a month, and that’s a copay,” he said, adding:
“If I don’t have ‘em, I don’t leave the house.”
Dallas said his problem is a lung condition that he attributed to years of breathing in the county’s polluted air.
He hopes whomever wins can “do something about controlling the cost [of medicine] — for the elderly especially.”
Dallas said he’s voted in every presidential election since 1960, when he voted for Republican Richard Nixon in his first, unsuccessful run for president. Like then, he plans to vote for the Republican, Saccone.
It's pretty standard practice for stories to be revised while keeping the same URL.
Last week I refreshed a Washington Post article with a headline stating that Trump has decided not to announce tariffs, and it had transformed into an article about newly announced tariffs
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:38 AM on March 11, 2018 [17 favorites]
Last week I refreshed a Washington Post article with a headline stating that Trump has decided not to announce tariffs, and it had transformed into an article about newly announced tariffs
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:38 AM on March 11, 2018 [17 favorites]
NYT: The Missing Obama Millions
Much of the political commentary since the presidential election has focused on two groups of party switchers: those who voted for Barack Obama in 2012 and Donald Trump in 2016 and those who voted for Mitt Romney in 2012 and Hillary Clinton in 2016.posted by tonycpsu at 8:50 AM on March 11, 2018 [33 favorites]
Trump voters who previously voted for Mr. Obama are the subject of intense fascination because they are viewed as providing critical insights into the racial and class dynamics that helped determine the outcome of the election. On the other side, many analysts see Romney voters who flipped to Mrs. Clinton as an illustration of how the Democratic Party now survives in significant part by appealing to more upscale voters.
Frustratingly, however, these perspectives play down the importance of a crucial group of disaffected voters: those who voted for Mr. Obama in 2012 but then failed to go to the polls in 2016. Because this group is disproportionately young and black, this erasure is racially tinged. [...]
Democratic strategists should recognize that Obama-to-Trump voters do not represent the future of their party. Obama-to-Trump voters diverge from the Democratic Party on many core issues, and in any case they are not particularly loyal Democrats: Less than one third of Obama-to-Trump voters supported Democrats down-ballot in 2016, and only 37 percent identify as Democrats. [...]
Getting these voters to the polls on Election Day is the most important task for progressives. And given their outlook on the important issues of the day, Obama-to-nonvoters are also likely to be easier to mobilize after two years of a Trump presidency — never mind four.
octothorpe, quoting Public Source: Dallas said his problem is a lung condition that he attributed to years of breathing in the county’s polluted air. He hopes whomever wins can “do something about controlling the cost [of medicine] — for the elderly especially.” ... [H]e plans to vote for the Republican, Saccone.
We keep reading about these Republicans who seemingly have no idea what their party is actually about. I have to wonder, is there any non-trivial set of equivalently deluded Democratic voters? People who cast their vote for the Democrat because they love assault weapons, hate sanctuary cities, and think teachers are overpaid?
To partly answer my own question: when I was knocking on local Democrats' doors for Obama in 2008, one of the respondents said he "wouldn't vote a Muslim for dog-catcher". So I know there were some unreconstructed-Confederate Democrats even that recently (and even in my state of Pennsylvania).
Additional research has confirmed this for me. (Basically, until Obama was elected, some white Democratic politicians in deep-red territory could count on a handful of votes from racists who still hadn't gotten the memo, or at least gave the "D" candidate the benefit of the doubt that they were still on Team White Identity.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:58 AM on March 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
We keep reading about these Republicans who seemingly have no idea what their party is actually about. I have to wonder, is there any non-trivial set of equivalently deluded Democratic voters? People who cast their vote for the Democrat because they love assault weapons, hate sanctuary cities, and think teachers are overpaid?
To partly answer my own question: when I was knocking on local Democrats' doors for Obama in 2008, one of the respondents said he "wouldn't vote a Muslim for dog-catcher". So I know there were some unreconstructed-Confederate Democrats even that recently (and even in my state of Pennsylvania).
Additional research has confirmed this for me. (Basically, until Obama was elected, some white Democratic politicians in deep-red territory could count on a handful of votes from racists who still hadn't gotten the memo, or at least gave the "D" candidate the benefit of the doubt that they were still on Team White Identity.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:58 AM on March 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
The Saturday Night Live impression of Mueller on The Bachelor was awful. They had him played much like the Jeff Sessions character in terms of accent and makeup. Watching that made me realize that I haven't actually heard Mueller speak. So, I went out on Youtube and listened to some of the few instances of him speaking in public. Some of them were pretty interesting. The two best were:
At Georgetown
At Stanford
posted by bootlegpop at 9:04 AM on March 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
At Georgetown
At Stanford
posted by bootlegpop at 9:04 AM on March 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
I haven't heard Mueller speak either, but if he doesn't sound exactly like Sam the American Eagle I don't want to know about it.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:09 AM on March 11, 2018 [110 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:09 AM on March 11, 2018 [110 favorites]
We keep reading about these Republicans who seemingly have no idea what their party is actually about.
There aren't really Dem equivalents to Fox News & the Sinclair Broadcast Group, at least not with anywhere like the same catchment area.
GIGO...
posted by Buntix at 9:09 AM on March 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
There aren't really Dem equivalents to Fox News & the Sinclair Broadcast Group, at least not with anywhere like the same catchment area.
GIGO...
posted by Buntix at 9:09 AM on March 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
FPP on NewsDiff from 2012. Their page for Doktor Zed's trump-mueller-flood.html article.
posted by XMLicious at 9:11 AM on March 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by XMLicious at 9:11 AM on March 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
One rally, four headlines. Guardian, NYT, WashPost, WSJ.
Can you guess which one is the Times?
- Donald Trump Advocates Death Penalty for Drug Dealers in Rambling Speech
- Trump Extols Himself, Pennsylvania GOP Candidate at Rally
- At Rally for Struggling PA Candidate, Trump Again Suggests Executing Drug Dealers
- 'Is There Anything More Fun Than a Trump Rally?'
posted by chris24 at 9:12 AM on March 11, 2018 [51 favorites]
Can you guess which one is the Times?
- Donald Trump Advocates Death Penalty for Drug Dealers in Rambling Speech
- Trump Extols Himself, Pennsylvania GOP Candidate at Rally
- At Rally for Struggling PA Candidate, Trump Again Suggests Executing Drug Dealers
- 'Is There Anything More Fun Than a Trump Rally?'
posted by chris24 at 9:12 AM on March 11, 2018 [51 favorites]
Yup, take a look at newsdiffs.org if you think this is a new or idiosyncratic practice.
And all this time I've been doing this manually! This is really going to help my news intake/digestion. For instance, this site quickly tells us that the history of the Washington Post's corroborating article on Flood - After Once Predicting Quick End to Mueller Probe, White House Now Looking to Expand Legal Team - contains only minor copy-editing changes and an update about Trump's Twitter attack on the NYT piece.
Also, CNN's Robert Costa @costareports furnishes some inside gossip about Trump's negotiating with Flood: "a bit of news: Emmet Flood is being considered for associate attorney general, per people familiar with the discussions. That possibility, along w/ potential WH posts, came up in convo w/ the president"
And incidentally, CREW's Norm Eisen @NormEisen points out, "Ed Williams, founder of Flood’s firm, had a rule: only the clients should go to jail, never the lawyers. Trump’s constant lying will have consequences for him & maybe his counsel. Risk of working for Trump is high—maybe too high for a star like Emmet."
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:15 AM on March 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
And all this time I've been doing this manually! This is really going to help my news intake/digestion. For instance, this site quickly tells us that the history of the Washington Post's corroborating article on Flood - After Once Predicting Quick End to Mueller Probe, White House Now Looking to Expand Legal Team - contains only minor copy-editing changes and an update about Trump's Twitter attack on the NYT piece.
Also, CNN's Robert Costa @costareports furnishes some inside gossip about Trump's negotiating with Flood: "a bit of news: Emmet Flood is being considered for associate attorney general, per people familiar with the discussions. That possibility, along w/ potential WH posts, came up in convo w/ the president"
And incidentally, CREW's Norm Eisen @NormEisen points out, "Ed Williams, founder of Flood’s firm, had a rule: only the clients should go to jail, never the lawyers. Trump’s constant lying will have consequences for him & maybe his counsel. Risk of working for Trump is high—maybe too high for a star like Emmet."
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:15 AM on March 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
Will Saletan on Twitter: On CBS, Pompeo brags that Kim has agreed to let US do its usual military exercises with South Korea: “He’s allowed us to continue our exercises on the peninsula.”
Allowed. The dictator of North Korea has allowed exercises outside his country.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 9:26 AM on March 11, 2018 [86 favorites]
Allowed. The dictator of North Korea has allowed exercises outside his country.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 9:26 AM on March 11, 2018 [86 favorites]
This exchange (between NYT reporter Haberman and Trump) is particularly fascinating to me. The President of the U.S. personally and directly responded to a "front-page" article from a national (international) news/media company, and one of the reporters, the White House Correspondent for the New York Times , directly and personally responded to the President of the U.S. with "Lol."
Donald Trump is such a laughing-stock, has so greatly diminished any respect for the office or role of the President, that a senior reporter for a major news producer can dismiss and mock him to his face*, and not even worry about a reprimand from her editor, let alone her job or reputation. This exchange just perfectly encapsulates a huge paradigm shift that I'm fascinated to be living through, and makes clear to me that there remain two kinds of options for Donald Trump: autocratic take-over of the U.S. government; or massive failure, criminal charges, midnight flights to Moscow to escape, and etc. You don't persuade people back from considering you a laughing-stock, you either start hitting them with a stick to make them shut up and comply, or you get the hook and are pulled off-stage. I'm confident that the latter is occurring, and am more fearful about what's next, since Trump is a symptom more than a cause.
*(in a less consumption-addled world, we would call "tweets" what they actually are, "messages" or "communication," rather than by a dumb brand name. Trump's messages and Haberman's replies are absolutely direct, personal communication between those two human beings, that we are all privy to.)
(....and it really makes my teeth hurt to read the constant use of the branded term 'tweet', like it's not the stupidest thing to ever stupid. We have a perfectly cromulent word for what 'tweets' are, it's 'messages.' The President doesn't 'tweet,' he broadcasts personal messages indiscriminately. 'Tweets' are not some specialized mode of communication, they are messages composed of the words and sentences chosen to symbolize and communicate his thoughts, ideas and feelings. Most Presidents have used a Press Secretary, Communications Director, etc., to do these things, but Trump just wants to vomit his messages directly to us all. Calling them 'tweets' obfuscates this basic fact in a way that actually makes it harder for people to see how abnormal this person's behavior really is. IMHO.)
posted by LooseFilter at 9:36 AM on March 11, 2018 [83 favorites]
Donald Trump is such a laughing-stock, has so greatly diminished any respect for the office or role of the President, that a senior reporter for a major news producer can dismiss and mock him to his face*, and not even worry about a reprimand from her editor, let alone her job or reputation. This exchange just perfectly encapsulates a huge paradigm shift that I'm fascinated to be living through, and makes clear to me that there remain two kinds of options for Donald Trump: autocratic take-over of the U.S. government; or massive failure, criminal charges, midnight flights to Moscow to escape, and etc. You don't persuade people back from considering you a laughing-stock, you either start hitting them with a stick to make them shut up and comply, or you get the hook and are pulled off-stage. I'm confident that the latter is occurring, and am more fearful about what's next, since Trump is a symptom more than a cause.
*(in a less consumption-addled world, we would call "tweets" what they actually are, "messages" or "communication," rather than by a dumb brand name. Trump's messages and Haberman's replies are absolutely direct, personal communication between those two human beings, that we are all privy to.)
(....and it really makes my teeth hurt to read the constant use of the branded term 'tweet', like it's not the stupidest thing to ever stupid. We have a perfectly cromulent word for what 'tweets' are, it's 'messages.' The President doesn't 'tweet,' he broadcasts personal messages indiscriminately. 'Tweets' are not some specialized mode of communication, they are messages composed of the words and sentences chosen to symbolize and communicate his thoughts, ideas and feelings. Most Presidents have used a Press Secretary, Communications Director, etc., to do these things, but Trump just wants to vomit his messages directly to us all. Calling them 'tweets' obfuscates this basic fact in a way that actually makes it harder for people to see how abnormal this person's behavior really is. IMHO.)
posted by LooseFilter at 9:36 AM on March 11, 2018 [83 favorites]
There aren't really Dem equivalents to Fox News & the Sinclair Broadcast Group, at least not with anywhere like the same catchment area.
GIGO...
I think partly it's a mindset more prevalent among Republicans and partly because there's no equivalent bottomless pool of targeted donor money among Democrats. For even a partial equivalent on the Democratic side, consider Jeff Bezos, who has more money than God, but he bought a mainstream newspaper, the Washington Post.
Which makes me wonder why the New York Times and some other mainstream publications want to be so bothsidesy, when it's mostly Democrats who really read them anyway. It's the journalistic equivalent of chasing the Mythical Unicorn Swing Voter. Maybe they just want Brooks and Douthat to have jobs...
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 9:40 AM on March 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
GIGO...
I think partly it's a mindset more prevalent among Republicans and partly because there's no equivalent bottomless pool of targeted donor money among Democrats. For even a partial equivalent on the Democratic side, consider Jeff Bezos, who has more money than God, but he bought a mainstream newspaper, the Washington Post.
Which makes me wonder why the New York Times and some other mainstream publications want to be so bothsidesy, when it's mostly Democrats who really read them anyway. It's the journalistic equivalent of chasing the Mythical Unicorn Swing Voter. Maybe they just want Brooks and Douthat to have jobs...
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 9:40 AM on March 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
Maybe I've been stupid on this, but I didn't realize a Dem hadn't even run for this seat since 2012.
@NateSilver538
Stating the hopefully-obvious, but the fact that PA-18 is competitive is a really bad sign for Republicans. It voted for Trump by 20 points and Romney by 17.
- The previous Republican incumbent there (Tim Murphy) didn't even have a Democratic challenger in 2014 or 2016 & won by 28 points the last time he did, in 2012.
posted by chris24 at 10:02 AM on March 11, 2018 [14 favorites]
@NateSilver538
Stating the hopefully-obvious, but the fact that PA-18 is competitive is a really bad sign for Republicans. It voted for Trump by 20 points and Romney by 17.
- The previous Republican incumbent there (Tim Murphy) didn't even have a Democratic challenger in 2014 or 2016 & won by 28 points the last time he did, in 2012.
posted by chris24 at 10:02 AM on March 11, 2018 [14 favorites]
'Is There Anything More Fun Than a Trump Rally?'
The NYT has been objectively pro-Trump from the beginning. He's one of them, New York media coverage made him a star, and he's making them millions every day because people want to believe the 4th estate still exists.
Cancel your subscriptions.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:14 AM on March 11, 2018 [29 favorites]
The NYT has been objectively pro-Trump from the beginning. He's one of them, New York media coverage made him a star, and he's making them millions every day because people want to believe the 4th estate still exists.
Cancel your subscriptions.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:14 AM on March 11, 2018 [29 favorites]
Yinz guys. Look at this hot garbage.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a formerly liberal(ish) paper, has endorsed Rick Saccone. The paper is now owned by the same people who own the Toledo Blade, they are Trumpists, and Pittsburgh--a deeply Blue city--now has no liberal or even centrist newspapers.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:34 AM on March 11, 2018 [29 favorites]
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a formerly liberal(ish) paper, has endorsed Rick Saccone. The paper is now owned by the same people who own the Toledo Blade, they are Trumpists, and Pittsburgh--a deeply Blue city--now has no liberal or even centrist newspapers.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:34 AM on March 11, 2018 [29 favorites]
The Saturday Night Live impression of Mueller on The Bachelor was awful.
I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with you there. Kate McKinnon looked just like Mueller, especially when walking away from the camera (seems like her whole impression was based on the stock footage of Mueller ducking cameras).
And this was so much fresher then any of the last 731 Alec Baldwin cold opens.
(But thanks for finding that actual footage of Mueller, bootlegpop!)
posted by pjenks at 10:38 AM on March 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with you there. Kate McKinnon looked just like Mueller, especially when walking away from the camera (seems like her whole impression was based on the stock footage of Mueller ducking cameras).
And this was so much fresher then any of the last 731 Alec Baldwin cold opens.
(But thanks for finding that actual footage of Mueller, bootlegpop!)
posted by pjenks at 10:38 AM on March 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
I haven't heard Mueller speak either, but if he doesn't sound exactly like Sam the American Eagle I don't want to know about it.
Relax, Mueller is Sam the American Eagle.
posted by mumimor at 10:55 AM on March 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
Relax, Mueller is Sam the American Eagle.
posted by mumimor at 10:55 AM on March 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
Actually, I'd like to amend my statement. Pittsburgh has the New Pittsburgh Courier, which is a Black-owned paper that for some reason I have never been able to convince their delivery service that my address is in their service area (it totally is).
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:59 AM on March 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:59 AM on March 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
Mueller in his own words. Just a short collection of public remarks Mueller has made, courtesy of that twit Brian Williams, if you're looking to get a feel for the guy.
posted by xyzzy at 11:26 AM on March 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by xyzzy at 11:26 AM on March 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
Mueller in his own words.
I like that he seems to wear many off the rack suits until they are falling apart.
posted by rc3spencer at 12:14 PM on March 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
I like that he seems to wear many off the rack suits until they are falling apart.
posted by rc3spencer at 12:14 PM on March 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
CNN and Harvard have a report out today documenting the millions of dollars paid by opioid manufacturers to doctors to promote sales. The more a doctor prescribes opioids, the more they are paid. Some receive tens of thousands of dollars for writing testimonials and speaking at seminars to promote sales.
I wonder when Trump is going to recommend executions for drug dealing doctors and pharmaceutical CEOs.
posted by JackFlash at 12:22 PM on March 11, 2018 [58 favorites]
I wonder when Trump is going to recommend executions for drug dealing doctors and pharmaceutical CEOs.
posted by JackFlash at 12:22 PM on March 11, 2018 [58 favorites]
From the PG article above:
The Democrats in the House have only one agenda item at the moment, and it isn’t health care or jobs. It is impeachment. Regardless of whether one likes this president or his policies, one must ask what the consequence for the country will be if we dive into so great a distraction.
So is making this election about impeachment something the GOP and it's various associated entities want? Given how incredibly unpopular the president is, are people actually wary about impeaching him?
posted by Slackermagee at 12:24 PM on March 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
The Democrats in the House have only one agenda item at the moment, and it isn’t health care or jobs. It is impeachment. Regardless of whether one likes this president or his policies, one must ask what the consequence for the country will be if we dive into so great a distraction.
So is making this election about impeachment something the GOP and it's various associated entities want? Given how incredibly unpopular the president is, are people actually wary about impeaching him?
posted by Slackermagee at 12:24 PM on March 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
I wonder when Trump is going to recommend executions for drug dealing doctors and pharmaceutical CEOs.
The capital crime will be diverting income away from the major pharma companies, duh.
And seeing Trump directly attack Maggie Haberman is a surprise... isn't she the Times' most reliable Trump apologist? "The Trump Whisperer"? Of course her "LOL" response shows he hasn't lost her... yet, but it has to be very awkward for her - I can just imagine how fawning her next White House exclusive will be...
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:41 PM on March 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
The capital crime will be diverting income away from the major pharma companies, duh.
And seeing Trump directly attack Maggie Haberman is a surprise... isn't she the Times' most reliable Trump apologist? "The Trump Whisperer"? Of course her "LOL" response shows he hasn't lost her... yet, but it has to be very awkward for her - I can just imagine how fawning her next White House exclusive will be...
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:41 PM on March 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
Haven't seen the reported here:
Trump lawyers want to stop ’60 Minutes’ from airing Stormy Daniels interview: report
posted by Twain Device at 12:51 PM on March 11, 2018 [21 favorites]
Trump lawyers want to stop ’60 Minutes’ from airing Stormy Daniels interview: report
posted by Twain Device at 12:51 PM on March 11, 2018 [21 favorites]
Oh, a lawsuit seeking prior restraint! That's a bold strategy cotton, let's see how it works out for them.
Spoiler Alert: It will not.
The barriers to prior restraint are enormous as they should be. Additionally it seems like an idiotic strategy. Whatever information Daniels wants to get out is going to get out whether or not it comes out on 60 Minutes. There is no way to prevent it and this will simply Streisand Effect the interview if they actually file.
posted by Justinian at 1:08 PM on March 11, 2018 [16 favorites]
Spoiler Alert: It will not.
The barriers to prior restraint are enormous as they should be. Additionally it seems like an idiotic strategy. Whatever information Daniels wants to get out is going to get out whether or not it comes out on 60 Minutes. There is no way to prevent it and this will simply Streisand Effect the interview if they actually file.
posted by Justinian at 1:08 PM on March 11, 2018 [16 favorites]
Donald Trump is such a laughing-stock, has so greatly diminished any respect for the office or role of the President, that a senior reporter for a major news producer can dismiss and mock him to his face*, and not even worry about a reprimand from her editor, let alone her job or reputation.
I don't disagree, but this is also a good illustration that "access journalism" works both ways. Trump says right in that tweet that he has cut off Haberman's access; so what does she have to lose?
posted by msalt at 1:11 PM on March 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
I don't disagree, but this is also a good illustration that "access journalism" works both ways. Trump says right in that tweet that he has cut off Haberman's access; so what does she have to lose?
posted by msalt at 1:11 PM on March 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
This kind of stuff is so baffling and infuriating though:
I don't find it that baffling. The GOP is the party of racism, and recently it's become the party of overt racism. Unremarkable men like that one need to feel their foot on someone's neck, and the GOP gives them the political identity that allows them to do that, their own wellfare be damned. Identity is more important than survival, so the redfaced racist white men of the country will keep voting for their corporate overlords regardless of any sense it makes for them personally (although those fates often overlap), or for the world at large. They need power and respect and voting R is the way that they get it.
posted by codacorolla at 1:12 PM on March 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
I don't find it that baffling. The GOP is the party of racism, and recently it's become the party of overt racism. Unremarkable men like that one need to feel their foot on someone's neck, and the GOP gives them the political identity that allows them to do that, their own wellfare be damned. Identity is more important than survival, so the redfaced racist white men of the country will keep voting for their corporate overlords regardless of any sense it makes for them personally (although those fates often overlap), or for the world at large. They need power and respect and voting R is the way that they get it.
posted by codacorolla at 1:12 PM on March 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
Trump says right in that tweet that he has cut off Haberman's access
...And of course we all know that Trump always means what he says and sticks to his word...
posted by neroli at 1:13 PM on March 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
...And of course we all know that Trump always means what he says and sticks to his word...
posted by neroli at 1:13 PM on March 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
David Roberts (Vox, don't know him) has an interesting and impassioned tweetstorm on the NYT and conservative columnists. tl;dr - there's no coherent intellectual basis to conservatism any more, and pretending there is - and running the five percent of GOP commentators who connive in this pretence - is dangerous and wrong. Progressives really, really wish there was... but there isn't.
His conclusion - so run the foaming attack dogs and show the truth about the enemy - is horrible, but given his analysis, what else do you do? Pretending there is something at the heart of Republicanism that can be expressed coherently and argued about isn't working.
posted by Devonian at 2:47 PM on March 11, 2018 [54 favorites]
His conclusion - so run the foaming attack dogs and show the truth about the enemy - is horrible, but given his analysis, what else do you do? Pretending there is something at the heart of Republicanism that can be expressed coherently and argued about isn't working.
posted by Devonian at 2:47 PM on March 11, 2018 [54 favorites]
Yeah the whole point of those think tanks and fellowships and such was to provide a friendly face to this ideaology and make it seem like it had a rational ideaology, but the mask is gone and the core is revealed (the literal meaning of apocalypse) and no hard right winger actually cares about tax law or the inherent freedom of robust capitalism.
It’s not enough to beat this down, we have to make sure it never comes to power again and loses the ability to wage warfare on the poor, the sick, or anyone else they consider less than human.
posted by The Whelk at 2:51 PM on March 11, 2018 [34 favorites]
It’s not enough to beat this down, we have to make sure it never comes to power again and loses the ability to wage warfare on the poor, the sick, or anyone else they consider less than human.
posted by The Whelk at 2:51 PM on March 11, 2018 [34 favorites]
It is truly -bizarre- that the Missing Obama Millions article doesn't contain a single mention of the gutting of the Voting Rights Act. I mean, that was a real thing that suppressed turnout in populations that are vital to Democratic victories.
After the election, registered voters in Milwaukee County and Madison’s Dane County were surveyed about why they didn’t cast a ballot. Eleven percent cited the voter ID law and said they didn’t have an acceptable ID; of those, more than half said the law was the “main reason” they didn’t vote. According to the study’s author, University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist Kenneth Mayer, that finding implies that between 12,000 and 23,000 registered voters in Madison and Milwaukee—and as many as 45,000 statewide—were deterred from voting by the ID law. “We have hard evidence there were tens of thousands of people who were unable to vote because of the voter ID law,” he says.
posted by longdaysjourney at 3:04 PM on March 11, 2018 [80 favorites]
After the election, registered voters in Milwaukee County and Madison’s Dane County were surveyed about why they didn’t cast a ballot. Eleven percent cited the voter ID law and said they didn’t have an acceptable ID; of those, more than half said the law was the “main reason” they didn’t vote. According to the study’s author, University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist Kenneth Mayer, that finding implies that between 12,000 and 23,000 registered voters in Madison and Milwaukee—and as many as 45,000 statewide—were deterred from voting by the ID law. “We have hard evidence there were tens of thousands of people who were unable to vote because of the voter ID law,” he says.
posted by longdaysjourney at 3:04 PM on March 11, 2018 [80 favorites]
Progressives really, really wish there was... but there isn't.
That’s because you need a loyal opposition for politics to work otherwise you’re just in an autocracy.
posted by Talez at 3:24 PM on March 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
That’s because you need a loyal opposition for politics to work otherwise you’re just in an autocracy.
posted by Talez at 3:24 PM on March 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
tl;dr - there's no coherent intellectual basis to conservatism any more
Well, there never was. Obvious agendas to further and maintain systemic racism in the US, a purported ethics that bases itself on mythical super-beings, an across the board stance of resisting all change (Buckley's famous " . . .standing astride history saying . . . No!"). Conservatism has ALWAYS been about maintaining systemic racist, moneyed corporate advantage, by manipulating populist anger when possible. They've just been more spectacularly successful in the last 18 years. And thus occasionally have to really face and publicly accept that reality recently.
posted by rc3spencer at 3:42 PM on March 11, 2018 [14 favorites]
Well, there never was. Obvious agendas to further and maintain systemic racism in the US, a purported ethics that bases itself on mythical super-beings, an across the board stance of resisting all change (Buckley's famous " . . .standing astride history saying . . . No!"). Conservatism has ALWAYS been about maintaining systemic racist, moneyed corporate advantage, by manipulating populist anger when possible. They've just been more spectacularly successful in the last 18 years. And thus occasionally have to really face and publicly accept that reality recently.
posted by rc3spencer at 3:42 PM on March 11, 2018 [14 favorites]
His conclusion - so run the foaming attack dogs and show the truth about the enemy - is horrible, but given his analysis, what else do you do?
Why is it horrible to show truth about a group who are unrepentantly opposed to all your ideals, and would probably be fine with deporting / killing you if they could get away with it?
posted by benzenedream at 3:48 PM on March 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
Why is it horrible to show truth about a group who are unrepentantly opposed to all your ideals, and would probably be fine with deporting / killing you if they could get away with it?
posted by benzenedream at 3:48 PM on March 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
Why is it horrible to show truth about a group who are unrepentantly opposed to all your ideals, and would probably be fine with deporting / killing you if they could get away with it?
Because if we showed the extreme of both sides we’d be equally fucking stupid. Do we start letting members of the local communist society start extolling the virtues of confiscation of private property and forced collectivism?
It just feels like a cheap tactic to point to any ideology’s most extreme element and say “Look! They’re fucking crazy!”
posted by Talez at 3:52 PM on March 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
Because if we showed the extreme of both sides we’d be equally fucking stupid. Do we start letting members of the local communist society start extolling the virtues of confiscation of private property and forced collectivism?
It just feels like a cheap tactic to point to any ideology’s most extreme element and say “Look! They’re fucking crazy!”
posted by Talez at 3:52 PM on March 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
I was just highlighting that Roberts thread to my old-school liberal mom. I've been saying as much since 2016, when Ryan (remember, I live in his district) clearly became non-plussed [yes, I'm calling back to that] as the primaries rolled on and his two decades of exemplifying the movement conservative line were laid bare as useless before the raw, naked reactionary resentment of the Republican base. It was always there, but leadership class folks like Ryan (and the Buckley-Will-Brooks class of interlocutors) were able to disguise it in the anodyne Atwater sense ("first you say n* then you say forced bussing"). But the problem is deeper than the "loyal opposition" issue Talez highlights.
I think the left is increasingly fractured, to my dismay, and now contains at least four tendencies ranging from the neoliberal to the more traditional liberal to the identity politics to a passel of One True Marxism approaches. They all have differing responses to this new reactionism, and none of them is really good. We're fighting over the Women's March and who gets to wear pussy hats and the Farrakhan issue stems from that -- it's a weakness that the right may have instinctively seized on. We're fighting over who gets to don the mantle of "the Resistance". We're divided on whether Russia is even a thing.
So that's the other problem -- we can't confront the evil without naming it, and we can't confront it disunited, but we seem to have few ways to resolve this internal conflict. I mean, I know that conservatives around here know to shut up or avoid politics threads for the most part, nowadays, and I also know that the far left (including both very principled and decent, and scary red-brown types) that I see on Twitter aren't part of making this come together and work either. I don't have many answers myself, other than we must all hang together, otherwise we may find ourselves all hanged separately, so to speak.
posted by dhartung at 4:01 PM on March 11, 2018 [12 favorites]
I think the left is increasingly fractured, to my dismay, and now contains at least four tendencies ranging from the neoliberal to the more traditional liberal to the identity politics to a passel of One True Marxism approaches. They all have differing responses to this new reactionism, and none of them is really good. We're fighting over the Women's March and who gets to wear pussy hats and the Farrakhan issue stems from that -- it's a weakness that the right may have instinctively seized on. We're fighting over who gets to don the mantle of "the Resistance". We're divided on whether Russia is even a thing.
So that's the other problem -- we can't confront the evil without naming it, and we can't confront it disunited, but we seem to have few ways to resolve this internal conflict. I mean, I know that conservatives around here know to shut up or avoid politics threads for the most part, nowadays, and I also know that the far left (including both very principled and decent, and scary red-brown types) that I see on Twitter aren't part of making this come together and work either. I don't have many answers myself, other than we must all hang together, otherwise we may find ourselves all hanged separately, so to speak.
posted by dhartung at 4:01 PM on March 11, 2018 [12 favorites]
I was going to say it's horrible because what we'd discover if we did that is that lots of people who read the NYT are quite receptive to overt, over-the-top bigotry when an authority they like shows it to them.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 4:01 PM on March 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 4:01 PM on March 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
the extremes of the modern right: round up minorities and gas them
the mainstream: dismantle the last remnants of the welfare state, mass deportation, worry about the white birth rate
the conservative mainstream is crazy now. that there are fringe elements even crazier than that doesn’t make that untrue.
posted by murphy slaw at 4:06 PM on March 11, 2018 [41 favorites]
the mainstream: dismantle the last remnants of the welfare state, mass deportation, worry about the white birth rate
the conservative mainstream is crazy now. that there are fringe elements even crazier than that doesn’t make that untrue.
posted by murphy slaw at 4:06 PM on March 11, 2018 [41 favorites]
It’s taken as a fact that the left is divided and circular firing Squamish but ...I don’t see it?
Sure you see it online, and on twitter, but those things Do Not Exist. Basically no one reads Twitter and the engement from links outside twitter is minuscule- Facebook kind of exists, but that’s because it’s the fault way to engage. Friends and family for a slice of the US, and it’s easier to organize groups there.
But on the ground? Nope. My biggest feeling since last year, since going to meetings and protests and canvassing and working groups and mutual aid actions and postcard drives and phonebanking is the feeling of THIS IS NOT A DRILL. I’m suddenly friends with a lot of anarchists! It’s been increasingly easy to get self described liberals to join solidarity actions. Canvassing for Medicare For All is a literal delight cause of how excited people are for it once you explain it. I have made it my duty to personally radicalize members of the upper middle class. People who took pride in being apolitical or thought the system was too rotten to repair and suddenly showing up to STOP ICE training and strike organizing.
Solidarity Not Unity. It means we work toward our common goals using all our tendencies and methods to create a broad, flexible and quickly adaptive movement. We are all in this together.
posted by The Whelk at 4:40 PM on March 11, 2018 [103 favorites]
Sure you see it online, and on twitter, but those things Do Not Exist. Basically no one reads Twitter and the engement from links outside twitter is minuscule- Facebook kind of exists, but that’s because it’s the fault way to engage. Friends and family for a slice of the US, and it’s easier to organize groups there.
But on the ground? Nope. My biggest feeling since last year, since going to meetings and protests and canvassing and working groups and mutual aid actions and postcard drives and phonebanking is the feeling of THIS IS NOT A DRILL. I’m suddenly friends with a lot of anarchists! It’s been increasingly easy to get self described liberals to join solidarity actions. Canvassing for Medicare For All is a literal delight cause of how excited people are for it once you explain it. I have made it my duty to personally radicalize members of the upper middle class. People who took pride in being apolitical or thought the system was too rotten to repair and suddenly showing up to STOP ICE training and strike organizing.
Solidarity Not Unity. It means we work toward our common goals using all our tendencies and methods to create a broad, flexible and quickly adaptive movement. We are all in this together.
posted by The Whelk at 4:40 PM on March 11, 2018 [103 favorites]
And seeing Trump directly attack Maggie Haberman is a surprise... isn't she the Times' most reliable Trump apologist? "The Trump Whisperer"? Of course her "LOL" response shows he hasn't lost her... yet, but it has to be very awkward for her - I can just imagine how fawning her next White House exclusive will be...
You kick the dog that is close not the ones that stay away.
posted by srboisvert at 4:47 PM on March 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
You kick the dog that is close not the ones that stay away.
posted by srboisvert at 4:47 PM on March 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
Trump privately slamming GOP candidate in Pa. House race as 'weak': report (The Hill)
Trump privately trashes Rick Saccone (Axios)
Trump privately trashes Rick Saccone (Axios)
There's a reason Trump said hardly anything about Republican candidate Rick Saccone during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday night that was supposed to promote his candidacy.posted by Barack Spinoza at 4:49 PM on March 11, 2018 [13 favorites]
The reason: Trump thinks Saccone is a terrible, "weak" candidate, according to four sources who've spoken to the president about him.
Trump held that opinion of Saccone before leaving for the rally, and I've not been able to establish whether his time on the ground with the candidate changed his mind.
Trump isn't the only top Republican who’s found Saccone underwhelming. The widely-held view from Republican officials: Democrat Conor Lamb is a far superior candidate to Saccone and running a far better campaign. Lamb is running effectively as Republican Lite. He's pro-gun and says he personally opposes to abortion (though he supports abortion rights).
The thing that most irks senior Republicans involved in the race: Saccone has been a lousy fundraiser. Lamb has outraised Saccone by a staggering margin — nearly 500%.
"One rally, four headlines. Guardian, NYT, WashPost, WSJ."To which someone replies:
"Wow. The NYT would have found Nuremberg in 1938 a hoot!!"Hmm, let's see…
1938 Nuremberg Rally Sept. 5-12.Yup, nothing changed there…
NYT, Sept. 12 1938.
"NAZIS INSIST ON ANNEXATION; SUDETENS WANT PLEBESCITE; HITLER TO TELL AIMS TODAY.
No War Psychosis Seen in Berlin; Sunday Crowds Parade as Usual"
posted by Pinback at 4:53 PM on March 11, 2018 [49 favorites]
Solidarity Not Unity. It means we work toward our common goals using all our tendencies and methods to create a broad, flexible and quickly adaptive movement. We are all in this together.
Ok so that is a fairly privileged thing to say. I'm Jewish- this thing with Farrakhan makes me wonder how many people on the left want to see me gassed, and it makes me fear for my safety at a protest. It's very easy to dismiss twitter and facebook and say "well these things do not exist" outside of online, but what if you're trans and you're worried that the local woman's group has a lot of terfs and you might get killed? trans women are the victims of a crazy amount of violence, especially if they're WOC. What if the local group is really really white and you're a POC and you wonder how much of your concerns about violence will be dismissed by the local tankies even if their violence will likely get pinned on you? Criticisms of the left aren't necessarily all circular firing squads, some of them are real issues that maybe because you're a cis man aren't so important to you. But this latest dust-up with the woman's march makes me really suspect of their aims. Am I not allowed to be concerned?
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 5:06 PM on March 11, 2018 [34 favorites]
Ok so that is a fairly privileged thing to say. I'm Jewish- this thing with Farrakhan makes me wonder how many people on the left want to see me gassed, and it makes me fear for my safety at a protest. It's very easy to dismiss twitter and facebook and say "well these things do not exist" outside of online, but what if you're trans and you're worried that the local woman's group has a lot of terfs and you might get killed? trans women are the victims of a crazy amount of violence, especially if they're WOC. What if the local group is really really white and you're a POC and you wonder how much of your concerns about violence will be dismissed by the local tankies even if their violence will likely get pinned on you? Criticisms of the left aren't necessarily all circular firing squads, some of them are real issues that maybe because you're a cis man aren't so important to you. But this latest dust-up with the woman's march makes me really suspect of their aims. Am I not allowed to be concerned?
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 5:06 PM on March 11, 2018 [34 favorites]
What was that old slogan? Solidarity is for white women? It applies to more than that.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 5:11 PM on March 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 5:11 PM on March 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
David Roberts (Vox, don't know him) has an interesting and impassioned tweetstorm on the NYT and conservative columnists.
I cannot recommend reading that thread highly enough. I don't know how I feel about his proposed solutions, but on the whole the message he lays out needs to be shouted from the rooftops.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 5:23 PM on March 11, 2018 [14 favorites]
I cannot recommend reading that thread highly enough. I don't know how I feel about his proposed solutions, but on the whole the message he lays out needs to be shouted from the rooftops.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 5:23 PM on March 11, 2018 [14 favorites]
I don't really know how it might be in NYC (are you in Nadler's D+26ish?) but I do suspect it's a lot more unified than here in WI-01. We have white progressives, traditional liberals, and urban contingents of POC, very few tankies ... and a whole lot of "things need shaking up" Trumpists. The first two groups are having a somewhat confused replay of the 2016 primaries, with many supporters of "Ironstache" coming from the Sanders contingent presuming that his opponent again my friend Cathy Myers (if they acknowledge that the primary hasn't happened yet, which is rare) is a dyed-in-the-wool Hillary stan with matching neoliberal positions, and frustrating bitterness on both sides. (From where I sit she's actually a bit to his left on most issues and he's the one with a few problematic neoliberal flourishes. You can see some of that in local and online coverage.) It doesn't say the general will have a lot of defections as a result, but it doesn't bode well for the idea of party unity on a large scale. In any event, the overall success of our district's local parties in forging solid relationships across the racial divide is definitely mixed but mostly breeds pessimism. I mean, I do hope we'll be all of one purpose come November. I'm just not seeing it yet.
posted by dhartung at 5:32 PM on March 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by dhartung at 5:32 PM on March 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
Steve Bannon tells French far-right 'history is on our side' "Let them call you racists, xenophobes or whatever else, wear these like a medal.”
@DrPhilGoff (President, Policing Equity)
I don’t think folks get how truly dangerous this is. Racial progress in this country and others takes a winding path. Racism is often economically advantageous, so folks who suffer need to make it cost. Folks need to break down the barriers to seeing vulnerable peoples’ humanity. But most important for defeating racism, we need to forge a shared cultural norm making it plain that racial oppression is bad.
The U.S. Civil Rights Movement is a master class in this. King and SNCC’s non-violent protest made it increasingly clear that racial segregation and exploitation were monstrous. In other words, among our greatest accomplishments as a nation is turning “racist” into a bad thing to be. Because this didn’t happen overnight—and because folks don’t read history books—some folks forget that “racist” wasn’t always a dirty word. Consequently, many don’t really give weight to considering what would happen if that protection went away. HEADS UP. THAT PROTECTION IS GOING AWAY!
This isn’t new. A mix of concerted efforts and accidental activism have chipped away at the definition of racism for some time. These attacks narrowed the definition from “the historically rooted pattern of social stratification and exploitation rooted in race” to “mean people.” They have belittled the consequences of racial violence and focused cultural attentions on small slights to one’s identity.
That said, what Bannon is doing here, and neo-Nazi’s all over have been doing globally, is different still. They are extending the popular tropes that suggest claims of racism are really rooted in “excess sensitivity” and “weakness.” And that extension says, “See. To be called a racist ONLY means that you are angering the sensitive and the weak. That’s all racism really is!” This perversion of our moral compass is not just nauseating. It is dangerous. It is how we lose the moral authority to name racism for what it is.
Importantly, the solution is not to stop calling things racist (lest the word lose its meaning). The solution is to insist on the right definition. And to pair the murderous rhetoric these ideologues use with their historic consequences. This stuff is not just politics. It’s not a joke. This stuff kills whole groups and generations of people. Just because it’s not happening yet, doesn’t mean it’s not the same as before.
posted by chris24 at 5:33 PM on March 11, 2018 [88 favorites]
@DrPhilGoff (President, Policing Equity)
I don’t think folks get how truly dangerous this is. Racial progress in this country and others takes a winding path. Racism is often economically advantageous, so folks who suffer need to make it cost. Folks need to break down the barriers to seeing vulnerable peoples’ humanity. But most important for defeating racism, we need to forge a shared cultural norm making it plain that racial oppression is bad.
The U.S. Civil Rights Movement is a master class in this. King and SNCC’s non-violent protest made it increasingly clear that racial segregation and exploitation were monstrous. In other words, among our greatest accomplishments as a nation is turning “racist” into a bad thing to be. Because this didn’t happen overnight—and because folks don’t read history books—some folks forget that “racist” wasn’t always a dirty word. Consequently, many don’t really give weight to considering what would happen if that protection went away. HEADS UP. THAT PROTECTION IS GOING AWAY!
This isn’t new. A mix of concerted efforts and accidental activism have chipped away at the definition of racism for some time. These attacks narrowed the definition from “the historically rooted pattern of social stratification and exploitation rooted in race” to “mean people.” They have belittled the consequences of racial violence and focused cultural attentions on small slights to one’s identity.
That said, what Bannon is doing here, and neo-Nazi’s all over have been doing globally, is different still. They are extending the popular tropes that suggest claims of racism are really rooted in “excess sensitivity” and “weakness.” And that extension says, “See. To be called a racist ONLY means that you are angering the sensitive and the weak. That’s all racism really is!” This perversion of our moral compass is not just nauseating. It is dangerous. It is how we lose the moral authority to name racism for what it is.
Importantly, the solution is not to stop calling things racist (lest the word lose its meaning). The solution is to insist on the right definition. And to pair the murderous rhetoric these ideologues use with their historic consequences. This stuff is not just politics. It’s not a joke. This stuff kills whole groups and generations of people. Just because it’s not happening yet, doesn’t mean it’s not the same as before.
posted by chris24 at 5:33 PM on March 11, 2018 [88 favorites]
I'm Jewish- this thing with Farrakhan makes me wonder how many people on the left want to see me gassed, and it makes me fear for my safety at a protest.I don't know why people on the left insist on buddying up to Farrakhan. He's caused problems for the left before (see: Keith Ellison, Barack Obama, Maxine Waters) and I don't know what they're getting in return for his support that makes it so vital to shake his hand and attend his hate speeches. Obama's team had a photo of him with Farrakhan suppressed during his first bid for POTUS and Ellison repeatedly denies having anything to do with him while Farrakhan brags about their ongoing relationship, so it's not like Dems don't KNOW he's a problem. Just stop going to his rallies and inviting him anywhere, why is it so hard?
posted by xyzzy at 5:58 PM on March 11, 2018 [12 favorites]
I'm Jewish, and my dad has been falling down the Fox News hole for the last ten years. Every time I try to pull him back out, he brings up Farrakhan. So yeah, it would be nice if the left would cut ties, and yeah, it's worrying that they won't.
posted by nonasuch at 6:02 PM on March 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by nonasuch at 6:02 PM on March 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
Adam Serwer (who is both black and Jewish) has a good thing giving some context about why some people refuse to denounce Farrakhan.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:06 PM on March 11, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:06 PM on March 11, 2018 [21 favorites]
Talking Points Memo:“To me it felt like he was a Talmud teacher and I was back in Yeshiva,” Nunberg told Witt, describing the lawyer interviewing him before the grand jury.
“It was ‘boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.’ There was nothing subjective,” he continued.
No matter your faith, this is manifestly a journey toward wisdom for young Nunberg. Godspeed, young Nunberg. May jail only enclose you when justified.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:10 PM on March 11, 2018 [13 favorites]
“It was ‘boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.’ There was nothing subjective,” he continued.
No matter your faith, this is manifestly a journey toward wisdom for young Nunberg. Godspeed, young Nunberg. May jail only enclose you when justified.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:10 PM on March 11, 2018 [13 favorites]
That article by Adam Serwer is frightening. Again and again Mallory is called out for anti-semitism and each time she equates being called and anti-semite more damaging than the Jew-hate itself.
So she and I had a conversation. The two things that happened in that moment were one, she basically arrested my language and explained to me why that language was not good for the Jewish community, and at the same time I explained to her why using the terminology that she used was cause for me to feel attacked. And she understood that.
The terminology she felt was "attacking her" was the fact that a friend called her out on saying Jews were good with money and saying that that idea is anti-semitic.
That's like a white person saying the "real racist" is the black person calling a white person racist!
Coupled with this when called out for the support of Farrakhan:
One tweet, in which Mallory wrote that “If your leader does not have the same enemies as Jesus, they may not be THE leader! Study the Bible and u will find the similarities. Ostracizing, ridicule and rejection is a painful part of the process...but faith is the substance of things!” was interpreted by some of her critics as Mallory invoking the anti-Semitic canard that the Jews killed Jesus, a meaning Mallory said she did not intend.
I mean... the same enemies as Jesus, that's pretty stark.
I get what the article is saying about Farrakhan having helped so many people who didn't have any other help, and why people sometimes defend him because of that, but while that article made that clear, it also made it clear that Mallory is pretty anti-semitic, and completely unwilling to change that about herself.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 6:19 PM on March 11, 2018 [15 favorites]
So she and I had a conversation. The two things that happened in that moment were one, she basically arrested my language and explained to me why that language was not good for the Jewish community, and at the same time I explained to her why using the terminology that she used was cause for me to feel attacked. And she understood that.
The terminology she felt was "attacking her" was the fact that a friend called her out on saying Jews were good with money and saying that that idea is anti-semitic.
That's like a white person saying the "real racist" is the black person calling a white person racist!
Coupled with this when called out for the support of Farrakhan:
One tweet, in which Mallory wrote that “If your leader does not have the same enemies as Jesus, they may not be THE leader! Study the Bible and u will find the similarities. Ostracizing, ridicule and rejection is a painful part of the process...but faith is the substance of things!” was interpreted by some of her critics as Mallory invoking the anti-Semitic canard that the Jews killed Jesus, a meaning Mallory said she did not intend.
I mean... the same enemies as Jesus, that's pretty stark.
I get what the article is saying about Farrakhan having helped so many people who didn't have any other help, and why people sometimes defend him because of that, but while that article made that clear, it also made it clear that Mallory is pretty anti-semitic, and completely unwilling to change that about herself.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 6:19 PM on March 11, 2018 [15 favorites]
Maybe I’m confused but my impression from the Gospels is that Jesus would have punched Donald in the throat, ymmv
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:27 PM on March 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:27 PM on March 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
Maybe I’m confused but my impression from the Gospels is that Jesus would have punched Donald in the throat, ymmv
Whips also aren't out of the question.
posted by Talez at 6:30 PM on March 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
Whips also aren't out of the question.
posted by Talez at 6:30 PM on March 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
I don't know why people on the left insist on buddying up to Farrakhan. He's caused problems for the left before (see: Keith Ellison, Barack Obama, Maxine Waters)
...Malcolm X...
posted by Sys Rq at 6:31 PM on March 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
...Malcolm X...
posted by Sys Rq at 6:31 PM on March 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
Details are emerging on what North Korea really said to Trump via South Korea. It's a doozy.
@NoonInKorea:
posted by scalefree at 6:32 PM on March 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
@NoonInKorea:
SK media report the special message from KJU conveyed to Trump via SK envoys involves setting up US embassy in Pyongyang as part of normalizing US-NK relations. "It's much bigger than releasing 3 US hostages. KJU wants full diplomatic relations with US."*Korean Worker's Party (North Korea)
What does that mean? That means NK wants a peace treaty and that's why KJU said, "We need some warranty: we need assurance of regime preservation and safety from our counterpart (US)." So NK wants to not only remove accumulated UNSCR sanctions but wants full diplomatic relations.
That could set separate agendas for the 2 summits taking place in April & May: for the US-NK summit, security and military-related issues will be on the table: denuclearization & peace negotiations. For the SK-NK summit, relaxing tensions, separate families, cultural exchanges.
Per SK insider, "KJU wants firm US pledge of peace and 'regime preservation' is key consideration." That's what's being asked for the offer of "apparent denuclearization" on the part of NK. KJU also voluntarily described NK as a "poor country."
NK watchers are still skeptical. But some believe NK does not see nukes & missiles as ends in themselves but as currencies to trade for things like security guarantees, economic aid and even diplomacy: "It could be a long-term strategic move on the part of KJU," who's still young.
Obviously one strong factor in the decision is the economic squeeze wrought by continuing sanctions. They may be beginning to shake the faith of KWP* and military elites and could widen to regular Pyongyangites. "He probably saw there're limits to what he can do with nukes".
posted by scalefree at 6:32 PM on March 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
My question is, is any realistic person considering anything other than “regime preservation”? There is not going to be an Arab Spring in North Korea, even if an Arab Spring was an effective outcome to aspire to. Kim is going to try to secure the comfortable future of himself and his family above all else. The idea of negotiating otherwise seems unrealistic, unless one is willing to let many thousands of innocent people die.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:38 PM on March 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:38 PM on March 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
It would be hilarious if KJU just wants to defect and end the problem, like the Dutch withdrawing from Africa (ideology being the colonialism). "Here, you guys do this. I am DONE." He can get a flat in whatever building Kissinger lives in and order Postmates all day.
posted by rhizome at 6:45 PM on March 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 6:45 PM on March 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
Just stop going to his rallies and inviting him anywhere, why is it so hard?
I keep coming back to this question myself. The only rational answer I can come up with is that there are still a couple nasty strains of antisemitism that pervade the left. They're usually less in-your-face than the ones on the right, what with the lack of swastikas, SS runes, and tiki torches but just as present.
We've probably ignored it as fringe for too long. The "mainstream" Republicans would have made the same claim up until two years ago and look where that got them. No more. This will be harder in some cases than others. Farrakhan's comments mark him as beyond the pale (as they should have many years ago). Some folks, on the other hand, will cloak their antisemitism much more skillfully behind legitimate criticism of Israel and such but it's still possible to tell the difference with any sort of effort.
If we can rightfully take a much harsher zero tolerance policy on sexual harassment as with Al Franken we can do the same for antisemites.
posted by Justinian at 7:09 PM on March 11, 2018 [28 favorites]
I keep coming back to this question myself. The only rational answer I can come up with is that there are still a couple nasty strains of antisemitism that pervade the left. They're usually less in-your-face than the ones on the right, what with the lack of swastikas, SS runes, and tiki torches but just as present.
We've probably ignored it as fringe for too long. The "mainstream" Republicans would have made the same claim up until two years ago and look where that got them. No more. This will be harder in some cases than others. Farrakhan's comments mark him as beyond the pale (as they should have many years ago). Some folks, on the other hand, will cloak their antisemitism much more skillfully behind legitimate criticism of Israel and such but it's still possible to tell the difference with any sort of effort.
If we can rightfully take a much harsher zero tolerance policy on sexual harassment as with Al Franken we can do the same for antisemites.
posted by Justinian at 7:09 PM on March 11, 2018 [28 favorites]
KJU wants full diplomatic relations with US.
We don't even have an ambassador to South Korea yet. Maybe he can send Jared.
posted by scalefree at 7:12 PM on March 11, 2018 [13 favorites]
We don't even have an ambassador to South Korea yet. Maybe he can send Jared.
posted by scalefree at 7:12 PM on March 11, 2018 [13 favorites]
As much as I want to believe this could be a "Nixon going to China" moment, Nixon had more intelligence in one finger than Trump in his entire body. Nixon was a paranoid, evil genius. Trump is two of those things.
"Denuclearization" is a trap. It sounds wonderful but it's nothing but a trick for NK to drive a wedge between us and South Korea. And I think Trump is too stupid to see it.
posted by Justinian at 7:15 PM on March 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
"Denuclearization" is a trap. It sounds wonderful but it's nothing but a trick for NK to drive a wedge between us and South Korea. And I think Trump is too stupid to see it.
posted by Justinian at 7:15 PM on March 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
Sec. DeVos went on 60 Minutes, and it went pretty poorly.
Here's a short clip that will give you an idea. Lesley Stahl pokes some holes in her argument that taking money away from public schools and giving it to charters causes the public schools to get better:
posted by zachlipton at 7:57 PM on March 11, 2018 [81 favorites]
Here's a short clip that will give you an idea. Lesley Stahl pokes some holes in her argument that taking money away from public schools and giving it to charters causes the public schools to get better:
Lesley Stahl: No, but your argument that if you take funds away that the schools will get better, is not working in Michigan where you had a huge impact and influence over the direction of the school system here.Next week on 60 Minutes: Stormy Daniels.
Betsy DeVos: I hesitate to talk about all schools in general because schools are made up of individual students attending them.
Lesley Stahl: The public schools here are doing worse than they did.
Betsy DeVos: Michigan schools need to do better. There is no doubt about it.
Lesley Stahl: Have you seen the really bad schools? Maybe try to figure out what they're doing?
Betsy DeVos: I have not-- I have not-- I have not intentionally visited schools that are underperforming.
Lesley Stahl: Maybe you should.
Betsy DeVos: Maybe I should. Yes.
posted by zachlipton at 7:57 PM on March 11, 2018 [81 favorites]
I keep coming back to this question myself. The only rational answer I can come up with is that there are still a couple nasty strains of antisemitism that pervade the left.
Someone said the answer in this thread: the African-American community apparently sees solidarity as translating to 'black people have to do what white people want, but white people don't have to help black people in return'. When the only people who are doing anything about a problem happen to be virulently anti-Semitic, cutting them off means no-one is doing anything about a problem.
Which means no-one is doing anything about the problems the Nation of Islam is addressing who isn't virulently anti-Semitic. So maybe... more people should?
posted by Merus at 8:09 PM on March 11, 2018 [18 favorites]
Someone said the answer in this thread: the African-American community apparently sees solidarity as translating to 'black people have to do what white people want, but white people don't have to help black people in return'. When the only people who are doing anything about a problem happen to be virulently anti-Semitic, cutting them off means no-one is doing anything about a problem.
Which means no-one is doing anything about the problems the Nation of Islam is addressing who isn't virulently anti-Semitic. So maybe... more people should?
posted by Merus at 8:09 PM on March 11, 2018 [18 favorites]
Axios, Swan, Scoop: Trump finally losing patience with VA Sec. Shulkin. This is clearly a one-sided view of a phenomenally dysfunctional situation from the anti-Shulkin faction, but among the awfulness, this detail is particularity WTFworthy:
posted by zachlipton at 8:24 PM on March 11, 2018 [93 favorites]
Right after his meeting with Kelly, Shulkin was brought into the Oval Office to talk to Trump. The conversation quickly turned to discussing important legislation to reform the VA health care system.The President of the United States called up a Fox & Friends host in the middle of a meeting with a cabinet secretary to ask for advice.
Trump surprised Shulkin by dialing in Fox & Friends host Pete Hegseth on speaker phone to get his opinion of the legislation, according to two sources with knowledge of the conversation.
posted by zachlipton at 8:24 PM on March 11, 2018 [93 favorites]
Pete Hegseth has a long history of being a convenient super-right-wing veteran. We saw this with Vets For Freedom, the astroturfed pro-Iraq-War group of the mid 2000s. I am completely unsurprised that Trump adores him.
posted by corb at 8:44 PM on March 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by corb at 8:44 PM on March 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
When your cult leader is calling for mass executions and you're pretty sure that's a bad thing, but you dare not say so and anyway you know you'll be fully on board with everyone else soon enough... (Crooks and Liars reporting CNN)
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) on Sunday said that he was "not sure" if the death penalty should be applied to drug offenses.
posted by Devonian at 8:50 PM on March 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) on Sunday said that he was "not sure" if the death penalty should be applied to drug offenses.
posted by Devonian at 8:50 PM on March 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
Re Farrakahn. Yes, anti-semitism should be a red-line litmus test. so should homophobia. So should misogyny. So should able-ism. so should racism. So should reproductive rights, gun control, opposition to apartheid in the mid-east, climate change, sep of church and state, genital mutilation, etc etc etc.
Republicans are a cishet patriarchal christian militant capitalist white supremacy... because that is still a large enough and powerful enough faction to hold power.
the left is trying to maintain a coalition of all the people who fail that litmus test and some who could pass but reject it. Many people in that coalition have horrible baggage in several dimensions of the political space. Its unfortunate, and we must work to help people seek common cause. Color me unsurprised that an 84yr old populist religious demogogue hates another religion. Disappointed, but not unsurprised.
EDIT: in case it's unclear, yes we should shun Farrakhan. no matter how many votes he can deliver.
posted by Anchorite_of_Palgrave at 8:51 PM on March 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
Republicans are a cishet patriarchal christian militant capitalist white supremacy... because that is still a large enough and powerful enough faction to hold power.
the left is trying to maintain a coalition of all the people who fail that litmus test and some who could pass but reject it. Many people in that coalition have horrible baggage in several dimensions of the political space. Its unfortunate, and we must work to help people seek common cause. Color me unsurprised that an 84yr old populist religious demogogue hates another religion. Disappointed, but not unsurprised.
EDIT: in case it's unclear, yes we should shun Farrakhan. no matter how many votes he can deliver.
posted by Anchorite_of_Palgrave at 8:51 PM on March 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
I've seen previous reporting that Trump has considered firing Shulkin and making Hegseth the Secretary and that he asks Hegseth stuff all the time. Here's the Daily Beast on Hegseth the other day:
posted by zachlipton at 8:54 PM on March 11, 2018 [13 favorites]
Two sources with knowledge of their conversations told The Daily Beast that President Trump will often call Hegseth after the Fox personality is done hosting to chat with him about the episode that had just aired. When the two talk, Hegseth will sometimes try to inject VA and veterans issues into the conversation and steer the discussion in a more policy-oriented direction. According to these sources, Trump will typically acknowledge Hegseth’s points before quickly steering the phone conversation back in the direction of what he just saw on Fox & Friends.I can only imagine how these conversations go, with Hegseth trying to convince Trump to privatize the VA and Trump trying to pivot the conversation back to, idk, co-host Abby Huntsman's physical appearance or something.
posted by zachlipton at 8:54 PM on March 11, 2018 [13 favorites]
One amazing thing about the DeVos interview is that she has one line she pulls out twice when things get tough, and it's absurdly banal:
It's like if Tim Cook tried to duck questions on an investor call by saying "I hesitate to talk about revenues in general because revenues are made up of individual purchases for phones."
posted by zachlipton at 9:23 PM on March 11, 2018 [63 favorites]
Lesley Stahl: No, but your argument that if you take funds away that the schools will get better, is not working in Michigan where you had a huge impact and influence over the direction of the school system here.I'm sure some press aide just told her to talk about "individual students," but the women is the Secretary of Education for the entire country; it's pretty reasonable to expect her to be able to talk about the education system as a whole instead of one student at a time, nor does she has anything to say about individuals either.
Betsy DeVos: I hesitate to talk about all schools in general because schools are made up of individual students attending them.
...
Lesley Stahl: Yeah but let's say there's a disruption in the classroom and a bunch of whites kids are disruptive and they get punished, you know, go see the principal, but the black kids are, you know, they call in the cops. I mean, that's the issue: who and how the kids who disrupt are being punished.
Betsy DeVos: Arguably, all of these issues or all of this issue comes down to individual kids. And--
Lesley Stahl: Well, no. That-- it's not.
It's like if Tim Cook tried to duck questions on an investor call by saying "I hesitate to talk about revenues in general because revenues are made up of individual purchases for phones."
posted by zachlipton at 9:23 PM on March 11, 2018 [63 favorites]
The Saturday Night Live impression of Mueller on The Bachelor was awful.
Just watching it now. The makeup is spot on, compared side-by-side with the real Mueller. Kate is shortish & female so her voice is higher & her body's lower, not much to be done about those. She did have the mannerisms & gait down cold.
posted by scalefree at 9:36 PM on March 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
Just watching it now. The makeup is spot on, compared side-by-side with the real Mueller. Kate is shortish & female so her voice is higher & her body's lower, not much to be done about those. She did have the mannerisms & gait down cold.
posted by scalefree at 9:36 PM on March 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
I think it's important to reiterate the point that Merus made above:
When the only people who are doing anything about a problem happen to be virulently anti-Semitic, cutting them off means no-one is doing anything about a problem.
Which means no-one is doing anything about the problems the Nation of Islam is addressing who isn't virulently anti-Semitic. So maybe... more people should?
When I hear African-Americans talk about it, what I hear is that no one else is on their side. That they're not the children of immigrants, they're the children of kidnap victims, the descendants of the slaves of conquering invaders. They had to fight upward to achieve second-class citizen status, and that only been the last 50 years. They have ample proof that their freedom, their bodies, and their lives are unimportant to the rest of society... until society decides there's something it wants (entertainment, votes, what have you). No one actually values them, except their own. So Farrakhan may be anti-Semitic, but he cares about his people , and actively does things to help. No one else is.
I saw Tamika Mallory speak about the election, where she said (and I'm paraphrasing) she confronted some African-American men for not voting; their response was, how is one any different than the other *for me*?
If African-Americans are more trusting of a man speaking hate about others than anyone else... can you blame them? As Baldwin said "...I see what you do." They see what Farrakhan does: he defends, he leads, he promotes African-Americans above all others, in a time when decades of compromise only gets them shot dead in the streets by agents of the authority we want them to care about.
I'm not intending to speak for any person of color, just relate what I've heard and read. After a period that started with seeing the first black President treated with the same racism as every other black man, and culminated with election of Trump... why should they give a crap about what the rest of us think about Farrakhan?
posted by Kelrichen at 9:39 PM on March 11, 2018 [22 favorites]
When the only people who are doing anything about a problem happen to be virulently anti-Semitic, cutting them off means no-one is doing anything about a problem.
Which means no-one is doing anything about the problems the Nation of Islam is addressing who isn't virulently anti-Semitic. So maybe... more people should?
When I hear African-Americans talk about it, what I hear is that no one else is on their side. That they're not the children of immigrants, they're the children of kidnap victims, the descendants of the slaves of conquering invaders. They had to fight upward to achieve second-class citizen status, and that only been the last 50 years. They have ample proof that their freedom, their bodies, and their lives are unimportant to the rest of society... until society decides there's something it wants (entertainment, votes, what have you). No one actually values them, except their own. So Farrakhan may be anti-Semitic, but he cares about his people , and actively does things to help. No one else is.
I saw Tamika Mallory speak about the election, where she said (and I'm paraphrasing) she confronted some African-American men for not voting; their response was, how is one any different than the other *for me*?
If African-Americans are more trusting of a man speaking hate about others than anyone else... can you blame them? As Baldwin said "...I see what you do." They see what Farrakhan does: he defends, he leads, he promotes African-Americans above all others, in a time when decades of compromise only gets them shot dead in the streets by agents of the authority we want them to care about.
I'm not intending to speak for any person of color, just relate what I've heard and read. After a period that started with seeing the first black President treated with the same racism as every other black man, and culminated with election of Trump... why should they give a crap about what the rest of us think about Farrakhan?
posted by Kelrichen at 9:39 PM on March 11, 2018 [22 favorites]
I think she means it exactly the way she said it: she wants to fund students so they can be educated in the private sector, and let buildings and systems deteriorate so there are no public options left.
posted by zachlipton at 9:39 PM on March 11, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 9:39 PM on March 11, 2018 [18 favorites]
The "individual students" line is just a reworking of Thatcher's old "there is no such thing as society" bit.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:39 PM on March 11, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 9:39 PM on March 11, 2018 [21 favorites]
Know Your Players (or StormyGraphic) "Since the complexity is great I created this infographic to assist you in following the Stormy Daniels story."
posted by kirkaracha at 9:48 PM on March 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 9:48 PM on March 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
I'm seeing some of the commentariat say that Lesley Stahl was 'excellent accountability', and the bits I saw of that interview seemed like pretty standard political interviewing to me? Like, do the research, find actual problems and counter-examples to the kinds of arguments they're going to make, and press them on the details until they give you a straight answer. I'm worried that this is seen as exceptional. Every country needs a few interviewers that politicians dread but recognise that if they don't talk to them, the electorate will decide they have something to hide.
It was excellent in terms of entertainment value, though! It was fun to watch as it became clear that DeVos' vision for education doesn't actually work. It basically boils down to 'if we give people choice then everything will be better', without making the connection that you're asking people to choose between paying lots for a good education or getting an inadequate free one, and that this undermines the point of schooling entirely.
posted by Merus at 9:51 PM on March 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
It was excellent in terms of entertainment value, though! It was fun to watch as it became clear that DeVos' vision for education doesn't actually work. It basically boils down to 'if we give people choice then everything will be better', without making the connection that you're asking people to choose between paying lots for a good education or getting an inadequate free one, and that this undermines the point of schooling entirely.
posted by Merus at 9:51 PM on March 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
Betsy DeVos: Well, we should be funding and investing in students, not in school-- school buildings, not in institutions, not in systems.
I, for one, am 100% behind direct cash grants to elementary school students in lieu of school funding. Imagine the investment and job creation in the lemonade stand industry, not to mention the boom to the video game industry. It's amazing how closely Betsy DeVos's attitude matches my viewpoint as a 10 year old who really really hates school. Cancel school, write checks to the kids!
posted by dis_integration at 10:10 PM on March 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
I, for one, am 100% behind direct cash grants to elementary school students in lieu of school funding. Imagine the investment and job creation in the lemonade stand industry, not to mention the boom to the video game industry. It's amazing how closely Betsy DeVos's attitude matches my viewpoint as a 10 year old who really really hates school. Cancel school, write checks to the kids!
posted by dis_integration at 10:10 PM on March 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
Following up on that conspiratorial tweet from Wednesday, concerning the $129,999.72 in Trump Campaign disbursements to Trump properties, I decided to look more closely at the FEC filings. Specifically, I tried to track down all campaign payments to Trump entities in 2015-2016, to see what was regular and what might be anomalous1.
All disbursements to Trump entities can be grouped into three basic categories: rent, payroll, and other (mostly facilities rental/catering for "events"). I made plots of each and I'll give a little summary:
But, if there was money skimmed from the campaign (beyond the monthly rent/payroll payments that Trump was collecting) then it likely came through one/all of these four items.
1 - While Susan Simpson arrived a nice round number, it seemed weird to me that some of the "laundered" payments would go through an AMEX card. I was wondering in particular about the large non-credit-card payments, and whether any similar payments were made at other times. I saw no reason to think that if Trump found a way to pull free money out of the campaign that he would only do it only once.
2 - The rent and payroll to DJT might be declarations to the FEC of "In Kind" contributions that he made to the campaign without being reimbursed (the entries were labeled "In Kind", but it's unclear if payments were actually made to him). Hillary Clinton, for example, seemed to collect $1.2M in "Payroll and Benefits" from her campaign, but they claimed that these were not payments. Opensecrets.org gave a different analysis of the Trump payroll payments back in 2016.
posted by pjenks at 10:14 PM on March 11, 2018 [85 favorites]
All disbursements to Trump entities can be grouped into three basic categories: rent, payroll, and other (mostly facilities rental/catering for "events"). I made plots of each and I'll give a little summary:
- Rent: The campaign paid monthly rent to Trump Tower Commercial LLC ($35k rising to $170k in the general election campaign), Trump Plaza ($9k), and Trump CPS ($6k). There were also $15k rent payments to Donald J. Trump, himself.2
- Payroll: Donald J. Trump collected $20-40k/mo in "Payroll" from the campaign. Each of these payments was exactly matched by an equal disbursement split between Trump Payroll Corp and Trump Tower Commercial (Payroll).2
- Non-rent/Non-payroll (zoomed-in version): Apart from low-dollar ($1-5k) payments to Trump properties for food and lodging (most of which were paid for on an AMEX card), there were frequent $10-50k (non-AMEX/direct) disbursements for "Facilities Rental / Catering" at the Trump National golf clubs and Mar-A-Lago, I assume for fundraising events. If money was re-directed from the campaign for a specific purpose, it likely came from these latter payments, or from some suspicious looking "Travel: Lodging" disbursements and payments to Trump Restaurants (see below).
- Regular $10-50k events at Trump National properties. These amounts are not outlandish, and are in fact comparable to single-event stadium rental values for Trump rallies. But I wonder if the FEC has tied each disbursement to specific events, or if they even can.
- The largest single disbursement made by the campaign (that was not related to advertising, consulting, swag purchases, and plane rentals) was a $423k payment to Mar-A-Lago in May 2016. This was noted, e.g., in the NYTimes in June 2016, but, at the time, there were few other payments for comparison. The payment to Mar-A-Lago is an order of magnitude more than any other golf club entry.
- Over three separate payments in October and November of 2016, Trump International Hotel Las Vegas was paid $237k for "Travel: Lodging". These payments were in addition to $35k in AMEX credit-card payments to TIHLV over the same months. Looking at all of the Campaign disbursements for "Lodging", non-AMEX payments were very rare (72 of 5881, by my count); but 95% of the $302k spent in these 72 payments came from the 17 payments that were for Trump hotels (and of course most of that was directed to TIHLV in late-2016).
- Trump Restaurants was likely the primary beneficiary of the five-fold rent increase in May 2016, and then received $74k in additional payments in Oct-Dec 2016. The Trump Tower Commercial rent increase in June 2016 was preceded by a one-time $125k payment to Trump Restaurants, almost exactly the amount of the increase. So, it seems likely that the Trump Restaurants rent was rolled into the TTC value for the general election campaign. This makes the large, additional, payments to TR in late-2016 look even more unusual.
But, if there was money skimmed from the campaign (beyond the monthly rent/payroll payments that Trump was collecting) then it likely came through one/all of these four items.
1 - While Susan Simpson arrived a nice round number, it seemed weird to me that some of the "laundered" payments would go through an AMEX card. I was wondering in particular about the large non-credit-card payments, and whether any similar payments were made at other times. I saw no reason to think that if Trump found a way to pull free money out of the campaign that he would only do it only once.
2 - The rent and payroll to DJT might be declarations to the FEC of "In Kind" contributions that he made to the campaign without being reimbursed (the entries were labeled "In Kind", but it's unclear if payments were actually made to him). Hillary Clinton, for example, seemed to collect $1.2M in "Payroll and Benefits" from her campaign, but they claimed that these were not payments. Opensecrets.org gave a different analysis of the Trump payroll payments back in 2016.
posted by pjenks at 10:14 PM on March 11, 2018 [85 favorites]
" It's amazing how closely Betsy DeVos's attitude matches my viewpoint as a 10 year old who really really hates school. Cancel school, write checks to the kids!""And that, Virginia, is where Republicans come from…"
posted by Pinback at 10:16 PM on March 11, 2018 [10 favorites]
The Shulkin situation is extra fucked, because he's holding the line against Trumpists plotting to sabotage and then privatize the VA...but he's doing it while clearly abusing taxpayers funds as bad as Price, arguably retaliating against whistleblowers, and abusing all manner of government personnel protections in announcing a 'purge'. So. Do we root for the corrupt, unethical jackass trying to salvage the only successful model of public health care in United States history? Or insist our leaders adhere to basic ethics and sacrifice veterans health our sole workable model for fully public healthcare reform on the altar of Ayn Rand and Paul Ryan?
Goddamnit Shulkin.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:21 PM on March 11, 2018 [22 favorites]
Goddamnit Shulkin.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:21 PM on March 11, 2018 [22 favorites]
Following up on that conspiratorial tweet from Wednesday, concerning the $129,999.72 in Trump Campaign disbursements to Trump properties, I decided to look more closely at the FEC filings.
Metafilter: now with original investigative reporting
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:24 PM on March 11, 2018 [85 favorites]
Metafilter: now with original investigative reporting
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:24 PM on March 11, 2018 [85 favorites]
This American Life did a good intro to DeVos' educational philosophy. tl:dr rich people should save the "good ones" so that they can be helped to save themselves with good bootstrapping hard work. The system should be dismantled. She has rescued a few disadvantaged people as pet projects. Good (i guess) for those she chooses, bad for the public education system as an idea and as a functioning pillar of democracy. I also don't get the aversion in media outlets to pointing out her brother's mercenary army and her husbands pyramid scam businesses. 101 dalmations seems to have her number though.
posted by Anchorite_of_Palgrave at 11:04 PM on March 11, 2018 [28 favorites]
posted by Anchorite_of_Palgrave at 11:04 PM on March 11, 2018 [28 favorites]
You can read the DeVos "This American Life" transcript here.
The only time in her life that she ever set foot in a public school was a short period of time when she was a mentor to kids in a poor neighborhood school. A chauffeur in an SUV would drive her up to the school and wait for her. One teacher said she looked very out of place in a school with broken drinking fountains and non-functioning restrooms "in a $1000 suit and camel hair coat."
She used her time there not to help the school but to recruit the few children she "mentored" to transfer to a private Christian school that she favored. She hired one of the kid's mother to do the laundry at her houses -- not house -- houses. And when one of the kids became a teenager she hired her to clean her houses too.
So when DeVos says "all of this issue comes down to individual kids" she's not kidding. The Amway billionaire plucks one or two kids from a poor school, puts them in a private Christian school, and leaves the other 500 behind. That's her plan for America.
posted by JackFlash at 11:29 PM on March 11, 2018 [116 favorites]
The only time in her life that she ever set foot in a public school was a short period of time when she was a mentor to kids in a poor neighborhood school. A chauffeur in an SUV would drive her up to the school and wait for her. One teacher said she looked very out of place in a school with broken drinking fountains and non-functioning restrooms "in a $1000 suit and camel hair coat."
She used her time there not to help the school but to recruit the few children she "mentored" to transfer to a private Christian school that she favored. She hired one of the kid's mother to do the laundry at her houses -- not house -- houses. And when one of the kids became a teenager she hired her to clean her houses too.
So when DeVos says "all of this issue comes down to individual kids" she's not kidding. The Amway billionaire plucks one or two kids from a poor school, puts them in a private Christian school, and leaves the other 500 behind. That's her plan for America.
posted by JackFlash at 11:29 PM on March 11, 2018 [116 favorites]
Trump in his campaign rally in Pittsburg:
"And, you know, I went to the Wharton School of Finance. That's a great school. The best business school, I think."
"I went to school. I went to Wharton. I went to school here."
Trump spent his first two years as an undergraduate at Fordham. With the help of his father's money, he transferred to U Penn for the second two years of his undergraduate degree. He took some undergraduate classes at Wharton and received a standard bachelor's degree in business. He tries to give the impression that he received a prestigious Wharton MBA but he never attended graduate school.
posted by JackFlash at 11:37 PM on March 11, 2018 [31 favorites]
"And, you know, I went to the Wharton School of Finance. That's a great school. The best business school, I think."
"I went to school. I went to Wharton. I went to school here."
Trump spent his first two years as an undergraduate at Fordham. With the help of his father's money, he transferred to U Penn for the second two years of his undergraduate degree. He took some undergraduate classes at Wharton and received a standard bachelor's degree in business. He tries to give the impression that he received a prestigious Wharton MBA but he never attended graduate school.
posted by JackFlash at 11:37 PM on March 11, 2018 [31 favorites]
Like, it is literally creating an underclass of people under the mistaken impression that if you pluck enough elites out of the muck, they'll make up for the shortfall, and it just doesn't work. Elites aren't thousands of times more productive than the average person, it caps out at about 10-15x. If you push down the average to match, say, Bangladesh, you're expecting these elites to be tens of thousands of times more productive.
Most of the countries that have been pulled out of poverty did the exact opposite: overseas companies exploited their poor populations to make cheap, low-skill items like T-shirts, and then as the average skill level grew, they could start reliably making more complex items until that country could make high margin goods like electronics. Workers overthrow their exploitation and demand real wages and conditions, the overseas companies start moving to somewhere easier to exploit, the locals start their own companies, start doing their own R&D and you get companies like Sony and Samsung and Huawei.
Of course, if the kind of elite this system raises are people like Betsy DeVos then the errors are basically self-demonstrating, aren't they.
posted by Merus at 11:43 PM on March 11, 2018 [20 favorites]
Most of the countries that have been pulled out of poverty did the exact opposite: overseas companies exploited their poor populations to make cheap, low-skill items like T-shirts, and then as the average skill level grew, they could start reliably making more complex items until that country could make high margin goods like electronics. Workers overthrow their exploitation and demand real wages and conditions, the overseas companies start moving to somewhere easier to exploit, the locals start their own companies, start doing their own R&D and you get companies like Sony and Samsung and Huawei.
Of course, if the kind of elite this system raises are people like Betsy DeVos then the errors are basically self-demonstrating, aren't they.
posted by Merus at 11:43 PM on March 11, 2018 [20 favorites]
pjenks, kudos certainly to your diligence, but I haven't unless I missed something in all the mess seen anyone knowledgeable saying that the campaign reimbursed Cohen directly for the payment to Daniels. What I've seen is that the payment itself comprised something of value to the campaign, therefore it constitutes an in-kind donation that has not been properly disclosed. This is the legal argument used to convict Rod Blagojevich (offering of a Senate seat = something of value) and that almost ensnared Robert Menendez (assuming the DOJ declines to retry). So the fact that you've found nothing in the actual monetary receipts is helpful but ultimately not of legal relevance to the question at hand. This is in addition to whatever disbarment and other jeopardy Cohen himself has put himself in. It's sort of like he can absolve himself of one misdeed only by implicating himself -- or his client -- in another.
It's problematic, but probably germane, that this has become a thorny area of law just recently. And probably germane that this entire administration is chock full of grifters, self-dealers, and rules-lawyers ("if you can't win the race under the rules, race the rules"). So I'm not saying it's impossible, just that even without actual reimbursement we still have a holy-shit situation but this is the Trump era so it was just Wednesday.
posted by dhartung at 12:09 AM on March 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
It's problematic, but probably germane, that this has become a thorny area of law just recently. And probably germane that this entire administration is chock full of grifters, self-dealers, and rules-lawyers ("if you can't win the race under the rules, race the rules"). So I'm not saying it's impossible, just that even without actual reimbursement we still have a holy-shit situation but this is the Trump era so it was just Wednesday.
posted by dhartung at 12:09 AM on March 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
why should they give a crap about what the rest of us think about Farrakhan?
It’s not that anyone should give a crap about what other people think of Farrakhan. Antisemitism is not like a mildly embarrassing habit that people will pooh-pooh. It is flat out, hands down, morally wrong no matter what other good that person has done in the world.
The Venerable Pope Pius XII presided over a lot of Catholic good works, but that doesn’t make the Reichskonkordat anything but a steaming pile of shit that ignored the plight of the Jews as the first anti Semitic laws rose in Germany. You don’t get a pass for being the head of a religion that does a lot of good.
If other people want to grant him a pass, they are saying antisemitism is tolerable. That’s on them and the state of their soul. I don’t care what they think of our opinions. I care what they do and how they make antisemitism tolerated in this country where Jewish headstones are being toppled and JCCs live in fear of bombs.
posted by corb at 12:17 AM on March 12, 2018 [25 favorites]
It’s not that anyone should give a crap about what other people think of Farrakhan. Antisemitism is not like a mildly embarrassing habit that people will pooh-pooh. It is flat out, hands down, morally wrong no matter what other good that person has done in the world.
The Venerable Pope Pius XII presided over a lot of Catholic good works, but that doesn’t make the Reichskonkordat anything but a steaming pile of shit that ignored the plight of the Jews as the first anti Semitic laws rose in Germany. You don’t get a pass for being the head of a religion that does a lot of good.
If other people want to grant him a pass, they are saying antisemitism is tolerable. That’s on them and the state of their soul. I don’t care what they think of our opinions. I care what they do and how they make antisemitism tolerated in this country where Jewish headstones are being toppled and JCCs live in fear of bombs.
posted by corb at 12:17 AM on March 12, 2018 [25 favorites]
If African-Americans are more trusting of a man speaking hate about others than anyone else... can you blame them?
Actually, yes. I would blame African Americans who think Democrats are just as bad for them as Republicans, or that Hillary Clinton was just as bad as Trump. There is no amount of squinting that can make either one a reasonable conclusion.
posted by msalt at 12:22 AM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
Actually, yes. I would blame African Americans who think Democrats are just as bad for them as Republicans, or that Hillary Clinton was just as bad as Trump. There is no amount of squinting that can make either one a reasonable conclusion.
posted by msalt at 12:22 AM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
He tries to give the impression that he received a prestigious Wharton MBA but he never attended graduate school.
As much as I agree with the impression he's trying to make here, it appears that any business degree from UPenn is legitimately through the Wharton undergraduate program (as opposed to an actual degree in the science called economics, which isn't). That is, it's a real thing, not some one weird trick he pulled off. I'ma give him this one.
posted by dhartung at 12:24 AM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
As much as I agree with the impression he's trying to make here, it appears that any business degree from UPenn is legitimately through the Wharton undergraduate program (as opposed to an actual degree in the science called economics, which isn't). That is, it's a real thing, not some one weird trick he pulled off. I'ma give him this one.
posted by dhartung at 12:24 AM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Actually, yes. I would blame African Americans who think Democrats are just as bad for them as Republicans, or that Hillary Clinton was just as bad as Trump. There is no amount of squinting that can make either one a reasonable conclusion.
Who exactly are you talking about? Are you referring to the 8% of black voters that voted for Trump?
posted by rdr at 12:47 AM on March 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
Who exactly are you talking about? Are you referring to the 8% of black voters that voted for Trump?
posted by rdr at 12:47 AM on March 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
Farrakhan may be anti-Semitic, but he cares about his people , and actively does things to help. No one else is.
He defines "his people" as people of African descent excluding Jews and gays. Black Jews don't have a high profile in the US but there are actually quite a lot. And many, many gay ones of course. Who's looking out for them?
I have a lot of sympathy for people who find themselves unable to renounce problematically-admirable community leaders, but in this case the "admirable" part of his leadership is a tool he uses to oppress people. Farrakhan has never been of the Left: he's a clericalist bigot who effectively endorsed Trump while condemning Clinton in the 2016 elections and has won plaudits from David Duke for doing so. And, when people praise his clericalist, homophobic, antisemitic speech, or congratulate him for having "the same enemies as Jesus" it's pretty clear that they're not really of the Left either.
posted by Joe in Australia at 12:48 AM on March 12, 2018 [44 favorites]
He defines "his people" as people of African descent excluding Jews and gays. Black Jews don't have a high profile in the US but there are actually quite a lot. And many, many gay ones of course. Who's looking out for them?
I have a lot of sympathy for people who find themselves unable to renounce problematically-admirable community leaders, but in this case the "admirable" part of his leadership is a tool he uses to oppress people. Farrakhan has never been of the Left: he's a clericalist bigot who effectively endorsed Trump while condemning Clinton in the 2016 elections and has won plaudits from David Duke for doing so. And, when people praise his clericalist, homophobic, antisemitic speech, or congratulate him for having "the same enemies as Jesus" it's pretty clear that they're not really of the Left either.
posted by Joe in Australia at 12:48 AM on March 12, 2018 [44 favorites]
Mod note: One deleted. Sorry, but this is a thread for discussing Trump and related administration news. I suppose we are going to need a separate thread for Farrakhan if folks really, really, really want to get into an extended argument about how anti-semitism isn't always bad, and transphobia and homophobia are understandable under some circumstances, etc.
posted by taz (staff) at 5:02 AM on March 12, 2018 [33 favorites]
posted by taz (staff) at 5:02 AM on March 12, 2018 [33 favorites]
Bloomberg: Mueller Weighs Putting Off Trump Obstruction Decision
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:08 AM on March 12, 2018 [33 favorites]
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice is said to be close to completion, but he may set it aside while he finishes other key parts of his probe, such as possible collusion and the hacking of Democrats, according to current and former U.S. officials.Ironically, one key component of the obstruction charge is Trump's obsession with firing Mueller.
That’s because Mueller may calculate that if he tries to bring charges in the obstruction case -- the part that may hit closest to Trump personally -- witnesses may become less cooperative in other parts of the probe, or the president may move to shut it down altogether.[...]
The obstruction portion of the probe could likely be completed after several key outstanding interviews, including with the president and his son, Donald Trump Jr. The president’s lawyers have been negotiating with Mueller’s team over such an encounter since late last year. But even if Trump testifies in the coming weeks, Mueller may make a strategic calculation to keep his findings on obstruction secret, according to the current and former U.S. officials, who discussed the strategy on condition of anonymity.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:08 AM on March 12, 2018 [33 favorites]
Mueller may make a strategic calculation to keep his findings on obstruction secret,
The beauty of this is, as I've commented before, that Mueller's deep-dive into money laundering, means that on the way up, he can tie all the money laundering to the people involved in the campaign, ( Manafort, Kushner, Junior ), and with all going on, yeah, he can keep his findings on obstruction secret.
Which is another way of saying, "Filing the indictments for the obstruction charges under seal"...
posted by mikelieman at 6:12 AM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
The beauty of this is, as I've commented before, that Mueller's deep-dive into money laundering, means that on the way up, he can tie all the money laundering to the people involved in the campaign, ( Manafort, Kushner, Junior ), and with all going on, yeah, he can keep his findings on obstruction secret.
Which is another way of saying, "Filing the indictments for the obstruction charges under seal"...
posted by mikelieman at 6:12 AM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
Reading between the lines, the Bloomberg article strongly implies that the Special Counsel intends to charge the President of the United States with felony obstruction of justice.
Good.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:16 AM on March 12, 2018 [47 favorites]
Good.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:16 AM on March 12, 2018 [47 favorites]
Qataris opted not to give info on Kushner, secret meetings to Mueller
They think they'll still get better results blackmailing Kushner than sending him to prison and pissing off the administration.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:16 AM on March 12, 2018 [30 favorites]
They think they'll still get better results blackmailing Kushner than sending him to prison and pissing off the administration.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:16 AM on March 12, 2018 [30 favorites]
Which is another way of saying, "Filing the indictments for the obstruction charges under seal"...
Does the President have the right to see the indictments under seal?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:24 AM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
Does the President have the right to see the indictments under seal?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:24 AM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
Anchorite_of_Palgrave tl:dr rich people should save the "good ones" so that they can be helped to save themselves with good bootstrapping hard work. The system should be dismantled.
That's been the conservative/Republican position on welfare since forever. That's why they keep talking up charity as opposed to welfare.
Because their main idea is that only people who deserve help should be helped, and that a rich person dispensing charity can personally evaluate which of the poors deserve their help and help those specific poors while the rest, the undeserving poor, starve, beg, and die off as they should.
A system of social welfare helps everyone, including those who are "undeserving" (a nebulous category based on race, age, attractiveness, charisma, and the personal whim of random rich people). Therefore social welfare systems are bad. Only the "deserving poor" should get help.
posted by sotonohito at 6:25 AM on March 12, 2018 [63 favorites]
That's been the conservative/Republican position on welfare since forever. That's why they keep talking up charity as opposed to welfare.
Because their main idea is that only people who deserve help should be helped, and that a rich person dispensing charity can personally evaluate which of the poors deserve their help and help those specific poors while the rest, the undeserving poor, starve, beg, and die off as they should.
A system of social welfare helps everyone, including those who are "undeserving" (a nebulous category based on race, age, attractiveness, charisma, and the personal whim of random rich people). Therefore social welfare systems are bad. Only the "deserving poor" should get help.
posted by sotonohito at 6:25 AM on March 12, 2018 [63 favorites]
"Does the President have the right to see the indictments under seal?"
... is a VERY interesting Google search...
posted by mikelieman at 6:37 AM on March 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
... is a VERY interesting Google search...
posted by mikelieman at 6:37 AM on March 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
dhartung: the payment itself comprised something of value to the campaign, therefore it constitutes an in-kind donation that has not been properly disclosed
Yup, I get that. I was just intrigued by this other possibility and wanted to nail it down a bit more carefully. Such a scenario would of course depend on (1) Michael Cohen lying about the origin of the funds, and (2) Trump et al being colossally stupid. Neither seem to have zero probability.
I agree it's really unlikely that they used campaign funds, but I wonder how/if anyone keeps track of the validity of these payments.
posted by pjenks at 6:47 AM on March 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
Yup, I get that. I was just intrigued by this other possibility and wanted to nail it down a bit more carefully. Such a scenario would of course depend on (1) Michael Cohen lying about the origin of the funds, and (2) Trump et al being colossally stupid. Neither seem to have zero probability.
I agree it's really unlikely that they used campaign funds, but I wonder how/if anyone keeps track of the validity of these payments.
posted by pjenks at 6:47 AM on March 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
This morning’s Bloomberg piece linked by Doktor Zed is a really good read on where Mueller seems to be with the entire investigation right now. Sounds like there’s a lot of there, there.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 6:52 AM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 6:52 AM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
I agree it's really unlikely that they used campaign funds,
Counterpoint: Trump’s razor.
posted by schadenfrau at 6:52 AM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
Counterpoint: Trump’s razor.
posted by schadenfrau at 6:52 AM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
Sergei Skripal: Theresa May set to hit back at Russia over spy attack
Announcement will possibly be around 4:30 in parliament.
posted by Buntix at 6:59 AM on March 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
Senior government sources suggested that the police and security services had established sufficient evidence to link Moscow with the nerve agent used to try to kill the former Russian double agent and his 33-year-old daughter. One said that ministers were preparing to take a “hard line on early action”.
Announcement will possibly be around 4:30 in parliament.
posted by Buntix at 6:59 AM on March 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
If she really wants to piss off Russia she’d pull the breaks on Brexit.
posted by Artw at 7:02 AM on March 12, 2018 [61 favorites]
posted by Artw at 7:02 AM on March 12, 2018 [61 favorites]
"Betsy DeVos: Well, we should be funding and investing in students, not in school-- school buildings, not in institutions, not in systems."
Yeah, this is not nonsense, it's the key to DeVos's thinking. In her perfect world, we wouldn't fund schools -- we'd give grants or "vouchers" to parents of elementary school students (of somewhat less than per-student spending because we wouldn't have to pay for "administrative bloat" and "union giveaways"), of let's say $10,000 per student. You as a parent would then take that money and do whatever you wanted with it, letting "the market" decide which schools were good and which were bad. If you were poor and lived in the inner city, you'd turn it over to the remaining, struggling public schools that were rapidly collapsing due to lack of funds. If you were a wealthy suburban parent, you'd use it to offset your $20,000/year private school tuition. If you were a religious organization running schools, you'd have an influx of HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF TAX DOLLARS as all your families suddenly had a $10,000 grant from taxpayers to hand over to churches. And if you were a fundamentalist Christian, you get $10,000/year for each child you homeschool. Have six, you can be "earning" $60,000/year to keep them at home while you teach them vile bigotry and zero science. Oh, maybe they say "it has to be a chartered school," but lots of states allow you to "charter" your homeschool by filling out a single piece of paper.
And if you were really clever/evil, you might index the per-student grant to current per-student spending, so families in Peoria (where the school system is high-poverty) would get $9,000/student/year, while families in wealthy suburban Chicago would get $18,000/student/year. Which fucks over the inner cities while allowing "real Americans" in rural and exurban areas to take advantage of lower cost of living, and rich Republican suburbanites get beaucoup bucks.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:04 AM on March 12, 2018 [117 favorites]
Yeah, this is not nonsense, it's the key to DeVos's thinking. In her perfect world, we wouldn't fund schools -- we'd give grants or "vouchers" to parents of elementary school students (of somewhat less than per-student spending because we wouldn't have to pay for "administrative bloat" and "union giveaways"), of let's say $10,000 per student. You as a parent would then take that money and do whatever you wanted with it, letting "the market" decide which schools were good and which were bad. If you were poor and lived in the inner city, you'd turn it over to the remaining, struggling public schools that were rapidly collapsing due to lack of funds. If you were a wealthy suburban parent, you'd use it to offset your $20,000/year private school tuition. If you were a religious organization running schools, you'd have an influx of HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF TAX DOLLARS as all your families suddenly had a $10,000 grant from taxpayers to hand over to churches. And if you were a fundamentalist Christian, you get $10,000/year for each child you homeschool. Have six, you can be "earning" $60,000/year to keep them at home while you teach them vile bigotry and zero science. Oh, maybe they say "it has to be a chartered school," but lots of states allow you to "charter" your homeschool by filling out a single piece of paper.
And if you were really clever/evil, you might index the per-student grant to current per-student spending, so families in Peoria (where the school system is high-poverty) would get $9,000/student/year, while families in wealthy suburban Chicago would get $18,000/student/year. Which fucks over the inner cities while allowing "real Americans" in rural and exurban areas to take advantage of lower cost of living, and rich Republican suburbanites get beaucoup bucks.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:04 AM on March 12, 2018 [117 favorites]
Alex Isenstadt: GOP sending ads to liberal households in PA18 casting Lamb as anti-union + opposed to $15 min wage (Politico)
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:04 AM on March 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:04 AM on March 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
Republicans don’t want an engaged electorate where every individual participates and selects a preferred candidate, because under such a system, they would get kicked to the curb. In their opposition to the Democratic Party, America’s right wing has developed an opposition to the Democratic Process.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:11 AM on March 12, 2018 [25 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:11 AM on March 12, 2018 [25 favorites]
I still doubt that Lamb can pull a win out of PA-18 but it does say something that the republicans are having to pour so many resources into such an old and white district.
posted by octothorpe at 7:17 AM on March 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 7:17 AM on March 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
casting Lamb as anti-union + opposed to $15 min wage
It’s like they know something about the minimum wage that the DNC/DCCC doesn’t.
posted by Artw at 7:32 AM on March 12, 2018 [10 favorites]
It’s like they know something about the minimum wage that the DNC/DCCC doesn’t.
posted by Artw at 7:32 AM on March 12, 2018 [10 favorites]
Jennifer Rubin: Dems should follow Elizabeth Warren's lead.
posted by jgirl at 7:37 AM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by jgirl at 7:37 AM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
I still doubt that Lamb can pull a win out of PA-18 but it does say something that the republicans are having to pour so many resources into such an old and white district.
I'm soothing my nerves by reminding myself that either which way, it's a win. If Lamb goes to Congress, it's a HUGE, crazy, unlikely win (I mean, of a sort, because he's quite conservative for a Dem). If Saccone wins, well, the GOP was just forced spend a completely bonkers sum of their own Congressional Committee money (since Lamb out-raised Saccone among direct donations by a lot) for a seat that is mainly just a placeholder for a few months, after which the district is redrawn to be much more favorable for a conservative Democrat like Lamb.
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:38 AM on March 12, 2018 [20 favorites]
I'm soothing my nerves by reminding myself that either which way, it's a win. If Lamb goes to Congress, it's a HUGE, crazy, unlikely win (I mean, of a sort, because he's quite conservative for a Dem). If Saccone wins, well, the GOP was just forced spend a completely bonkers sum of their own Congressional Committee money (since Lamb out-raised Saccone among direct donations by a lot) for a seat that is mainly just a placeholder for a few months, after which the district is redrawn to be much more favorable for a conservative Democrat like Lamb.
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:38 AM on March 12, 2018 [20 favorites]
There were stories over the weekend that there was a Cabinet bust-up over May's reluctance to get heavy on Russia. But it was pointed out that this was a state-sponsored attack on British soil using chemical weapons. Which is possibly a thing.
Did 45 give his strong support for one of his closest allies? A policeman is very ill in hospital, after all, and I know he cares a lot about that too, and terrorism by foreigners, and all that stuff, so he must have done, but I somehow missed it.
posted by Devonian at 7:41 AM on March 12, 2018 [18 favorites]
Did 45 give his strong support for one of his closest allies? A policeman is very ill in hospital, after all, and I know he cares a lot about that too, and terrorism by foreigners, and all that stuff, so he must have done, but I somehow missed it.
posted by Devonian at 7:41 AM on March 12, 2018 [18 favorites]
As far as I know he is yet to issue a statement in support of the Russian spies.
posted by Artw at 7:43 AM on March 12, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by Artw at 7:43 AM on March 12, 2018 [21 favorites]
I'm soothing my nerves by reminding myself that either which way, it's a win. If Lamb goes to Congress, it's a HUGE, crazy, unlikely win (I mean, of a sort, because he's quite conservative for a Dem). If Saccone wins, well, the GOP was just forced spend a completely bonkers sum of their own Congressional Committee money (since Lamb out-raised Saccone among direct donations by a lot) for a seat that is mainly just a placeholder for a few months, after which the district is redrawn to be much more favorable for a conservative Democrat like Lamb.
Yes to all of this, and it gets Democratic infrastructure on the ground for the future. Democrats have neglected local races and party activity post-2008, and getting it back up again (as long as it isn't allowed to fall dormant!) will make future races easier to launch and (hopefully) to fund and publicize.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 7:47 AM on March 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
Yes to all of this, and it gets Democratic infrastructure on the ground for the future. Democrats have neglected local races and party activity post-2008, and getting it back up again (as long as it isn't allowed to fall dormant!) will make future races easier to launch and (hopefully) to fund and publicize.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 7:47 AM on March 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
I wore a yellow tie this morning in case it turns out to be Mullermas, and then I can spend all tomorrow's snowday reading the indictment.
It's a nice yellow silk bowtie that I bought at Mount Vernon; it has George Washington's signature all over it.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:56 AM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
It's a nice yellow silk bowtie that I bought at Mount Vernon; it has George Washington's signature all over it.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:56 AM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
if that Bloomberg article is reliably sourced, it seems unlikely that Muellermas is going to happen until after Trump and Don Jr. get their turn in the barrel, which Mueller has several compelling reasons to delay.
keep your ties dry
posted by murphy slaw at 8:07 AM on March 12, 2018 [28 favorites]
keep your ties dry
posted by murphy slaw at 8:07 AM on March 12, 2018 [28 favorites]
In Kansas, voter-fraud Witchsmeller Hans von Spakovsky took the stand. A single quote sums up how well that went for him:
Von Spakovsky admitted that he couldn’t cite a single case where non-citizen voting changed the outcome of an election.posted by murphy slaw at 8:30 AM on March 12, 2018 [51 favorites]
FYI, there's a Monmouth poll of PA-18 out this afternoon, and I've got some analytical links, too. I'm probably going to pass on all of these "could something be happening in PA???" summary stories coming out that aren't breaking any news.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:36 AM on March 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 8:36 AM on March 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
posting this solid gold thread again
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:42 AM on March 12, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:42 AM on March 12, 2018 [11 favorites]
Trump Administration Moves To Reshape Who Qualifies For Asylum (NPR, March 12, 2018)
posted by filthy light thief at 8:45 AM on March 12, 2018 [37 favorites]
The Trump administration is taking steps to limit who gets asylum in the United States, and immigration lawyers are warning that thousands of people who fled violence and persecution in their home countries could be turned away.Emphasis mine. It seems that Sessions was tired of waiting for other people to help him apply his racist views to the asylum system, so he did it himself.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is using his authority to reshape the law on who qualifies for asylum, and whether they get a hearing in court. Sessions has intervened in two cases that could have big implications for people who come to the U.S. and seek asylum.
...
"The system is being gamed, there's no doubt about it," Sessions said in October of last year, in a speech to the Executive Office for Immigration Review (C-SPAN video) in Virginia. Back then, he was asking Congress to tighten asylum rules. Last week, he acted on this own.
In one case, the attorney general vacated a precedent-setting ruling that said most asylum seekers have a right to a hearing in front of a judge before their claim could be rejected. In a second case, Sessions is reviewing whether victims of "private crime" should qualify for asylum.
These moves come as no surprise to anyone who's followed Sessions's positions on immigration and asylum.
"We can close loopholes and clarify our asylum laws to ensure that they help those they were intended to help," Sessions said in his October speech. "As this system becomes overloaded with fake claims, it cannot deal effectively with just claims."
...
"The crisis we're managing is not one of fraud," said Lenni Benson, a professor at New York Law School, "but one of the global situation." She pointed to a rise in gang-related violence in Central America that's pushing migrants north in search of safety.
Not every crime makes the victim eligible to claim asylum. The victim must have a well-founded fear of persecution based on certain factors like race or religion, or membership in a "particular social group." They must also come from a place where the government won't help them. The law around this has been fiercely litigated, says McKinney, the immigration lawyer.Oh, let me expand my prior comment - Sessions wanted to make the asylum seeking process more racist and misogynistic.
"The fear is that this Justice Department will undo all of those gains that were made through decades of litigation," he said.
McKinney and other lawyers are worried that Sessions is ultimately going to overturn a landmark asylum case from 2014 that made it easier for domestic violence survivors to get asylum.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:45 AM on March 12, 2018 [37 favorites]
Or maybe Sessions didn't want to be out-racist-ed by US Citizenship and Immigration Services when they removed "nation of immigrants" from their mission statement in February.
(I was drawing a blank trying to recall which agency had changed its mission statement, which lead me to finding an op-ed from Pensacola titled Immigration is foundation of America's greatness, which informed me that MS-13 was founded in Los Angeles in the 1980s, reminding me that once again we are the manufacturers and exporters of terror.)
posted by filthy light thief at 8:56 AM on March 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
(I was drawing a blank trying to recall which agency had changed its mission statement, which lead me to finding an op-ed from Pensacola titled Immigration is foundation of America's greatness, which informed me that MS-13 was founded in Los Angeles in the 1980s, reminding me that once again we are the manufacturers and exporters of terror.)
posted by filthy light thief at 8:56 AM on March 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
posting this solid gold thread again
Having never actually seen Moonraker all the way through, I only just understood that James Adomian's Gorka impression is based on Gorka's physical, vocal, and ethical resemblance to Hugo Drax.
posted by Iridic at 9:05 AM on March 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
Having never actually seen Moonraker all the way through, I only just understood that James Adomian's Gorka impression is based on Gorka's physical, vocal, and ethical resemblance to Hugo Drax.
posted by Iridic at 9:05 AM on March 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
Stormy Daniels' lawyer wrote a letter offering to pay the hush money back in exchange for being able to speak freely about her relationship with Trump.
Two highlights: the letter refers to "text messages, photos and videos relating to the President that she may have in her possession," and the lawyer told NBC that she is offering to pay Trump 'because we do not believe there is any doubt as to where the money came from originally, in reality.'
posted by box at 9:09 AM on March 12, 2018 [31 favorites]
Two highlights: the letter refers to "text messages, photos and videos relating to the President that she may have in her possession," and the lawyer told NBC that she is offering to pay Trump 'because we do not believe there is any doubt as to where the money came from originally, in reality.'
posted by box at 9:09 AM on March 12, 2018 [31 favorites]
The GOP tried to celebrate Women’s History Month with an Instagram story about how many women he's appointed. This message of equal opportunity is rather undercut by a quarter of the women featured consist of Karen Pence, Melania Trump, and Ivanka Trump
To be fair, Ivanka is an unpaid government employee, with the official title of Senior Advisor to the President.
That presents a significant conflict of interest with her continued affiliation with the family business, not least since it turns out she's still drawing a salary from it. McClatchy: Ivanka Trump Never Cut Ties With The Trump Organization. That’s Turned Into a Problem.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:12 AM on March 12, 2018 [28 favorites]
To be fair, Ivanka is an unpaid government employee, with the official title of Senior Advisor to the President.
That presents a significant conflict of interest with her continued affiliation with the family business, not least since it turns out she's still drawing a salary from it. McClatchy: Ivanka Trump Never Cut Ties With The Trump Organization. That’s Turned Into a Problem.
Ivanka Trump — a senior White House adviser who is doing everything from lobbying the Senate on tax policy to representing her father at a G20 summit of world leaders — will pull in more than $1 million a year from the family business that has continued to develop luxury resorts across the globe during the Trump presidency.Anne Applebaum argues this rank corruption isn't some kind of bug of demagogic populism/authoritarianism, it's a feature, and it doesn't matter to his supporters.
Some of those Trump-branded developments are hiring state-owned companies for construction, receiving gifts from foreign governments in the form of public land or eased regulations and accepting payments from customers who are foreign officials.
Ivanka Trump’s continued relationship with the businesses affiliated with the Trump Organization creates countless potential conflicts of interest prohibited by federal law and federal ethics standards as she works as a special assistant to the president. And just like her father, she is being accused of violating the so-called emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution that forbids government officials — not just presidents — from accepting gifts from foreign governments without the approval of Congress.[...]
When her father was sworn in, Ivanka Trump resigned her numerous vice president positions with the Trump Organization but she planned to continue to receive money from its businesses, according to her financial disclosure report filed last year, which outlined her future relationship to the companies.
Each year starting in 2017, she was expected to receive a total of $1.5 million from three companies affiliated with the Trump Organization. She was expected to receive more money from additional Trump Organization businesses but the other amounts were not detailed.
The companies involve at least five projects that have come under scrutiny for possible ethics and legal violations[.]
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:12 AM on March 12, 2018 [28 favorites]
Ivanka Trump Never Cut Ties With The Trump Organization. That’s Turned Into a Problem.
"Turned Into."
posted by adamgreenfield at 9:16 AM on March 12, 2018 [49 favorites]
"Turned Into."
posted by adamgreenfield at 9:16 AM on March 12, 2018 [49 favorites]
Two highlights: the letter refers to "text messages, photos and videos relating to the President that she may have in her possession,"
Now that's interesting if she still has them "in her possession", because the contract specified she agrees that she turned over all copies to "DD" and Micheal Cohen.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:30 AM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
Now that's interesting if she still has them "in her possession", because the contract specified she agrees that she turned over all copies to "DD" and Micheal Cohen.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:30 AM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
This Opening Arguments podcast has a good rundown of the legal implications of the Stormy Daniels case.
posted by melissasaurus at 9:33 AM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by melissasaurus at 9:33 AM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
More on DeVos: Rep Ted Lieu (D-CA) mocked her, tweeting, She wasn't asked the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow. She was asked basic questions about education and had trouble answering them.
I love Ted Lieu.
posted by TwoStride at 9:52 AM on March 12, 2018 [78 favorites]
I love Ted Lieu.
posted by TwoStride at 9:52 AM on March 12, 2018 [78 favorites]
You as a parent would then take that money and do whatever you wanted with it, letting "the market" decide which schools were good and which were bad. If you were poor and lived in the inner city, you'd turn it over to the remaining, struggling public schools that were rapidly collapsing due to lack of funds. If you were a wealthy suburban parent, you'd use it to offset your $20,000/year private school tuition. If you were a religious organization running schools, you'd have an influx of HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF TAX DOLLARS as all your families suddenly had a $10,000 grant from taxpayers to hand over to churches.
DeVos and her family are detestable people and they deserve to burn up in hell, which they will if it exists, though I'm not gambling on it. Maybe if we're lucky they'll get caught up in the muellermas and spend some healthy time in jail. But I digress, because what I wanted to say was that here in socialist Denmark we actually have such a system for historical* reasons, and it can be a fine thing if it comes with strictly controlled regulations securing that national standards of education are upheld. You don't get to teach creationism or bigotry and you have to teach civics and sex-ed, etc. It's been a blessing these last years since the government introduced "reforms" that led to the closing of hundreds of village schools.
Also, as someone who lives in an inner city district where the public school was out-competed for a while, I've seen how this gave the local public school the incentive to improve their work, so it's now a great school.
I guess what I am saying is that even though they are doing this for wrong reasons, it can be turned into something positive over time.
*The original law is from 1855, and it was written to support the progressive schools people were building to support our then young democracy
posted by mumimor at 9:54 AM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
DeVos and her family are detestable people and they deserve to burn up in hell, which they will if it exists, though I'm not gambling on it. Maybe if we're lucky they'll get caught up in the muellermas and spend some healthy time in jail. But I digress, because what I wanted to say was that here in socialist Denmark we actually have such a system for historical* reasons, and it can be a fine thing if it comes with strictly controlled regulations securing that national standards of education are upheld. You don't get to teach creationism or bigotry and you have to teach civics and sex-ed, etc. It's been a blessing these last years since the government introduced "reforms" that led to the closing of hundreds of village schools.
Also, as someone who lives in an inner city district where the public school was out-competed for a while, I've seen how this gave the local public school the incentive to improve their work, so it's now a great school.
I guess what I am saying is that even though they are doing this for wrong reasons, it can be turned into something positive over time.
*The original law is from 1855, and it was written to support the progressive schools people were building to support our then young democracy
posted by mumimor at 9:54 AM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
Now that's interesting if she still has them "in her possession", because the contract specified she agrees that she turned over all copies to "DD" and Micheal Cohen.
Since we know she sent copies to other people, she might have recovered them after signing the contract.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:54 AM on March 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
Since we know she sent copies to other people, she might have recovered them after signing the contract.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:54 AM on March 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
Sleepy Tillerson goes on tour soon, I wonder if he'll be available for the North Korea talks: Diplomacy And Damage Control: Tillerson Tours Africa After Trump's Comments (NPR, March 11, 2018)
posted by filthy light thief at 10:02 AM on March 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is on a five-nation tour heading to Chad, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Nigeria. Before he left, aides said the themes of the trip are governance and democracy, trade and investment and counterterrorism. Before he left, he laid out his U.S.-Africa strategy this way...Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who served as ambassador to Liberia and as assistant secretary of state for African affairs under Presidents Obama and Trump, but left in the early days of the State Department "downsizing" (it sounds like she left because others were asked or encouraged to leave), talks about how the administration seems to see Africa, and what might be discussed:
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
REX TILLERSON: The United States pursues, develops sustainable growth that bolsters institutions, strengthens rule of law and builds the capacity of African countries to stand on their own two feet.
MARTIN: Do you have any sense that this administration has defined a posture toward Africa apart from, frankly, these derogatory comments?In Nigeria, Tillerson might get asked what happened to the arms promised to Nigeria under Obama (but there might have been significant issues with that transaction), while in Chad, he'll probably be asked why they're on the travel ban list.
THOMAS-GREENFIELD: I think that remains to be seen. I think the fact of the secretary's trip says to all of us that they are trying to make an effort to develop a policy and to reaffirm the relationship with African countries. They realize that Africa matters one year into the administration, and they realize that they have to engage with Africa. So I think that's a positive thing, but I do think they are still working to develop a coherent policy.
MARTIN: Has anybody even been nominated to replace you as assistant secretary of state?
THOMAS-GREENFIELD: I don't think anyone has been nominated. I did hear a name on the news last week - Tibor Nagy, who I know quite well - and we were very pleased to hear that, finally, there's a name out there.
MARTIN: But what does that say, though?
THOMAS-GREENFIELD: You know, I think it says that, for this administration, Africa was not important.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:02 AM on March 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
Hey, maybe if Republican president Donald Trump suffers the bullshit and humiliation of revenge porn, we might actually see some movement to make that shit illegal?
After he has to live through it, of course.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:03 AM on March 12, 2018 [10 favorites]
After he has to live through it, of course.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:03 AM on March 12, 2018 [10 favorites]
trying to come up with any hypothetical set of dick pics that i would want to see less than the ones involved in the stormy daniels case and i got nothin'
posted by murphy slaw at 10:06 AM on March 12, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 10:06 AM on March 12, 2018 [19 favorites]
...I'm not saying I'll turn on the television or look at Twitter for a good six months, but still.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:07 AM on March 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:07 AM on March 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
New Monmouth poll for PA-18 special.
Like they did in the AL Senate special, they're providing three models:
Reminder that all House polling has large error bars, special elections even more so. But still.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:08 AM on March 12, 2018 [36 favorites]
Like they did in the AL Senate special, they're providing three models:
- special elections turnout: Lamb 51 - Saccone 45
- presidential turnout: Lamb 51 - Saccone 44
- midterm turnout: Lamb 49 - Saccone 47
Reminder that all House polling has large error bars, special elections even more so. But still.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:08 AM on March 12, 2018 [36 favorites]
Theresa May's statement to the House of Commons. She's not holding back.
Military-grade nerve agent, of the kind developed by Russia, Novichok class.
Either a direct act by the Russian state, or it has lost control of its nerve agent. Russian ambassador summoned and asked which one. Russia must account for its Novichok programme.
Part of a pattern of Russian aggression, starting with Crimea...
Stand ready to take extensive measures. Without an adequate response from Russia, this is an unlawful use of force against the UK.
posted by Devonian at 10:14 AM on March 12, 2018 [101 favorites]
Military-grade nerve agent, of the kind developed by Russia, Novichok class.
Either a direct act by the Russian state, or it has lost control of its nerve agent. Russian ambassador summoned and asked which one. Russia must account for its Novichok programme.
Part of a pattern of Russian aggression, starting with Crimea...
Stand ready to take extensive measures. Without an adequate response from Russia, this is an unlawful use of force against the UK.
posted by Devonian at 10:14 AM on March 12, 2018 [101 favorites]
May's politics are abominable, but at least she's not a Russian puppet.
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:17 AM on March 12, 2018 [50 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:17 AM on March 12, 2018 [50 favorites]
How A Player In The Trump-Russia Scandal Led A Double Life As An American Spy (Melissa Lyttle, Buzzfeed)
posted by Freon at 10:18 AM on March 12, 2018 [33 favorites]
For the first time, BuzzFeed News has verified the surprising sweep of Sater’s undercover work and many of his specific exploits. He worked as an asset for the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency (or DIA) and tracked Osama bin Laden. Then he worked for more than a decade for the FBI, providing intel on everything from the mob to North Korea’s drive for nuclear weapons. He still operates as a source for the bureau, according to two current FBI agents.What in the what?!
posted by Freon at 10:18 AM on March 12, 2018 [33 favorites]
The thing about Murllermas is - I was listening to one of Vox's podcasts and they said that when it comes to the obstruction of Justice charges, which are pretty cut and dry, Rosenstein would need to recuse himself from that issue just the same as Sessions did. Rosenstein wrote the memo that blah blah blah. But he's also one of the key things protecting the investigation, standing in the way of a Saturday Night Massacre situation.
This part is my own analysis, but it seems to me that pulling the trigger on the obstruction charges might put pressure on Rosenstein to recuse himself, and also put pressure on him to close the investigation. He's obviously got his sights set much higher than that, so he's got an incentive to hold off on obstruction.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 10:19 AM on March 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
This part is my own analysis, but it seems to me that pulling the trigger on the obstruction charges might put pressure on Rosenstein to recuse himself, and also put pressure on him to close the investigation. He's obviously got his sights set much higher than that, so he's got an incentive to hold off on obstruction.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 10:19 AM on March 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
from the "haven't we suffered enough" dept:
Trump Heads To State He Loves To Hate For 2020 Cash, Border Wall Prototypes
posted by murphy slaw at 10:28 AM on March 12, 2018 [46 favorites]
Trump Heads To State He Loves To Hate For 2020 Cash, Border Wall Prototypes
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Donald Trump is coming — at last — to the state he loves to hate, setting foot in California for his first time as president.he had better pack a lunch, cuz there's not a restaurant kitchen in the state that can guarantee him a spit-free plate
This is turf he lost to Democrat Hillary Clinton by more than 4 million votes in 2016. He has mocked its judges for blocking his agenda, sued over its lax enforcement of immigration laws and threatened to pull out federal agents.
But there’s something he’s dying to see here: the prototypes for his long-promised wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. And there’s something he’s eager to do here: raise cash from the Beverly Hills crowd.
posted by murphy slaw at 10:28 AM on March 12, 2018 [46 favorites]
May's politics are abominable, but at least she's not a Russian puppet.
You sure? Russia put 800 thousand quid into her election and it's easy to put on a show. If anything the response has been lukewarm.
posted by Talez at 10:31 AM on March 12, 2018 [9 favorites]
You sure? Russia put 800 thousand quid into her election and it's easy to put on a show. If anything the response has been lukewarm.
posted by Talez at 10:31 AM on March 12, 2018 [9 favorites]
Hm. I retract my previous statement, pending further developments.
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:32 AM on March 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:32 AM on March 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
there's not a restaurant kitchen in the state that can guarantee him a spit-free plate
This is why his lackeys go out to McDs and KFC for him.
Los Angeles street closures will be coming out shortly and there are a number of groups holding their breaths waiting for info to start posting protest meeting points. Traffic is going to be a clusterfuck on the west side tomorrow.
posted by Sophie1 at 10:33 AM on March 12, 2018 [10 favorites]
This is why his lackeys go out to McDs and KFC for him.
Los Angeles street closures will be coming out shortly and there are a number of groups holding their breaths waiting for info to start posting protest meeting points. Traffic is going to be a clusterfuck on the west side tomorrow.
posted by Sophie1 at 10:33 AM on March 12, 2018 [10 favorites]
....Rosenstein would need to recuse himself from that issue just the same as Sessions did.
So would Rosenstein recusing himself be followed immediately by Meuller coming down the chimney, before Rosenstein's replacement can jump in and cancel the investigation?
posted by wenestvedt at 10:36 AM on March 12, 2018
So would Rosenstein recusing himself be followed immediately by Meuller coming down the chimney, before Rosenstein's replacement can jump in and cancel the investigation?
posted by wenestvedt at 10:36 AM on March 12, 2018
How A Player In The Trump-Russia Scandal Led A Double Life As An American Spy
I think a lot of these details are new, but we've know that Sater worked with the FBI and CIA for a while.
posted by diogenes at 10:37 AM on March 12, 2018 [12 favorites]
I think a lot of these details are new, but we've know that Sater worked with the FBI and CIA for a while.
posted by diogenes at 10:37 AM on March 12, 2018 [12 favorites]
from the "you think you're cringing" dept:
White House officials alarmed at education secretary's '60 Minutes' performance
posted by murphy slaw at 10:44 AM on March 12, 2018 [67 favorites]
White House officials alarmed at education secretary's '60 Minutes' performance
White House officials were alarmed by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' struggle to answer basic questions about the nation's schools and failure to defend the administration's newly proposed school safety measures during a tour of television interviews Sunday and Monday, according to two sources familiar with their reaction.if only the administration's embarrassment hurt them 1/1000 as much as their policies are hurting us
…
The White House did not respond to a request for an official comment regarding DeVos' performance. It is unclear what Trump's own reaction to her interviews was, but officials in the West Wing said things went from bad to worse as DeVos continued her interviews.
posted by murphy slaw at 10:44 AM on March 12, 2018 [67 favorites]
If they think that was embarrassing, they should have watched her confirmation hearing.
posted by Autumnheart at 10:44 AM on March 12, 2018 [95 favorites]
posted by Autumnheart at 10:44 AM on March 12, 2018 [95 favorites]
So would Rosenstein recusing himself be followed immediately by Meuller coming down the chimney, before Rosenstein's replacement can jump in and cancel the investigation?
No. It may involve pulling the trigger on state level charges where Trump can't pardon but the federal charges would be dead in the water.
posted by Talez at 10:46 AM on March 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
No. It may involve pulling the trigger on state level charges where Trump can't pardon but the federal charges would be dead in the water.
posted by Talez at 10:46 AM on March 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
They may be alarmed at the DeVos performance, but they can't claim to be surprised. She proved to America that she knew nothing at all about education policy during her confirmation hearings.
Or, perhaps, they're alarmed that the journalist was so gauche as to expose her ignorance and thoughtlessness rather than lobbing her softballs?
It's like they go on FOX a few times and think "hey this is easy, why was I ever worried!" And then decide to try out a real (for American values of real) news show and discover that even American journalists can, occasionally, ask semi-tough questions.
What's really sad is that, like Katie Couric with Sarah Palin, I doubt very much that Stahl had set out to stump her or make her look foolish or even ask tough questions. Like Palin, DeVos is simply so incredibly incompetent and unsuited for her job that even American press softball questions can throw her off.
posted by sotonohito at 10:55 AM on March 12, 2018 [29 favorites]
Or, perhaps, they're alarmed that the journalist was so gauche as to expose her ignorance and thoughtlessness rather than lobbing her softballs?
It's like they go on FOX a few times and think "hey this is easy, why was I ever worried!" And then decide to try out a real (for American values of real) news show and discover that even American journalists can, occasionally, ask semi-tough questions.
What's really sad is that, like Katie Couric with Sarah Palin, I doubt very much that Stahl had set out to stump her or make her look foolish or even ask tough questions. Like Palin, DeVos is simply so incredibly incompetent and unsuited for her job that even American press softball questions can throw her off.
posted by sotonohito at 10:55 AM on March 12, 2018 [29 favorites]
Jed Handelsman Shugerman, Slate: If Trump tries to evade/pardon his way out of federal charges, states could bring all of these. Loads and loads. And not just New York. (And I have a feeling that if CA AG Becerra could find something against Trump, he'd nail Trump's ass to the wall, with glee.)
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 10:56 AM on March 12, 2018 [24 favorites]
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 10:56 AM on March 12, 2018 [24 favorites]
Stand ready to take extensive measures. Without an adequate response from Russia, this is an unlawful use of force against the UK.
NATO article V?
posted by ocschwar at 10:58 AM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
NATO article V?
posted by ocschwar at 10:58 AM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
Also from Shugerman, back in the distant mists of February, here's a round-up of the order of succession at Justice if Rosenstein recuses himself, now that Rachel Brand is out.
posted by murphy slaw at 11:01 AM on March 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 11:01 AM on March 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
A WaPo food & travel reporter travels to a bunch of Trump properties around the world.
Today, Atlantic City just limps along as always, dazed and confused by endless promises, sale pitches and big talk. It was the perfect place for Donald Trump, someone who would promise you the spectacle of a horse diving into the ocean, and then deliver a mule diving into a swimming pool.
posted by suelac at 11:04 AM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
Today, Atlantic City just limps along as always, dazed and confused by endless promises, sale pitches and big talk. It was the perfect place for Donald Trump, someone who would promise you the spectacle of a horse diving into the ocean, and then deliver a mule diving into a swimming pool.
posted by suelac at 11:04 AM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
In Nigeria, Tillerson might get asked what happened to the arms promised to Nigeria under Obama (but there might have been significant issues with that transaction), while in Chad, he'll probably be asked why they're on the travel ban list.
Or why South Africa still does not have an ambassador yet.
posted by PenDevil at 11:08 AM on March 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
Or why South Africa still does not have an ambassador yet.
posted by PenDevil at 11:08 AM on March 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
Stormy Daniels’ ingenious settlement offer to Trump
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:20 AM on March 12, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:20 AM on March 12, 2018 [17 favorites]
NATO article V?
Mostly further isolation from the IC. Designation of state sponsor of terrorism by the US could really hurt, removing Russia from SWIFT could really hurt, locking them out of London (and the EC) could really hurt.
If May was serious she'd announce that effective tomorrow opening of business they're shutting off the money pipe between Russian oligarchs and The City and freezing the assets of Russian state actors. But since Philip Hammond is a little worm who would give a Russian oligarch anything to keep power that's never going to happen. Instead we get this weasel word infested statement which politely infers it could be Russian state actors.
posted by Talez at 11:20 AM on March 12, 2018 [9 favorites]
Mostly further isolation from the IC. Designation of state sponsor of terrorism by the US could really hurt, removing Russia from SWIFT could really hurt, locking them out of London (and the EC) could really hurt.
If May was serious she'd announce that effective tomorrow opening of business they're shutting off the money pipe between Russian oligarchs and The City and freezing the assets of Russian state actors. But since Philip Hammond is a little worm who would give a Russian oligarch anything to keep power that's never going to happen. Instead we get this weasel word infested statement which politely infers it could be Russian state actors.
posted by Talez at 11:20 AM on March 12, 2018 [9 favorites]
"Does the President have the right to see the indictments under seal?"
... is a VERY interesting Google search...
Professional guess: Donny the Defendant only has a right to see the indictments when he's arrested. Donny the President doesn't have the right, not without provoking a real separation of powers constitutional Marbury v. Madison II: Collusion Booglaloo crisis. There's only one King of the Courtroom, and the President of the United States isn't it.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:23 AM on March 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
... is a VERY interesting Google search...
Professional guess: Donny the Defendant only has a right to see the indictments when he's arrested. Donny the President doesn't have the right, not without provoking a real separation of powers constitutional Marbury v. Madison II: Collusion Booglaloo crisis. There's only one King of the Courtroom, and the President of the United States isn't it.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:23 AM on March 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
Stormy Daniels’ ingenious settlement offer to Trump
Folks, that's what good lawyering looks like.
posted by leotrotsky at 11:25 AM on March 12, 2018 [12 favorites]
Folks, that's what good lawyering looks like.
posted by leotrotsky at 11:25 AM on March 12, 2018 [12 favorites]
What's really sad is that, like Katie Couric with Sarah Palin, I doubt very much that Stahl had set out to stump her or make her look foolish or even ask tough questions. Like Palin, DeVos is simply so incredibly incompetent and unsuited for her job that even American press softball questions can throw her off.
She tanked HARD with Today Show host and human ray of sunshine Savannah Guthrie*, as well.
*What I love about Savannah's interviews is that she's always underestimated by guests because she's an attractive woman hosting a morning show. Nobody seems to remember she's got a law degree from Georgetown. Just because you're a nice person with a sunny disposition doesn't mean that 1. you're stupid or 2. you're not good at your job.
posted by leotrotsky at 11:29 AM on March 12, 2018 [21 favorites]
She tanked HARD with Today Show host and human ray of sunshine Savannah Guthrie*, as well.
*What I love about Savannah's interviews is that she's always underestimated by guests because she's an attractive woman hosting a morning show. Nobody seems to remember she's got a law degree from Georgetown. Just because you're a nice person with a sunny disposition doesn't mean that 1. you're stupid or 2. you're not good at your job.
posted by leotrotsky at 11:29 AM on March 12, 2018 [21 favorites]
i really admire the restraint of all of these interviewers for not asking DeVos how much a banana costs
posted by murphy slaw at 11:31 AM on March 12, 2018 [70 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 11:31 AM on March 12, 2018 [70 favorites]
White House officials were alarmed by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' struggle to answer basic questions about the nation's schools
As if it was a marked contrast -- or any contrast at all -- to her performance in her Senate confirmation hearing. After which all 12 Republicans voted to send her nomination to the full Senate, though two -- why, yes, it was Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski -- having cast the votes that counted, made a show of opposing her nomination on the Senate floor.
posted by Gelatin at 11:33 AM on March 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
As if it was a marked contrast -- or any contrast at all -- to her performance in her Senate confirmation hearing. After which all 12 Republicans voted to send her nomination to the full Senate, though two -- why, yes, it was Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski -- having cast the votes that counted, made a show of opposing her nomination on the Senate floor.
posted by Gelatin at 11:33 AM on March 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
He's obviously got his sights set much higher than that, so he's got an incentive to hold off on obstruction.
I agree. The Bloomberg article is a bit odd in this respect--it reads to me like the writer (or their sources) believes there may not be any there there on the collusion question. But everything about how the investigation has proceeded so far suggests to me that the special counsel thinks there is (or already knows there is) and that he's going all out to build a case, rolling his way to the top. The obstruction case seems like a back up plan or an insurance policy, if they can't prove something, and want to at least preserve some sense of institutional integrity. It makes me wonder about who's leaking with this particular story and why.
posted by cudzoo at 11:34 AM on March 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
I agree. The Bloomberg article is a bit odd in this respect--it reads to me like the writer (or their sources) believes there may not be any there there on the collusion question. But everything about how the investigation has proceeded so far suggests to me that the special counsel thinks there is (or already knows there is) and that he's going all out to build a case, rolling his way to the top. The obstruction case seems like a back up plan or an insurance policy, if they can't prove something, and want to at least preserve some sense of institutional integrity. It makes me wonder about who's leaking with this particular story and why.
posted by cudzoo at 11:34 AM on March 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
For the first time, BuzzFeed News has verified the surprising sweep of Sater’s undercover work and many of his specific exploits. He worked as an asset for the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency (or DIA) and tracked Osama bin Laden. Then he worked for more than a decade for the FBI, providing intel on everything from the mob to North Korea’s drive for nuclear weapons. He still operates as a source for the bureau, according to two current FBI agents.
What in the what?!
Explains how he stayed out of prison.
posted by leotrotsky at 11:35 AM on March 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
What in the what?!
Explains how he stayed out of prison.
posted by leotrotsky at 11:35 AM on March 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
This doesn't make it any easier for me to distinguish "Felix Sater" from "Felix Leiter".
posted by Slothrup at 11:39 AM on March 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Slothrup at 11:39 AM on March 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
Regarding Sater... in the world of Donald's defenders, is there any chatter to the effect that all this stuff that seems fishy is actually a giant undercover operation against Russia? Like, they'll all go "Aha! Sater is a double agent, which means egg all over liberal faces!" Will Donald himself will try such a "defense"? (Obviously, among many other things, it doesn't square at all with the firing of Comey.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 11:47 AM on March 12, 2018
posted by InTheYear2017 at 11:47 AM on March 12, 2018
Talez: "Instead we get this weasel word infested statement which politely infers it could be Russian state actors."
Pedantry: The statement IMPLIES. The reader INFERS.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:47 AM on March 12, 2018 [26 favorites]
Pedantry: The statement IMPLIES. The reader INFERS.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:47 AM on March 12, 2018 [26 favorites]
Betsy DeVos has definitely seen a school at least once (Alexandra Petri, WaPo)
Lesley Stahl: Have you ever seen a school?posted by Johnny Wallflower at 11:50 AM on March 12, 2018 [53 favorites]
Betsy DeVos: A school? I have — well, I hesitate to say a school. We, of course, know a school is not a building, nor is it a bus — unless it’s a bus? I’m pretty sure it’s not a bus. Although one can certainly learn on a bus. Indeed, that unconventional instructor with red hair who boldly threw away the lesson plan often taught on a bus. Indeed any place that learning occurs for a student, that, I would say, is a school.
Maybe the real school is life.
No, I’m sorry, Lesley, you must think I am an idiot. Of course this is a trick question: Schools do not exist. The real school is inside all of us.
Stahl: I thought this was going to be an easy question, but now I’m genuinely concerned. Have you never seen a school?
You know how sometimes Petri isn't so funny because what she's lampooning is actually worse than the joke? This is one of those times. Like... I laughed... but with a grimace on my face.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 11:57 AM on March 12, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 11:57 AM on March 12, 2018 [20 favorites]
Regarding Sater... in the world of Donald's defenders, is there any chatter to the effect that all this stuff that seems fishy is actually a giant undercover operation against Russia
I'm sure it could be bolted onto the QAnon/The Storm conspiracy theory counter-narrative. It's not like it needs internal consistency or anything.
posted by scalefree at 11:57 AM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'm sure it could be bolted onto the QAnon/The Storm conspiracy theory counter-narrative. It's not like it needs internal consistency or anything.
posted by scalefree at 11:57 AM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Will Donald himself will try such a "defense"? (Obviously, among many other things, it doesn't square at all with the firing of Comey.)
I'm still hoping that at some point Donald goes all serious, says "you're on candid camera", and then proceeds to shame the entire fucking country for letting this shit go on way too long.
posted by Talez at 12:00 PM on March 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
I'm still hoping that at some point Donald goes all serious, says "you're on candid camera", and then proceeds to shame the entire fucking country for letting this shit go on way too long.
posted by Talez at 12:00 PM on March 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
Today in Austin: Austin Police Say Deadly Package Explosions Could Be Hate Crimes
posted by Surely This at 12:00 PM on March 12, 2018 [14 favorites]
"We are looking at these incidents as being related based on similarities that we have seen in the initial evidence," interim Police Chief Brian Manley said at a news conference Monday, hours after the explosion in East Austin, which left one teenager dead and another woman with serious injuries.There has been a third explosion just reported.
Manley said both packages were sent to homes of black residents, "so we cannot rule out that hate crime is at the core of this."
posted by Surely This at 12:00 PM on March 12, 2018 [14 favorites]
Hahahaha! Trump won it by 20, Romney by 17, and there wasn't even a Dem challenger in 2014 and 2016.
Pennsylvania GOP chairman says Tuesday special election is in 'Democrat district'
posted by chris24 at 12:01 PM on March 12, 2018 [44 favorites]
Pennsylvania GOP chairman says Tuesday special election is in 'Democrat district'
posted by chris24 at 12:01 PM on March 12, 2018 [44 favorites]
Talez - pretty sure we've been hoping for this since the very first politics thread at the very beginning of this rancid miasma. I believe with all my heart that this is only going to stop with a majority dem congress with ovaries the size of wrecking balls.
posted by Sophie1 at 12:02 PM on March 12, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by Sophie1 at 12:02 PM on March 12, 2018 [10 favorites]
The World Series champion Houston Astros were at the White House today. "Maybe José Altuve just has a nasty case of resting visceral disgust face." Or maybe it's the handsy president.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:05 PM on March 12, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 12:05 PM on March 12, 2018 [16 favorites]
Pennsylvania GOP chairman says Tuesday special election is in 'Democrat district'
Well we've long said that reality has a well-known liberal bias.
From your lips to God's ears, random GOP scumbag.
posted by leotrotsky at 12:06 PM on March 12, 2018 [15 favorites]
Well we've long said that reality has a well-known liberal bias.
From your lips to God's ears, random GOP scumbag.
posted by leotrotsky at 12:06 PM on March 12, 2018 [15 favorites]
Pennsylvania GOP chairman says Tuesday special election is in 'Democrat district'
The Republican internal polling on the eve of the election -- and after Trump's campaign rally for himself must be abysmal.
Democrats of PA-18, please get out and vote.
posted by Gelatin at 12:08 PM on March 12, 2018 [41 favorites]
The Republican internal polling on the eve of the election -- and after Trump's campaign rally for himself must be abysmal.
Democrats of PA-18, please get out and vote.
posted by Gelatin at 12:08 PM on March 12, 2018 [41 favorites]
The Republican internal polling on the eve of the election -- and after Trump's campaign rally for himself must be abysmal.
Yeah, should Lamb win, we're on the verge of many more upcoming GOP congressional "retirements," I would think.
These guys were desperate for a momentum shift in this race, even though the seat's disappearing. We're on track for an absolute bloodletting in 2018. Then it'll be nothing but constant vociferous hearings, investigations, and impeachments from then until 2020.
posted by leotrotsky at 12:10 PM on March 12, 2018 [13 favorites]
Yeah, should Lamb win, we're on the verge of many more upcoming GOP congressional "retirements," I would think.
These guys were desperate for a momentum shift in this race, even though the seat's disappearing. We're on track for an absolute bloodletting in 2018. Then it'll be nothing but constant vociferous hearings, investigations, and impeachments from then until 2020.
posted by leotrotsky at 12:10 PM on March 12, 2018 [13 favorites]
Keep in mind - a narrow Saccone victory would still be a strong indicator that the GOP is in big trouble in the fall. The media won't portray it that way, but that kind of underperformance (with almost $10M in spending!) is not what they need to retain control of the House.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:13 PM on March 12, 2018 [44 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 12:13 PM on March 12, 2018 [44 favorites]
Then it'll be nothing but constant vociferous hearings, investigations, and impeachments from then until 2020.
/me bets the house on popcorn futures.
posted by notyou at 12:14 PM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
/me bets the house on popcorn futures.
posted by notyou at 12:14 PM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
Keep in mind - a narrow Saccone victory would still be a strong indicator that the GOP is in big trouble in the fall. The media won't portray it that way
Nah, the media narrative is that narrow wins are bad news for Democrats (see also: "Democrats in disarray"). The media views Republicans as winners -- probably having absorbed that narrative from the ascendancy of Ronald Reagan. That's its own kind of media bias, and yet one that goes entirely unspoken and unexplored.
posted by Gelatin at 12:18 PM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
Nah, the media narrative is that narrow wins are bad news for Democrats (see also: "Democrats in disarray"). The media views Republicans as winners -- probably having absorbed that narrative from the ascendancy of Ronald Reagan. That's its own kind of media bias, and yet one that goes entirely unspoken and unexplored.
posted by Gelatin at 12:18 PM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
Fun times with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin on Meet the Press
Chuck Todd: "What are you supposed to say when [Trump] is using those vulgarities, to kids?"posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:20 PM on March 12, 2018 [15 favorites]
Secretary Mnuchin: "Again, I think you should be focused on what the policies are. He's using those vulgarities in the context of a campaign rally, and obviously there were a lot of funny moments on that rally."
Chuck Todd: "Yeah, they were hilarious." [CLAPS HANDS] "...anyway, Secretary Mnuchin I appreciate you coming on."
> Pennsylvania GOP chairman says Tuesday special election is in 'Democrat district'
Well, maybe it is now.
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:21 PM on March 12, 2018 [15 favorites]
Well, maybe it is now.
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:21 PM on March 12, 2018 [15 favorites]
Nah, the media narrative is that narrow wins are bad news for Democrats
I don't disagree in general, but I think the media narrative on this one is pretty much consonant with it being a really red district ("Is an upset brewing?"). It's man bites dog - they get to write, "GOP In Disarray" for once.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:22 PM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
I don't disagree in general, but I think the media narrative on this one is pretty much consonant with it being a really red district ("Is an upset brewing?"). It's man bites dog - they get to write, "GOP In Disarray" for once.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:22 PM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
Iowa State Senate leader Willy Dix (R)* has resigned after a video showed him kissing a lobbyist.
* He also goes by Bill but where's the fun in that
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:24 PM on March 12, 2018 [45 favorites]
* He also goes by Bill but where's the fun in that
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:24 PM on March 12, 2018 [45 favorites]
Keep in mind - a narrow Saccone victory would still be a strong indicator that the GOP is in big trouble in the fall. The media won't portray it that way
You can never tell what they will do but I had CNN on during lunch today and the consensus was that if Saccone barely wins it is still awful for a.) Trump/Republicans because of how much money R's spent in a Trump+20 district, b.) the district will cease to exist in months and c.) a narrow victory just shows how week the R's are as compared to 2 years ago.
They further went on to say a R narrow victory might delude some into thinking its not going to be bad in November, but, it will be.
With that said, the consensus was that a R narrow victory wasn't likely.
posted by mmascolino at 12:26 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
You can never tell what they will do but I had CNN on during lunch today and the consensus was that if Saccone barely wins it is still awful for a.) Trump/Republicans because of how much money R's spent in a Trump+20 district, b.) the district will cease to exist in months and c.) a narrow victory just shows how week the R's are as compared to 2 years ago.
They further went on to say a R narrow victory might delude some into thinking its not going to be bad in November, but, it will be.
With that said, the consensus was that a R narrow victory wasn't likely.
posted by mmascolino at 12:26 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Iowa State Senate leader Willy Dix (R)* has resigned after a video showed him kissing a lobbyist.
For all those folks who went wishy-washy on Al Franken, remember that this is what happens when we hold to our principles.
Not only is is obviously the right thing to do, but we can immediately shut down the "both sides do it" argument and keep the #MeToo momentum going. We're making this behavior unacceptable now and forever.
Added benefit, you just KNOW there's more of these assholes with an"R" after their name.
posted by leotrotsky at 12:49 PM on March 12, 2018 [79 favorites]
For all those folks who went wishy-washy on Al Franken, remember that this is what happens when we hold to our principles.
Not only is is obviously the right thing to do, but we can immediately shut down the "both sides do it" argument and keep the #MeToo momentum going. We're making this behavior unacceptable now and forever.
Added benefit, you just KNOW there's more of these assholes with an"R" after their name.
posted by leotrotsky at 12:49 PM on March 12, 2018 [79 favorites]
Iowa State Senate leader Willy Dix (R)* has resigned after a video showed him kissing a lobbyist.
Dix represented SD-25. He won unopposed in 2014. District - which is near Cedar Falls - went Trump 60-34 and Romney 54-45.
There will be a special election scheduled; GOP currently controls the Iowa Senate by about 9 seats.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:54 PM on March 12, 2018 [19 favorites]
Dix represented SD-25. He won unopposed in 2014. District - which is near Cedar Falls - went Trump 60-34 and Romney 54-45.
There will be a special election scheduled; GOP currently controls the Iowa Senate by about 9 seats.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:54 PM on March 12, 2018 [19 favorites]
you just KNOW there's more of these assholes with an"R" after their name Please let them be Ann Wagner and Josh Hawley
posted by fluttering hellfire at 12:56 PM on March 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 12:56 PM on March 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
"Maybe José Altuve just has a nasty case of resting visceral disgust face."
Maybe José Altuve is America's patronus.
posted by middleclasstool at 1:02 PM on March 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
Maybe José Altuve is America's patronus.
posted by middleclasstool at 1:02 PM on March 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
remember that this is what happens when we hold to our principles.
THIS. Being the Party of Principles and Honesty can do nothing but benefit us in the long run. The people who are thrilled to death with voting for hypocrites and liars are voting R. It's not just "we're better than that" it's that sticking to our principles means that fewer voters will stay home in disgust because "they're all the same" or whatever.
And speaking of voting...Ralph Northam wasn't elected because he's a charismatic charmer. He's pretty much a plodder, but he was elected anyway, because of turnout. (I remember the howls of "he'll lose 'cuz he's boring and won't turn out the voters!" Nope. Ground game turns out the voters.) We don't need to pull rabbits out of hats or find the One True Charmer of a candidate. We just need to vote. Conor Lamb is no Kamala Harris or Ted Lieu, but he is a Democrat and a credible challenger. Even a narrow loss will be holding Republicans' feet to the fire.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 1:02 PM on March 12, 2018 [20 favorites]
THIS. Being the Party of Principles and Honesty can do nothing but benefit us in the long run. The people who are thrilled to death with voting for hypocrites and liars are voting R. It's not just "we're better than that" it's that sticking to our principles means that fewer voters will stay home in disgust because "they're all the same" or whatever.
And speaking of voting...Ralph Northam wasn't elected because he's a charismatic charmer. He's pretty much a plodder, but he was elected anyway, because of turnout. (I remember the howls of "he'll lose 'cuz he's boring and won't turn out the voters!" Nope. Ground game turns out the voters.) We don't need to pull rabbits out of hats or find the One True Charmer of a candidate. We just need to vote. Conor Lamb is no Kamala Harris or Ted Lieu, but he is a Democrat and a credible challenger. Even a narrow loss will be holding Republicans' feet to the fire.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 1:02 PM on March 12, 2018 [20 favorites]
Getting away with cheating on your SO is seen as a basic skill by politicians.
posted by rhizome at 1:03 PM on March 12, 2018
posted by rhizome at 1:03 PM on March 12, 2018
rather, the accusation is that he appears to be in a relationship with a woman who is not his wife
And he resigned. I've said it before, but Democrats should point out that they and only they are held / hold themselves to this standard. Trump was a serial adulterer even before his Presidential run, as was Newt Gingrich -- you know, the guy who advised Republicans to paint Democrats as libertine threats to the American family. Republicans -- even, if not especially, evangelicals -- have demonstrated that they do not care if a candidate has had affairs so long as he or she has an (R) after their name.
posted by Gelatin at 1:08 PM on March 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
And he resigned. I've said it before, but Democrats should point out that they and only they are held / hold themselves to this standard. Trump was a serial adulterer even before his Presidential run, as was Newt Gingrich -- you know, the guy who advised Republicans to paint Democrats as libertine threats to the American family. Republicans -- even, if not especially, evangelicals -- have demonstrated that they do not care if a candidate has had affairs so long as he or she has an (R) after their name.
posted by Gelatin at 1:08 PM on March 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
Yeah, there was one of these "hooking up with a lobbyist" scandals in the FL legislature recently, too.
Adultery = tasteless. Relationship with lobbyist = huge ethical violation.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:09 PM on March 12, 2018 [27 favorites]
Adultery = tasteless. Relationship with lobbyist = huge ethical violation.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:09 PM on March 12, 2018 [27 favorites]
i would give a significant donation of plasma, platelets, and whole blood to see the GOP internal polling in PA-18 pre- and post- Trump rally
posted by murphy slaw at 1:09 PM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 1:09 PM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
There is a very nice and reasonably conclusive discussion of which nerve agents were used against Skripal and his daughter over at Derek Lowe's In The Pipeline , and one commenter toward the bottom of the thread asserts that the Telegraph is claiming Skripal is connected to the Trump Dossier.
posted by jamjam at 1:11 PM on March 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by jamjam at 1:11 PM on March 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
The Wall Street Journal has an anonymously sourced update on HPSCI's Trump-Russia investigation: House Intelligence Panel Wraps Up Russia Probe Interviews—Committee is set to write a report as Senate and Mueller investigations continue
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:13 PM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
The House Intelligence Committee has finished interviewing witnesses in its yearlong probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to a person familiar with the matter, signaling the end is near of a contentious investigation that has revealed deep partisan divisions on the panel.CNN's reporting the same thing from an anonymous source, except with the addition of this ticking clock: "Rep. Mike Conaway, the Texas Republican leading the Russia investigation, is expected to announce Monday that the committee has concluded its interviews and will now be moving onto writing a final report summarizing its findings."
The Republican-run committee is now preparing to write a report based on the testimony of dozens of witnesses and thousands of pages of documents. Republicans and Democrats on the panel are unlikely to come to a bipartisan conclusion on some of the central questions in the probe, including whether anyone from President Donald Trump’s campaign worked with Russians to help tip the election in his favor, according to interviews with multiple lawmakers and aides on both sides.[...]
Republicans on the committee and in the full House of Representatives are eager to put the Capitol Hill investigations to rest, according to people familiar with the matter, citing the coming midterm election season.
“We have not been informed that there will not be any more interviews conducted; we have also not been informed that the investigation has ended,” a senior Democratic aide on the committee said.
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:13 PM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
Bloomberg: Mueller Weighs Putting Off Trump Obstruction Decision
We know that obstruction is basically a slam dunk, so I'm actually encouraged by this, because it means Mueller thinks he can aim higher
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 1:14 PM on March 12, 2018 [26 favorites]
We know that obstruction is basically a slam dunk, so I'm actually encouraged by this, because it means Mueller thinks he can aim higher
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 1:14 PM on March 12, 2018 [26 favorites]
Lobbyists' jobs depend on the access granted to them by politicians. They're at least as vulnerable as employees but with none of the legal recourse. The circumstances make it impossible to judge whether the kiss was truly consensual, even assuming consent can exist in such an unequal relationship.
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:16 PM on March 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:16 PM on March 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
To be clear, the distributor of the video does not claim it shows harassment, nor has anyone accused Dix of harassment (either in this case or previously); rather, the accusation is that he appears to be in a relationship with a woman who is not his wife, and with a woman who is a lobbyist whose lobbying overlaps with his job as a Senator.That's true, but it lacks some context. He's been in charge of handling a big sexual harassment scandal involving the state Senate Republican caucus, and he's made a mess of it. He figured out a way to make taxpayers cover the cost of a settlement paid to the former communications director of the senate Republicans, and he hushed up an internal investigation that was done after they lost the sexual harassment suit. There's been a lot of bad publicity about the scandal, but also about his handling of it. And now he's messing around with a woman with whom he has a professional relationship, and one with a pretty big power imbalance. It's not good, and the Iowa senate Republicans don't need any more not-good. Plus, my sense is that they're pretty pissed at him and happy to see him go.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 1:18 PM on March 12, 2018 [12 favorites]
Republicans on the committee and in the full House of Representatives are eager to put the Capitol Hill investigations to rest, according to people familiar with the matter, citing the coming midterm election season
in their shoes, i might drag my feet on the investigation until Mueller wraps his up. otherwise if Mueller comes out and shows collusion and obstruction after house republicans release a report saying "nothing to see here, move along" that is not going to be a good look for the 2020 election season
posted by murphy slaw at 1:19 PM on March 12, 2018 [10 favorites]
in their shoes, i might drag my feet on the investigation until Mueller wraps his up. otherwise if Mueller comes out and shows collusion and obstruction after house republicans release a report saying "nothing to see here, move along" that is not going to be a good look for the 2020 election season
posted by murphy slaw at 1:19 PM on March 12, 2018 [10 favorites]
if Mueller comes out and shows collusion and obstruction after house republicans release a report saying "nothing to see here, move along" that is not going to be a good look for the 2020 election season
We already know that Mitch McConnell not only flatly refused to join Obama in a bipartisan condemnation of Russian election interference, but also actively threatened to accuse Obama of partisan meddling that he knew for a fact was false. It's beyond obvious that the likes of Devin Nunes are helping cover up whatever Trump and Company are so desperate to cover up. And it's also true that the Fox News crowd has been convinced that the whole shebang is "fake news."
By this point it's clear that the cover-up is the priority, no matter how temporarily embarrassing it it to individual Republicans. Which only highlights how serious Republican officials seem to think the underlying crimes must be.
posted by Gelatin at 1:25 PM on March 12, 2018 [36 favorites]
We already know that Mitch McConnell not only flatly refused to join Obama in a bipartisan condemnation of Russian election interference, but also actively threatened to accuse Obama of partisan meddling that he knew for a fact was false. It's beyond obvious that the likes of Devin Nunes are helping cover up whatever Trump and Company are so desperate to cover up. And it's also true that the Fox News crowd has been convinced that the whole shebang is "fake news."
By this point it's clear that the cover-up is the priority, no matter how temporarily embarrassing it it to individual Republicans. Which only highlights how serious Republican officials seem to think the underlying crimes must be.
posted by Gelatin at 1:25 PM on March 12, 2018 [36 favorites]
Getting away with cheating on your SO is seen as a basic skill by politicians.
And yet Trump has been caught cheating on all three of his wives...
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:28 PM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
And yet Trump has been caught cheating on all three of his wives...
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:28 PM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
murphy slaw: "i would give a significant donation of plasma, platelets, and whole blood to see the GOP internal polling in PA-18 pre- and post- Trump rally"
FWIW, the Monmouth was taken both pre- and post-rally (I think about 2/3 pre-). There's some indication they had trouble finding enough Republicans to fill the quota, which could maybe be indicative.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:29 PM on March 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
FWIW, the Monmouth was taken both pre- and post-rally (I think about 2/3 pre-). There's some indication they had trouble finding enough Republicans to fill the quota, which could maybe be indicative.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:29 PM on March 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
Yeah, there was one of these "hooking up with a lobbyist" scandals in the FL legislature recently, too.
Adultery = tasteless. Relationship with lobbyist = huge ethical violation.
posted by Chrysostom at 4:09 PM on March 12 [9 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
Ah yes, you must be referring to erstwhile Senator Jeff Clemens who was set to become Florida's Senate Minority Leader. He resigned pretty quickly when caught.
Not to be confused with erstwhile Senator Jack Latvala, a serial sexual harasser who was also caught attempting to trade votes for sex with a lobbyist.
These two bozos left over 600,000 Floridians without representation when they resigned prior to the beginning of this year's legislative session.
posted by Cookiebastard at 1:34 PM on March 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
Adultery = tasteless. Relationship with lobbyist = huge ethical violation.
posted by Chrysostom at 4:09 PM on March 12 [9 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
Ah yes, you must be referring to erstwhile Senator Jeff Clemens who was set to become Florida's Senate Minority Leader. He resigned pretty quickly when caught.
Not to be confused with erstwhile Senator Jack Latvala, a serial sexual harasser who was also caught attempting to trade votes for sex with a lobbyist.
These two bozos left over 600,000 Floridians without representation when they resigned prior to the beginning of this year's legislative session.
posted by Cookiebastard at 1:34 PM on March 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
Parkland kids are just killing it on twitter:
Everybody please give @BetsyDeVosED a break in regards to the 60 Minutes video...
Answering questions about education is hard. It’s unfair to put the United States Secretary of Education on the spot like that.
Secretary DeVos, you are in an office, so I will stand by you.
-----
Everybody please stop saying @BetsyDeVosED isn’t qualified for her job.
I bet NONE of you have enough money to buy that position anyway, so please allow the secretary to do her good work without your criticism.
posted by leotrotsky at 1:43 PM on March 12, 2018 [66 favorites]
Everybody please give @BetsyDeVosED a break in regards to the 60 Minutes video...
Answering questions about education is hard. It’s unfair to put the United States Secretary of Education on the spot like that.
Secretary DeVos, you are in an office, so I will stand by you.
-----
Everybody please stop saying @BetsyDeVosED isn’t qualified for her job.
I bet NONE of you have enough money to buy that position anyway, so please allow the secretary to do her good work without your criticism.
posted by leotrotsky at 1:43 PM on March 12, 2018 [66 favorites]
Altho my schade is freudening once again at the Bill Dix story, I also am so weary of POS hypocrite Republicans. Decade after decade I've endured these people preaching the code words "family values" (anti-woman, anti-LGBT, anti-"those people"), only to for them to inevitably be revealed as gross, grabby hypocrites.
I give not 2 shits what anyone does in their private life. But if you're someone who's caused untold grief for others because of your fake holy-roller judgemental bullshit, then you deserve to be knocked from your throne in the most publicly humiliating way possible.
Thus endeth my sermon.
posted by NorthernLite at 1:47 PM on March 12, 2018 [19 favorites]
I give not 2 shits what anyone does in their private life. But if you're someone who's caused untold grief for others because of your fake holy-roller judgemental bullshit, then you deserve to be knocked from your throne in the most publicly humiliating way possible.
Thus endeth my sermon.
posted by NorthernLite at 1:47 PM on March 12, 2018 [19 favorites]
But it was pointed out that this was a state-sponsored attack on British soil using chemical weapons. Which is possibly a thing.
We should be very clear about the seriousness of such a conclusion. I can't speak to British doctrine and law but were this in the United States it would fulfill the requirements for a nuclear response.
Obviously I don't actually expect a nuclear response. But it could reasonably be said to fall under our nuclear deterrent doctrine.
posted by Justinian at 1:48 PM on March 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
We should be very clear about the seriousness of such a conclusion. I can't speak to British doctrine and law but were this in the United States it would fulfill the requirements for a nuclear response.
Obviously I don't actually expect a nuclear response. But it could reasonably be said to fall under our nuclear deterrent doctrine.
posted by Justinian at 1:48 PM on March 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
Now that's interesting if [Stormy Daniels] still has [copies of the photos, videos and nasty tweets] "in her possession", because the contract specified she agrees that she turned over all copies to "DD" and Micheal Cohen.
Oopie! Must have forgot the sent items folder. I wonder if there are photos or videos of Trump on porn sites that everyone assumed were photoshopped and actually were real.
posted by msalt at 1:50 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Oopie! Must have forgot the sent items folder. I wonder if there are photos or videos of Trump on porn sites that everyone assumed were photoshopped and actually were real.
posted by msalt at 1:50 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
The guy who took the video that brought down Bill Dix recognized Dix, because he's interested in politics, but can't vote because of an old drug conviction. Maybe the Republicans should stop trying so hard to disenfranchise people, because people will find other ways to have their voices heard.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 1:51 PM on March 12, 2018 [41 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 1:51 PM on March 12, 2018 [41 favorites]
Britain's nukes all belong to the US, the US belongs to Russia, Putin can sleep easy on that front.
posted by Artw at 2:05 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 2:05 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
You know how sometimes Petri isn't so funny because what she's lampooning is actually worse than the joke? This is one of those times. Like... I laughed... but with a grimace on my face.
It's good to keep in mind that Tom Lehrer got out of satire when Henry Kissinger got a Nobel Peace Prize.
posted by mikelieman at 2:07 PM on March 12, 2018 [29 favorites]
It's good to keep in mind that Tom Lehrer got out of satire when Henry Kissinger got a Nobel Peace Prize.
posted by mikelieman at 2:07 PM on March 12, 2018 [29 favorites]
Like I said there's no way the UK (or US) retaliate with massive force.
But it's also true that Russia used chemical weapons on a NATO country. There has to be a response. I have no idea what should be done here so thank god I'm not in charge of UK Russia policy. But this goes way beyond some sanctions targetted at a few oligarchs or fucking with RT.
How much play is this getting in the UK, UK mefites? Is it dominating the news? Is it a B-story?
posted by Justinian at 2:09 PM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
But it's also true that Russia used chemical weapons on a NATO country. There has to be a response. I have no idea what should be done here so thank god I'm not in charge of UK Russia policy. But this goes way beyond some sanctions targetted at a few oligarchs or fucking with RT.
How much play is this getting in the UK, UK mefites? Is it dominating the news? Is it a B-story?
posted by Justinian at 2:09 PM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
The Daily Mail reports, so take it with a bag of salt until it gets confirmed elsewhere, that just by coincidence a bunch of top intelligence officials from the UAE just happened to be in the Seychelles at the same time as Erik Prince and a bunch of Russians.
posted by PenDevil at 2:10 PM on March 12, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by PenDevil at 2:10 PM on March 12, 2018 [12 favorites]
AP, Trump Jr., donor have longtime undisclosed ties
posted by zachlipton at 2:11 PM on March 12, 2018 [29 favorites]
Donald Trump Jr. has a previously undisclosed business relationship with a longtime hunting buddy who helped raise millions of dollars for his father’s 2016 presidential campaign and has had special access to top government officials since the election, records obtained by The Associated Press show.Is there no set of sanctions a Trump family member won't try to sell out for their buddies?
The president’s oldest son and Texas hedge fund manager Gentry Beach have been involved in business deals together dating back to the mid-2000s and recently formed a company, Future Venture LLC, despite past claims by both men that they were just friends, according to previously unreported court records and other documents obtained by AP.
Beach last year met with top National Security Council officials to push a plan that would curb U.S. sanctions in Venezuela and open up business for U.S. companies in the oil-rich nation.
posted by zachlipton at 2:11 PM on March 12, 2018 [29 favorites]
Justinian I think, to an extent, that's what Putin is looking at and for.
He's realized that he's an atomic power and the Cold War ended, which has left him basically free to do whatever he wants because "fuck, do we really want to go toe to toe with a nuclear power over X" is a part of everyone's mental calculus with regards to Russian bad acting.
He took a big productive chunk of Ukraine and knew he could get away with it because none of the big powers were going to have a nuclear standoff over Ukraine.
He's pushing the boundaries to see where the hard limits are, to see where (if anywhere) the line is drawn that **WILL** cause the other big powers to risk a nuclear confrontation with him. Can he get away with murdering ethnic Russians in the UK? He has so far. Can he get away with basically declaring any place that has a big enough ethnic Russian population to be part of Russia? He has so far.
It's risky on his end, but more risky on our end. Eventually some power with the nukes to back it up, whether the US, or China, or the European/UK members of NATO, is going to have to credibly threaten actual military responses.
Then we'll see what happens. Is the world going to have to set up for Cold War 2.0? I'm a bit doubtful, Russia today would be more isolated than Russia during the first Cold War, China after all isn't going to be on Russia's side this time, and I'm not sure even Cuba would be.
And of course, no one wants to really push back because cold wars have that unfortunate ability to become hot. And we just barely got past the **LAST** time the entire world was on the edge of a self-extinction event. Putin, however, seems to be perfectly willing to go back to that era of constant threat of mutual annihilation.
Right now most of the world's nations are involved in a sort of collective denial about what Russia is doing precisely because actually acknowledging it would require massive responses and people are reluctant to set off something they're unsure about the final consequences of doing. On the one hand you can say it's kind of cowardly, but on the other I can appreciate the restraint even though I'm sure the people in Ukraine wouldn't agree.
But somewhere, sometime, Putin is going to hit the hard limit. And then what?
posted by sotonohito at 2:13 PM on March 12, 2018 [48 favorites]
He's realized that he's an atomic power and the Cold War ended, which has left him basically free to do whatever he wants because "fuck, do we really want to go toe to toe with a nuclear power over X" is a part of everyone's mental calculus with regards to Russian bad acting.
He took a big productive chunk of Ukraine and knew he could get away with it because none of the big powers were going to have a nuclear standoff over Ukraine.
He's pushing the boundaries to see where the hard limits are, to see where (if anywhere) the line is drawn that **WILL** cause the other big powers to risk a nuclear confrontation with him. Can he get away with murdering ethnic Russians in the UK? He has so far. Can he get away with basically declaring any place that has a big enough ethnic Russian population to be part of Russia? He has so far.
It's risky on his end, but more risky on our end. Eventually some power with the nukes to back it up, whether the US, or China, or the European/UK members of NATO, is going to have to credibly threaten actual military responses.
Then we'll see what happens. Is the world going to have to set up for Cold War 2.0? I'm a bit doubtful, Russia today would be more isolated than Russia during the first Cold War, China after all isn't going to be on Russia's side this time, and I'm not sure even Cuba would be.
And of course, no one wants to really push back because cold wars have that unfortunate ability to become hot. And we just barely got past the **LAST** time the entire world was on the edge of a self-extinction event. Putin, however, seems to be perfectly willing to go back to that era of constant threat of mutual annihilation.
Right now most of the world's nations are involved in a sort of collective denial about what Russia is doing precisely because actually acknowledging it would require massive responses and people are reluctant to set off something they're unsure about the final consequences of doing. On the one hand you can say it's kind of cowardly, but on the other I can appreciate the restraint even though I'm sure the people in Ukraine wouldn't agree.
But somewhere, sometime, Putin is going to hit the hard limit. And then what?
posted by sotonohito at 2:13 PM on March 12, 2018 [48 favorites]
Also, speaking of Don Jr., who is totally supposed to be off running the business and not in politics, please enjoy this photograph of him being interviewed by a giant chocolate bunny while campaigning.
posted by zachlipton at 2:20 PM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 2:20 PM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
Josh Schwerin on Twitter: Donald Trump wants more preconditions for a meeting with Bob Mueller than he does for a meeting with Kim Jong Un
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:23 PM on March 12, 2018 [72 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:23 PM on March 12, 2018 [72 favorites]
Josh Marshall on why Stormy Daniels might be politically damaging (I apologize in advance):
posted by schadenfrau at 2:24 PM on March 12, 2018 [56 favorites]
I’m told that in her 60 Minutes interview with Anderson Cooper Daniels suggests that Trump, how to say this, likes it when women aren’t nice to him, treat him in perhaps denigrating ways.God, it’s so depressing how predictable this fuckhead is.
I think that would be very much off brand for Trump.
posted by schadenfrau at 2:24 PM on March 12, 2018 [56 favorites]
treat him in perhaps denigrating ways
We're all thinking it, right?
posted by fluttering hellfire at 2:30 PM on March 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
We're all thinking it, right?
posted by fluttering hellfire at 2:30 PM on March 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
Looks like it's not from the gun-NRA, but rather the food-NRA.
To save you a click, that’s the National Restaurant Association. The right to keep and care farms shall not be infringed.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 2:31 PM on March 12, 2018 [19 favorites]
To save you a click, that’s the National Restaurant Association. The right to keep and care farms shall not be infringed.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 2:31 PM on March 12, 2018 [19 favorites]
What I take from the Felix Sater story is that he was constantly involved in dirty deals with dirty people. But he had no issue finking on the ones he didn't like. The US government no doubt found him useful, but that doesn't mean he isn't corrupt.
Hopefully, he's already finked on Trump.
posted by OnceUponATime at 2:36 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Hopefully, he's already finked on Trump.
posted by OnceUponATime at 2:36 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
To save you a click, that’s the National Restaurant Association.
I mean they probably mostly lobby for shittier working conditions in restaurants, so can't we just destroy them too and call it acceptable collateral damage?
posted by contraption at 2:38 PM on March 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
I mean they probably mostly lobby for shittier working conditions in restaurants, so can't we just destroy them too and call it acceptable collateral damage?
posted by contraption at 2:38 PM on March 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
Texas hedge fund manager Gentry Beach
What is it with these names? Gentry: for when Baron is too on the nose.
posted by trig at 2:41 PM on March 12, 2018 [16 favorites]
What is it with these names? Gentry: for when Baron is too on the nose.
posted by trig at 2:41 PM on March 12, 2018 [16 favorites]
He's pushing the boundaries to see where the hard limits are, to see where (if anywhere) the line is drawn
From lukeharding1968 (the Graun's Russia specialist):
It's fairly hard to see it as anything other than unequivocal provocation. One theory in the replies to the tweet is that it's essentially to weaken US/UK relations (and NATO), which seems to have some explanatory merit, and certainly seems likely to be the case.
Not sure there will be much in the way of real repercussions as the two major responses that would target the Kremlin oligarchy:
* Targeting all the oligarch cash and land ownership in the UK and particularly in the City.
* Revisiting and re-referenduming Brexit.
are options with also zero likelihood of coming to pass as there's too much investment in Westminster in keeping those arrangements as they are.
How much play is this getting in the UK, UK mefites?
Headline news pretty much across the spectrum, and while there's some infighting (e.g. regarding the Tories who've taken the Tsar's shilling) there's no real side taking a pro-Russia tack.
One seriously disappointing exception is a segment of the Scottish indy movement who drank the RT kool aid (via the usual conspiracy fodder) who have gone full whataboutist/false-flag-explanation in backing Putin.
posted by Buntix at 2:45 PM on March 12, 2018 [22 favorites]
From lukeharding1968 (the Graun's Russia specialist):
The use of novichok in Salisbury not surprising but remarkable. Developed by Soviet Union in 70s and 80s, and more deadly than VX nerve agent. A brutal calling card that would inevitably be discovered. Conclusion: Putin and FSB wanted this row now(other tweets also worth a gander).
It's fairly hard to see it as anything other than unequivocal provocation. One theory in the replies to the tweet is that it's essentially to weaken US/UK relations (and NATO), which seems to have some explanatory merit, and certainly seems likely to be the case.
Not sure there will be much in the way of real repercussions as the two major responses that would target the Kremlin oligarchy:
* Targeting all the oligarch cash and land ownership in the UK and particularly in the City.
* Revisiting and re-referenduming Brexit.
are options with also zero likelihood of coming to pass as there's too much investment in Westminster in keeping those arrangements as they are.
How much play is this getting in the UK, UK mefites?
Headline news pretty much across the spectrum, and while there's some infighting (e.g. regarding the Tories who've taken the Tsar's shilling) there's no real side taking a pro-Russia tack.
One seriously disappointing exception is a segment of the Scottish indy movement who drank the RT kool aid (via the usual conspiracy fodder) who have gone full whataboutist/false-flag-explanation in backing Putin.
posted by Buntix at 2:45 PM on March 12, 2018 [22 favorites]
I mean they probably mostly lobby for shittier working conditions in restaurants, so can't we just destroy them too and call it acceptable collateral damage?
Ding! Ding! Ding!
From Wikipedia:
Ding! Ding! Ding!
From Wikipedia:
[The National Restaurant Association] is very active in fighting efforts to raise the minimum wage in the United States as well as laws requiring paid sick leave. In July 2013, it boasted that it had successfully lobbied against raises in the minimum wage in 27 of 29 states and blocked paid sick leave legislation in 12 states. It also takes credit for halting any increase in the federal minimum wage for tipped employees, which has remained at $2.13 per hour since 1991.posted by Atom Eyes at 2:46 PM on March 12, 2018 [26 favorites]
Headline news pretty much across the spectrum, and while there's some infighting (e.g. regarding the Tories who've taken the Tsar's shilling) there's no real side taking a pro-Russia tack.
Hammond is sure desperate to retain Russian bribes to make sure he doesn't tar Putin's oligarch buddies with Putin's brush.
posted by Talez at 2:47 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Hammond is sure desperate to retain Russian bribes to make sure he doesn't tar Putin's oligarch buddies with Putin's brush.
posted by Talez at 2:47 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
It's fairly hard to see it as anything other than unequivocal provocation. One theory in the replies to the tweet is that it's essentially to weaken US/UK relations (and NATO)
Maybe over the long term, but the first practical result of it that came to mind for me was to force the US to pick sides.
posted by rhizome at 2:50 PM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
Maybe over the long term, but the first practical result of it that came to mind for me was to force the US to pick sides.
posted by rhizome at 2:50 PM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
A brutal calling card that would inevitably be discovered. Conclusion: Putin and FSB wanted this row now
Hmm. Natasha Bertrand wrote this a year ago:
posted by OnceUponATime at 2:52 PM on March 12, 2018 [15 favorites]
Hmm. Natasha Bertrand wrote this a year ago:
Russia's intervention in the US election was "unusually loud," FBI Director James Comey said during a hearing on Monday before the House Intelligence Committee on the Russian efforts to undermine Democrat Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.I'm not sure I fully understand, still, the point of committing a crime in an obvious way, and then denying you did it. Just to mess with our heads? Just to prove some people will believe the Kremlin's denials rather than the American government's findings?
"They were unusually loud in their intervention," Comey said when asked by Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida what the Russians did in the 2016 presidential race that they hadn't done before.
"It's almost as if they didn't care that we knew," he said.
Comey suggested that Russia may have wanted the US government to tell the public what Russia was doing, so as to "amplify" its efforts.
"Their loudness, in a way, would be counting on us to amplify it by telling the American people what we saw and freaking people out about how the Russians might be undermining our elections successfully," Comey said.
Many cybersecurity and Russia experts share the view that the Russian hacking and disinformation campaign throughout the election was highly conspicuous.
Digital footprints were left on the Democratic National Committee and John Podesta hacks, which were sloppy and easy to link back to the Kremlin, as state-sponsored Russian news agencies like Russia Today and Sputnik openly backed Donald Trump. American eavesdroppers, meanwhile, reportedly intercepted calls between foreign nationals and Russian officials discussing the presidential campaign — and between Michael Flynn and Russia's ambassador to the US discussing sanctions — a similarly sloppy move, given the open secret that intelligence agencies routinely spy on one another.
posted by OnceUponATime at 2:52 PM on March 12, 2018 [15 favorites]
segment of the Scottish indy movement who drank the RT kool aid (via the usual conspiracy fodder)
Just how many elections did they mess with?
posted by schadenfrau at 2:53 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Just how many elections did they mess with?
posted by schadenfrau at 2:53 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
more deadly than VX nerve agent
I'd quibble with this, as it's inexact -- there's a range of agents in this class. The most potent may be considerably more potent than VX, even 5-8x more potent, but the point wasn't to achieve sheer LD50 dominance, the point was to have... flexibility. A range of options for any number of applications, battlefield and otherwise. Improved shelf-life and portability, varying times of onset after dose, and a variety of delivery mechanisms. And, chillingly, fewer effective options for antidotes/treatments.
But, agreed on the calling-card bit. Someone is definitely trolling here.
(One hallmark of this class of agents: they are more likely than VX and sarin/tabun/soman to induce comas in their victims. One scientist accidentally poisoned while working on one of these in the 80s was in a coma for ten days; he did come out of it eventually but never recovered fully. I'd be surprised if either Skirpal regains consciousness.)
posted by halation at 3:03 PM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
I'd quibble with this, as it's inexact -- there's a range of agents in this class. The most potent may be considerably more potent than VX, even 5-8x more potent, but the point wasn't to achieve sheer LD50 dominance, the point was to have... flexibility. A range of options for any number of applications, battlefield and otherwise. Improved shelf-life and portability, varying times of onset after dose, and a variety of delivery mechanisms. And, chillingly, fewer effective options for antidotes/treatments.
But, agreed on the calling-card bit. Someone is definitely trolling here.
(One hallmark of this class of agents: they are more likely than VX and sarin/tabun/soman to induce comas in their victims. One scientist accidentally poisoned while working on one of these in the 80s was in a coma for ten days; he did come out of it eventually but never recovered fully. I'd be surprised if either Skirpal regains consciousness.)
posted by halation at 3:03 PM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
I'm not sure I fully understand, still, the point of committing a crime in an obvious way, and then denying you did it.
If you admit you did it, foreign nations and corporations are compelled to punish you to a much greater extent.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 3:08 PM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
If you admit you did it, foreign nations and corporations are compelled to punish you to a much greater extent.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 3:08 PM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
CNN: House Intel committee says no evidence of collusion, ending probe.
That would be the GOP part of the House Intel committee.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 3:10 PM on March 12, 2018 [19 favorites]
That would be the GOP part of the House Intel committee.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 3:10 PM on March 12, 2018 [19 favorites]
Random Tinfoil Thought: Stormy Daniels' narrative is being helped along by state actors because getting Trump to publicly try to quash any "photos" she might have proves they're real... and that, um, observations made in same might be useful for guaranteeing the, er, "provenance" of the real kompromat when it's finally exposed.
The fact that there are multiple, opposing states who would fit that description either makes it more likely or completely not falsifiable. I'm honestly unsure which.
posted by Freon at 3:11 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
The fact that there are multiple, opposing states who would fit that description either makes it more likely or completely not falsifiable. I'm honestly unsure which.
posted by Freon at 3:11 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'm not sure I fully understand, still, the point of committing a crime in an obvious way, and then denying you did it. Just to mess with our heads?
Gaslighting. Distraction. Unbalancing your opponents by taunting them, and tying their hands by forcing them to either equivocate in response or yell 'YES YOU BLOODY WELL DID' and then inevitably escalate into World War III because that's where all this is going to end up, eventually. It's the diplomatic equivalent of one kid in the backseat on a long car trip who won't stop poking their sibling but smugly insists they didn't do anything. Except there is no parent who can turn the car around and all the kids have nukes.
posted by halation at 3:12 PM on March 12, 2018 [26 favorites]
Gaslighting. Distraction. Unbalancing your opponents by taunting them, and tying their hands by forcing them to either equivocate in response or yell 'YES YOU BLOODY WELL DID' and then inevitably escalate into World War III because that's where all this is going to end up, eventually. It's the diplomatic equivalent of one kid in the backseat on a long car trip who won't stop poking their sibling but smugly insists they didn't do anything. Except there is no parent who can turn the car around and all the kids have nukes.
posted by halation at 3:12 PM on March 12, 2018 [26 favorites]
I’m told that in her 60 Minutes interview with Anderson Cooper Daniels suggests that Trump, how to say this, likes it when women aren’t nice to him, treat him in perhaps denigrating ways.
I'll bet anybody $50 that if this comes out, Trump allies spin it as proof that he's feminist.
posted by msalt at 3:12 PM on March 12, 2018 [9 favorites]
I'll bet anybody $50 that if this comes out, Trump allies spin it as proof that he's feminist.
posted by msalt at 3:12 PM on March 12, 2018 [9 favorites]
I love it when a story has a good notary angle. Dallas Morning News, Texas notary's failure to sign Stormy Daniels' hush agreement is under investigation. The NDA we've seen shows the notary seemingly notarized a document with a blank signature line and there's no notarial certificate, and it's hard to imagine how she verified the identities of the signers "PP" and "EC, LLC" unless they gave her the side agreement. So she's got some problems here, and the Texas Secretary of State would like answers.
posted by zachlipton at 3:20 PM on March 12, 2018 [55 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 3:20 PM on March 12, 2018 [55 favorites]
I'm not sure I fully understand, still, the point of committing a crime in an obvious way, and then denying you did it. Just to mess with our heads? Just to prove some people will believe the Kremlin's denials rather than the American government's findings?
Yes to all, and more. Vladislav Surkov is likely the person whom you should most thank for your confusion ("The Hidden Author of Putinism"). To avoid typing an essay (I've been thinking about this aspect a lot), it's most succinct to say that Surkov's ideas and practices leverage our habits of immersive mediation (literally, knowing the world and what happens in it mostly by media--like through a newspaper, TV or gadget--rather than empirically) to make the Theatre of the Absurd large-scale practice out in the world.
Their intent is to obfuscate our sense of reality until we don't really trust what we experience with our own eyes, ears and bodies; or, trust what media tells/shows us more than what we personally experience, because if you don't think that there is an empirical, trustable, fact-based reality, then you are superbly manipulable fodder for autocrats.
posted by LooseFilter at 3:21 PM on March 12, 2018 [49 favorites]
Yes to all, and more. Vladislav Surkov is likely the person whom you should most thank for your confusion ("The Hidden Author of Putinism"). To avoid typing an essay (I've been thinking about this aspect a lot), it's most succinct to say that Surkov's ideas and practices leverage our habits of immersive mediation (literally, knowing the world and what happens in it mostly by media--like through a newspaper, TV or gadget--rather than empirically) to make the Theatre of the Absurd large-scale practice out in the world.
Their intent is to obfuscate our sense of reality until we don't really trust what we experience with our own eyes, ears and bodies; or, trust what media tells/shows us more than what we personally experience, because if you don't think that there is an empirical, trustable, fact-based reality, then you are superbly manipulable fodder for autocrats.
posted by LooseFilter at 3:21 PM on March 12, 2018 [49 favorites]
Maybe over the long term, but the first practical result of it that came to mind for me was to force the US to pick sides.
David Frum, The Atlantic: ...Trump simply will not act to protect the U.S. and its allies against even Russian aggression, even on their own territory, even in the form of attempted murder.
Trump’s inaction speaks louder than any words. It is a confession for all to hear.
posted by nubs at 3:23 PM on March 12, 2018 [40 favorites]
David Frum, The Atlantic: ...Trump simply will not act to protect the U.S. and its allies against even Russian aggression, even on their own territory, even in the form of attempted murder.
Trump’s inaction speaks louder than any words. It is a confession for all to hear.
posted by nubs at 3:23 PM on March 12, 2018 [40 favorites]
I'm not sure I fully understand, still, the point of committing a crime in an obvious way, and then denying you did it. Just to mess with our heads?
Just backing up: It's possible Comey is responding here to the recent press reports and analysis that slam the Obama Admin (and Comey's FBI, among others) for the muted response to the hacking effort: "Nah, see, we meant to do that because we didn't want to amplify those efforts..."
posted by notyou at 3:23 PM on March 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
Just backing up: It's possible Comey is responding here to the recent press reports and analysis that slam the Obama Admin (and Comey's FBI, among others) for the muted response to the hacking effort: "Nah, see, we meant to do that because we didn't want to amplify those efforts..."
posted by notyou at 3:23 PM on March 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
A reminder of what a sham the House Intel Committee investigation was:
Kyle Griffin [via Twitter]:
Several witnesses thought to be central to the investigation never came before the panel, NYT notes, including:
—Paul Manafort
—Rick Gates
—Michael Flynn
—George Papadopoulos
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:25 PM on March 12, 2018 [56 favorites]
Kyle Griffin [via Twitter]:
Several witnesses thought to be central to the investigation never came before the panel, NYT notes, including:
—Paul Manafort
—Rick Gates
—Michael Flynn
—George Papadopoulos
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:25 PM on March 12, 2018 [56 favorites]
From the Times story on House Intel:
posted by zachlipton at 3:27 PM on March 12, 2018 [68 favorites]
Representative K. Michael Conaway of Texas, who is leading the investigation, said committee Republicans agreed with the conclusions of American intelligence agencies that Russia had interfered with the election, but they broke with the agencies on one crucial point: that the Russians had favored Mr. Trump’s candidacy.To be clear, this isn't just a "narrative," it's the public assessment of the intelligence agencies they oversee:
“The bottom line: The Russians did commit active measures against our election in ’16, and we think they will do that in the future,” Mr. Conaway said. But, he added, “We disagree with the narrative that they were trying to help Trump.”
We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump. We have high confidence in these judgments.I certainly do not have blind faith in what our intelligence agencies put out, but for House Republicans to, without providing any evidence and after running a fake investigation for political purposes, put out statements contradicting the intelligence community and evidence that has already been made public should be shocking and appalling.
We also assess Putin and the Russian Government aspired to help President-elect Trump’s election chances when possible by discrediting Secretary Clinton and publicly contrasting her unfavorably to him. All three agencies agree with this judgment. CIA and FBI have high confidence in this judgment; NSA has moderate confidence.
posted by zachlipton at 3:27 PM on March 12, 2018 [68 favorites]
the point of committing a crime in an obvious way
It was a Russian, very accomplished in politics, who said that the main question in that arena is "Who, whom?" - that is, in politics there is a subject and an object, a party that acts and a party that is acted upon. For some decades after WWII, the American Empire enjoyed such dominance that in substantial matters it was not acted upon, while it acted on large swathes of the globe. At most the object of the USG's attentions might resist, as in the Iranians overthrowing the puppet ruler.
Eventually, in 2001 Osama Bin Laden was able to act upon the "homeland" in a major way. Being made the "whom" in the quote was more damaging than anything physical. Imagine if the same damage had been wrought by some freak coincidence of accidents - a meteor striking downtown Manhattan, a plane crash in Pennsylvania, and a big gas explosion at the Pentagon. It would have been damaging, but not the epochal event the real terrorist attacks became.
Putin is working on the same principle, making the USG the "whom," wounding nationalism, inciting chaos like an inflammatory response. The response afflicts the USG to a much greater extent than the first-order effects of his meddling, which from what I've seen was generally low-grade shitposting with weak memes, and basically shilling for everything but the Hillary and Jeb establishment. "It hurt itself in its confusion!"
Barack Obama's getting shit on for it, but he had a much better response. If someone's trying to troll you on the Internet, the proper response is to keep your cool, not to lose your shit.
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 3:27 PM on March 12, 2018 [39 favorites]
It was a Russian, very accomplished in politics, who said that the main question in that arena is "Who, whom?" - that is, in politics there is a subject and an object, a party that acts and a party that is acted upon. For some decades after WWII, the American Empire enjoyed such dominance that in substantial matters it was not acted upon, while it acted on large swathes of the globe. At most the object of the USG's attentions might resist, as in the Iranians overthrowing the puppet ruler.
Eventually, in 2001 Osama Bin Laden was able to act upon the "homeland" in a major way. Being made the "whom" in the quote was more damaging than anything physical. Imagine if the same damage had been wrought by some freak coincidence of accidents - a meteor striking downtown Manhattan, a plane crash in Pennsylvania, and a big gas explosion at the Pentagon. It would have been damaging, but not the epochal event the real terrorist attacks became.
Putin is working on the same principle, making the USG the "whom," wounding nationalism, inciting chaos like an inflammatory response. The response afflicts the USG to a much greater extent than the first-order effects of his meddling, which from what I've seen was generally low-grade shitposting with weak memes, and basically shilling for everything but the Hillary and Jeb establishment. "It hurt itself in its confusion!"
Barack Obama's getting shit on for it, but he had a much better response. If someone's trying to troll you on the Internet, the proper response is to keep your cool, not to lose your shit.
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 3:27 PM on March 12, 2018 [39 favorites]
Comey is responding here to the recent press reports
To clarify, I dug up that quote from Mar. 21, 2017. Almost a full year ago. So this is not a response to recent press reports. It foreshadowed those reports, and, it turns out, forshadowed Russia denying a chemical weapons attack that it went out of its way to commit in a way that was obviously traceable back to Russia. I was just trying to point out that "going out of your way to leave a calling card, only to deny that you were ever there" is exactly what Russia did to us, too. It has confused me for a year, but at least now there is some more evidence that this is a thing that they do, on purpose.
Also... the day after the 2016 election, when Trump was still denying that his campaign had had any contact with Russia, a Russian official said: "There were contacts” -- “Obviously, we know most of the people from his entourage,” Ryabkov said.
I was so confused at the time. Why weren't they trying to hide it? I found it chilling, and still do, that they felt they could be so open about it.
posted by OnceUponATime at 3:38 PM on March 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
To clarify, I dug up that quote from Mar. 21, 2017. Almost a full year ago. So this is not a response to recent press reports. It foreshadowed those reports, and, it turns out, forshadowed Russia denying a chemical weapons attack that it went out of its way to commit in a way that was obviously traceable back to Russia. I was just trying to point out that "going out of your way to leave a calling card, only to deny that you were ever there" is exactly what Russia did to us, too. It has confused me for a year, but at least now there is some more evidence that this is a thing that they do, on purpose.
Also... the day after the 2016 election, when Trump was still denying that his campaign had had any contact with Russia, a Russian official said: "There were contacts” -- “Obviously, we know most of the people from his entourage,” Ryabkov said.
I was so confused at the time. Why weren't they trying to hide it? I found it chilling, and still do, that they felt they could be so open about it.
posted by OnceUponATime at 3:38 PM on March 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
CNN: House Intel committee says no evidence of collusion, ending probe.
Which presumably is kinda obstruction of justice as well. The blue wave could end up happening by default because there's only a handful of Republicans left who aren't in jail*.
If someone's trying to troll you on the Internet, the proper response is to keep your cool, not to lose your shit.
...just to note that there's still a rational (non-compromised) core left to the lefty indy movement,
@NicolaSturgeon: "Exactly right. Cool heads certainly required but also a firm response. Russia simply cannot be allowed to launch attacks on our streets with impunity."
[retweeting]
@StewartMcDonald (SNP Spokesperson for Defence): "What the Prime Minister has just outlined is a sobering and horrifying example of the range of threats we now face - not unknown to our Baltic allies. Cool heads must prevail, but this crime cannot go unpunished."
* it was somewhat heartening watching that youtube of the talk by Mueller ^^^ and seeing what an utter justice-nerd the guy is, and that he feels about putting criminals in jail the same way a forensic entomologist feels about discovering improbably geo-located silphidae.
posted by Buntix at 3:39 PM on March 12, 2018 [37 favorites]
Which presumably is kinda obstruction of justice as well. The blue wave could end up happening by default because there's only a handful of Republicans left who aren't in jail*.
If someone's trying to troll you on the Internet, the proper response is to keep your cool, not to lose your shit.
...just to note that there's still a rational (non-compromised) core left to the lefty indy movement,
@NicolaSturgeon: "Exactly right. Cool heads certainly required but also a firm response. Russia simply cannot be allowed to launch attacks on our streets with impunity."
[retweeting]
@StewartMcDonald (SNP Spokesperson for Defence): "What the Prime Minister has just outlined is a sobering and horrifying example of the range of threats we now face - not unknown to our Baltic allies. Cool heads must prevail, but this crime cannot go unpunished."
* it was somewhat heartening watching that youtube of the talk by Mueller ^^^ and seeing what an utter justice-nerd the guy is, and that he feels about putting criminals in jail the same way a forensic entomologist feels about discovering improbably geo-located silphidae.
posted by Buntix at 3:39 PM on March 12, 2018 [37 favorites]
Reality check, please: I know the president is exempt from conflict of interest laws, but his family members in the government aren't, are they? I mean, Don Jr. and Eric (who don't have government positions) would in fact be protected by Donald's immunity, but Ivanka and Jared Kushner have committed numerous and blatant conflicts of interest under federal law that Mueller should have no problem at all proving, right?
Also, what are the penalties?
posted by msalt at 3:42 PM on March 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
Also, what are the penalties?
posted by msalt at 3:42 PM on March 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
National security guy whose name escapes me, on CNN’s The Situation Room, regarding the GOP House Intelligence report: “If this report was printed on toilet paper I wouldn’t deign to wipe my ass with it.”
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 3:42 PM on March 12, 2018 [43 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 3:42 PM on March 12, 2018 [43 favorites]
U.S. Posts Biggest Budget Deficit Since 2012
posted by Talez at 4:02 PM on March 12, 2018 [43 favorites]
The U.S. recorded a $215 billion budget deficit in February -- its biggest in six years -- as revenue declined.It begins.
Fiscal income dropped to $156 billion, down 9 percent from a year earlier, while spending rose 2 percent to $371 billion, the Treasury Department said on Monday. The deficit for the fiscal year that began in October widened to $391 billion, compared with a $351 billion shortfall the same period a year earlier, according to the Treasury report.
posted by Talez at 4:02 PM on March 12, 2018 [43 favorites]
To be clear, this isn't just a "narrative," it's the public assessment of the intelligence agencies they oversee...
Not to mention we have 13 indictments from Mueller showing it.
posted by chris24 at 4:04 PM on March 12, 2018 [15 favorites]
Not to mention we have 13 indictments from Mueller showing it.
posted by chris24 at 4:04 PM on March 12, 2018 [15 favorites]
A short but sharp take from Chatham House: The Skripal Attack Is a Test for the UK. "Fortunately, whatever the allied response, the UK is the repository of a national asset of very high value to Russia: the City of London. For many years, it has effectively allowed key Russian stakeholders to use the services of the City – in particular, the London Stock Exchange, as well as the high-end property market – for purposes legitimate, illegitimate and even illegal. It is time to transform them from a source of advantage to Russia to a strategic asset for the UK. "
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:07 PM on March 12, 2018 [29 favorites]
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:07 PM on March 12, 2018 [29 favorites]
I’m told that in her 60 Minutes interview with Anderson Cooper Daniels suggests that Trump, how to say this, likes it when women aren’t nice to him, treat him in perhaps denigrating ways.
I guess now we know why he has such a complicated emotional reaction to Hillary.
posted by Autumnheart at 4:17 PM on March 12, 2018 [13 favorites]
Trump blocks Singapore-based Broadcom from purchasing Qualcomm, on national security grounds. Maybe Kaspersky Lab can make a bid?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:24 PM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:24 PM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
BREAKING: Tillerson says ex-spy's poisoning in UK 'clearly came from Russia,' vows it 'will trigger a response.
posted by Atom Eyes at 4:25 PM on March 12, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 4:25 PM on March 12, 2018 [26 favorites]
Trump’s going to wake up at 4am and call it a false flag isn’t he
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:26 PM on March 12, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:26 PM on March 12, 2018 [18 favorites]
A short but sharp take from Chatham House: The Skripal Attack Is a Test for the UK.
From the same article:
I hadn't really looked at it that way, but the UK has been at best the 53rd state proxy for the US, and even at worst a conduit linking to the EU (and yet again NATO). Which has been a fairly strong Maginot line type bond in the whole global economic area stability thing.
Brexit, trade wars, and provocative assassinations are all working to sever that link (and thanks to quisling fuckers like Farage, the Daily Mail, Britain First, et al selling their putative self-absorbed nationalism to malignant foreign interests) we have become the weakest link.
Divide and conquer.
Same as the whole mostly-supporting-fascists in the US, but trying to troll BLM into conflicts as well.
ed: #Solidarity
posted by Buntix at 4:29 PM on March 12, 2018 [14 favorites]
From the same article:
From the earliest days of the Cold War, the USSR and its Russian successor viewed Britain as Washington’s number one proxy in Europe. From Moscow’s perspective, the UK’s position at the EU top table enhanced US and British influence simultaneously. That advantage has been thrown away.
I hadn't really looked at it that way, but the UK has been at best the 53rd state proxy for the US, and even at worst a conduit linking to the EU (and yet again NATO). Which has been a fairly strong Maginot line type bond in the whole global economic area stability thing.
Brexit, trade wars, and provocative assassinations are all working to sever that link (and thanks to quisling fuckers like Farage, the Daily Mail, Britain First, et al selling their putative self-absorbed nationalism to malignant foreign interests) we have become the weakest link.
Divide and conquer.
Same as the whole mostly-supporting-fascists in the US, but trying to troll BLM into conflicts as well.
ed: #Solidarity
posted by Buntix at 4:29 PM on March 12, 2018 [14 favorites]
...the same way a forensic entomologist feels about discovering improbably geo-located silphidae.
Must we always make the same comments over and over in these politics megathreads?
posted by leotrotsky at 4:30 PM on March 12, 2018 [100 favorites]
Must we always make the same comments over and over in these politics megathreads?
posted by leotrotsky at 4:30 PM on March 12, 2018 [100 favorites]
BREAKING: Tillerson says ex-spy's poisoning in UK 'clearly came from Russia,' vows it 'will trigger a response.
...like sanctions? Because you guys have real trouble with those.
posted by leotrotsky at 4:37 PM on March 12, 2018 [34 favorites]
...like sanctions? Because you guys have real trouble with those.
posted by leotrotsky at 4:37 PM on March 12, 2018 [34 favorites]
Maybe another very thorough House Intel Committee investigation?
"The House Intel Committee has come to the conclusion that Sergei Skripal tripped and fell on some naturally occurring Novichok in the environment"
posted by Talez at 4:43 PM on March 12, 2018 [36 favorites]
"The House Intel Committee has come to the conclusion that Sergei Skripal tripped and fell on some naturally occurring Novichok in the environment"
posted by Talez at 4:43 PM on March 12, 2018 [36 favorites]
A short but sharp take from Chatham House: The Skripal Attack Is a Test for the UK. "Fortunately, whatever the allied response, the UK is the repository of a national asset of very high value to Russia: the City of London. For many years, it has effectively allowed key Russian stakeholders to use the services of the City – in particular, the London Stock Exchange, as well as the high-end property market – for purposes legitimate, illegitimate and even illegal. It is time to transform them from a source of advantage to Russia to a strategic asset for the UK. "
T.D. Strange had the right idea earlier. Raid the money laundering enablers, seize ALL the
overseas assets. Has the effect of seriously pissing off a bunch of powerful Russians, while not tit-for-tating with violence, which would take us in a bad direction. That said, if 007 wants to start popping bad blatnoys in Moscow, I'm all for it.
posted by leotrotsky at 4:43 PM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
T.D. Strange had the right idea earlier. Raid the money laundering enablers, seize ALL the
overseas assets. Has the effect of seriously pissing off a bunch of powerful Russians, while not tit-for-tating with violence, which would take us in a bad direction. That said, if 007 wants to start popping bad blatnoys in Moscow, I'm all for it.
posted by leotrotsky at 4:43 PM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
You all seem to be making the mistake of thinking the Secretary of State in any way speaks for the government of the United States. What gives you that confidence? I'm not joking, is there any reason to listen to anything anyone but Trump says?
Trump would say l'etat, c'est moi except he is barely literate in English much less French.
posted by Justinian at 4:43 PM on March 12, 2018 [12 favorites]
Trump would say l'etat, c'est moi except he is barely literate in English much less French.
posted by Justinian at 4:43 PM on March 12, 2018 [12 favorites]
If Tillerson says it you know it's not going to happen.
posted by lumnar at 4:44 PM on March 12, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by lumnar at 4:44 PM on March 12, 2018 [9 favorites]
Sadly, the US is actually better positioned for this, because our weird income tax laws make it much less likely for our wealthy folks to stash assets overseas compared to wealthy UK folks (it's why there were so few Americans in the Panama Papers). So there's less blowback for us than for them to act. But we've got a Siberian candidate in the White House, so it won't happen.
posted by leotrotsky at 4:44 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by leotrotsky at 4:44 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Exactly. Deny them access to The City. It's not like there's any political retribution to be paid. What are the powers that run London going to do? Put Comrade Corbyn in the PM slot? Hardly.
posted by Talez at 4:45 PM on March 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Talez at 4:45 PM on March 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
...and pair it with similar actions in Paris and Frankfurt (particularly important given the UK's recent Brexit self-castration). Make all of Western Europe a no-go for Russian money. That includes Real Estate. Seize ALL the flats.
posted by leotrotsky at 4:49 PM on March 12, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by leotrotsky at 4:49 PM on March 12, 2018 [12 favorites]
i really admire the restraint of all of these interviewers for not asking DeVos how much a banana costs
Huh? Is this a thing? We’ve been slogging through so much I’m barely sure what’s even real anymore.
posted by corb at 4:56 PM on March 12, 2018
Huh? Is this a thing? We’ve been slogging through so much I’m barely sure what’s even real anymore.
posted by corb at 4:56 PM on March 12, 2018
We committed to Article 5 26 Scaramuccis ago.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 4:58 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 4:58 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
I have a bad feeling that Stormy Daniels is negotiating for another NDA with a bigger payoff.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 4:58 PM on March 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 4:58 PM on March 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
Huh? Is this a thing?
It’s a reference to Arrested Development where Lucille says “it’s one banana, Michael. How much can it cost? 10 dollars?”
posted by Talez at 5:00 PM on March 12, 2018 [29 favorites]
It’s a reference to Arrested Development where Lucille says “it’s one banana, Michael. How much can it cost? 10 dollars?”
posted by Talez at 5:00 PM on March 12, 2018 [29 favorites]
Specifically, this clip from Arrested Development.
It's Lucille
posted by thefoxgod at 5:04 PM on March 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
It's Lucille
posted by thefoxgod at 5:04 PM on March 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
I have a bad feeling that Stormy Daniels is negotiating for another NDA with a bigger payoff.
Where in the world are you getting that from? I could well be wrong, but everything I’ve seen so far suggests quite the opposite.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 5:05 PM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
Where in the world are you getting that from? I could well be wrong, but everything I’ve seen so far suggests quite the opposite.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 5:05 PM on March 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
the worst thing about josh marshall's speculation about the daniels case is that it introduces a non-zero possibility that trump is getting sexual gratification from the whole media feeding frenzy because he's being publicly humiliated by a woman
posted by murphy slaw at 5:06 PM on March 12, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 5:06 PM on March 12, 2018 [16 favorites]
House Intel committee says no evidence of collusion, ending probe
They're ending it now in hopes the public will have forgotten it and its utter incompetence entirely by 238 Scaramuccis from now, when the real indictments drop.
Frankly I'm glad that farce of fake news is done. Maybe Nunes will actually shut tf up now? Or feel the need to spend time with his family?
posted by Dashy at 5:06 PM on March 12, 2018
They're ending it now in hopes the public will have forgotten it and its utter incompetence entirely by 238 Scaramuccis from now, when the real indictments drop.
Frankly I'm glad that farce of fake news is done. Maybe Nunes will actually shut tf up now? Or feel the need to spend time with his family?
posted by Dashy at 5:06 PM on March 12, 2018
Sadly, the US is actually better positioned for this, because our weird income tax laws make it much less likely for our wealthy folks to stash assets overseas compared to wealthy UK folks (it's why there were so few Americans in the Panama Papers).
Also the rather canny move of inventing Delaware behind the wooly coats in the wardrobe. Keeping it in-house in shell companies is good infosec.
The thing that strikes me as odd is that the CIA, NSA, MI\d+, DGSE, Bundesnachrichtendienst, et al must surely have way juicier weaponised tax haven/laundering secrets to leak than anything that ever made it to the Panama funny pages. It's quite literally the most important information have in geopolitics these days.
Then, also not entirely sure how the Kremlin is winning a propaganda war against the aggregated BS and meme creativity of both the western and eastern world.
It's possible that the FSB is also responsible for Supernatural. Distracting would-be anti-propagandists into endless Tumblering and fanfic writing.
(also of course the subversion of the major US propaganda outlets such as 4chan, and 4chan's TV station: Fox news).
posted by Buntix at 5:09 PM on March 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
Also the rather canny move of inventing Delaware behind the wooly coats in the wardrobe. Keeping it in-house in shell companies is good infosec.
The thing that strikes me as odd is that the CIA, NSA, MI\d+, DGSE, Bundesnachrichtendienst, et al must surely have way juicier weaponised tax haven/laundering secrets to leak than anything that ever made it to the Panama funny pages. It's quite literally the most important information have in geopolitics these days.
Then, also not entirely sure how the Kremlin is winning a propaganda war against the aggregated BS and meme creativity of both the western and eastern world.
It's possible that the FSB is also responsible for Supernatural. Distracting would-be anti-propagandists into endless Tumblering and fanfic writing.
(also of course the subversion of the major US propaganda outlets such as 4chan, and 4chan's TV station: Fox news).
posted by Buntix at 5:09 PM on March 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
I have a bad feeling that Stormy Daniels is negotiating for another NDA with a bigger payoff
The amount of money she can make from her story, with or without visual evidence, will dwarf anything the Trump Organization is likely to provide.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:13 PM on March 12, 2018 [26 favorites]
The amount of money she can make from her story, with or without visual evidence, will dwarf anything the Trump Organization is likely to provide.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:13 PM on March 12, 2018 [26 favorites]
@JaredHuffman (CA 2nd District Congressman)
Dear President Trump, if you want to meet someone who has an actual IQ problem (as opposed to just being black), meet your Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Rich, white, and dumber than a bag of hammers.
posted by chris24 at 5:27 PM on March 12, 2018 [66 favorites]
Dear President Trump, if you want to meet someone who has an actual IQ problem (as opposed to just being black), meet your Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Rich, white, and dumber than a bag of hammers.
posted by chris24 at 5:27 PM on March 12, 2018 [66 favorites]
One page draft report summary from HPSCI.
posted by scalefree at 5:28 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by scalefree at 5:28 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
I like that Democrats are realizing they can enhance their career prospects by getting on their iPhone and savagely burning the President
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:28 PM on March 12, 2018 [56 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:28 PM on March 12, 2018 [56 favorites]
The summary takes a pass on conclusion, yet finds "How anti-Trump research made its way from Russian sources to the Clinton campaign." Sounds like yet more Steele Dossier bashing.
posted by zachlipton at 5:31 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by zachlipton at 5:31 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Even DNI Coats thinks the HPSCI is full of shit.
@jimsciutto (CNN)
Breaking: Responding to GOP House intel Cmte draft report, “The Intelligence Community stands by its January 2017 assessment, 'Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections.' We will review the HPSCI report findings." -Brian Hale, ODNI spokesman tells me.
posted by chris24 at 5:32 PM on March 12, 2018 [13 favorites]
@jimsciutto (CNN)
Breaking: Responding to GOP House intel Cmte draft report, “The Intelligence Community stands by its January 2017 assessment, 'Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections.' We will review the HPSCI report findings." -Brian Hale, ODNI spokesman tells me.
posted by chris24 at 5:32 PM on March 12, 2018 [13 favorites]
god, trump is going to be whacking the entire country in the face with that one-pager until the minute he's perp-walked out of the residence. he's gonna re-wallpaper the oval office with this thing and an incorrect 2016 election map.
posted by murphy slaw at 5:37 PM on March 12, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 5:37 PM on March 12, 2018 [14 favorites]
Jim Himes, D-CT, on Twitter: Huh. Interesting. I’m on the House Intel Committee and this is the first I’ve seen of this one pager. And its conclusions.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 5:42 PM on March 12, 2018 [68 favorites]
posted by scaryblackdeath at 5:42 PM on March 12, 2018 [68 favorites]
Profile in courage:
HSPCI member Rep. Tom Rooney: "We've gone completely off the rails, and now we're just basically a political forum for people to leak information to drive the day's news...we've lost all credibility" - Rep. Tom Rooney on the Republican decision to end the House Russia investigation
Rep. Rooney is a retiring Republican who's nonetheless been voting with Nunes and voted to end the investigation.
Naval War College Prof. David Burbach:
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:43 PM on March 12, 2018 [77 favorites]
HSPCI member Rep. Tom Rooney: "We've gone completely off the rails, and now we're just basically a political forum for people to leak information to drive the day's news...we've lost all credibility" - Rep. Tom Rooney on the Republican decision to end the House Russia investigation
Rep. Rooney is a retiring Republican who's nonetheless been voting with Nunes and voted to end the investigation.
Naval War College Prof. David Burbach:
For the IC, having your oversight committee formally declare to the world that a major cross-agency finding was just plain wrong, is really a big deal. 1/ Just in general it's a huge credibility and morale hit, while acknowledging sometimes agencies probably deserve to be criticized (the point of oversight). 2/That House Intel is making such a transparently political judgement, not only to clear Trump of involvement but to clear _Russia_ of doing it, puts the IC and a heck of a bind. 3/ It's a strong signal to the intel professionals that their political masters would rather not know the truth if it is highly damaging politically -- and we risk the IC responding to that signal 4/ Or if you believe your Constitutional oath requires acting despite wishes of political leaders who are aiding foreign adversaries, as a primary or collateral goal, the ways IC might do that are of course highly problematic and also bad to encourage 5/ There's really no good answer, and it's why Congressional intel oversight has been reasonably bipartisan over the years. Things get bad fast otherwise. As we will see. 6/6This is how you start getting widespread leaks of raw intel from aggrieved individuals inside the IC.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:43 PM on March 12, 2018 [77 favorites]
I'm not sure I fully understand, still, the point of committing a crime in an obvious way, and then denying you did it. Just to mess with our heads? Just to prove some people will believe the Kremlin's denials rather than the American government's findings?
Provoking the US could also strengthen Putin domestically by both providing an external enemy to rage against and also by providing an excuse for domestic economic woes (it's the sanctions of Imperialist America that are stopping you from buying and selling what you want).
So even a sanctions response works for Putin politically. Tough luck for all the other Russians though.
posted by srboisvert at 5:45 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Provoking the US could also strengthen Putin domestically by both providing an external enemy to rage against and also by providing an excuse for domestic economic woes (it's the sanctions of Imperialist America that are stopping you from buying and selling what you want).
So even a sanctions response works for Putin politically. Tough luck for all the other Russians though.
posted by srboisvert at 5:45 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Profile in courage
@mkraju (CNN)
Tom Rooney added that he "absolutely" thinks Russians tried to help Trump and hurt Clinton, adds it's just a draft report
posted by chris24 at 5:45 PM on March 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
@mkraju (CNN)
Tom Rooney added that he "absolutely" thinks Russians tried to help Trump and hurt Clinton, adds it's just a draft report
posted by chris24 at 5:45 PM on March 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
Tom Rooney added that he "absolutely" thinks Russians tried to help Trump and hurt Clinton, adds it's just a draft report
so this is a trial balloon to see how many people demand their heads over it, and if the heat is too much they'll tone it down? inspiring.
posted by murphy slaw at 5:50 PM on March 12, 2018 [9 favorites]
so this is a trial balloon to see how many people demand their heads over it, and if the heat is too much they'll tone it down? inspiring.
posted by murphy slaw at 5:50 PM on March 12, 2018 [9 favorites]
I saw the interview live and these tweets don't really convey what happened. Burnett thought Rooney was agreeing that the Russians were not just causing general chaos but were specifically trying to get Trump elected (because that's the only reasonable position) but that's not what he meant and he kind of panicked and tried to walk it back when he realized he was out over his skies.
Rooney was trying to finesse his answer along these lines: Yes, Russia meddled. Yes, Russia tried to help Trump. But the Russians were trying to cause chaos in general and tried to help other people too, not try to get Trump elected. Basically he was trying to appear reasonable by saying that Russia did some things to help Trump but only in the context of doing things to help other people and not to hurt Clinton as much as they could because they weren't trying to get Trump elected, only to cause chaos.
Burnett didn't pick up on what he was saying right away because it was moronic but that's what was going on and it was clear to me. I don't know what these twitter folks were seeing. I mean, their quotes are accurate. They were said. But the context was completely different.
posted by Justinian at 5:51 PM on March 12, 2018 [10 favorites]
Rooney was trying to finesse his answer along these lines: Yes, Russia meddled. Yes, Russia tried to help Trump. But the Russians were trying to cause chaos in general and tried to help other people too, not try to get Trump elected. Basically he was trying to appear reasonable by saying that Russia did some things to help Trump but only in the context of doing things to help other people and not to hurt Clinton as much as they could because they weren't trying to get Trump elected, only to cause chaos.
Burnett didn't pick up on what he was saying right away because it was moronic but that's what was going on and it was clear to me. I don't know what these twitter folks were seeing. I mean, their quotes are accurate. They were said. But the context was completely different.
posted by Justinian at 5:51 PM on March 12, 2018 [10 favorites]
Rooney even said that the Russians hacked both sides as an example. Which is true. He just left out the fact that they only released the Democratic hacks! Like that literally happened.
posted by Justinian at 5:53 PM on March 12, 2018 [35 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 5:53 PM on March 12, 2018 [35 favorites]
This confuses me. I've never heard of restrictions on where non-citizens can live. I understand that certain types of work visa's essentially indenture you to the sponsoring company, and they could dictate where you work, but that's a decision between you and your employer. Am I missing something?
You can live where you like just not "freely". You are obligated to keep la migra updated on your address.
posted by srboisvert at 5:53 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
You can live where you like just not "freely". You are obligated to keep la migra updated on your address.
posted by srboisvert at 5:53 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
I don't know what these twitter folks were seeing. I mean, their quotes are accurate. They were said. But the context was completely different.
Well, you have "twitter folks" and "context" together in the same sentence. I think that's your problem right there.
posted by Uncle Ira at 5:54 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Well, you have "twitter folks" and "context" together in the same sentence. I think that's your problem right there.
posted by Uncle Ira at 5:54 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Well Trump got so excited about this, he's tweeting in all caps.
posted by zachlipton at 5:56 PM on March 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 5:56 PM on March 12, 2018 [8 favorites]
Easiest explanation for the timing: Republicans wanted to create a "good news" story for themselves the night before the PA election. I mean the House investigation has been useless for a long while, thanks to the GOP. I imagine they've been saving this headline for a rainy day.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 5:58 PM on March 12, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by scaryblackdeath at 5:58 PM on March 12, 2018 [11 favorites]
Oh fire
"I won the places that represent two-thirds of America's gross domestic product," Clinton continued. "So I won the places that are optimistic, diverse, dynamic, moving forward. And his whole campaign, 'Make America Great Again,' was looking backwards."posted by fluttering hellfire at 5:58 PM on March 12, 2018 [47 favorites]
Clinton described what she believed to be the underlying message of Trump's 2016 campaign: "You didn't like black people getting rights, you don't like women, you know, getting jobs," Clinton said. "You don't want, you know, see that Indian American succeeding more than you are. Whatever your problem is, I'm going to solve it," she said.
San Francisco Chronicle, Hamed Aleaziz (who has been doing damn good work on this beat), ICE spokesman said to quit over officials’ description of 800 eluding arrest
The San Francisco spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement resigned after the agency’s recent Northern California sweep, believing Trump administration officials made false public statements about a key aspect of the operation, The Chronicle has learned.posted by zachlipton at 6:02 PM on March 12, 2018 [27 favorites]
ICE officials confirmed James Schwab’s resignation, saying Monday that he “recently announced his departure” from the office of public affairs, but they would not discuss specifics, citing the confidentiality of personnel matters. Schwab would not comment when reached Monday.
However, a source familiar with the matter said Schwab was frustrated by repeated public statements by officials including Attorney General Jeff Sessions that roughly 800 undocumented immigrants escaped arrest due to Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf warning the public about the four-day operation the night before federal officers began staking out homes and knocking on doors.
Schwab wanted the agency to correct the number, which he understood to be far lower, and didn’t want to deflect media questions about it, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Schwab was hired in 2015, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Yeah sorry, that tweet is a 31 word sentence with proper spelling, grammar, hyphen and comma usage. There is no way in holy hell it was written by Trump.
posted by xigxag at 6:02 PM on March 12, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by xigxag at 6:02 PM on March 12, 2018 [9 favorites]
Hope Hicks is out, so maybe he's got somebody transcribing his tweets with less fidelity to his actual rantings?
posted by scaryblackdeath at 6:05 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by scaryblackdeath at 6:05 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
i really admire the restraint of all of these interviewers for not asking DeVos how much a banana costs
Huh? Is this a thing? We’ve been slogging through so much I’m barely sure what’s even real anymore.
I remember it being a thing in the UK where Tory politicians were asked the price of bread and milk and they had no idea, supposedly showing how out of touch with regular people they were. Didn't stop them from winning the election mind you.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 6:09 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Huh? Is this a thing? We’ve been slogging through so much I’m barely sure what’s even real anymore.
I remember it being a thing in the UK where Tory politicians were asked the price of bread and milk and they had no idea, supposedly showing how out of touch with regular people they were. Didn't stop them from winning the election mind you.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 6:09 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Dan Scavino is probably writing/transcribing Trump's tweets now that Hope is gone from the White House.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:09 PM on March 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:09 PM on March 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
So, is there any way to strip a pound of flesh from Nunes & Co. to make them pay a political price for ending this investigation early and contributing to the continued erosion of trust Americans have in their government?
posted by xyzzy at 6:21 PM on March 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by xyzzy at 6:21 PM on March 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
I’m gonna go with “help to elect a Democratic Speaker of the House”
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:24 PM on March 12, 2018 [36 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:24 PM on March 12, 2018 [36 favorites]
Rep. Adam Schiff is pissed and has issued a statement:
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:25 PM on March 12, 2018 [76 favorites]
BREAKING: GOP just shut down House Intel investigation, leaving questions unanswered, leads unexplored, countless witnesses uncalled, subpoenas unissued.Schiff Statement on House Republicans’ Premature Shutdown of Russia Investigation
If Russians have leverage over the President, GOP has decided that it would rather not know. The minority's work continues
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:25 PM on March 12, 2018 [76 favorites]
So, at this stage, when we the American people ask the question of whether the Russian government intended to help elect a Republican as our President, we must contend with two contradictory assessments from two authoritative sources:
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:31 PM on March 12, 2018 [34 favorites]
- The entire American intelligence community, including the Trump-appointed Director of National Intelligence.
- Some Republican politicians.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:31 PM on March 12, 2018 [34 favorites]
Pelosi: “House Republicans have abandoned their oath to support and defend the Constitution and protect the American people.”
posted by chris24 at 6:35 PM on March 12, 2018 [85 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 6:35 PM on March 12, 2018 [85 favorites]
>2. Some Republican politicians.
Some Republican politicians--let's be clear--who will be damaged by association, and whose party will be damaged by association, if Trump is found to have been involved in something shady, have determined that he was NOT, in fact, involved in anything shady. What an astonishing result, my word.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 6:36 PM on March 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
Some Republican politicians--let's be clear--who will be damaged by association, and whose party will be damaged by association, if Trump is found to have been involved in something shady, have determined that he was NOT, in fact, involved in anything shady. What an astonishing result, my word.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 6:36 PM on March 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
For anyone wondering, it takes a two-thirds majority to expel a member of either house of Congress. Too bad.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:39 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:39 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Hope Hicks is out, so maybe he's got somebody transcribing his tweets with less fidelity to his actual rantings?
Cap’n Lock locks caps
posted by Barack Spinoza at 6:41 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Cap’n Lock locks caps
posted by Barack Spinoza at 6:41 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
I feel like the HPSCI Republicans figure they're just about at the last moment where they can say nothing happened, so let it fly. I mean, nobody believes they don't think something happened because they aren't wailing about Gates/Pap/etc pleading out, but for appearance's sake they've done their job.
posted by rhizome at 6:41 PM on March 12, 2018
posted by rhizome at 6:41 PM on March 12, 2018
for anyone who's concerned that the investigation wasn't thorough and complete, here's Rep. Mike Conaway (R) last week:
“I don’t have any clue who George Nader is,” says Rep. Mike Conaway, who leads House Intel’s Russia probe.posted by murphy slaw at 6:42 PM on March 12, 2018 [22 favorites]
it takes a two-thirds majority to expel a member of either house of Congress
Takes 50.01% on November 6th.
posted by chris24 at 6:42 PM on March 12, 2018 [62 favorites]
Takes 50.01% on November 6th.
posted by chris24 at 6:42 PM on March 12, 2018 [62 favorites]
If I recall correctly this is the second time a presidential election has been decided by a Nader
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:43 PM on March 12, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:43 PM on March 12, 2018 [20 favorites]
So, is there any way to strip a pound of flesh from Nunes & Co. to make them pay a political price for ending this investigation early and contributing to the continued erosion of trust Americans have in their government?
The political price is voting them out.
A legal price would be investigating them for obstruction of justice. There are pros and very real cons to doing that, and the price has to be weighed along with the possible benefits. Remember how much shit Trump rightly got for threatening to investigate the loser of an election against him? Yeah, because investigating your political opponents is an extremely serious and severe step which is easily abused. Is this situation different? I believe it is. I assume the idiot Republicans would claim the same from their side. Some of them would, stupidly, even believe it.
This is possibly the start of a very real breakdown of civil governance.
posted by Justinian at 6:43 PM on March 12, 2018 [16 favorites]
The political price is voting them out.
A legal price would be investigating them for obstruction of justice. There are pros and very real cons to doing that, and the price has to be weighed along with the possible benefits. Remember how much shit Trump rightly got for threatening to investigate the loser of an election against him? Yeah, because investigating your political opponents is an extremely serious and severe step which is easily abused. Is this situation different? I believe it is. I assume the idiot Republicans would claim the same from their side. Some of them would, stupidly, even believe it.
This is possibly the start of a very real breakdown of civil governance.
posted by Justinian at 6:43 PM on March 12, 2018 [16 favorites]
over at NYMag, jonathan chait (cw: jonathan chait) sums up some of the recent stories coming out of trump's legal team and has some interesting speculation:
…posted by murphy slaw at 6:55 PM on March 12, 2018 [11 favorites]
Also this weekend, the New York Times reported that Trump’s lawyer, Ty Cobb, “has told friends for weeks that he views his position as temporary and does not expect to remain in the job for much longer.” Cobb has reportedly counseled his client, President Trump, not to fire Robert Mueller by assuring him last year that the Russia inquiry would be completed by Thanksgiving (of 2017), and then, when that deadline slipped, by the end of the year, and then by the end of January. That is not the kind of trick a lawyer can keep pulling forever.
So, the lawyer who has been holding Trump back from taking drastic action seems to be on his way out. And Trump’s lawyers are contemplating some extremely rash strategies that have about a zero percent chance of succeeding. It’s difficult to know exactly what’s happening behind the scenes, but these stories seem to indicate some sense of desperation is setting in.
This is possibly the start of a very real breakdown of civil governance.Well, I don't feel particularly civil right at this moment. I don't want to wait several years to watch Nunes get whipp--I mean, voted out of office by the most Republican part of California. Which, let's face it, will never happen.
So, great. No consequences, this will be fun.
posted by xyzzy at 6:55 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
there is a new fucking fuck thread over at MetaTalk if you're having a hard time being erudite about the latest developments
posted by murphy slaw at 7:01 PM on March 12, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 7:01 PM on March 12, 2018 [10 favorites]
Wait, what happened to all the other shocking memos Nunes was gonna release?
posted by SpaceBass at 7:16 PM on March 12, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by SpaceBass at 7:16 PM on March 12, 2018 [13 favorites]
I would just note that any investigation the Senate does is a political move designed to distract, derail, and discredit the actual law enforcement investigation.
Do we have evidence that Senator Burr wants to undermine Mueller, aside from the (R) next to his name? My naïve impression is that the Senate investigation is vastly more sincere than the House investigation. I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if it descends into partisan bullshit, but for now I think it could go either way.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:23 PM on March 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
Do we have evidence that Senator Burr wants to undermine Mueller, aside from the (R) next to his name? My naïve impression is that the Senate investigation is vastly more sincere than the House investigation. I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if it descends into partisan bullshit, but for now I think it could go either way.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:23 PM on March 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
Well, Grassley's on that committee, too.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 7:25 PM on March 12, 2018
posted by fluttering hellfire at 7:25 PM on March 12, 2018
The World Famous, there are two intelligence committees. Nunes is on the House Intelligence Committee. Burr & Warner are also doing an investigation for the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, but there have been no leaks from that investigation as far as I know.
posted by xyzzy at 7:26 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by xyzzy at 7:26 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
The Senate Republicans will bend like a Mar-A-Lago palm tree under a hundred-year climate-change-fueled hurricane once the time comes.
posted by tivalasvegas at 7:26 PM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by tivalasvegas at 7:26 PM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
Burr is bought and paid for by DeVos. He’s a horrible person by any metric. I would trust his integrity as far as I could throw him with Thom Tillis strapped to his back (also a disgrace to the state).
posted by winna at 7:28 PM on March 12, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by winna at 7:28 PM on March 12, 2018 [14 favorites]
I've said it before, but i cant believe nunes is so clean that there aren't leaks everywhere about him and the other obvious collaborators. Also, I'm frightened of the direction we're taking.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 7:35 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 7:35 PM on March 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Well Trump got so excited about this, he's tweeting in all caps.
Rep. Schiff fired back on Twitter, "This was not the finding of the House Intelligence Committee, Mr. President, but only a statement by its GOP members, who lack the courage to stand up to a President of their own party when the national interest necessitates it."
Meanwhile, on Anderson Cooper's CNN show: "Rep. Chris Stewart on House Intelligence Committee Republicans found no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia and that they are shutting down their yearlong investigation: 'If there's more evidence that comes forward, we will pursue'" But: "'The CIA just got it wrong,' says Rep. Chris Stewart about the intelligence community's assessment that Russian President Putin was trying to help the Trump campaign over Hillary Clinton. 'They just misinterpreted some very key intelligence and drew the wrong conclusions.'"
And here's another profile in Republican courage, as reported by the Washington Post's Aaron Blake: "Conaway on whether Mueller might find collusion: 'Well, we found none, so you never know what you never know, but we found no reason to think that there’s something we’re missing in this regard.'"
You know things are bad when they're channeling Rumsfeld to cover this up.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:36 PM on March 12, 2018 [36 favorites]
Rep. Schiff fired back on Twitter, "This was not the finding of the House Intelligence Committee, Mr. President, but only a statement by its GOP members, who lack the courage to stand up to a President of their own party when the national interest necessitates it."
Meanwhile, on Anderson Cooper's CNN show: "Rep. Chris Stewart on House Intelligence Committee Republicans found no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia and that they are shutting down their yearlong investigation: 'If there's more evidence that comes forward, we will pursue'" But: "'The CIA just got it wrong,' says Rep. Chris Stewart about the intelligence community's assessment that Russian President Putin was trying to help the Trump campaign over Hillary Clinton. 'They just misinterpreted some very key intelligence and drew the wrong conclusions.'"
And here's another profile in Republican courage, as reported by the Washington Post's Aaron Blake: "Conaway on whether Mueller might find collusion: 'Well, we found none, so you never know what you never know, but we found no reason to think that there’s something we’re missing in this regard.'"
You know things are bad when they're channeling Rumsfeld to cover this up.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:36 PM on March 12, 2018 [36 favorites]
This is possibly the start of a very real breakdown of civil governance.
I think we’ve been on that path for a while.
Also, I'm frightened of the direction we're taking.
Maybe that fear will inspire people to finally start taking this seriously. Maybe.
posted by Artw at 7:37 PM on March 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
I think we’ve been on that path for a while.
Also, I'm frightened of the direction we're taking.
Maybe that fear will inspire people to finally start taking this seriously. Maybe.
posted by Artw at 7:37 PM on March 12, 2018 [6 favorites]
Well, Grassley's on that committee, too.
The Burr/Warner Senate Intelligence Committee is investigating Russian involvement as is Grassley's Senate Judicial Committee. There are two Senate committees involved. Grassley is not on the Senate Intelligence Committee and only involved in his own committee's investigation.
posted by chris24 at 7:38 PM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
The Burr/Warner Senate Intelligence Committee is investigating Russian involvement as is Grassley's Senate Judicial Committee. There are two Senate committees involved. Grassley is not on the Senate Intelligence Committee and only involved in his own committee's investigation.
posted by chris24 at 7:38 PM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
Let's take just a moment to see how the Kris Kobach voter fraud trial is going:
posted by Chrysostom at 7:49 PM on March 12, 2018 [37 favorites]
Judge Julie Robinson repeatedly chastised an expert witness called to the stand by Kobach for interrupting her and the other counsel.Oh, gosh, well maybe it's not as bad as it looks...
“You’re not here to advocate, you’re not here to trash the advocate, you’re not here to argue with me,” she said.
I asked the Kansas AG's office if they still had confidence in Kobach's ability to represent the state in voting trial.At this rate, this might even torpedo Kobach's gubernatorial candidacy.
Spox: "The secretary of state requested to represent himself in this and related cases. For any comment, I refer you to the secretary of state’s office."
posted by Chrysostom at 7:49 PM on March 12, 2018 [37 favorites]
He’s probably lost the non-citizen vote at least
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:55 PM on March 12, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:55 PM on March 12, 2018 [14 favorites]
A short but sharp take from Chatham House: The Skripal Attack Is a Test for the UK. "Fortunately, whatever the allied response, the UK is the repository of a national asset of very high value to Russia: the City of London. For many years, it has effectively allowed key Russian stakeholders to use the services of the City – in particular, the London Stock Exchange, as well as the high-end property market – for purposes legitimate, illegitimate and even illegal. It is time to transform them from a source of advantage to Russia to a strategic asset for the UK. "
This is like saying you've got them by the balls while you yank on your own scrotum
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:08 PM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
This is like saying you've got them by the balls while you yank on your own scrotum
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:08 PM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
A legal price would be investigating them for obstruction of justice. There are pros and very real cons to doing that, and the price has to be weighed along with the possible benefits.
It's not just about investigating your opponents, but also there are very legitimate separation of powers concerns re: the executive branch jailing legislators when it doesn't like their work. Judgment and caution are important here.
Luckily, Nunes is too stupid to be of much use to Mueller as he rolls people upwards toward Trump. There are many other ways to document obstruction of justice. So the smart move IMHO is to prosecute Nunes (for sure) and maybe 1 or 2 other blatant obstructors after Trump or at least his top lieutenants have already been convicted, in mopping up operations.
It's important to do it, to re-assert the "Don't obstruct justice" norm and back it up with some real jail time. A little jail goes a long way with white collar criminals. But wait until guilt is no longer an issue.
posted by msalt at 8:12 PM on March 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
It's not just about investigating your opponents, but also there are very legitimate separation of powers concerns re: the executive branch jailing legislators when it doesn't like their work. Judgment and caution are important here.
Luckily, Nunes is too stupid to be of much use to Mueller as he rolls people upwards toward Trump. There are many other ways to document obstruction of justice. So the smart move IMHO is to prosecute Nunes (for sure) and maybe 1 or 2 other blatant obstructors after Trump or at least his top lieutenants have already been convicted, in mopping up operations.
It's important to do it, to re-assert the "Don't obstruct justice" norm and back it up with some real jail time. A little jail goes a long way with white collar criminals. But wait until guilt is no longer an issue.
posted by msalt at 8:12 PM on March 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
think we’ve been on that path for a while
Even though we’ve been on that path for a while, it’s important not to lose sight of how it’s escalating. Three black families’ houses were bombed in Texas, and our national government is insulating itself from the law. We are watching the rise of fascism real time and it is important to keep trumpeting that. And fighting.
posted by corb at 8:32 PM on March 12, 2018 [68 favorites]
Even though we’ve been on that path for a while, it’s important not to lose sight of how it’s escalating. Three black families’ houses were bombed in Texas, and our national government is insulating itself from the law. We are watching the rise of fascism real time and it is important to keep trumpeting that. And fighting.
posted by corb at 8:32 PM on March 12, 2018 [68 favorites]
Tim Kaine pretends to respond to criticism of his sell-out by pretending to sponsor an amendment to the Banking Lobbyist Act that would slightly roll back changes in detecting discriminatory loans. Except, he acknowledges that the amendment probably wouldn’t get a vote — and wouldn’t be necessary for his ultimate support.
So, thanks for nothing, Tim. You're still a fucking sell out.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:52 PM on March 12, 2018 [18 favorites]
So, thanks for nothing, Tim. You're still a fucking sell out.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:52 PM on March 12, 2018 [18 favorites]
What's the over/under on Trump using the closing of this investigation to say "see, this Mueller guy is just wasting everyone's time. He's fired" ?
I'd say Trump isn't that dumb but *gestures wildly at everything*
posted by Twain Device at 8:53 PM on March 12, 2018 [12 favorites]
I'd say Trump isn't that dumb but *gestures wildly at everything*
posted by Twain Device at 8:53 PM on March 12, 2018 [12 favorites]
ELECTIONS NEWS
** 2018 House:
===
There's also another special election tomorrow, for Tennessee Senate 14. I'd surely like to see this flip, not least because the Dem is an atheist, and the local GOP is being super classy about it.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:53 PM on March 12, 2018 [45 favorites]
** 2018 House:
-- GOP is on the defense in the erstwhile Republican stronghold of Orange County, CA.** 2018 Senate:
-- Job numbers are fairly strong predictors in presidential races, but there's no correlation in midterm House results.
-- MO: Gravis poll gives incumbent Dem McCaskill a narrow 42-20 lead over likely GOP opponent Hawley.** Odds & ends:
-- FL: Clearview poll has possible GOP candidate Scott up 43-41 on incumbent Dem Nelson. This is pretty different from other recent polls, may be due to the turnout model being a bit weird.
-- CA: The filing deadline has passed, and no serious GOP candidate has entered the Senate race. This should have a slight suppressive effect on Republican turnout. If, as seems reasonably likely, no Republican makes the runoff for governor either, it could have a serious impact.
-- You might remember that weird by-law change the Utah GOP passed in an effort to force candidates to go through a party convention. It had some possible conflicts with state law, but the legislature failed to pass a fix before the session ended. So now it's a mess, and it looks like there is at least a chance that no one on the ballot will be allowed to be listed as a Republican.** PA-18 special:
-- We Ask America poll of the IL gov Dem primary shows Pritzker comfortably in the lead with 35 percent; Biss 16, Kennedy 15. The IL primaries are next Tuesday.
-- Dem contested races in Georgia way up, female candidates up about 1/3.
-- Good all-around summary on the race from 538. And another good one from David Byler.
-- Were the county benchmarks in the 538 article not enough for you, you sadist? Try these ones on: DKE, Crosstab, Wasserman.
-- Enten: Any outcome short of a (very unexpected) blowout by Saccone, means trouble for the fall for the GOP.
-- Sargent: It's not just the closeness, it's that the GOP tax cut message seems to have very little traction. Probably why the closing Saccone argument is, "Dems hate God."
-- As in the Doug Jones race, national Dems (the DCCC this time) have been giving plenty of stealth assistance.
-- PA polls close at 8 ET. When things are over, I will reveal if my prediction was correct.
===
There's also another special election tomorrow, for Tennessee Senate 14. I'd surely like to see this flip, not least because the Dem is an atheist, and the local GOP is being super classy about it.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:53 PM on March 12, 2018 [45 favorites]
I'd say Trump isn't that dumb but *gestures wildly at everything*
I’m not sure that firing Mueller at this stage would be dumb. It would unleash political Ragnarok, but it is also a roll of the dice. For Trump and his family, the outcome could well be favorable to the result of allowing Mueller to issue all his indictments.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:59 PM on March 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
I’m not sure that firing Mueller at this stage would be dumb. It would unleash political Ragnarok, but it is also a roll of the dice. For Trump and his family, the outcome could well be favorable to the result of allowing Mueller to issue all his indictments.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:59 PM on March 12, 2018 [5 favorites]
MO: Gravis poll gives incumbent Dem McCaskill a narrow 42-20 lead over likely GOP opponent Hawley.
Sadly this is a typo, and not polling humor as I first surmised. The actually narrow Dem lead is 42-40, not 42-20.
posted by contraption at 10:13 PM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
Sadly this is a typo, and not polling humor as I first surmised. The actually narrow Dem lead is 42-40, not 42-20.
posted by contraption at 10:13 PM on March 12, 2018 [7 favorites]
So, thanks for nothing, Tim. You're still a fucking sell out.In the last thread you linked a long article about this bill that I read with interest despite the sad fact that I have a reflexive gagging reaction to The Intercept. It was a pretty decent piece but I didn't feel like it explained enough to me--there would be statements in that article (and others like it) where it would mention the fact of a gift to special interests but not the mechanism. So I was still pretty confused about the whole thing and still believed that it was possible that some Democrats might actually believe that small banks were dealing with unfair regulatory pressure or that small banks were in fact having issues meeting their compliance obligations.
So I decided to talk to a friend of mine who recently left the banking industry, specifically a community credit union. I asked him if he truly believed that regulatory pressures were harming his ex-customers who are effectively paying for these regulation compliance measures by being part of the credit union. He laughed. He laughed so hard I thought he was going to break something. And he said to me, paraphrased, "Look, my colleagues fucking hated regulations and it's their job to get rid of them as much as possible, but Dodd-Frank isn't causing any problems for small banks. Period. This bill is a joke, that it is even being contemplated is a joke, and all these Democrats are either suckers or have malicious intent."
So, that was the final nudge to convince me of everything Professor TD Strange has been writing for weeks in these threads. It took me awhile to get there, but ultimately it seems silly to support Democrats who are suckers or corporate bootlickers. Get rid of all of them.
posted by xyzzy at 10:22 PM on March 12, 2018 [77 favorites]
This bill is a joke, that it is even being contemplated is a joke, and all these Democrats are either suckers or have malicious intent.
The Dodd-Frank regulations currently exempt banks smaller than $50 billion in assets. The average community bank has assets of $10 billion, already well below those limits. The new bill will raise the regulatory exemption to $250 billion which exempts all but a few of the very biggest national banks. Even American Express and SunTrust will fall under that new limit. It's just a plain lie that this is about community banks.
It is a cruel joke. It's like the Great Recession never happened.
posted by JackFlash at 11:08 PM on March 12, 2018 [73 favorites]
The Dodd-Frank regulations currently exempt banks smaller than $50 billion in assets. The average community bank has assets of $10 billion, already well below those limits. The new bill will raise the regulatory exemption to $250 billion which exempts all but a few of the very biggest national banks. Even American Express and SunTrust will fall under that new limit. It's just a plain lie that this is about community banks.
It is a cruel joke. It's like the Great Recession never happened.
posted by JackFlash at 11:08 PM on March 12, 2018 [73 favorites]
The Weeds had an overview of the bill. One special thing is that there are a lot of foreign banks that are very large overall, but whose American assets are under $250 billion. This bill would literally give them a competitive advantage over American banks. They'd have the reserves and resources of a large bank - to help them survive economic shocks - with none of the downsides of regulation compliance.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 11:56 PM on March 12, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 11:56 PM on March 12, 2018 [11 favorites]
What's the over/under on Trump using the closing of this investigation to say "see, this Mueller guy is just wasting everyone's time. He's fired" ?
I'm betting Trump doesn't know there are two different investigations, so he'll say something like "Why is Mueller still investigating? Doesn't he know the investigation is closed?"
posted by mmoncur at 12:26 AM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
Luckily, Nunes is too stupid to be of much use to Mueller as he rolls people upwards toward Trump. There are many other ways to document obstruction of justice.
Consider this: Mueller's focus of investigation so far is apparently the financial end. Money Laundering, Tax Evasion, Filing false returns, etc.
Obstruction of Justice seems to be the last thing Mueller will look at, if the indictments aren't drafted already, given the public record.
I believe there's 100% chance that one or more accounts that he's looked into, contain disbursements to legislators.
posted by mikelieman at 12:53 AM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
Consider this: Mueller's focus of investigation so far is apparently the financial end. Money Laundering, Tax Evasion, Filing false returns, etc.
Obstruction of Justice seems to be the last thing Mueller will look at, if the indictments aren't drafted already, given the public record.
I believe there's 100% chance that one or more accounts that he's looked into, contain disbursements to legislators.
posted by mikelieman at 12:53 AM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
WaPo: Roger Stone claimed contact with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in 2016, according to two associates
In the spring of 2016, longtime political operative Roger Stone had a phone conversation that would later seem prophetic, according to the person on the other end of the line.posted by chris24 at 4:07 AM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
Stone, an informal adviser to then-candidate Donald Trump, said he had learned from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange that his organization had obtained emails that would torment senior Democrats such as John Podesta, then campaign chairman for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
The conversation occurred before it was publicly known that hackers had obtained the emails of Podesta and of the Democratic National Committee, documents which WikiLeaks released in late July and October. The U.S. intelligence community later concluded the hackers were working for Russia.
The person, who spoke to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing federal investigation into Russian campaign interference, is one of two Stone associates who say Stone claimed to have had contact with Assange in 2016.
The second, former Trump adviser Sam Nunberg, said in an interview Monday that Stone told him that he had met with Assange — a conversation Nunberg said investigators for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III recently asked him to describe.
Trust me, it will soon the Roger Stone’s time in the barrel. #CrookedRoger
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:12 AM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:12 AM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
“I wish him no ill will, but Sam can manically and persistently call you,” Stone said, recalling that Nunberg had called him on a Friday to ask about his plans for the weekend. “I said, ‘I think I will go to London for the weekend and meet with Julian Assange.’ It was a joke, a throwaway line to get him off the phone. The idea that I would meet with Assange undetected is ridiculous on its face.’’’
Oh yeah? Is that why you sent Nigel Farage instead? Does he have a higher Stealth attribute?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:20 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
Oh yeah? Is that why you sent Nigel Farage instead? Does he have a higher Stealth attribute?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:20 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
If our brave criminal investigator manages to flip Roger Stone he’s going to have to buy a new dog-eared notebook to fill.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:21 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:21 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
I'm sort of mildly surprised that Trump hasn't done a Saturday Night Massacre yet. We know that he wanted to last summer, and also, as seen in the issue of tariffs, he will find a way to go around his advisers if he wants something. That the GOP is so willing to roll over for him just feels like a rolling out the red carpet to a constitutional crisis.
posted by angrycat at 4:38 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 4:38 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
I watch (and shout at) Fox and Friends so you don't have to:
They're crowing about the House Intel report and criticizing the other networks for only giving it "an average of 58 seconds" of coverage.
Don Jr. on claiming the House Intel report proves that the investigation is a "witchhunt by Democrats" -- Mueller is Republican, you dipshit.
Don Jr. complaining about double standards for how the media treats Republicans vs Democrats DUDE DID YOU NOT NOTICE WHICH SHOW YOU ARE ON the hosts were literally just joking asking each other if they'd released their tax returns yet.
Now they're talking about The Wall. Don Jr.: "He knows how to build!" I wonder if he's going to call Trump after the segment, "Did you see me on TV, Daddy? Did I do a good job?"
posted by Jacqueline at 4:46 AM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
They're crowing about the House Intel report and criticizing the other networks for only giving it "an average of 58 seconds" of coverage.
Don Jr. on claiming the House Intel report proves that the investigation is a "witchhunt by Democrats" -- Mueller is Republican, you dipshit.
Don Jr. complaining about double standards for how the media treats Republicans vs Democrats DUDE DID YOU NOT NOTICE WHICH SHOW YOU ARE ON the hosts were literally just joking asking each other if they'd released their tax returns yet.
Now they're talking about The Wall. Don Jr.: "He knows how to build!" I wonder if he's going to call Trump after the segment, "Did you see me on TV, Daddy? Did I do a good job?"
posted by Jacqueline at 4:46 AM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
Don Jr. on claiming the House Intel report proves that the investigation is a "witchhunt by Democrats" -- Mueller is Republican, you dipshit.
Mueller was appointed by Rosenstein who was appointed by some guy named David Dennison (D.D.)
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:49 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Mueller was appointed by Rosenstein who was appointed by some guy named David Dennison (D.D.)
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:49 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
I'm sort of mildly surprised that Trump hasn't done a Saturday Night Massacre yet. We know that he wanted to last summer, and also, as seen in the issue of tariffs, he will find a way to go around his advisers if he wants something. That the GOP is so willing to roll over for him just feels like a rolling out the red carpet to a constitutional crisis.
The second thing obviates the need for the first.
posted by perspicio at 4:58 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
The second thing obviates the need for the first.
posted by perspicio at 4:58 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
I'm sort of mildly surprised that Trump hasn't done a Saturday Night Massacre yet.
He already did. Remember Comey?
posted by Andrhia at 5:01 AM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
He already did. Remember Comey?
posted by Andrhia at 5:01 AM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
We're more likely to see a Saturday Night Live massacre: everyone played by Kate McKinnon gets fired.
posted by snuffleupagus at 5:04 AM on March 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 5:04 AM on March 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
Let’s take a moment to appreciate how monumentally not-normal it is for the President to remain silent on the use of a Russian chemical weapon on the territory of a NATO ally, leaving it up to his Secretary of State to comment. This would never, never have happened with any President but Donald J Trump.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:04 AM on March 13, 2018 [66 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:04 AM on March 13, 2018 [66 favorites]
From the Guardian Live Blog (summarised. Blog is now finished):
* The British ambassador in Moscow has been summoned to the Russian foreign ministry
* David Frum, a Republican former speechwriter to George W Bush but a fierce critic of Donald Trump’s, has written a strong column for the Atlantic about the White House’s refusal to blame Russia for the Salisbury attack
* And Russia demands access to nerve agent found by British investigators
posted by stonepharisee at 5:07 AM on March 13, 2018 [51 favorites]
* The British ambassador in Moscow has been summoned to the Russian foreign ministry
* David Frum, a Republican former speechwriter to George W Bush but a fierce critic of Donald Trump’s, has written a strong column for the Atlantic about the White House’s refusal to blame Russia for the Salisbury attack
As the default continues and expands, the evidence accumulates: Trump simply will not act to protect the U.S. and its allies against even Russian aggression, even on their own territory, even in the form of attempted murder.* William Hague, the Conservative former foreign secretary, chimed in with a strong piece in the Telegraph (paywalled)
Trump’s inaction speaks louder than any words. It is a confession for all to hear.
Admitting that Russia is a serious, long-term threat to our security is an awful, excruciatingly painful exercise for a great many people. For military planners, it means nearly 30 years of downgrading the need for large and strong conventional forces has been a mistake. For neo-conservatives, it means the assumption that democracy will prosper even in areas where it has few foundations was hopelessly wrong. For the likes of Nigel Farage and Donald Trump, it means fawning admiration of Putin was naïve. For people like former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who has been happy to be paid to advance Russia’s energy interests, it means their actions were gravely ill-judged. For those like John McDonnell, who have spent years appearing on Russia Today and now make a virtue of desisting, or Alex Salmond who hosts his own show on the channel, it means recognition of deep gullibility ...* Amber Rudd, Home Secretary, says police and MI5 to check 14 deaths deemed natural for potential Russian involvement
Can it really be true that Russia is equipping itself to snap the undersea cables on which all our communications and finances depend? Afraid it is. Are they actually positioning themselves to hack into our vital national infrastructure and disrupt it? Looks like it. Can they possibly maintain Soviet levels of espionage and covert activity in our free European societies? You bet they can. Are they flying aggressive sorties to test our air defences? Yup. And surely they’re not developing new chemicals and deadly poisons as well? Of course they are.
* And Russia demands access to nerve agent found by British investigators
posted by stonepharisee at 5:07 AM on March 13, 2018 [51 favorites]
“Russia demands access to nerve agent found by British investigators”
“Mister, can we have our ball back please?”
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:10 AM on March 13, 2018 [22 favorites]
“Mister, can we have our ball back please?”
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:10 AM on March 13, 2018 [22 favorites]
Can it really be true that Russia is equipping itself to snap the undersea cables on which all our communications and finances depend? Afraid it is. Are they actually positioning themselves to hack into our vital national infrastructure and disrupt it? Looks like it. Can they possibly maintain Soviet levels of espionage and covert activity in our free European societies? You bet they can. Are they flying aggressive sorties to test our air defences? Yup. And surely they’re not developing new chemicals and deadly poisons as well? Of course they are.
All of this is quite serious -- but I'm not sure why this follows:
For military planners, it means nearly 30 years of downgrading the need for large and strong conventional forces has been a mistake.
Tank battalions can't defend undersea cables. Today's Russia cannot support yesterday's Red Army. The USSR itself couldn't.
posted by snuffleupagus at 5:11 AM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
All of this is quite serious -- but I'm not sure why this follows:
For military planners, it means nearly 30 years of downgrading the need for large and strong conventional forces has been a mistake.
Tank battalions can't defend undersea cables. Today's Russia cannot support yesterday's Red Army. The USSR itself couldn't.
posted by snuffleupagus at 5:11 AM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
> For military planners, it means nearly 30 years of downgrading the need for large and strong conventional forces has been a mistake.
That sounds like planning to win the previous war. The next one - the current one - is something something computers internet social warfare.
posted by klarck at 5:29 AM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
That sounds like planning to win the previous war. The next one - the current one - is something something computers internet social warfare.
posted by klarck at 5:29 AM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
Tillerson fired according to MSNBC.
posted by johnpowell at 5:44 AM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by johnpowell at 5:44 AM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
WaPo: BREAKING: Trump ousts Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, will replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 5:44 AM on March 13, 2018 [28 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 5:44 AM on March 13, 2018 [28 favorites]
After all the infighting, all the rumors, Tillerson finally gets the boot....the morning after he refused to ignore a Russian chemical-weapons attack. Quelle surprise.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 5:45 AM on March 13, 2018 [103 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 5:45 AM on March 13, 2018 [103 favorites]
It appears, in the Trump administration, criticizing the President of the Russian Federation is equivalent to signing a resignation letter.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:46 AM on March 13, 2018 [99 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:46 AM on March 13, 2018 [99 favorites]
Oh boy. A confirmation shitfight the Democrats won't fight.
posted by Talez at 5:48 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Talez at 5:48 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
I keep waiting for one of these shitcanned assholes to turn and bite the hand that fed him and truly spill all of the beans, on the record. So far, no dice. Will Tillerson be the one? He's rich enough already to not need the wingnut welfare that comes with being a permanent integrity wraith. He could give his tell-all interview and then fuck off to a private island forever. I'm sure he will do no such thing.
posted by soren_lorensen at 5:51 AM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 5:51 AM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
From the WaPo story linked above: "Trump last Friday asked Tillerson to step aside, and the embattled top diplomat cut short his trip to Africa on Monday to return to Washington."
Well, that timing certainly makes his statement last night regarding a 'certain Allied response' to the UK poisonings make a whole lot more sense
posted by halation at 5:53 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
Well, that timing certainly makes his statement last night regarding a 'certain Allied response' to the UK poisonings make a whole lot more sense
posted by halation at 5:53 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
I don’t think Pompeo even needs to be confirmed again?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:53 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:53 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Gina Haspel will be the new CIA Director. And the first woman. But...
NYT: New C.I.A. Deputy Director, Gina Haspel, Had Leading Role in Torture
posted by chris24 at 5:54 AM on March 13, 2018 [35 favorites]
NYT: New C.I.A. Deputy Director, Gina Haspel, Had Leading Role in Torture
posted by chris24 at 5:54 AM on March 13, 2018 [35 favorites]
I don’t think Pompeo even needs to be confirmed again?
Nah, he would have to be confirmed for the new job. The fact that he's currently a Senate-confirmed official just means he's eligible to be the interim SoS, and there's a time limit on that interim status.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 5:56 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Nah, he would have to be confirmed for the new job. The fact that he's currently a Senate-confirmed official just means he's eligible to be the interim SoS, and there's a time limit on that interim status.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 5:56 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
At least human colostomy bag, John R. Bolton wasn't named as the replacement.
He probably wouldn't get confirmed. So he'll most likely be National Security Advisor which doesn't require confirmation.
posted by chris24 at 5:57 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
He probably wouldn't get confirmed. So he'll most likely be National Security Advisor which doesn't require confirmation.
posted by chris24 at 5:57 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
And really, shortly before your ill-thought, disastrously unwise summit with North Korea is the perfect time to put an even bigger unqualified idiot in charge of the State Department.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:01 AM on March 13, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:01 AM on March 13, 2018 [19 favorites]
The fact that he's currently a Senate-confirmed official just means he's eligible to be the interim SoS, and there's a time limit on that interim status.
Happy to be corrected, but I thought being nominated to an office barred someone from being the interim or acting officer?
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 6:06 AM on March 13, 2018
Happy to be corrected, but I thought being nominated to an office barred someone from being the interim or acting officer?
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 6:06 AM on March 13, 2018
...Firing Tillerson is almost exactly what I wouldn't do if I was suspected of being under Russian influence.
Trump isn't even a very good traitor.
posted by jaduncan at 6:10 AM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
Trump isn't even a very good traitor.
posted by jaduncan at 6:10 AM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
That's true, yes (I was actually at the argument for the Supreme Court case where they decided that!) - if Pompeo is the nominee, then he shouldn't be running State yet, and if he is acting as of right now then he should step aside when his nomination is formally submitted.
This is complicated by the fact that Trump absolutely doesn't understand any of it, so there's no way to tell from his announcement what the plan is beyond today.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 6:11 AM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
This is complicated by the fact that Trump absolutely doesn't understand any of it, so there's no way to tell from his announcement what the plan is beyond today.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 6:11 AM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
So it turned out that God’s plan for Tillerson was to have him flap about for a while like a great grey arse and then get sacked. Mysterious ways indeed.
posted by gnuhavenpier at 6:11 AM on March 13, 2018 [73 favorites]
posted by gnuhavenpier at 6:11 AM on March 13, 2018 [73 favorites]
Congressional Research Service report from 2017: Temporarily Filling Presidentially Appointed, Senate-Confirmed Positions [pdf]
When an executive branch advice and consent position covered by the Vacancies Act becomes vacant, it may be filled temporarily in one of three ways under the act: (1) the first assistant to such a position may automatically assume the functions and duties of the office; (2) the President may direct an officer who is occupying a different advice and consent position to perform these tasks; or (3) the President may select an officer or employee who is occupying a position, in the same agency, for which the rate of pay is equal to or greater than the minimum rate of pay at the GS-15 level, and who has been with the agency for at least 90 of the preceding 365 days. In general, a temporary appointment under the Vacancies Act continues until no later than 210 days after the date the vacancy occurred or, if the vacancy occurred during a Senate recess, 210 days after the date the Senate reconvenes. The time restriction is suspended, and the acting officer can continue to serve, if a first or second nomination for the position has been submitted to the Senate for confirmation and is pending. The acting officer can continue to serve for an additional 210 days after the rejection, withdrawal, or return of such a nomination.posted by melissasaurus at 6:12 AM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
Tillerson is gonna be giving some funny looks to his wife when he gets home
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:13 AM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:13 AM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
Trump's "personal assistant" and aide for the last three years John McEntee was also fired [WSJ paywall] due to unspecified personal issues in his background. [summary]
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:18 AM on March 13, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:18 AM on March 13, 2018 [23 favorites]
Trump's body man was also escorted out by the USSS on Friday. So, good times in the Oval.
On the tweeters all the Trumpettes are spinning that Tillerson was fired on Friday before he made the comment about Russia, pegging it as some type of retaliation.
posted by xyzzy at 6:18 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
On the tweeters all the Trumpettes are spinning that Tillerson was fired on Friday before he made the comment about Russia, pegging it as some type of retaliation.
posted by xyzzy at 6:18 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
I called my Republican senators’ DC offices to ask if they had made a statement about the Russian chemical weapons attack in the U.K. (they had not), and I mentioned that another person who had not made such a statement was the President of the United States, but that someone who had made a statement condemning Russia and demanding severe consequences was Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who hours later has been fired, likely because the President of the United States is an agent of the Russian Federation, and therefore that any Republican politician or staffer who tries to shield him from the consequences of his crimes is working to further the goals of Vladimir Putin and his oligarch buddies at the expense of the safety of the American nation. They said they would pass my message along
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:19 AM on March 13, 2018 [109 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:19 AM on March 13, 2018 [109 favorites]
...Firing Tillerson is almost exactly what I wouldn't do if I was suspected of being under Russian influence. Trump isn't even a very good traitor.+
I don't know. If we believe the New Yorker report last week that Russia essentially hand picked Tillerson over Romney, and given Tillerson's one mission appears to have been to destroy the State department I think it fits, Pompeo might be a slight improvement? He's definitely more pliant to Trump which is undoubtedly why he keeps getting promoted, but I'm not sure we have evidence (yet?) of Pompeo's pre-election Russian compromise. And hopefully he doesn't want to reign over the husk of the former State Department like known Putin-man Tillerson. At this point just getting warm bodies into State again is a win, even if they're right wing Christian Zealots like any Pompeo hire will be.
So, that was the final nudge to convince me of everything Professor TD Strange has been writing for weeks in these threads.
I...think this is a compliment?...but I honestly am not sure. I'm going to interpret it as one, so, thanks!.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:22 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
I don't know. If we believe the New Yorker report last week that Russia essentially hand picked Tillerson over Romney, and given Tillerson's one mission appears to have been to destroy the State department I think it fits, Pompeo might be a slight improvement? He's definitely more pliant to Trump which is undoubtedly why he keeps getting promoted, but I'm not sure we have evidence (yet?) of Pompeo's pre-election Russian compromise. And hopefully he doesn't want to reign over the husk of the former State Department like known Putin-man Tillerson. At this point just getting warm bodies into State again is a win, even if they're right wing Christian Zealots like any Pompeo hire will be.
So, that was the final nudge to convince me of everything Professor TD Strange has been writing for weeks in these threads.
I...think this is a compliment?...but I honestly am not sure. I'm going to interpret it as one, so, thanks!.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:22 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
On the tweeters all the Trumpettes are spinning that Tillerson was fired on Friday before he made the comment about Russia, pegging it as some type of retaliation.
Because condemning a chemical weapon attack on an ally being considering "retaliation" is perfectly sensible reasoning in their upside down world..
posted by leotrotsky at 6:25 AM on March 13, 2018 [34 favorites]
Because condemning a chemical weapon attack on an ally being considering "retaliation" is perfectly sensible reasoning in their upside down world..
posted by leotrotsky at 6:25 AM on March 13, 2018 [34 favorites]
Trump just now: "I'm getting very close to having the cabinet that I want."
Shulkin's next then?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:30 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Shulkin's next then?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:30 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Tillerson has been actively destroying State while making backroom deals that benefit both Exxon and Russia, so however stupid and retaliatory this is I'd rather have someone run the department who actually at least on some level believes in public service.
posted by aspersioncast at 6:30 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by aspersioncast at 6:30 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Everything's worked out fine for Tillerson, in the end. He's stuck it out a full year decimating at the State Department, which means he can enjoy his tax deferrals on the $54 million he made by selling his Exxon stock. He can now hand over a hobbled department for his Koch-backed successor to really start doing some damage to America's international interests and global reputation.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:30 AM on March 13, 2018 [41 favorites]
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:30 AM on March 13, 2018 [41 favorites]
Trump's doing his yelling-at-a-press-conference-in-front-of-whirring-Marine-One-helicopter-blades thing and keeps saying he can't hear the questions, possibly due to the whirring Marine One helicopter blades
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:32 AM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:32 AM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
Re the chemical attack, Trump promises that after "we get the facts" "we will condemn Russia or whoever it may be".
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:33 AM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:33 AM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
@UrbanAchievr
The Pompeo confirmation hearings are gonna be lit. Remember that Trump was reported to have asked him to help pressure FBI director Comey. I don't see how this doesn't come up.
---
Corker will be running the confirmation hearing.
posted by chris24 at 6:34 AM on March 13, 2018 [22 favorites]
The Pompeo confirmation hearings are gonna be lit. Remember that Trump was reported to have asked him to help pressure FBI director Comey. I don't see how this doesn't come up.
---
Corker will be running the confirmation hearing.
posted by chris24 at 6:34 AM on March 13, 2018 [22 favorites]
yeah, who knows, it could be jews, or ukranians, or tatars
posted by murphy slaw at 6:36 AM on March 13, 2018 [40 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 6:36 AM on March 13, 2018 [40 favorites]
Yeah, the whole "We told Tillerson Friday" story is bullshit. So his Russia comments probably did precipitate it.
@cjf39 (Conor Finnegan, ABC)
WOW: Tillerson had "every intention of staying... did not speak to the President and is unaware of the reason," according to Under Sec of State Goldstein.
SCREENSHOT OF STATEMENT
posted by chris24 at 6:39 AM on March 13, 2018 [53 favorites]
@cjf39 (Conor Finnegan, ABC)
WOW: Tillerson had "every intention of staying... did not speak to the President and is unaware of the reason," according to Under Sec of State Goldstein.
SCREENSHOT OF STATEMENT
posted by chris24 at 6:39 AM on March 13, 2018 [53 favorites]
Eliana Johnson (CNN): Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton was at one point favorite to take over CIA. White House became hesitant to put another safe Senate seat on the table, source close to Cotton tells me, and job became less attractive to him as the window he’d serve in it shrunk assuming Trump loss in 20. There were also questions about whether Senate would confirm him, and Sec Def Mattis was an internal opponent of the choice. White House aide also told me this months ago: WH considers Cotton a useful ally in the Senate and there was some hesitation inside the WH about losing him there.
So, we may have been saved from CIA Director Tom Cotton by Roy Moore and the GOP's fear of losing another Senate seat in Arkansas.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:39 AM on March 13, 2018 [55 favorites]
So, we may have been saved from CIA Director Tom Cotton by Roy Moore and the GOP's fear of losing another Senate seat in Arkansas.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:39 AM on March 13, 2018 [55 favorites]
CNN: Tillerson did not speak to Trump and is unaware of the reason behind his firing, Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy Steve Goldstein said.
Seems like a remarkable thing to say on the record.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:40 AM on March 13, 2018 [35 favorites]
Seems like a remarkable thing to say on the record.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:40 AM on March 13, 2018 [35 favorites]
Yes indeed, it looks like this may be another Comey Firing-esque bullshit story:
Josh Lederman of the AP: We got off the plane with Tillerson less than four hours ago. There was zero indication on flight home that this was imminent.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:42 AM on March 13, 2018 [47 favorites]
Josh Lederman of the AP: We got off the plane with Tillerson less than four hours ago. There was zero indication on flight home that this was imminent.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:42 AM on March 13, 2018 [47 favorites]
Seems like a remarkable thing to say on the record.
Seems like the perfect thing to see on record. I wish him all the best in his future employment.
posted by corb at 6:43 AM on March 13, 2018 [47 favorites]
Seems like the perfect thing to see on record. I wish him all the best in his future employment.
posted by corb at 6:43 AM on March 13, 2018 [47 favorites]
Lawyers of Metafilter, I have a question that is very relevant to my day dreams:
If Russian money has been pouring into the GOP and the NRA (and probably others!) illegally, to do illegal things, could say the Republican Party itself be declared a criminal organization and disbanded? Using, idk, RICO?
Please?
posted by schadenfrau at 6:44 AM on March 13, 2018 [29 favorites]
If Russian money has been pouring into the GOP and the NRA (and probably others!) illegally, to do illegal things, could say the Republican Party itself be declared a criminal organization and disbanded? Using, idk, RICO?
Please?
posted by schadenfrau at 6:44 AM on March 13, 2018 [29 favorites]
Cochran is out April 1, which makes the Senate 50-49.
Rand Paul previously voted no on Pompeo for CIA; yes on Tillerson for state. These are the Democrats who voted yes on Pompeo for CIA director, and might need to hear from their constituents about why that was a bad idea and why they should vote no on Pompeo for state:
Joe Donnelly, Indiana
Dianne Feinstein, California
Maggie Hassan, New Hampshire
Heidi Heitkamp, North Dakota
Tim Kaine, Virginia
Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota
Joe Manchin, West Virginia
Claire McCaskill, Missouri
Jack Reed, Rhode Island
Brian Schatz, Hawaii
Chuck Schumer, New York
Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire
Mark Warner, Virginia
Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island
posted by melissasaurus at 6:45 AM on March 13, 2018 [25 favorites]
Rand Paul previously voted no on Pompeo for CIA; yes on Tillerson for state. These are the Democrats who voted yes on Pompeo for CIA director, and might need to hear from their constituents about why that was a bad idea and why they should vote no on Pompeo for state:
Joe Donnelly, Indiana
Dianne Feinstein, California
Maggie Hassan, New Hampshire
Heidi Heitkamp, North Dakota
Tim Kaine, Virginia
Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota
Joe Manchin, West Virginia
Claire McCaskill, Missouri
Jack Reed, Rhode Island
Brian Schatz, Hawaii
Chuck Schumer, New York
Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire
Mark Warner, Virginia
Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island
posted by melissasaurus at 6:45 AM on March 13, 2018 [25 favorites]
Spencer Ackerman of The Daily Beast -- A State Department official to me just now: "On Tillerson: Hallelujah! On Pompeo: Oh shit, buckle up!"
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:46 AM on March 13, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:46 AM on March 13, 2018 [18 favorites]
How Russian compromised is Pompeo?
Well, he met with those Russian spies when they were mysteriously allowed on US soil in January, so, there's that.
posted by melissasaurus at 6:53 AM on March 13, 2018 [38 favorites]
Well, he met with those Russian spies when they were mysteriously allowed on US soil in January, so, there's that.
posted by melissasaurus at 6:53 AM on March 13, 2018 [38 favorites]
Pompeo is also compromised by the Koch brothers. He's taken more money from them than any congressman.
The Koch Brothers’ Favorite Congressman Will Be in Charge of the CIA
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 6:57 AM on March 13, 2018 [26 favorites]
The Koch Brothers’ Favorite Congressman Will Be in Charge of the CIA
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 6:57 AM on March 13, 2018 [26 favorites]
1/31/18: CIA director Pompeo met top Russian spies
Remember that Pompeo is not, despite his new title, an intelligence operative. He's a political hack, spawned by the Tea Party, in bed with the Koch brothers, and elected to office in Kansas about the same time as Brownback.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:01 AM on March 13, 2018 [46 favorites]
Remember that Pompeo is not, despite his new title, an intelligence operative. He's a political hack, spawned by the Tea Party, in bed with the Koch brothers, and elected to office in Kansas about the same time as Brownback.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:01 AM on March 13, 2018 [46 favorites]
So, we may have been saved from CIA Director Tom Cotton by Roy Moore and the GOP's fear of losing another Senate seat in Arkansas.
That's not as far out as you think. This state was governed by blue dogs for generations before Cotton and Boozman. We were perennially beleaguered by Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, who fought tooth and nail against such signs of the apocalypse as poor people getting health insurance.
Don't get me wrong, I learned the hard way that that's better than having actual Dickensian villains like Cotton running things, so I will welcome the tide turning if it does. Democrats in power here can happen. But outside of the Fayetteville area and Pulaski County, nobody in this state votes for anyone even moderately left of center. I hope history proves me wrong.
posted by middleclasstool at 7:02 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
That's not as far out as you think. This state was governed by blue dogs for generations before Cotton and Boozman. We were perennially beleaguered by Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, who fought tooth and nail against such signs of the apocalypse as poor people getting health insurance.
Don't get me wrong, I learned the hard way that that's better than having actual Dickensian villains like Cotton running things, so I will welcome the tide turning if it does. Democrats in power here can happen. But outside of the Fayetteville area and Pulaski County, nobody in this state votes for anyone even moderately left of center. I hope history proves me wrong.
posted by middleclasstool at 7:02 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
How Russian compromised is Pompeo?
Record is mixed. He's generally been hawkish towards everyone and all things, so he has been willing to call out their occupation of Ukraine, and has argued that Snowden should be put to death.
He's also openly said that election interference is A Thing and 'has been for decades'--
though this contradicts other statements he made on the matter last year.
I don't know what to make of the spy meeting. I know enough to know he will represent the interests of the Kochs, whatever those may be at this time. He is loyal to Trump, but this seems to be out of a general desire to convince Trump to let him blow up and/or invade things, whatever those things might be. Useful explainer here.
posted by halation at 7:02 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Record is mixed. He's generally been hawkish towards everyone and all things, so he has been willing to call out their occupation of Ukraine, and has argued that Snowden should be put to death.
He's also openly said that election interference is A Thing and 'has been for decades'--
though this contradicts other statements he made on the matter last year.
I don't know what to make of the spy meeting. I know enough to know he will represent the interests of the Kochs, whatever those may be at this time. He is loyal to Trump, but this seems to be out of a general desire to convince Trump to let him blow up and/or invade things, whatever those things might be. Useful explainer here.
posted by halation at 7:02 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
I feel like the Russia stuff is a red herring here. Seems much more likely that Tillerson had some contrary opinions about the bilateral meeting with Kim, and maybe even wanted to stop it. Or, Trump is gonna cancel the Iran deal and Tillerson was trying to stop it. Or both and more besides. Tillerson was on board for the Russia stuff. This shake up bodes of war
posted by dis_integration at 7:03 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by dis_integration at 7:03 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
In case there was any question whether the Russians were behind the use of the military-grade nerve agent against the former Russian spy, his daughter, and 20+ others in the vicinity: Nerve Agent Found In U.K. Is Rare And Definitely Russian (NPR, March 12, 2018)
More from NPR:
"As far as I know, I don't know anybody who knows how to make it except these guys in Russia," says Dan Kaszeta, a chemical weapons expert with Strongpoint Security in London. "They've been a deep, dark secret."Which backs up Theresa May's statement, as noted upthread by Devonian: Either a direct act by the Russian state, or it has lost control of its nerve agent.
More from NPR:
According to a defector's report published by the Stimson Center in 1995 (PDF), they were developed at the State Scientific Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology in Moscow. As the U.S. and Russia were laying the groundwork to dismantle their chemical weapons stockpiles, researchers at the institute were working in secret to develop the new Novichok chemicals.posted by filthy light thief at 7:05 AM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
According to the report, by a former scientist named Vil Mirzayanov, the agents were similar to deadly nerve agents but far more powerful. They were also designed to be made using commercially available chemicals, organophosphates, used in fertilizers and pesticides.
The goal was to develop a new class of nerve agents that could be stockpiled in secret, even as the U.S. and Russia pledged to destroy their existing chemical weapons.
According to Mirzaryanov's report, several new agents emerged from the Novichok program. One, known as Novichok-5, was five to eight times as deadly as the agent VX, which was used last year to kill the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
In 1997, the Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force, and Russia began dismantling most of its chemical stocks. The Novichok program was never declared. Mirzayanov's report from two years earlier stated that several tons of "experimental" agents were produced.
In the last 24 hours:
-Top ally says Russia attacked them with chemical weapons
-Tillerson speaks out on Russia
-Tillerson is fired
-Two sources confirm Roger Stone was in contact with wikileaks throughout the campaign
-House GOP Intel committee ends investigation prematurely saying Russia didn't want to help Trump, all intel agencies got it wrong
-Pompeo, who met with sanctioned Russian spy chiefs 6 weeks ago, is nominated to SoS
-Qatari government scared to provide info to Mueller b/c of Trump admin retaliation
This is fine.
posted by melissasaurus at 7:08 AM on March 13, 2018 [110 favorites]
-Top ally says Russia attacked them with chemical weapons
-Tillerson speaks out on Russia
-Tillerson is fired
-Two sources confirm Roger Stone was in contact with wikileaks throughout the campaign
-House GOP Intel committee ends investigation prematurely saying Russia didn't want to help Trump, all intel agencies got it wrong
-Pompeo, who met with sanctioned Russian spy chiefs 6 weeks ago, is nominated to SoS
-Qatari government scared to provide info to Mueller b/c of Trump admin retaliation
This is fine.
posted by melissasaurus at 7:08 AM on March 13, 2018 [110 favorites]
So PA gets buried in the news today.
posted by parm=serial at 7:11 AM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by parm=serial at 7:11 AM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
Here's a little amuse-bouche...
Germany: CIA deputy Gina Haspel must face arrest on travelling to Europe
ECCHR’s legal intervention filed with the German Federal Public Prosecutor (Generalbundesanwalt – GBA) is aimed at securing an arrest warrant for CIA Deputy Director Gina Haspel. Haspel was appointed to the post by President Donald Trump in February 2017. The information submitted to the GBA by ECCHR on 6 June 2017 documents Haspel’s role in the torture of detainees in 2002 at a secret CIA prison in Thailand. In the dossier, ECCHR argues that Haspel oversaw the daily torture of detainees at the black site in 2002 and failed to do anything to stop it.
posted by Devonian at 7:11 AM on March 13, 2018 [49 favorites]
Germany: CIA deputy Gina Haspel must face arrest on travelling to Europe
ECCHR’s legal intervention filed with the German Federal Public Prosecutor (Generalbundesanwalt – GBA) is aimed at securing an arrest warrant for CIA Deputy Director Gina Haspel. Haspel was appointed to the post by President Donald Trump in February 2017. The information submitted to the GBA by ECCHR on 6 June 2017 documents Haspel’s role in the torture of detainees in 2002 at a secret CIA prison in Thailand. In the dossier, ECCHR argues that Haspel oversaw the daily torture of detainees at the black site in 2002 and failed to do anything to stop it.
posted by Devonian at 7:11 AM on March 13, 2018 [49 favorites]
@WestWingReport
Tillerson's tenure as Secretary of State - just 14 months - is the shortest in three-quarters of a century. And that's only because Harry Truman, who had just become POTUS in 1945 after FDR's sudden death, wanted his own guy. It reflects unprecedented instability in Trump admin
posted by chris24 at 7:11 AM on March 13, 2018 [24 favorites]
Tillerson's tenure as Secretary of State - just 14 months - is the shortest in three-quarters of a century. And that's only because Harry Truman, who had just become POTUS in 1945 after FDR's sudden death, wanted his own guy. It reflects unprecedented instability in Trump admin
posted by chris24 at 7:11 AM on March 13, 2018 [24 favorites]
For those curious about the Novichok program, the Baltimore Sun archives contain a trove of old reporting by a journalist named Will Englund who used to work at the Baltimore Sun's Moscow desk in the early 1990s. WaPo has the story of how he ended up in an interrogation room back in 1993 for reporting on it.
posted by halation at 7:12 AM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by halation at 7:12 AM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
But outside of the Fayetteville area and Pulaski County, nobody in this state votes for anyone even moderately left of center.
Do the fine people of the Fayetteville area and Pulaski County understand that most Democrats are pretty much center-right politicians? That actual center-left candidates are vanishingly rare?
posted by Thorzdad at 7:13 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Do the fine people of the Fayetteville area and Pulaski County understand that most Democrats are pretty much center-right politicians? That actual center-left candidates are vanishingly rare?
posted by Thorzdad at 7:13 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
For your protesting info needs LA Mefites, Trump is staying tonight at the Wilshire Grand in downtown LA.
posted by chris24 at 7:15 AM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 7:15 AM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
So given that Tillerson’s condemnation of Russia for the poison attack is most likely connected to his being fired (or else just THE HUGEST COINCIDENCE EVER), doesn’t this suggest that Trump is sending a message to anyone considering cooperating with the Mueller investigation? E.g. Manafort?
posted by stopgap at 7:16 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by stopgap at 7:16 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Germany: CIA deputy Gina Haspel must face arrest on travelling to Europe
This appears to be a misleading headline. Germany is not calling for the arrest of Haspel, a non-profit called the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights is calling for the arrest of Haspel.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:19 AM on March 13, 2018 [24 favorites]
This appears to be a misleading headline. Germany is not calling for the arrest of Haspel, a non-profit called the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights is calling for the arrest of Haspel.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:19 AM on March 13, 2018 [24 favorites]
I was under the impression that Trump has wanted Tillerson out for a while now.
posted by gucci mane at 7:19 AM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by gucci mane at 7:19 AM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
My favorite(?) part of this is it distracts completely from the House committee "conclusions" Fox was so gleeful about.
These chucklefucks can't even handle a single news cycle right.
posted by aspersioncast at 7:20 AM on March 13, 2018 [26 favorites]
These chucklefucks can't even handle a single news cycle right.
posted by aspersioncast at 7:20 AM on March 13, 2018 [26 favorites]
For your protesting info needs LA Mefites, Trump is staying tonight at the Wilshire Grand in downtown LA.
I'm guessing this is a fake-out. He stays in the private bungalows at the Beverly Hills Hotel. It's a very discreet location and one he's stayed at before. He likes routine.
posted by Sophie1 at 7:21 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'm guessing this is a fake-out. He stays in the private bungalows at the Beverly Hills Hotel. It's a very discreet location and one he's stayed at before. He likes routine.
posted by Sophie1 at 7:21 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Don't understand how this genius didn't last as Communications Director. Still up 40 minutes later. (and it's "WHO has...")
@seanspicer
Secretary Tillerson is a true patriot that has severed our nation well. Thank you for serving. Mike Pompeo will be an outstanding Secretary of State - the Senate should act swiftly to confirm him
posted by chris24 at 7:23 AM on March 13, 2018 [52 favorites]
@seanspicer
Secretary Tillerson is a true patriot that has severed our nation well. Thank you for serving. Mike Pompeo will be an outstanding Secretary of State - the Senate should act swiftly to confirm him
posted by chris24 at 7:23 AM on March 13, 2018 [52 favorites]
So PA gets buried in the news today.
I really don’t think commuting a brazen act of treason and confirming everyone’s worse fears about him being a tool of a foreign government is really that great of a “distraction” from Trump.
/vaguely hopes this will help them get their asses kicked, though that might be too much hope.
posted by Artw at 7:23 AM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
I really don’t think commuting a brazen act of treason and confirming everyone’s worse fears about him being a tool of a foreign government is really that great of a “distraction” from Trump.
/vaguely hopes this will help them get their asses kicked, though that might be too much hope.
posted by Artw at 7:23 AM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
Secretary Tillerson is a true patriot that has severed our nation well. Thank you for serving.
There's a typo there; it should be "thank you for severing"
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:25 AM on March 13, 2018 [31 favorites]
There's a typo there; it should be "thank you for severing"
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:25 AM on March 13, 2018 [31 favorites]
Tillerson had "every intention of staying... did not speak to the President and is unaware of the reason," according to Under Sec of State Goldstein.
It gets "better:" he learned about it from the tweet.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:25 AM on March 13, 2018 [32 favorites]
It gets "better:" he learned about it from the tweet.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:25 AM on March 13, 2018 [32 favorites]
and it's "WHO has..."
To the contrary, it's just "who served". "who has served" is the imperfect, or something close to it, implying he's still in the job. Spicer can't grammar for shit
posted by dis_integration at 7:28 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
To the contrary, it's just "who served". "who has served" is the imperfect, or something close to it, implying he's still in the job. Spicer can't grammar for shit
posted by dis_integration at 7:28 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
For those like me, who are measuring the news on the What Dystopian Show Does Today Feel Like? scale, we are on a solid 10 out of 10 for 'Occupied. ' (Netflix)
posted by rc3spencer at 7:28 AM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by rc3spencer at 7:28 AM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
How Russian compromised is Pompeo?
CIA director Mike Pompeo repeatedly cited WikiLeaks to attack Clinton during campaign
posted by chris24 at 7:31 AM on March 13, 2018 [23 favorites]
CIA director Mike Pompeo repeatedly cited WikiLeaks to attack Clinton during campaign
posted by chris24 at 7:31 AM on March 13, 2018 [23 favorites]
How Russian compromised is Pompeo?
Apparently he's closely associated with Donald Trump
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:32 AM on March 13, 2018 [119 favorites]
Apparently he's closely associated with Donald Trump
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:32 AM on March 13, 2018 [119 favorites]
This is fine.
Also his PA fired and escorted so quickly so quickly out the WH someone had to go back and fetch his jacket.
posted by PenDevil at 7:32 AM on March 13, 2018 [15 favorites]
Also his PA fired and escorted so quickly so quickly out the WH someone had to go back and fetch his jacket.
posted by PenDevil at 7:32 AM on March 13, 2018 [15 favorites]
Tillerson's tenure as Secretary of State - just 14 months - is the shortest in three-quarters of a century.
This ignores Edmund Muskie and Lawrence Eagleburger who both served shorter terms (Eagleburger only 43 days), but they left office because Carter and GHWBush were voted out.
posted by peeedro at 7:33 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
This ignores Edmund Muskie and Lawrence Eagleburger who both served shorter terms (Eagleburger only 43 days), but they left office because Carter and GHWBush were voted out.
posted by peeedro at 7:33 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
could say the Republican Party itself be declared a criminal organization and disbanded? Using, idk, RICO?
It’d be a really, really bad precedent- but I’m comfortable saying anyone who knew about this and didn’t speak up should serve jail time. That should clean house pretty thoroughly at this point.
posted by corb at 7:35 AM on March 13, 2018 [15 favorites]
It’d be a really, really bad precedent- but I’m comfortable saying anyone who knew about this and didn’t speak up should serve jail time. That should clean house pretty thoroughly at this point.
posted by corb at 7:35 AM on March 13, 2018 [15 favorites]
Was the Mattis/Tillerson/Mnuchin "suicide pact" reported anywhere more reliable than the Examiner?
posted by aspersioncast at 7:37 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by aspersioncast at 7:37 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Buzzfeed also reported it. But I see no reason for Mattis or Mnuchin to follow through with such a pact, if they see their continued employment as personally beneficial.
Edit: Actually that Examiner piece merely cites the Buzzfeed article.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:39 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Edit: Actually that Examiner piece merely cites the Buzzfeed article.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:39 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Like his memo, Nunes closing the investigation seems about to backfire.
@ThePlumLineGS (WaPo)
NEW: In an interview with me, @RepAdamSchiff says Dems will issue a minority report that reveals new facts about Russia/Trump campaign collusion that counter the decision by Intel Committee Republicans to close down the probe to protect Trump:
The Republican coverup for Trump just got much worse
@ThePlumLineGS (WaPo)
NEW: In an interview with me, @RepAdamSchiff says Dems will issue a minority report that reveals new facts about Russia/Trump campaign collusion that counter the decision by Intel Committee Republicans to close down the probe to protect Trump:
The Republican coverup for Trump just got much worse
House Republicans may have the power to prevent important facts about President Trump and Russia from coming to public light. But here’s what they don’t have the power to do: Prevent important facts about their own conduct on Trump’s behalf from coming to public light.posted by chris24 at 7:39 AM on March 13, 2018 [70 favorites]
House Republicans on the Intelligence Committee have announced that they are shutting down their investigation into Russian efforts to sabotage our democracy and into Trump campaign collusion with those efforts. Shockingly, they have reached conclusions that are entirely vindicating for Trump: There was no “collusion,” and while Russia did try to interfere, it didn’t do so in order to help Trump.
In an interview with me this morning, Rep. Adam Schiff — the ranking Democrat on the Intel Committee — confirmed that Democrats will issue a minority report that will seek to rebut the GOP conclusions.
But here’s the real point to understand about this minority report: It will detail all the investigative avenues that House Republicans declined to take — the interviews that they didn’t conduct, and the leads that they didn’t try to chase down and verify. And Schiff confirmed that the report will include new facts — ones that have not been public yet — that Republicans didn’t permit to influence their conclusions.
“There’s no way for them to reach the conclusions that they want to start with unless they ignore or mischaracterize what we’ve been able to learn,” Schiff said, adding that the minority report would also “set out the investigative steps that were never taken to answer further questions about the Russians and the Trump campaign’s conduct.”
@BenjySarlin: EX-EXXON TEXAN EXEC REX NEXT EX-SEC
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:44 AM on March 13, 2018 [141 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:44 AM on March 13, 2018 [141 favorites]
It's not actually Nunes, he had to recuse himself. Conaway shut down the investigation. Which is worse, I think, because it shows that Nunes isn't an outlier and the entire republican wing of the Intel Committee is in the tank for Trump.
posted by murphy slaw at 7:47 AM on March 13, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 7:47 AM on March 13, 2018 [23 favorites]
"who has served" is the imperfect, or something close to it, implying he's still in the job.
On the other hand, almost everything written about the current administration deserves to be written in the imperfect, no?
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:47 AM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
On the other hand, almost everything written about the current administration deserves to be written in the imperfect, no?
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:47 AM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
As far as McEntee getting tossed for security-related issues:
JackiSchechner@JackiSchechner
And yet this: "McEntee will join the 2020 effort as a senior adviser for campaign operations."
He is fired immediately from the WH for a security issue and Trump immediately adds him to his reelection campaign.
Something is very very wrong.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 7:48 AM on March 13, 2018 [59 favorites]
JackiSchechner@JackiSchechner
And yet this: "McEntee will join the 2020 effort as a senior adviser for campaign operations."
He is fired immediately from the WH for a security issue and Trump immediately adds him to his reelection campaign.
Something is very very wrong.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 7:48 AM on March 13, 2018 [59 favorites]
Don't let the revolving door hit you in the ass on the way "out."
Trump fires White House assistant John McEntee, who promptly rejoins Trump’s campaign (David Nakamura, WaPo)
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:48 AM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
Trump fires White House assistant John McEntee, who promptly rejoins Trump’s campaign (David Nakamura, WaPo)
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:48 AM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
Something is very very wrong.
Yeah, that's called "hush money."
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:48 AM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
Yeah, that's called "hush money."
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:48 AM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
Something is very very wrong.
The clue was when the President filed for re-election on inauguration day.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:50 AM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
The clue was when the President filed for re-election on inauguration day.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:50 AM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
Something is very very wrong.
My theory is that McEntee couldn't pass a background check, Kelly had him fired for it, and Trump got back at Kelly by giving McEntee a job with the campaign.
posted by jedicus at 7:50 AM on March 13, 2018 [25 favorites]
My theory is that McEntee couldn't pass a background check, Kelly had him fired for it, and Trump got back at Kelly by giving McEntee a job with the campaign.
posted by jedicus at 7:50 AM on March 13, 2018 [25 favorites]
Kaitlan Collins is the hero we need this morning.
@grynbaum (NYT)
REPORTER: Did you fire him because he called you a moron?
TRUMP: What?
REPORTER: Did you fire him because he called you a moron?
TRUMP: Say it again.
TRANSCRIPT
---
@kaitlancollins (CNN)
Retweeted Michael M. Grynbaum
That would be me.
posted by chris24 at 7:53 AM on March 13, 2018 [90 favorites]
@grynbaum (NYT)
REPORTER: Did you fire him because he called you a moron?
TRUMP: What?
REPORTER: Did you fire him because he called you a moron?
TRUMP: Say it again.
TRANSCRIPT
---
@kaitlancollins (CNN)
Retweeted Michael M. Grynbaum
That would be me.
posted by chris24 at 7:53 AM on March 13, 2018 [90 favorites]
chris24: House Republicans may have the power to prevent important facts about President Trump and Russia from coming to public light.
Clarification: they have the power to prevent those facts from coming to light via traditional government channels. When Republicans selectively leaked details from the Fusion GPS testimony, Dianne Feinstein stated that the GOP was unfairly suppressing information and released the full testimony. Why can't they do that this time?
posted by filthy light thief at 7:54 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Clarification: they have the power to prevent those facts from coming to light via traditional government channels. When Republicans selectively leaked details from the Fusion GPS testimony, Dianne Feinstein stated that the GOP was unfairly suppressing information and released the full testimony. Why can't they do that this time?
posted by filthy light thief at 7:54 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
But here’s the real point to understand about this minority report: It will detail all the investigative avenues that House Republicans declined to take — the interviews that they didn’t conduct, and the leads that they didn’t try to chase down and verify. And Schiff confirmed that the report will include new facts — ones that have not been public yet — that Republicans didn’t permit to influence their conclusions.
But will US mainstream media give it any coverage? If it only appears in the BBC/Guardian/Süddeutsche Zeitung/Economist/&c. and DailyKos/Mother Jones, it'll be, to all intents and purposes, as if it never existed.
posted by acb at 7:55 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
But will US mainstream media give it any coverage? If it only appears in the BBC/Guardian/Süddeutsche Zeitung/Economist/&c. and DailyKos/Mother Jones, it'll be, to all intents and purposes, as if it never existed.
posted by acb at 7:55 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Rand Paul previously voted no on Pompeo for CIA; yes on Tillerson for state. These are the Democrats who voted yes on Pompeo for CIA director, and might need to hear from their constituents about why that was a bad idea and why they should vote no on Pompeo for state:
Joe Donnelly, Indiana
This constituent who voted for Joe the last time around just called and provided feedback on both Pompeo and the dumpster fire of a banking bill.
Call your Senator! Be polite. Be concise. Then get off the phone so more people can do the same!
Their offices absolutely track this stuff. I have the "thank you for your feedback" letters to prove it. I might not change his decision, but together we can. Sí se puede.
posted by leotrotsky at 7:56 AM on March 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
Joe Donnelly, Indiana
This constituent who voted for Joe the last time around just called and provided feedback on both Pompeo and the dumpster fire of a banking bill.
Call your Senator! Be polite. Be concise. Then get off the phone so more people can do the same!
Their offices absolutely track this stuff. I have the "thank you for your feedback" letters to prove it. I might not change his decision, but together we can. Sí se puede.
posted by leotrotsky at 7:56 AM on March 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
Putin: Jews might have been behind U.S. Election interference
After Putin Cites Jews, Democrats Implore Trump to Extradite Russians (By Nicholas Fandos and Matthew Luxmoore for the New York Times, March 12, 2018)
After Putin Cites Jews, Democrats Implore Trump to Extradite Russians (By Nicholas Fandos and Matthew Luxmoore for the New York Times, March 12, 2018)
Top Democratic leaders in the House and Senate implored President Trump on Monday to employ “all resources available” to extradite 13 Russians charged last month with subverting the 2016 presidential election after Russia’s president raised the possibility of Jewish involvement.posted by filthy light thief at 7:57 AM on March 13, 2018 [18 favorites]
“Ensuring these Russian nationals stand trial in the United States is imperative for deterring Russia from future attacks on our democracy and would be a signal to those who seek to meddle with our election that such actions are not without consequences,” Senator Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in his chamber, and Representative Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in the House, wrote in a letter to the White House.
Pompeo seems nice.
Atlantic 11/20/17 (Peter Beinart) - Mike Pompeo at State Would Enable Trump's Worst Instincts: If Rex Tillerson is replaced, one barrier keeping the president in check will fall away.
Atlantic 11/20/17 (Peter Beinart) - Mike Pompeo at State Would Enable Trump's Worst Instincts: If Rex Tillerson is replaced, one barrier keeping the president in check will fall away.
Pompeo is also a steadfast ally of Frank Gaffney, President of the Center for Security Policy, who has argued that adherence to Islamic law—far from being protected by the First Amendment—should be considered “an impermissible act of sedition, which has to be prosecuted.” Pompeo spoke at the Center for Security Policy’s “Defeat Jihad” summit in 2015. And as a member of Congress, he appeared on Gaffney’s radio show over 20 times.posted by chris24 at 7:58 AM on March 13, 2018 [25 favorites]
Listen to Pompeo and you hear echoes of Fransen, Gaffney, and Gabriel’s worldview. Like Gaffney and Gabriel, Pompeo repeatedly insinuated that President Obama preferred Islam—and maybe even ISIS—to Christianity and the United States. In a February 2015 interview, Gaffney asked Pompeo whether Obama has “kind of an affinity for, if not the violent beheading and crucifixions and slaying of Christians and all that, but at least for the cause for which these guys are engaged in such activities.” Pompeo’s response: “Frank, every place you stare at the president’s policies and statements, you see what you just described.” That December, a questioner—after accusing Obama of supporting Islamists in Egypt and Iran—told Pompeo, “I can’t think of anything where he’s been on our side.” Pompeo’s answer: “The data you point out is correct and I’m not afraid to talk about the data. The data is very clear. Every time there has been a conflict between the Christian West and the Islamic East the data points all point to a single direction”—to Obama’s disloyalty to Christianity and the United States.
It’s not just Obama. Pompeo has depicted American Muslims as a whole as a fifth column. Two months after the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing, he went on the House floor to declare that the “silence of Muslim leaders has been deafening.” This “silence,” Pompeo declared, “has made these Islamic leaders across America potentially complicit in these acts” of terrorism. And it “casts doubt upon the commitment to peace among adherents of the Muslim faith.”
TRUMP: What?
I get it now. He does press conferences in front of a helicopter so he can pretend not to hear questions he doesn't like. That's actually pretty impressive.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:58 AM on March 13, 2018 [16 favorites]
I get it now. He does press conferences in front of a helicopter so he can pretend not to hear questions he doesn't like. That's actually pretty impressive.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:58 AM on March 13, 2018 [16 favorites]
oh, and Kaitlan Collins drops this nugget:
NEWS: Johnny McEntee was fired because he is currently under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security for serious financial crimes, a source familiar with his firing tells CNN.posted by murphy slaw at 7:58 AM on March 13, 2018 [47 favorites]
This source says the charges are not Trump related.
@DeusExCinema: Sadly I’m no longer in the headline writing business, but if anyone wants to use “Tyrant is sore at Rex” today, they are welcome to it.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:59 AM on March 13, 2018 [81 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:59 AM on March 13, 2018 [81 favorites]
Ya know, for a guy whos catchphrase is "You're Fired!™", he's kind of a coward about doing it face to face.
posted by butterstick at 8:00 AM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by butterstick at 8:00 AM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
Putin: Jews might have been behind U.S. Election interference.
I'd love someone to get Netanyahu's comment on this. Particularly given "ISRAEL-RUSSIA RELATIONS ARE THE WARMEST IN HISTORY."
Though I imagine he's saying "No comment" a lot recently.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:02 AM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
I'd love someone to get Netanyahu's comment on this. Particularly given "ISRAEL-RUSSIA RELATIONS ARE THE WARMEST IN HISTORY."
Though I imagine he's saying "No comment" a lot recently.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:02 AM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
murphy slaw: NEWS: Johnny McEntee was fired because he is currently under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security for serious financial crimes, a source familiar with his firing tells CNN.
"Serious financial crimes? Why didn't you say so? With experience like that you can be the senior adviser for campaign operations!"
posted by bluecore at 8:03 AM on March 13, 2018 [33 favorites]
"Serious financial crimes? Why didn't you say so? With experience like that you can be the senior adviser for campaign operations!"
posted by bluecore at 8:03 AM on March 13, 2018 [33 favorites]
Tillerson getting to know on Friday might make sense from the African news point of view. He cancelled all his Kenyan appts on saturday due to illness and then rushed through Chad and Nigeria instead of staying the night in Abuja as planned.
posted by infini at 8:04 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by infini at 8:04 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
I seriously wonder if Trump intended to give Tillerson the Comey treatment of being left behind without the ability to use a government plane, this time in Africa instead of California.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:05 AM on March 13, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:05 AM on March 13, 2018 [23 favorites]
Is there any chance that we can get Sam Nunberg as the next Secretary of State?
It just seems... appropriate. And he'd have such a good time doing it.
posted by delfin at 8:09 AM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
It just seems... appropriate. And he'd have such a good time doing it.
posted by delfin at 8:09 AM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
He does press conferences in front of a helicopter so he can pretend not to hear questions he doesn't like. That's actually pretty impressive.
Picture it: Washington, 1987:
Picture it: Washington, 1987:
"After a day of economic crisis and uncertainty, President Reagan commented tonight on the state of the economy. But his remarks were made not in a prime-time address to the nation or at a formal news conference, but on the back lawn of the White House, shouted at reporters over the roar of a Presidential helicopter.posted by box at 8:17 AM on March 13, 2018 [24 favorites]
Such chaotic exchanges have become the primary way that Mr. Reagan communicates with the press corps these days. Formal news conferences, announced well in advance and held in a decorous setting, are practically an endangered species."
I'd love someone to get Netanyahu's comment on this. Particularly given "ISRAEL-RUSSIA RELATIONS ARE THE WARMEST IN HISTORY."
As we saw during the 2016 election, the numerous anti-Semitic incidents afterwards, and both before and after Charlottesville, Netanyahu probably won't comment at all, or will maybe offer some lukewarm mumbling. He quite clearly thinks that any Jewish Americans that aren't supporting or defending him or his policies are enemies of both Israel and Judaism at large, and is perfectly fine with letting them be thrown to the wolves.
posted by zombieflanders at 8:17 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
As we saw during the 2016 election, the numerous anti-Semitic incidents afterwards, and both before and after Charlottesville, Netanyahu probably won't comment at all, or will maybe offer some lukewarm mumbling. He quite clearly thinks that any Jewish Americans that aren't supporting or defending him or his policies are enemies of both Israel and Judaism at large, and is perfectly fine with letting them be thrown to the wolves.
posted by zombieflanders at 8:17 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
It's possible that when Rex Tillerson left his job running one of the world's largest corporations to join Donald at Quagmire-a-Lago, he believed he could do great things for this country. Now is his opportunity to do great things for this country, by speaking out against this waking nightmare of an administration and setting the stage for Donald Trump to be removed from office. Will he step up? Probably not!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:19 AM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:19 AM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
Ya know, for a guy whos catchphrase is "You're Fired!™", he's kind of a coward about doing it face to face.
Cadet Bone Spurs cowardly? Shocking. He's scared of lots of things. He's scared of being poisoned. He's scared of exercise. He's scared of stairs. He's scared of medium-size birds. He's a bully. Bullies are cowards.
Oh, and he's for damn sure scared of Robert Mueller.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:21 AM on March 13, 2018 [27 favorites]
Cadet Bone Spurs cowardly? Shocking. He's scared of lots of things. He's scared of being poisoned. He's scared of exercise. He's scared of stairs. He's scared of medium-size birds. He's a bully. Bullies are cowards.
Oh, and he's for damn sure scared of Robert Mueller.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:21 AM on March 13, 2018 [27 favorites]
As we saw during the 2016 election, the numerous anti-Semitic incidents afterwards, and both before and after Charlottesville, Netanyahu probably won't comment at all, or will maybe offer some lukewarm mumbling. He quite clearly thinks that any Jewish Americans that aren't supporting or defending him or his policies are enemies of both Israel and Judaism at large, and is perfectly fine with letting them be thrown to the wolves.
Guy was legitimately a war hero. Shame the bravery never translated to politics. Enjoy prison, Bibi.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:24 AM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
Guy was legitimately a war hero. Shame the bravery never translated to politics. Enjoy prison, Bibi.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:24 AM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
It's possible that when Rex Tillerson left his job running one of the world's largest corporations to join Donald at Quagmire-a-Lago, he believed he could do great things for this country
Tillerson did do great things for his country.
His country is Russia.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:25 AM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
Tillerson did do great things for his country.
His country is Russia.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:25 AM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
Netanyahu has other things to comment on at the moment.
CNN International: Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah survived an assassination attempt in northern Gaza on Tuesday morning, according to Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency http://cnn.it/2tEtg7K
posted by delfin at 8:26 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
CNN International: Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah survived an assassination attempt in northern Gaza on Tuesday morning, according to Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency http://cnn.it/2tEtg7K
posted by delfin at 8:26 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Whenever someone leaves the Trump administration, Nick Beaudrot posts a photo of them at their happiest (Twitter thread).
posted by mbrubeck at 8:26 AM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by mbrubeck at 8:26 AM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
He's scared of medium-size birds....Oh, and he's for damn sure scared of Robert Mueller.
has anyone photoshopped Mueller's or Sam The Eagle's head into that infamous bald eagle image
if not why not
this is the GIF america needs right now
In other news, Denmark's PM does what the president of the united states of america still somehow has not bothered to do, and the Russian Foreign Ministry is handing notes to the British Ambassador-- diplomacy, passive-aggressive-roommate style.
posted by halation at 8:28 AM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
has anyone photoshopped Mueller's or Sam The Eagle's head into that infamous bald eagle image
if not why not
this is the GIF america needs right now
In other news, Denmark's PM does what the president of the united states of america still somehow has not bothered to do, and the Russian Foreign Ministry is handing notes to the British Ambassador-- diplomacy, passive-aggressive-roommate style.
posted by halation at 8:28 AM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
Talking Points Memo: Rex Tillerson Out As Secretary Of State, CIA Director Pompeo Will Replace Him
There is enough material in that article to make your jaw drop to the floor several times over. So in in that way, standard Trump procedure.
But I would just like to point out one small thing: When the position of the FORMER CEO OF EXXON on CLIMATE CHANGE is NOT EXTREME ENOUGH FOR YOU, it's a very good sign that your own climate change position isn't just way out in left field, it's on a completely insane playing field all its own.
posted by flug at 8:30 AM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
There is enough material in that article to make your jaw drop to the floor several times over. So in in that way, standard Trump procedure.
But I would just like to point out one small thing: When the position of the FORMER CEO OF EXXON on CLIMATE CHANGE is NOT EXTREME ENOUGH FOR YOU, it's a very good sign that your own climate change position isn't just way out in left field, it's on a completely insane playing field all its own.
posted by flug at 8:30 AM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
Picture it: Washington, 1987:
By 1987 Reagan was well on his way to being demented, and it seems likely that the helicopter noise was used as much as cover for his dementia as for avoiding politically difficult questions. From the 1987 article:
posted by jedicus at 8:30 AM on March 13, 2018 [22 favorites]
By 1987 Reagan was well on his way to being demented, and it seems likely that the helicopter noise was used as much as cover for his dementia as for avoiding politically difficult questions. From the 1987 article:
The impression is also developing in the press corps that Mr. Reagan's aides are shielding him from news conferences because they are afraid he cannot handle the high-stakes gamble of such a televised appearance. Reporters say that the President's hearing seems to have deteriorated and that his command of specific facts also seems to be slipping.It's astonishing how much of that article could be about the Trump administration.
...
Moreover, news conferences offer a rare chance to evaluate a President's physical and mental well-being. ''There's a kind of humanizing quality to a President being out there,'' Professor Greenstein said. ''It shows he's healthy, he hasn't gone out to lunch psychologically. We've come to expect the chance to check the vital signs of a President periodically.''
posted by jedicus at 8:30 AM on March 13, 2018 [22 favorites]
Tillerson received a call from John Kelly, Trump’s chief of staff, on Friday, but was only told that there might be a presidential tweet that would concern him. Kelly didn’t tell Tillerson what the tweet might say or when it might actually publish
The guy hired to bring discipline to the office is apparently running it like an episode of the Saw franchise
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:31 AM on March 13, 2018 [28 favorites]
The guy hired to bring discipline to the office is apparently running it like an episode of the Saw franchise
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:31 AM on March 13, 2018 [28 favorites]
And to add to a slow news day:
Russian exile found dead in London
Another Russian exile, Nikolai Glushkov, who was close friends with the late oligarch Boris Berezovsky has been found dead, aged 68, in his London home, his lawyer has said. It is not yet clear what was the cause of death. (Guardian)
posted by stonepharisee at 8:34 AM on March 13, 2018 [22 favorites]
Russian exile found dead in London
Another Russian exile, Nikolai Glushkov, who was close friends with the late oligarch Boris Berezovsky has been found dead, aged 68, in his London home, his lawyer has said. It is not yet clear what was the cause of death. (Guardian)
posted by stonepharisee at 8:34 AM on March 13, 2018 [22 favorites]
who has argued that adherence to Islamic law—far from being protected by the First Amendment—should be considered “an impermissible act of sedition, which has to be prosecuted.”
Guys this is like...shut the thing down, right? If they do this, we riot?
posted by corb at 8:36 AM on March 13, 2018 [20 favorites]
Guys this is like...shut the thing down, right? If they do this, we riot?
posted by corb at 8:36 AM on March 13, 2018 [20 favorites]
PA-18 seems almost passé now, but the key to stopping this shitshow is getting control of at least one house in Congress come November and tonight is big for that, win or lose.
@benchmarkpol
These are our 24 most vulnerable Republican seats. You will notice no PA-18. That's because there are literally 93 more seats that we view as more vulnerable than PA-18.
LIST
posted by chris24 at 8:37 AM on March 13, 2018 [34 favorites]
@benchmarkpol
These are our 24 most vulnerable Republican seats. You will notice no PA-18. That's because there are literally 93 more seats that we view as more vulnerable than PA-18.
LIST
posted by chris24 at 8:37 AM on March 13, 2018 [34 favorites]
NyTimes, Robert Lightfoot, NASA’s Acting Administrator, to Retire as Trump’s Nominee Is Stalled
Presumably he'll be replaced by the Acting Associate Administrator, Steve Jurczyk, the Deputy Administrator and Chief of Staff positions are currently vacant. The highest level role with an actual appointed administrator is Krista Paquin, the Deputy Associate Administrator.
From the Atlantic, Who's Running NASA?
posted by peeedro at 8:38 AM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
Presumably he'll be replaced by the Acting Associate Administrator, Steve Jurczyk, the Deputy Administrator and Chief of Staff positions are currently vacant. The highest level role with an actual appointed administrator is Krista Paquin, the Deputy Associate Administrator.
From the Atlantic, Who's Running NASA?
The Trump administration’s nomination for administrator—the person the president wants in the job, as Lightfoot said—is Jim Bridenstine, a Republican congressman from Oklahoma. The White House nominated him for the position last September. Bridenstine has faced a congressional committee in two hearings since, but Senate leaders haven’t brought his nomination to the full chamber for a vote. Republicans have the majority in the Senate, but they may not have enough votes to confirm the nomination. If every Democrat votes against Bridenstine and one Republican joins them, the Senate would need to bring in Vice President Mike Pence to break the tie in his role as the president of the chamber. If more than one Republican joins them, the nomination would fail.As a reminder, Bridenstine is a "but the climate is always changing" flavor of skeptic and does not acknowledge the role human activity plays in climate change.
Right now, it doesn’t look like Senate leaders want to take that chance. John McCain, the Republican senator from Arizona, has been in his home state for cancer treatment since December and can’t vote. Marco Rubio, the senator from Florida—the home of many nasa assets, like the Kennedy Space Center—has said he’s not a fan of Bridenstine.
posted by peeedro at 8:38 AM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
Russian businessman and close associate of Boris Berezovsky found dead in Britain, lawyer says
This is obviously something they feel they can do with impunity in the UK now, they seem to have been a bit shy of it in the US until now but I would assume anyone investigated by Mueller is a dead man walking.
posted by Artw at 8:39 AM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
This is obviously something they feel they can do with impunity in the UK now, they seem to have been a bit shy of it in the US until now but I would assume anyone investigated by Mueller is a dead man walking.
posted by Artw at 8:39 AM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
guys
what if the call from john kelly to rex tillerson was to help him
so he could get home as soon as possible and not be abandoned in africa with no plane
it's 2018 and that does not seem implausible any more
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:44 AM on March 13, 2018 [74 favorites]
what if the call from john kelly to rex tillerson was to help him
so he could get home as soon as possible and not be abandoned in africa with no plane
it's 2018 and that does not seem implausible any more
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:44 AM on March 13, 2018 [74 favorites]
Trump just now: "I'm getting very close to having the cabinet that I want."
Then why was the cabinet he originally selected not the one he wanted?
posted by Gelatin at 8:44 AM on March 13, 2018 [46 favorites]
Then why was the cabinet he originally selected not the one he wanted?
posted by Gelatin at 8:44 AM on March 13, 2018 [46 favorites]
This Russia business is very worrying, and I am not sure Putin is as smart as I had hitherto believed.
The way I understand it, Russia is relatively poor and relatively weak but in a funny position as a very large country with an imperial past - they're sort of shabby-genteel, in that they need to "keep up" this enormous country without the kind of resources that one would expect. This is both a relic of the USSR, since a lot of significant stuff was maintained through the state and was not sustainable under capitalism even though it was still needed, and a product of the collapose/oligarchization in the wake of the USSR. Also at least in part because of US privateering on the ruins of the USSR. So there are a lot of problems hard-wired in - wealth is so concentrated that many problems are insoluble, basically. (Hello, future USA!) The US is always looking for an angle and the states on the periphery of Russia don't always want to stay in the Russian orbit.
So it seems like Putin uses a lot of authoritarian posturing and so on to maintain control and support at home, and does a lot of "your cables, we can sever them" and "we murder our critics" both to saber-rattle and to seem powerful at home. My assumption has always been that most of this is basically for show, or else a way of making it seem more trouble that it's worth to pursue certain courses.
What's worrying now is that if he escalates and then someone else escalates, etc etc, it might go to a shooting war just because no one can afford to back down.
What we really could use is something that could guarantee the behavior of both Russia and the United States, because then it might be possible to broker a deal. In the middle of all the authoritarianism, Russia has actual problems and the US is actually always trying to increase its sphere of control - that's not made up. If some kind of serious deal about borders, oil and influence could be made between the two countries and then stuck to, it might be possible to stop all this.
As I understand it, they are a lot weaker than the US in everything except spy stuff and sabotaging things, so it's natural that spy stuff and sabotaging things is what they'll try to do. But that also suggests to me that a way to get all this to stop would be to take seriously their concerns as a weaker power and try to accommodate at least some of them.
I have to say, I really miss that part at the end of the Cold War where we were all going to be friends.
posted by Frowner at 8:45 AM on March 13, 2018 [50 favorites]
The way I understand it, Russia is relatively poor and relatively weak but in a funny position as a very large country with an imperial past - they're sort of shabby-genteel, in that they need to "keep up" this enormous country without the kind of resources that one would expect. This is both a relic of the USSR, since a lot of significant stuff was maintained through the state and was not sustainable under capitalism even though it was still needed, and a product of the collapose/oligarchization in the wake of the USSR. Also at least in part because of US privateering on the ruins of the USSR. So there are a lot of problems hard-wired in - wealth is so concentrated that many problems are insoluble, basically. (Hello, future USA!) The US is always looking for an angle and the states on the periphery of Russia don't always want to stay in the Russian orbit.
So it seems like Putin uses a lot of authoritarian posturing and so on to maintain control and support at home, and does a lot of "your cables, we can sever them" and "we murder our critics" both to saber-rattle and to seem powerful at home. My assumption has always been that most of this is basically for show, or else a way of making it seem more trouble that it's worth to pursue certain courses.
What's worrying now is that if he escalates and then someone else escalates, etc etc, it might go to a shooting war just because no one can afford to back down.
What we really could use is something that could guarantee the behavior of both Russia and the United States, because then it might be possible to broker a deal. In the middle of all the authoritarianism, Russia has actual problems and the US is actually always trying to increase its sphere of control - that's not made up. If some kind of serious deal about borders, oil and influence could be made between the two countries and then stuck to, it might be possible to stop all this.
As I understand it, they are a lot weaker than the US in everything except spy stuff and sabotaging things, so it's natural that spy stuff and sabotaging things is what they'll try to do. But that also suggests to me that a way to get all this to stop would be to take seriously their concerns as a weaker power and try to accommodate at least some of them.
I have to say, I really miss that part at the end of the Cold War where we were all going to be friends.
posted by Frowner at 8:45 AM on March 13, 2018 [50 favorites]
Then why was the cabinet he originally selected not the one he wanted?
The President was informed that his immediate family and groundskeeping staff were unlikely to pass Senate confirmation
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:45 AM on March 13, 2018 [41 favorites]
The President was informed that his immediate family and groundskeeping staff were unlikely to pass Senate confirmation
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:45 AM on March 13, 2018 [41 favorites]
As I understand it, they are a lot weaker than the US in everything except spy stuff and sabotaging things
Also, combat aircraft. I read a few years ago that while the US has lagged behind in those (the F-35 being an expensive white elephant), Russia has made broad advances, to the point of having air superiority if there were a conflict with the US now.
posted by acb at 8:50 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Also, combat aircraft. I read a few years ago that while the US has lagged behind in those (the F-35 being an expensive white elephant), Russia has made broad advances, to the point of having air superiority if there were a conflict with the US now.
posted by acb at 8:50 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
but I would assume anyone investigated by Mueller is a dead man walking.
Trump, a man with a phobia of poisoning, has a well thought out blackmail-based relationship with Vladimir Putin.
posted by benzenedream at 8:51 AM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
Trump, a man with a phobia of poisoning, has a well thought out blackmail-based relationship with Vladimir Putin.
posted by benzenedream at 8:51 AM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
from the "cry more, snowflake" dept.:
'Alt right' leader Richard Spencer says his rallies aren't 'fun' anymore
posted by murphy slaw at 8:52 AM on March 13, 2018 [81 favorites]
'Alt right' leader Richard Spencer says his rallies aren't 'fun' anymore
White nationalist Richard Spencer said he’s considering suspending his controversial "alt-right" speaking tour amid escalating violence at his appearances.good.
Spencer said the left-wing coalition known as Antifa has made attending his speeches too dangerous and not “fun” by intimidating his supporters and shouting down his lectures.
Spencer supports the creation of a society run by white people in the USA and routinely attacks diversity as an assault on the white race. Antifa members argue racist voices should be aggressively countered and make no apologies for their actions.
“When they become violent clashes and pitched battles, they aren’t fun," Spencer said. "I don’t inspire any kind of violence. ... Until the situation changes, we are up a creek without a paddle.”
posted by murphy slaw at 8:52 AM on March 13, 2018 [81 favorites]
Pompeo has pledged to rolling back the Iran Nuclear Deal. He has said Iran's nuclear facilities can be destroyed by "under 2000 sorties" by the Air Force -- so you have that to look forward to.
Also recall that Rumsfeld said the Iraq invasion would be "Five days or five weeks or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last any longer than that"
posted by JackFlash at 8:52 AM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
Also recall that Rumsfeld said the Iraq invasion would be "Five days or five weeks or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last any longer than that"
posted by JackFlash at 8:52 AM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
Trump is citing the Center for Immigration Studies, a far-right nativist "think tank" deemed a hate group by SPLC for repeatedly using white nationalist and anti-semitic writers in it's newsletter, commissioning someone fired from Heritage for pushing race-science and other awful things.
And he's making friends on his way to California.
@realDonaldTrump
Donald J. Trump Retweeted Fox News
“According to the Center for Immigration Studies, the $18 billion wall will pay for itself by curbing the importation of crime, drugs and illegal immigrants who tend to go on the federal dole...”
@realDonaldTrump
California’s sanctuary policies are illegal and unconstitutional and put the safety and security of our entire nation at risk. Thousands of dangerous & violent criminal aliens are released as a result of sanctuary policies, set free to prey on innocent Americans. THIS MUST STOP!
posted by chris24 at 8:53 AM on March 13, 2018 [15 favorites]
And he's making friends on his way to California.
@realDonaldTrump
Donald J. Trump Retweeted Fox News
“According to the Center for Immigration Studies, the $18 billion wall will pay for itself by curbing the importation of crime, drugs and illegal immigrants who tend to go on the federal dole...”
@FoxNews - Study: Trump’s Border Wall Could Pay for Itself by Cutting Welfare to Illegal Immigrants
@realDonaldTrump
California’s sanctuary policies are illegal and unconstitutional and put the safety and security of our entire nation at risk. Thousands of dangerous & violent criminal aliens are released as a result of sanctuary policies, set free to prey on innocent Americans. THIS MUST STOP!
posted by chris24 at 8:53 AM on March 13, 2018 [15 favorites]
Spencer said the left-wing coalition known as Antifa has made attending his speeches too dangerous and not “fun”
can we find him a safe space
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:53 AM on March 13, 2018 [19 favorites]
can we find him a safe space
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:53 AM on March 13, 2018 [19 favorites]
Antifa members argue racist voices should be aggressively countered and make no apologies for their actions.
God, it'd be pulling teeth to see even this level of fairness in, say, a description of antifa furnished by the New York Times. Good on USA TODAY?!?
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:56 AM on March 13, 2018 [47 favorites]
God, it'd be pulling teeth to see even this level of fairness in, say, a description of antifa furnished by the New York Times. Good on USA TODAY?!?
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:56 AM on March 13, 2018 [47 favorites]
Note the USA Today editorial board has not been fucking around lately: A president who'd all but call a senator a whore is unfit to clean toilets in Obama's presidential library or to shine George W. Bush's shoes: Our view
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:58 AM on March 13, 2018 [72 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:58 AM on March 13, 2018 [72 favorites]
Spencer said the left-wing coalition known as Antifa has made attending his speeches too dangerous and not “fun”
Cry me a NY Times opinion column.
posted by Artw at 8:59 AM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
Cry me a NY Times opinion column.
posted by Artw at 8:59 AM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
So the precious snowflake Nazi is calling for a safe space where he can peacefully call for the extermination of racially inferior minorities without being intimidated? Aw, diddums.
posted by acb at 9:00 AM on March 13, 2018 [35 favorites]
posted by acb at 9:00 AM on March 13, 2018 [35 favorites]
Spencer said the left-wing coalition known as Antifa has made attending his speeches too dangerous and not “fun” by intimidating his supporters and shouting down his lectures.
Well, that's my motivating victory for the morning.
posted by corb at 9:01 AM on March 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
Well, that's my motivating victory for the morning.
posted by corb at 9:01 AM on March 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
Guys this ("adherence to Sharia law is sedition and should be prosecuted") is like...shut the thing down, right? If they do this, we riot?
For varying degrees of "we." It would be an alarm bell going off but America already sounds like a clock store at noon.
"First they came for the Muslims" resonates. But there is "They put a guy in charge who wants to come for the Muslims" and there is "The guy they put in charge has announced that they will be coming for the Muslims" and there is "They are coming for the Muslims _right now_" and many people will not be moved to act until that last part happens.
posted by delfin at 9:04 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
For varying degrees of "we." It would be an alarm bell going off but America already sounds like a clock store at noon.
"First they came for the Muslims" resonates. But there is "They put a guy in charge who wants to come for the Muslims" and there is "The guy they put in charge has announced that they will be coming for the Muslims" and there is "They are coming for the Muslims _right now_" and many people will not be moved to act until that last part happens.
posted by delfin at 9:04 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
These antifa kids really have the right idea!
In other news, an ICE spokesman said he was tired of being asked to lie, so he's quitting.
In other news, an ICE spokesman said he was tired of being asked to lie, so he's quitting.
The now-former spokesman, James Schwab, told news outlets late Monday that his resignation stemmed from statements by Homan and Sessions that potentially hundreds of “criminal aliens” evaded ICE during a Northern California raid in February because Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf warned the immigrant community in advance.posted by xyzzy at 9:06 AM on March 13, 2018 [20 favorites]
Not only is Trump citing a hate group for his policies, it’s Fox News that is citing them, therefor giving Trump a source for his policies. The right wing “intellectual” groups manipulate and distort studies and facts, which are then proliferated via their media empire, and then their leader cites them for policies. It’s the closed loop of fascism.
posted by gucci mane at 9:07 AM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by gucci mane at 9:07 AM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
We have a First Amendment and we have no sign yet that the courts will ignore it. There remains hope that some of the worst excesses of the President's id will continue to be kept in check by the judiciary, hopefully until he can be removed from office.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:07 AM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:07 AM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
'Alt right' leader Richard Spencer says his rallies aren't 'fun' anymore
1) Punching Nazis works.
2) Showing up in huge numbers shouting fuck you Nazi, we will punch you also works.
3) As Sartre put it: "the anti-Semites have the right to play. [...] It is not that they are afraid of being convinced. They fear only to appear ridiculous or to prejudice by their embarrassment their hope of winning over some third person to their side."
Fascist discourse is for the lulz until they have control over state violence. They're here to play and at this stage in their development it is very effective to confront them with people who are not playing.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:08 AM on March 13, 2018 [121 favorites]
1) Punching Nazis works.
2) Showing up in huge numbers shouting fuck you Nazi, we will punch you also works.
3) As Sartre put it: "the anti-Semites have the right to play. [...] It is not that they are afraid of being convinced. They fear only to appear ridiculous or to prejudice by their embarrassment their hope of winning over some third person to their side."
Fascist discourse is for the lulz until they have control over state violence. They're here to play and at this stage in their development it is very effective to confront them with people who are not playing.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:08 AM on March 13, 2018 [121 favorites]
Well, that's my motivating victory for the morning.
“Smell that? Do you smell that? That's Richard Spencer's tears, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of Richard Spencer's tears in the morning. You know, one time we had a Tila Tequila concert bombed, for 12 hours, and when it was all over, I walked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' alt-rightist body. The smell, you know that smell of resentful young MRAs and Pepe lovers bursting into tears, the whole concert hall...It smelled like victory. Someday this shitshow's gonna end."
posted by adamgreenfield at 9:08 AM on March 13, 2018 [35 favorites]
“Smell that? Do you smell that? That's Richard Spencer's tears, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of Richard Spencer's tears in the morning. You know, one time we had a Tila Tequila concert bombed, for 12 hours, and when it was all over, I walked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' alt-rightist body. The smell, you know that smell of resentful young MRAs and Pepe lovers bursting into tears, the whole concert hall...It smelled like victory. Someday this shitshow's gonna end."
posted by adamgreenfield at 9:08 AM on March 13, 2018 [35 favorites]
Another Russian exile, Nikolai Glushkov, who was close friends with the late oligarch Boris Berezovsky has been found dead, aged 68, in his London home, his lawyer has said.
n.b. Berezovsky was found dead on in his UK home in March 2013, with a black scarf around his neck that had been tied to a shower rail. At the inquest, the Berkshire coroner said conflicting evidence meant he was unable to reach conclusion on how Berezovsky died.
Glushkov had lived in London, where he received political asylum. In 2011, he gave evidence at the court case brought by Berezovsky against his fellow oligarch Roman Abramovich, who remained on good terms with the Kremlin.
n.b. Jared and Ivanka are friends with Roman Abramovich's wife, who was invited to the inauguration as Ivanka Trump’s guest.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:11 AM on March 13, 2018 [25 favorites]
n.b. Berezovsky was found dead on in his UK home in March 2013, with a black scarf around his neck that had been tied to a shower rail. At the inquest, the Berkshire coroner said conflicting evidence meant he was unable to reach conclusion on how Berezovsky died.
Glushkov had lived in London, where he received political asylum. In 2011, he gave evidence at the court case brought by Berezovsky against his fellow oligarch Roman Abramovich, who remained on good terms with the Kremlin.
n.b. Jared and Ivanka are friends with Roman Abramovich's wife, who was invited to the inauguration as Ivanka Trump’s guest.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:11 AM on March 13, 2018 [25 favorites]
“There’s no way for them to reach the conclusions that they want to start with unless they ignore or mischaracterize what we’ve been able to learn,” Schiff said, adding that the minority report would also “set out the investigative steps that were never taken to answer further questions about the Russians and the Trump campaign’s conduct.”
In other words, it'll be a road map for the investigation if and when the Democrats take the House back later this year.
posted by Gelatin at 9:15 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
In other words, it'll be a road map for the investigation if and when the Democrats take the House back later this year.
posted by Gelatin at 9:15 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
I get it now. He does press conferences in front of a helicopter so he can pretend not to hear questions he doesn't like. That's actually pretty impressive.
Not really. Reagan did the "I can't hear you" thing at the helicopter a lot. So, not an original idea of Trump's.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:16 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Not really. Reagan did the "I can't hear you" thing at the helicopter a lot. So, not an original idea of Trump's.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:16 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Associated Press - BREAKING: Officials: White House fires top Tillerson aide who contradicted account of secretary of state's dismissal.
posted by sporkwort at 9:18 AM on March 13, 2018 [71 favorites]
posted by sporkwort at 9:18 AM on March 13, 2018 [71 favorites]
corb called it
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:19 AM on March 13, 2018 [55 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:19 AM on March 13, 2018 [55 favorites]
I don’t think anyone predicted the second Saturday Night Massacre would begin at the State Department.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 9:20 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by C'est la D.C. at 9:20 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
OK, my turn. Trump will fire Kelly, not because of anything substantive but because he stopped Tillerson getting left behind in Africa with no plane.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:21 AM on March 13, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:21 AM on March 13, 2018 [16 favorites]
We apologise again for the fault in the State Department. Those responsible for explaining why the people who have just been sacked have been sacked, have been sacked.
We are now hiring møøse trainers.
posted by delfin at 9:21 AM on March 13, 2018 [96 favorites]
We are now hiring møøse trainers.
posted by delfin at 9:21 AM on March 13, 2018 [96 favorites]
I don’t think anyone predicted the second Saturday Night Massacre would begin at the State Department.
to be fair, a lot of people forgot we had a state department, and can you blame them?
posted by murphy slaw at 9:22 AM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
to be fair, a lot of people forgot we had a state department, and can you blame them?
posted by murphy slaw at 9:22 AM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
Trump asking for advice on Stormy Daniels situation
"Avoiding consequences for my actions is usually easier than this! What should I do?"
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:22 AM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
"Avoiding consequences for my actions is usually easier than this! What should I do?"
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:22 AM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
Gina Haspel was the person who ordered that the video tapes of her torture sessions at the CIA Thailand facility she ran be destroyed.
Abu Zubaydah was waterboarded 83 times in a single month, had his head repeatedly slammed into walls and endured other harsh methods before interrogators decided he had no useful information to provide.
posted by JackFlash at 9:27 AM on March 13, 2018 [59 favorites]
Abu Zubaydah was waterboarded 83 times in a single month, had his head repeatedly slammed into walls and endured other harsh methods before interrogators decided he had no useful information to provide.
posted by JackFlash at 9:27 AM on March 13, 2018 [59 favorites]
Also, combat aircraft. I read a few years ago that while the US has lagged behind in those (the F-35 being an expensive white elephant), Russia has made broad advances, to the point of having air superiority if there were a conflict with the US now.
I think you're thinking of either air to air missiles or the Russian air defense net? The only real air superiority capability VVS Russia has is a couple hundred Su-27 family in inventory and God only knows how many of those are flyable.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 9:28 AM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
I think you're thinking of either air to air missiles or the Russian air defense net? The only real air superiority capability VVS Russia has is a couple hundred Su-27 family in inventory and God only knows how many of those are flyable.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 9:28 AM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
@mattyglesias
It’s a mistake to see this turnover as Trump unraveling. It’s Trump feeling stronger, more confident, and more empowered to build the team that he wants rather than reluctantly accepting people who are acceptable to others.
@maggieNYT
The narrative of Trump unglued is not totally wrong but misses the reason why - he was terrified of the job the first six months, and now feels like he has a command of it.
- So now he is basically saying “I’ve got this, I can make the changes I want.”
- This is not to say his perception of self/confidence is in line with others’ perceptions of him. But it is part of why he is less able to be swayed.
- Meanwhile, the campaign continues to be the truer, purer version of Trumpland, where people who couldn’t clear the normal government systems but who he wants around go.
- People close to the White House say they expect more major personnel shifts this week. An effort to rip off the bandaid fast on a number of fronts is likely.
posted by chris24 at 9:29 AM on March 13, 2018 [28 favorites]
It’s a mistake to see this turnover as Trump unraveling. It’s Trump feeling stronger, more confident, and more empowered to build the team that he wants rather than reluctantly accepting people who are acceptable to others.
@maggieNYT
The narrative of Trump unglued is not totally wrong but misses the reason why - he was terrified of the job the first six months, and now feels like he has a command of it.
- So now he is basically saying “I’ve got this, I can make the changes I want.”
- This is not to say his perception of self/confidence is in line with others’ perceptions of him. But it is part of why he is less able to be swayed.
- Meanwhile, the campaign continues to be the truer, purer version of Trumpland, where people who couldn’t clear the normal government systems but who he wants around go.
- People close to the White House say they expect more major personnel shifts this week. An effort to rip off the bandaid fast on a number of fronts is likely.
posted by chris24 at 9:29 AM on March 13, 2018 [28 favorites]
had his head repeatedly slammed into walls
Such that he lost an eye.
posted by chris24 at 9:30 AM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
Such that he lost an eye.
posted by chris24 at 9:30 AM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
Oooh burn, Kevin De León: Trump's California trip draws criticism from state leaders: (John Wagner, WaPo):
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 9:31 AM on March 13, 2018 [71 favorites]
Brown and other officials are quick to note that California on its own represents the sixth largest economy in the world.Once again, I'm proud of my state and its leaders. Cali is not here to soothe Trump's Stormy-battered ego.
“California’s economy is larger than Vladimir Putin’s Russia,” as de León put it.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 9:31 AM on March 13, 2018 [71 favorites]
Gina Haspel is Deputy Director of the CIA, a position which does not require Senate confirmation. She will now go through her first confirmation process, and we need to make sure she doesn't succeed.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:31 AM on March 13, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:31 AM on March 13, 2018 [26 favorites]
Gina Haspel was the person who ordered that the video tapes of her torture sessions at the CIA Thailand facility she ran be destroyed.
Abu Zubaydah was waterboarded 83 times in a single month, had his head repeatedly slammed into walls and endured other harsh methods before interrogators decided he had no useful information to provide.
Californians, call your Senator (who is up for reelection this year):
@jeremyherb (CNN): Sen. Feinstein, who led the Senate Intel torture report, has kind words for Trump's pick to be CIA director, Gina Haspel. "We've had a long personal talk," she said about the Bush-era programs. "Everything I know is that she has been a good deputy director of the CIA."
posted by melissasaurus at 9:32 AM on March 13, 2018 [25 favorites]
Abu Zubaydah was waterboarded 83 times in a single month, had his head repeatedly slammed into walls and endured other harsh methods before interrogators decided he had no useful information to provide.
Californians, call your Senator (who is up for reelection this year):
@jeremyherb (CNN): Sen. Feinstein, who led the Senate Intel torture report, has kind words for Trump's pick to be CIA director, Gina Haspel. "We've had a long personal talk," she said about the Bush-era programs. "Everything I know is that she has been a good deputy director of the CIA."
posted by melissasaurus at 9:32 AM on March 13, 2018 [25 favorites]
Another mind-boggling paragraph from this Dexter Filkins post from last year on the new CIA director. If Obama had allowed prosecutions over CIA torture, "people like Haspel, quite plausibly, could have gone to prison." Instead, she's going to run the CIA.
posted by The Whelk at 9:33 AM on March 13, 2018 [70 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 9:33 AM on March 13, 2018 [70 favorites]
Remember that Betsy DeVos had to rely on a tie-breaking vote from Mike Pence, and as far as I know she hasn't covered up any torture. Unlike her brother.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:33 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:33 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
And speaking of Stormy...
@MichaelAvenatti: The President and Mr. Cohen have purposely ignored our settlement offer, thus doubling down on their efforts to muzzle Ms. Clifford and prevent her from telling the American people what happened. Time to buckle up. #basta
12:09 PM - Mar 13, 2018
I am considering going back to bed.
posted by delfin at 9:34 AM on March 13, 2018 [27 favorites]
@MichaelAvenatti: The President and Mr. Cohen have purposely ignored our settlement offer, thus doubling down on their efforts to muzzle Ms. Clifford and prevent her from telling the American people what happened. Time to buckle up. #basta
12:09 PM - Mar 13, 2018
I am considering going back to bed.
posted by delfin at 9:34 AM on March 13, 2018 [27 favorites]
The House Intel Committee's "report" set the stage for what we're seeing today. The quislings have let him know there will be no repercussions as long as the tax cuts keep coming. Now it's full MAGA time.
posted by tonycpsu at 9:34 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by tonycpsu at 9:34 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
You can be sure that Richard Spencer isn’t really ending anything because it turns into a violent clash and therefor isn’t fun. That’s a plus to him, not a drawback. He is either avoiding admitting a decline in demand by falsely blaming this stuff or the places will no longer shield him to his liking from the chaos. He would continue to be fine with it if other people were endangered.
Still a win for us but no way we should take his statements at face value.
posted by phearlez at 9:34 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
Still a win for us but no way we should take his statements at face value.
posted by phearlez at 9:34 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
A reminder that ICE isn't the only hyper-active para-military police force under Trump: TSA accused of searching domestic travelers’ devices with no warrant -- TSA has failed to fully respond to FOIA requests from the ACLU. (Cyrus Farivar for Ars Technica, March 13, 2018)
The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California has sued the Transportation Security Administration, alleging that the agency has improperly withheld documents and other materials that would shed light on warrantless searches of digital devices at airports prior to purely domestic flights.Related to a longer article from The Guardian: Questions for TSA after reports of laptop and phone searches on domestic flights -- Exclusive: growing number of reports raises concerns US government may be increasing surveillance and privacy violations at airports (Sam Levin, March 12, 2018)
This lawsuit, which is meant to compel the TSA to fully respond to a Freedom of Information Act request, is related to another lawsuit (Alasaad v. Duke) brought by the ACLU to better understand such searches that happen when Americans return home from abroad.
"The federal government’s policies on searching the phones, laptops, and tablets of domestic air passengers remain shrouded in secrecy," said Vasudha Talla, staff attorney with the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, in a Monday statement.
Specifically, the ACLU of Northern California "seeks records related to policies, procedures, or protocols regarding the search of passengers’ electronic devices; equipment used to search, examine, or extract data from passengers’ devices; and training of the officers conducting the screenings and searches of electronic devices."
The advocacy group filed a FOIA request on December 20, 2017, but TSA provided no records.
Over the past year, civil liberties groups have repeatedly raised concerns about US border agents expanding the invasive searches of international travelers’ phones. Some travelers reported authorities demanding they unlock their devices and allow officials to review text messages, social media accounts, photos and other private information – without warrants or reasonable suspicion. Now, there are questions about whether similar practices could be happening for passengers traveling within the US, raising fears that the government may be increasing surveillance and privacy violations at airports.posted by filthy light thief at 9:34 AM on March 13, 2018 [26 favorites]
If one of the US's highest intelligence officials is unable to travel abroad for fear of arrest for war crimes, could this possibly serve to weaken the US's geopolitical power, and strengthen that of its rivals on the world stage *cough*🇷🇺*cough*, especially if conflicts threaten the US's position and/or allies?
It does make one wonder whether or not Trump, or the succession of Trump-whisperers whose casual suggestions he claims as executive decisions, get a script sent to them from the Kremlin, with lists of appointees and decisions hand-picked to cause the most long-term damage to the US.
posted by acb at 9:36 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
It does make one wonder whether or not Trump, or the succession of Trump-whisperers whose casual suggestions he claims as executive decisions, get a script sent to them from the Kremlin, with lists of appointees and decisions hand-picked to cause the most long-term damage to the US.
posted by acb at 9:36 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
TSA has always been like this but clearly they’re feeling emboldened by border patrol’s successes.
posted by phearlez at 9:37 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by phearlez at 9:37 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
Mod note: A few deleted; busy news day, so reminder we're aiming for less riffing and joking and one-liner general comments about how these guys are fuckos and so on.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 9:38 AM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 9:38 AM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
Gina Haspel is Deputy Director of the CIA, a position which does not require Senate confirmation. She will now go through her first confirmation process, and we need to make sure she doesn't succeed.
Even if every Democrat were to toe the line on this one (and as we've already seen, asking Feinstein to come down against a military/espionage type for being too brutal is a tough row to hoe) you'd still have to find two anti-torture Republicans who actually put their vote where their mouth is. That'd be nice.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:38 AM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
Even if every Democrat were to toe the line on this one (and as we've already seen, asking Feinstein to come down against a military/espionage type for being too brutal is a tough row to hoe) you'd still have to find two anti-torture Republicans who actually put their vote where their mouth is. That'd be nice.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:38 AM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
@maggieNYT
The narrative of Trump unglued is not totally wrong but misses the reason why - he was terrified of the job the first six months,
Thanks for your reporting the fact at the time, you apologist hack.
posted by Gelatin at 9:39 AM on March 13, 2018 [69 favorites]
The narrative of Trump unglued is not totally wrong but misses the reason why - he was terrified of the job the first six months,
Thanks for your reporting the fact at the time, you apologist hack.
posted by Gelatin at 9:39 AM on March 13, 2018 [69 favorites]
you'd still have to find two anti-torture Republicans who actually put their vote where their mouth is. That'd be nice.
unfortunately one of the only reliably anti-torture republicans is being treated for cancer in arizona and can't vote
posted by murphy slaw at 9:39 AM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
unfortunately one of the only reliably anti-torture republicans is being treated for cancer in arizona and can't vote
posted by murphy slaw at 9:39 AM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
CNN also saying more change coming. Be on the lookout for a tweet McMaster and Kelly.
@Acosta
Hearing more staff shakeups at WH this week not out of the question. “Winds of change,” a source close to WH says.
posted by chris24 at 9:42 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
@Acosta
Hearing more staff shakeups at WH this week not out of the question. “Winds of change,” a source close to WH says.
posted by chris24 at 9:42 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
McCain is by no means a reliable anti-torture vote. He voted against holding CIA to the no torture text in the army field manual. He’s McCain on all issues, at best a little better than his cohorts on this issue. But no way is he reliable.
posted by phearlez at 9:43 AM on March 13, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by phearlez at 9:43 AM on March 13, 2018 [17 favorites]
@nahaltoosi (Politico foreign affairs correspondent)
1/A few random thoughts alongside this story: ‘Strong sense of relief’: State Department staffers react to Tillerson’s ouster
2/State Department officials see things from two perspectives: Policy and Personnel. On the personnel side, they're relieved to see Tillerson go. On the policy side, they're holding their breath when it comes to Pompeo.
3/Pompeo wasn't able to take a whole bunch of his own people to the CIA but he'll have a chance to appoint a huge number of politicals at State. Who he picks will send a major signal about his policy views.
4/One key Q: What happens to the nominees Tillerson has sent to the Senate so far? Will Pompeo keep them? For example: Susan Thornton, the career staffer that Steve Bannon hated but whom Tillerson has tapped to be the assist. sec. for East Asia.
5/What happens to Tillerson's redesign of the State Department? Will Pompeo keep pressing forward with that? Will he also try to cut the budget & staff by the 30 percent Trump wants? Tillerson wasn't spending money that Congress allocated State. Will Pompeo keep that up?
6/It's one thing to be a CIA director or a Kansas rep & complain about the Iran nuclear deal. But as SecState, Pompeo will actually have to put his name on docs about how Iran is adhering to the deal. If experts tell him Iran is upholding its end, will Pompeo just ignore them?
7/Pompeo has been pretty amazing in managing to be tough on Russia (with caveats) but not pissing off Trump. But again, much of that was in private b/c much of the CIA director's work is in private. As the top US diplomat, he'll have to do things in public. How will he do this?
8/One source put it to me this way: The change is "probably good for the rebuilding of the institution, its people, and morale, but disastrous for foreign policy. Seems like you can’t score on both!"
posted by chris24 at 9:46 AM on March 13, 2018 [20 favorites]
1/A few random thoughts alongside this story: ‘Strong sense of relief’: State Department staffers react to Tillerson’s ouster
2/State Department officials see things from two perspectives: Policy and Personnel. On the personnel side, they're relieved to see Tillerson go. On the policy side, they're holding their breath when it comes to Pompeo.
3/Pompeo wasn't able to take a whole bunch of his own people to the CIA but he'll have a chance to appoint a huge number of politicals at State. Who he picks will send a major signal about his policy views.
4/One key Q: What happens to the nominees Tillerson has sent to the Senate so far? Will Pompeo keep them? For example: Susan Thornton, the career staffer that Steve Bannon hated but whom Tillerson has tapped to be the assist. sec. for East Asia.
5/What happens to Tillerson's redesign of the State Department? Will Pompeo keep pressing forward with that? Will he also try to cut the budget & staff by the 30 percent Trump wants? Tillerson wasn't spending money that Congress allocated State. Will Pompeo keep that up?
6/It's one thing to be a CIA director or a Kansas rep & complain about the Iran nuclear deal. But as SecState, Pompeo will actually have to put his name on docs about how Iran is adhering to the deal. If experts tell him Iran is upholding its end, will Pompeo just ignore them?
7/Pompeo has been pretty amazing in managing to be tough on Russia (with caveats) but not pissing off Trump. But again, much of that was in private b/c much of the CIA director's work is in private. As the top US diplomat, he'll have to do things in public. How will he do this?
8/One source put it to me this way: The change is "probably good for the rebuilding of the institution, its people, and morale, but disastrous for foreign policy. Seems like you can’t score on both!"
posted by chris24 at 9:46 AM on March 13, 2018 [20 favorites]
The theory is, if the news is sufficiently astounding, Pennsylvania Democrats will forget to vote
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:47 AM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:47 AM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
NEWS: Johnny McEntee was fired because he is currently under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security for serious financial crimes, a source familiar with his firing tells CNN.
This source says the charges are not Trump related.
What type of serious financial crimes would be investigated by the Department of Homeland Security? I'm guessing this isn't just regular bank fraud or insider trading.
posted by rocket88 at 9:50 AM on March 13, 2018 [18 favorites]
This source says the charges are not Trump related.
What type of serious financial crimes would be investigated by the Department of Homeland Security? I'm guessing this isn't just regular bank fraud or insider trading.
posted by rocket88 at 9:50 AM on March 13, 2018 [18 favorites]
Everything is fucked. If I was a betting man, here's what I'd put my money on:
(1) POTUS clearly feels more comfortable with the job and is riding a high from the House Intelligence preliminary vindication of his campaign. I think they're going to be more high profile firings. Rex is gone and I won't be surprised if Kelly is next to go.
(2) Russia is clearly emboldened by its recent successes. They seem to be killing off a number of former Soviet and Russian intelligence officers and dissidents living in London. The recent attempt using a nerve agent which impacted a number of British civilians is probably the most brazen attempt that is publicly known. Their bet is probably that the Western powers are afraid of escalation. Britain has given them a midnight deadline to explain themselves. My prediction is that May will seek to push for sanctions but we all know Putin doesn't give a shit about sanctions.
(3) Gina Haspel will most likely get senate confirmation. Patron Saint Obama chose not to confront and punish the people who oversaw the use of torture and now some of those people are now in high ranking positions. Gina was one of those people. Another failure of Obama and one of several reasons why I was not a fan.
posted by RedShrek at 9:52 AM on March 13, 2018 [16 favorites]
(1) POTUS clearly feels more comfortable with the job and is riding a high from the House Intelligence preliminary vindication of his campaign. I think they're going to be more high profile firings. Rex is gone and I won't be surprised if Kelly is next to go.
(2) Russia is clearly emboldened by its recent successes. They seem to be killing off a number of former Soviet and Russian intelligence officers and dissidents living in London. The recent attempt using a nerve agent which impacted a number of British civilians is probably the most brazen attempt that is publicly known. Their bet is probably that the Western powers are afraid of escalation. Britain has given them a midnight deadline to explain themselves. My prediction is that May will seek to push for sanctions but we all know Putin doesn't give a shit about sanctions.
(3) Gina Haspel will most likely get senate confirmation. Patron Saint Obama chose not to confront and punish the people who oversaw the use of torture and now some of those people are now in high ranking positions. Gina was one of those people. Another failure of Obama and one of several reasons why I was not a fan.
posted by RedShrek at 9:52 AM on March 13, 2018 [16 favorites]
The theory is, if the news is sufficiently astounding, Pennsylvania Democrats will forget to vote
Counterpoint: All the data I've seen suggests the Democrats have a huge voter enthusiasm advantage.
Republicans and their "yet another profile of Trump's America" media enablers just don't understand. Democrats are united in their disgust with this feeble man and his incompetent, traitorous lackeys, and can't wait to cast votes against him, and aren't at all inclined to be in the forgiving mood Obama was forced by circumstances to display.
And Democratic lawmakers fail to note and follow this pattern at their own peril.
posted by Gelatin at 9:52 AM on March 13, 2018 [16 favorites]
Counterpoint: All the data I've seen suggests the Democrats have a huge voter enthusiasm advantage.
Republicans and their "yet another profile of Trump's America" media enablers just don't understand. Democrats are united in their disgust with this feeble man and his incompetent, traitorous lackeys, and can't wait to cast votes against him, and aren't at all inclined to be in the forgiving mood Obama was forced by circumstances to display.
And Democratic lawmakers fail to note and follow this pattern at their own peril.
posted by Gelatin at 9:52 AM on March 13, 2018 [16 favorites]
What type of serious financial crimes would be investigated by the Department of Homeland Security? I'm guessing this isn't just regular bank fraud or insider trading.
The Department of Homeland Security is the parent agency of the Secret Service, which deals with many financial crimes. It's fun to think of McEntee getting escorted out by the very agency that's investigating him.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:53 AM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
The Department of Homeland Security is the parent agency of the Secret Service, which deals with many financial crimes. It's fun to think of McEntee getting escorted out by the very agency that's investigating him.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:53 AM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
@burgessev (Politico)
McCain: “The torture of detainees in U.S. custody during the last decade was one of the darkest chapters in American history. Ms. Haspel needs to explain the nature and extent of her involvement in the CIA’s interrogation program during the confirmation process.”
posted by chris24 at 9:56 AM on March 13, 2018 [61 favorites]
McCain: “The torture of detainees in U.S. custody during the last decade was one of the darkest chapters in American history. Ms. Haspel needs to explain the nature and extent of her involvement in the CIA’s interrogation program during the confirmation process.”
posted by chris24 at 9:56 AM on March 13, 2018 [61 favorites]
I'll be calling my Republican senators again to ask if they're willing to listen to their colleague, a man who was tortured, regarding whether we should empower torturers
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:57 AM on March 13, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:57 AM on March 13, 2018 [20 favorites]
Donald Trump: Job Approval is an interactive dashboard from Civiqs. His ratings have been basically flat, for every demographic, throughout his term.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:58 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:58 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
The Lewiston Sun-Journal reports that Democrats in one Maine state-rep district are now scrambling to find somebody to run against a Republican candidate who used social media to attack two of the Parkland kids.
posted by adamg at 9:59 AM on March 13, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by adamg at 9:59 AM on March 13, 2018 [17 favorites]
(1) POTUS clearly feels more comfortable with the job and is riding a high from the House Intelligence preliminary vindication of his campaign. I think they're going to be more high profile firings. Rex is gone and I won't be surprised if Kelly is next to go.
I would bet he's actually less likely to fire Mueller, though, because he's dim enough to believe this was a real exoneration. Surely Mueller will come to the same conclusion!
posted by leotrotsky at 10:01 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
I would bet he's actually less likely to fire Mueller, though, because he's dim enough to believe this was a real exoneration. Surely Mueller will come to the same conclusion!
posted by leotrotsky at 10:01 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
What type of serious financial crimes would be investigated by the Department of Homeland Security?
International money laundering, cash smuggling, human trafficking, counterfeiting, visa/document fraud. But they are empowered to investigate any federal crime, I believe.
posted by melissasaurus at 10:02 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
International money laundering, cash smuggling, human trafficking, counterfeiting, visa/document fraud. But they are empowered to investigate any federal crime, I believe.
posted by melissasaurus at 10:02 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
In addition to the distressing antisemitism [1], Putin's comment about the "true" origins of the Russian hackers has some other disturbing aspects.
I worry that Putin's open embrace of ethnic nationalism will embolden American conservatives and Republicans to be more open in their own vision of America as a white Christian ethnostate. They're already following Putin's lead on a great many things, and if he can shift the Overton Window so that in the USA openly advocating for a definition of "American" that is limited to white people, well, it would follow pattern.
But there's a different side to it.
Putin also seems to be tacitly claiming rulership over all ethnic Russians worldwide, claiming that the borders of Russia are not merely the lines on the map, but that wherever any ethnic Russian goes there too goes a tiny bit of sovereign Russian territory.
It's the rationale he expressed for seizing Crimea: a majority of the people there were ethnic Russians therefore the territory was his.
It also seems to be what he's expressing with his murder of British citizens of ethnic Russian descent. They are, first and foremost, Russian in the ethnic sense and therefore Putin claims the power of life and death over them, claims to be their true ruler and the ultimate authority they are answerable to.
Just as he repudiates the Russianness of Jews and Tatars who merely have Russian citizenship, so too does he dispute the Britishness of ethnic Russians who merely have British citizenship. He's elevating ethnicity over all, declaring that mere citizenship is irrelevant to true nationality.
leotrotsky A nice thought, but I doubt it. Trump is dim, yes, but he's also fantastically (and probably justifiably) paranoid about investigations into his many decades of crime and graft. I think he's more likely to fire Mueller as a result, not less. He probably thinks he can wave around the Republican finding as cover. "See, there's no need for Mueller since the House Intelligence Committee found no collusion. Only Crooked Hillary colluded, not Trump! We don't need to waste money on Mueller now that Trump has been found innocent, he's fired!"
[1] Though, given Russia's long history of antisemitism it's hardly surprising. Distressing, yes. Surprising, no.
posted by sotonohito at 10:12 AM on March 13, 2018 [43 favorites]
“Maybe they are not even Russians,” Mr. Putin mused, “but Ukrainians, Tatars or Jews, but with Russian citizenshipClearly Putin is advancing an ethnic nationalist theory of Russian. He does not consider anyone with Russian citizenship to be Russian, just those who are ethnic Russians. This is fairly bog standard ethnic nationalism of the sort that results in ethnic cleansing, genocide, and pogroms.
I worry that Putin's open embrace of ethnic nationalism will embolden American conservatives and Republicans to be more open in their own vision of America as a white Christian ethnostate. They're already following Putin's lead on a great many things, and if he can shift the Overton Window so that in the USA openly advocating for a definition of "American" that is limited to white people, well, it would follow pattern.
But there's a different side to it.
Putin also seems to be tacitly claiming rulership over all ethnic Russians worldwide, claiming that the borders of Russia are not merely the lines on the map, but that wherever any ethnic Russian goes there too goes a tiny bit of sovereign Russian territory.
It's the rationale he expressed for seizing Crimea: a majority of the people there were ethnic Russians therefore the territory was his.
It also seems to be what he's expressing with his murder of British citizens of ethnic Russian descent. They are, first and foremost, Russian in the ethnic sense and therefore Putin claims the power of life and death over them, claims to be their true ruler and the ultimate authority they are answerable to.
Just as he repudiates the Russianness of Jews and Tatars who merely have Russian citizenship, so too does he dispute the Britishness of ethnic Russians who merely have British citizenship. He's elevating ethnicity over all, declaring that mere citizenship is irrelevant to true nationality.
leotrotsky A nice thought, but I doubt it. Trump is dim, yes, but he's also fantastically (and probably justifiably) paranoid about investigations into his many decades of crime and graft. I think he's more likely to fire Mueller as a result, not less. He probably thinks he can wave around the Republican finding as cover. "See, there's no need for Mueller since the House Intelligence Committee found no collusion. Only Crooked Hillary colluded, not Trump! We don't need to waste money on Mueller now that Trump has been found innocent, he's fired!"
[1] Though, given Russia's long history of antisemitism it's hardly surprising. Distressing, yes. Surprising, no.
posted by sotonohito at 10:12 AM on March 13, 2018 [43 favorites]
What we really could use is something that could guarantee the behavior of both Russia and the United States, because then it might be possible to broker a deal. In the middle of all the authoritarianism, Russia has actual problems and the US is actually always trying to increase its sphere of control - that's not made up. If some kind of serious deal about borders, oil and influence could be made between the two countries and then stuck to, it might be possible to stop all this.
You are deeply mistaken if you are under the impression that Putin wants to solve Russia's problems. He's a grubby-handed kleptocrat, not a statesman. If he wanted to make Russia better he'd diversify the economy, strengthen civil society and democratic institutions, improve independent oversight of government, protect the free press, broaden the middle class, etc... I am no fan of KSA, but Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is a better example of a oligarch trying to improve his country.
Putin wants stability in Russia not to make it better, but so he isn't drawn and quartered by an angry mob.
posted by leotrotsky at 10:13 AM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
You are deeply mistaken if you are under the impression that Putin wants to solve Russia's problems. He's a grubby-handed kleptocrat, not a statesman. If he wanted to make Russia better he'd diversify the economy, strengthen civil society and democratic institutions, improve independent oversight of government, protect the free press, broaden the middle class, etc... I am no fan of KSA, but Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is a better example of a oligarch trying to improve his country.
Putin wants stability in Russia not to make it better, but so he isn't drawn and quartered by an angry mob.
posted by leotrotsky at 10:13 AM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
" Two senior department officials said Tillerson received a call from John Kelly, Trump’s chief of staff, on Friday, but was only told that there might be a presidential tweet that would concern him. Kelly didn’t tell Tillerson what the tweet might say or when it might actually publish"
Might be a tweet that concerns him! $Deity on a rubber Crutch! These people have the professionalism of a junior high school clique.
delfin: "@MichaelAvenatti: The President and Mr. Cohen have purposely ignored our settlement offer, thus doubling down on their efforts to muzzle Ms. Clifford and prevent her from telling the American people what happened. Time to buckle up"
Isn't the only power the paying party to an NDA have the forfeiture of the agreed to funds? Or are their generally additional penalties laid out in the agreement?
posted by Mitheral at 10:15 AM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
Might be a tweet that concerns him! $Deity on a rubber Crutch! These people have the professionalism of a junior high school clique.
delfin: "@MichaelAvenatti: The President and Mr. Cohen have purposely ignored our settlement offer, thus doubling down on their efforts to muzzle Ms. Clifford and prevent her from telling the American people what happened. Time to buckle up"
Isn't the only power the paying party to an NDA have the forfeiture of the agreed to funds? Or are their generally additional penalties laid out in the agreement?
posted by Mitheral at 10:15 AM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
The Onion: Only Adult Left In Trump Administration Named ‘Mad Dog’
posted by entropicamericana at 10:16 AM on March 13, 2018 [37 favorites]
posted by entropicamericana at 10:16 AM on March 13, 2018 [37 favorites]
If anyone wants local PA18 live-bloggin', I can recommend WESA, the local NPR affiliate. (Please note that the snow predicted in our forecast here--as noted by the liveblog--is not along the lines of the current Nor'easter hitting the east coast. It's a little snow, not a massive storm.)
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:18 AM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:18 AM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
administration graveyard updated
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:21 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:21 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
I woke up and saw the headlines re: Pompeo and immediately felt my stomach lurch at the thought of Tom Cotton taking over at CIA, as had been previously discussed.
Then I saw that no, they found someone who is worse. Cotton is a wretched scumbag who loves to talk a cruel game. Instead, they found someone who actively oversaw torture programs.
There. Is. No. Rock. Bottom.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:25 AM on March 13, 2018 [33 favorites]
Then I saw that no, they found someone who is worse. Cotton is a wretched scumbag who loves to talk a cruel game. Instead, they found someone who actively oversaw torture programs.
There. Is. No. Rock. Bottom.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:25 AM on March 13, 2018 [33 favorites]
If he wanted to make Russia better he'd diversify the economy, strengthen civil society and independent institutions, improve democrat oversight, protect the free press, broaden the middle class, etc...
Putin was a spy, and he governs like a spy. Spies have no interest in making people safer, happier, stronger, or wiser. They seek only to enlarge their weaknesses, because weak people are easier to control.
posted by Iridic at 10:27 AM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
Putin was a spy, and he governs like a spy. Spies have no interest in making people safer, happier, stronger, or wiser. They seek only to enlarge their weaknesses, because weak people are easier to control.
posted by Iridic at 10:27 AM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
Isn't the only power the paying party to an NDA have the forfeiture of the agreed to funds? Or are their generally additional penalties laid out in the agreement?
The penalties for violating an agreement can be in the millions of dollars -- decided by an arbitrator, not in open court.
posted by JackFlash at 10:28 AM on March 13, 2018
The penalties for violating an agreement can be in the millions of dollars -- decided by an arbitrator, not in open court.
posted by JackFlash at 10:28 AM on March 13, 2018
AP News: Trump fires Tillerson at State, replacing with CIA’s Pompeo
AP updated this story with a slightly different account:
It really does feel like Trump was trying to strand him in Ethiopia too.
posted by zachlipton at 10:28 AM on March 13, 2018 [25 favorites]
AP updated this story with a slightly different account:
In an illustration of the gulf that has long separated Tillerson and Trump, aides to both couldn’t even on agree on the circumstances of his firing.If the White House version is true (and there's no real reason to think it is, given Goldstein's dismissal), it means that Tillererson's statements condemning Russia came while he knew he was about to be fired, which puts an interesting spin on things.
Undersecretary of State Steve Goldstein and other State Department officials said that Tillerson hadn’t learned he was dismissed until he saw Trump’s early-morning tweet, and hadn’t discussed it directly with the president. Goldstein said the former Exxon Mobil CEO was “unaware of the reason” he was fired and “had had every intention of staying,” feeling he was making progress on national security.
Hours later, Goldstein was fired, too.
Multiple White House officials said that Tillerson had been informed of the decision Friday, while he was in Ethiopia. One official said chief of staff John Kelly had called Tillerson on Friday and again on Saturday to warn him that Trump was about to take imminent action if he did not step aside, and that a replacement had already been identified. When Tillerson didn’t act, Trump fired him, that official said.
It really does feel like Trump was trying to strand him in Ethiopia too.
posted by zachlipton at 10:28 AM on March 13, 2018 [25 favorites]
The Stormy NDA has penalties of $1 meeeeellion dollars per incident. So for each pic, text, pee tape, etc.
posted by chris24 at 10:30 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 10:30 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Britain has given them a midnight deadline to explain themselves. My prediction is that May will seek to push for sanctions but we all know Putin doesn't give a shit about sanctions.
If Putin didn't give a shit about sanctions, I don't believe many of us here would've ever heard of the Magnitsky Act. Putin's gonna Putin regardless, but evidence suggests he cares very much about sanctions.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:32 AM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
If Putin didn't give a shit about sanctions, I don't believe many of us here would've ever heard of the Magnitsky Act. Putin's gonna Putin regardless, but evidence suggests he cares very much about sanctions.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:32 AM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
Is there a reason that Trump doesn’t announce his travel schedule in advance?
I work near the Wilshire Grand in DTLA and it took me an extra 60 minutes on packed downtown streets this AM to navigate the unexpected street closures. At least with Obama/Biden, we were given notice.
posted by samthemander at 10:32 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
I work near the Wilshire Grand in DTLA and it took me an extra 60 minutes on packed downtown streets this AM to navigate the unexpected street closures. At least with Obama/Biden, we were given notice.
posted by samthemander at 10:32 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
In fairness, if I got word on Friday that "Trump is going to fire you a few days from now," I would pay it no mind because between now and then, three other people would be the Last Person to Whisper in Trump's Ear and I might end up promoted, awarded the Bronze Star or reassigned to an ambassadorship to Taiwan.
The Stormy NDA has penalties of $1 meeeeellion dollars per incident. So for each pic, text, pee tape, etc.
Then either there are "$1M _plus_ confiscation of any money you make on anything related to it" clauses or we're going to see everything, because I can hear media outlets whipping out their checkbooks right now.
posted by delfin at 10:34 AM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
The Stormy NDA has penalties of $1 meeeeellion dollars per incident. So for each pic, text, pee tape, etc.
Then either there are "$1M _plus_ confiscation of any money you make on anything related to it" clauses or we're going to see everything, because I can hear media outlets whipping out their checkbooks right now.
posted by delfin at 10:34 AM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
@ZekeJMiller: !! 2:00 p.m. – Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will make an On-Camera Statement in the Press Briefing Room
This made no sense to me at all, but then I remembered most reality shows have contestants babble incoherently into a camera after they're eliminated. WSJ has an anecdote to share:
This made no sense to me at all, but then I remembered most reality shows have contestants babble incoherently into a camera after they're eliminated. WSJ has an anecdote to share:
In a private room in China’s Great Hall of the People in November, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sat with President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials as their hosts delivered plates of wilted Caesar salad.posted by zachlipton at 10:37 AM on March 13, 2018 [28 favorites]
Mr. Trump, in the midst of a five-country tour of Asia, grew concerned the untouched greens would offend the Chinese, according to people familiar with the matter. So he ordered Mr. Tillerson to start. “Rex,” he said, “eat the salad.”
Mr. Tillerson laughed off the remark, but the moment illustrated the at-times awkward relationship between the secretary of state and his boss that came to an abrupt end Tuesday when Mr. Trump announced in a tweet that he had replaced him.
If Putin didn't give a shit about sanctions, I don't believe many of us here would've ever heard of the Magnitsky Act.
Two different things, international sanctions against the Russian economy or individual sectors are fairly easy for Putin to spin as machinations of the West and he doesn't care about. The Magnitsky Act locks individual Russian billionaires out of the US banking system, which they hate. The UK equivalent of the Magnitsky Act would be seizing Russian property and accounts in the City, and locking Putin and his backers personally out of UK finance. Which seems unlikely, even now.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:38 AM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
Two different things, international sanctions against the Russian economy or individual sectors are fairly easy for Putin to spin as machinations of the West and he doesn't care about. The Magnitsky Act locks individual Russian billionaires out of the US banking system, which they hate. The UK equivalent of the Magnitsky Act would be seizing Russian property and accounts in the City, and locking Putin and his backers personally out of UK finance. Which seems unlikely, even now.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:38 AM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
strand him in Ethiopia
How does that work for an adult with a bank balance and lots of staff? There's slightly more than one aircraft flying out of Addis. Maybe even more out of the rest Africa, who knows.
posted by glasseyes at 10:41 AM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
How does that work for an adult with a bank balance and lots of staff? There's slightly more than one aircraft flying out of Addis. Maybe even more out of the rest Africa, who knows.
posted by glasseyes at 10:41 AM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
In a private room in China’s Great Hall of the People in November, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sat with President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials as their hosts delivered plates of wilted Caesar salad.
best part is that the chinese were serving wilted caesar salad because trump's palate is so aggressively unadventurous that he'd flip his shit if he got served actual chinese food
posted by murphy slaw at 10:42 AM on March 13, 2018 [28 favorites]
best part is that the chinese were serving wilted caesar salad because trump's palate is so aggressively unadventurous that he'd flip his shit if he got served actual chinese food
posted by murphy slaw at 10:42 AM on March 13, 2018 [28 favorites]
How does that work for an adult with a bank balance and lots of staff?
It's not that he won't be home for tea, it's that he'll be inconvenienced and humiliated.
I'll say this for 45, he's making a useful selection of highly motivated, rich and powerful enemies with deep personal grudges to work out.
Every little helps!
posted by Devonian at 10:46 AM on March 13, 2018 [30 favorites]
It's not that he won't be home for tea, it's that he'll be inconvenienced and humiliated.
I'll say this for 45, he's making a useful selection of highly motivated, rich and powerful enemies with deep personal grudges to work out.
Every little helps!
posted by Devonian at 10:46 AM on March 13, 2018 [30 favorites]
Putin was a spy, and he governs like a spy. Spies have no interest in making people safer, happier, stronger, or wiser. They seek only to enlarge their weaknesses, because weak people are easier to control.
The Russian author turned historian Boris Akunin has argued recently that Russia's tradition of governance, far from being the officially stated “Eurasian” hybrid, is directly descended from Genghis Khan's Mongolian empire, in that power is centralised and the supreme sovereign (the czar) is sacralised. In this case, everything depends on the State and the State is the will of the Czar, not any sort of abstract rule of law. In this case, Putin is the latest in a line that goes through Stalin, Lenin, Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great to Genghis Khan himself, and keeping the subjects abjectly beholden to arbitrary power in its sublime terror is just the way things have always worked.
posted by acb at 10:46 AM on March 13, 2018 [18 favorites]
The Russian author turned historian Boris Akunin has argued recently that Russia's tradition of governance, far from being the officially stated “Eurasian” hybrid, is directly descended from Genghis Khan's Mongolian empire, in that power is centralised and the supreme sovereign (the czar) is sacralised. In this case, everything depends on the State and the State is the will of the Czar, not any sort of abstract rule of law. In this case, Putin is the latest in a line that goes through Stalin, Lenin, Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great to Genghis Khan himself, and keeping the subjects abjectly beholden to arbitrary power in its sublime terror is just the way things have always worked.
posted by acb at 10:46 AM on March 13, 2018 [18 favorites]
I know today is kinda full up, but...
Manafort could face ‘rest of life in prison,’ judge says
Manafort could face ‘rest of life in prison,’ judge says
Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman, runs a significant risk of spending the rest of his life in prison and the evidence against him by special counsel Robert Mueller’s office seems strong, a federal judge declared in an order made public on Tuesday.posted by chris24 at 10:48 AM on March 13, 2018 [63 favorites]
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, who is based in Alexandria, Virginia, and is assigned to a newly filed indictment against Manafort dealing with bank fraud and tax evasion, said the veteran lobbyist and political consultant posed “a substantial risk of flight” because of his assets and the gravity of his legal predicament.
“The defendant is a person of great wealth who has the financial means and international connections to flee and remain at large, as well as every incentive to do so,” Ellis wrote in an order setting the terms of what the judge called “home incarceration” for Manafort, 68, who lives in Alexandria but also has homes in Florida and on Long Island.
“Given the nature of the charges against the defendant and the apparent weight of the evidence against him, defendant faces the very real possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison,” wrote Ellis, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan.
The order, dated Friday, puts Manafort in a “24-hour-a-day lockdown” at his Alexandria condo, except for medical appointments or emergencies, court appearances and meeting with his defense attorneys. Ellis did not require Manafort to post any assets, but did order that he pay $10 million if he fails to appear in court.
@kaitlancollins (CNN)
Republicans have backed away from their signature tax cut bill in the final days of a closely-watched special House election in the Pittsburgh suburbs — even though it's the very accomplishment on which they had banked their midterm election hopes.
Politico: Republicans abandon tax cut message in Pa. special election
@danpfeiffer (Pod Save America)
Retweeted Kaitlan Collins
No matter happens tonight this is the most significant political development to come out of PA-18. If you can’t sell the tax scam with $8 million in one race, it can’t be sold with less in all the races the Fall
posted by chris24 at 10:53 AM on March 13, 2018 [60 favorites]
Republicans have backed away from their signature tax cut bill in the final days of a closely-watched special House election in the Pittsburgh suburbs — even though it's the very accomplishment on which they had banked their midterm election hopes.
Politico: Republicans abandon tax cut message in Pa. special election
@danpfeiffer (Pod Save America)
Retweeted Kaitlan Collins
No matter happens tonight this is the most significant political development to come out of PA-18. If you can’t sell the tax scam with $8 million in one race, it can’t be sold with less in all the races the Fall
posted by chris24 at 10:53 AM on March 13, 2018 [60 favorites]
Here's a streaming link for the State Department briefing room. I'll just be munching on some popcorn over here, softly weeping for what we've become.
posted by zachlipton at 10:53 AM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 10:53 AM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
on the briefing room stream, i just heard someone exhausted-goofy-laugh and go 'auuugh god i can't do this briefing'
in this you speak for all of us, unnamed journo, and yet do this briefing we must
posted by halation at 10:58 AM on March 13, 2018 [56 favorites]
in this you speak for all of us, unnamed journo, and yet do this briefing we must
posted by halation at 10:58 AM on March 13, 2018 [56 favorites]
on the briefing room stream, i just heard someone exhausted-goofy-laugh and go 'auuugh god i can't do this briefing'
in this you speak for all of us, unnamed journo, and yet do this briefing we must
But what if we didn't? Yes, this is one of the ways we hold those in power accountable. But they're treating it like a reality show, and reality shows tank if no one watches. More often of late, I've taken to singing along with Paul Anka and Lisa Simpsons - just don't look. It's got Paul Anka's guarantee! (Void in Tennessee)
posted by filthy light thief at 11:05 AM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
in this you speak for all of us, unnamed journo, and yet do this briefing we must
But what if we didn't? Yes, this is one of the ways we hold those in power accountable. But they're treating it like a reality show, and reality shows tank if no one watches. More often of late, I've taken to singing along with Paul Anka and Lisa Simpsons - just don't look. It's got Paul Anka's guarantee! (Void in Tennessee)
posted by filthy light thief at 11:05 AM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
You are deeply mistaken if you are under the impression that Putin wants to solve Russia's problems. He's a grubby-handed kleptocrat, not a statesman. If he wanted to make Russia better he'd diversify the economy, strengthen civil society and democratic institutions, improve independent oversight of government, protect the free press, broaden the middle class, etc...
You and I certainly agree on that definition of 'better,' but it's not as if men like Putin think "I know that a free press and educated middle class are better than the alternative and I am deliberately choosing the bad and evil thing instead."
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:05 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
You and I certainly agree on that definition of 'better,' but it's not as if men like Putin think "I know that a free press and educated middle class are better than the alternative and I am deliberately choosing the bad and evil thing instead."
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:05 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Here's a streaming link for the State Department briefing room. I'll just be munching on some popcorn over here, softly weeping for what we've become.
posted by zachlipton at 10:53 AM on March 13 [3 favorites +] [!]
I'm confused. How can Tillerson use the DoS briefing room if his ass is canned?
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:06 AM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by zachlipton at 10:53 AM on March 13 [3 favorites +] [!]
I'm confused. How can Tillerson use the DoS briefing room if his ass is canned?
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:06 AM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
Holy cow, what a ridiculous mess. Let me get this straight:
1. The Secretary of State is fired without any explanation or advance notice.
2. The White House lies about the circumstances of the firing to make it sound like the SoS was given ample explanation and notice.
3. When the Undersecretary of State notes that the firing was, indeed, without explanation or notice, the Undersecretary is also fired.
4. The person proposed to take the SoS role was hip-deep in torture war crimes.
5. This all happens on the same day that the President’s personal assistant is fired from his job because he can’t qualify for a security clearance.
6. Meanwhile, in the very same week...
And the corrupt dumbass has only been in office one year...
posted by darkstar at 11:07 AM on March 13, 2018 [121 favorites]
1. The Secretary of State is fired without any explanation or advance notice.
2. The White House lies about the circumstances of the firing to make it sound like the SoS was given ample explanation and notice.
3. When the Undersecretary of State notes that the firing was, indeed, without explanation or notice, the Undersecretary is also fired.
4. The person proposed to take the SoS role was hip-deep in torture war crimes.
5. This all happens on the same day that the President’s personal assistant is fired from his job because he can’t qualify for a security clearance.
6. Meanwhile, in the very same week...
A. A US Special Prosecutor is investigating the President for possibly treasonous behavior in collusion with a foreign power to undermine US elections,
B. A woman is suing to break a “hush agreement” so she can talk about her affair with the President shortly after he had married his current wife,
C. The President’s champion of his bogus voter commission tasked with building a fraudulent case that illegals were voting, in order to support why more voter disenfranchisement is needed, is instead cratering in court, and
D. A number of the President’s former administration and campaign officials are already under indictment or have plead guilty for various crimes.
And the corrupt dumbass has only been in office one year...
posted by darkstar at 11:07 AM on March 13, 2018 [121 favorites]
See this earlier comment. "Tillerson's precise exit timetable hasn't been finalized [meaning he's still SecState], but Dep Sec Sullivan will be acting secretary once Tillerson actually leaves."
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:08 AM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:08 AM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
How can Tillerson use the DoS briefing room if his ass is canned?
Tillerson is, incredibly, still Secretary of State until his departure date is confirmed. I'm currently in a Wikipedia edit war to this effect. I am the true victim of this administration
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:08 AM on March 13, 2018 [98 favorites]
Tillerson is, incredibly, still Secretary of State until his departure date is confirmed. I'm currently in a Wikipedia edit war to this effect. I am the true victim of this administration
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:08 AM on March 13, 2018 [98 favorites]
Tillerson just now: Im delegating all my duties effective midnight, cease being SoS as of 3/31/18.
Incidentally it sounds like they made him run several flights of stairs before reading this statement.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:13 AM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
Incidentally it sounds like they made him run several flights of stairs before reading this statement.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:13 AM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
Yeah, he's either completely winded or about to cry.
posted by mcstayinskool at 11:14 AM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by mcstayinskool at 11:14 AM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
Incidentally it sounds like they made him run several flights of stairs before reading this statement
I wanted to ask - is he always this red and huffy?
posted by 0xFCAF at 11:14 AM on March 13, 2018
I wanted to ask - is he always this red and huffy?
posted by 0xFCAF at 11:14 AM on March 13, 2018
4. The person proposed to take the SoS role was hip-deep in torture war crimes.
close. the person proposed to lead the CIA (after the head of the CIA was proposed to run State) was hip-deep in torture war crimes
posted by murphy slaw at 11:15 AM on March 13, 2018 [24 favorites]
close. the person proposed to lead the CIA (after the head of the CIA was proposed to run State) was hip-deep in torture war crimes
posted by murphy slaw at 11:15 AM on March 13, 2018 [24 favorites]
I cannot understand why he’d agree to 2 more weeks of public humiliation in the job. What is the point of staying on like that for this time given that no one will listen to him?
posted by lesbiassparrow at 11:15 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by lesbiassparrow at 11:15 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Rex giving time to the Constitution. Ruh-roh.
posted by chainlinkspiral at 11:16 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by chainlinkspiral at 11:16 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
The Secretary of State is supposed to speak, to the world, for the President. We now have two and a half weeks of the Secretary of State having been explicitly denounced by the President because he doesn't speak for him. Fortunately the world is currently a simple place with no major diplomatic issues
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:17 AM on March 13, 2018 [31 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:17 AM on March 13, 2018 [31 favorites]
Josh Dawsey [via Twitter]: Source just texted me: "Imagine running Exxon-Mobil for decades and being a titan of the world and then being fired by Donald Trump on Twitter."
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:17 AM on March 13, 2018 [79 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:17 AM on March 13, 2018 [79 favorites]
He's already had 14 months of nobody listening to him, lesbiassparrow, so another two weeks shouldn't be that big a deal.
Pompeo in as SecState plus Bolton in as NSA if he gets that nod probably means war with Iran.
posted by Justinian at 11:17 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Pompeo in as SecState plus Bolton in as NSA if he gets that nod probably means war with Iran.
posted by Justinian at 11:17 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
I never believed in Rex Tillerson as an effective SoS.
I'm terrified of Mike Pompeo as an effective SoS.
posted by mcstayinskool at 11:17 AM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
I'm terrified of Mike Pompeo as an effective SoS.
posted by mcstayinskool at 11:17 AM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
I cannot understand why he’d agree to 2 more weeks of public humiliation in the job. What is the point of staying on like that for this time given that no one will listen to him?
Well, of course he'll need time to prepare all the transition documents necessary to get the next person seamlessly up to speed on the duties of the job
lol
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:18 AM on March 13, 2018 [16 favorites]
Well, of course he'll need time to prepare all the transition documents necessary to get the next person seamlessly up to speed on the duties of the job
lol
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:18 AM on March 13, 2018 [16 favorites]
Tillerson said he got a call from Trump on Air Force One around noon, hours after he was fired on Twitter. He hasn't yet said whether he had any idea whether this was coming, and I hope somebody asks.
posted by zachlipton at 11:18 AM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by zachlipton at 11:18 AM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
No questions! Wow.
posted by mochapickle at 11:20 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 11:20 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Nice, left with no questions. Assholes, all of them.
posted by mcstayinskool at 11:20 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by mcstayinskool at 11:20 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
I cannot understand why he’d agree to 2 more weeks of public humiliation in the job. What is the point of staying on like that for this time given that no one will listen to him?
Someone finally clued them in that Pompeo needs to be confirmed first. The initial tweet-noucement made it like Pompeo was taking over effective immediately, and he can't be both the acting nominee under the Vacancies Reform Act, and the real, permanent nominee at the same time.
So, Rex eats meatloaf while they get Pompeo confirmed. Chow down, Rex.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:20 AM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
Someone finally clued them in that Pompeo needs to be confirmed first. The initial tweet-noucement made it like Pompeo was taking over effective immediately, and he can't be both the acting nominee under the Vacancies Reform Act, and the real, permanent nominee at the same time.
So, Rex eats meatloaf while they get Pompeo confirmed. Chow down, Rex.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:20 AM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
Man, Tillerson is not in a good place.
I hear his reference to the constitution as a not very subtle critique of Trump.
FWIW, I haven't ever seen him as a Russian tool. Yes, he has done business with Russia, and yes he has been dismantling the State Department. But I don't think he is a traitor. More of a businessman who thinks government is easy.
posted by mumimor at 11:20 AM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
I hear his reference to the constitution as a not very subtle critique of Trump.
FWIW, I haven't ever seen him as a Russian tool. Yes, he has done business with Russia, and yes he has been dismantling the State Department. But I don't think he is a traitor. More of a businessman who thinks government is easy.
posted by mumimor at 11:20 AM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
Manafort could face ‘rest of life in prison,’ judge says
“Given the nature of the charges against the defendant and the apparent weight of the evidence against him, defendant faces the very real possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison,” wrote Ellis, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan.
Translation: plea out, Paulie. (Manny?)
posted by cudzoo at 11:21 AM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
“Given the nature of the charges against the defendant and the apparent weight of the evidence against him, defendant faces the very real possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison,” wrote Ellis, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan.
Translation: plea out, Paulie. (Manny?)
posted by cudzoo at 11:21 AM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
May should not invoke article V, and I doubt she will, because under Trump it would likely mean the end of NATO. What she should do is use Russian investments in the City of London and in London real estate to cause tremendous pain to Russian oligarchs. The UK can do far more to peacefully sanction Russian elites than they have been doing.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:21 AM on March 13, 2018 [52 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:21 AM on March 13, 2018 [52 favorites]
because it's not at all clear that President Trump would actually commit to assisting were Article V to be invoked.
Yeah, that would break NATO.
Folks in the Baltics must be feeling especially jittery.
posted by notyou at 11:22 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
Yeah, that would break NATO.
Folks in the Baltics must be feeling especially jittery.
posted by notyou at 11:22 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
Incidentally it sounds like they made him run several flights of stairs before reading this statement.
There is a nonzero chance that whatever ID card or keyfob he uses for elevator access no longer works.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:23 AM on March 13, 2018 [37 favorites]
There is a nonzero chance that whatever ID card or keyfob he uses for elevator access no longer works.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:23 AM on March 13, 2018 [37 favorites]
Tillerson is out with no questions and no surprises in his briefing, which was mostly a few transition housekeeping notes, a 'highlights' reel of supposed administration accomplishments, and a closing that he'll go back to being a private citizen. Unless he's planning a tell-all book, this seems very much like "well, whatever, I'm still rich as fuck and don't really care where this dumpster fire goes from here."
posted by jedicus at 11:24 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by jedicus at 11:24 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
Rex 'Wayne Tracker' Tillerson is a deeply corrupt piece of shit who suppressed and denied climate change evidence for decades to continue profiting from our collective disaster. He deserves this public humiliation, he deserves to have his billions confiscated to deal with our collective escalating disaster, and he deserves to rot in prison for the rest of his life.
posted by Existential Dread at 11:24 AM on March 13, 2018 [106 favorites]
posted by Existential Dread at 11:24 AM on March 13, 2018 [106 favorites]
Yeah, that would break NATO.
Folks in the Baltics must be feeling especially jittery.
Maybe that's what this was intended to do. Which makes it a particularly bad time to change up a SoS, especially as abruptly as a surprising firing with no transition plan in place.
posted by Autumnheart at 11:24 AM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Yeah, that would break NATO.
Ah, thank you. Now I better understand why Putin did a signature hit next to Porton Down.
posted by Devonian at 11:24 AM on March 13, 2018 [15 favorites]
Ah, thank you. Now I better understand why Putin did a signature hit next to Porton Down.
posted by Devonian at 11:24 AM on March 13, 2018 [15 favorites]
The UK equivalent of the Magnitsky Act would be seizing Russian property and accounts in the City, and locking Putin and his backers personally out of UK finance. Which seems unlikely, even now.
Pravda's London office seems intent on making it more likely by increasing the public pressure on May to do something sustantative, though.
@RussianEmbassy "6/7 Any threat to take “punitive” measures against Russia will meet with a response. The British side should be aware of that."
Still not really hopeful, but don't think the Kremlin is quite as good at n-dimensional chess as they think, and could be overplaying their hand...
posted by Buntix at 11:24 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Pravda's London office seems intent on making it more likely by increasing the public pressure on May to do something sustantative, though.
@RussianEmbassy "6/7 Any threat to take “punitive” measures against Russia will meet with a response. The British side should be aware of that."
Still not really hopeful, but don't think the Kremlin is quite as good at n-dimensional chess as they think, and could be overplaying their hand...
posted by Buntix at 11:24 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
So, as Trump reforms his cabinet to be a stack of shittier and shittier turtles all the way down, all with the obsequious compliance of the GOP Congress, we are left with the only solution being changing the House and the Senate so that oversight once again becomes a real thing. This is, IMNSHO, a renewed call to work asses off for 2018.
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:26 AM on March 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:26 AM on March 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
Translation: plea out, Paulie. (Manny?)
as i read it, manafort is all in on a trump pardon at this point.
posted by murphy slaw at 11:27 AM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
as i read it, manafort is all in on a trump pardon at this point.
posted by murphy slaw at 11:27 AM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
> So, Rex eats meatloaf while they get Pompeo confirmed. Chow down, Rex.
It's pretty amazing how easy it's been for Trump to expose the tough-guy facade of many of these Republican wannabe alpha males as just that, a facade.
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:27 AM on March 13, 2018 [15 favorites]
It's pretty amazing how easy it's been for Trump to expose the tough-guy facade of many of these Republican wannabe alpha males as just that, a facade.
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:27 AM on March 13, 2018 [15 favorites]
For Manafort it's the Pardon or the Polonium. Or probably both.
posted by notyou at 11:28 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by notyou at 11:28 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
Similar to the fiscal responsibility facade, and the free trade facade, and the America Not Russia First facade
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:28 AM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:28 AM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
Incidentally it sounds like they made him run several flights of stairs before reading this statement.
There is a nonzero chance that whatever ID card or keyfob he uses for elevator access no longer works.
I mean maybe, but he started his statement saying he was still SoS until midnight, and nominally until the end of the month. They were also 15 mins late and never bother with timeliness, I don't see why hed rush.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:29 AM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
There is a nonzero chance that whatever ID card or keyfob he uses for elevator access no longer works.
I mean maybe, but he started his statement saying he was still SoS until midnight, and nominally until the end of the month. They were also 15 mins late and never bother with timeliness, I don't see why hed rush.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:29 AM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
It's not entirely clear to me that NATO can be considered a thing these days, what with the US being compromised and the UK being hamstrung. Turkey probably counts as compromised too. Putin has had some quite considerable success already.
posted by Artw at 11:30 AM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Artw at 11:30 AM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
manafort is all in on a trump pardon at this point.
I still feel a pardoned Manafort's ability to avoid going to jail for state crimes must be greatly exaggerated.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:30 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
I still feel a pardoned Manafort's ability to avoid going to jail for state crimes must be greatly exaggerated.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:30 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Political polling side line, interesting study on voting intentions - people aren’t leaving the GOP because of Trump but thier passion for politics is way down and they where driven by “cultural issues” not economics
posted by The Whelk at 11:31 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 11:31 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
If Republicans are discouraged enough to stay home from the polls, I will consider that a sufficient consolation prize for actually changing their minds about the ideology they support.
posted by Autumnheart at 11:33 AM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by Autumnheart at 11:33 AM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
as i read it, manafort is all in on a trump pardon at this point.
Yeah, for sure. I just meant that the judge seems to be saying, "You sure you wanna be doing this, man?"
posted by cudzoo at 11:35 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
Yeah, for sure. I just meant that the judge seems to be saying, "You sure you wanna be doing this, man?"
posted by cudzoo at 11:35 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
Incidentally it sounds like they made him run several flights of stairs before reading this statement.
There was talk of him being ill during the Africa trip, which may have been legitimate rather than just covering for his laziness/ineffectiveness/incompetence. Empty suits get sick sometimes like the rest of us. So it may have been actual illness on top of everything that crashed down on him this morning.
As far as him putting up with the humiliation this long? We have seen, time and time again, there is no moment where one of these goons will step up and say enough's enough. If they had the integrity to do that, they'd never have signed up in the first place. This whole shitshow should have ended where it began with Trump's speech announcing his candidacy.
Remember, multiple Senate-confirmed appointees have pulled out during the appointment process (SecArmy, SecNav, others I think) because they could not divest their businesses & investments enough to avoid a conflict of interest--in the face of a Republican-dominated Senate that clearly didn't give a damn about such things. I don't think those people were remotely saints, but even some dirty bad actors have their limits, y'know? Anyone who had enough integrity not to be part of this shitshow at any point has already taken a pass.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 11:36 AM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
There was talk of him being ill during the Africa trip, which may have been legitimate rather than just covering for his laziness/ineffectiveness/incompetence. Empty suits get sick sometimes like the rest of us. So it may have been actual illness on top of everything that crashed down on him this morning.
As far as him putting up with the humiliation this long? We have seen, time and time again, there is no moment where one of these goons will step up and say enough's enough. If they had the integrity to do that, they'd never have signed up in the first place. This whole shitshow should have ended where it began with Trump's speech announcing his candidacy.
Remember, multiple Senate-confirmed appointees have pulled out during the appointment process (SecArmy, SecNav, others I think) because they could not divest their businesses & investments enough to avoid a conflict of interest--in the face of a Republican-dominated Senate that clearly didn't give a damn about such things. I don't think those people were remotely saints, but even some dirty bad actors have their limits, y'know? Anyone who had enough integrity not to be part of this shitshow at any point has already taken a pass.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 11:36 AM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
The Russian author turned historian Boris Akunin has argued recently that Russia's tradition of governance, far from being the officially stated “Eurasian” hybrid, is directly descended from Genghis Khan's Mongolian empire, in that power is centralised and the supreme sovereign (the czar) is sacralised.
There's an important piece of historical context here: This has been a line of very racist thought over the past ... 400 years? of Eurocentric imperialism? Russia has often been described as being inherently Asian, not European, not part of civilized western society, not a first world nation - whatever the dogwhistle is at the time. One recent example is that in older WW2 histories, Russian victories have often been attributed to sheer numbers instead of strategy, tactics, or even terrain advantage*, and it's referred to as the Asiatic Hordes trope. You can see that same Asiatic Hordes trope in 1984 (the book).
Russia has historically very much wanted to be one of the civilized European powers. Their ruling class at least fully bought into the idea that Europe was civilized and Asia wasn't, and they wanted to be civilized. Particularly in the 1700's and 1800's, this drove a lot their geopolitical decisions, fashion decisions, a few of their wars, the location of their capital, the decision to call their rulers emperors instead of csars ... on and on. And the revolution changed the context but it didn't change their geopolitical or racial position.
(Turkey has a bit of this going on too, because it also connects both sides of the continent and has a similar racial position. Note how the history books call it the Byzantine Empire, not Roman Empire 2.0; note how they're not part of the EU but they want to be.)
It's not wrong to relate Russia to the history of Asia; obviously they are very much linked. Presumably that historian knows his stuff. But they are very much related to Europe as well, particularly in their government. The Mongols didn't have serfs, for example, but the Russians did, and so did Europe. (Serfs being a particular term naming peasants who belonged to the land and therefore were quite literally owned by whichever lord owned the land, and did not have freedom to leave it.) That description of centralized power and a sacralized sovereign also applies to many monarchies - like in England, where historically the land itself belonged to the king, which wasn't true for the Mongols at all.
So emphasizing Russia's Asian history to the exclusion of its European history is, not wrong, but very incomplete and very much a political choice, one way or another. It should be examined for its motives as well as its factual nature. And I think the racist context is important.
(*yes the russians had a numbers advantage but they also had more reliable tanks that were easier to repair, and other advantages, that are often overlooked)
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 11:40 AM on March 13, 2018 [42 favorites]
There's an important piece of historical context here: This has been a line of very racist thought over the past ... 400 years? of Eurocentric imperialism? Russia has often been described as being inherently Asian, not European, not part of civilized western society, not a first world nation - whatever the dogwhistle is at the time. One recent example is that in older WW2 histories, Russian victories have often been attributed to sheer numbers instead of strategy, tactics, or even terrain advantage*, and it's referred to as the Asiatic Hordes trope. You can see that same Asiatic Hordes trope in 1984 (the book).
Russia has historically very much wanted to be one of the civilized European powers. Their ruling class at least fully bought into the idea that Europe was civilized and Asia wasn't, and they wanted to be civilized. Particularly in the 1700's and 1800's, this drove a lot their geopolitical decisions, fashion decisions, a few of their wars, the location of their capital, the decision to call their rulers emperors instead of csars ... on and on. And the revolution changed the context but it didn't change their geopolitical or racial position.
(Turkey has a bit of this going on too, because it also connects both sides of the continent and has a similar racial position. Note how the history books call it the Byzantine Empire, not Roman Empire 2.0; note how they're not part of the EU but they want to be.)
It's not wrong to relate Russia to the history of Asia; obviously they are very much linked. Presumably that historian knows his stuff. But they are very much related to Europe as well, particularly in their government. The Mongols didn't have serfs, for example, but the Russians did, and so did Europe. (Serfs being a particular term naming peasants who belonged to the land and therefore were quite literally owned by whichever lord owned the land, and did not have freedom to leave it.) That description of centralized power and a sacralized sovereign also applies to many monarchies - like in England, where historically the land itself belonged to the king, which wasn't true for the Mongols at all.
So emphasizing Russia's Asian history to the exclusion of its European history is, not wrong, but very incomplete and very much a political choice, one way or another. It should be examined for its motives as well as its factual nature. And I think the racist context is important.
(*yes the russians had a numbers advantage but they also had more reliable tanks that were easier to repair, and other advantages, that are often overlooked)
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 11:40 AM on March 13, 2018 [42 favorites]
The really interesting thing about the study is that they say it might be too conservative, the swings may be even stronger as indicated in other surveys
posted by The Whelk at 11:40 AM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by The Whelk at 11:40 AM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
How likely is it that Trump would even pardon Manafort? Trump has zero problem leaving even his supposed inner circle firmly in the lurch, just because he can, to assert himself as having power over that person. If he's willing to fire Tillerson on Twitter with no backup plan, why would he exert himself to pardon Manafort, a guy he repeatedly claims to barely even know?
Even if the reason is, "Because Manafort knows stuff that could put Trump in jail", we're nowhere near putting anyone in jail or even arresting them. Congress is obviously not at all interested in this as an issue of integrity within their own body. Would there be any consequences to Trump at all for just letting the dude go to prison?
posted by Autumnheart at 11:40 AM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
Even if the reason is, "Because Manafort knows stuff that could put Trump in jail", we're nowhere near putting anyone in jail or even arresting them. Congress is obviously not at all interested in this as an issue of integrity within their own body. Would there be any consequences to Trump at all for just letting the dude go to prison?
posted by Autumnheart at 11:40 AM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
Politico, Trump demands aides pump up anti-China tariffs
Trump told Cabinet secretaries and top advisers during a meeting at the White House last week that he wanted to soon hit China with steep tariffs and investment restrictions in response to allegations of intellectual property theft, according to three people familiar with the internal discussions.posted by zachlipton at 11:44 AM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
During the meeting, which hasn’t been previously been reported, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer presented Trump with a package of tariffs that would target the equivalent of $30 billion a year in Chinese imports. In response, Trump urged Lighthizer to aim for an even bigger number – and he instructed administration officials to be ready for a formal announcement in the coming weeks, according to two people involved in the administration’s trade deliberations.
That sent senior officials at the White House, Treasury Department, State Department, Justice Department, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and other key agencies scrambling this week to finalize the proposal. While the details were still in flux, aides said the administration is considering tariffs on more than 100 Chinese products ranging from electronics and telecommunications equipment to furniture and toys.
Even if the reason is, "Because Manafort knows stuff that could put Trump in jail", we're nowhere near putting anyone in jail or even arresting them.
Manafort is less concerned about his life (sentence) than he is about his life (ending). I believe it's well established that tools of the Russian government who go rogue end up dead, even if they're in Western countries.
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:45 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Manafort is less concerned about his life (sentence) than he is about his life (ending). I believe it's well established that tools of the Russian government who go rogue end up dead, even if they're in Western countries.
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:45 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Even if the reason is, "Because Manafort knows stuff that could put Trump in jail", we're nowhere near putting anyone in jail or even arresting them.
For all we know, Mueller could already have enough evidence to put Donald Junior and Jared Kushner away for life.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:45 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
For all we know, Mueller could already have enough evidence to put Donald Junior and Jared Kushner away for life.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:45 AM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
We have seen, time and time again, there is no moment where one of these goons will step up and say enough's enough.
Yeah, there is never going to be a senior administration official giving a briefing, pausing, and saying "you know, I just can't do this anymore" and proceeding to confess on live TV. There are three kinds of people in the Trump administration: the self-interested corrupt (Flynn, Omarosa), the self-interested rich (Tillerson, Mnuchin), and the self-interested true believers (Sessions, Bannon). None of them have anything to gain by giving up the game. There is no end and no bottom because they are fundamentally in it for themselves, not for the country.
posted by jedicus at 11:46 AM on March 13, 2018 [42 favorites]
Yeah, there is never going to be a senior administration official giving a briefing, pausing, and saying "you know, I just can't do this anymore" and proceeding to confess on live TV. There are three kinds of people in the Trump administration: the self-interested corrupt (Flynn, Omarosa), the self-interested rich (Tillerson, Mnuchin), and the self-interested true believers (Sessions, Bannon). None of them have anything to gain by giving up the game. There is no end and no bottom because they are fundamentally in it for themselves, not for the country.
posted by jedicus at 11:46 AM on March 13, 2018 [42 favorites]
Johnny McEntee was fired because he is currently under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security for serious financial crimes, a source familiar with his firing tells CNN.
Makes sense to put him on the campaign staff then. Every campaign knows you don't send the candidate somewhere unless advance staff has been there first, and the campaign is in desperate need for someone to start scoping out federal prison.
posted by zachlipton at 11:47 AM on March 13, 2018 [32 favorites]
Makes sense to put him on the campaign staff then. Every campaign knows you don't send the candidate somewhere unless advance staff has been there first, and the campaign is in desperate need for someone to start scoping out federal prison.
posted by zachlipton at 11:47 AM on March 13, 2018 [32 favorites]
tariffs on more than 100 Chinese products ranging from electronics and telecommunications equipment to furniture and toys.
Well, if Toys R Us weren't about to close all its stores anyway, that might kill them all on its own.
posted by one for the books at 11:48 AM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
Well, if Toys R Us weren't about to close all its stores anyway, that might kill them all on its own.
posted by one for the books at 11:48 AM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
Incidentally it sounds like they made him run several flights of stairs before reading this statement.
...
They were also 15 mins late and never bother with timeliness, I don't see why hed rush.
Being in screaming matches will also leave you winded, and angry folks will often stomp about and exert themselves without realizing it. I can totally imagine him finishing a number of discussions at the top of his lungs before tromping over to this presser and not realizing he was tired/winded till already up at the mic.
posted by phearlez at 11:48 AM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
...
They were also 15 mins late and never bother with timeliness, I don't see why hed rush.
Being in screaming matches will also leave you winded, and angry folks will often stomp about and exert themselves without realizing it. I can totally imagine him finishing a number of discussions at the top of his lungs before tromping over to this presser and not realizing he was tired/winded till already up at the mic.
posted by phearlez at 11:48 AM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
What type of serious financial crimes would be investigated by the Department of Homeland Security?
When Sam Numberg was manically raving last week, at one point he said cryptically "at least I never stole money from the campaign or had an affair with Hope Hicks.“ The latter appears to refer to Corey Lewandowski, but the former could be McEntee.
That seems weird given that Trump just re-hired McEntee for his campaign, but I figure it's just game respecting game.
posted by msalt at 11:51 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
When Sam Numberg was manically raving last week, at one point he said cryptically "at least I never stole money from the campaign or had an affair with Hope Hicks.“ The latter appears to refer to Corey Lewandowski, but the former could be McEntee.
That seems weird given that Trump just re-hired McEntee for his campaign, but I figure it's just game respecting game.
posted by msalt at 11:51 AM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
Politico, Trump demands aides pump up anti-China tariffs
We've already seen that the non-wealthy are not particularly enamored over the Trump tax giveaway to the rich. I fear, though, that the usual suspects -- David Brooks, I'm looking at you -- will blame the premature tanking of the US economy on Trump's tariffs, not the inevitable and predictable failure of tax cuts to produce prosperity. And so bogus conservative zombie arguments will shamble on.
posted by Gelatin at 11:51 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
We've already seen that the non-wealthy are not particularly enamored over the Trump tax giveaway to the rich. I fear, though, that the usual suspects -- David Brooks, I'm looking at you -- will blame the premature tanking of the US economy on Trump's tariffs, not the inevitable and predictable failure of tax cuts to produce prosperity. And so bogus conservative zombie arguments will shamble on.
posted by Gelatin at 11:51 AM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Forget Toys R Us, what about products created by companies like Apple or Google? What about the entire retail industry?
posted by Autumnheart at 11:52 AM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Autumnheart at 11:52 AM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
@HorsleyScott: As President Trump flew to San Diego today to visit border wall prototypes, in-flight lunch was...taco bowls.
The entire White House is just a trolling operation at this point.
posted by zachlipton at 11:52 AM on March 13, 2018 [29 favorites]
The entire White House is just a trolling operation at this point.
posted by zachlipton at 11:52 AM on March 13, 2018 [29 favorites]
on the briefing room stream, i just heard someone exhausted-goofy-laugh and go 'auuugh god i can't do this briefing'
That was Rex Tillerson, obviously.
posted by msalt at 11:52 AM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
That was Rex Tillerson, obviously.
posted by msalt at 11:52 AM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
While the details were still in flux, aides said the administration is considering tariffs on more than 100 Chinese products ranging from electronics and telecommunications equipment to furniture and toys.I wonder how much the "oppressed" whites voting for Trump due to "economic anxiety" will enjoy spending $4,000 on a flat screen instead of $400.
posted by xyzzy at 11:54 AM on March 13, 2018 [17 favorites]
NBC confirming McEntee is under investigation by Secret Service for serious financial crimes
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:54 AM on March 13, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:54 AM on March 13, 2018 [27 favorites]
Forget Toys R Us, what about products created by companies like Apple or Google? What about the entire retail industry?
Republicans were obviously counting on sustaining the economy they inherited from Obama while complaining incessantly about it on the campaign trail as their last best hope for retaining power in 2018 and likely 2020. Trump's existing tariffs sure seem to be taking the wind out of the economy's sails right now, and we are far from feeling their ripple effects.
Republicans are right to panic. And just as Republicans evoked 1970s economic conditions for decades, Democrats, as I've said before, need to point to this present mess and say "Look! That's Republican economics for you. Vote for prosperity for all. Vote Democrat."
posted by Gelatin at 11:57 AM on March 13, 2018 [20 favorites]
Republicans were obviously counting on sustaining the economy they inherited from Obama while complaining incessantly about it on the campaign trail as their last best hope for retaining power in 2018 and likely 2020. Trump's existing tariffs sure seem to be taking the wind out of the economy's sails right now, and we are far from feeling their ripple effects.
Republicans are right to panic. And just as Republicans evoked 1970s economic conditions for decades, Democrats, as I've said before, need to point to this present mess and say "Look! That's Republican economics for you. Vote for prosperity for all. Vote Democrat."
posted by Gelatin at 11:57 AM on March 13, 2018 [20 favorites]
When Sam Numberg was manically raving last week, at one point he said "at least I never stole money from the campaign or had an affair with Hope Hicks.“ The latter appears to refer to Corey Lewandowski, but the former could be McEntee.
That seems weird given that Trump just re-hired McEntee for his campaign, but I figure it's just game respecting game.
Seems to me the simpler explanation is that he did whatever stealing at Trump's behest and the majority of it ended up under Trump's control, not his. Assuming that's really what's suspected, there's really no other reason you keep on someone suspected of stealing from your operation beyond you wanted them to.
posted by phearlez at 11:57 AM on March 13, 2018 [16 favorites]
That seems weird given that Trump just re-hired McEntee for his campaign, but I figure it's just game respecting game.
Seems to me the simpler explanation is that he did whatever stealing at Trump's behest and the majority of it ended up under Trump's control, not his. Assuming that's really what's suspected, there's really no other reason you keep on someone suspected of stealing from your operation beyond you wanted them to.
posted by phearlez at 11:57 AM on March 13, 2018 [16 favorites]
don't think the Kremlin is quite as good at n-dimensional chess as they think, and could be overplaying their hand..
Not with this shower in power. Is there a decisive action May has taken in office that has been:
1. effective, let alone courageous?
2. taken in the interests of the nation as a whole rather than of consolidating her own position or her party's hold on government?
3. not indicative of mean spirited inefficient backwards-looking divisiveness?
posted by glasseyes at 11:58 AM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
Not with this shower in power. Is there a decisive action May has taken in office that has been:
1. effective, let alone courageous?
2. taken in the interests of the nation as a whole rather than of consolidating her own position or her party's hold on government?
3. not indicative of mean spirited inefficient backwards-looking divisiveness?
posted by glasseyes at 11:58 AM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
Seems to me the simpler explanation is that he did whatever stealing at Trump's behest and the majority of it ended up under Trump's control, not his.
Were there significant limitations on how Trump was allowed to spend his campaign money on himself and his family? Because he seems to have done a lot of that regardless.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:00 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Were there significant limitations on how Trump was allowed to spend his campaign money on himself and his family? Because he seems to have done a lot of that regardless.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:00 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Also, the personal aide and “like a 3rd Cuomo son” to presidential hopeful NY Governor Andrew Cuomo, Joseph Percoco has been found GUILTY by jury of conspiracy to commit honest-services fraud, conspiracy to commit honest-services wire fraud and solicitation of bribes and gratuities.
Hey Andy I know exclisor means “ever upward” but what’s the Latin for “never gonna be president”?
posted by The Whelk at 12:05 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Hey Andy I know exclisor means “ever upward” but what’s the Latin for “never gonna be president”?
posted by The Whelk at 12:05 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Another simple explanation for McEntee is that Trump dismisses this kind of accusation as "fake news" and the investigation as a "witch hunt". He has repeatedly expressed sympathy for people that he feels are on his side when they get in trouble; it's not hard to believe that he has genuinely internalized that and doesn't take any accusations seriously if they're against someone he likes.
posted by allegedly at 12:06 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by allegedly at 12:06 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Because we are clearly in the most absurd timeline, I must observe that John McEntee, Trump's body man who was walked out of the White House without being allowed to even fetch his jacket, was known in a previous life as Johnny Mac, the trick shot quarterback from U. Conn as seen in this Youtube video with 7M views from 2011. Here's an article from Politico from Dec. 2017 about this fellow.
posted by mhum at 12:09 PM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by mhum at 12:09 PM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
One of the potential crimes (of McEntee) is money laundering; so who's to say he wasn't laundering on behalf of DJT? In which case Trump has no problem keeping him on the campaign, the guy only did what he was told, and Trump probably promised him a pardon.
posted by suelac at 12:11 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by suelac at 12:11 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
I assume "describe a time you committed a financial crime to solve a problem" is one of the mandatory questions in any job interview for the Trump campaign
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:16 PM on March 13, 2018 [92 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:16 PM on March 13, 2018 [92 favorites]
I cannot understand why he’d agree to 2 more weeks of public humiliation in the job. What is the point of staying on like that for this time given that no one will listen to him?
Delaying WWIII?
posted by corb at 12:27 PM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
Delaying WWIII?
posted by corb at 12:27 PM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
If we consider Tillerson's actual departure date to be March 31, he'll serve as Secretary of State six days longer than John Sherman who was fired by McKinley for his low energy while everyone else had war fever leading up to the Spanish American War. That's not a good historical parallel.
For the sake of trivia, of the 15 other Secretaries of State who served shorter terms than Tillerson, one resigned due to illness after 11 days (but later served as Minister to France); one died in office; one resigned in protest over VP Van Buren's meddling with economic negotiations with France; one was a wartime ringer for McKinley who replaced Sherman at the start of the Spanish American War then transferred to Commissioner of Peace to negotiate the Treaty of Paris ending war (and was later appointed Supreme Court Justice); and 11 others were replaced in a change of administration, including Edward Stettinius who Truman moved to the newly created UN ambassador role and James Blaine who resigned along with the almost all of Arthur's inherited cabinet after the death of Garfield (Blaine later served as SoS under Harrison).
The list of other Secretaries of State who resigned under or were fired by the president who appointed them due to personal or policy differences is pretty short: Al Haig under Reagan (personal and policy differences), Cyrus Vance under Carter (in protest of Operation Eagle Claw), James Byrnes under Truman (personal differences with Truman due to ambition), William Jennings Bryan under Wilson (disagreed on neutrality), Robert Lansing whose resignation was requested by Edith Wilson while Woodrow was recovering from a stroke due to his independence and ambition, Lewis Cass under Buchanan (resigned due to inaction leading up to Civil War), Martin Van Buren under Jackson (resigned during the Petticoat affair), Robert Smith under Madison (differences with Madison and Gallatin), and Thomas Jefferson was talked out of resigning twice due to ideological differences with Washington and Hamilton before Washington finally relented and allowed him to be "liberated from the hated occupations of politics and sink into the bosom of my family, my farm, and my books" three years before running for Vice President.
posted by peeedro at 12:31 PM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
For the sake of trivia, of the 15 other Secretaries of State who served shorter terms than Tillerson, one resigned due to illness after 11 days (but later served as Minister to France); one died in office; one resigned in protest over VP Van Buren's meddling with economic negotiations with France; one was a wartime ringer for McKinley who replaced Sherman at the start of the Spanish American War then transferred to Commissioner of Peace to negotiate the Treaty of Paris ending war (and was later appointed Supreme Court Justice); and 11 others were replaced in a change of administration, including Edward Stettinius who Truman moved to the newly created UN ambassador role and James Blaine who resigned along with the almost all of Arthur's inherited cabinet after the death of Garfield (Blaine later served as SoS under Harrison).
The list of other Secretaries of State who resigned under or were fired by the president who appointed them due to personal or policy differences is pretty short: Al Haig under Reagan (personal and policy differences), Cyrus Vance under Carter (in protest of Operation Eagle Claw), James Byrnes under Truman (personal differences with Truman due to ambition), William Jennings Bryan under Wilson (disagreed on neutrality), Robert Lansing whose resignation was requested by Edith Wilson while Woodrow was recovering from a stroke due to his independence and ambition, Lewis Cass under Buchanan (resigned due to inaction leading up to Civil War), Martin Van Buren under Jackson (resigned during the Petticoat affair), Robert Smith under Madison (differences with Madison and Gallatin), and Thomas Jefferson was talked out of resigning twice due to ideological differences with Washington and Hamilton before Washington finally relented and allowed him to be "liberated from the hated occupations of politics and sink into the bosom of my family, my farm, and my books" three years before running for Vice President.
posted by peeedro at 12:31 PM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
Delaying WWIII?A couple of the "verified" anonymous WH and Homeland Security accounts on twitter both have measured but fairly good things to say about Rex T:
@AngrierWHStaff:
Most of you likely won’t believe me or Homeland, but if I had to pick the most (pleasantly) surprising person in this administration, it would be Rex.
He was (mostly) a moderating voice of reason.
Plus he called POTUS a fucking moron.
@AltHomelandSec:
One of the things you probably have never heard about Rex Tillerson is that he is as patriotic as apple pie. I hope it comes to light some of the good things he has done in the last 15 months.posted by xyzzy at 12:34 PM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
From last week: The BBC has obtained leaked emails that show a lobbying effort to get US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sacked for failing to support the United Arab Emirates against regional rival Qatar.
Major Trump fundraiser and UAE-linked businessman Elliott Broidy met US President Donald Trump in October 2017 and urged him to sack Mr Tillerson, the emails reveal.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:34 PM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
Major Trump fundraiser and UAE-linked businessman Elliott Broidy met US President Donald Trump in October 2017 and urged him to sack Mr Tillerson, the emails reveal.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:34 PM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
One of the things you probably have never heard about Rex Tillerson is that he is as patriotic as apple pie.
He certainly cared more about America than about Equatorial Guinea
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:35 PM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
He certainly cared more about America than about Equatorial Guinea
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:35 PM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
Brooke Baldwin just asked who was going to pay for The Wall, to which Jim Acosta completely failed to respond "I assume Mexico"
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:41 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:41 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
I find it hard to square any of this faint-praise-but-praise-nonetheless with his work to dismantle the apparatus of American diplomacy, but it is true that whenever POTUS was saying something idiotic to make an international incident worse, you could count on Tillerson to be out there saying the things that an actual functioning administration would probably say in the same situation, struggling against his own de facto redundancy in the public eye. So I guess it's not that hard to imagine he was saying the same sort of stuff in private, where Trump wouldn't be drowning him out all the time.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:42 PM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:42 PM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
Live coverage of a Pennsylvania rally was another free ad for Trump’s favorite candidate: Himself (Margaret Sullivan, WaPo)
Even before the 2016 presidential election, CNN’s top honcho admitted that his network had given Donald Trump too much free exposure in the Republican primary.posted by Johnny Wallflower at 12:44 PM on March 13, 2018 [64 favorites]
“If we made any mistake last year, it’s that we probably did put on too many of his campaign rallies in those early months and let them run,” Jeff Zucker said at a talk at the Harvard Kennedy School in October 2016.
But it made for great TV, he explained: “Listen, because you never knew what he would say, there was an attraction to put those on air.”
Translation: It’s all about the ratings.
Don’t look now, but it’s happening again. And it’s still the wrong thing to do.
Trump is saying that existing walls only stop 95% of people, whereas his new wall will stop 99% or more.
Congrats, I guess
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:46 PM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
Congrats, I guess
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:46 PM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
He also said Mexican immigrants are like professional mountain climbers. No mention of which melons their calves most resemble
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:47 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:47 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Mod note: One deleted, better to discuss the Project Veritas vs Twitter thing over here.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 12:58 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 12:58 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
>Trump is saying that existing walls only stop 95% of people, whereas his new wall will stop 99% or more.
It will of course stop 0% of people who enter the country legally and then overstay. Which is what two-thirds of the 'undocumented immigrant' population does.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 1:05 PM on March 13, 2018 [29 favorites]
It will of course stop 0% of people who enter the country legally and then overstay. Which is what two-thirds of the 'undocumented immigrant' population does.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 1:05 PM on March 13, 2018 [29 favorites]
Talking Points Memo at the Kobach voting rights trial:
This afternoon, as ACLU attorney Dale Ho continued his scrutiny of the research methods employed by Jesse Richman in a report alleging statistically significant rates of non-citizen voter registration in Kansas, Ho turned attention to Richman’s methodology in one of his analyses.posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:10 PM on March 13, 2018 [86 favorites]
Specifically, Ho asked Richman about his effort to code respondents who had “foreign”-sounding names for weighting purposes in his survey. Ho played video from Richman’s previous deposition in which Richman said that the process was “very subjective” and that he was sure he made mistakes.
After going over some of the names Richman coded as foreign — two respondents with the last name Lopez were coded as foreign, and three Lopezes were not — Ho asked Richman how he would code the name “Carlos Murguia.” Richman said he’d probably code the name as “foreign.” Ho pointed out that Murguia is a federal judge in the same courthouse in which the trial is taking place. Richman admitted he wasn’t aware of that.
The best people.
contraption: "Sadly this is a typo, and not polling humor as I first surmised. The actually narrow Dem lead is 42-40, not 42-20."
Yes, sorry about that. No matter how many times you proofread....
posted by Chrysostom at 1:11 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Yes, sorry about that. No matter how many times you proofread....
posted by Chrysostom at 1:11 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
xyzzy: A couple of the "verified" anonymous WH and Homeland Security accounts on twitter both have measured but fairly good things to say about Rex T
"The nicest guy to ever gut a critical federal office! And he smelled nice, like he used just the right amount of classy aftershave while trying to run the entire State Department with the help of two close aides, instead of filling hundreds of senior seats due to his fear of leaks!"
If you want so really good laughs at how far we've come, check out this New York Times interview with Tillerson from Oct. 17, 2017. That was back when Trump undermined Tillerson's vague efforts to negotiate with Kim Jong-un when Trump tweeted (natch)
posted by filthy light thief at 1:13 PM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
"The nicest guy to ever gut a critical federal office! And he smelled nice, like he used just the right amount of classy aftershave while trying to run the entire State Department with the help of two close aides, instead of filling hundreds of senior seats due to his fear of leaks!"
If you want so really good laughs at how far we've come, check out this New York Times interview with Tillerson from Oct. 17, 2017. That was back when Trump undermined Tillerson's vague efforts to negotiate with Kim Jong-un when Trump tweeted (natch)
I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man…And there was concern we'd get into a nuclear war. But back to that Tillerson interview, here's a fooking marvelous gift that Sleepy of the Past gives the Us of the Present:
…Save your energy Rex, we'll do what has to be done!
Tillerson let out a short sigh. “Look, on the president’s tweets,” he said, “I take what the president tweets out as his form of communicating, and I build it into my strategies and my tactics. How can I use that? How do I want to use that? And in a dynamic situation, like we deal with here all the time — and you can go walk around the world, they’re all dynamic — things happen. You wake up the next morning, something’s happened. I wake up the next morning, the president’s got a tweet out there. So I think about, O.K., that’s a new condition. How do I want to use that?”How, indeed, can you use this tweet?
posted by filthy light thief at 1:13 PM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
If your name is anything other than Sitting Bull, I'm coding it as foreign.
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:15 PM on March 13, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:15 PM on March 13, 2018 [26 favorites]
> Putin also seems to be tacitly claiming rulership over all ethnic Russians worldwide, claiming that the borders of Russia are not merely the lines on the map, but that wherever any ethnic Russian goes there too goes a tiny bit of sovereign Russian territory.
This is also something that the PRC does. In late 2015, Chinese authorities kidnapped five booksellers working for a Hong Kong bookshop that published books critical of the regime in the Mainland. One was a Swedish citizen, kidnapped in Thailand. Another was a UK citizen, kidnapped within HK. There was little pushback*, and the foreign citizens “renounced” their citizenship during forced televised confessions. The UK government was particularly pathetic and cowardly, both regarding the kidnapping of one of its citizens and the flagrant violation of the “One Country, Two Systems” agreement established during the HK handover (free speech, including speech that the PRC doesn’t like, is supposed to be enshrined in HK’s Basic Law).
Causeway Bay Books disappearances
The problem is, you show yourself to be weak about stuff like this, and it’s an open invitation for other unpleasant actors to pull the same thing.
I’d also say that, while it isn’t quite the same, “extraordinary renditions” during the “war on terror” also probably helped to normalise this state of affairs.
*The Swedish government took a much stronger line, but this still didn’t stop the Chinese pulling the exact same shit again in the last few months: freed after two years in detention but forced to stay on the Mainland, Gui Minhai was travelling to Beijing for a medical checkup in the company of Swedish diplomats when he was once again abducted from a train by plainclothed police and then paraded on television and forced to say that he didn’t want any help.
posted by chappell, ambrose at 1:17 PM on March 13, 2018 [28 favorites]
This is also something that the PRC does. In late 2015, Chinese authorities kidnapped five booksellers working for a Hong Kong bookshop that published books critical of the regime in the Mainland. One was a Swedish citizen, kidnapped in Thailand. Another was a UK citizen, kidnapped within HK. There was little pushback*, and the foreign citizens “renounced” their citizenship during forced televised confessions. The UK government was particularly pathetic and cowardly, both regarding the kidnapping of one of its citizens and the flagrant violation of the “One Country, Two Systems” agreement established during the HK handover (free speech, including speech that the PRC doesn’t like, is supposed to be enshrined in HK’s Basic Law).
Causeway Bay Books disappearances
The problem is, you show yourself to be weak about stuff like this, and it’s an open invitation for other unpleasant actors to pull the same thing.
I’d also say that, while it isn’t quite the same, “extraordinary renditions” during the “war on terror” also probably helped to normalise this state of affairs.
*The Swedish government took a much stronger line, but this still didn’t stop the Chinese pulling the exact same shit again in the last few months: freed after two years in detention but forced to stay on the Mainland, Gui Minhai was travelling to Beijing for a medical checkup in the company of Swedish diplomats when he was once again abducted from a train by plainclothed police and then paraded on television and forced to say that he didn’t want any help.
posted by chappell, ambrose at 1:17 PM on March 13, 2018 [28 favorites]
MAGA Twitter is currently hyperventilating about Republicans being turned away at PA-18 polls (spoiler: this did not happen and as far as I can tell originated with Virginia Beach alt-right fucker Scott Presler).
There has been a massive amount of confusion in the district because of the redistricting happening that applies to the May primary (but not this special) and lots of people don't know what district they are currently in. (I 100% believe that someone was told "You can't vote today because we're still working from old district maps, not the new ones, and you are not in current PA-18" and heard "You can't vote today because we're working from new district maps." [Which is false! Man the tweetpedos! I'm being oppressed! Attica! Attica!] Because people think they hear shit that was not actually spoken all. the. time. And then go on the tweetbox and next thing you know every bot account in St. Petersburg is retweeting you.) There's also quite a bit of appending of "in Jesus name we pray, amen" to the tweets on the topic. Shit is weird out there, man.
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:19 PM on March 13, 2018 [26 favorites]
There has been a massive amount of confusion in the district because of the redistricting happening that applies to the May primary (but not this special) and lots of people don't know what district they are currently in. (I 100% believe that someone was told "You can't vote today because we're still working from old district maps, not the new ones, and you are not in current PA-18" and heard "You can't vote today because we're working from new district maps." [Which is false! Man the tweetpedos! I'm being oppressed! Attica! Attica!] Because people think they hear shit that was not actually spoken all. the. time. And then go on the tweetbox and next thing you know every bot account in St. Petersburg is retweeting you.) There's also quite a bit of appending of "in Jesus name we pray, amen" to the tweets on the topic. Shit is weird out there, man.
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:19 PM on March 13, 2018 [26 favorites]
The WESA Live Blog linked to earlier says there is some confusion, but does not give any details.
posted by MtDewd at 1:29 PM on March 13, 2018
posted by MtDewd at 1:29 PM on March 13, 2018
Republicans in my state of Iowa fucking with elections in new and creative ways
Senate File 2346 would require county auditors to put partisan candidates on the election ballot according to the results of the last governor’s election. So if Republicans won the governor’s race in that county, as they did in all but Johnson County in 2014, their candidates would top the ballot.posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:29 PM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
House File 2372 would require nonpartisan redistricting for counties that elect supervisors by district. It would also require certain counties to elect supervisors by district if they currently elect them all at large or if they use countywide voting for all districts... Only the 10 most populous counties would be forced to adopt district-level voting for district supervisors if they currently use a different process. The effect would be to eliminate partisan advantage for redistricting in all counties that use district voting. But the only counties that would be forced into district voting are the ones that happen to have the highest percentage of registered Democrats. The effect would be to give Republicans a more even playing field in urban counties while maintaining their partisan advantage in some of the less populous counties.
The point is to make election law complicated enough to contain loopholes.
posted by rhizome at 1:30 PM on March 13, 2018
posted by rhizome at 1:30 PM on March 13, 2018
soren_lorensen: There's also quite a bit of appending of "in Jesus name we pray, amen" to the tweets on the topic.
That bit strikes me as coming from the same type of "How do you do, fellow conservative Christian Americans?" source as that weird "Help Jesus/Donald arm-wrestle Satan/Hillary" meme.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:33 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
That bit strikes me as coming from the same type of "How do you do, fellow conservative Christian Americans?" source as that weird "Help Jesus/Donald arm-wrestle Satan/Hillary" meme.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:33 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Hello again, megathread. I've been away a week and I'm hoping it's been a quiet w...
Oh. Oh, I see.
The Secretary of State has been fired by tweet, a plan to strand him in Africa has been foiled, an undersecretary has been fired for contradicting the official explanation of how he was fired.
The adult actress that Trump had (allegedly) an affair with was paid off with funds from Trump's personal lawyer's HELOC, allegedly without Trump's knowledge or involvement, and the actress (possibly) kept copies of (allegedly) compromising material and wants her NDA voided because DD didn't sign the agreement with PP. (This is not a joke, really?)
The President accepted an offer of talks with North Korea with fewer preconditions than a talk with the Special Prosecutor, the Secretary of State didn't know, the White House walked it back, then walked it forward, and now no one is willing to give a straight answer on North Korea any longer.
The Russians (apparently) assassinated a former spy in Britain with a "Novichok" chemical agent near Porton Down, all but daring the UK to respond and possibly testing NATO's commitment. Oh, and possibly the US Secretary of State was fired for commenting about this incident.
A hawkish asshole will take over the State department (goodbye, Iran deal). A torturer will be promoted to the top job at the CIA. McCain has expressed his concern. (Or was it "serious concern"?)
A district that Trump won by twenty-mumble points, that had no Democratic challenger in the last two cycles, has been described as a "Democrat district" by the PA Republican party chairman with a straight face. And that special election is on right now.
The Secretary of Education gave an interview in which she had trouble with the concept of "schools".
Oh, and the Republican part of the House Intelligence Committee has concluded, per Trump's all-caps tweet, that there is "NO EVIDENCE OF COLLUSION", even though even some Republicans on the committee are having trouble keeping a straight face about that.
Well then.
In any previous administration that would be 3 months worth of news, but I swear I was only gone for less than a Scaramucci. The Trump time dilation effect is a thing of wonder.
posted by RedOrGreen at 1:35 PM on March 13, 2018 [112 favorites]
Oh. Oh, I see.
The Secretary of State has been fired by tweet, a plan to strand him in Africa has been foiled, an undersecretary has been fired for contradicting the official explanation of how he was fired.
The adult actress that Trump had (allegedly) an affair with was paid off with funds from Trump's personal lawyer's HELOC, allegedly without Trump's knowledge or involvement, and the actress (possibly) kept copies of (allegedly) compromising material and wants her NDA voided because DD didn't sign the agreement with PP. (This is not a joke, really?)
The President accepted an offer of talks with North Korea with fewer preconditions than a talk with the Special Prosecutor, the Secretary of State didn't know, the White House walked it back, then walked it forward, and now no one is willing to give a straight answer on North Korea any longer.
The Russians (apparently) assassinated a former spy in Britain with a "Novichok" chemical agent near Porton Down, all but daring the UK to respond and possibly testing NATO's commitment. Oh, and possibly the US Secretary of State was fired for commenting about this incident.
A hawkish asshole will take over the State department (goodbye, Iran deal). A torturer will be promoted to the top job at the CIA. McCain has expressed his concern. (Or was it "serious concern"?)
A district that Trump won by twenty-mumble points, that had no Democratic challenger in the last two cycles, has been described as a "Democrat district" by the PA Republican party chairman with a straight face. And that special election is on right now.
The Secretary of Education gave an interview in which she had trouble with the concept of "schools".
Oh, and the Republican part of the House Intelligence Committee has concluded, per Trump's all-caps tweet, that there is "NO EVIDENCE OF COLLUSION", even though even some Republicans on the committee are having trouble keeping a straight face about that.
Well then.
In any previous administration that would be 3 months worth of news, but I swear I was only gone for less than a Scaramucci. The Trump time dilation effect is a thing of wonder.
posted by RedOrGreen at 1:35 PM on March 13, 2018 [112 favorites]
Tweet in point:
I was just sitting in a meeting with a client when her 18-year-old daughter called. She was flipping out because it's her first election and she couldn't find her voter card. She was assured that all she needs is her photo ID, that piece of paper is useless. I asked "Oh, so you guys are in the 18th?" My client was like, "???" I said, your special election is today, in the 18th district. I had to explain that it's a special election just for their district, not everyone is voting today.
That bit strikes me as coming from the same type of "How do you do, fellow conservative Christian Americans?" source as that weird "Help Jesus/Donald arm-wrestle Satan/Hillary" meme.
Oh, for sure. I have a new Twitter reporting hobby. I report accounts like that as "They’re pretending to be me or someone else" > "They are pretending to be someone else." Because they are. It doesn't do anything but it makes me feel momentarily better. (I actually get notifications all the time that accounts I report are found in violation of Twitter TOS yet when I go back to those accounts they're still there, just trucking along, so apparently words are meaningless but whatever.)
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:43 PM on March 13, 2018 [36 favorites]
I just watched a grown man complain & insinuate a conspiracy when he was told he could not vote in the #PA18 election. Problem: he lives in Richland. He called the worker a liar when she calmly told him only District 18 is voting.Not only is there district confusion (I am a politics nerd and have to look up the numbers of my various state and federal districts on the regs) but this race has such a national high profile that a lot of people likely do not realize this is not a state-wide election. Like, there are people with Lamb yard signs in Pittsburgh (my parents' neighbor has one out), and we aren't in the 18th, it's just local sympathizers.
I was just sitting in a meeting with a client when her 18-year-old daughter called. She was flipping out because it's her first election and she couldn't find her voter card. She was assured that all she needs is her photo ID, that piece of paper is useless. I asked "Oh, so you guys are in the 18th?" My client was like, "???" I said, your special election is today, in the 18th district. I had to explain that it's a special election just for their district, not everyone is voting today.
That bit strikes me as coming from the same type of "How do you do, fellow conservative Christian Americans?" source as that weird "Help Jesus/Donald arm-wrestle Satan/Hillary" meme.
Oh, for sure. I have a new Twitter reporting hobby. I report accounts like that as "They’re pretending to be me or someone else" > "They are pretending to be someone else." Because they are. It doesn't do anything but it makes me feel momentarily better. (I actually get notifications all the time that accounts I report are found in violation of Twitter TOS yet when I go back to those accounts they're still there, just trucking along, so apparently words are meaningless but whatever.)
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:43 PM on March 13, 2018 [36 favorites]
And here's my own humble offering: prepare your blood pressure medication, because the NYT Needle (TM) is back for tonight's vote count in PA 18.
There is an argument that all of this is a waste of time: After all, we’ll know the actual result soon enough. We are sympathetic to that idea, but if people are going to follow election night results online — and they do, by the millions — they ought to have the context to understand them. [...] the needle could easily be “wrong” tonight, at least if the measure of right or wrong is whether the leading candidate goes on to win.posted by RedOrGreen at 1:47 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
From this NYT Link:
But he (Tillerson) had gotten an oblique warning of what was coming the previous Friday from the White House chief of staff, John F. Kelly, who called to tell him to cut short a trip to Africa and advised him “you may get a tweet.”
"you may get a tweet".
posted by Annika Cicada at 1:51 PM on March 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
But he (Tillerson) had gotten an oblique warning of what was coming the previous Friday from the White House chief of staff, John F. Kelly, who called to tell him to cut short a trip to Africa and advised him “you may get a tweet.”
"you may get a tweet".
posted by Annika Cicada at 1:51 PM on March 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
trumps talking to marines right now in cali. I could only listen to about a minute of how underfunded he thinks the military is and how he's about to begin a new era of " peace through strength" and unprecedented military spending. gag.
posted by OHenryPacey at 2:07 PM on March 13, 2018
posted by OHenryPacey at 2:07 PM on March 13, 2018
So we’re looking at $1T in tax cuts, proposed tariffs on everything we import and use to do business, and now unprecedented military spending? Is Trump trying to set a record for how quickly and deeply he can tank the economy?
posted by Autumnheart at 2:12 PM on March 13, 2018 [39 favorites]
posted by Autumnheart at 2:12 PM on March 13, 2018 [39 favorites]
Former Fox News anchor Heather Nauert is now acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.
posted by rewil at 2:13 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by rewil at 2:13 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
One of the potential crimes (of McEntee) is money laundering; so who's to say he wasn't laundering on behalf of DJT?
All the stories have specifically said his crimes didn't appear related to Trump.
posted by scalefree at 2:16 PM on March 13, 2018
All the stories have specifically said his crimes didn't appear related to Trump.
posted by scalefree at 2:16 PM on March 13, 2018
They played "You Can't Always Get What You Want" at the conclusion of Trump's speech to Marines at Miramar.
posted by peeedro at 2:25 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by peeedro at 2:25 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
The contagion of not holding Russia to account continues to spread here in New Zealand. I mentioned upthread that our Foreign Minister seems to be giving Russia a pass on its meddling in the US elections. His unwillingness to confront the reality of Russia continues in the wake of the Skripal poisoning. According to Politik, a local subscription-only political newsletter.
posted by vac2003 at 2:25 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
There was speculation last night that the British High Commission in Wellington had taken the rare step of briefing journalists on the spy poisoning case because they could not be sure of Foreign Minister, Winston Peters’ response. The British invited selected journalists (POLITIK did not attend) to a briefing clearly intended to soften up New Zealand public opinion to join in any sanctions Britain might try and impose on Russia who it suspects of being behind the poisoning. The fact that the High Commissioner, Laura Clarke, herself conducted the briefing suggests that the British felt they needed to make a strong case in Wellington. This is in contrast to how they handed the matter in Canberra where a British official joined what one participant described as a low key Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade briefing of journalistsAppalling the the Trump disease should spread here in such a manner.
posted by vac2003 at 2:25 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
They played "You Can't Always Get What You Want" at the conclusion of Trump's speech to Marines at Miramar.
A speech that included Trump calling for the creation of a military "Space Force" to......conquer space?
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:32 PM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
A speech that included Trump calling for the creation of a military "Space Force" to......conquer space?
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:32 PM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
Specifically: "It's like the Army and the Navy, but for space." [real]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:32 PM on March 13, 2018 [38 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:32 PM on March 13, 2018 [38 favorites]
What in the Ralph Wiggum hell is this
Trump: “We should have a new force called the Space Force. It’s like the Army and the Navy, but for space, because we’re spending a lot of money on space.”posted by fluttering hellfire at 2:34 PM on March 13, 2018 [52 favorites]
Former Fox News anchor Heather Nauert is now acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.
For over a year I've had this perception that Trump reminded me of my gran, but it didn't make sense because she was sane and increasingly leftist, while Trump is… Trump. This news was the proverbial drop. The thing is, in spite of all of us doing everything we could in order to keep gran engaged in reality, in her last years, the TV was her best friend. It's not that she was lonely or isolated: we all visited every day, we took her to the opera, bought her books, young admirers visited and wrote her, her girlfriends called her, but she just liked the anchors on TV better. I guess they never talked back at her.
Also she was in denial about being old (in her 80's, she died at 91). Like Trump, she was obsessed with her looks and she did the pouty-mouth thing, and she was obsessed with other peoples looks. She did have real hair, though. She was also eternally frustrated that she couldn't get everyone to do as she pleased, because what she wanted was very often insane.
So now when I've accepted it, I can't unsee Trump as an old lady talking with the TV.
posted by mumimor at 2:35 PM on March 13, 2018 [27 favorites]
For over a year I've had this perception that Trump reminded me of my gran, but it didn't make sense because she was sane and increasingly leftist, while Trump is… Trump. This news was the proverbial drop. The thing is, in spite of all of us doing everything we could in order to keep gran engaged in reality, in her last years, the TV was her best friend. It's not that she was lonely or isolated: we all visited every day, we took her to the opera, bought her books, young admirers visited and wrote her, her girlfriends called her, but she just liked the anchors on TV better. I guess they never talked back at her.
Also she was in denial about being old (in her 80's, she died at 91). Like Trump, she was obsessed with her looks and she did the pouty-mouth thing, and she was obsessed with other peoples looks. She did have real hair, though. She was also eternally frustrated that she couldn't get everyone to do as she pleased, because what she wanted was very often insane.
So now when I've accepted it, I can't unsee Trump as an old lady talking with the TV.
posted by mumimor at 2:35 PM on March 13, 2018 [27 favorites]
A speech that included Trump calling for the creation of a military "Space Force" to......conquer space?
Specifically: "It's like the Army and the Navy, but for space." [real]
The Germans are going to have to come up with a word describing the feeling you get when you come across a piece of news and instinctively know it's going to be the basis of an Alexendra Petri article.
posted by Freon at 2:35 PM on March 13, 2018 [52 favorites]
Specifically: "It's like the Army and the Navy, but for space." [real]
The Germans are going to have to come up with a word describing the feeling you get when you come across a piece of news and instinctively know it's going to be the basis of an Alexendra Petri article.
posted by Freon at 2:35 PM on March 13, 2018 [52 favorites]
Space Force runs risk of Space Munity.
posted by The Whelk at 2:35 PM on March 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 2:35 PM on March 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
It's like the Army and the Navy, but for space.
I like how he subverted expectations by not mentioning the one branch of the US military that follows the “[medium in which it works] Force” naming formula and historically does the most work in and near space.
posted by chappell, ambrose at 2:37 PM on March 13, 2018 [60 favorites]
I like how he subverted expectations by not mentioning the one branch of the US military that follows the “[medium in which it works] Force” naming formula and historically does the most work in and near space.
posted by chappell, ambrose at 2:37 PM on March 13, 2018 [60 favorites]
The New York Times: President Trump, fresh off replacing his secretary of state and C.I.A. director, is considering firing his secretary of veterans affairs and installing Energy Secretary Rick Perry in the post, according to two people close to the White House.
At least this isn't a department he has proposed dismantling.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:37 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
At least this isn't a department he has proposed dismantling.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:37 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
So now when I've accepted it, I can't unsee Trump as an old lady talking with the TV.
shes not looking at the teevee, but if you haven't enjoyed @OGTrumpQueen on instagram, you really aught to.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 2:37 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
shes not looking at the teevee, but if you haven't enjoyed @OGTrumpQueen on instagram, you really aught to.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 2:37 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
“I can't unsee Trump as an old lady talking with the TV.“
Said it before, he’s gotten the dream of every angry retiree in America, when he yells at the TV the TV has to respond.
posted by The Whelk at 2:38 PM on March 13, 2018 [41 favorites]
Said it before, he’s gotten the dream of every angry retiree in America, when he yells at the TV the TV has to respond.
posted by The Whelk at 2:38 PM on March 13, 2018 [41 favorites]
We had Trump/Reagan in front of the helicopter, and now Space Force instead of Star Wars. History never repeats, but it always rhymes with stupid.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:38 PM on March 13, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:38 PM on March 13, 2018 [23 favorites]
So Trump's philosophy of the moment is : " Let's militarize anything we spend money on" ? I can see Betsy Devos' evil grin from here.
posted by OHenryPacey at 2:39 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by OHenryPacey at 2:39 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
SPACE FORCE, DROP YOUR WEAPON! Oh wait there's no gravity, push your weapon away from you
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:39 PM on March 13, 2018 [49 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:39 PM on March 13, 2018 [49 favorites]
Trump: “We should have a new force called the Space Force. It’s like the Army and the Navy, but for space, because we’re spending a lot of money on space.”
Wherein Erik Prince and Elon Musk join forces.
posted by rhizome at 2:39 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Wherein Erik Prince and Elon Musk join forces.
posted by rhizome at 2:39 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
It's like the Army and the Navy, but for space.
We could call it the Air Force.
posted by peeedro at 2:39 PM on March 13, 2018 [18 favorites]
We could call it the Air Force.
posted by peeedro at 2:39 PM on March 13, 2018 [18 favorites]
Ugh. I knew as soon as I saw that first tweet about the "space force" thing that it was going to dominate the news for the rest of the day. So goddamn predictable.
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:39 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:39 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
"We should have a new force called the Space Force."
My best guess is that someone fucked up the preset channels on Trump's TV, and he ended up watching a few episodes of the '95 dub of Tekkaman Blade while under the impression it was Fox and Friends.
posted by Iridic at 2:40 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
My best guess is that someone fucked up the preset channels on Trump's TV, and he ended up watching a few episodes of the '95 dub of Tekkaman Blade while under the impression it was Fox and Friends.
posted by Iridic at 2:40 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
We could call it the Air Force.
Except military nerds don't think the Air Force is legitimate, so this might just be Mattis' or Kelly's hand operating the Trump puppet.
posted by rhizome at 2:44 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Except military nerds don't think the Air Force is legitimate, so this might just be Mattis' or Kelly's hand operating the Trump puppet.
posted by rhizome at 2:44 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Now we will finally have a force to fight cyber. Because cyber is in space, right? I swear I keep hearing things about cyber-space.
posted by rikschell at 2:45 PM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by rikschell at 2:45 PM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
I mean the Navy has planes and the Army has helicopters so there's no reason the Coast Guard can't have shuttles.
posted by PenDevil at 2:46 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by PenDevil at 2:46 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
The Army/Navy/Air Force argument re: space is stupid.
This will be underfunded. It will be grossly underfunded, it will be understaffed in keeping with said underfunding, and it will require this tiny and underfunded force to cover a ludicrous amount of territory.
Space is plainly a job for the United States Coast Guard.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 2:46 PM on March 13, 2018 [42 favorites]
This will be underfunded. It will be grossly underfunded, it will be understaffed in keeping with said underfunding, and it will require this tiny and underfunded force to cover a ludicrous amount of territory.
Space is plainly a job for the United States Coast Guard.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 2:46 PM on March 13, 2018 [42 favorites]
They played "You Can't Always Get What You Want" at the conclusion of Trump's speech
Trump has been doing this since long before the election, despite the Rolling Stones asking him to stop, and him agreeing to stop. I have pondered and the only way I can make sense of it is if it's supposed to be a reference to welfare recipients.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:47 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Trump has been doing this since long before the election, despite the Rolling Stones asking him to stop, and him agreeing to stop. I have pondered and the only way I can make sense of it is if it's supposed to be a reference to welfare recipients.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:47 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Ugh. I knew as soon as I saw that first tweet about the "space force" thing that it was going to dominate the news for the rest of the day. So goddamn predictable.
In all seriousness, while we should absolutely not stop talking about the Cabinet musical chairs and Pompeo's likely horribleness at State, it's also worth focusing some on the fact that the guy at the head of it all is deeply, deeply stupid.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:47 PM on March 13, 2018 [24 favorites]
In all seriousness, while we should absolutely not stop talking about the Cabinet musical chairs and Pompeo's likely horribleness at State, it's also worth focusing some on the fact that the guy at the head of it all is deeply, deeply stupid.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:47 PM on March 13, 2018 [24 favorites]
We should have a new force called the Space Force. It’s like the Army and the Navy, but for space, because we’re spending a lot of money on space.
“You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity.”
posted by Huffy Puffy at 2:50 PM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
“You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity.”
posted by Huffy Puffy at 2:50 PM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
My objection to today's "You Can't Always Get What You Want" is that it blurs the line between making a campaign speech and making a speech to members of the military.
posted by peeedro at 2:50 PM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by peeedro at 2:50 PM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
Mod note: Greetings friends, Space Force is a very stupid idea, but if your comment is basically just a brief reaction along those lines (how can anybody be this stupid), at this point we can consider that sentiment very much shared by the room.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 2:51 PM on March 13, 2018 [29 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 2:51 PM on March 13, 2018 [29 favorites]
I am absolutely certain that if someone told the President that his speech to the military shouldn't be like a campaign speech, he would not understand what that means
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:52 PM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:52 PM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
>Trump is saying that existing walls only stop 95% of people, whereas his new wall will stop 99% or more.
It will of course stop 0% of people who enter the country legally and then overstay. Which is what two-thirds of the 'undocumented immigrant' population does.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 1:05 PM on March 13 [18 favorites +] [!]
So why, oh, why don't the "hard-headed fiscal Republicans" ask for a cost-effectiveness analysis of The Wall? /rhetorical, natch
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:55 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
It will of course stop 0% of people who enter the country legally and then overstay. Which is what two-thirds of the 'undocumented immigrant' population does.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 1:05 PM on March 13 [18 favorites +] [!]
So why, oh, why don't the "hard-headed fiscal Republicans" ask for a cost-effectiveness analysis of The Wall? /rhetorical, natch
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:55 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Christina Wilkie, CNBC:
posted by hanov3r at 2:56 PM on March 13, 2018 [19 favorites]
Trump: "The state of California is begging us to build a wall in some places. They don’t like to talk about that.""In some places" means "between CA and the rest of the continental US", yeah?
posted by hanov3r at 2:56 PM on March 13, 2018 [19 favorites]
Now we will finally have a force to fight cyber. Because cyber is in space, right? I swear I keep hearing things about cyber-space.
Well, there's already this: United States Cyber Command
But if you combine it with the US Air Force Space Command you could get CYBERSPACE FORCE and I'm sure that's worth a 90s image comic or too.
posted by Artw at 2:57 PM on March 13, 2018 [15 favorites]
Well, there's already this: United States Cyber Command
But if you combine it with the US Air Force Space Command you could get CYBERSPACE FORCE and I'm sure that's worth a 90s image comic or too.
posted by Artw at 2:57 PM on March 13, 2018 [15 favorites]
@mkraju (CNN)
Mike Conaway, the R running the House Russia probe, acknowledged that Russians were trying to “hurt” Clinton in 2016.
Just asked him what’s the difference between hurting Clinton and helping Trump, and he said: “Glass half full, glass half empty; you can pitch that either way”
Conaway said the concern GOP had was with the CIA’s “analytical tradecraft” and agency did not use the right standards to conclude that Putin was trying to help Trump. He said it’s “irrelevant” that Mueller’s indictment of Russians contends that they were trying to help Trump
posted by chris24 at 3:01 PM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
Mike Conaway, the R running the House Russia probe, acknowledged that Russians were trying to “hurt” Clinton in 2016.
Just asked him what’s the difference between hurting Clinton and helping Trump, and he said: “Glass half full, glass half empty; you can pitch that either way”
Conaway said the concern GOP had was with the CIA’s “analytical tradecraft” and agency did not use the right standards to conclude that Putin was trying to help Trump. He said it’s “irrelevant” that Mueller’s indictment of Russians contends that they were trying to help Trump
posted by chris24 at 3:01 PM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
And more deets on the above. I guess the trial balloon didn't fly.
@woodruffbets (Daily Beast)
The HPSCI report, per Conaway, will dispute *the way* the IC reached the conclusion that Putin wanted Trump to win, but it won't actually dispute that conclusion
House Russia Probe Chief: Putin May Have Wanted Trump: On Monday, Republicans on the Intelligence Committee poo-pooed “Putin’s supposed preference for Trump.” On Tuesday, the head of the Russia probe took a very different approach
@woodruffbets (Daily Beast)
The HPSCI report, per Conaway, will dispute *the way* the IC reached the conclusion that Putin wanted Trump to win, but it won't actually dispute that conclusion
House Russia Probe Chief: Putin May Have Wanted Trump: On Monday, Republicans on the Intelligence Committee poo-pooed “Putin’s supposed preference for Trump.” On Tuesday, the head of the Russia probe took a very different approach
Vladimir Putin might have wanted Donald Trump to win the 2016 presidential election, and he might not have; we just can’t know for sure. That’s the view House Republicans will put forward in a report set to be released in the coming weeks, according to one of the report’s authors.posted by chris24 at 3:06 PM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
Rep. Mike Conaway, the Texas Republican responsible for overseeing the House intelligence committee’s investigation into Russian election meddling, told The Daily Beast on Tuesday that his committee will challenge the way the Intelligence Community came to the conclusion that Putin wanted Trump to win. But he added that it’s still very possible that Putin was, in fact, pulling for Trump.
“We believe that the assessment of that issue by the few analysts who did it did not use the proper tradecraft,” Conaway said.
“Only Putin knows for sure what he was trying to do,” he added.
yeah it's not like law enforcement agencies are capable of making accusations about corrupt intent am I right
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 3:20 PM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 3:20 PM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
About time this fucknut got some charges, a shame that more people had to suffer for it. These people are always, always abusers and their political aspirations are domestic violence writ large.
TPM: White nationalist figurehead Matthew Heimbach was arrested on felony domestic violence-related charges Tuesday, according to court records filed in Orange County, Indiana. The online records show Heimbach was charged with one count of battery and another of domestic battery committed in the presence of a child under 16 years old. He was released on $1,000 cash bond.
posted by Rust Moranis at 3:23 PM on March 13, 2018 [28 favorites]
TPM: White nationalist figurehead Matthew Heimbach was arrested on felony domestic violence-related charges Tuesday, according to court records filed in Orange County, Indiana. The online records show Heimbach was charged with one count of battery and another of domestic battery committed in the presence of a child under 16 years old. He was released on $1,000 cash bond.
posted by Rust Moranis at 3:23 PM on March 13, 2018 [28 favorites]
Maybe my lunatic Congressman Doug Lamborn was the last one to talk to Trump before he spoke to the Marines. Doug has been pretty stoked about space fighting for a while now. Here's a piece he wrote last summer which in all apparent seriousness raises the question of "How will we develop our future space warriors, and ensure they are truly focused on warfighting, rather than engineering?" Because engineering is dumb and useless when our Space Force could be warfighting.
posted by danielleh at 3:25 PM on March 13, 2018 [29 favorites]
posted by danielleh at 3:25 PM on March 13, 2018 [29 favorites]
"How will we develop our future space warriors, and ensure they are truly focused on warfighting, rather than engineering?"
Apparently he never listened to this prescient speech on the Space Force.
posted by thefoxgod at 3:33 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Apparently he never listened to this prescient speech on the Space Force.
posted by thefoxgod at 3:33 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
“Only Putin knows for sure what he was trying to do,” he added.
I’m trying to decide where to place this on my “increasingly desperate recourse to fundamental problems in philosophy” scorecard. I think it’s closest to The Problem of Other Minds.
The general insistence that the obvious repeating pattern of interference in favour of one side doesn’t demonstrate an obvious repeating pattern is more Problem of Induction, although they haven’t tried to argue that inductive reasoning itself lacks any rational underpinnings, yet.
Just asked him what’s the difference between hurting Clinton and helping Trump, and he said: “Glass half full, glass half empty; you can pitch that either way”
Ah, the “glass half empty” problem, a profound and difficult epistemological conundrum indeed.
posted by chappell, ambrose at 3:35 PM on March 13, 2018 [25 favorites]
I’m trying to decide where to place this on my “increasingly desperate recourse to fundamental problems in philosophy” scorecard. I think it’s closest to The Problem of Other Minds.
The general insistence that the obvious repeating pattern of interference in favour of one side doesn’t demonstrate an obvious repeating pattern is more Problem of Induction, although they haven’t tried to argue that inductive reasoning itself lacks any rational underpinnings, yet.
Just asked him what’s the difference between hurting Clinton and helping Trump, and he said: “Glass half full, glass half empty; you can pitch that either way”
Ah, the “glass half empty” problem, a profound and difficult epistemological conundrum indeed.
posted by chappell, ambrose at 3:35 PM on March 13, 2018 [25 favorites]
- The committee concludes that intelligence agencies were overly confident in reaching conclusions, since all of reality may be an illusion conjured by a malevolent demon
We're going to lose a space war to the first country which engineers a large rock into orbit from wherever else it came from.
posted by kirkaracha at 3:39 PM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
And as I was sayin', whoever controls the high ground of space controls the world. The Roman Empire controlled the world because it could build roads. Later, the British Empire was dominant because they had ships. In the Air Stage, we were powerful because we had the airplane. And now the Communists have established a foothold in outer space. Pretty soon they'll have damned space platforms so they can drop nuclear bombs on us, like rocks from a highway overpass. Now how in the hell did they ever get ahead of us?LBJ in The Right Stuff
posted by kirkaracha at 3:39 PM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
About time this fucknut got some charges, a shame that more people had to suffer for it. These people are always, always abusers and their political aspirations are domestic violence writ large.
Abusing women is always, always, an indicator for someone who has decided the rules of good behavior do not apply to them, and someone who may be planning to harm more people. When we jail abusers, we make the entire society safer.
posted by corb at 3:52 PM on March 13, 2018 [67 favorites]
Abusing women is always, always, an indicator for someone who has decided the rules of good behavior do not apply to them, and someone who may be planning to harm more people. When we jail abusers, we make the entire society safer.
posted by corb at 3:52 PM on March 13, 2018 [67 favorites]
@qjurecic (Lawfare)
Minus Nunes (who's nominally recused), there are 12 Rs on HPSCI. 3 have outright disavowed their original presentation of their conclusions. 1 doesn't seem excited about it. Depending how you count it, that's 1/4 to 1/3 of the committee's majority that is now backpedaling.
posted by chris24 at 3:55 PM on March 13, 2018 [26 favorites]
Minus Nunes (who's nominally recused), there are 12 Rs on HPSCI. 3 have outright disavowed their original presentation of their conclusions. 1 doesn't seem excited about it. Depending how you count it, that's 1/4 to 1/3 of the committee's majority that is now backpedaling.
posted by chris24 at 3:55 PM on March 13, 2018 [26 favorites]
Yahoo News: Papadopoulos says that Trump personally encouraged him to arrange meeting with Putin, new book reports
George Papadopoulos, a former foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign and potentially a key witness in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, told federal investigators that before the election, Donald Trump personally encouraged him to pursue a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a new book being published Tuesday.posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 3:55 PM on March 13, 2018 [32 favorites]
Papadopoulos’s account to Mueller — as reported in “Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump,” by Yahoo News’ Michael Isikoff and Mother Jones’ David Corn — contradicts the public accounts of what took place at a critical meeting of Trump’s foreign policy team on March 31, 2016. It was at that meeting that Papadopoulos first informed Trump and the then candidate’s other foreign policy advisers that he had contacts in Britain who could arrange a summit between the GOP candidate and Putin.
Although one of the campaign officials present, J.D. Gordon, has said the idea was shot down by then Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, Papadopoulos told Mueller’s investigators that Trump encouraged him, saying he found the idea “interesting,” according to the book, which cites sources familiar with his questioning by Mueller’s investigators.
Trump looked at Sessions, as if he expected him to follow up with Papadopoulos, and Sessions nodded in response, the authors write. Sessions has said he has “no clear recollection” of the exchange with Papadopoulos. A White House official said that others at the meeting remember it differently than Papadopoulos.
Hero.
NBC: Jay Chen, who won the most votes at the party endorsement conference and was considered a frontrunner for #CA39, drops out to consolidate the field.
NBC: Jay Chen, who won the most votes at the party endorsement conference and was considered a frontrunner for #CA39, drops out to consolidate the field.
National Democrats have privately fretted that there are too many candidates running for competitive seats in California's House primaries this summer, but they got one step closer to a smaller field Tuesday in one of the state's most closely-watched contests.posted by chris24 at 4:03 PM on March 13, 2018 [49 favorites]
Potential candidate Jay Chen said that he won't file to run in CA-39, the seat held by retiring Republican Ed Royce and one of Democrats' best pickup opportunities if they can avoid splitting the vote in the top-two primary in June.
"As of now 9 Democratic candidates and 7 Republican candidates have filed for a primary in which Republican turnout may remain higher than Democratic turnout," Chen said in a statement. "The probability of two Republicans advancing in November, and Democrats squandering a historic opportunity, is real."
"The greatest contribution I can make right now is to help consolidate the field, by stepping away from it. We cannot afford to let this seat slip away, and we must all put the greater good over personal ambition," he added.
The DCCC praised the move in a statement.
“The character that Jay Chen has demonstrated is exemplary, and clearly he has a bright future where he will continue to fight for his community, his constituents, and the progressive causes that matter to them," said DCCC chairman Ben Ray Lujan in a statement.
Any chance a state like California could implement ranked-choice voting?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:05 PM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:05 PM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
The committee concludes that intelligence agencies were overly confident in reaching conclusions, since all of reality may be an illusion conjured by a malevolent demon.
Descartes, you’ve got a great Evil Genius conjecture, and imma let you finish, but what about an Evil Idiot conjecture?
posted by Barack Spinoza at 4:06 PM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
Descartes, you’ve got a great Evil Genius conjecture, and imma let you finish, but what about an Evil Idiot conjecture?
posted by Barack Spinoza at 4:06 PM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
Dems have released their preliminary minority report. Some highlights:
- "The Minority has a good faith reason to believe that the White House does in fact possess such documentation memorializing President Trump’s conversations with Director Comey."
- "The Committee... has reason to believe that Peter Smith was, in fact, in contact with the Trump campaign."
- "Avraham (Avi) Berkowitz, served as Assistant Director of Data Analytics on the Trump Campaign... The Committee has reason to believe that Mr. Kushner may have dispatched Mr. Berkowitz to meet with Russian Ambassador Kislyak in December 2016."
- "the Committee has learned... candidate Trump’s private business was actively negotiating a business deal in Moscow with a sanctioned Russian bank during the election period"
And some comments from Schiff.
@mkraju (CNN)
In presser, Schiff says there has been “significant evidence” of collusion bw Russians and Trump but does not know if it rises to the level of a criminal violation beyond a reasonable doubt. He said it’s bc they don’t know what Mueller knows.
- Schiff also makes clear he is prepared to restart probe if Ds take House majority. He said if Mueller/Senate do not examine some of these unexplored areas - like money laundering and whether Russia has financial leverage over the president of the United States - “we need to know”
posted by chris24 at 4:15 PM on March 13, 2018 [51 favorites]
- "The Minority has a good faith reason to believe that the White House does in fact possess such documentation memorializing President Trump’s conversations with Director Comey."
- "The Committee... has reason to believe that Peter Smith was, in fact, in contact with the Trump campaign."
- "Avraham (Avi) Berkowitz, served as Assistant Director of Data Analytics on the Trump Campaign... The Committee has reason to believe that Mr. Kushner may have dispatched Mr. Berkowitz to meet with Russian Ambassador Kislyak in December 2016."
- "the Committee has learned... candidate Trump’s private business was actively negotiating a business deal in Moscow with a sanctioned Russian bank during the election period"
And some comments from Schiff.
@mkraju (CNN)
In presser, Schiff says there has been “significant evidence” of collusion bw Russians and Trump but does not know if it rises to the level of a criminal violation beyond a reasonable doubt. He said it’s bc they don’t know what Mueller knows.
- Schiff also makes clear he is prepared to restart probe if Ds take House majority. He said if Mueller/Senate do not examine some of these unexplored areas - like money laundering and whether Russia has financial leverage over the president of the United States - “we need to know”
posted by chris24 at 4:15 PM on March 13, 2018 [51 favorites]
So it’s a case of He-Said, He-Said-While-Ignoring-Copious-Evidence
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:17 PM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:17 PM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
So the conclusion I'm drawing from all this drama is that (the most recent time) Trump wanted to shut the Russia investigation down, people on the ground figured out that a) they couldn't; and b) half-stepping it by shutting down the House investigation is enough to get Trump off their backs?
posted by rhizome at 4:18 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 4:18 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Bobbleheaded Throatwarbler Trey Gowdy isn't having any more of Nunes's business.
Rep. Trey Gowdy disagrees with GOP colleagues in House probe, says Russia wanted to hurt Hillary Clinton
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 4:19 PM on March 13, 2018 [31 favorites]
Rep. Trey Gowdy disagrees with GOP colleagues in House probe, says Russia wanted to hurt Hillary Clinton
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 4:19 PM on March 13, 2018 [31 favorites]
And remember Gowdy is the only Republican to actually read the underlying intelligence.
posted by chris24 at 4:22 PM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 4:22 PM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
Are we going to have a PA-18 thread a la Alabama? It’s T-20 minutes to polls closing and I can’t face 538 alone.
posted by lydhre at 4:43 PM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by lydhre at 4:43 PM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
Do we even have a federal government at this point, like does all this crap even technically count anymore
sadly, the Take-Backsies Amendment was never ratified
posted by murphy slaw at 4:45 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
sadly, the Take-Backsies Amendment was never ratified
posted by murphy slaw at 4:45 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
PA polls close in 15 minutes (also when they close for the TN Senate special, but I think we'll get a little less reporting on that).
Liveblogs:
* WESA (local public radio)
*Vox
* NYT (with the Needle)
*Crosstab (race writeup and has a NYT-style predictor)
posted by Chrysostom at 4:46 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
Liveblogs:
* WESA (local public radio)
*Vox
* NYT (with the Needle)
*Crosstab (race writeup and has a NYT-style predictor)
posted by Chrysostom at 4:46 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
Are we going to have a PA-18 thread a la Alabama? It’s T-20 minutes to polls closing and I can’t face 538 alone.
To chat? I'll slide on in there after kid bedtime is over and I fix myself a stiff drink.
posted by soren_lorensen at 4:47 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
* NYT (with the Needle)
With the choice under it for Jitter or No Jitter. If you're feeling brave.
posted by chris24 at 4:48 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
With the choice under it for Jitter or No Jitter. If you're feeling brave.
posted by chris24 at 4:48 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
Do we even have a federal government at this point, like does all this crap even technically count anymore
Winning back the House will make it all count, unless, of course, the Democratic establishment pulls that "we must look forward, not back" bullshit again, the way they did with the Bush Jr. admin's lying us into war, surveillance violations, and torture crimes, and not prosecuting anyone for the financial crash.
posted by darkstar at 4:49 PM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
Winning back the House will make it all count, unless, of course, the Democratic establishment pulls that "we must look forward, not back" bullshit again, the way they did with the Bush Jr. admin's lying us into war, surveillance violations, and torture crimes, and not prosecuting anyone for the financial crash.
posted by darkstar at 4:49 PM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
Gina Haspel Recalls Having To Torture More Prisoners Than Male Colleagues To Prove Herself
Fierce satire from The Onion.
posted by feste at 4:57 PM on March 13, 2018 [54 favorites]
Fierce satire from The Onion.
posted by feste at 4:57 PM on March 13, 2018 [54 favorites]
Is there a Mefi election Slack? Or should we use the IRC server?
posted by adrianhon at 5:02 PM on March 13, 2018
posted by adrianhon at 5:02 PM on March 13, 2018
Prominent Russian journalist after Tillerson firing: "Trump is ours"
The Russians are sure making the connection between Tillerson's firing and his comments yesterday.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:02 PM on March 13, 2018 [37 favorites]
The Russians are sure making the connection between Tillerson's firing and his comments yesterday.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:02 PM on March 13, 2018 [37 favorites]
Wait, there's a slack?
posted by localhuman at 5:02 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by localhuman at 5:02 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
If it’s a blowout, I suggest a headline of “Lamb Slaughters.”
posted by leotrotsky at 5:02 PM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by leotrotsky at 5:02 PM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
There is a PoliticsFilter Slack (entirely unofficial and unaffiliated with the site), and you're all welcome there, though we haven't been using it. And of course, there's MeFi official chat.
posted by zachlipton at 5:05 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 5:05 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Comedian Ian Karmel: "I can't believe there's a President who has sex with porn stars and wants a space army and I still hate him."
posted by msalt at 5:07 PM on March 13, 2018 [130 favorites]
posted by msalt at 5:07 PM on March 13, 2018 [130 favorites]
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump
It was my great honor to deliver a message at the Marine Core Air Station Miramar to our GREAT U.S. Military, straight from the heart of the American People: We support you, we thank you, we love you - and we will always have your back!
Marine CORE?!?
Make America Spell Again for the love of all that is holy.
posted by Talez at 5:10 PM on March 13, 2018 [88 favorites]
It was my great honor to deliver a message at the Marine Core Air Station Miramar to our GREAT U.S. Military, straight from the heart of the American People: We support you, we thank you, we love you - and we will always have your back!
Marine CORE?!?
Make America Spell Again for the love of all that is holy.
posted by Talez at 5:10 PM on March 13, 2018 [88 favorites]
or, "Lamb Slaughtered"
posted by pjenks at 5:10 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by pjenks at 5:10 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
White nationalist figurehead Matthew Heimbach was arrested on felony domestic violence-related charges Tuesday...Heimbach was charged with one count of battery and another of domestic battery committed in the presence of a child under 16 years old.
Heimbach (26) lives with his wife and toddler son in Indiana. His co-founder of the neo-Nazi Traditionalist Workers Party, Matt Parrott, is also Heimbach's father-in-law. Parrott resigned from the TWP Monday.
Heimbach is on probation as the only person IIRC convicted for assaulting a protestor at Trump's often-violent rallies, so this could send him to prison for that probation violation alone, and it gives him a prior for the penalty phase if he's convicted here. He was also seen brawling with protestors outside Richard Spencer's speech in Michigan last week, acc. to TPM, but was not apparently charged in that incident.
posted by msalt at 5:14 PM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
Heimbach (26) lives with his wife and toddler son in Indiana. His co-founder of the neo-Nazi Traditionalist Workers Party, Matt Parrott, is also Heimbach's father-in-law. Parrott resigned from the TWP Monday.
Heimbach is on probation as the only person IIRC convicted for assaulting a protestor at Trump's often-violent rallies, so this could send him to prison for that probation violation alone, and it gives him a prior for the penalty phase if he's convicted here. He was also seen brawling with protestors outside Richard Spencer's speech in Michigan last week, acc. to TPM, but was not apparently charged in that incident.
posted by msalt at 5:14 PM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
Dave Wasserman (Cook Political): ICYMI: Here's what I'd estimate Conor Lamb (D) needs in each #PA18 county to win tonight:
Allegheny: 58%
Greene: 41%
Washington: 47%
Westmoreland: 43%
Another thing we'll be watching for as results come in: is there a big turnout differential between Allegheny (pro-Lamb) vs. Westmoreland (pro-Saccone)?
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:28 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Allegheny: 58%
Greene: 41%
Washington: 47%
Westmoreland: 43%
Another thing we'll be watching for as results come in: is there a big turnout differential between Allegheny (pro-Lamb) vs. Westmoreland (pro-Saccone)?
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:28 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Sounds like Westmoreland will be coming in late.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:44 PM on March 13, 2018
posted by Chrysostom at 5:44 PM on March 13, 2018
@Nate_Cohn
Good news for Lamb: He appears to be running ahead of expectations in fragmentary returns white, working class, traditionally Dem Greene County. He inches ahead in our estimate.
@benchmarkpol
First results are in. WAY too early, but interestingly, there is actually a speck of blue in Greene County. Greene County was not expected to feature much if any blue at all.
@Bencjacobs
Three precincts are in in Greene County, which Trump won by 40 points. Lamb is down six
@BobbyBigWheel
Saccone's doing well in the rural precincts that have trickled in, but the turnout there is much worse than the suburban ones where Lamb's winning
@jonallendc
BRIDGEVILLE DIST 2 - Clinton won with 52 percent. Lamb takes it with 62.2 percent.
posted by chris24 at 5:47 PM on March 13, 2018 [22 favorites]
Good news for Lamb: He appears to be running ahead of expectations in fragmentary returns white, working class, traditionally Dem Greene County. He inches ahead in our estimate.
@benchmarkpol
First results are in. WAY too early, but interestingly, there is actually a speck of blue in Greene County. Greene County was not expected to feature much if any blue at all.
@Bencjacobs
Three precincts are in in Greene County, which Trump won by 40 points. Lamb is down six
@BobbyBigWheel
Saccone's doing well in the rural precincts that have trickled in, but the turnout there is much worse than the suburban ones where Lamb's winning
@jonallendc
BRIDGEVILLE DIST 2 - Clinton won with 52 percent. Lamb takes it with 62.2 percent.
posted by chris24 at 5:47 PM on March 13, 2018 [22 favorites]
Wasserman:
The most GOP-heavy Allegheny precinct that's reported so far (Jefferson Hills) is only at 54.7% of its 2016 turnout, while most Dem-heavy precinct (Mt. Lebanon 5-7) is at 75.2% of its 2016 turnout.posted by Chrysostom at 5:53 PM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
That mirrors 2017 specials and it's pretty ominous for Saccone (R). #PA18
@benchmarkpol
Waynesburg Borough #2 went Trump +23 in 2016. Tonight, it is Lamb +22. Quite a shift.
@gelliottmorris
GOP drop-off in vote share already pretty damning. Will see if it holds. If so… Lamb will win
CHARTS
posted by chris24 at 5:53 PM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
Waynesburg Borough #2 went Trump +23 in 2016. Tonight, it is Lamb +22. Quite a shift.
@gelliottmorris
GOP drop-off in vote share already pretty damning. Will see if it holds. If so… Lamb will win
CHARTS
posted by chris24 at 5:53 PM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
GOP drop-off in vote share already pretty damning. Will see if it holds. If so… Lamb will win.
Low turnout among Anti-Oprah voters bodes well for her 2020 chances.
posted by leotrotsky at 5:57 PM on March 13, 2018
Low turnout among Anti-Oprah voters bodes well for her 2020 chances.
posted by leotrotsky at 5:57 PM on March 13, 2018
Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish: "A speech that included Trump calling for the creation of a military "Space Force" to......conquer space?"
Reminder: there currently isn't a head of NASA.
posted by Mitheral at 5:57 PM on March 13, 2018 [28 favorites]
Reminder: there currently isn't a head of NASA.
posted by Mitheral at 5:57 PM on March 13, 2018 [28 favorites]
On CNN, ex-Trump staffer Jason Miller says that Saccone, the candidate who called himself “Trump before Trump”, was a terrible candidate who didn’t do enough to associate himself with Trump.
That seems like a good sign!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:59 PM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
That seems like a good sign!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:59 PM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
@benchmarkpol
Just to show how much Lamb is overperforming:
Waynesburg Borough #2
2016: Trump +23
2018: Lamb +22
Waynesburg Borough #3
2016: Trump +31
2018: Saccone +8
Gray
2016: Trump +43
2018: Saccone +12
If Saccone loses tonight, this may be a reversal of tide in a red area of PA-18.
@WinWithJMC
PENNSYLVANIA 18: 8% of Washington in. Saccone 46% (Trump got 61%). BAD for Saccone.
@markdharris (GOP consultant)
Saccone is losing Bethel Park precincts by 10-15 points. This thing is over. #pa18
posted by chris24 at 5:59 PM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
Just to show how much Lamb is overperforming:
Waynesburg Borough #2
2016: Trump +23
2018: Lamb +22
Waynesburg Borough #3
2016: Trump +31
2018: Saccone +8
Gray
2016: Trump +43
2018: Saccone +12
If Saccone loses tonight, this may be a reversal of tide in a red area of PA-18.
@WinWithJMC
PENNSYLVANIA 18: 8% of Washington in. Saccone 46% (Trump got 61%). BAD for Saccone.
@markdharris (GOP consultant)
Saccone is losing Bethel Park precincts by 10-15 points. This thing is over. #pa18
posted by chris24 at 5:59 PM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
I just want to note, for the record, that despite all the good news and positive trends, NYT's needle currently has Saccone tentatively projected to win with a 1.8% margin. Boo!
posted by darkstar at 6:00 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by darkstar at 6:00 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
NYT is giving the probability edge to Saccone right now, so hold onto your various butts
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:01 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:01 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
We're 16% reported, I would prefer not to crack the champagne just yet.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:01 PM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 6:01 PM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
NYT has Saccone at a 64% chance of victory.
posted by cybertaur1 at 6:05 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by cybertaur1 at 6:05 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
Reminder: there currently isn't a head of NASA.
And the current acting administrator is retiring. Nor is there a deputy administrator or chief of staff.
posted by thefoxgod at 6:06 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
And the current acting administrator is retiring. Nor is there a deputy administrator or chief of staff.
posted by thefoxgod at 6:06 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
@benchmarkpol
Lamb still pulling off big upsets in Greene County.
Springhill Precinct:
2016: Trump +37
2018: Lamb +2
@benchmarkpol
South Strabane 4
2016: Trump +20
2018: Lamb 4
Canton 4
2016: Trump +26
2018: Lamb +2
Every precinct that comes in #PA-18 seems to be trending hugely towards Lamb, especially in red areas.
---
And FYI, Benchmark's model was projecting a Saccone +2 win at the start of the night.
posted by chris24 at 6:08 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Lamb still pulling off big upsets in Greene County.
Springhill Precinct:
2016: Trump +37
2018: Lamb +2
@benchmarkpol
South Strabane 4
2016: Trump +20
2018: Lamb 4
Canton 4
2016: Trump +26
2018: Lamb +2
Every precinct that comes in #PA-18 seems to be trending hugely towards Lamb, especially in red areas.
---
And FYI, Benchmark's model was projecting a Saccone +2 win at the start of the night.
posted by chris24 at 6:08 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
NYT has Saccone at a 64% chance of victory.
NYT and their wiggle needle can suck it.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:10 PM on March 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
NYT and their wiggle needle can suck it.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:10 PM on March 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
Regarding the needle...
@Nate_Cohn
Still quite early, but you can see the pattern on the bottom end of the chart. That shows that, in GOP areas, Saccone doing a bit better than we thought he would. But we don't have many GOP areas in so far. I'm a little concerned the needle is overreacting here, but we'll see
CHART
@Nate_Cohn
One possibility I'll raise here, looking at this map of where the results are better/worse for d/r than expected, is that Saccone is beating expectations in his own state legislative district (southern allegheny county), which the needle isn't considering.
MAP
posted by chris24 at 6:11 PM on March 13, 2018
@Nate_Cohn
Still quite early, but you can see the pattern on the bottom end of the chart. That shows that, in GOP areas, Saccone doing a bit better than we thought he would. But we don't have many GOP areas in so far. I'm a little concerned the needle is overreacting here, but we'll see
CHART
@Nate_Cohn
One possibility I'll raise here, looking at this map of where the results are better/worse for d/r than expected, is that Saccone is beating expectations in his own state legislative district (southern allegheny county), which the needle isn't considering.
MAP
posted by chris24 at 6:11 PM on March 13, 2018
The NYT seems to have adjusted their model, now 52% Lamb.
posted by peeedro at 6:11 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by peeedro at 6:11 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
Keep in mind that Greene County is about 3% of the district population. It's nice to see a Dem do well there, but the impact is pretty marginal compared to the other counties.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:11 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 6:11 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
> NYT and their wiggle needle can suck it.
Yes, it can - but read their descriptive article if you're curious about the logic.
Also, FYI, it just swung over to Lamb 52% and +0.3.
posted by RedOrGreen at 6:13 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yes, it can - but read their descriptive article if you're curious about the logic.
Also, FYI, it just swung over to Lamb 52% and +0.3.
posted by RedOrGreen at 6:13 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
Keep in mind that Greene County is about 3% of the district population.
Agreed. But it's a very red area and if Lamb is doing well there, it may hopefully translate to other areas.
posted by chris24 at 6:14 PM on March 13, 2018
Agreed. But it's a very red area and if Lamb is doing well there, it may hopefully translate to other areas.
posted by chris24 at 6:14 PM on March 13, 2018
I'm doing the math based on the AP reported numbers and, IF calculations are correct and the already-reported percentages hold, then Lamb wins by about 1% or thereabouts.
posted by darkstar at 6:15 PM on March 13, 2018
posted by darkstar at 6:15 PM on March 13, 2018
Also, if turnout is depressed in the red districts that haven't reported in, it might not matter much that Lamb underperforms there. Thank God Trump is such an electoral buzzkill.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:16 PM on March 13, 2018
posted by leotrotsky at 6:16 PM on March 13, 2018
And no matter what happens, don't forget that by all historical precedent this should have been a cakewalk for Saccone.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:17 PM on March 13, 2018 [30 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:17 PM on March 13, 2018 [30 favorites]
I don't know if "underperforms" is the right word, though... massively overperforms expected results by 15% instead of by 20%?
posted by saturday_morning at 6:18 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by saturday_morning at 6:18 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Saccone is unlikely to match the 2014 and 2016 vote share of the unopposed Republican representative Tim Murphy who got 100%
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:20 PM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:20 PM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
Yep, they adjusted the needle to account for Saccone's own district counting too heavily.
@Nate_Cohn
Looking at it for myself, Saccone running about 3 pts ahead (6pts of margin) in his own LD, after controlling for partisanship/education. That's also the least educated part of Allegheny county, so the needle was reading into that for the whole rest of the district. Should be fixed now
@ryanstruyk
The latest from #PA18:
Allegheny County
2016: R+4%
2018 (so far): D+15%
Greene County
2016: R+43%
2018 (so far): R+17%
Washington County
2016: R+26%
2018 (so far): D+8%
Westmoreland County
2016: R+34%
2018 (so far): R+10%
@benchmarkpol
New data, Lamb continues to overperform:
Canton 1
2016: Trump +10
2018: Lamb +22
South Strabane 3
2016: Trump +34
2018: Saccone +15
North Strabane 3
2016: Trump +3
2018: Lamb +14
@benchmarkpol
More precincts rolling in
Smith 1
2016: Trump +15
2018: Lamb +15
North Bethelhem
2016: Trump +31
2018: Saccone +3
These results are spectacular numbers for Lamb.
posted by chris24 at 6:20 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
@Nate_Cohn
Looking at it for myself, Saccone running about 3 pts ahead (6pts of margin) in his own LD, after controlling for partisanship/education. That's also the least educated part of Allegheny county, so the needle was reading into that for the whole rest of the district. Should be fixed now
@ryanstruyk
The latest from #PA18:
Allegheny County
2016: R+4%
2018 (so far): D+15%
Greene County
2016: R+43%
2018 (so far): R+17%
Washington County
2016: R+26%
2018 (so far): D+8%
Westmoreland County
2016: R+34%
2018 (so far): R+10%
@benchmarkpol
New data, Lamb continues to overperform:
Canton 1
2016: Trump +10
2018: Lamb +22
South Strabane 3
2016: Trump +34
2018: Saccone +15
North Strabane 3
2016: Trump +3
2018: Lamb +14
@benchmarkpol
More precincts rolling in
Smith 1
2016: Trump +15
2018: Lamb +15
North Bethelhem
2016: Trump +31
2018: Saccone +3
These results are spectacular numbers for Lamb.
posted by chris24 at 6:20 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
New Needle problem:
Well folks, we have some bad news. Westmoreland County has told us that they aren't going to report results by precinct tonight (though they had previously told us they would). The model runs on precinct results so, this is a problem.posted by Chrysostom at 6:22 PM on March 13, 2018 [15 favorites]
We're still arguing over what to do about this, but it is a distinct possibility that we will turn it off. We can't responsibly model the result without data from the most GOP 1/3 of the district. And, well, we did make sure to write this in advance, in case we had to
It doesn’t matter who wins, really, the district is getting dismembered shortly. What matters is that in this year of the lord 2018 a district that should have been a GOP stronghold is in fact a tossup. Feel that blue wave whooo.
but who am I kidding I want lamb to win to break some GOP spirit
posted by lydhre at 6:24 PM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
but who am I kidding I want lamb to win to break some GOP spirit
posted by lydhre at 6:24 PM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
> Westmoreland County (most GOP 1/3 of the district) has told us that they aren't going to report results by precinct tonight (though they had previously told us they would).
The fix wouldn't be put in quite so blatantly, would it...? Would it?
posted by RedOrGreen at 6:24 PM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
The fix wouldn't be put in quite so blatantly, would it...? Would it?
posted by RedOrGreen at 6:24 PM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
@SeanTrende: People getting riled up about whether Lamb wins or loses are missing the point(s). This district is history, and Saccone winning by two or losing by two are roughly equal in terms of bad news for the GOP in November.
@brianschatz: This is true and I still would rather win.
Both of these are good takes. Whether the swing is enough for Lamb or not isn't particularly relevant to this fall, given the district won't exist anymore, and a district like PA-18 would be way down on the Democratic pickup list anyway. I also want to win, and I want to see egg on Trump's face for "campaigning" there this weekend. But a one point difference amid a massive swing is going to command a lot more attention than the swing.
posted by zachlipton at 6:25 PM on March 13, 2018 [23 favorites]
@brianschatz: This is true and I still would rather win.
Both of these are good takes. Whether the swing is enough for Lamb or not isn't particularly relevant to this fall, given the district won't exist anymore, and a district like PA-18 would be way down on the Democratic pickup list anyway. I also want to win, and I want to see egg on Trump's face for "campaigning" there this weekend. But a one point difference amid a massive swing is going to command a lot more attention than the swing.
posted by zachlipton at 6:25 PM on March 13, 2018 [23 favorites]
It doesn’t matter who wins, really, the district is getting dismembered shortly. What matters is that in this year of the lord 2018 a district that should have been a GOP stronghold is in fact a tossup. Feel that blue wave whooo.
Yes, regardless of the final result, please enjoy this visual.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:27 PM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
Yes, regardless of the final result, please enjoy this visual.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:27 PM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
Oh no, without the NYT needle how can I spend my evening filling my bloodstream with curdled adrenaline
posted by saturday_morning at 6:28 PM on March 13, 2018 [32 favorites]
posted by saturday_morning at 6:28 PM on March 13, 2018 [32 favorites]
Election Twitter is PISSED at Westmoreland County right now.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:32 PM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 6:32 PM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
From T.D. Strange link above, percentages needed to win...
and with 61% of the vote counted, on track, slightly ahead:
(sorry about format)
posted by MtDewd at 6:33 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
and with 61% of the vote counted, on track, slightly ahead:
Needed to win L % Lamb Saccone
Allegheny 0.58 0.582 41917 30044
Westmoreland 0.43 0.438 13900 17825
Washington 0.47 0.498 6062 6121
Greene 0.41 0.413 1716 2437
63595 56427
(sorry about format)
posted by MtDewd at 6:33 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
The NYT Needle sounds more like the delivery system for OpEd writers' drugs
posted by oneswellfoop at 6:33 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 6:33 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
The NYT Needle sounds more like the delivery system for OpEd writers' drugs
Hey! Chat or Thread! No double dipping!
posted by leotrotsky at 6:35 PM on March 13, 2018 [16 favorites]
Hey! Chat or Thread! No double dipping!
posted by leotrotsky at 6:35 PM on March 13, 2018 [16 favorites]
@Redistrict
Right now, all the counties are breaking as they would in a tied #PA18 outcome. The reason I might put a thumb on the scale for Lamb (D) is higher intensity/turnout in Dem-heavy precincts vs. GOP-heavy ones. But it's super-close.
@BobbyBigWheel
Most of the outstanding precincts are pretty Republican. If they had decent turnout then Saccone wins. If it was bad, Lamb wins.
@benchmarkpol
Looking at the overperformance right now, the Benchmark model is showing Lamb +1. Running up in Alleghenny and flipping many red precincts blue is doing it so far. It's gonna be a nailbiter.
posted by chris24 at 6:36 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
Right now, all the counties are breaking as they would in a tied #PA18 outcome. The reason I might put a thumb on the scale for Lamb (D) is higher intensity/turnout in Dem-heavy precincts vs. GOP-heavy ones. But it's super-close.
@BobbyBigWheel
Most of the outstanding precincts are pretty Republican. If they had decent turnout then Saccone wins. If it was bad, Lamb wins.
@benchmarkpol
Looking at the overperformance right now, the Benchmark model is showing Lamb +1. Running up in Alleghenny and flipping many red precincts blue is doing it so far. It's gonna be a nailbiter.
posted by chris24 at 6:36 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
Winning here matters. Even if the district goes away in November, if Lamb wins here, it will be to his benefit to be seen a winner, with all the good press that entails, not to mention the incumbency effect (however short-lived).
It may also help to further the idea of the Blue Wave, helping to demoralize the GOP donors and voters and energizing the Dem counterparts.
Plus, as mentioned before, it will be a sweet thumb in the eye of President Dumbass.
posted by darkstar at 6:37 PM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
It may also help to further the idea of the Blue Wave, helping to demoralize the GOP donors and voters and energizing the Dem counterparts.
Plus, as mentioned before, it will be a sweet thumb in the eye of President Dumbass.
posted by darkstar at 6:37 PM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
@Nate_Cohn: Alright folks, we've shut the needle down. As mentioned earlier, Westmoreland County isn't going to produce precinct results, as we believed they would. It's the GOP base of the district. We can't responsibly make a forecast without data from there. If Westmoreland finishes its count, and the race is still uncalled, we'll try and turn it back on.
I know it's normally considered wrong to desecrate a corpse, but the death of the needle has given me a new appreciation for the appeal.
Mainly just interested in turnout in Westmoreland county at this point. It's going to be very close, if we have an answer tonight.
posted by zachlipton at 6:37 PM on March 13, 2018
I know it's normally considered wrong to desecrate a corpse, but the death of the needle has given me a new appreciation for the appeal.
Mainly just interested in turnout in Westmoreland county at this point. It's going to be very close, if we have an answer tonight.
posted by zachlipton at 6:37 PM on March 13, 2018
NYT needle is now out of its (and our) misery.
Westmoreland (Saccone's money county) is 77% reported. He's built a ~6k vote lead there. Allegheny has Lamb up by ~13k votes with 83% reported.
These are by far the largest two counties involved. Overall, Lamb has a cushion of about 5k votes at this point.
posted by saturday_morning at 6:39 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Westmoreland (Saccone's money county) is 77% reported. He's built a ~6k vote lead there. Allegheny has Lamb up by ~13k votes with 83% reported.
These are by far the largest two counties involved. Overall, Lamb has a cushion of about 5k votes at this point.
posted by saturday_morning at 6:39 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
As mentioned earlier, Westmoreland County isn't going to produce precinct results, as we believed they would. It's the GOP base of the district.
I feel like they're planning skullduggery. Anyone else?
posted by leotrotsky at 6:40 PM on March 13, 2018 [16 favorites]
I feel like they're planning skullduggery. Anyone else?
posted by leotrotsky at 6:40 PM on March 13, 2018 [16 favorites]
If they're going back on reporting precinct results in the key GOP parts of the district, after traditionally and earlier today saying they would do so, I'm assuming right now as we speak someone in Westmoreland is on the phone with Moscow and changing the votes.
If it's close enough to steal, Republicans will steal it.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:40 PM on March 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
If it's close enough to steal, Republicans will steal it.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:40 PM on March 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
According to Cook PVI, there are 114 GOP seats more competitive than PA-18. Dems need 24 to take the House.
posted by chris24 at 6:41 PM on March 13, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 6:41 PM on March 13, 2018 [15 favorites]
Psssh. If you people were Queensryche fans, you'd know The Needle Lies.
Seriously, this whole needle business sounds an awful lot like masochism. Why would you do this to yourselves?
posted by scaryblackdeath at 6:41 PM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
Seriously, this whole needle business sounds an awful lot like masochism. Why would you do this to yourselves?
posted by scaryblackdeath at 6:41 PM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
ELECTION RESULT
GOP HOLD in Tennessee Senate 14:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 0 points.
vs 2016 HD-51 result margin: Dem improvement of about 5 points.
GOP lead in the Tennessee Senate is extended to 28-5.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:41 PM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
GOP HOLD in Tennessee Senate 14:
Reeves [R] 71.7%Margin changes compared to previous races:
Jordan [D] 28.3%
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 0 points.
vs 2016 HD-51 result margin: Dem improvement of about 5 points.
GOP lead in the Tennessee Senate is extended to 28-5.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:41 PM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
Other question: do these vote tallies represent absentee/early votes, as well? Because the GOP tends to perform better in those numbers.
posted by darkstar at 6:42 PM on March 13, 2018
posted by darkstar at 6:42 PM on March 13, 2018
If they're going back on reporting precinct results in the key GOP parts of the district, after traditionally and earlier today saying they would do so, I'm assuming right now as we speak someone in Westmoreland is on the phone with Moscow and changing the votes.
If it's close enough to steal, Republicans will steal it.
Do we have poll watchers? Third party observers?
posted by leotrotsky at 6:42 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
If it's close enough to steal, Republicans will steal it.
Do we have poll watchers? Third party observers?
posted by leotrotsky at 6:42 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
"Trump: “We should have a new force called the Space Force. It’s like the Army and the Navy, but for space, because we’re spending a lot of money on space.”"
Do you think if we named it the New American Space Army, told Trump we needed to hire a rocket scientist to run it (so we could have the best rockets), and begged him to dump shit-tons of money into it for space-related research, he'd go for it, and really just pour funding and support into this new "NASA"?
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:42 PM on March 13, 2018 [58 favorites]
Do you think if we named it the New American Space Army, told Trump we needed to hire a rocket scientist to run it (so we could have the best rockets), and begged him to dump shit-tons of money into it for space-related research, he'd go for it, and really just pour funding and support into this new "NASA"?
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:42 PM on March 13, 2018 [58 favorites]
I'm assuming right now as we speak someone in Westmoreland is on the phone with Moscow and changing the votes.
That's possible, I guess. But if you've ever dealt with local election boards, you would not be at all surprised to find that they just fucked up.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:42 PM on March 13, 2018 [24 favorites]
That's possible, I guess. But if you've ever dealt with local election boards, you would not be at all surprised to find that they just fucked up.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:42 PM on March 13, 2018 [24 favorites]
Other question: do these vote tallies represent absentee/early votes, as well? Because the GOP tends to perform better in those numbers.
There is no early vote, just absentee. So a small number.
posted by chris24 at 6:43 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
There is no early vote, just absentee. So a small number.
posted by chris24 at 6:43 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
Psssh. If you people were Queensryche fans, you'd know The Needle Lies.
I'm thinking Neil Young is also an apt commentator.
posted by darkstar at 6:44 PM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
I'm thinking Neil Young is also an apt commentator.
posted by darkstar at 6:44 PM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
Giant chunk of Westmoreland votes were just reported, cutting Lamb's lead to ~2500 votes. Westmoreland 88% reported, Allegheny 91%.
posted by saturday_morning at 6:46 PM on March 13, 2018
posted by saturday_morning at 6:46 PM on March 13, 2018
Do you think if we named it the New American Space Army, told Trump we needed to hire a rocket scientist to run it (so we could have the best rockets), and begged him to dump shit-tons of money into it for space-related research, he'd go for it, and really just pour funding and support into this new "NASA"?
How about more funding for Taking Away Newcomers Freedom, or TANF?
posted by leotrotsky at 6:47 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
How about more funding for Taking Away Newcomers Freedom, or TANF?
posted by leotrotsky at 6:47 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Seth Rich's family has filed a lawsuit against Fox News.
posted by guiseroom at 6:49 PM on March 13, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by guiseroom at 6:49 PM on March 13, 2018 [26 favorites]
Seth Rich's Family sues Fox News over retracted story
The May 16, 2017, Fox News article, which allegedly contained "false and fabricated facts," according to the lawsuit, fueled conspiracy theories that Rich was murdered in connection with a massive WikiLeaks data dump of 20,000 DNC emails days after his death.posted by chris24 at 6:49 PM on March 13, 2018 [54 favorites]
In the suit, which was obtained by ABC News, Rich's parents, Joel and Mary Rich, claim that Fox News investigative reporter Malia Zimmerman and contributor Ed Butowsky reached out to the family under false pretenses to support stories that Seth Rich leaked DNC emails to WikiLeaks.
The lawsuit claims that Fox News, Zimmerman and Butowsky are liable for the harm caused by the report because they "aided and abetted the intentional infliction of emotional distress" caused by the story about Seth Rich and alleges that Fox News provided with a national platform to develop what the lawsuit dubs a "sham story."
The Rich family claims that the “defendants’ conduct was extreme and outrageous” in what they allege was a deliberate effort to portray Seth Rich as a “criminal and traitor to the United States.”
“No parent should ever have to live through what we have been forced to endure. The pain and anguish that comes from seeing your murdered son’s life and legacy treated as a mere political football is beyond comprehension” Joel and Mary Rich said in a joint statement.
Leonard A. Gail of Massey & Gail LLP, a lawyer representing the Riches, said: “Joel and Mary Rich have brought this case to hold Fox News, Fox reporter Zimmerman, and political operative and Fox News contributor Butowsky, accountable for their reprehensible actions. Whether motivated by party politics, ratings, corporate profit, or personal gain, we hope to help prevent this kind of malicious and reckless behavior in the future so that others can be spared the hell the Riches have had to endure."
Apropos of nothing, PA has a mandatory recount for margins of 0.5% or less.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:53 PM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 6:53 PM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
@DougHeye (Former RNC Comms Director)
Regardless of who ultimately wins, this is not a good result for the GOP. Look for more retirements to come.
@benchmarkpol
Pennsylvania recount provisions: Under state law, the state's top elections official must order counties to recount when one candidate wins by less than a half of a percentage point.
posted by chris24 at 6:53 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
Regardless of who ultimately wins, this is not a good result for the GOP. Look for more retirements to come.
@benchmarkpol
Pennsylvania recount provisions: Under state law, the state's top elections official must order counties to recount when one candidate wins by less than a half of a percentage point.
posted by chris24 at 6:53 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
Well shit. I was hoping to pop the champagne tonight. Still looks like our boy pulled it off, though.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:56 PM on March 13, 2018
posted by leotrotsky at 6:56 PM on March 13, 2018
CNN has Lamb at 49.9 and Saccone at 49.5 with 95% reporting. I don’t need the anxiety needle to have a stressful night, y’all.
posted by lydhre at 6:58 PM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by lydhre at 6:58 PM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
I'm remembering now why I moved out of Westmoreland County.
posted by octothorpe at 6:59 PM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 6:59 PM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
I also note that the third party candidate in the race, Drew Miller (Libertarian) pulled 0.6%. Which has got to be making some people cookoo bananas right now.
posted by darkstar at 6:59 PM on March 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by darkstar at 6:59 PM on March 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
Well shit. I was hoping to pop the champagne tonight. Still looks like our boy pulled it off, though.
TTTCS you sumbitch
posted by phearlez at 7:00 PM on March 13, 2018 [30 favorites]
TTTCS you sumbitch
posted by phearlez at 7:00 PM on March 13, 2018 [30 favorites]
I also note that the third party candidate in the race, Drew Miller (Libertarian) pulled 0.6%. Which has got to be making some people cookoo bananas right now.
I'm honestly happy to see the right's spoiler candidate fuck things up for once.
posted by Talez at 7:01 PM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
I'm honestly happy to see the right's spoiler candidate fuck things up for once.
posted by Talez at 7:01 PM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
darkstar: "I also note that the third party candidate in the race, Drew Miller (Libertarian) pulled 0.6%. Which has got to be making some people cookoo bananas right now."
He went to my high school! Gooooo Talbots!
posted by Chrysostom at 7:02 PM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
He went to my high school! Gooooo Talbots!
posted by Chrysostom at 7:02 PM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
Decsion Desk HQ has precinct-level data for Westmoreland County, if you need a fix. No idea where they're getting it and why AP doesn't have it.
posted by zachlipton at 7:02 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by zachlipton at 7:02 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
Hopefully we'll know in two shakes of a lamb's tail.
posted by leotrotsky at 7:03 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by leotrotsky at 7:03 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
I mean, it is March.
As I understand, it goes out like a Lamb.
posted by leotrotsky at 7:04 PM on March 13, 2018 [22 favorites]
As I understand, it goes out like a Lamb.
posted by leotrotsky at 7:04 PM on March 13, 2018 [22 favorites]
So, it sounds like absentee votes may NOT be part of these tallies. They will be low - PA is excuse required absentee - but could be a factor.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:04 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Chrysostom at 7:04 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
You know, having worked as an elections official and ballot-counter in the past under far less consequential conditions than this, you'd think I would have more sympathy for the people running those 27 last precincts who JESUS PEOPLE COME ON MY TODDLER NIECE CAN COUNT FASTER THAN THIS AND SHE THINKS ELMO IS HER BROTHER
posted by saturday_morning at 7:05 PM on March 13, 2018 [61 favorites]
posted by saturday_morning at 7:05 PM on March 13, 2018 [61 favorites]
Lamb is currently out of automatic recount territory. +.6% with 96% in.
TTTCS
posted by chris24 at 7:07 PM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
TTTCS
posted by chris24 at 7:07 PM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
I think CNN said they are expecting around 3700 absentee ballots and that it won’t take long to count them — but they will only be added to the tally at the very end.
posted by Mothlight at 7:07 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Mothlight at 7:07 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
3700 absentee ballots
oh no
its like Final Jeopardy
posted by saturday_morning at 7:08 PM on March 13, 2018 [17 favorites]
oh no
its like Final Jeopardy
posted by saturday_morning at 7:08 PM on March 13, 2018 [17 favorites]
I mean, it is March.
As I understand, it goes out like a Lamb.
Also has Ides. Don't forget the Ides.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:11 PM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
As I understand, it goes out like a Lamb.
Also has Ides. Don't forget the Ides.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:11 PM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
With that awful DJT rally, it came in with the lyin'.
posted by mochapickle at 7:12 PM on March 13, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 7:12 PM on March 13, 2018 [26 favorites]
Seeing a bunch of talk that automatic recount rule only applies to state races and there's no automatic recount threshold here. If it comes down to the wire, there are going to be a lot of fights about that.
posted by zachlipton at 7:12 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 7:12 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
If there's 3500 absentee out, let's say Saccone does as well as he's done in any district; 60 - 40. That's a 20% lead. 20% of 3500 is 700. So Saccone would pick up 700. If Lamb is ahead by more than 700, he should withstand the absentee even if it's bad for him.
He's currently up 918.
posted by chris24 at 7:13 PM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
He's currently up 918.
posted by chris24 at 7:13 PM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
I'm hoping Lamb overperformed in the absentee ballots as he did elsewhere. After all, who was most motivated to absentee vote this time if they knew they'd be unable to hit the polls?
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:14 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:14 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
With that awful DJT rally, it came in with the lyin'.
Out on the lam.
posted by Sys Rq at 7:14 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
Out on the lam.
posted by Sys Rq at 7:14 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
Recount info:
Pennsylvania Sec. of State spokesperson Wanda Murren tells CNN that b/c this is a district race & not statewide, there is no mandatory recount here. Petitions are allowed, which require 3 voters in each precinct; have 5 days to file after the county completes its computation.posted by Chrysostom at 7:15 PM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
I only regret that I have but ten fingernails to lose for my country Pennsylvania’s 18th congressional district.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 7:17 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Barack Spinoza at 7:17 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Whoops — 7k absentee ballots overall. The 3700 are just Allegheny.
posted by Mothlight at 7:18 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Mothlight at 7:18 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
Notionally, there can be some overseas ballots, as well. As long as they are postmarked by the 12th and arrive by 5pm on the 20th, they will be counted.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:18 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Chrysostom at 7:18 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
The WaPo has some comic relief while you're biting your nails over those last few voting precincts, Melania Trump will meet with tech giants including Facebook and Google to talk cyberbullying:
First lady Melania Trump plans to convene tech giants including Amazon, Facebook, Google, Twitter and Snap next week to discuss ways to combat online harassment and promote Internet safety, according to four people familiar with her efforts.posted by peeedro at 7:20 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
The meeting at the White House, slated for March 20, marks the first major policy push in the first lady’s long-ago announced campaign to combat cyberbullying. At the gathering, Trump plans to ask policy executives from tech companies to detail how they’ve sought to address digital ills plaguing Web users, such as the rise of online trolls and the spread of malicious content, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss her efforts on the record.
But the people said they don’t expect the first lady to unveil any policy proposals to combat cyberbullying — a term her team has sought to avoid, instead opting to focus on the need for kindness online.
OK, 96.80% of Districts reporting (574 of 593). Lamb has a lead of 918 votes. To get that many net votes out of the 6,900 absentee ballots, Saccone would need to get 57% of them, which is a lot but not impossible.
So, does anyone know anything about the 19 outstanding precincts? R, D, rural, urban?
posted by msalt at 7:25 PM on March 13, 2018
So, does anyone know anything about the 19 outstanding precincts? R, D, rural, urban?
posted by msalt at 7:25 PM on March 13, 2018
Good luck with that, sweetie.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:25 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:25 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
"I'm honestly happy to see the right's spoiler candidate fuck things up for once."
Libertarians are not "the right's spoiler candidates." There was some exit polls analysis after the 2013 election that found that (in Virginia, at least) we tend to pull roughly 1/3 who would otherwise vote R, 1/3 who would otherwise vote D, and 1/3 who would otherwise not vote. (Don't know if this was published anywhere or if it was for internal distribution.)
Libertarians get a reputation for "spoiling" Republican candidates because former Republicans in the LP tend to be noisier and thus more obvious than former Democrats like me.
posted by Jacqueline at 7:26 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
Libertarians are not "the right's spoiler candidates." There was some exit polls analysis after the 2013 election that found that (in Virginia, at least) we tend to pull roughly 1/3 who would otherwise vote R, 1/3 who would otherwise vote D, and 1/3 who would otherwise not vote. (Don't know if this was published anywhere or if it was for internal distribution.)
Libertarians get a reputation for "spoiling" Republican candidates because former Republicans in the LP tend to be noisier and thus more obvious than former Democrats like me.
posted by Jacqueline at 7:26 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
/r/politics commenter:
This is my neighboring district. I have family in the district. They said they had so many people offering to give rides to the polls for dems that they couldn't even use them all.posted by sebastienbailard at 7:26 PM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
Melania and a roomful of Nice Guys®. That should go great.
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:26 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:26 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
@scottwongDC (The Hill House Republicans reporter)
Senior GOP aide: "This should be a wake up call for all GOP candidates. Any district that touches the suburbs, regardless of Trump victory margins, are in play." #PA18
posted by chris24 at 7:27 PM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
Senior GOP aide: "This should be a wake up call for all GOP candidates. Any district that touches the suburbs, regardless of Trump victory margins, are in play." #PA18
posted by chris24 at 7:27 PM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
@aseitzwald: Bad news: Greene and Washington counties will not be reporting their absentee votes tonight. Votes will be counted and posted tomorrow, per @katiegp.
Those counties aren't that big parts of the district, but this could take quite a while. So long in fact that There’s a non-zero chance that tonight’s #PA18 winner will have to file for reelection before they know if they won in the first place. The deadline to run in November for a full term is next Tuesday.
posted by zachlipton at 7:28 PM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
Those counties aren't that big parts of the district, but this could take quite a while. So long in fact that There’s a non-zero chance that tonight’s #PA18 winner will have to file for reelection before they know if they won in the first place. The deadline to run in November for a full term is next Tuesday.
posted by zachlipton at 7:28 PM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
Seems possible there won’t be a result tonight, if anyone’s eager to get to sleep 😴
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:29 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:29 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Well, to be clear, either of them would be filing for a different race, since the PA-18 goes away.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:29 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 7:29 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
Regarding absentee...
@Redistrict (Cook, 538)
It's been reported that there were about 6-7k absentees cast in #PA18. In the past, absentees have run slightly more Dem than the overall vote and I don't believe they've been counted yet. They may matter here.
---
And half are in Allegheny where Lamb has done best.
posted by chris24 at 7:30 PM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
@Redistrict (Cook, 538)
It's been reported that there were about 6-7k absentees cast in #PA18. In the past, absentees have run slightly more Dem than the overall vote and I don't believe they've been counted yet. They may matter here.
---
And half are in Allegheny where Lamb has done best.
posted by chris24 at 7:30 PM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
“Giving rides to the polls” = “volunteering at the soup kitchen on Thanksgiving”
You always have plenty of volunteers for that, because it’s the only day most people want to volunteer.
posted by EarBucket at 7:31 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
You always have plenty of volunteers for that, because it’s the only day most people want to volunteer.
posted by EarBucket at 7:31 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
I'm pretty sure a no-result tonight on account of absentees is almost as much of a win for us as an outright Lamb win. (Especially if Lamb continues to be nominally ahead.) The news cycle would actually be the "tied race where Trump won by 20" story that it really should be regardless of who eventually wins. Then the final votes can straggle in as they please, and as noted above, by the time the result is final it won't matter at all.
posted by saturday_morning at 7:33 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by saturday_morning at 7:33 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
So, realistically, I can't post an ELECTION RESULT tonight, no matter what happens in the remaining precincts.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:33 PM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 7:33 PM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
@adambonin (Philly election attorney)
9. If I had to guess, I bet the absentees push things further in Conor's direction. I trust the @AlleghenyDems to have done their job to ensure eligible absentee voters knew and exercised their rights.
@Redistrict (Cook, 538)
Lamb (D) should expect a pretty healthy boost from uncounted absentees. Why? 1) They've historically skewed Dem 2) More than half of them are from Allegheny Co. (despite Allegheny only being ~43% of #PA18).
CHART OF ABSENTEE VOTE LOCATION
posted by chris24 at 7:35 PM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
9. If I had to guess, I bet the absentees push things further in Conor's direction. I trust the @AlleghenyDems to have done their job to ensure eligible absentee voters knew and exercised their rights.
@Redistrict (Cook, 538)
Lamb (D) should expect a pretty healthy boost from uncounted absentees. Why? 1) They've historically skewed Dem 2) More than half of them are from Allegheny Co. (despite Allegheny only being ~43% of #PA18).
CHART OF ABSENTEE VOTE LOCATION
posted by chris24 at 7:35 PM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
DailyKos Elections: There are 119 GOP-held House seats bluer than #PA18.
posted by octothorpe at 7:35 PM on March 13, 2018 [41 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 7:35 PM on March 13, 2018 [41 favorites]
Fun fact: PA-18 is where my wife is from, and also Mr. Rogers.
posted by Artw at 7:36 PM on March 13, 2018 [30 favorites]
posted by Artw at 7:36 PM on March 13, 2018 [30 favorites]
Now that we're done cracking jokes about Space Force, it's time to google Kessler Syndrome, wherein an initial satellite collision causes a cascading accumulation of debris in low earth orbit,
War in space is bad for for inanimate things.
posted by ocschwar at 7:39 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
War in space is bad for for inanimate things.
posted by ocschwar at 7:39 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
@sahilkapur (Bloomberg)
#PA18 is a R+11 district
By contrast…
Paul Ryan: R+4
Pete Sessions: R+5
Devin Nunes: R+8
Steve King: R+11
Mark Meadows: R+14
posted by chris24 at 7:45 PM on March 13, 2018 [54 favorites]
#PA18 is a R+11 district
By contrast…
Paul Ryan: R+4
Pete Sessions: R+5
Devin Nunes: R+8
Steve King: R+11
Mark Meadows: R+14
posted by chris24 at 7:45 PM on March 13, 2018 [54 favorites]
a cascading accumulation of debris
--
#PA18 is a R+11 district
Paul Ryan: R+4
Pete Sessions: R+5
Devin Nunes: R+8
*hums contentedly*
posted by saturday_morning at 7:47 PM on March 13, 2018 [36 favorites]
--
#PA18 is a R+11 district
Paul Ryan: R+4
Pete Sessions: R+5
Devin Nunes: R+8
*hums contentedly*
posted by saturday_morning at 7:47 PM on March 13, 2018 [36 favorites]
2 precincts still out, Lamb's nominal lead is 95 votes.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:54 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 7:54 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Per CNN after a call with Washington County vote commissioner who verbally gave the final votes, Lamb has a 95 vote lead after all is in except two precincts in Westmoreland.
So it's going to be absentee deciding it.
posted by chris24 at 7:56 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
So it's going to be absentee deciding it.
posted by chris24 at 7:56 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
I wrote five Postcards to Voters for Lamb. If he ends up winning by <5 votes, I'm taking the credit.
posted by Tsuga at 7:56 PM on March 13, 2018 [62 favorites]
posted by Tsuga at 7:56 PM on March 13, 2018 [62 favorites]
I wonder if Trump knows that his "Space Force" can't use nukes, or that the Moon and other celestial bodies are completely off limits for "testing weapons of any kind, conducting military maneuvers, or establishing military bases, installations, and fortifications."
LOL JK Of course he has no fucking idea.
posted by zakur at 7:57 PM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
LOL JK Of course he has no fucking idea.
posted by zakur at 7:57 PM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
Seeing word that Allegheny County's ~3000 absentees will be counted tonight.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:58 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 7:58 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
who was most motivated to absentee vote this time if they knew they'd be unable to hit the polls?
I will reassure you, it's definitely not military members. I have never even known a military member who requested an absentee ballot for a special election.
posted by corb at 7:58 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
I will reassure you, it's definitely not military members. I have never even known a military member who requested an absentee ballot for a special election.
posted by corb at 7:58 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
The sad ghost of Rex Tillerson no longer haunts the vacant State Department’s halls (Alexandra Petri, WaPo)
He was sometimes glimpsed in the State Department, but he never manifested to anyone who worked there. (This was back when there still was a State Department, though even then it was embarrassing that we had hired thousands of people to learn all kinds of information about countries and places all over the world, to spend years building relationships and to conduct diplomacy, when in fact you could do it all much better by tweeting from the gut, and we are better off without it.)posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:58 PM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
Everyone disagreed about the nature of this ghost. Some said he was supposed to be the secretary of state, but in the past secretaries of state had always been visible and they had been able to speak, and the only words from this strange apparition were something unprintable followed by “moron,” directed at the president of the United States. Others said this figure was in league with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. What it wanted was unclear, and why it haunted this place, with which it seemed to have no affinity whatsoever, was never adequately explained.
The specter possessed no discernible expertise or desire to acquire any, nor any tangible form. (Expertise — how would I describe it? I guess I would call it “this annoying quality that makes people insist they know better about something than someone who has given no thought to the subject at all, ever, until just now but who has, like, a feeling about it.” Expertise sometimes caused people to say, “No, that is an idiot idea, a bad idea, the idea of a goofy child, you should go home and be ashamed of yourself for even suggesting such a thing, you absolute cretin,” instead of “Yes, what a good idea, sir,” and thus it has fallen out of favor.)
95 votes! Good lord.
(I know, absentee... but 95 votes!)
posted by Barack Spinoza at 7:59 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
(I know, absentee... but 95 votes!)
posted by Barack Spinoza at 7:59 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
I wonder if Trump know[s]
I'm going to stop you right there
posted by CommonSense at 7:59 PM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
I'm going to stop you right there
posted by CommonSense at 7:59 PM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
According to people on Twitter, absentees have skewed towards Democrats in recent elections in this district, and in general this has not been a Democratic-skewing district. Plus, more than half of them are from Allegheny County, which is the more-Democratic part. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of them were college students. If I were the College Dems at Penn State, I would be identifying everyone whose home address was in this district and knocking on their door. Anyway, my guess is that the absentees will seal the deal, although we'll see.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:02 PM on March 13, 2018
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:02 PM on March 13, 2018
Lamb got +752 in Allegheny absentee.
So up 847.
posted by chris24 at 8:03 PM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
So up 847.
posted by chris24 at 8:03 PM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
Westmoreland should have absentees tonight, too, I believe. Greene and Washington tomorrow.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:04 PM on March 13, 2018
posted by Chrysostom at 8:04 PM on March 13, 2018
There are 3200 absentee votes in the remaining counties. To make up 847 votes, Saccone would need to win the remaining absentee votes by 26%. So 63-37.
His best county so far is 57-43.
* Edit: this doesn't count the missing two precincts in Westmoreland. That could reduce the needed margin.
posted by chris24 at 8:06 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
His best county so far is 57-43.
* Edit: this doesn't count the missing two precincts in Westmoreland. That could reduce the needed margin.
posted by chris24 at 8:06 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
The last two Westmoreland precincts, plus their absentees, expected within an hour.
posted by zachlipton at 8:07 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 8:07 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
MSNBC seems to think absentees are going to go for Lamb, who is already ahead.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:09 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:09 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Santorum basically just said Lamb is going to win.
posted by chris24 at 8:10 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 8:10 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
The world has really gone to shit when I have to get drunk to make it through the 2018 Pennsylvania special election.
posted by johnpowell at 8:11 PM on March 13, 2018 [127 favorites]
posted by johnpowell at 8:11 PM on March 13, 2018 [127 favorites]
There are 3200 absentee votes in the remaining counties. To make up 847 votes, Saccone would need to win the remaining absentee votes by 26%.
Back of the envelope calculation: the non-Allegheny counties went Saccone 56%-44%, ie. he won them by 12%. So he would have to massively overperform his regular votes among the absentees.
turnturnturn
posted by saturday_morning at 8:12 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
Back of the envelope calculation: the non-Allegheny counties went Saccone 56%-44%, ie. he won them by 12%. So he would have to massively overperform his regular votes among the absentees.
turnturnturn
posted by saturday_morning at 8:12 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
So is/was the deal with Westmoreland that literally zero of their precincts will report tonight? Yet people are talking about which ones are left? I'm confused.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:13 PM on March 13, 2018
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:13 PM on March 13, 2018
The math: @ryanstruyk: Lamb leads by 847 votes after Allegheny absentees. That leaves 3,201 absentees left to count. Saccone would need to win 61% or so to close the gap. Just more than his 57%, 57% and 53% in those counties already reported.
@Nate_Cohn: .@DecisionDeskHQ says last two Westmoreland precincts are Latrobe2 and NLigonier. Saccone could reasonably hope for net-200 there, brings race down to D+650 CNN says there are 3206 absentees outstanding in GOP counties. Saccone would need to win those by 20. He didn't on eday.
It's damn close, and we might not really know for sure for a few days, but looks encouraging.
posted by zachlipton at 8:13 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
@Nate_Cohn: .@DecisionDeskHQ says last two Westmoreland precincts are Latrobe2 and NLigonier. Saccone could reasonably hope for net-200 there, brings race down to D+650 CNN says there are 3206 absentees outstanding in GOP counties. Saccone would need to win those by 20. He didn't on eday.
It's damn close, and we might not really know for sure for a few days, but looks encouraging.
posted by zachlipton at 8:13 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Annals of spin/self-delusion:
posted by Chrysostom at 8:13 PM on March 13, 2018 [24 favorites]
I spoke to a bunch of House Rs at the vote tonight abt what it means for their majority in the mid-terms if they lose tonight. A lot of them were pretty dismissive. Call it denial, call it spin, but Rs are def gonna try to downplay this race tomorrow, per my sourcing.I couldn't agree more, Republicans! You *definitely* should continue business as usual.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:13 PM on March 13, 2018 [24 favorites]
Trump composing Tweet about how Saccone was a weak candidate and he knew it all along.
posted by perhapses at 8:14 PM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by perhapses at 8:14 PM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
The Westmoreland votes are coming in tonight, but not by precinct.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:14 PM on March 13, 2018
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:14 PM on March 13, 2018
Oh, even better. @Nate_Cohn: It's also being pointed out to me that CNN was reporting the number of absentee ballots *sent out*, not returned. So that would raise the bar all that much higher for Saccone
Seems like Lamb could have it if the absentees aren't totally out of whack with election day results, which I realize isn't a great assumption.
posted by zachlipton at 8:16 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Seems like Lamb could have it if the absentees aren't totally out of whack with election day results, which I realize isn't a great assumption.
posted by zachlipton at 8:16 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Wasserman is calling it.
Projection: Barring a major tabulation error, Conor Lamb (D) has defeated Rick Saccone (R) in #PA18.
posted by zachlipton at 8:17 PM on March 13, 2018 [17 favorites]
Projection: Barring a major tabulation error, Conor Lamb (D) has defeated Rick Saccone (R) in #PA18.
posted by zachlipton at 8:17 PM on March 13, 2018 [17 favorites]
On CNN:
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:18 PM on March 13, 2018 [43 favorites]
Anderson Cooper: “If Lamb pulls this off, what are Trump supporters going to be saying tomorrow morning?”I’m sure the House Republican Caucus meeting tomorrow will be filled with excitement. Excitement about the Big Trump Bump.
Ex-Trump staffer Jason Miller: “They’re going to be taking about that Big Trump Bump, closing that five point gap, and if your having trouble in your campaign, just bring in Donald Trump!”
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:18 PM on March 13, 2018 [43 favorites]
I couldn't agree more, Republicans! You *definitely* should continue business as usual.
They want to look like a strong investment to their donors.
posted by sebastienbailard at 8:19 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
They want to look like a strong investment to their donors.
posted by sebastienbailard at 8:19 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'm 98% confident of a Lamb victory, too, but I think we can say for sure once the 2 Westmoreland precincts (Latrobe-2 and North Ligonier, if you are curious) and Westmoreland absentees are reported in the next hour or so. If those go as projected, the remaining stuff out (Greene and Washington absentees, overseas ballots) won't be enough to make a difference.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:20 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 8:20 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Mixmaster Steve Kornacki's outchea on the wheels of steel on MSNBC crossfading the election results.
posted by cashman at 8:20 PM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by cashman at 8:20 PM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
Kyle Griffin: Steve Kornacki is trending nationally on Twitter right now and that really says so much about 2018.
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:21 PM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:21 PM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
Seems like Lamb could have it if the absentees aren't totally out of whack with election day results, which I realize isn't a great assumption.
From what I calculate, Lamb got ~1875 out of 3000 absentee votes in Allegheny for a share of 62.5%. His share of Allegheny in the regular vote pool was 58655 / 101944 = 57.5%.
So...
ttt
posted by saturday_morning at 8:24 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
From what I calculate, Lamb got ~1875 out of 3000 absentee votes in Allegheny for a share of 62.5%. His share of Allegheny in the regular vote pool was 58655 / 101944 = 57.5%.
So...
ttt
posted by saturday_morning at 8:24 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Republicans must be wondering how they could have lost such a beautifully gerrymandered district with such a stunningly non-ephebophilic candidate
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:24 PM on March 13, 2018 [41 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:24 PM on March 13, 2018 [41 favorites]
East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94: The Westmoreland votes are coming in tonight, but not by precinct.
Ah, thanks. So those precincts reported their counts directly to county election officials without going to the media, or something?
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:25 PM on March 13, 2018
Ah, thanks. So those precincts reported their counts directly to county election officials without going to the media, or something?
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:25 PM on March 13, 2018
> triggerfinger:
"what's happening"
Splitting the baby?
posted by rhizome at 8:25 PM on March 13, 2018
"what's happening"
Splitting the baby?
posted by rhizome at 8:25 PM on March 13, 2018
Looks like the initial analysis is that R-leaning areas still went for Saccone by and large, they just didn't turn out very much. Which is pretty consistent with other special election results - Dem enthusiasm is just higher.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:26 PM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 8:26 PM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
Kornacki and Nate Cohn both saying they don't know how Saccone makes up the deficit.
posted by chris24 at 8:27 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 8:27 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Oops, change of plans: Washington County is now going to count its ~1200 absentees TONIGHT, but could "take several hours."
posted by Chrysostom at 8:27 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 8:27 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Ashley Parker saying on MSNBC that Trump & Co are saying a Lamb win isn't bad for them because Lamb is the outsider like Trump and Saccone is the insider. LOL.
posted by chris24 at 8:31 PM on March 13, 2018 [30 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 8:31 PM on March 13, 2018 [30 favorites]
Its a cliché but I’ll bet Conor Lamb is feeling like a forensic entomologist discovering improbably geo-located silphidae tonight
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:32 PM on March 13, 2018 [131 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:32 PM on March 13, 2018 [131 favorites]
zakur: "I wonder if Trump knows that his "Space Force" can't use nukes, or that the Moon and other celestial bodies are completely off limits for "testing weapons of any kind, conducting military maneuvers, or establishing military bases, installations, and fortifications.""
Those agreements are a joke if there is only one space power..
posted by Mitheral at 8:32 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Those agreements are a joke if there is only one space power..
posted by Mitheral at 8:32 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Gowdy breaks from GOP committee, says Russia worked to undermine ClintonThere are already stories on twitter that a rather alarming number of Republican intelligence committee members are tentatively walking back some of their earlier conclusions after the minority report.
posted by xyzzy at 8:33 PM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
Oh my gosh Saccone's little "I'm not afraid" Eminem snippet as he walked off stage following his little "we're going to go to the end but I know you have to go to bed so ttyl" speech made me laugh so much.
posted by cashman at 8:36 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by cashman at 8:36 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Crosstab projects Lamb.
@gelliottmorris
FWIW I still give Saccone a 0.4% chance of winning. But Lamb passed the 99.5% threshold so… projection has him up.
posted by chris24 at 8:36 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
@gelliottmorris
FWIW I still give Saccone a 0.4% chance of winning. But Lamb passed the 99.5% threshold so… projection has him up.
posted by chris24 at 8:36 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Its a cliché but I’ll bet Conor Lamb is feeling like a forensic entomologist discovering improbably geo-located silphidae tonight
Acherontia atropos, surely.
posted by darkstar at 8:38 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Acherontia atropos, surely.
posted by darkstar at 8:38 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
The Gowdy thing isn't an enormous surprise to me (but it sure would have been a year ago!). Hadn't he been saying this for a little while? Specifically, if I'm remembering right, he was the person Nunes asked to look at the underlying documents on which That Memo was based… and shortly after that, he pretty unequivocally said there was definitely something to Russia/Trump.
Regardless, it's starting to look like we might have been wrong to consider the findings of the House Intelligence Committee a ploy of political desperation by its Republican half. It's more like a ploy of political desperation by Devin Nunes, alone, with maybe one stooge who rubber-stamped it. (Is that possible? He just publishes this thing, implies that it was a team effort, and his fellow committee members feel like they can say they disagree, but can't say "Uh, he just went and did that, I wasn't involved"? I feel like that's what we're seeing.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:40 PM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
Regardless, it's starting to look like we might have been wrong to consider the findings of the House Intelligence Committee a ploy of political desperation by its Republican half. It's more like a ploy of political desperation by Devin Nunes, alone, with maybe one stooge who rubber-stamped it. (Is that possible? He just publishes this thing, implies that it was a team effort, and his fellow committee members feel like they can say they disagree, but can't say "Uh, he just went and did that, I wasn't involved"? I feel like that's what we're seeing.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:40 PM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
Kornacki just asked an elections official from Washington County if she could tell him the approximate relative amount of absentee votes Trump vs. Clinton got in 2016. She was like "Um, no, I'd have to check our records, I don't know that offhand," and the entire MSNBC panel (and the viewing audience) had these shocked expressions like, what do you mean you can't say offhand? KORNACKI KNOWS ALL THE NUMBERS EVERYWHERE EVERYTIME OFFHAND, you piker.
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:42 PM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:42 PM on March 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
Melania and a roomful of Nice Guys®. That should go great.
I'm pretty sure they're going to conclude the major source of unkindness online stems from female gamers and artists, people of color, and LGBTQ activists. All of whom have no sense of humor when reacting to white guys and their perfectly reasonable statements. Expect company policies to be adjusted accordingly.
posted by happyroach at 8:42 PM on March 13, 2018 [23 favorites]
I'm pretty sure they're going to conclude the major source of unkindness online stems from female gamers and artists, people of color, and LGBTQ activists. All of whom have no sense of humor when reacting to white guys and their perfectly reasonable statements. Expect company policies to be adjusted accordingly.
posted by happyroach at 8:42 PM on March 13, 2018 [23 favorites]
"Trey Gowdy" is the congressman, "Très Gaudy" is Macron's assessment of Trump's interior decor
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:44 PM on March 13, 2018 [48 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:44 PM on March 13, 2018 [48 favorites]
I'm pretty sure they're going to conclude the major source of unkindness online stems from female gamers and artists, people of color, and LGBTQ activists. All of whom have no sense of humor when reacting to white guys and their perfectly reasonable statements. Expect company policies to be adjusted accordingly.
Holy shit, I just realized this is literally the policy at my workplace.
posted by medusa at 8:46 PM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
Holy shit, I just realized this is literally the policy at my workplace.
posted by medusa at 8:46 PM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
So, Trump underperformed election day by 7% with absentee in Westmoreland and Washington. If Saccone does similarly there, it's a wash or maybe even a tiny Lamb bump even though it's R areas.
posted by chris24 at 8:47 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by chris24 at 8:47 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
D-Triple-C has declared victory. A bold move.
“House Republicans are eight months away from a midterm election with nothing to run on, facing dozens and dozens of candidates who are veterans, prosecutors and have similar records of service to our country and communities.There are more than one hundred districts more favorable for Democrats than this one and we look forward to competing hard in every single one.”posted by xyzzy at 8:49 PM on March 13, 2018 [24 favorites]
@Redistrict
It's very possible (even likely) that Saccone (R) won the #PA18 Election Day vote. But barring an error, absentees will have put Lamb (D) over the top.
posted by chris24 at 8:53 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
It's very possible (even likely) that Saccone (R) won the #PA18 Election Day vote. But barring an error, absentees will have put Lamb (D) over the top.
posted by chris24 at 8:53 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
This district has exactly the same Partisan Voting Index as Steve King's. We can unseat *anyone* in November. Anyone.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:53 PM on March 13, 2018 [83 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:53 PM on March 13, 2018 [83 favorites]
Everyone.
posted by biogeo at 8:55 PM on March 13, 2018 [75 favorites]
posted by biogeo at 8:55 PM on March 13, 2018 [75 favorites]
@Taniel
Lamb's big gains come in 2 ways:
—Compared to Obama, he gained more in suburban Allegheny than in rest of #PA18, building on 2016 anti-Trump backlash.
—Compared to Clinton, he gained far more in the more blue-collar counties than in Allegheny, countering Dems' longtime erosion.
@jbarro
Retweeted Taniel
This is why this result should terrify Republican candidates. Here’s a candidate holding upscale voters who swung to Clinton, winning back downscale voters who voted Obama in 08 or 12 but fell away, plus picking up voters who didn’t back either.
posted by chris24 at 8:55 PM on March 13, 2018 [17 favorites]
Lamb's big gains come in 2 ways:
—Compared to Obama, he gained more in suburban Allegheny than in rest of #PA18, building on 2016 anti-Trump backlash.
—Compared to Clinton, he gained far more in the more blue-collar counties than in Allegheny, countering Dems' longtime erosion.
@jbarro
Retweeted Taniel
This is why this result should terrify Republican candidates. Here’s a candidate holding upscale voters who swung to Clinton, winning back downscale voters who voted Obama in 08 or 12 but fell away, plus picking up voters who didn’t back either.
posted by chris24 at 8:55 PM on March 13, 2018 [17 favorites]
Ted Cruz is up for election, and You Can't Gerrymander Texas.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:55 PM on March 13, 2018 [30 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:55 PM on March 13, 2018 [30 favorites]
It's very possible (even likely) that Saccone (R) won the #PA18 Election Day vote. But barring an error, absentees will have put Lamb (D) over the top.
Expect Republicans to redouble their efforts to make early and absentee voting difficult or impossible.
posted by jedicus at 8:58 PM on March 13, 2018 [28 favorites]
Expect Republicans to redouble their efforts to make early and absentee voting difficult or impossible.
posted by jedicus at 8:58 PM on March 13, 2018 [28 favorites]
The final two Westmoreland precincts are in (and possibly also the Westmoreland absentees), and Lamb still leads by 579, per MSNBC.
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:59 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:59 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
This district has exactly the same Partisan Voting Index as Steve King's. We can unseat *anyone* in November. Anyone.
i like your moxie, kid, but steve king has incumbency advantage, is not replacing a fellow republican who lost the seat in a sex scandal, and presumably won’t run a sad sack campaign like saccone
but we should still make him work (and spend) his ass off for it
posted by murphy slaw at 8:59 PM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
i like your moxie, kid, but steve king has incumbency advantage, is not replacing a fellow republican who lost the seat in a sex scandal, and presumably won’t run a sad sack campaign like saccone
but we should still make him work (and spend) his ass off for it
posted by murphy slaw at 8:59 PM on March 13, 2018 [11 favorites]
The two missing Westmoreland precincts came in with the absentee. Lamb leads by 579 with only 1400 absentee votes left in Washington and Greene.
So, Saccone would need to win the remaining absentee by 42%. 71 - 29.
Lamb is going to win.
posted by chris24 at 9:01 PM on March 13, 2018 [15 favorites]
So, Saccone would need to win the remaining absentee by 42%. 71 - 29.
Lamb is going to win.
posted by chris24 at 9:01 PM on March 13, 2018 [15 favorites]
MSNBC: All of Westmoreland, including absentees, is in. What's left: 200 Greene absentees + 1190 Washington absentees.
posted by FelliniBlank at 9:03 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 9:03 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Re Steve King, I'd like to think having an explicit white supremacist as a representative and a slightly less explicit white supremacist as a president could help Democrats with the enthusiasm gap
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:03 PM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:03 PM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
And those Washington absentees will be in tonight yet (we are told).
posted by Chrysostom at 9:04 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 9:04 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
Woah, I hadn't realized it but Lamb is 33 years old.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:05 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:05 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Dems turned out at 79% of Clinton votes.
GOP turned out at 53% of Trump votes.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:05 PM on March 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
GOP turned out at 53% of Trump votes.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:05 PM on March 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
By the way, I promised I would give you my pre-election prediction. Here is what I wrote down last night, no fooling:
posted by Chrysostom at 9:07 PM on March 13, 2018 [38 favorites]
Lamb 50Not too shabby!
Saccone 49
Miller 1
posted by Chrysostom at 9:07 PM on March 13, 2018 [38 favorites]
GOP turned out at 53% of Trump votes.
i guess excitement about the space force wasn’t as motivating as trump expected
posted by murphy slaw at 9:08 PM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
i guess excitement about the space force wasn’t as motivating as trump expected
posted by murphy slaw at 9:08 PM on March 13, 2018 [13 favorites]
What's left: 200 Greene absentees + 1190 Washington absentees.
And those Washington absentees will be in tonight yet (we are told).
Ooh. So Lamb's margin after those Washington ballots could well be greater than the Greene absentee total. That'll make for some nicer headlines for America to wake up to.
posted by saturday_morning at 9:08 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
And those Washington absentees will be in tonight yet (we are told).
Ooh. So Lamb's margin after those Washington ballots could well be greater than the Greene absentee total. That'll make for some nicer headlines for America to wake up to.
posted by saturday_morning at 9:08 PM on March 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
53% of presidential election turnout for a special is pretty darn good. 79% is insane.
posted by chris24 at 9:09 PM on March 13, 2018 [39 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 9:09 PM on March 13, 2018 [39 favorites]
On CNN, ex-Trump staffer Jason Miller says that Saccone, the candidate who called himself “Trump before Trump”, was a terrible candidate who didn’t do enough to associate himself with Trump.
And here's the video. He should enter a Michael Jackson dance contest. He has the Moon Walk down cold.
posted by scalefree at 9:14 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
And here's the video. He should enter a Michael Jackson dance contest. He has the Moon Walk down cold.
posted by scalefree at 9:14 PM on March 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
Well, it's certainly a nice change to have a Celebration Drink rather than a Despair Drink! I could go for this kind of thing more often!
However, I would like to temper the excitement just a bit with a reminder that if this blue wave is going to succeed in 2018, it's going to take candidates just like this. It sounds like Lamb did exactly what he needed to do by focusing on local issues involving infrastructure and health care. I love how unabashedly pro-union he is. But I'm already dreading the day when something like a gun control issue comes up and he's not as liberal on that issue as people would prefer him to be.
I'm all for pushing for the most liberal positions you can get, but I'm also a little weary of how easy it is to start complaining about "blue dogs" when Democrats from red states/districts inevitably turn out to be the sort of moderate/conservative Democrats who can actually get elected from those areas. So this is great! Much more like this, please! But keep the long game in mind. This is only the beginning.
Even with a loss this would have been a victory. The fact that it's a victory outright? Utterly delicious.
(I know there are still technically votes to be counted, so TTTCS.)
posted by Salieri at 9:14 PM on March 13, 2018 [24 favorites]
However, I would like to temper the excitement just a bit with a reminder that if this blue wave is going to succeed in 2018, it's going to take candidates just like this. It sounds like Lamb did exactly what he needed to do by focusing on local issues involving infrastructure and health care. I love how unabashedly pro-union he is. But I'm already dreading the day when something like a gun control issue comes up and he's not as liberal on that issue as people would prefer him to be.
I'm all for pushing for the most liberal positions you can get, but I'm also a little weary of how easy it is to start complaining about "blue dogs" when Democrats from red states/districts inevitably turn out to be the sort of moderate/conservative Democrats who can actually get elected from those areas. So this is great! Much more like this, please! But keep the long game in mind. This is only the beginning.
Even with a loss this would have been a victory. The fact that it's a victory outright? Utterly delicious.
(I know there are still technically votes to be counted, so TTTCS.)
posted by Salieri at 9:14 PM on March 13, 2018 [24 favorites]
The New York Times: A True Believer in Trump’s Worldview; Mr. Pompeo opposes the Iran nuclear deal and doubts North Korea will give up its arsenal.
Is that Trump's Worldview? Are you sure? You know he recently said great progress was being made with Korean denuclearization yeah? Maybe his worldview is not a static view but is more like a GoPro being hurled off a burning zeppelin into the mariana trench
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:14 PM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
Is that Trump's Worldview? Are you sure? You know he recently said great progress was being made with Korean denuclearization yeah? Maybe his worldview is not a static view but is more like a GoPro being hurled off a burning zeppelin into the mariana trench
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:14 PM on March 13, 2018 [8 favorites]
Politico, Michael Crowley, Tillerson’s Ouster Could Kill the Iran Nuclear Deal
posted by zachlipton at 9:20 PM on March 13, 2018 [18 favorites]
When Trump spoke about Tillerson at the White House on Tuesday, he mentioned only one specific point of contention with his deposed diplomat. “We disagreed on things,” Trump said. “When you look at the Iran deal—I think it’s terrible; I guess he thought it was OK. I wanted to either break it or do something, and he felt a little bit differently. So we were not really thinking the same.”I know a so much has happened today, but I'm really not over the whole "the President of the United States fired a cabinet secretary on Twitter" thing. And given that the DOJ is currently in court arguing that Trump's Twitter is a personal account where he can block anyone he wants, using it for official personnel announcements isn't going to help his case.
Tillerson spent months arguing with Trump over the president’s desire to upend the deal, but Trump and Pompeo might be on the same page. Pompeo has long been one of Washington’s most ardent Iran hawks. As a Republican member of Congress, he said he looked forward to “rolling back this disastrous deal.” He has called for the U.S. to take a more active role in bringing about the fall of Tehran’s hard-line Islamist regime, which he has said is “intent on destroying America.” Last year, in a signal of his deep contempt for the Iranian regime, he placed the CIA officer who led the agency’s hunt for Osama bin Laden in charge of its Iran operations desk.
posted by zachlipton at 9:20 PM on March 13, 2018 [18 favorites]
So, if Dems were to outperform 2016 presidential margins as much as Lamb has done tonight, here's what the House map would look like.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:22 PM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 9:22 PM on March 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
An amusing diversion from New Zealand:
New Zealand diplomat tells US Democrats to organise against Trump or 'we all die' (Eleanor Ainge Roy, The Guardian)
posted by Start with Dessert at 9:23 PM on March 13, 2018 [18 favorites]
New Zealand diplomat tells US Democrats to organise against Trump or 'we all die' (Eleanor Ainge Roy, The Guardian)
posted by Start with Dessert at 9:23 PM on March 13, 2018 [18 favorites]
Wouldn't it be easier to just use the giant eagles?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:25 PM on March 13, 2018 [42 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:25 PM on March 13, 2018 [42 favorites]
Much as I love her commitment, Start With Dessert, that was most undiplomatic of her and she should be disciplined. That's not exactly gonna help us.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 9:25 PM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 9:25 PM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
Politico, Michael Crowley, Tillerson’s Ouster Could Kill the Iran Nuclear Deal
Yeah, for sure: Iran Deal is going down, and that will tank any possible negotiations with North Korea. Pompeo at the helm at State is so fucking grim. The only glimmer of hope here is that Lamb's performance tonight means flipping the house this November is possible. Here's a toast to the world not ending before the opposition can hit the brakes on this insanity.
posted by dis_integration at 9:30 PM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
Yeah, for sure: Iran Deal is going down, and that will tank any possible negotiations with North Korea. Pompeo at the helm at State is so fucking grim. The only glimmer of hope here is that Lamb's performance tonight means flipping the house this November is possible. Here's a toast to the world not ending before the opposition can hit the brakes on this insanity.
posted by dis_integration at 9:30 PM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
Wouldn't it be easier to just use the giant eagles?
The Nazgûl will pick them off if Trump isn’t distracted by Aragorn and Gandalf at the Black Gate.
posted by Celsius1414 at 9:32 PM on March 13, 2018 [20 favorites]
The Nazgûl will pick them off if Trump isn’t distracted by Aragorn and Gandalf at the Black Gate.
posted by Celsius1414 at 9:32 PM on March 13, 2018 [20 favorites]
I was having trouble parsing that for a moment, given we're talking about PA-18 (Giant Eagle is a Pittsburgh grocery store chain).
posted by Chrysostom at 9:34 PM on March 13, 2018 [43 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 9:34 PM on March 13, 2018 [43 favorites]
Pittsburgh MeFi just collectively laughed loud enough to briefly drown out the sound of Rick Saccone's incessant sobbing.
posted by tonycpsu at 9:41 PM on March 13, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by tonycpsu at 9:41 PM on March 13, 2018 [27 favorites]
@kevcirilli (Bloomberg)
SOURCE CLOSE TO SPEAKER PAUL RYAN:
“Lamb ran a unique campaign that almost no Democrat on the ballot this fall can replicate. It allowed him to compete here, but it doesn't mean Dems are gonna be competitive in places like this come November.“ #PA18
@nathanlgonzales (Roll Call, CNN analyst)
Retweeted Kevin Cirilli
Democrats don't have to be competitive in places like this in order to win the majority. #PA18
12 Thoughts Without Even Knowing Who Won in Pennsylvania
posted by chris24 at 9:43 PM on March 13, 2018 [19 favorites]
SOURCE CLOSE TO SPEAKER PAUL RYAN:
“Lamb ran a unique campaign that almost no Democrat on the ballot this fall can replicate. It allowed him to compete here, but it doesn't mean Dems are gonna be competitive in places like this come November.“ #PA18
@nathanlgonzales (Roll Call, CNN analyst)
Retweeted Kevin Cirilli
Democrats don't have to be competitive in places like this in order to win the majority. #PA18
12 Thoughts Without Even Knowing Who Won in Pennsylvania
posted by chris24 at 9:43 PM on March 13, 2018 [19 favorites]
Oh wow he is a tiny child.
posted by Artw at 9:43 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Artw at 9:43 PM on March 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
Lamb is speaking and declaring victory.
posted by chris24 at 9:43 PM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 9:43 PM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
Woah, I hadn't realized it but Lamb is 33 years old.
It’s the writers having another go at us.
Unless...
Just let me know if/when he whips the moneychangers out of the temple.
posted by darkstar at 9:47 PM on March 13, 2018 [20 favorites]
It’s the writers having another go at us.
Unless...
Just let me know if/when he whips the moneychangers out of the temple.
posted by darkstar at 9:47 PM on March 13, 2018 [20 favorites]
“We’re coming for all you treasonous fucks! Fear our righteous vengeance!” - Conor Lamb, probably
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:48 PM on March 13, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:48 PM on March 13, 2018 [18 favorites]
Talking about not taking PAC money, all small donors. And now thanking organized labor for the victory.
posted by chris24 at 9:49 PM on March 13, 2018 [36 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 9:49 PM on March 13, 2018 [36 favorites]
“also unions!”
posted by Artw at 9:49 PM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Artw at 9:49 PM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
Just let me know if/when he whips the moneychangers out of the temple
...and lo, the Ryan shall lie re the Lamb...
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:49 PM on March 13, 2018 [37 favorites]
...and lo, the Ryan shall lie re the Lamb...
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:49 PM on March 13, 2018 [37 favorites]
If March comes in like a Lamb, it’ll leave with some lyin’.
posted by Celsius1414 at 9:54 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Celsius1414 at 9:54 PM on March 13, 2018 [3 favorites]
I'm all for pushing for the most liberal positions you can get, but I'm also a little weary of how easy it is to start complaining about "blue dogs" when Democrats from red states/districts inevitably turn out to be the sort of moderate/conservative Democrats who can actually get elected from those areas. So this is great! Much more like this, please! But keep the long game in mind. This is only the beginning.
It's a worthy argument, I don't think that only a moderate dem could win in these places - that sounds like party orthodoxy talking when we know both parties think of their voters as much, much more conservative then they really are. I was just talking to someone complaining that the internal Mass. Dems have no plans for what to do when they take power- and they said this is reflected in the house of reps. There's no existing plan of what to do when control of the legislature is taken back, they just say "we have to focus on Trump now" without making plans for the brief window of easy power and control you'd have in the future if you indeed, blue wave the mid-terms.
Look at what Washington state is doing with its majority, it's signing bills left and right. Leading the movement to end bail! You need something on hand when it happens.
And it comes back to the same problem, over and over, the refusal to stand for something. The neutrality. Waiting for things to hit 50% and jumping on the bandwagon. You know when people got really excited for the UK Labour party last year? When they released an easy to read but comprehensive manifesto with specific policies.
The Dems can still, very easily, miss their shot.
It's something to keep an eye on, and angers me cause I (and anyone whose like, mildly aware of the issues) could drop off a perfectly mainstream, politically feasible, progressive-left policy plan of attack like, tomorrow if they want one. I promise it wouldn't have any storming of factories or unfurling of red flags. The first phase would focus on cementing power via voting rights, expansion, and reform and gerrymandering , the second on cleanup and encouragements (the overtime loophole, pushing stronger for the postal bank experimental) and the major thrust being 4 policy positions that are very popular, morally defensible, and within the scope of the current system: DREAM Act/Gun Control/Marijuana Legalization/Medicare For All Expansion.
There's be a different approach obviously (I think its better to support state level Dems in NY and CA to pass their own M4A bills to show it can work with a big enough population and then begin the roll out by expanding it to everyone under 25 nationally) but that;s the kind of "incremental, within the system change" I want to see, not "Wins because of increased public fervor against republicans, votes with them 99% of the time."Plus, it's very encouraging to the base to see their officials fighting for something even if they know it;s going to fail. I want to force Trump to have to veto MOUNTAINS of progressive legislation cause it tells me, as someone watching politics, that my representatives aren't killing time between martinis. It shows me they have skin in the game and that would make me want to fight for them.
I don't want to win cause the opposition is worse/ I want to win cause we have a better vision of what's possible and are willing to fight for it.
posted by The Whelk at 9:56 PM on March 13, 2018 [113 favorites]
(I spent a while on that so if it turns out Lamb is calling for us to seize the means of production you can ignore it)
posted by The Whelk at 9:57 PM on March 13, 2018 [32 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 9:57 PM on March 13, 2018 [32 favorites]
Lamb ran a unique campaign that almost no Democrat on the ballot this fall can replicate.
...he really, really, didn't. He had a compelling narrative as a former marine, but took mostly mainline Democratic positions with a couple exceptions. Endorsed the ACA. Against 20 week abortion bill. Unapologetically pro-union. Pro-guns but didn't try to emphasize it. Tepidly-anti Pelosi if that even mattered. STRONGLY anti-#GOPtaxscam. He didn't even bring up the ocean of Trump corruptions.
That's a thoroughly mainstream Democratic playbook that can win in a SHITLOAD of districts if we see anything close to these percentages in Novermber, even without an outstanding candidate story.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:02 PM on March 13, 2018 [53 favorites]
...he really, really, didn't. He had a compelling narrative as a former marine, but took mostly mainline Democratic positions with a couple exceptions. Endorsed the ACA. Against 20 week abortion bill. Unapologetically pro-union. Pro-guns but didn't try to emphasize it. Tepidly-anti Pelosi if that even mattered. STRONGLY anti-#GOPtaxscam. He didn't even bring up the ocean of Trump corruptions.
That's a thoroughly mainstream Democratic playbook that can win in a SHITLOAD of districts if we see anything close to these percentages in Novermber, even without an outstanding candidate story.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:02 PM on March 13, 2018 [53 favorites]
Trump visited twice. Junior visited. Ivanka visited.
Trump enacted steel tariffs basically to win the district. Rs spent $10 million.
Lamb ran on keeping Obamacare, ending the tax cuts, and strengthening and protecting unions.
In a district Trump won by 20.
And Lamb won.
No matter how they spin, this is disastrous for Rs. And we need to keep working to have more of these on November 6th.
posted by chris24 at 10:02 PM on March 13, 2018 [160 favorites]
Trump enacted steel tariffs basically to win the district. Rs spent $10 million.
Lamb ran on keeping Obamacare, ending the tax cuts, and strengthening and protecting unions.
In a district Trump won by 20.
And Lamb won.
No matter how they spin, this is disastrous for Rs. And we need to keep working to have more of these on November 6th.
posted by chris24 at 10:02 PM on March 13, 2018 [160 favorites]
Dems have no plans for what to do when they take power- and they said this is reflected in the house of reps. There's no existing plan of what to do when control of the legislature is taken back, they just say "we have to focus on Trump now" without making plans for the brief window of easy power and control you'd have in the future if you indeed, blue wave the mid-terms.
...
It's something to keep an eye on, and angers me cause I (and anyone whose like, mildly aware of the issues) could drop off a perfectly mainstream, politically feasible, progressive-left policy plan of attack like, tomorrow if they want one. I promise it wouldn't have any storming of factories or unfurling of red flags. The first phase would focus on cementing power via voting rights, expansion, and reform and gerrymandering , the second on cleanup and encouragements (the overtime loophole, pushing stronger for the postal bank experimental) and the major thrust being 4 policy positions that are very popular, morally defensible, and within the scope of the current system: DREAM Act/Gun Control/Marijuana Legalization/Medicare For All Expansion.
I mean, this would be almost my exact agenda for the first 100 days of benevolent dictatorship. This shouldn't be nearly as hard as Democrats insist on making it. Please don't fuck up the 2018 Blue Wave like the squandered 60 seat veto-proof majority.
And Whelk for Benevolent Dictator.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:09 PM on March 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
...
It's something to keep an eye on, and angers me cause I (and anyone whose like, mildly aware of the issues) could drop off a perfectly mainstream, politically feasible, progressive-left policy plan of attack like, tomorrow if they want one. I promise it wouldn't have any storming of factories or unfurling of red flags. The first phase would focus on cementing power via voting rights, expansion, and reform and gerrymandering , the second on cleanup and encouragements (the overtime loophole, pushing stronger for the postal bank experimental) and the major thrust being 4 policy positions that are very popular, morally defensible, and within the scope of the current system: DREAM Act/Gun Control/Marijuana Legalization/Medicare For All Expansion.
I mean, this would be almost my exact agenda for the first 100 days of benevolent dictatorship. This shouldn't be nearly as hard as Democrats insist on making it. Please don't fuck up the 2018 Blue Wave like the squandered 60 seat veto-proof majority.
And Whelk for Benevolent Dictator.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:09 PM on March 13, 2018 [21 favorites]
(I want the progressive dems to win because I want a better society but also cause I want a better class of rival. please please let my political opponents be social democrats and not fascists I beg you)
posted by The Whelk at 10:09 PM on March 13, 2018 [30 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 10:09 PM on March 13, 2018 [30 favorites]
He didn't even bring up the ocean of Trump corruptions.
this is important and i hope other dems notice. trump basically runs against himself - every time he opens his mouth, everyone but his base groans. you only have so many moments to define yourself in a campaign, and trying to position yourself as anti-trump is a waste of time that won’t win you any democratic votes and might rile up trumpist republicans against you.
run on locally relevant issues and make distancing themselves or hugging trump a calculation that your opponent has to worry about.
posted by murphy slaw at 10:11 PM on March 13, 2018 [65 favorites]
this is important and i hope other dems notice. trump basically runs against himself - every time he opens his mouth, everyone but his base groans. you only have so many moments to define yourself in a campaign, and trying to position yourself as anti-trump is a waste of time that won’t win you any democratic votes and might rile up trumpist republicans against you.
run on locally relevant issues and make distancing themselves or hugging trump a calculation that your opponent has to worry about.
posted by murphy slaw at 10:11 PM on March 13, 2018 [65 favorites]
It's a worthy argument, I don't think that only a moderate dem could win in these places - that sounds like party orthodoxy talking when we know both parties think of their voters as much, much more conservative then they really are.
I'm not a member of the party orthodoxy. I'm not sure if that was supposed to be read as insulting, but I should probably give this thread a rest. For the record, I want to believe that voters aren't as conservative as the parties think. I keep hearing people say that. I just haven't seen much actual evidence of that in the way they vote, no matter what the polls say.
But then I live in a red state and I'm surrounded by conservatives and I'm tired in spirit.
posted by Salieri at 10:12 PM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
I'm not a member of the party orthodoxy. I'm not sure if that was supposed to be read as insulting, but I should probably give this thread a rest. For the record, I want to believe that voters aren't as conservative as the parties think. I keep hearing people say that. I just haven't seen much actual evidence of that in the way they vote, no matter what the polls say.
But then I live in a red state and I'm surrounded by conservatives and I'm tired in spirit.
posted by Salieri at 10:12 PM on March 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
Anyway, I hope this cheers Rex Tillerson up a bit
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:14 PM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:14 PM on March 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
murphy slaw: "run on locally relevant issues and make distancing themselves or hugging trump a calculation that your opponent has to worry about."
I think this was the successful template in the VA elections.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:19 PM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
I think this was the successful template in the VA elections.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:19 PM on March 13, 2018 [9 favorites]
the way republicans were talking about saccone recently makes me think that his performance tonight might have beaten their internal polling, even though he lost.
on the other hand, are republican donors going to drop another giant pile of cash on him after he lost a district that wasn’t even supposed to be competitive?
posted by murphy slaw at 10:20 PM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
on the other hand, are republican donors going to drop another giant pile of cash on him after he lost a district that wasn’t even supposed to be competitive?
posted by murphy slaw at 10:20 PM on March 13, 2018 [6 favorites]
Keep in mind, PA doesn't do primaries for specials - Saccone was picked via a party committee. He'd still have to win a primary for PA-14, and I'm sure there are a number of people on the GOP side who are pretty eager to run the nomination for what should be a relatively safe seat.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:24 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 10:24 PM on March 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
Damn, they're saying Fox and the WH intentionally used deliberately fake news about Seth to distract from the Russia investigation.
@AsteadWesley (Boston Globe)
Wow, I'm just reading the complaint from Seth Rich's family and it's doozy. This explicitly alleges a coordinated and cohesive effort from conservative journalists, Fox News, and even the White House to falsely connect Rich's death to the DNC hacks.
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4410424-Rich-family-complaint-March-13-2018.html
@willsommer (The Hill): The lawsuit from Seth Rich's could get ugly for Fox. The complaint alleges that a Fox contributor misled Rich's parents, involvement from Fox producer and shows Rich's parents suffering serious emotional issues over the conspiracy theories
@HashtagGriswold (Free Beacon)
Per the lawsuit from Seth Rich's parents, the guy pushing the story explicitly told the hosts of Fox & Friends that it was all about denying Russian interference and collusion stories
posted by chris24 at 10:27 PM on March 13, 2018 [86 favorites]
@AsteadWesley (Boston Globe)
Wow, I'm just reading the complaint from Seth Rich's family and it's doozy. This explicitly alleges a coordinated and cohesive effort from conservative journalists, Fox News, and even the White House to falsely connect Rich's death to the DNC hacks.
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4410424-Rich-family-complaint-March-13-2018.html
@willsommer (The Hill): The lawsuit from Seth Rich's could get ugly for Fox. The complaint alleges that a Fox contributor misled Rich's parents, involvement from Fox producer and shows Rich's parents suffering serious emotional issues over the conspiracy theories
@HashtagGriswold (Free Beacon)
Per the lawsuit from Seth Rich's parents, the guy pushing the story explicitly told the hosts of Fox & Friends that it was all about denying Russian interference and collusion stories
posted by chris24 at 10:27 PM on March 13, 2018 [86 favorites]
You know, I would have been perfectly content to have the Rich family fade off into private mourning and I wouldn't have blamed them one whit, but if they're game to punish Fox and the WH I won't beg them to stop.
posted by xyzzy at 10:29 PM on March 13, 2018 [63 favorites]
posted by xyzzy at 10:29 PM on March 13, 2018 [63 favorites]
The Rich family deserves the lifeblood of Fox News in monetary compensation. I want to grab multiple shirtfronts and hiss, "And you! You're going to jail for fifteen thousand years!" in my best Cordelia Chase voice.
Reptile Boy is a horrible episode that I love to pieces, just like many Buffy episodes. And I love everyone in this bar, even when I get cranky. You all are good people.
posted by Salieri at 10:41 PM on March 13, 2018 [43 favorites]
Reptile Boy is a horrible episode that I love to pieces, just like many Buffy episodes. And I love everyone in this bar, even when I get cranky. You all are good people.
posted by Salieri at 10:41 PM on March 13, 2018 [43 favorites]
And Donny is intimately involved.
posted by chris24 at 10:46 PM on March 13, 2018 [99 favorites]
69. On May 10, 2017, Butowsky and Fox’s Zimmerman called Wheeler from Butowsky’s phone to falsely inform him that they had developed an FBI source supposedly confirming that emails were sent between Seth and WikiLeaks. According to Wheeler, Fox’s Zimmerman and Butowsky told Wheeler that Zimmerman and Butowsky would be meeting with the source and would provide Wheeler with details.Fox then published the fake story.
70. Meanwhile, Zimmerman drafted a sham news article to be published on Fox News, reporting that Seth gave the DNC emails to WikiLeaks (the “Zimmerman/Fox Article”).
71. According to Wheeler, Zimmerman and Butowsky were working together and on behalf of Fox News on the Zimmerman/Fox Article and had exchanged multiple drafts.
72. According to Wheeler, on May 11, 2017, Zimmerman sent Wheeler a draft of the Zimmerman/Fox Article.
73. According to Wheeler, on May 14, 2017, Butowsky informed Wheeler that President Donald Trump had read a draft of the Zimmerman/Fox Article and wanted it published “immediately.” (my bold)
posted by chris24 at 10:46 PM on March 13, 2018 [99 favorites]
You know, in law school you learn that intentional infliction of emotional distress is almost always a losing, desperation cause of action that no one ever wins outside of truly fucked up and extreme circumstances.
Like a presidential candidate and national news network telling you to your face that they're using your son's death for political gain, and then doing it.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:53 PM on March 13, 2018 [83 favorites]
Like a presidential candidate and national news network telling you to your face that they're using your son's death for political gain, and then doing it.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:53 PM on March 13, 2018 [83 favorites]
Expect Republicans to redouble their efforts to make early and absentee voting difficult or impossible.
Nope. Old people love absentee voting and their demographic skews Republican.
posted by Jacqueline at 12:39 AM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
Nope. Old people love absentee voting and their demographic skews Republican.
posted by Jacqueline at 12:39 AM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
When you get beat by a Lamb so young he makes Jared look like a distinguished, mature man of the world, it might be time to stop winning so much, maybe launch something more in your wheelhouse, an Infrastructure Week III: Sleepy Sons of Bridges kinda deal.
posted by riverlife at 2:04 AM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by riverlife at 2:04 AM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
@SteveKornacki: We have the Washington numbers and NBC is calling Conor Lamb the apparent winner in PA-18
I really hope Kornacki gets some sleep. He's extremely earned it.
posted by zachlipton at 2:31 AM on March 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
I really hope Kornacki gets some sleep. He's extremely earned it.
posted by zachlipton at 2:31 AM on March 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
So, a few votes still outstanding, but I feel okay declaring:
ELECTION RESULT
Dem GAIN in Pennsylvania 18th district:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 20 points.
vs 2012 PA-18 result margin: Dem improvement of about 28 points. (seat was uncontested in 2014 and 2016)
GOP lead in the US House is cut to 238-194 (3 vacancies).
posted by Chrysostom at 2:48 AM on March 14, 2018 [86 favorites]
ELECTION RESULT
Dem GAIN in Pennsylvania 18th district:
Lamb [D] 49.8%Margin changes compared to previous races:
Saccone [R] 49.5%
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 20 points.
vs 2012 PA-18 result margin: Dem improvement of about 28 points. (seat was uncontested in 2014 and 2016)
GOP lead in the US House is cut to 238-194 (3 vacancies).
posted by Chrysostom at 2:48 AM on March 14, 2018 [86 favorites]
So, a complete trouncing in 2018 will still almost certainly not give us enough D votes to impeach in the Senate. We know this.
But can you imagine how terrified the incumbent R senators in swing states up in 2020 will be of looking pro-Trump?
Also, if you think Trump's looks weak and bonkers now, imagine how punch drunk he'll be after his party gets destroyed at the ballot.
posted by leotrotsky at 3:57 AM on March 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
But can you imagine how terrified the incumbent R senators in swing states up in 2020 will be of looking pro-Trump?
Also, if you think Trump's looks weak and bonkers now, imagine how punch drunk he'll be after his party gets destroyed at the ballot.
posted by leotrotsky at 3:57 AM on March 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
from Reddit:
"This district is literally manufactured to stay safe Republican.
So much so, the PA Supreme Court said it violated the state constitution.
Think about that."
posted by leotrotsky at 3:59 AM on March 14, 2018 [105 favorites]
"This district is literally manufactured to stay safe Republican.
So much so, the PA Supreme Court said it violated the state constitution.
Think about that."
posted by leotrotsky at 3:59 AM on March 14, 2018 [105 favorites]
#NeverTrump Representative Charlie Dent (R-PA) on CNN describes the White House as being in “anarchy”, warns of Trump-aligned Republicans being “swept away”, and calls Secretary Tillerson’s firing over Twitter “deplorable”.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:46 AM on March 14, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:46 AM on March 14, 2018 [12 favorites]
Liveblog of May and Corbyn on the UK response to Russian nerve agent incident.
oh my god may and corbyn i know you're british politicians but can you stop bickering between yourselves and let us know if WWIII has started yet or not pls
posted by halation at 5:15 AM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
oh my god may and corbyn i know you're british politicians but can you stop bickering between yourselves and let us know if WWIII has started yet or not pls
posted by halation at 5:15 AM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
Ya know, for a guy whos catchphrase is "You're Fired!™", he's kind of a coward about doing it face to face.
No, he's consistent there. The common element between telling an Apprentice contestant "you're fired" and firing Tillerson over Twitter? Both are done to an audience.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 5:15 AM on March 14, 2018 [31 favorites]
No, he's consistent there. The common element between telling an Apprentice contestant "you're fired" and firing Tillerson over Twitter? Both are done to an audience.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 5:15 AM on March 14, 2018 [31 favorites]
CNN: Emails show Ben, Candy Carson selected $31,000 dining set
Newly released emails cast doubt on claims by Secretary Ben Carson and his spokesman that he had little or no involvement in the purchase of a $31,000 furniture set for his Department of Housing and Urban Development dining room.posted by chris24 at 5:25 AM on March 14, 2018 [33 favorites]
Emails show Carson and his wife selected the furniture themselves. An August email from a career administration staffer, with the subject line "Secretary's dining room set needed," to Carson's assistant refers to "printouts of the furniture the Secretary and Mrs. Carson picked out."
The documents were released following a Freedom of Information Act request from American Oversight, a liberal watchdog group led by former Obama administration officials, and offer a snapshot into how the agency acquired the furniture.
HUD spokesman Raffi Williams initially denied the Carsons had any involvement in the dining set selection. "Mrs. Carson and the secretary had no awareness that the table was being purchased," he told CNN last month. A HUD spokesman went further at the time, blaming the purchase on an unnamed career staffer. "The secretary did not order a new table. The table was ordered by the career staffers in charge of the building," he said.
A few days later, Carson personally addressed the issue, telling CNN in a statement that he was "surprised" by the more than $31,000 price tag and was having the order canceled. The company confirmed a few days after CNN reported the purchase that the agency officially canceled the order on March 1.
"I briefly looked at catalogs for dining furniture and was shocked by the cost of the furniture," Carson wrote. "My wife also looked at catalogs and wanted to be sure that the color of the chair fabric of any set that was chosen matched the rest of the decour (sic)."
Confronted Tuesday with the discrepancy between his past comments and the internal emails, Williams offered only this explanation: "When presented with options by professional staff, Mrs. Carson participated in the selection of specific styles."
Trump is stumping for Josh Hawley today. Can you imagine how excited Claire McCaskill is?
posted by fluttering hellfire at 5:29 AM on March 14, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 5:29 AM on March 14, 2018 [21 favorites]
@GideonResnick (Daily Beast)
Darrin Kelly, the president of the Allegheny County Labor Council, told me that they had over 150 people in the field for Lamb and reached some 45k voters. “He has never wavered from his commitment to the working families,” Kelly said
- Tim Waters, the director of the United Steelworkers Political Action Committee, said they were active too. Making some 20k voter contacts on the doors.
posted by chris24 at 5:38 AM on March 14, 2018 [21 favorites]
Darrin Kelly, the president of the Allegheny County Labor Council, told me that they had over 150 people in the field for Lamb and reached some 45k voters. “He has never wavered from his commitment to the working families,” Kelly said
- Tim Waters, the director of the United Steelworkers Political Action Committee, said they were active too. Making some 20k voter contacts on the doors.
posted by chris24 at 5:38 AM on March 14, 2018 [21 favorites]
Yglesias: MONDAY SPIN: Lamb is a tax-hiking, gun-grabbing Pelosi clone who will let illegal immigrants slaughter your unborn children.
WEDNESDAY SPIN: Look, he’s basically a Republican.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:41 AM on March 14, 2018 [84 favorites]
WEDNESDAY SPIN: Look, he’s basically a Republican.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:41 AM on March 14, 2018 [84 favorites]
murphy slaw: run on locally relevant issues and make distancing themselves or hugging trump a calculation that your opponent has to worry about.
Tip O'Neill (yes, among others) said "All politics is local," and he, uh, managed to have some success in politics.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:48 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
Tip O'Neill (yes, among others) said "All politics is local," and he, uh, managed to have some success in politics.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:48 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
Hey, if this helps prevent John Bolton from becoming NSA, have at it.
GOP Blames ‘Lackluster’ Candidate And His ‘Porn Stache’ For Pennsylvania Setback
posted by chris24 at 5:52 AM on March 14, 2018 [12 favorites]
GOP Blames ‘Lackluster’ Candidate And His ‘Porn Stache’ For Pennsylvania Setback
posted by chris24 at 5:52 AM on March 14, 2018 [12 favorites]
I was too fucking exhausted to post this last night, but after MSNBC forced rockstar @Steve Kornacki off the air and went to re-run tape, he kept a fantastic all-nighter vigil on Twitter instead [real]. (I only made it to about 3:30):
2:00ish am The assistant director of elections in Washington County just told me they expect to announce results between 2:15 and 3. She also also said the total number of requested military ballots in her county was 14.posted by FelliniBlank at 5:54 AM on March 14, 2018 [62 favorites]
We are still going here at 30 Rock. Stay up late(r) and wait for the Washington County absentees with us...
DO NOT GO TO SLEEP!!! I'll be back on as soon as we get the Washington numbers!
BE STRONG
To pass the time, why don't we all share our favorite memories of the Bush-Dukakis campaign?
Stand with me and together we will liberate those 1,195 absentee ballots from the Washington County Board of Elections!
I DON'T WANT TO BE LONELY!!!
They may think they can wear me down, but as god is my witness I will wait out the Washington County Board of Elections!
Contest: predict the margin of the Washington County absentees ballots
I'm still here
They counted 48,000 ballots by midnight. We've been waiting on 1,195 since then.
Obviously, I forgive any and all who've gone off to sleep. But those that are somehow hanging in there with me, I love you.
I'm coming back on at 5am with or without Washington County numbers
Back on in 2 minutes...
We have the Washington numbers and NBC is calling Conor Lamb the apparent winner in PA-18
5:30ish am I'll never forget the ones who stayed awake with me. Will be on for the start of Morning Joe, them going to sleep and then have hand surgery.
It should be noted that United Steelworkers represents more than just steelworkers. Here in Western PA they have been organizing university faculty, and per their website they will basically organize anyone. I note this only because steel and steelworkers having recently become A Thing Pundits Talk About, USW being super active in the PA18 race doesn't mean we have armies of steelworkers in Western PA (as has been already noted, along with coal miners, we don't really) so much as just a lot of organized labor generally.
MONDAY SPIN: Lamb is a tax-hiking, gun-grabbing Pelosi clone who will let illegal immigrants slaughter your unborn children.
WEDNESDAY SPIN: Look, he’s basically a Republican.
This has been both hilarious and delicious to watch. I nearly saw it flip over in real time last night as the returns were coming in. There's also a lot of super disingenuous Republicans giving "advice" to Democrats about how running centrists and moderates rather than leftist firebrands is the way to go in all races everywhere forever and like THAT IS NOT HOW THIS WORKS.
posted by soren_lorensen at 5:55 AM on March 14, 2018 [43 favorites]
MONDAY SPIN: Lamb is a tax-hiking, gun-grabbing Pelosi clone who will let illegal immigrants slaughter your unborn children.
WEDNESDAY SPIN: Look, he’s basically a Republican.
This has been both hilarious and delicious to watch. I nearly saw it flip over in real time last night as the returns were coming in. There's also a lot of super disingenuous Republicans giving "advice" to Democrats about how running centrists and moderates rather than leftist firebrands is the way to go in all races everywhere forever and like THAT IS NOT HOW THIS WORKS.
posted by soren_lorensen at 5:55 AM on March 14, 2018 [43 favorites]
I want to win cause we have a better vision of what's possible and are willing to fight for it.
This is 99% why Trudeau went from third place in the polls to PM of Canada by a comfortable margin.
posted by bonehead at 5:57 AM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
This is 99% why Trudeau went from third place in the polls to PM of Canada by a comfortable margin.
posted by bonehead at 5:57 AM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
However, I would like to temper the excitement just a bit with a reminder that if this blue wave is going to succeed in 2018, it's going to take candidates just like this. It sounds like Lamb did exactly what he needed to do by focusing on local issues involving infrastructure and health care. I love how unabashedly pro-union he is. But I'm already dreading the day when something like a gun control issue comes up and he's not as liberal on that issue as people would prefer him to be.
In addition, though NPR, astonishingly, spoke to a Democrat rather than a Republican for comment this morning, the host simply would not let go of the "Democrats in disarray" narrative, asking at least three times something to the effect of "But isn't it ominous that Lamb explicitly disavowed Nancy Pelosi?"
The proper response should have been "These results are much more ominous for Republicans."
posted by Gelatin at 6:10 AM on March 14, 2018 [30 favorites]
In addition, though NPR, astonishingly, spoke to a Democrat rather than a Republican for comment this morning, the host simply would not let go of the "Democrats in disarray" narrative, asking at least three times something to the effect of "But isn't it ominous that Lamb explicitly disavowed Nancy Pelosi?"
The proper response should have been "These results are much more ominous for Republicans."
posted by Gelatin at 6:10 AM on March 14, 2018 [30 favorites]
Liveblog of May and Corbyn on the UK response to Russian nerve agent incident.
Oh boy they expelled diplomats. Don't do anything that might actually hurt them like shut the money tap. May you spineless twit.
posted by Talez at 6:10 AM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
Oh boy they expelled diplomats. Don't do anything that might actually hurt them like shut the money tap. May you spineless twit.
posted by Talez at 6:10 AM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
Britain expels 23 Russian diplomats over chemical attack on ex-spy, Costas Pitas, Estelle Shirbon, Reuters
May told parliament Britain would also freeze Russian state assets wherever there was evidence of a threat and downgrade its attendance at the soccer World Cup this summer. [...]posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 6:19 AM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
May said the expulsion of the 23 diplomats, identified as undeclared intelligence officers, was the biggest single expulsion for over 30 years and would degrade Russian intelligence capabilities in Britain for years to come.
“We will freeze Russian state assets wherever we have the evidence that they may be used to threaten the life or property of UK nationals or residents,” May said.
She said no ministers or members of the royal family would attend the World Cup in Russia.
Russia said Britain should expect retaliation for its actions.
She has said that there's no place in the UK for Russian criminals and their money. So there's hope that 45's golf courses and hotels will be converted to an eco-friendly scrubland to encourage the breeding of endangered moths. And slow-worms.
Re the GOP's glorious flip over PA18 - if someone sets up a crowdfunding project to make a long documentary supercut of Republicans saying one thing under Obama and its polar opposite after, I'm in. With short clips - nothing over 40 seconds - it should still come in at comfortably under twelve hours.
posted by Devonian at 6:21 AM on March 14, 2018 [24 favorites]
Re the GOP's glorious flip over PA18 - if someone sets up a crowdfunding project to make a long documentary supercut of Republicans saying one thing under Obama and its polar opposite after, I'm in. With short clips - nothing over 40 seconds - it should still come in at comfortably under twelve hours.
posted by Devonian at 6:21 AM on March 14, 2018 [24 favorites]
Stormy Daniels litigation minutae update from yesterday's docket:
--The case is being transferred to another department on an affidavit of prejudice. (Peremptory challenge -- someone "papered" the judge)
--Hearing dates set for July -- welcome to the Los Angeles Superior Court. Interestingly, the court set both a case management conference and a hearing on an Order to Show Cause ("tell the Court why you screwed up and maybe it won't sanction you") on defective Proof of Service.
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:21 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
--The case is being transferred to another department on an affidavit of prejudice. (Peremptory challenge -- someone "papered" the judge)
--Hearing dates set for July -- welcome to the Los Angeles Superior Court. Interestingly, the court set both a case management conference and a hearing on an Order to Show Cause ("tell the Court why you screwed up and maybe it won't sanction you") on defective Proof of Service.
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:21 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
In addition, though NPR, astonishingly, spoke to a Democrat rather than a Republican for comment this morning, the host simply would not let go of the "Democrats in disarray" narrative, asking at least three times something to the effect of "But isn't it ominous that Lamb explicitly disavowed Nancy Pelosi?"
I nearly punched the radio when I heard that. I thought the speaker handled it okay, though, trying to redirect back to "the average person cares more about issues and not party infighting."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:23 AM on March 14, 2018 [21 favorites]
I nearly punched the radio when I heard that. I thought the speaker handled it okay, though, trying to redirect back to "the average person cares more about issues and not party infighting."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:23 AM on March 14, 2018 [21 favorites]
Also, Nancy Pelosi is nothing if not a canny politician and I bet she would tell you to disavow Nancy Pelosi if it would pick up the district.
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:27 AM on March 14, 2018 [116 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:27 AM on March 14, 2018 [116 favorites]
Seems like a weak response from May who will “seize Russian state assets when we have evidence they will be used to harm British nationals or residents”.
No. Assets are fungible. We already have that evidence. Seize the assets.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn... oh boy. Never in my wildest nightmares have I dreamed that I would rather have a Tory PM than see the leader of the Labour Party take power, but today’s display in which he ignored May’s specific rejection of the possibility of Russia having lost control of the nerve agent to terrorists, and his question about whether May had complied with Putin’s request to receive a sample of the nerve agent so Russia can conduct their own tests, makes me wonder if the Leader of the Opposition is influenced more by the carrot of RT, or the stick of kompromat.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:29 AM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
No. Assets are fungible. We already have that evidence. Seize the assets.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn... oh boy. Never in my wildest nightmares have I dreamed that I would rather have a Tory PM than see the leader of the Labour Party take power, but today’s display in which he ignored May’s specific rejection of the possibility of Russia having lost control of the nerve agent to terrorists, and his question about whether May had complied with Putin’s request to receive a sample of the nerve agent so Russia can conduct their own tests, makes me wonder if the Leader of the Opposition is influenced more by the carrot of RT, or the stick of kompromat.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:29 AM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
However, I would like to temper the excitement just a bit with a reminder that if this blue wave is going to succeed in 2018, it's going to take candidates just like this. It sounds like Lamb did exactly what he needed to do by focusing on local issues involving infrastructure and health care. I love how unabashedly pro-union he is. But I'm already dreading the day when something like a gun control issue comes up and he's not as liberal on that issue as people would prefer him to be.
But look how the wingnut GOP drove the party to the far, far right! They didn't start by electing only fascists, they just worked steadily to elect fascists every time it was possible, and worked to build fascist coalitions. Admittedly, they have a lot more money than we do, but we still fundamentally have the numbers.
Elect the leftmost viable candidate and then organize to move that candidate left on specific issues, that's what we have to do. Also, if we elect, eg, socialists or social democrats or whomever where possible, they can build a left coalition to work on the other ones. If there's a sizable left democratic block in Congress, for instance, they can negotiate with the rest.
We need not to think of centrist Democrats as setting party norms.
posted by Frowner at 6:33 AM on March 14, 2018 [82 favorites]
But look how the wingnut GOP drove the party to the far, far right! They didn't start by electing only fascists, they just worked steadily to elect fascists every time it was possible, and worked to build fascist coalitions. Admittedly, they have a lot more money than we do, but we still fundamentally have the numbers.
Elect the leftmost viable candidate and then organize to move that candidate left on specific issues, that's what we have to do. Also, if we elect, eg, socialists or social democrats or whomever where possible, they can build a left coalition to work on the other ones. If there's a sizable left democratic block in Congress, for instance, they can negotiate with the rest.
We need not to think of centrist Democrats as setting party norms.
posted by Frowner at 6:33 AM on March 14, 2018 [82 favorites]
"But isn't it ominous that Lamb explicitly disavowed Nancy Pelosi?"
Ah, nice to know that in a swiftly-changing world we can still rely on Nice Polite Republicans Radio. But what even is that question? Pelosi's not Jesus; Lamb's not fulfilling some sort of prophecy.
May's response isn't terribly aggressive, but she does single out Putin by name and separate him from 'the Russians,' which is important. I expect the EU summit next week to reflect a stronger, more-unified response; there's only so much the UK can do on its own and they've tied their own hands, to an extent, with their Brexit stupidity. The UK's going to have to figure out how aggressively to respond when it comes to foreign investment, though; it's not surprising if that's still being negotiated because it's probably a mess.
Corbyn was bloody embarrassing.
posted by halation at 6:35 AM on March 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
Ah, nice to know that in a swiftly-changing world we can still rely on Nice Polite Republicans Radio. But what even is that question? Pelosi's not Jesus; Lamb's not fulfilling some sort of prophecy.
May's response isn't terribly aggressive, but she does single out Putin by name and separate him from 'the Russians,' which is important. I expect the EU summit next week to reflect a stronger, more-unified response; there's only so much the UK can do on its own and they've tied their own hands, to an extent, with their Brexit stupidity. The UK's going to have to figure out how aggressively to respond when it comes to foreign investment, though; it's not surprising if that's still being negotiated because it's probably a mess.
Corbyn was bloody embarrassing.
posted by halation at 6:35 AM on March 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
Who has left the Trump administration?
posted by kirkaracha at 6:43 AM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
President Donald Trump's administration has been marked by a series of exits from high-ranking officials. Appointments expected to last for years have only made it a matter of days, ending in chaotic departures. An analysis of the rate of departures by the Brookings Institution found that Trump's staff turnover is higher than the five previous presidents. Below is a list of the notable exits and how long they lasted.Scaramucci's tenure is comically short, but they missed a golden opportunity to convert other people's tenures to Scaramuccis.
posted by kirkaracha at 6:43 AM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
snuffleupagus: Also, Nancy Pelosi is nothing if not a canny politician and I bet she would tell you to disavow Nancy Pelosi if it would pick up the district.
Yep. Also: there's Nancy Pelosi the actual human person who leads the House Democrats, and then there's "Nancy Pelosi" the shibboleth. While it would be great for more candidates to ally themselves with the shibboleth rather than against it (because of the associations with "powerful women" and "San Francisco values"), I'm not concerned about when that's not as feasible.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:44 AM on March 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
Yep. Also: there's Nancy Pelosi the actual human person who leads the House Democrats, and then there's "Nancy Pelosi" the shibboleth. While it would be great for more candidates to ally themselves with the shibboleth rather than against it (because of the associations with "powerful women" and "San Francisco values"), I'm not concerned about when that's not as feasible.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:44 AM on March 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
--Hearing dates set for July -- welcome to the Los Angeles Superior Court. Interestingly, the court set both a case management conference and a hearing on an Order to Show Cause ("tell the Court why you screwed up and maybe it won't sanction you") on defective Proof of Service.
apologies for being dense in matters of the law, but is this bad news for Daniels or for Cohen?
posted by murphy slaw at 6:53 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
apologies for being dense in matters of the law, but is this bad news for Daniels or for Cohen?
posted by murphy slaw at 6:53 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
Im still worried about them putting this schmuck front and center and suspect the future contains far too many Doug Jones/Joe Manchin types. However with the exception of Manchin I’ll take them over any Republican, who are without exception corrupt criminals charging to the far right.
Also primaries are a thing. Where there’s a solidly blue state and a dem with a high Trump score that dem should be very, very worried.
posted by Artw at 6:56 AM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
Also primaries are a thing. Where there’s a solidly blue state and a dem with a high Trump score that dem should be very, very worried.
posted by Artw at 6:56 AM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
Elect the leftmost viable candidate and then organize to move that candidate left on specific issues, that's what we have to do.
I don’t disagree with this! I wish I’d never left my earlier comment at this point, because now I think people are reading me as an apologist for conservative Democrats. I’m just concerned about the same effect I see with someone like Doug Jones: 1) great excitement at his election, 2) inevitable letdown when he’s not as liberal as wanted.
It’s just...this is a process, that’s all. It’s not going to happen immediately, and imperfect candidates will always be with us. I personally get tired and discouraged and turned off by some of the rhetoric that seems to focus on how awful the Democrats are.
posted by Salieri at 6:59 AM on March 14, 2018 [26 favorites]
I don’t disagree with this! I wish I’d never left my earlier comment at this point, because now I think people are reading me as an apologist for conservative Democrats. I’m just concerned about the same effect I see with someone like Doug Jones: 1) great excitement at his election, 2) inevitable letdown when he’s not as liberal as wanted.
It’s just...this is a process, that’s all. It’s not going to happen immediately, and imperfect candidates will always be with us. I personally get tired and discouraged and turned off by some of the rhetoric that seems to focus on how awful the Democrats are.
posted by Salieri at 6:59 AM on March 14, 2018 [26 favorites]
Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn... oh boy. Never in my wildest nightmares have I dreamed that I would rather have a Tory PM than see the leader of the Labour Party take power, but today’s display in which he ignored May’s specific rejection of the possibility of Russia having lost control of the nerve agent to terrorists, and his question about whether May had complied with Putin’s request to receive a sample of the nerve agent so Russia can conduct their own tests, makes me wonder if the Leader of the Opposition is influenced more by the carrot of RT, or the stick of kompromat.
What I keep thinking is that if the answer to this situation were easy, everyone would have it. This is a tricky situation that does not map neatly onto either the Cold War or the Iraq war, but is in the shadows of both.
What I saw on the internets was that the Chemical Weapons Convention requires that the accused party be given samples of the chemicals in question to test them.
It's certainly very plausible to be extremely suspicious of the Putin administration, but I remember the cold war very well - it's not a great argument for our side if we don't act with probity in accordance with international law. What I objected to the first time around was the endless claims that we were the "good guys" without bothering to act like them. And a substantial chunk of the problems with Russia right now are rooted in looting and dishonesty at the collapse of the USSR.
I'm also hearing about the lies that were told to start the Iraq war. Those cast a long shadow over this type of claim, and place a higher burden on Western countries. Our governments have lied in the past, so we have to be very careful to show that they are not lying now.
It seems extraordinarily unlikely given the history of Russian deaths in the UK that this is "rogue agents" or an accident or something, but it is far, far better to be above reproach on this stuff.
Also, I strongly suspect that it's worth not backing Russia into a corner - what would happen if there were space for them to mumble something about "rogue agents" and then knock this stuff off?
I mean, it's very tricky because Putin is pretty awful. At the same time, neither the US nor the UK has ever made "you are ruled by an authoritarian, hateful regime" grounds to stop doing business with a country.
That's why this is so tricky - the Putin government is genuinely awful and dangerous, yes, but we know from our own countries' histories that our governments are more concerned with advantage than morality. So it's reasonable to be concerned with what kind of advantage people like May are seeking. Don't you think the Tories would rule like Putin if they could get away with it? God knows the GOP would love to arrest our dissenting media people, etc.
posted by Frowner at 7:00 AM on March 14, 2018 [19 favorites]
I don’t think we should make any consesions to Whataboutism whatsoever when dealing with Russia. They know what they are doing.
posted by Artw at 7:04 AM on March 14, 2018 [31 favorites]
posted by Artw at 7:04 AM on March 14, 2018 [31 favorites]
You know, I've often wondered about Corbyn.
A rank outsider beats all-comers in his party's leadership contest, buoyed by an enormous tidal wave of seemingly grassroots support, drummed up on the Internet by Momentum, a campaign organisation which appeared fully formed out of absolutely nowhere?
A rank outsider who happens to be anti-EU and stands around with his hands in his pockets while the UK tears itself apart?
I'm not saying he's on Putin's payroll or anything, it's just that there are some striking similarities with how Trump got into the White House.
posted by Buck Alec at 7:05 AM on March 14, 2018 [30 favorites]
A rank outsider beats all-comers in his party's leadership contest, buoyed by an enormous tidal wave of seemingly grassroots support, drummed up on the Internet by Momentum, a campaign organisation which appeared fully formed out of absolutely nowhere?
A rank outsider who happens to be anti-EU and stands around with his hands in his pockets while the UK tears itself apart?
I'm not saying he's on Putin's payroll or anything, it's just that there are some striking similarities with how Trump got into the White House.
posted by Buck Alec at 7:05 AM on March 14, 2018 [30 favorites]
In addition, though NPR, astonishingly, spoke to a Democrat rather than a Republican for comment this morning, the host simply would not let go of the "Democrats in disarray" narrative, asking at least three times something to the effect of "But isn't it ominous that Lamb explicitly disavowed Nancy Pelosi?"
If it was the interview I heard that wasn't just "a Democrat" it was Tom Perez, the head of the DNC. I figured it must have been one of the segments sponsored by the Kochs.
posted by fuse theorem at 7:07 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
If it was the interview I heard that wasn't just "a Democrat" it was Tom Perez, the head of the DNC. I figured it must have been one of the segments sponsored by the Kochs.
posted by fuse theorem at 7:07 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
I agree with both Frowner and Salieri - we shouldn't overestimate how conservative a particular electorate is, but, there are areas where Joe Manchin or Doug Jones or whoever are who we can elect, and we need to be content with that for now. As long as we don't elect another Joe Lieberman who is happy to backstab his own party and caucus with Republicans whenver he can! I'd love to have our Elizabeth Warrens, Kamala Harrises, and Sherrod Browns in every state, but that might not be achievable all at once in every single state across the country.
I think one of the best ways we can help our cause is: elect more Democrats, show people how great things are when we have Democrats in office, and use that good feeling to push the Overton window leftward. California has different demographics than Pennsylvania, but one reason we love our blue overlords is that life is good when they are in charge. We have jobs! We have clean air! We have services! Roads get fixed!
Conor Lamb ran on a pro-union platform (when his opponent was a right-to-work type), so I think that "life isn't so hard when you have a union card" had even more sway than "Boo Nancy Pelosi."
Democrats don't need to find unicorns and run the most amazing campaign EVAH! We need to run decent candidates in every race and get out the vote. I think it's really that simple. And yes, we will lose some, but remember how we didn't run any candidates at all in many 2010 and 2014 elections? That's a surefire way to lose.
Meanwhile, I'm enjoying a delicious cup of schadenfreude alongside my morning coffee. All that Republican money down the drain! All those visits by Pence and the Traitor Tots in vain! LOSERS! SAD!
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 7:16 AM on March 14, 2018 [55 favorites]
I think one of the best ways we can help our cause is: elect more Democrats, show people how great things are when we have Democrats in office, and use that good feeling to push the Overton window leftward. California has different demographics than Pennsylvania, but one reason we love our blue overlords is that life is good when they are in charge. We have jobs! We have clean air! We have services! Roads get fixed!
Conor Lamb ran on a pro-union platform (when his opponent was a right-to-work type), so I think that "life isn't so hard when you have a union card" had even more sway than "Boo Nancy Pelosi."
Democrats don't need to find unicorns and run the most amazing campaign EVAH! We need to run decent candidates in every race and get out the vote. I think it's really that simple. And yes, we will lose some, but remember how we didn't run any candidates at all in many 2010 and 2014 elections? That's a surefire way to lose.
Meanwhile, I'm enjoying a delicious cup of schadenfreude alongside my morning coffee. All that Republican money down the drain! All those visits by Pence and the Traitor Tots in vain! LOSERS! SAD!
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 7:16 AM on March 14, 2018 [55 favorites]
a hearing on an Order to Show Cause ("tell the Court why you screwed up and maybe it won't sanction you") on defective Proof of Service.
apologies for being dense in matters of the law, but is this bad news for Daniels or for Cohen?
You're not dense, there's not enough information there to know.
I've downloaded the challenge, it's by Avenatti (Clifford/Daniels' lawyer) -- I don't see any filings by Trump's side yet so I'd assume the OSC is vs. the plaintiff. No order available for download currently.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:20 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
apologies for being dense in matters of the law, but is this bad news for Daniels or for Cohen?
You're not dense, there's not enough information there to know.
I've downloaded the challenge, it's by Avenatti (Clifford/Daniels' lawyer) -- I don't see any filings by Trump's side yet so I'd assume the OSC is vs. the plaintiff. No order available for download currently.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:20 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
Who has a good summary of the pros and cons of seizing Russian assets?
I'm kinda with Billy Ray Valentine: 'You know, it occurs to me that the best way you hurt rich people is by turning them into poor people.'
posted by MtDewd at 7:24 AM on March 14, 2018 [29 favorites]
I'm kinda with Billy Ray Valentine: 'You know, it occurs to me that the best way you hurt rich people is by turning them into poor people.'
posted by MtDewd at 7:24 AM on March 14, 2018 [29 favorites]
Who has a good summary of the pros and cons of seizing Russian assets?
Biggest con is that Putin cuts gas supplies to Europe.
posted by PenDevil at 7:26 AM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
Biggest con is that Putin cuts gas supplies to Europe.
posted by PenDevil at 7:26 AM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
I didn't follow the PA-18 race too closely, but it seems like Lamb was a really strong candidate who was a centrist because he strongly believes in centrism and he advocated for those beliefs well during the campaign (see Ossoff, Jon for a less inspiring advocacy of centrism.) I suspect a more liberal candidate also could have won if they were equally dynamic and forceful in standing up for a liberal platform (for example, pretty standard liberal Doug Jones won in Alabama of all places.)
Chris Hayes wrote a great article back in 2004 describing his campaign work in suburban Wisconsin stumping for John Kerry. He met plenty of independent and conservative voters who voted for *Russ Feingold* along with W because Feingold had a spine and came by his beliefs genuinely.
If the strongest candidate in a R+12 district is a centrist, I'm OK with a centrist. But Democrats shouldn't push a boring centrist over a qualified, dynamic progressive just because they might be too liberal for the district.
posted by johnny jenga at 7:27 AM on March 14, 2018 [23 favorites]
Chris Hayes wrote a great article back in 2004 describing his campaign work in suburban Wisconsin stumping for John Kerry. He met plenty of independent and conservative voters who voted for *Russ Feingold* along with W because Feingold had a spine and came by his beliefs genuinely.
If the strongest candidate in a R+12 district is a centrist, I'm OK with a centrist. But Democrats shouldn't push a boring centrist over a qualified, dynamic progressive just because they might be too liberal for the district.
posted by johnny jenga at 7:27 AM on March 14, 2018 [23 favorites]
Democrats don't need to find unicorns and run the most amazing campaign EVAH! We need to run decent candidates in every race and get out the vote. I think it's really that simple. And yes, we will lose some, but remember how we didn't run any candidates at all in many 2010 and 2014 elections? That's a surefire way to lose.
Right, this. I lived in a really red area for a while and my choice was a terrible Republican or a slightly less terrible Republican. If I had had even a mediocre, centrist Dem to vote for I would have smashed that lever so hard. And really, in those areas, what do we have to lose? If we're not running Dems we'll end up with Republicans, and if we are running Dems, we might still end up with Republicans... or we might not.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 7:30 AM on March 14, 2018 [19 favorites]
Right, this. I lived in a really red area for a while and my choice was a terrible Republican or a slightly less terrible Republican. If I had had even a mediocre, centrist Dem to vote for I would have smashed that lever so hard. And really, in those areas, what do we have to lose? If we're not running Dems we'll end up with Republicans, and if we are running Dems, we might still end up with Republicans... or we might not.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 7:30 AM on March 14, 2018 [19 favorites]
Greg Sargent: “The House map probably just got broader. Given Lamb’s success in a district of this type, Ben Ray Lujan, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and his aides are now reassessing whether there are more districts out there that are heavy on working class white voters and went big for Trump that Democrats should contest beyond the current DCCC target list of around 100 districts, a source familiar with internal deliberations tells me. Lujan today will re-contact a number of potential recruits in numerous districts who are not yet willing to take the plunge, but might be more inclined after last night, the source says.“
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:31 AM on March 14, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:31 AM on March 14, 2018 [12 favorites]
(for example, pretty standard liberal Doug Jones won in Alabama of all places.)
PA-18 is whiter than a ghost and 30%+ of voters in that Alabama special election were African-American. Your analysis weirdly ignores race.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 7:34 AM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
PA-18 is whiter than a ghost and 30%+ of voters in that Alabama special election were African-American. Your analysis weirdly ignores race.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 7:34 AM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
Important to remember that we kept hearing in the news about what percent of PA-18 went for Trump in 2016, but not what percent went for the now-disgraced congressional rep in the same year. The reason, of course, is that the latter number is 100. So yeah, you gotta run people!
posted by InTheYear2017 at 7:34 AM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by InTheYear2017 at 7:34 AM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
But Democrats shouldn't push a boring centrist over a qualified, dynamic progressive just because they might be too liberal for the district.
In this case, because it was a special election, there was no primary, but usually there's a primary to sort this out.
Hey guys remember about 100 Scaramuccis ago someone (can't remember who) posted a local (personal, clearly leftist perspective) blog about how Lamb was alienating labor and his campaign was such a disastrous disorganized mess and the unions were rolling their eyes at him and he was totally definitely going to lose lose lose? Good times, good times.
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:38 AM on March 14, 2018 [19 favorites]
In this case, because it was a special election, there was no primary, but usually there's a primary to sort this out.
Hey guys remember about 100 Scaramuccis ago someone (can't remember who) posted a local (personal, clearly leftist perspective) blog about how Lamb was alienating labor and his campaign was such a disastrous disorganized mess and the unions were rolling their eyes at him and he was totally definitely going to lose lose lose? Good times, good times.
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:38 AM on March 14, 2018 [19 favorites]
Meanwhile, Pro Publica is asking what happened to the $107 million raised for Trump's inauguration.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:45 AM on March 14, 2018 [65 favorites]
Greg Jenkins led former President George W. Bush’s second inaugural committee in 2005, which raised and spent $42 million (that would be $53 million in today’s dollars). Asked about how Trump’s team managed to spend so much more, Jenkins said, “It’s inexplicable to me. I literally don’t know.”They also note that the committee’s treasurer was an unindicted co-conspirator in a tax shelter fraud in the early 2000s and the finance vice-chair for the inaugural committee pleaded guilty in 2009 to bribery.
“They had a third of the staff and a quarter of the events and they raise at least twice as much as we did,” Jenkins said. “So there’s the obvious question: Where did it go? I don’t know.”
Steve Kerrigan, who led both of former President Barack Obama’s inaugural committees, agreed. “There was no need for that amount of money,” said Kerrigan. “We literally did two inaugurations for less than the cost of that.”
According to Trump’s filing, slightly more than half of the money went to four event planning companies, including the firm owned by the first lady’s friend, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:45 AM on March 14, 2018 [65 favorites]
But Democrats shouldn't push a boring centrist over a qualified, dynamic progressive just because they might be too liberal for the district.
I dunno - one of the most idiotic Reps from upstate NY is Claudia Tenney (you may have heard of her - mass murderers endup being Democrats and if a reasonable centrist came along I would not complain. Her district is on the list of potentially flips and the Democrat likely to be the nominee (Brindisi) has an A rating from the NRA. I despise the NRA with all of my being but if he has a chance to win (the district is currently on the list to possibly flip) I could see my way to supporting him.
posted by bluesky43 at 7:49 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
I dunno - one of the most idiotic Reps from upstate NY is Claudia Tenney (you may have heard of her - mass murderers endup being Democrats and if a reasonable centrist came along I would not complain. Her district is on the list of potentially flips and the Democrat likely to be the nominee (Brindisi) has an A rating from the NRA. I despise the NRA with all of my being but if he has a chance to win (the district is currently on the list to possibly flip) I could see my way to supporting him.
posted by bluesky43 at 7:49 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
In addition, though NPR, astonishingly, spoke to a Democrat rather than a Republican for comment this morning, the host simply would not let go of the "Democrats in disarray" narrative, asking at least three times something to the effect of "But isn't it ominous that Lamb explicitly disavowed Nancy Pelosi?"
I heard the same interview in the car this morning. It was four times. Then I turned it off. I don't even know why I bother with NPR anymore.
posted by zakur at 7:49 AM on March 14, 2018 [20 favorites]
I heard the same interview in the car this morning. It was four times. Then I turned it off. I don't even know why I bother with NPR anymore.
posted by zakur at 7:49 AM on March 14, 2018 [20 favorites]
I don't even know why I bother with NPR anymore.
i mean, i guess it's better than a morning zoo crew show, maybe?
posted by entropicamericana at 7:53 AM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
i mean, i guess it's better than a morning zoo crew show, maybe?
posted by entropicamericana at 7:53 AM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
Yup, I heard the NPR interview too. The interviewer was David Green and the Dem was the head of the DCCC (I think). The Dem tried to bring the interview back to issues but David Green wasn't having it. The thing is, I"m not sure that any of the recent Dem successes are because of the party having a good message, or a good candidate. I think it is Rep. people are sick of DJT plus an energized Dem base who would vote for pretty much any Dem at this point. I hope I'm wrong especially in 2020 - we need something more than anti-Trump.
posted by bluesky43 at 7:53 AM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by bluesky43 at 7:53 AM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
Looks like Donnie Shithouse is dealing with this by playing back his greatest hits. In four successive tweets over two hours we have obstructionist democrats, greatest ever "business fundamentals", infrastructure, and "unfair trade practices."
posted by jammer at 7:54 AM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by jammer at 7:54 AM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
I heard the same interview in the car this morning. It was four times. Then I turned it off. I don't even know why I bother with NPR anymore.
I wish the Daily Show would start including NPR in their news universe.
posted by leotrotsky at 7:56 AM on March 14, 2018 [22 favorites]
I wish the Daily Show would start including NPR in their news universe.
posted by leotrotsky at 7:56 AM on March 14, 2018 [22 favorites]
i mean, i guess it's better than a morning zoo crew show, maybe?
At least they don't pretend to be journalists. Crooked Media is my jam now. They've finally got enough shows to fill up my week. They're smarter, funnier, and more competent than anybody at NPR. They don't make me want to scream at the radio. ...and I get to hiss at Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio, which is more than they deserve.
We're switching to the Cash App, Harry's, Blue Apron, Tommy John, Parachute Gift Card.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:00 AM on March 14, 2018 [25 favorites]
At least they don't pretend to be journalists. Crooked Media is my jam now. They've finally got enough shows to fill up my week. They're smarter, funnier, and more competent than anybody at NPR. They don't make me want to scream at the radio. ...and I get to hiss at Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio, which is more than they deserve.
We're switching to the Cash App, Harry's, Blue Apron, Tommy John, Parachute Gift Card.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:00 AM on March 14, 2018 [25 favorites]
Yeah, I mostly listen to either Crooked Media podcasts or 538 on my commute these days. Listening to NPR puts me in a foul mood for the rest of the day.
posted by octothorpe at 8:03 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by octothorpe at 8:03 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
crooked media, that's the one that's run by the director of iron man and the guy from snl right?
posted by entropicamericana at 8:04 AM on March 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by entropicamericana at 8:04 AM on March 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
And they don't make me want to scream at the radio.
They make me want to scream at mine, sometimes, with all their self-impressed false modesty (with brief interruptions for self-impressed non-modesty) and the actual substantive content of Pod Save America itself is declining kinda precipitously but I still like it a lot.
It's not news, though, and in that it's not a substitute for NPR.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:05 AM on March 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
They make me want to scream at mine, sometimes, with all their self-impressed false modesty (with brief interruptions for self-impressed non-modesty) and the actual substantive content of Pod Save America itself is declining kinda precipitously but I still like it a lot.
It's not news, though, and in that it's not a substitute for NPR.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:05 AM on March 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
and the guy from snl right?
I hear he's a straight shooter. Respected on all sides.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:06 AM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
I hear he's a straight shooter. Respected on all sides.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:06 AM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
we need something more than anti-Trump
Man, I don't know. People keep saying this and I don't see the evidence. Being anti-something-easily-identifiable-as-shibboleth has been wildly successful for Republicans. And the thing is, it turns out they didn't have the policies after all, and I know we do. How do I know? Because the other piece of wisdom people give Democrats is to stop relying on their copious policy papers because no one gives a shit. So, which is it?
Being anti-Trump is a symbol for "I am anti everything that Trump represents: racism, misogyny, islamophobia, homophobia, nuclear armageddon, chaos, the destruction of institutions, the flaunting of rule of law, oligarchy, just plain crass grossness, and lining the pockets of the 1%." "Trump" is more than just one guy, as we have seen from all the racist fucksticks screaming "TRUMP!" at people of color as an intimidation tactic. Pointing at Trump and Trumpism and saying "Yeah, I am the opposite of that" communicates a lot of information in a short amount of time. The rest is details that, apparently, no one reads anyway (given how many times we saw people slide right over Hillary's enormous policy position page and claim that they just didn't know what she stood for).
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:10 AM on March 14, 2018 [62 favorites]
Man, I don't know. People keep saying this and I don't see the evidence. Being anti-something-easily-identifiable-as-shibboleth has been wildly successful for Republicans. And the thing is, it turns out they didn't have the policies after all, and I know we do. How do I know? Because the other piece of wisdom people give Democrats is to stop relying on their copious policy papers because no one gives a shit. So, which is it?
Being anti-Trump is a symbol for "I am anti everything that Trump represents: racism, misogyny, islamophobia, homophobia, nuclear armageddon, chaos, the destruction of institutions, the flaunting of rule of law, oligarchy, just plain crass grossness, and lining the pockets of the 1%." "Trump" is more than just one guy, as we have seen from all the racist fucksticks screaming "TRUMP!" at people of color as an intimidation tactic. Pointing at Trump and Trumpism and saying "Yeah, I am the opposite of that" communicates a lot of information in a short amount of time. The rest is details that, apparently, no one reads anyway (given how many times we saw people slide right over Hillary's enormous policy position page and claim that they just didn't know what she stood for).
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:10 AM on March 14, 2018 [62 favorites]
The Guardian's Lois Beckett on Twitter: Covering a walkout this morning at an elementary school in Virginia, and the 11-year-old organizers had a press packet ready for me.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:11 AM on March 14, 2018 [147 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:11 AM on March 14, 2018 [147 favorites]
Having a solid, central, positive message is a good thing. It's also not necessary for success. There's a reason negative campaigning is so popular in practice despite being (rightly) maligned in theory. Trump himself ran the most astonishingly negative campaign we've ever seen (everything in America is falling apart! Your lives are miserable! I'm a complete jerk and you can be vicariously angry through me!), and it worked.
I feel like "You can't win on being Not Trump" is so much Common Knowledge rather than empirical fact. And it's often coupled with the assumption that it's all Democrats ever do when Trumpism is afoot. I blame that partly on the way awfulness in general sucks up so much attention. It's plain hard to remember how much Hillary spent on positive, not-anti-Trump messages (for the record, it was easily most of her speeches)... because Trump's attack-able-ness just sticks in one's mind so hard. If a mayoral candidate gets in a debate and vomits on stage, it's easy to come away thinking that all the other person did was go on and on about the vomit, even if the other person didn't mention it at all. (Heck, just wearing clean clothes could be framed as an "anti-vomit" strategy, like how "Stronger Together" was seen by many as if it were nothing more than a rebuke to Trump, when it was that plus more.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:11 AM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
I feel like "You can't win on being Not Trump" is so much Common Knowledge rather than empirical fact. And it's often coupled with the assumption that it's all Democrats ever do when Trumpism is afoot. I blame that partly on the way awfulness in general sucks up so much attention. It's plain hard to remember how much Hillary spent on positive, not-anti-Trump messages (for the record, it was easily most of her speeches)... because Trump's attack-able-ness just sticks in one's mind so hard. If a mayoral candidate gets in a debate and vomits on stage, it's easy to come away thinking that all the other person did was go on and on about the vomit, even if the other person didn't mention it at all. (Heck, just wearing clean clothes could be framed as an "anti-vomit" strategy, like how "Stronger Together" was seen by many as if it were nothing more than a rebuke to Trump, when it was that plus more.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:11 AM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
The thing is, I"m not sure that any of the recent Dem successes are because of the party having a good message, or a good candidate. I think it is Rep. people are sick of DJT plus an energized Dem base who would vote for pretty much any Dem at this point.
It baffles me how the so-called "liberal media" doesn't routinely portray Trump as the unpopular president he is. It took them far longer than they should have to figure out that George W. Bush had lost the goodwill he gained, for some reason, after 9/11, but they eventually did. Trump may be popular with his base, but they're a minority. Trump's popularity is at historically low levels, and it's part of the reason, thank goodness, for the Republicans' failures to implement all of their agenda (which, make no mistake, is also unpopular).
posted by Gelatin at 8:12 AM on March 14, 2018 [11 favorites]
It baffles me how the so-called "liberal media" doesn't routinely portray Trump as the unpopular president he is. It took them far longer than they should have to figure out that George W. Bush had lost the goodwill he gained, for some reason, after 9/11, but they eventually did. Trump may be popular with his base, but they're a minority. Trump's popularity is at historically low levels, and it's part of the reason, thank goodness, for the Republicans' failures to implement all of their agenda (which, make no mistake, is also unpopular).
posted by Gelatin at 8:12 AM on March 14, 2018 [11 favorites]
So this is not a big deal in the national scene, but it turns out that the resignation of the senate Republican leader in Iowa is having all sorts of positive (for non-horrible people) fallout. It happened at a particularly inopportune time for Republicans: this is "funnel week," when a bunch of bills need to be approved or they die, and because they lack leadership, the Republicans seem to have decided not to go forward with some terrible stuff that seemed likely to pass: a fetal heartbeat bill that would outlaw most abortions; a "religious freedom" bill that would legalize discrimination against LGBT people; a bill that would mandate drug testing for Medicaid and food stamp recipients; a bill that would have created special penalties for protesters who block traffic. Also, a respected Republican state senator in a Democratic district just announced that he's not seeking reelection, and that's probably going to be a Democratic pickup. So anyway, this has been an incredibly brutal year for non-horrible people in Iowa, but this is good news.
No word about the Kansas-style destroy-the-state-to-cut-taxes-for-corporations tax bill that they have planned, though.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:13 AM on March 14, 2018 [49 favorites]
No word about the Kansas-style destroy-the-state-to-cut-taxes-for-corporations tax bill that they have planned, though.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:13 AM on March 14, 2018 [49 favorites]
I don't even know why I bother with NPR anymore.
After the 2016 election, I canceled my sustaining membership to my local NPR affiliate and switched it to my volunteer-powered, community-supported local radio station. Unapologetic critical left perspective every morning and Democracy Now! in the afternoons. Plus music programming that isn't (yawn) classical greatest hits all day and night.
Haven't looked back. At all.
The NPR affiliate gets in touch with me about once a year, and I explain to them I just cannot support them playing both sides. I understand the bind they're in: depending on the government for their funding, they don't want to piss off the powers that be. But I try to explain that allowing untruths to pass unchallenged serves nobody, and the GOP will *always* be trying to destroy their funding.
There's always a kind of bland response about responsible journalism and having time for all perspectives and then I thank them for their time and turn up WORT 89.9
the actual substantive content of Pod Save America itself is declining kinda precipitously
Chapo Trap House, y'all.
posted by rocketman at 8:13 AM on March 14, 2018 [10 favorites]
After the 2016 election, I canceled my sustaining membership to my local NPR affiliate and switched it to my volunteer-powered, community-supported local radio station. Unapologetic critical left perspective every morning and Democracy Now! in the afternoons. Plus music programming that isn't (yawn) classical greatest hits all day and night.
Haven't looked back. At all.
The NPR affiliate gets in touch with me about once a year, and I explain to them I just cannot support them playing both sides. I understand the bind they're in: depending on the government for their funding, they don't want to piss off the powers that be. But I try to explain that allowing untruths to pass unchallenged serves nobody, and the GOP will *always* be trying to destroy their funding.
There's always a kind of bland response about responsible journalism and having time for all perspectives and then I thank them for their time and turn up WORT 89.9
the actual substantive content of Pod Save America itself is declining kinda precipitously
Chapo Trap House, y'all.
posted by rocketman at 8:13 AM on March 14, 2018 [10 favorites]
The Guardian's Lois Beckett on Twitter: Covering a walkout this morning at an elementary school in Virginia, and the 11-year-old organizers had a press packet ready for me.
I'd love to see what's inside that press packet.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:14 AM on March 14, 2018 [39 favorites]
I'd love to see what's inside that press packet.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:14 AM on March 14, 2018 [39 favorites]
Man, I don't know. People keep saying this and I don't see the evidence.
Obama won because he inspired people with a simple message. People voted for him, not just to repudiate the Bush years, but for a better future. They worked on his campaign with enthusiasm, they turned out to vote in large numbers.
It's always easier to win with a galvanizing candidate and a positive platform. Volunteers work harder, more money is raise, the voting lines are longer.
posted by bonehead at 8:15 AM on March 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
Obama won because he inspired people with a simple message. People voted for him, not just to repudiate the Bush years, but for a better future. They worked on his campaign with enthusiasm, they turned out to vote in large numbers.
It's always easier to win with a galvanizing candidate and a positive platform. Volunteers work harder, more money is raise, the voting lines are longer.
posted by bonehead at 8:15 AM on March 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
i mean, i guess it's better than a morning zoo crew show, maybe?
In the Albany, NY market, the local public tv/classical FM station added a new format with WEXT, Listener-supported roots and rock music.
It satisfies my urge to 'listen to something', and has an acceptably low Promo/PSA break ratio for my taste.
posted by mikelieman at 8:17 AM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
In the Albany, NY market, the local public tv/classical FM station added a new format with WEXT, Listener-supported roots and rock music.
It satisfies my urge to 'listen to something', and has an acceptably low Promo/PSA break ratio for my taste.
posted by mikelieman at 8:17 AM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
One of the parts I'm enjoying most about the PA results is that a personally pro-choice yet ideologically anti-abortion representative is being replaced by a personally anti-abortion but ideologically pro-choice candidate. If only Scott DesJarlais had suffered the same fate...
posted by jacy at 8:20 AM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by jacy at 8:20 AM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
It's always easier to win with a galvanizing candidate and a positive platform.
Well, n=1 here, so I remain skeptical.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:21 AM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
Well, n=1 here, so I remain skeptical.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:21 AM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
The Atlantic: The Last Temptation: How evangelicals, once culturally confident, became an anxious minority seeking political protection from the least traditionally religious president in living memory
This is a lengthy piece from Michael Gerson, neoconservative columnist and former speechwriter / senior policy advisor for Bush II. Under normal circumstances I'd have turned it into its own post, because of how deeply it delves into the history of the evangelical movement. He draws a number of conclusions, noting that the evangelical movement sold its soul (so to speak) in supporting the likes of Trump and Roy Moore in part because Trump is preaching a message which tells evangelicals they are an oppressed minority in need of protections and preferential treatment.
From a secular perspective, the article has a few off-putting assertions and blind spots. He laments the way their crusades related to sexual and gender issues have become the primary evangelical narrative as seen by secular America. But of course he doesn't note the profoundly destructive effect those efforts have had on the millions of Americans who do not share their religion and never asked to have it imposed upon them.
David French (conservative) replies in the National Review to Gerson: The True Sin of American Evangelicals in the Age of Trump. French distills the concern a bit by explaining that evangelicals might have voted for Trump but their real sin is sticking with him and the party now that the election is over.
Similar subject:
Back in February, Yahoo!'s Jon Ward interviewed evangelical author Eric Metaxas regarding why he voted for Trump and continues to support him and the GOP. Metaxas posted his email correspondence with Ward on his blog.
posted by zarq at 8:22 AM on March 14, 2018 [42 favorites]
This is a lengthy piece from Michael Gerson, neoconservative columnist and former speechwriter / senior policy advisor for Bush II. Under normal circumstances I'd have turned it into its own post, because of how deeply it delves into the history of the evangelical movement. He draws a number of conclusions, noting that the evangelical movement sold its soul (so to speak) in supporting the likes of Trump and Roy Moore in part because Trump is preaching a message which tells evangelicals they are an oppressed minority in need of protections and preferential treatment.
From a secular perspective, the article has a few off-putting assertions and blind spots. He laments the way their crusades related to sexual and gender issues have become the primary evangelical narrative as seen by secular America. But of course he doesn't note the profoundly destructive effect those efforts have had on the millions of Americans who do not share their religion and never asked to have it imposed upon them.
David French (conservative) replies in the National Review to Gerson: The True Sin of American Evangelicals in the Age of Trump. French distills the concern a bit by explaining that evangelicals might have voted for Trump but their real sin is sticking with him and the party now that the election is over.
Similar subject:
Back in February, Yahoo!'s Jon Ward interviewed evangelical author Eric Metaxas regarding why he voted for Trump and continues to support him and the GOP. Metaxas posted his email correspondence with Ward on his blog.
posted by zarq at 8:22 AM on March 14, 2018 [42 favorites]
Fortunately David Greene is being called on his Pelosi obsession here in this Twitter Thread.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:25 AM on March 14, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:25 AM on March 14, 2018 [10 favorites]
I hate to abandon NPR (and I like Minnesota Public Radio's reporting - they dig deep on some stuff you wouldn't expect) because it seems like the alternatives are a) Right Wing Talk Radio Which Would Most Certainly Kill Me b) People I Agree With (aka Left Wing) Talk Radio and I JUST WANT STRAIGHT NEWS WITH MEANINGFUL CONTEXT.
But it is obvious NPR is ignoring all of the criticism around that. They know and they are making their choice. David Greene never even responds to my angry tweets :(
Anyway, my conclusion is this reconfiguring of a phrase: Liberals have a well known reality bias. It just feels dangerous to get my news from people who agree with me and think like me.
posted by Emmy Rae at 8:25 AM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
But it is obvious NPR is ignoring all of the criticism around that. They know and they are making their choice. David Greene never even responds to my angry tweets :(
Anyway, my conclusion is this reconfiguring of a phrase: Liberals have a well known reality bias. It just feels dangerous to get my news from people who agree with me and think like me.
posted by Emmy Rae at 8:25 AM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
Man, I don't know. People keep saying this and I don't see the evidence.
Obama won because he inspired people with a simple message. People voted for him, not just to repudiate the Bush years, but for a better future. They worked on his campaign with enthusiasm, they turned out to vote in large numbers.
It's always easier to win with a galvanizing candidate and a positive platform. Volunteers work harder, more money is raise, the voting lines are longer.
I mean a positive, uplifting message is almost explicitly anti-Trump, at this point.
So is defending our country against foreign adversaries.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:25 AM on March 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
Obama won because he inspired people with a simple message. People voted for him, not just to repudiate the Bush years, but for a better future. They worked on his campaign with enthusiasm, they turned out to vote in large numbers.
It's always easier to win with a galvanizing candidate and a positive platform. Volunteers work harder, more money is raise, the voting lines are longer.
I mean a positive, uplifting message is almost explicitly anti-Trump, at this point.
So is defending our country against foreign adversaries.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:25 AM on March 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
Well, n=1 here, so I remain skeptical.
Scott Walker's recall election and W's second term should be a caution against running some generic tapioca overlord against the terrible incumbent.
posted by The Gaffer at 8:26 AM on March 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
Scott Walker's recall election and W's second term should be a caution against running some generic tapioca overlord against the terrible incumbent.
posted by The Gaffer at 8:26 AM on March 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
I'd like to see this questioned in a confirmation hearing, please:
Dafna Linzer:
Dafna Linzer:
Here is the since-deleted tweet from Mike Pompeo on July 24, 2016 pushing stolen Democratic emails and Wikileaks. Pompeo was head of House Intelligence Commitee at the time. 3 days later, Trump called on Russia “if you’re listening” to get Clinton’s email.posted by Dashy at 8:26 AM on March 14, 2018 [32 favorites]
Mike Pompeo (@RepMikePompeo): Need further proof that the fix was in from Pres. Obama on down? BUSTED: 19,252 Emails from DNC Leaked by Wikileaks.
Obama won because he inspired people with a simple message.
The simple message I got was he wasn't John McCain. That had my vote automatically. Palin's presence just confirmed the wisdom of that choice.
posted by rc3spencer at 8:26 AM on March 14, 2018 [11 favorites]
The simple message I got was he wasn't John McCain. That had my vote automatically. Palin's presence just confirmed the wisdom of that choice.
posted by rc3spencer at 8:26 AM on March 14, 2018 [11 favorites]
My problem with Pod Save America is that it's run by former employees of the Democratic Party. They seem to care much more about the party winning elections than they do about any actual political ideology. Because I'm not employed by the Democratic Party, that lens of looking at politics is less interesting to me. Plus most of their guests are just people they've partied with.
For political podcasts, like leftist ones like Chapo Trap House and Discourse Collective that analyze current events based on a coherent ethical worldview. Chapo is very abrasive and rude though, and I can absolutely imagine many professional management class mefites popping a monocle listening to it.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 8:27 AM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
For political podcasts, like leftist ones like Chapo Trap House and Discourse Collective that analyze current events based on a coherent ethical worldview. Chapo is very abrasive and rude though, and I can absolutely imagine many professional management class mefites popping a monocle listening to it.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 8:27 AM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
The good news about all these firings (Alexandra Petri, WaPo)
If there is one thing we know about Trump, it is that his instincts about everything are correct. What a relief and comfort it is in this world of travail and change to have someone like that in our lives, fixed and bright as the pole star. Not in the sense that the pole star is an enormous ball of hot gas hurtling through space without direction or intent, but in the good sense. He will be firing a lot of other people who have been getting in the way of that inherent gut-rightness, which at first he had been doubting but now he will allow to glow forth like an immense garbage fire. And at least Pompeo’s voice may be audible to human ears, even if what it is saying is, “TEAR UP THE IRAN DEAL.” […]posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:27 AM on March 14, 2018 [36 favorites]
Also good news: The new head of the CIA will be a woman! And she has already broken that highest, hardest glass ceiling of presiding over a black site where detainees were waterboarded. We’ve gone from wat-him-board to wat-her-board! Ladies, we can have it all! Torture — more like tort-her! The boot stepping on the human face forever is high-heeled! This is a great day for feminism, probably! We have certainly not reached the point where you can consider women as people and celebrate or castigate them accordingly and therefore, ladies, we have to be thrilled about this development. Yay ladies!
In the course of the next week we can look forward to more firings and hirings like this. No more “no”! We are about to enter a whole world of “yes”! We are ripping off a bandage! We are tearing off the small piece of plastic that was preventing us from observing the large suppurating hole through which dirt can get into the bloodstream!
All good news! Nothing but good news!
The Republicans have twisted themselves into such a pretzel that literally the only message they have left that turns out their voters is scaring them about brown people*. And even that now loses them elections.
*They're against our own intelligence agencies now! They're anti-FBI, for Pete's sake. It's only a matter of time before they turn against the military; probably after McMaster and Kelly get fired.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:28 AM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
*They're against our own intelligence agencies now! They're anti-FBI, for Pete's sake. It's only a matter of time before they turn against the military; probably after McMaster and Kelly get fired.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:28 AM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
Under normal circumstances I'd have turned it into its own post, because of how deeply it delves into the history of the evangelical movement.
I think it's worth doing so, because I saw in mentioned in the context of this chaser that explicitly addresses the racism aspect that's absolutely core to evangelicals: Why White Evangelism is So Cruel
Chapo is very abrasive and rude though, and I can absolutely imagine many professional management class mefites popping a monocle listening to it.
Chapo probably also has a #MeToo moment coming, given how one of the hosts is known to make gendered threats against female journalists
posted by Merus at 8:29 AM on March 14, 2018 [59 favorites]
I think it's worth doing so, because I saw in mentioned in the context of this chaser that explicitly addresses the racism aspect that's absolutely core to evangelicals: Why White Evangelism is So Cruel
Chapo is very abrasive and rude though, and I can absolutely imagine many professional management class mefites popping a monocle listening to it.
Chapo probably also has a #MeToo moment coming, given how one of the hosts is known to make gendered threats against female journalists
posted by Merus at 8:29 AM on March 14, 2018 [59 favorites]
Being anti-Trump is a symbol for "I am anti everything that Trump represents: racism, misogyny, islamophobia, homophobia, nuclear armageddon, chaos, the destruction of institutions, the flaunting of rule of law, oligarchy, just plain crass grossness, and lining the pockets of the 1%." "Trump" is more than just one guy
Yes, this -- being anti-Trump in this way is firing good people across this land way the heck up, as evidenced by the fact that the first Women's March dwarfed the crowd at the Inauguration.
These are terrible people, and always have been, but the likes of Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell always felt a need to hide it, just as Lee Atwater said. With Trump, the mask is off. And as Trump voters revel in that fact, I doubt it's going to go back on easily, even as they consign the Republican Party to an irrelevant rump while the rest of us get on with fixing this country.
posted by Gelatin at 8:31 AM on March 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
Yes, this -- being anti-Trump in this way is firing good people across this land way the heck up, as evidenced by the fact that the first Women's March dwarfed the crowd at the Inauguration.
These are terrible people, and always have been, but the likes of Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell always felt a need to hide it, just as Lee Atwater said. With Trump, the mask is off. And as Trump voters revel in that fact, I doubt it's going to go back on easily, even as they consign the Republican Party to an irrelevant rump while the rest of us get on with fixing this country.
posted by Gelatin at 8:31 AM on March 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
I don't think we need to stick to boring "electable" empty-suit candidates without a coherent message or solid platform, just "Vote for me as the lesser of two evils!" That actually is a losing proposition as we've found in the past. But we don't need unicorns, we don't need every candidate to have the charisma, inspiration and oratory of Barack Obama or the sheer qualifications of Hillary Clinton. We won with Ralph Northam, boring, yes, but also very capable and had a platform and a message (he was more than just "I'm not with Trump! Lesser of two evils!").
Candidates don't have to be as all-out special and inspirational as we might like. I think they can be plodders, or more conservative, as long as they are reasonably likable and have a message. Conor Lamb won big on health care (Joan McCarter, Daily Kos) as well as unions. His bread-and-butter message played well in a heavily unionized region in an economically anxious time. It probably didn't hurt that native Scrantonite (Scrantonian?) Joe Biden endorsed Lamb with a "He reminds me of my late son Beau!", but even if we can't get a high-ranking endorsement, we can always have a good message and a ground game.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 8:31 AM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
Candidates don't have to be as all-out special and inspirational as we might like. I think they can be plodders, or more conservative, as long as they are reasonably likable and have a message. Conor Lamb won big on health care (Joan McCarter, Daily Kos) as well as unions. His bread-and-butter message played well in a heavily unionized region in an economically anxious time. It probably didn't hurt that native Scrantonite (Scrantonian?) Joe Biden endorsed Lamb with a "He reminds me of my late son Beau!", but even if we can't get a high-ranking endorsement, we can always have a good message and a ground game.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 8:31 AM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
Chapo is very abrasive and rude though, and I can absolutely imagine many professional management class mefites popping a monocle listening to it.
Well I rolled my eyes so hard at this needless dickery I lost a contact lens. Does that count?
posted by Barack Spinoza at 8:31 AM on March 14, 2018 [73 favorites]
Well I rolled my eyes so hard at this needless dickery I lost a contact lens. Does that count?
posted by Barack Spinoza at 8:31 AM on March 14, 2018 [73 favorites]
My problem with Pod Save America is that it's run by former employees of the Democratic Party. They seem to care much more about the party winning elections than they do about any actual political ideology.
Strong disagreement. They talk policy all the time, and are super critical of the Party machine. Part of what they discuss is how best to get the Democratic Party back in power, but honestly if we don't figure that out we're all fucked forever.
posted by mcstayinskool at 8:31 AM on March 14, 2018 [40 favorites]
Strong disagreement. They talk policy all the time, and are super critical of the Party machine. Part of what they discuss is how best to get the Democratic Party back in power, but honestly if we don't figure that out we're all fucked forever.
posted by mcstayinskool at 8:31 AM on March 14, 2018 [40 favorites]
Scaramucci's tenure is comically short, but they missed a golden opportunity to convert other people's tenures to Scaramuccis.
For amusement, I converted CNN's database of White House departures into Scaras since that decimalisation is too convenient to pass up. The rankings follow for those who have been confirmed as fired:
* Crossed Trump about Russian influence in 2016 election
** Purged by John Kelly
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:32 AM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
For amusement, I converted CNN's database of White House departures into Scaras since that decimalisation is too convenient to pass up. The rankings follow for those who have been confirmed as fired:
Sally Yates (US Deputy Attorney General) 1.1 Scaras*(Yes, despite Tillerson's foot-dragging on sanctions and counter-propaganda, he made the mistake of publicly conceding that Russia's meddling in the US presidential election was "fairly well-established".)
Michael Flynn (National Security Adviser) 2.5 Scaras
James Comey (FBI Director) 11 Scaras*
Derek Harvey (National Security Council Adviser) 18.3 Scaras**
Rich Higgins (Strategic Planning Aide) 18.3 Scaras
Ezra Cohen-Watnick (Senior Director for Intelligence on the National Security Council) 19.5 Scaras**
Steve Bannon (White House Chief Strategist) 21.1 Scaras**
Rex Tillerson (Secretary of State) 40.6 Scaras*
John McEntee (Personal aide to the President) 41.8 Scaras
* Crossed Trump about Russian influence in 2016 election
** Purged by John Kelly
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:32 AM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
The Guardian's Lois Beckett on Twitter: Covering a walkout this morning at an elementary school in Virginia, and the 11-year-old organizers had a press packet ready for me.
I am pleased that the Indianapolis Public Schools essentially made the walkout an official event; we got a robocall saying children would not be allowed to leave campus, but were encouraged to leave class to a meeting spot on the school grounds if they wished. My daughter participated.
posted by Gelatin at 8:33 AM on March 14, 2018 [24 favorites]
I am pleased that the Indianapolis Public Schools essentially made the walkout an official event; we got a robocall saying children would not be allowed to leave campus, but were encouraged to leave class to a meeting spot on the school grounds if they wished. My daughter participated.
posted by Gelatin at 8:33 AM on March 14, 2018 [24 favorites]
My problem with Pod Save America is that it's run by former employees of the Democratic Party. They seem to care much more about the party winning elections than they do about any actual political ideology.
Strong disagreement. They talk policy all the time, and are super critical of the Party machine. Part of what they discuss is how best to get the Democratic Party back in power, but honestly if we don't figure that out we're all fucked forever.
Second that, have you heard what they've been saying about DCCC's fuckery down in Texas?
posted by leotrotsky at 8:35 AM on March 14, 2018 [10 favorites]
Strong disagreement. They talk policy all the time, and are super critical of the Party machine. Part of what they discuss is how best to get the Democratic Party back in power, but honestly if we don't figure that out we're all fucked forever.
Second that, have you heard what they've been saying about DCCC's fuckery down in Texas?
posted by leotrotsky at 8:35 AM on March 14, 2018 [10 favorites]
Chaps is very abrasive and rude though, and I can absolutely imagine many professional management class mefites popping a monocle listening to it.
Well I rolled my eyes so hard at this needless dickery that I lost a contact lens. Does that count?
Despite being so-called "professional management class", I have visible tattoos, was a member of ACT UP and have been arrested more than most professionals. Do I get a pass on monocle popping or nah?
(Barack Spinoza, I would love your comment a thousand times if I could. Thanks for the laugh this morning.)
posted by Sophie1 at 8:37 AM on March 14, 2018 [23 favorites]
Well I rolled my eyes so hard at this needless dickery that I lost a contact lens. Does that count?
Despite being so-called "professional management class", I have visible tattoos, was a member of ACT UP and have been arrested more than most professionals. Do I get a pass on monocle popping or nah?
(Barack Spinoza, I would love your comment a thousand times if I could. Thanks for the laugh this morning.)
posted by Sophie1 at 8:37 AM on March 14, 2018 [23 favorites]
We do have a still-open thread on Trump and evangelicals, btw.
posted by taz at 8:37 AM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by taz at 8:37 AM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
If we’re talking podcasts I like Arsenal For Democracy Because Bill is a Very Nice Scandinavian style social democrat I can agree with and his show is very focused on policy with a lot of day to day perspective of being in local politics - for stuff with s NYC bent I like the Katie Halper Show, it’s just like old school New York leftism and she interviews a lot of local figures which is how I found out about Marc Fliedner , and leftism in general, I like Season Of The Bitch the all lady socialist feminist podcast.
I’d recommend the Dig and Revolutionary Left radio but I think the Dig is terminally boring unless they have a good guest and RL has this ear grating opening number that I have to skip.
I also like What a hell of a way to die, a podcast by leftist veterans very interesting and often unheard POV
posted by The Whelk at 8:40 AM on March 14, 2018 [27 favorites]
I’d recommend the Dig and Revolutionary Left radio but I think the Dig is terminally boring unless they have a good guest and RL has this ear grating opening number that I have to skip.
I also like What a hell of a way to die, a podcast by leftist veterans very interesting and often unheard POV
posted by The Whelk at 8:40 AM on March 14, 2018 [27 favorites]
There’s also the Vox podcasts, Weeds, Ezra Klein, etc if you’re jonesing for more policy substance on your morning commute. Klien had on the founder of Jacobin a couple weeks ago, and Yglesias has been blasting the Democratic selling out Dodd-Frank, so it’s not all but the Neoliberals. Yglesias‘ voice is pretty unbearable though especially if you listen on 1.5 or x2 speed, not going to lie it’s almost a dealbreaker.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:41 AM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:41 AM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
Washington Post: Scott Pruitt’s $25,000 soundproof phone booth? It actually cost more like $43,000.
what ever happened to draining the swamp
posted by maniabug at 8:46 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
what ever happened to draining the swamp
posted by maniabug at 8:46 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
(Pod save America is my mortal enemy cause Jon Lovett stole my name and now I have to turn him into an anarchist to compensate)
posted by The Whelk at 8:46 AM on March 14, 2018 [28 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 8:46 AM on March 14, 2018 [28 favorites]
We do have a still-open thread on Trump and evangelicals, btw.
Further evidence that nothing good could come from making a post out of the links in my previous comment.
If anyone would like to dump those links in there feel free.
posted by zarq at 8:47 AM on March 14, 2018
Further evidence that nothing good could come from making a post out of the links in my previous comment.
If anyone would like to dump those links in there feel free.
posted by zarq at 8:47 AM on March 14, 2018
Did someone say podcats
Big big fan of Season of the Bitch. Also Discourse Collective is very good if you want to hear in depth discussions of anarchist theory, labor unions, and cough Star Wars; Mic Dicta is a very amusing legal podcast that reviews things like the Janus case and the pending actions against people like Chuck Johnson and Info Wars; and Boonta Vista Socialist Club if you want a bit of a view into the absurdity of Aussie politics. Oh, and Champagne Sharks!
(all links to Soundcloud)
posted by Existential Dread at 8:49 AM on March 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
Big big fan of Season of the Bitch. Also Discourse Collective is very good if you want to hear in depth discussions of anarchist theory, labor unions, and cough Star Wars; Mic Dicta is a very amusing legal podcast that reviews things like the Janus case and the pending actions against people like Chuck Johnson and Info Wars; and Boonta Vista Socialist Club if you want a bit of a view into the absurdity of Aussie politics. Oh, and Champagne Sharks!
(all links to Soundcloud)
posted by Existential Dread at 8:49 AM on March 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
what ever happened to draining the swamp
Don't worry, Pruitt's EPA plans to drain a whole bunch of swamps
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:50 AM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
Don't worry, Pruitt's EPA plans to drain a whole bunch of swamps
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:50 AM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
Mic Dicta is great for a legal perspective that’s not dry as hell!
This week in atrocity doesn’t update regularly enough but it’s a food weeklong round up of the news and scandals but they lost an interview with me due to tech problems so Jeb can go pound sand (I kid) (invite me on your political podcasts you cowards)
posted by The Whelk at 8:50 AM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
This week in atrocity doesn’t update regularly enough but it’s a food weeklong round up of the news and scandals but they lost an interview with me due to tech problems so Jeb can go pound sand (I kid) (invite me on your political podcasts you cowards)
posted by The Whelk at 8:50 AM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
Chapo is very abrasive and rude though, and I can absolutely imagine many professional management class mefites popping a monocle listening to it.Riiiiiight. My issue with the Chapos is that I just can't deal with the kind of blue-collar humor that Will Menaker learned at the knee of his father, who spent years working the late shift as editor-in-chief of Random House and the fiction editor of the New Yorker. My shitty pink-collar job in flyoverland just makes me too effete and elite for that kind of working-class wit.
I'm a woman who thinks I'm fully, 100% human, and therefore it's pretty clear to me that Chapo Trap House is not aimed at me.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:51 AM on March 14, 2018 [113 favorites]
Rand Paul announces he will oppose Pompeo and Haspel nominations.
That means if McCain is out, Republicans only have 49 votes. Democrats could block both of these terrible nominees, except there’s no reason to expect that they will.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:52 AM on March 14, 2018 [45 favorites]
That means if McCain is out, Republicans only have 49 votes. Democrats could block both of these terrible nominees, except there’s no reason to expect that they will.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:52 AM on March 14, 2018 [45 favorites]
From what I can see the CWC article the Kremlin and Corbyn are referencing is Article IX. Consultations, Cooperation and Fact-Finding. Which technically would require Russia (as the party in alleged non-compliance with the convention) to be the one providing evidence.
Regardless, it seems like the correct course would be to get the OPCW executive council involved and have them investigate/verify as an independent third party.
The 'Joint Investigative' wording seems primarily related to the OPCW/UN Joint Investigative Mechanism set up to investigate Assad's use of chemical weapons in Syria. The 'joint' didn't refer to state actors in that case. Russia used their UN security council veto to shut that down to protect Assad.
Seems like it's gish gallop chaff designed to FUD and drag out the situation rather than any real formal CWC mechanism.
posted by Buntix at 8:52 AM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
Regardless, it seems like the correct course would be to get the OPCW executive council involved and have them investigate/verify as an independent third party.
The 'Joint Investigative' wording seems primarily related to the OPCW/UN Joint Investigative Mechanism set up to investigate Assad's use of chemical weapons in Syria. The 'joint' didn't refer to state actors in that case. Russia used their UN security council veto to shut that down to protect Assad.
Seems like it's gish gallop chaff designed to FUD and drag out the situation rather than any real formal CWC mechanism.
posted by Buntix at 8:52 AM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
The thing that I really like about the Discourse Collective podcast is the way they offer three types of episodes: Current Events, Culture, and Theory. All three are a good time, but the theory episodes are the ones that really shine.
Each theory episode breaks down a particular subject in leftist theory, explaining it in depth, with references to source texts. What really makes this work for me is that the episodes take the form of informal conversations between goofy friends. They crack jokes and have fun, but they also really make the material pop by relating it to present day life in the US.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 8:52 AM on March 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
Each theory episode breaks down a particular subject in leftist theory, explaining it in depth, with references to source texts. What really makes this work for me is that the episodes take the form of informal conversations between goofy friends. They crack jokes and have fun, but they also really make the material pop by relating it to present day life in the US.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 8:52 AM on March 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
Oh! And I haven’t heard much but the podcasts at Democracy At Work are very illuminating , espicslly the history episodes.
posted by The Whelk at 8:55 AM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 8:55 AM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
Democrats could block both of these terrible nominees, except there’s no reason to expect that they will.
When doing the math you have to assume Manchin is a Rep lock.
posted by Artw at 8:56 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
When doing the math you have to assume Manchin is a Rep lock.
posted by Artw at 8:56 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'm deeply suspicious of the idea that in districts where Republicans outnumber Democrats victory depends on finding right wing Democrats, as if somehow a large number of Republican voters turned the Democrats in the area into right wingers themselves.
Its anecdotal, but I lived in Amarillo TX most of my life and it's a deeply Republican place. But you know what? All the Democrats I knew there were pretty far lefties, not center right types looking for someone who was kinda Republican but not quite.
Same goes with the whole NRA thing. Yes, some of the Democrats I knew in Amarillo liked guns, but none were NRA fanatics who put guns as a central issue for voting.
Are there actually polling and studies that affirm the DNC belief that in areas with lots of Republicans the Democrats are right wing, or is that just something they pulled out of their ass? Because it doesn't match my experience at all. Being surrounded by Republicans radicalized the Democrats I knew and drove them further to the left, not to the right.
posted by sotonohito at 8:56 AM on March 14, 2018 [51 favorites]
Its anecdotal, but I lived in Amarillo TX most of my life and it's a deeply Republican place. But you know what? All the Democrats I knew there were pretty far lefties, not center right types looking for someone who was kinda Republican but not quite.
Same goes with the whole NRA thing. Yes, some of the Democrats I knew in Amarillo liked guns, but none were NRA fanatics who put guns as a central issue for voting.
Are there actually polling and studies that affirm the DNC belief that in areas with lots of Republicans the Democrats are right wing, or is that just something they pulled out of their ass? Because it doesn't match my experience at all. Being surrounded by Republicans radicalized the Democrats I knew and drove them further to the left, not to the right.
posted by sotonohito at 8:56 AM on March 14, 2018 [51 favorites]
Stop me if you've heard this one before
Teacher's gun goes off in classroom, injuring a student
posted by saturday_morning at 8:56 AM on March 14, 2018 [34 favorites]
Teacher's gun goes off in classroom, injuring a student
posted by saturday_morning at 8:56 AM on March 14, 2018 [34 favorites]
Not a podcast, but while we're plugging things, the Crooked Media people have a new newsletter called What a Day (sample issue). It comes out in the evening and is a nice recap to the day. I enjoy that it's a good mix of straight news and more whimsical aspects of the present situation.
posted by zachlipton at 8:58 AM on March 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 8:58 AM on March 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
I am absolutely here for the juxtaposition of the debate on how far left/ideologically driven candidates should be and the observation that Manchin is not on our side.
posted by The Gaffer at 9:03 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by The Gaffer at 9:03 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
Its anecdotal, but I lived in Amarillo TX most of my life and it's a deeply Republican place. But you know what? All the Democrats I knew there were pretty far lefties, not center right types looking for someone who was kinda Republican but not quite.
Yeah, but (from having spent a lot of time there as a kid/teenager/in my 20's) Amarillo is not exactly representative of the world at large. Or even the rest of Texas. :)
posted by zarq at 9:04 AM on March 14, 2018
Yeah, but (from having spent a lot of time there as a kid/teenager/in my 20's) Amarillo is not exactly representative of the world at large. Or even the rest of Texas. :)
posted by zarq at 9:04 AM on March 14, 2018
Hey guys remember about 100 Scaramuccis ago someone (can't remember who) posted a local (personal, clearly leftist perspective) blog about how Lamb was alienating labor and his campaign was such a disastrous disorganized mess and the unions were rolling their eyes at him and he was totally definitely going to lose lose lose? Good times, good times.
Must have been a case where someone did a search/replace on Northam/Lamb VA/PA, we got essentially that same thing. Someone is presumably already doing the search/replace on the subsequent paens to how brilliant it all was. Wonder who will get post-facto anointed as brilliant savior for PA?
posted by phearlez at 9:18 AM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
Must have been a case where someone did a search/replace on Northam/Lamb VA/PA, we got essentially that same thing. Someone is presumably already doing the search/replace on the subsequent paens to how brilliant it all was. Wonder who will get post-facto anointed as brilliant savior for PA?
posted by phearlez at 9:18 AM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
> I am absolutely here for the juxtaposition of the debate on how far left/ideologically driven candidates should be and the observation that Manchin is not on our side.
What is there to say? We need better Democrats, and we need more Democrats. Manchin will never get better, but I have yet to see a credible plan for getting a better WV Democrat to replace him with a progressive that doesn't have a high likelihood of turning the seat bright from reddish-purple to bright red. There are plenty of other places we can look to primary bad Democrats that don't threaten seats that could allow the entire Democratic caucus to do something other than complain loudly while the GOP burns the country to the ground.
posted by tonycpsu at 9:19 AM on March 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
What is there to say? We need better Democrats, and we need more Democrats. Manchin will never get better, but I have yet to see a credible plan for getting a better WV Democrat to replace him with a progressive that doesn't have a high likelihood of turning the seat bright from reddish-purple to bright red. There are plenty of other places we can look to primary bad Democrats that don't threaten seats that could allow the entire Democratic caucus to do something other than complain loudly while the GOP burns the country to the ground.
posted by tonycpsu at 9:19 AM on March 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
There's also Jacobin Radio and the Zero Books blog/podcast.
posted by eclectist at 9:24 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by eclectist at 9:24 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
I have yet to see a credible plan for getting a better WV Democrat to replace him with a progressive that doesn't have a high likelihood of turning the seat bright from reddish-purple to bright red. There are plenty of other places we can look to primary bad Democrats that don't threaten seats that could allow the entire Democratic caucus to do something other than complain loudly while the GOP burns the country to the ground.
1000x this. Primary bad Democrats in bright blue districts, like that legacy cretin in Illinois, or in bright blue states, like the Feinstein in California. That approach will pull the country left just as effectively, without shooting ourselves in the foot. I want a bright pink wing of the Democratic party, ideally one with policy goals achievable in reality (unlike the wingnuts on the Right).
Look at how the Republicans radicalized. They didn't have Steve King types getting elected in Oregon. They took totally safe seats, and nominated the most right-wing fucker they could find in the primary.
posted by leotrotsky at 9:26 AM on March 14, 2018 [59 favorites]
1000x this. Primary bad Democrats in bright blue districts, like that legacy cretin in Illinois, or in bright blue states, like the Feinstein in California. That approach will pull the country left just as effectively, without shooting ourselves in the foot. I want a bright pink wing of the Democratic party, ideally one with policy goals achievable in reality (unlike the wingnuts on the Right).
Look at how the Republicans radicalized. They didn't have Steve King types getting elected in Oregon. They took totally safe seats, and nominated the most right-wing fucker they could find in the primary.
posted by leotrotsky at 9:26 AM on March 14, 2018 [59 favorites]
I am absolutely here for the juxtaposition of the debate on how far left/ideologically driven candidates should be and the observation that Manchin is not on our side.
Manchin and Trump votes is pretty shit till you look at his fellow WV Senator, Capito, who voted with Trump 95% of the time.
Tracking Congress in the age of Trump can be sorted by multiple columns, and if you sort by actual votes Manchin is still better than the least complaint R, Paul, by 25%.
We need to do the work to get them all better, but Manchin may well be the last item on our list of people to replace. Going from 50% compliance to near 100% in a chamber that close to balance would be catastrophic. That's not about saying "we can sell out x, y and z and it's okay," it's about getting some people into a lifeboat versus nobody.
posted by phearlez at 9:31 AM on March 14, 2018 [21 favorites]
Manchin and Trump votes is pretty shit till you look at his fellow WV Senator, Capito, who voted with Trump 95% of the time.
Tracking Congress in the age of Trump can be sorted by multiple columns, and if you sort by actual votes Manchin is still better than the least complaint R, Paul, by 25%.
We need to do the work to get them all better, but Manchin may well be the last item on our list of people to replace. Going from 50% compliance to near 100% in a chamber that close to balance would be catastrophic. That's not about saying "we can sell out x, y and z and it's okay," it's about getting some people into a lifeboat versus nobody.
posted by phearlez at 9:31 AM on March 14, 2018 [21 favorites]
Small tangent: I feel like "Saramucci", as a unit of time, has to be actual/objective time as recorded by clocks, not subjective Trump Time. So "three Scaramuccis" is around 30 or 33 real days, which might be equal to, say, one and a half Trump Years (or just "one and a half years" in colloquial speech), depending on the intensity of the news cycles within those Scaramuccis.
For example, Jake Tapper joked last night that Tillerson was fired six months ago, and that's fine. But if he'd said it was multiple Scaramuccis ago, then the metaphor is too mixed, and the boundaries between reality and illusion have deteriorated too much (but of course that might be a lost cause anyway).
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:31 AM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
For example, Jake Tapper joked last night that Tillerson was fired six months ago, and that's fine. But if he'd said it was multiple Scaramuccis ago, then the metaphor is too mixed, and the boundaries between reality and illusion have deteriorated too much (but of course that might be a lost cause anyway).
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:31 AM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
Look at how the Republicans radicalized. They didn't have Steve King types getting elected in Oregon. They took totally safe seats, and nominated the most right-wing fucker they could find in the primary.
Basically, DO THIS.
posted by leotrotsky at 9:32 AM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
Basically, DO THIS.
posted by leotrotsky at 9:32 AM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
I think you're thinking of either air to air missiles or the Russian air defense net? The only real air superiority capability VVS Russia has is a couple hundred Su-27 family in inventory and God only knows how many of those are flyable.
SU-27 is not really something that will produce air-superiority. The problem for other air-forces is that the United States is not very dependent on the singular capabilities of a fighter jet for the control of air-space. You can out dogfight a single American jet with a state of the art fighter or with better pilots or some combination thereof but that won't save you from missiles fired from far far away. The American air force arrives in numbers, with more advanced radar on board and also naval and air based radar support. Further american missile and bomber attacks make it likely your fighters might never even get off the ground and nobody in the world can project that kind of force. Even with a somewhat crappy compromised best at nothing F35 there is no air force in the world that will last more than a few days against the US air force unless by "last" you mean hide in a cave and never come out.
It isn't air battles you should worry about.
It is what is beneath the water that should terrify you.
posted by srboisvert at 9:32 AM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
SU-27 is not really something that will produce air-superiority. The problem for other air-forces is that the United States is not very dependent on the singular capabilities of a fighter jet for the control of air-space. You can out dogfight a single American jet with a state of the art fighter or with better pilots or some combination thereof but that won't save you from missiles fired from far far away. The American air force arrives in numbers, with more advanced radar on board and also naval and air based radar support. Further american missile and bomber attacks make it likely your fighters might never even get off the ground and nobody in the world can project that kind of force. Even with a somewhat crappy compromised best at nothing F35 there is no air force in the world that will last more than a few days against the US air force unless by "last" you mean hide in a cave and never come out.
It isn't air battles you should worry about.
It is what is beneath the water that should terrify you.
posted by srboisvert at 9:32 AM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
What is there to say? We need better Democrats, and we need more Democrats. Manchin will never get better, but I have yet to see a credible plan for getting a better WV Democrat to replace him with a progressive that doesn't have a high likelihood of turning the seat bright from reddish-purple to bright red. There are plenty of other places we can look to primary bad Democrats that don't threaten seats that could allow the entire Democratic caucus to do something other than complain loudly while the GOP burns the country to the ground.
I'd say that it's worth investigating our assumptions in several places. Whatever your particular ideal point in political space is, the optimal compromise between that and median sentiment in WV (or wherever else) is unlikely to be milquetoast corporatist means tested everything pap. The discourses in popular media, broadly progressive spaces, and metafilter are not super insightful about Appalachia, or the Great Plains, or the Upper Midwest, etc., and adhering to this linear model of political sentiment isn't helping. So maybe you can't get what you want in terms of immigration in WV, that doesn't for a moment mean that you can't get a firebrand in retiring the war on drugs or postal banking or whatever.
posted by The Gaffer at 9:35 AM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
I'd say that it's worth investigating our assumptions in several places. Whatever your particular ideal point in political space is, the optimal compromise between that and median sentiment in WV (or wherever else) is unlikely to be milquetoast corporatist means tested everything pap. The discourses in popular media, broadly progressive spaces, and metafilter are not super insightful about Appalachia, or the Great Plains, or the Upper Midwest, etc., and adhering to this linear model of political sentiment isn't helping. So maybe you can't get what you want in terms of immigration in WV, that doesn't for a moment mean that you can't get a firebrand in retiring the war on drugs or postal banking or whatever.
posted by The Gaffer at 9:35 AM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
Despite being so-called "professional management class", I have visible tattoos, was a member of ACT UP and have been arrested more than most professionals. Do I get a pass on monocle popping or nah?
Tattoos don't make you a worker. If you are doing intellectual labor, rather than physical; if you have "meetings" where what you say matters in a decision, rather than a "safety meeting" where you are merely scolded or told what to do, yes. yes, you are of the professional class, although you may have put your body at risk more than other professionals, that doesn't compare to the day in, day out grind working people face.
yes, it's a failure to understand class--three classes, Owners, Coordinators, and Workers, that leads to insults like 'monocle-popping' because we don't have a cultural byword for coordinator class folks.
But if your butt is in a chair most days, but let's be fair, most of your work hours are probably spent strategizing, researching, and writing, skills that give you a class edge in the political process over the folks who have to build the buildings, draw the water, hew the wood, mop up the oil, and clean the toilets.
thanks for doing intellectual labor for people at risk. I don't listen to this podcast you mention, but I do see the Democratic party as intellectual workers who, even after losing to an incompetent fascist, seem hopelessly self-interested, and more interested in telling people what is good for them, than interested in talking and working with working people. you know, democracy.
And i canvass for the Democratic party.
posted by eustatic at 9:37 AM on March 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
Tattoos don't make you a worker. If you are doing intellectual labor, rather than physical; if you have "meetings" where what you say matters in a decision, rather than a "safety meeting" where you are merely scolded or told what to do, yes. yes, you are of the professional class, although you may have put your body at risk more than other professionals, that doesn't compare to the day in, day out grind working people face.
yes, it's a failure to understand class--three classes, Owners, Coordinators, and Workers, that leads to insults like 'monocle-popping' because we don't have a cultural byword for coordinator class folks.
But if your butt is in a chair most days, but let's be fair, most of your work hours are probably spent strategizing, researching, and writing, skills that give you a class edge in the political process over the folks who have to build the buildings, draw the water, hew the wood, mop up the oil, and clean the toilets.
thanks for doing intellectual labor for people at risk. I don't listen to this podcast you mention, but I do see the Democratic party as intellectual workers who, even after losing to an incompetent fascist, seem hopelessly self-interested, and more interested in telling people what is good for them, than interested in talking and working with working people. you know, democracy.
And i canvass for the Democratic party.
posted by eustatic at 9:37 AM on March 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
The discourses in popular media, broadly progressive spaces, and metafilter are not super insightful about Appalachia, or the Great Plains, or the Upper Midwest, etc.
MeFites live in all those places, or are from them. We are not exclusively of CA and NY.
posted by Emmy Rae at 9:39 AM on March 14, 2018 [68 favorites]
MeFites live in all those places, or are from them. We are not exclusively of CA and NY.
posted by Emmy Rae at 9:39 AM on March 14, 2018 [68 favorites]
It is what is beneath the water that should terrify you.
I don't know why folks are focusing on the military component. It's completely possible to squeeze the Putin regime to death without firing a single bullet. Sanctions and asset seizures would plunge their economy into a death spiral; the West just needs to decide to act.
You shut the oligarch class out of the global economy, seize their ill-gotten funds, and ban them from travelling in the civilized world. They'll line up to remove Putin and get their stuff back.
posted by leotrotsky at 9:40 AM on March 14, 2018 [45 favorites]
I don't know why folks are focusing on the military component. It's completely possible to squeeze the Putin regime to death without firing a single bullet. Sanctions and asset seizures would plunge their economy into a death spiral; the West just needs to decide to act.
You shut the oligarch class out of the global economy, seize their ill-gotten funds, and ban them from travelling in the civilized world. They'll line up to remove Putin and get their stuff back.
posted by leotrotsky at 9:40 AM on March 14, 2018 [45 favorites]
Just because Lamb and Northam won does not necessarily vindicate every action taken by their campaign.
From my perspective, both campaigns were won because we had a bunch of small-scale local organizers who were motivated and worked their asses off, while the big-picture campaign was kind of a mess.
Going into the VA election, I was panicking because of the Northam campaign's profound failure to articulate a message about why people should vote for him. There wasn't an appeal to moderates, no appeal to the base, few policy positions, in the face of an opponent who was very effectively managing all of those things while sweeping his incompetence and extremist views under the rug. Watching Northam's ads the week before the election, I was discouraged from going to the polls.
So, yeah... It's possible that Northam and Lamb won in spite of their campaigns. We need to be very very careful when making conclusions about why a particular campaign succeeds or fails.
In the case of Northam and Lamb, it almost looks like the expensive, big-picture campaign stuff might not have mattered at all. The folks knocking on doors and driving their neighbors to the polls are the ones who won those races.
posted by schmod at 9:44 AM on March 14, 2018 [11 favorites]
From my perspective, both campaigns were won because we had a bunch of small-scale local organizers who were motivated and worked their asses off, while the big-picture campaign was kind of a mess.
Going into the VA election, I was panicking because of the Northam campaign's profound failure to articulate a message about why people should vote for him. There wasn't an appeal to moderates, no appeal to the base, few policy positions, in the face of an opponent who was very effectively managing all of those things while sweeping his incompetence and extremist views under the rug. Watching Northam's ads the week before the election, I was discouraged from going to the polls.
So, yeah... It's possible that Northam and Lamb won in spite of their campaigns. We need to be very very careful when making conclusions about why a particular campaign succeeds or fails.
In the case of Northam and Lamb, it almost looks like the expensive, big-picture campaign stuff might not have mattered at all. The folks knocking on doors and driving their neighbors to the polls are the ones who won those races.
posted by schmod at 9:44 AM on March 14, 2018 [11 favorites]
The discourses in popular media, broadly progressive spaces, and metafilter are not super insightful about Appalachia, or the Great Plains, or the Upper Midwest, etc.
MeFites live in all those places, or are from them. We are not exclusively of CA and NY.
Yeah, have you seen how long the threads are arguing about who's really in the Midwest?
posted by leotrotsky at 9:45 AM on March 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
MeFites live in all those places, or are from them. We are not exclusively of CA and NY.
Yeah, have you seen how long the threads are arguing about who's really in the Midwest?
posted by leotrotsky at 9:45 AM on March 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
and have a more friendly person take his place
[Citation needed]
I've seen it claimed that, out of possible rulers in Russia, Putin is the level-headed pragmatist, and that were he toppled, his replacement would be far more likely to do something rash, like invade the Baltics or nuke a third-tier NATO city just because fuck you.
posted by acb at 9:45 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
[Citation needed]
I've seen it claimed that, out of possible rulers in Russia, Putin is the level-headed pragmatist, and that were he toppled, his replacement would be far more likely to do something rash, like invade the Baltics or nuke a third-tier NATO city just because fuck you.
posted by acb at 9:45 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
But if your butt is in a chair most days, but let's be fair, most of your work hours are probably spent strategizing, researching, and writing,
actual lol
when can we stop fetishizing manual labor as the only "real" work out there, please, my 20 years of customer service done sitting in a chair sure doesn't seem as cushy as how you're painting it
posted by palomar at 9:46 AM on March 14, 2018 [114 favorites]
actual lol
when can we stop fetishizing manual labor as the only "real" work out there, please, my 20 years of customer service done sitting in a chair sure doesn't seem as cushy as how you're painting it
posted by palomar at 9:46 AM on March 14, 2018 [114 favorites]
> The discourses in popular media, broadly progressive spaces, and metafilter are not super insightful about Appalachia, or the Great Plains, or the Upper Midwest, etc., and adhering to this linear model of political sentiment isn't helping. So maybe you can't get what you want in terms of immigration in WV, that doesn't for a moment mean that you can't get a firebrand in retiring the war on drugs or postal banking or whatever.
It probably does, actually. The linear model exists because it's a decent first approximation of how peoples' ideology is organized. Heterodoxy exists, but we can't grow candidates in a lab that can micro-targeting people on a number of niche issues. The issues you mention don't get asses to the polls by themselves, or at least they never have. There are certainly untapped resources in all 50 states where progressives can be reached, but there's a reason that the Joe Manchins, Heidi Heitkamps, and Doug Joneses are the kinds of Democrats that win in these places, and that's because those are the kind of Democrats voters there want. At the margins, we can turn out more of the base to push them to be better on some issues, but at the end of the day, these states are sending the kind of people they want to the Senate.
posted by tonycpsu at 9:46 AM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
It probably does, actually. The linear model exists because it's a decent first approximation of how peoples' ideology is organized. Heterodoxy exists, but we can't grow candidates in a lab that can micro-targeting people on a number of niche issues. The issues you mention don't get asses to the polls by themselves, or at least they never have. There are certainly untapped resources in all 50 states where progressives can be reached, but there's a reason that the Joe Manchins, Heidi Heitkamps, and Doug Joneses are the kinds of Democrats that win in these places, and that's because those are the kind of Democrats voters there want. At the margins, we can turn out more of the base to push them to be better on some issues, but at the end of the day, these states are sending the kind of people they want to the Senate.
posted by tonycpsu at 9:46 AM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
The discourses in popular media, broadly progressive spaces, and metafilter are not super insightful about Appalachia, or the Great Plains, or the Upper Midwest, etc.
Emmy Rae: MeFites live in all those places, or are from them. We are not exclusively of CA and NY.
Not just MeFites or outspoken liberals, either: people of color, LGBT people, immigrants, Muslims, people with disabilities; there are many who will, in one way or another, suffer under this administration (if they aren't already). Lots of people are being hurt, and will benefit from Democrats, from center to left, standing up for them.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 9:46 AM on March 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
Emmy Rae: MeFites live in all those places, or are from them. We are not exclusively of CA and NY.
Not just MeFites or outspoken liberals, either: people of color, LGBT people, immigrants, Muslims, people with disabilities; there are many who will, in one way or another, suffer under this administration (if they aren't already). Lots of people are being hurt, and will benefit from Democrats, from center to left, standing up for them.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 9:46 AM on March 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
We are all workers because none of us control a significant amount of capital.
posted by The Whelk at 9:48 AM on March 14, 2018 [113 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 9:48 AM on March 14, 2018 [113 favorites]
There are a LOT of ordinary people in Russia who would be totally screwed if we "plunge their economy into a death spiral," when really we only want their top 0.1%, like ours, to be stuffed into barrels and thrown down a disused mineshaft.
(I might be projecting a little here, tho.)
posted by wenestvedt at 9:48 AM on March 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
(I might be projecting a little here, tho.)
posted by wenestvedt at 9:48 AM on March 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
I've seen it claimed that, out of possible rulers in Russia, Putin is the level-headed pragmatist, and that were he toppled, his replacement would be far more likely to do something rash, like invade the Baltics or nuke a third-tier NATO city just because fuck you.
Have you considered that the current ruler investing in a huge propaganda machine might have a reason to propagate that kind of opinion?
posted by leotrotsky at 9:48 AM on March 14, 2018 [53 favorites]
Have you considered that the current ruler investing in a huge propaganda machine might have a reason to propagate that kind of opinion?
posted by leotrotsky at 9:48 AM on March 14, 2018 [53 favorites]
Not a podcast, but while we're plugging things, the Crooked Media people have a new newsletter called What a Day (sample issue). It comes out in the evening and is a nice recap to the day. I enjoy that it's a good mix of straight news and more whimsical aspects of the present situation.
Their newish Conversations pod is good, too, if you enjoy deeper dives into single issues.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:57 AM on March 14, 2018
Their newish Conversations pod is good, too, if you enjoy deeper dives into single issues.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:57 AM on March 14, 2018
But if your butt is in a chair most days, but let's be fair, most of your work hours are probably spent strategizing, researching, and writing,
* raises eyebrow *
I admit it is extending the metaphor to the point of ludicrousness, but going by this yardstick, Stephen Hawking didn't work a day in his life. Is that really a claim you're willing to make?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:58 AM on March 14, 2018 [21 favorites]
* raises eyebrow *
I admit it is extending the metaphor to the point of ludicrousness, but going by this yardstick, Stephen Hawking didn't work a day in his life. Is that really a claim you're willing to make?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:58 AM on March 14, 2018 [21 favorites]
East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94: Trump blocks Singapore-based Broadcom from purchasing Qualcomm, on national security grounds.
As noted in that Verge article, this isn't the first time Trump has personally blocked a Chinese company from buying a US company. Previously,
posted by filthy light thief at 9:58 AM on March 14, 2018
As noted in that Verge article, this isn't the first time Trump has personally blocked a Chinese company from buying a US company. Previously,
The acquisition of Lattice Semiconductor Corporation, a publicly-traded Oregon company, by Chinese-owned Canyon Bridge Fund could endanger the US government’s use of sensitive products the company produces, the Treasury Department said in a statement.Now, Trump went from being buddy-buddy with Broadcom when they were talking about moving their headquarters from Singapore to the US, to being against their hostile takeover of the US chip-maker, Qualcomm.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:58 AM on March 14, 2018
when can we stop fetishizing manual labor as the only "real" work out there
Blood and Soil
posted by Sophie1 at 10:00 AM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
Blood and Soil
posted by Sophie1 at 10:00 AM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
I've seen it claimed that, out of possible rulers in Russia, Putin is the level-headed pragmatist, and that were he toppled, his replacement would be far more likely to do something rash, like invade the Baltics or nuke a third-tier NATO city just because fuck you.
Have you considered that the current ruler investing in a huge propaganda machine might have a reason to propagate that kind of opinion?
There is that, but there are also historical reasons to think this might be true.
And last I read, Putin's daughters are still hanging out in Biarritz.
Putin doesn't really want to destroy the West, he wants to own a big piece of it -- and if not that, to force it to pay his invoices. (Making Trump an ironic puppet.)
Speculation that a successor brought in from a populist movement on the right wouldn't have a foot in both worlds seems reasonable. Especially if entirely about blood-and-soil and anti-oligarch. (As I'd think an anti-Putin movement on the right would have to be.)
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:04 AM on March 14, 2018
Have you considered that the current ruler investing in a huge propaganda machine might have a reason to propagate that kind of opinion?
There is that, but there are also historical reasons to think this might be true.
And last I read, Putin's daughters are still hanging out in Biarritz.
Putin doesn't really want to destroy the West, he wants to own a big piece of it -- and if not that, to force it to pay his invoices. (Making Trump an ironic puppet.)
Speculation that a successor brought in from a populist movement on the right wouldn't have a foot in both worlds seems reasonable. Especially if entirely about blood-and-soil and anti-oligarch. (As I'd think an anti-Putin movement on the right would have to be.)
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:04 AM on March 14, 2018
Rand Paul announces he will oppose Pompeo and Haspel nominations.
That means if McCain is out, Republicans only have 49 votes. Democrats could block both of these terrible nominees, except there’s no reason to expect that they will.
Me, calling my Senators just now: "I am calling on the Senator to oppose the nominations of Mike Pompeo to Secretary of State and Gina Haspel as head of the CIA. In particular I will never forgive a vote in favor of Haspel after her record on torture. Thank you."
posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:04 AM on March 14, 2018 [41 favorites]
That means if McCain is out, Republicans only have 49 votes. Democrats could block both of these terrible nominees, except there’s no reason to expect that they will.
Me, calling my Senators just now: "I am calling on the Senator to oppose the nominations of Mike Pompeo to Secretary of State and Gina Haspel as head of the CIA. In particular I will never forgive a vote in favor of Haspel after her record on torture. Thank you."
posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:04 AM on March 14, 2018 [41 favorites]
Have you considered that the current ruler investing in a huge propaganda machine might have a reason to propagate that kind of opinion?
Exactly.
Corrupt rulers love political apathy in people who oppose them. It allows them to maintain power. So they do subtle and overt things to ensure that select groups of voters either can't be bothered to go to the polls and vote against them, or are afraid to do so. When that fails, they work to disenfranchise people to make sure they can't vote or if they do, that their votes don't count.
One group of voters gets apathy and dirty tricks. The other gets fearmongering and lies.
posted by zarq at 10:05 AM on March 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
Exactly.
Corrupt rulers love political apathy in people who oppose them. It allows them to maintain power. So they do subtle and overt things to ensure that select groups of voters either can't be bothered to go to the polls and vote against them, or are afraid to do so. When that fails, they work to disenfranchise people to make sure they can't vote or if they do, that their votes don't count.
One group of voters gets apathy and dirty tricks. The other gets fearmongering and lies.
posted by zarq at 10:05 AM on March 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
Emmy Rae:MeFites live in all those places, or are from them. We are not exclusively of CA and NY.
I'm aware. I'm talking about the overall discourse here.
tonycpsu:It probably does, actually. The linear model exists because it's a decent first approximation of how peoples' ideology is organized. Heterodoxy exists, but we can't grow candidates in a lab that can micro-targeting people on a number of niche issues. The issues you mention don't get asses to the polls by themselves, or at least they never have.
It's how peoples' ideologies are organized, but that doesn't mean it's a good organization. Remember the princeton paper about broadly popular policy goals that get zero traction in government?
We can't grow candidates in a lab, but we can cast our net wider and we can sure as hell change how we talk about issues.
tonycpsu:There are certainly untapped resources in all 50 states where progressives can be reached, but there's a reason that the Joe Manchins, Heidi Heitkamps, and Doug Joneses are the kinds of Democrats that win in these places, and that's because those are the kind of Democrats voters there want. At the margins, we can turn out more of the base to push them to be better on some issues, but at the end of the day, these states are sending the kind of people they want to the Senate.
I'm going to need some kind of backup for the assertion that the US electoral system is efficient at representing the views of its constituents.
posted by The Gaffer at 10:06 AM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
I'm aware. I'm talking about the overall discourse here.
tonycpsu:It probably does, actually. The linear model exists because it's a decent first approximation of how peoples' ideology is organized. Heterodoxy exists, but we can't grow candidates in a lab that can micro-targeting people on a number of niche issues. The issues you mention don't get asses to the polls by themselves, or at least they never have.
It's how peoples' ideologies are organized, but that doesn't mean it's a good organization. Remember the princeton paper about broadly popular policy goals that get zero traction in government?
We can't grow candidates in a lab, but we can cast our net wider and we can sure as hell change how we talk about issues.
tonycpsu:There are certainly untapped resources in all 50 states where progressives can be reached, but there's a reason that the Joe Manchins, Heidi Heitkamps, and Doug Joneses are the kinds of Democrats that win in these places, and that's because those are the kind of Democrats voters there want. At the margins, we can turn out more of the base to push them to be better on some issues, but at the end of the day, these states are sending the kind of people they want to the Senate.
I'm going to need some kind of backup for the assertion that the US electoral system is efficient at representing the views of its constituents.
posted by The Gaffer at 10:06 AM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
three classes, Owners, Coordinators, and Workers
The latter two are the same class. Any distinction drawn between them is a wedge driven by the capitalist parasite ownership class to prevent them from rising up in unity. See also why the ownership class loves racism so much.
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:08 AM on March 14, 2018 [70 favorites]
The latter two are the same class. Any distinction drawn between them is a wedge driven by the capitalist parasite ownership class to prevent them from rising up in unity. See also why the ownership class loves racism so much.
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:08 AM on March 14, 2018 [70 favorites]
Mod note: Folks, let's not dive headlong into a big fight about what "real" work is?
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 10:10 AM on March 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 10:10 AM on March 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
From my perspective, both campaigns were won because we had a bunch of small-scale local organizers who were motivated and worked their asses off, while the big-picture campaign was kind of a mess.
I totally agree with this analysis. Both Northam and Lamb show that Democratic turnout and activists and groundwork can win campaigns for OK-ish candidates, they don’t show that the same work wouldn’t have also delivered a win for a more progressive choice. We also have evidence that a candidate, Jon Osseff, can be too unappealing even in the most favorable atmosphere imagineable. None of these specials yet has shown us the “too left” candidate getting blown out or unable to generate the same level of support. We haven’t seen the test case you’d want in the Trump era yet. Would Randy Bryce have won PA-18 or GA-6? I don’t know but there’s not a great argument that answer is definitely no. Maybe we’ll see that with larger samples in the midterm, but we haven’t yet.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:12 AM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
I totally agree with this analysis. Both Northam and Lamb show that Democratic turnout and activists and groundwork can win campaigns for OK-ish candidates, they don’t show that the same work wouldn’t have also delivered a win for a more progressive choice. We also have evidence that a candidate, Jon Osseff, can be too unappealing even in the most favorable atmosphere imagineable. None of these specials yet has shown us the “too left” candidate getting blown out or unable to generate the same level of support. We haven’t seen the test case you’d want in the Trump era yet. Would Randy Bryce have won PA-18 or GA-6? I don’t know but there’s not a great argument that answer is definitely no. Maybe we’ll see that with larger samples in the midterm, but we haven’t yet.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:12 AM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
I've seen it claimed that...Putin is the level-headed pragmatist, and that were he toppled, his replacement would be far more likely to do something rash
The dude is provocative as fuck. He's supporting Assad. He's sending his goons out to murder people. He's derailing elections to make the world a more dangerous place. We could go on all day listing his bullshit.
Operating on the "what if someone worse takes over" ethic, we would never make any changes in our lives ever, because what if those changes turned out to be bad despite our expectations.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:14 AM on March 14, 2018 [21 favorites]
The dude is provocative as fuck. He's supporting Assad. He's sending his goons out to murder people. He's derailing elections to make the world a more dangerous place. We could go on all day listing his bullshit.
Operating on the "what if someone worse takes over" ethic, we would never make any changes in our lives ever, because what if those changes turned out to be bad despite our expectations.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:14 AM on March 14, 2018 [21 favorites]
Mr. Sessions is the final arbiter of Mr. McCabe’s dismissal, shortly before his retirement takes effect Sunday. Though no decision has been made, people inside the Justice Department expect him to be fired before Friday, a decision that would jeopardize his pension as a 21-year F.B.I. veteran
This is awful
posted by H. Roark at 10:15 AM on March 14, 2018 [33 favorites]
This is awful
posted by H. Roark at 10:15 AM on March 14, 2018 [33 favorites]
Comings and goings...
Kudlow to be top White House economic adviser as Trump adds longtime loyalist. This is a guy who straight up announced his job is to tell the President what he wants to hear.
Andrew McCabe, a Symbol of Trump’s F.B.I. Ire, Faces Possible Firing
Kudlow to be top White House economic adviser as Trump adds longtime loyalist. This is a guy who straight up announced his job is to tell the President what he wants to hear.
Andrew McCabe, a Symbol of Trump’s F.B.I. Ire, Faces Possible Firing
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is reviewing a recommendation to fire the former F.B.I. deputy director, Andrew G. McCabe, just days before he is scheduled to retire on Sunday, people briefed on the matter said. Mr. McCabe was a frequent target of attack from President Trump, who taunted him both publicly and privately.posted by zachlipton at 10:18 AM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
Now, Mr. Sessions is the final arbiter of Mr. McCabe’s dismissal, shortly before his retirement takes effect Sunday. Though no decision has been made, people inside the Justice Department expect him to be fired before Friday, a decision that would jeopardize his pension as a 21-year F.B.I. veteran.
The Intercept, Sarah A. Harvard, Hundreds of Travelers Had Their Global Entry Airport Privileges Revoked — Lawyers Say It’s Another Muslim Ban
posted by zachlipton at 10:19 AM on March 14, 2018 [38 favorites]
But Said is not alone. She is one of hundreds of travelers with a Muslim, Arab, or South Asian background whose Global Entry clearances were revoked, in what lawyers and civil rights activists say is a de facto extension of the Trump administration’s Muslim travel ban.And CBP is playing fast and loose with the figures and FOIA requests.
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in August and October obtained emails and documents through the Freedom of Information Act confirming that CBP revoked Global Entry memberships for hundreds of travelers from Arab and Muslim-majority countries – many of them U.S. citizens — earlier this year. And ADC’s own records show that the number of revocations exceeds what CBP has acknowledged.
posted by zachlipton at 10:19 AM on March 14, 2018 [38 favorites]
Me, calling my Senators just now: "I am calling on the Senator to oppose the nominations of Mike Pompeo to Secretary of State and Gina Haspel as head of the CIA. In particular I will never forgive a vote in favor of Haspel after her record on torture. Thank you."
I just used ResistBot to send a similar message to both Indiana's Senators, and it turns out the system will tweet the messages it sends using first names and locations only, so I went ahead and did that.
posted by Gelatin at 10:24 AM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
I just used ResistBot to send a similar message to both Indiana's Senators, and it turns out the system will tweet the messages it sends using first names and locations only, so I went ahead and did that.
posted by Gelatin at 10:24 AM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
many of them U.S. citizens
Well, they're not real citizens, amirite?
Actually this is terrifying, and it's making me rethink visiting family this year.
posted by Tarumba at 10:26 AM on March 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
Well, they're not real citizens, amirite?
Actually this is terrifying, and it's making me rethink visiting family this year.
posted by Tarumba at 10:26 AM on March 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
You shut the oligarch class out of the global economy, seize their ill-gotten funds, and ban them from travelling in the civilized world.
It's worth noting that the infamous meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and other Russian agents had repealing the Magnitsky Act sanctions as its agenda (obfuscated as being "about adopting Russian orphans"). Those sanctions hurt Putin and his fellow oligarchs. More of them, please.
It also occurs to me that, if the Democrats should not be inclined to be forgiving to Republicans come 2018 and 2020 -- and they shouldn't -- Putin has run a real risk in that Democrats will likely want to punish him and his fellow oligarchs both for helping sabotage Hillary Clinton and for propping up a fool like Trump. Trump may be conspicuously not lifting a finger against Russia, but I hope the oligarchs enjoy it while it lasts, because I predict they have about two years of gravy train left.
posted by Gelatin at 10:29 AM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
It's worth noting that the infamous meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and other Russian agents had repealing the Magnitsky Act sanctions as its agenda (obfuscated as being "about adopting Russian orphans"). Those sanctions hurt Putin and his fellow oligarchs. More of them, please.
It also occurs to me that, if the Democrats should not be inclined to be forgiving to Republicans come 2018 and 2020 -- and they shouldn't -- Putin has run a real risk in that Democrats will likely want to punish him and his fellow oligarchs both for helping sabotage Hillary Clinton and for propping up a fool like Trump. Trump may be conspicuously not lifting a finger against Russia, but I hope the oligarchs enjoy it while it lasts, because I predict they have about two years of gravy train left.
posted by Gelatin at 10:29 AM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
The latter two [Coordinators and Workers] are the same class. Any distinction drawn between them is a wedge driven by the capitalist parasite ownership class to prevent them from rising up in unity. See also why the ownership class loves racism so much.
See also how so-called "exempt" employees are routinely robbed of their labor by not legally being able to claim overtime. There's another labor policy Democrats should champion: Corporations get away with cutting costs by piling the labor of downsized employees on others. That's theft. The monied class will howl, but a fair day's pay for a fair day's work should be the maxim, and the slogan. And down with those who admit they can't prosper without forcing others to work for free.
posted by Gelatin at 10:33 AM on March 14, 2018 [40 favorites]
See also how so-called "exempt" employees are routinely robbed of their labor by not legally being able to claim overtime. There's another labor policy Democrats should champion: Corporations get away with cutting costs by piling the labor of downsized employees on others. That's theft. The monied class will howl, but a fair day's pay for a fair day's work should be the maxim, and the slogan. And down with those who admit they can't prosper without forcing others to work for free.
posted by Gelatin at 10:33 AM on March 14, 2018 [40 favorites]
The SEC charged Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes with fraud today, and apparently Mattis has some splainin' to do:
posted by zombieflanders at 10:34 AM on March 14, 2018 [67 favorites]
@AASchapiro: A key part of the Theranos fraud, according to the SEC, is that they falsely claimed to investors that their product has been used by DoD on the battlefield. Mattis was the company's ally inside the military & after he left, he joined the Theranos board.'Ol "Mad Dog": Not just a war criminal, but probably a financial one too!
posted by zombieflanders at 10:34 AM on March 14, 2018 [67 favorites]
But look how the wingnut GOP drove the party to the far, far right!
No, for the love of god, do not look at that because I would still like our country to have a prayer of being functional in a few years thankyouverymuch.
The wingnut GOP drove the party to the far right by picking ideological purists who were incapable of governance. Look at Trump’s cabinet picks, for godsake. Even for people who believe in the shit they are smoking, they are mainly terrible, unqualified choices. The answer to this is not “do that, but more lefty!”
If these years have taught us anything, it is that government bureaucrats matter. By all means, take the one closest to your political position - but by god, don’t forget we need someone who can actually do the job when they get there.
posted by corb at 10:36 AM on March 14, 2018 [23 favorites]
No, for the love of god, do not look at that because I would still like our country to have a prayer of being functional in a few years thankyouverymuch.
The wingnut GOP drove the party to the far right by picking ideological purists who were incapable of governance. Look at Trump’s cabinet picks, for godsake. Even for people who believe in the shit they are smoking, they are mainly terrible, unqualified choices. The answer to this is not “do that, but more lefty!”
If these years have taught us anything, it is that government bureaucrats matter. By all means, take the one closest to your political position - but by god, don’t forget we need someone who can actually do the job when they get there.
posted by corb at 10:36 AM on March 14, 2018 [23 favorites]
While we're talking class, let's not forget the widening gap between the upper middle class and the rest. There's oligarchic theft, but there's also real systemic problems that need fixing. Richard Reeves on Dream Hoarders and opportunities stolen.
posted by rc3spencer at 10:38 AM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by rc3spencer at 10:38 AM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
@AASchapiro: A key part of the Theranos fraud, according to the SEC, is that they falsely claimed to investors that their product has been used by DoD on the battlefield. Mattis was the company's ally inside the military & after he left, he joined the Theranos board.
To be fair, Theranos intentionally went after political and military types (after more knowledgeable folks turned them down) because they didn't have the expertise to know that they were being sold a bill of goods. I suspect it's more likely Mattis was conned, as opposed to being complicit.
posted by leotrotsky at 10:39 AM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
To be fair, Theranos intentionally went after political and military types (after more knowledgeable folks turned them down) because they didn't have the expertise to know that they were being sold a bill of goods. I suspect it's more likely Mattis was conned, as opposed to being complicit.
posted by leotrotsky at 10:39 AM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
But Said is not alone. She is one of hundreds of travelers with a Muslim, Arab, or South Asian background whose Global Entry clearances were revoked, in what lawyers and civil rights activists say is a de facto extension of the Trump administration’s Muslim travel ban.
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in August and October obtained emails and documents through the Freedom of Information Act confirming that CBP revoked Global Entry memberships for hundreds of travelers from Arab and Muslim-majority countries – many of them U.S. citizens — earlier this year. And ADC’s own records show that the number of revocations exceeds what CBP has acknowledged.
And CBP is playing fast and loose with the figures and FOIA requests.
They're thumbing their noses at the courts. Some judge needs to slap them. Hard.
posted by leotrotsky at 10:41 AM on March 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in August and October obtained emails and documents through the Freedom of Information Act confirming that CBP revoked Global Entry memberships for hundreds of travelers from Arab and Muslim-majority countries – many of them U.S. citizens — earlier this year. And ADC’s own records show that the number of revocations exceeds what CBP has acknowledged.
And CBP is playing fast and loose with the figures and FOIA requests.
They're thumbing their noses at the courts. Some judge needs to slap them. Hard.
posted by leotrotsky at 10:41 AM on March 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
Now, Mr. Sessions is the final arbiter of Mr. McCabe’s dismissal, shortly before his retirement takes effect Sunday. Though no decision has been made, people inside the Justice Department expect him to be fired before Friday, a decision that would jeopardize his pension as a 21-year F.B.I. veteran.
Trump's bullying aside, McCabe's a self-described "lifelong Republican" who is the center of an investigation by the Inspector General for alleged misconduct regarding Clinton's emails. It's why he stepped down from his position. His actions probably helped elect Trump.
McCabe did this to himself. And if it jeopardizes his pension, he has no one else to blame. Not Trump, not Sessions, not Clinton nor anyone else. His actions. His consequences.
posted by zarq at 10:42 AM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
Trump's bullying aside, McCabe's a self-described "lifelong Republican" who is the center of an investigation by the Inspector General for alleged misconduct regarding Clinton's emails. It's why he stepped down from his position. His actions probably helped elect Trump.
McCabe did this to himself. And if it jeopardizes his pension, he has no one else to blame. Not Trump, not Sessions, not Clinton nor anyone else. His actions. His consequences.
posted by zarq at 10:42 AM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
At the margins, we can turn out more of the base to push them to be better on some issues, but at the end of the day, these states are sending the kind of people they want to the Senate.I really wish more people were willing to accept this and support conservative Democrats if they’re the ones who can realistically be elected. That won’t help with e.g. gun control or universal healthcare but it could have made the Trump Russia investigation serious or forced less reckless budgetary decisions.
posted by adamsc at 10:50 AM on March 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
If these years have taught us anything, it is that government bureaucrats matter. By all means, take the one closest to your political position - but by god, don’t forget we need someone who can actually do the job when they get there.
Yes. The conservative war on the "deep state" needs to be heavily pushed back on. Deep State=competent experienced managers, doing the work of the people. Let's add to the Democrat's policy agenda making all but the highest level of agency positions career civil service jobs. There has been a creeping tendency to make more and more levels of management into political appointments. It's the career professionals saving us from the Ben Carsons of the world.
posted by jetsetsc at 10:50 AM on March 14, 2018 [43 favorites]
Yes. The conservative war on the "deep state" needs to be heavily pushed back on. Deep State=competent experienced managers, doing the work of the people. Let's add to the Democrat's policy agenda making all but the highest level of agency positions career civil service jobs. There has been a creeping tendency to make more and more levels of management into political appointments. It's the career professionals saving us from the Ben Carsons of the world.
posted by jetsetsc at 10:50 AM on March 14, 2018 [43 favorites]
Let's check in on the consultant class of the Democratic Party.
HuffPo: How A Twitter Fight Over Bernie Sanders Revealed A Network Of Fake Accounts
posted by Existential Dread at 10:52 AM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
HuffPo: How A Twitter Fight Over Bernie Sanders Revealed A Network Of Fake Accounts
Albright told HuffPost that the accounts were voluntarily handed over by their original users to an unnamed client of hers to be automated in “an analytics program.” She said she was bound by a non-disclosure agreement and could not disclose who was collecting and automating these accounts or for what purpose.@likingonline did a substantial amount of work exposing the bot network, which contain a number of accounts featuring avis of deceased people.
But like her, these accounts were all pro-Clinton, anti-Trump and anti-Sanders.
posted by Existential Dread at 10:52 AM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
if you love america, hug an unelected bureaucrat today
posted by murphy slaw at 10:52 AM on March 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 10:52 AM on March 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
I'm not here to defend McCabe, but holy fucking shit. Fired days before the pension kicks in? That is some serious eat-this-shit-pie motherfuckery.
posted by angrycat at 10:57 AM on March 14, 2018 [56 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 10:57 AM on March 14, 2018 [56 favorites]
That won’t help with e.g. gun control or universal healthcare but it could have made the Trump Russia investigation serious or forced less reckless budgetary decisions.OMG, this. I can live with Conor Lamb's weird gun and abortion shit if that means Devin Nunes is not the head of the House Intelligence Committee. I can grit my teeth over Joe Manchin if it means that the next Supreme Court Justice isn't held up for over a year by Mitch McConnell because having a black President hurt his feelings. You're not just voting for an individual candidate; you're voting for confirmations, investigations, and people like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders as heads of important committees.
posted by xyzzy at 10:58 AM on March 14, 2018 [58 favorites]
McCabe did this to himself. And if it jeopardizes his pension, he has no one else to blame. Not Trump, not Sessions, not Clinton nor anyone else. His actions. His consequences.
Points all well taken, but if he really did do something wrong wouldn't it be better to let the OIG come to conclusions about his potential misconduct and deal with it afterwards than summarily fire him for rather transparently vindictive reasons?
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 10:58 AM on March 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
Points all well taken, but if he really did do something wrong wouldn't it be better to let the OIG come to conclusions about his potential misconduct and deal with it afterwards than summarily fire him for rather transparently vindictive reasons?
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 10:58 AM on March 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
from the "how did you manage to make domestic violence worse" dept.:
White Nationalist Thought Leader Matthew Heimbach, ladies and gentlemen -
White Nationalist Thought Leader Matthew Heimbach, ladies and gentlemen -
The arrest followed a bizarre sequence of events stemming from an extramarital affair Heimbach was conducting, according to the police report.posted by murphy slaw at 11:00 AM on March 14, 2018 [48 favorites]
The white nationalist leader is married to Brooke Heimbach, the step-daughter of Matt Parrott, the Traditionalist Worker Party’s chief spokesman. Matthew Heimbach was also carrying on an extramarital affair with Parrott’s wife, Jessica Parrott. Per the police report, when Brooke Heimbach and Matt Parrott confronted Matthew Heimbach about the affair, Matthew physically attacked both of them.
The group all live in the same trailer park compound in rural Paoli, Indiana, where the Traditionalist Worker Party is based. In statements to the police, all four listed their professions as “white nationalists.”
But is Holmes awful enough to pop up as a Trump cabinet appointment after some imminent round of attrition?
posted by acb at 11:00 AM on March 14, 2018
posted by acb at 11:00 AM on March 14, 2018
Yes. The conservative war on the "deep state" needs to be heavily pushed back on. Deep State=competent experienced managers, doing the work of the people.
Exactly. What they call an "unelected bureaucrat" I call a public servant, in much the same sense as the military theyhide behind profess to venerate.
For years now, many have decried the decline in so-called "civil discourse," but Republicans have been salting their speech with contempt for their fellow Americans my entire life. The pearl-clutching about "civility" comes only when Republicans are justly called out for their contemptible acts.
posted by Gelatin at 11:00 AM on March 14, 2018 [28 favorites]
Exactly. What they call an "unelected bureaucrat" I call a public servant, in much the same sense as the military they
For years now, many have decried the decline in so-called "civil discourse," but Republicans have been salting their speech with contempt for their fellow Americans my entire life. The pearl-clutching about "civility" comes only when Republicans are justly called out for their contemptible acts.
posted by Gelatin at 11:00 AM on March 14, 2018 [28 favorites]
yes to Exceptional_Hubris' point as well as noting that this line of action from Sessions will not make him many friends in the FBI and DoJ.
posted by mmascolino at 11:02 AM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by mmascolino at 11:02 AM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
I can live with Conor Lamb's weird gun and abortion shit
Lamb closed his campaign with an ad in SUPPORT of strengthened gun background checks.
posted by chris24 at 11:03 AM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
Lamb closed his campaign with an ad in SUPPORT of strengthened gun background checks.
posted by chris24 at 11:03 AM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
By all means, take the one closest to your political position - but by god, don’t forget we need someone who can actually do the job when they get there.
Exactly, more lefty. That's the opposite of the tea party republicans to me, candidates who have far left positions and are as highly competent as the GOP is incompetent.
Somehow the idea that the people who should be running the country should be competent is now a position on the left while those on the right keep stumbling over themselves with excuses on how the bumbling idiots they've put in charge are somehow not actually bumbling idiots.
posted by VTX at 11:03 AM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
Exactly, more lefty. That's the opposite of the tea party republicans to me, candidates who have far left positions and are as highly competent as the GOP is incompetent.
Somehow the idea that the people who should be running the country should be competent is now a position on the left while those on the right keep stumbling over themselves with excuses on how the bumbling idiots they've put in charge are somehow not actually bumbling idiots.
posted by VTX at 11:03 AM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
Firing McCabe could also potentially be witness intimidation in the obstruction of justice component of Mueller's investigation. McCabe became acting FBI director in the wake of Trump firing Comey and Trump considered him as a permanent replacement (at least until he asked him whom he'd voted for).
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:03 AM on March 14, 2018 [33 favorites]
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:03 AM on March 14, 2018 [33 favorites]
Points all well taken, but if he really did do something wrong wouldn't it be better to let the OIG come to conclusions about his potential misconduct and deal with it afterwards than summarily fire him for rather transparently vindictive reasons?
The reccomendationn to fire McCabe is based on an OIG investigation. Sessions can only agree, or reject, that conclusion. McCabe already had his due process, and the IG coucluded he should be fired. Without reading the IG report, none of us can say what he did wrong or if that conclusion is based on political interference. Trump has muddied the waters, and that’s why you don’t tweet about ongoing investigations. But we don’t know that the FBIs process here was corrupted, and given that we DO know they DID interfere in the emails investigation, if McCabe directed or enabled that, I want him not only stripped of his pension but criminally charged for abusing his office and obstruction.
Point is, there was a process already, this is the conclusion of it now.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:04 AM on March 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
The reccomendationn to fire McCabe is based on an OIG investigation. Sessions can only agree, or reject, that conclusion. McCabe already had his due process, and the IG coucluded he should be fired. Without reading the IG report, none of us can say what he did wrong or if that conclusion is based on political interference. Trump has muddied the waters, and that’s why you don’t tweet about ongoing investigations. But we don’t know that the FBIs process here was corrupted, and given that we DO know they DID interfere in the emails investigation, if McCabe directed or enabled that, I want him not only stripped of his pension but criminally charged for abusing his office and obstruction.
Point is, there was a process already, this is the conclusion of it now.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:04 AM on March 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
yes, it's a failure to understand class--three classes, Owners, Coordinators, and Workers, that leads to insults like 'monocle-popping' because we don't have a cultural byword for coordinator class folks.
I'm here for your class discussions till you start using them as a smokescreen for accepting shitty abusive misogyny. And quite frankly I don't think you are doing the workers any favors when you show up and say that the rest of us would be more cool with folks who engage in sexist attacks if we were really in that group.
You wanna say we don't understand certain realities of life because, say, our work doesn't ruin our bodies in the way that makes later retirement impossible? Cool. You wanna say hey you'd totally not be bothered by this shit people on a certain podcast do if you didn't sit in a chair for a living? Yeah, pass on that.
posted by phearlez at 11:04 AM on March 14, 2018 [46 favorites]
I'm here for your class discussions till you start using them as a smokescreen for accepting shitty abusive misogyny. And quite frankly I don't think you are doing the workers any favors when you show up and say that the rest of us would be more cool with folks who engage in sexist attacks if we were really in that group.
You wanna say we don't understand certain realities of life because, say, our work doesn't ruin our bodies in the way that makes later retirement impossible? Cool. You wanna say hey you'd totally not be bothered by this shit people on a certain podcast do if you didn't sit in a chair for a living? Yeah, pass on that.
posted by phearlez at 11:04 AM on March 14, 2018 [46 favorites]
Fact check: according to CNN, this is Conor Lamb's abortion position: Lamb personally opposes abortion but backs the Supreme Court's decision legalizing it. "Once you make something a right, it's a right. And it's like that for a reason," he told HuffPost. Lamb told the Weekly Standard he doesn't support a ban on abortion at 20 weeks.
posted by Emmy Rae at 11:07 AM on March 14, 2018 [39 favorites]
posted by Emmy Rae at 11:07 AM on March 14, 2018 [39 favorites]
Washington Post: Scott Pruitt’s $25,000 soundproof phone booth? It actually cost more like $43,000.
what ever happened to draining the swamp
Can't hear you, I'm in the phone booth.
posted by scalefree at 11:07 AM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
what ever happened to draining the swamp
Can't hear you, I'm in the phone booth.
posted by scalefree at 11:07 AM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
Points all well taken, but if he really did do something wrong wouldn't it be better to let the OIG come to conclusions about his potential misconduct and deal with it afterwards than summarily fire him for rather transparently vindictive reasons?
They did. The recommendation that he be fired is part of the FBI disciplinary process, and is the direct result of the OIG investigation. The only decision that Sessions has to make now is whether to accept or reverse that decision.
posted by zarq at 11:08 AM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
They did. The recommendation that he be fired is part of the FBI disciplinary process, and is the direct result of the OIG investigation. The only decision that Sessions has to make now is whether to accept or reverse that decision.
posted by zarq at 11:08 AM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
sit in a chair for a living
Complete with monocle.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:10 AM on March 14, 2018 [12 favorites]
Complete with monocle.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:10 AM on March 14, 2018 [12 favorites]
Me, calling my Senators just now: "I am calling on the Senator...
FWIW, I find these comments incredibly helpful both as a reminder for me to contact my own reps and to shamelessly rip them off to load my own lips (or fingers as the case may be). I usually have a hard time coming up with exactly what I want to say so having something I can cut and paste and then maybe make some edits to personalize it I find incredibly useful.
So please, feel free to tell us what you said or wrote to your reps so that I may say something similar to mine. :)
posted by VTX at 11:13 AM on March 14, 2018 [39 favorites]
FWIW, I find these comments incredibly helpful both as a reminder for me to contact my own reps and to shamelessly rip them off to load my own lips (or fingers as the case may be). I usually have a hard time coming up with exactly what I want to say so having something I can cut and paste and then maybe make some edits to personalize it I find incredibly useful.
So please, feel free to tell us what you said or wrote to your reps so that I may say something similar to mine. :)
posted by VTX at 11:13 AM on March 14, 2018 [39 favorites]
Yeah, Lamb has the Tim Kaine position, which means Tim Kaine uses opportunities to quietly confirm anti-abortion judges when Republicans are in power to signal to the people of VA that it's ok to vote for him despite his official stance on upholding the law.
And yet, given a choice between Tim Kaine and Republican Candidate X, I would still vote for Tim Kaine. A primary is a different story altogether.
posted by xyzzy at 11:13 AM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
And yet, given a choice between Tim Kaine and Republican Candidate X, I would still vote for Tim Kaine. A primary is a different story altogether.
posted by xyzzy at 11:13 AM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
Even as we debate Lamb's position on abortion, McClatchy points out how far the party has come: Abortion debate is over inside the Democratic Party
posted by zachlipton at 11:25 AM on March 14, 2018 [42 favorites]
Lamb is not an outlier, not anymore. Nine months from Election Day, political veterans eyeing the House landscape struggle to even identify a single Democratic House hopeful — of the hundreds running — who openly opposes abortion rights.For all the fighting about Democratic purity tests, and it's a worthy discussion to keep having, it's important to see how much has changed in the party. I think the McClatchy article overstates it somewhat, and there's the uncomfortable question of how far candidates who are personally opposed to abortion will go when it comes to supporting TRAP laws and other restrictions to try to play it both ways. But we have candidates like Jones, in Alabama no less, and Lamb running to the left of the likes of Bob Casey on abortion, and they're winning.
Their absence is a significant development for a party in places such as western Pennsylvania, where Democrats even recently would run self-identified “pro-life” candidates (the state’s Democratic Senator Bob Casey Jr., in fact, opposes abortion rights in some circumstances). And it’s reshaping the cultural agenda of a party that, on everything from immigration to guns, has moved decidedly to the left in the last decade – to the chagrin of some who worry it’s reducing their appeal to some right-leaning voters.
“I’ve been on the job for 15 years,” said Kristen Day, executive director for Democrats for Life, a group that supports Democratic candidates who oppose abortion rights. “And this is the most difficult it’s been.”
Day added: “I don’t know what’s going to happen to pro-life Democrats.
posted by zachlipton at 11:25 AM on March 14, 2018 [42 favorites]
As for the discussion about Putin up above, it’s my personal opinion that Putin wants to run the world in a “global gangster”/mafia-esque familia system, in which he is the head gangster and all these people whom he’s helped elect through mischievous means, alongside a system of illegal assassinations, state sponsored theft of documents, info-media manipulation, voter suppression, etc., are his little buddies and they divvy up the world amongst their people, while only hashing out problems amongst themselves. The rest of us get shit, their capos have some status, but they run everything.
posted by gucci mane at 11:27 AM on March 14, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by gucci mane at 11:27 AM on March 14, 2018 [11 favorites]
Are there actually polling and studies that affirm the DNC belief that in areas with lots of Republicans the Democrats are right wing
I'm not going to get into arguments about how conservative or less-liberal Democrats have to be to count as "right wing," but:
Yeah, this is a thing. Democrats in more conservative, Republican-leaning areas are on average more conservative than Democrats in deep-blue strongholds. You can pull the CCES data and look for yourself.
Because it doesn't match my experience at all. Being surrounded by Republicans radicalized the Democrats I knew and drove them further to the left, not to the right.
That's just who you knew and where you hung out and so on, not a decently randomish sample.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 11:34 AM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
I'm not going to get into arguments about how conservative or less-liberal Democrats have to be to count as "right wing," but:
Yeah, this is a thing. Democrats in more conservative, Republican-leaning areas are on average more conservative than Democrats in deep-blue strongholds. You can pull the CCES data and look for yourself.
Because it doesn't match my experience at all. Being surrounded by Republicans radicalized the Democrats I knew and drove them further to the left, not to the right.
That's just who you knew and where you hung out and so on, not a decently randomish sample.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 11:34 AM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
SU-27 is not really something that will produce air-superiority.
I know; my point was just that apart from their coupe-three PAK FA prototypes, their gaggle of Su-27s is all they've got for air superiority. And even in theater already, it would be immediately up against an equivalent-or-better fleet.
The problem for other air-forces is that the United States is not very dependent on the singular capabilities of a fighter jet for the control of air-space
The more immediately problem for Russia in that case is more likely to be the few-hundred existing Typhoons.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 11:40 AM on March 14, 2018
I know; my point was just that apart from their coupe-three PAK FA prototypes, their gaggle of Su-27s is all they've got for air superiority. And even in theater already, it would be immediately up against an equivalent-or-better fleet.
The problem for other air-forces is that the United States is not very dependent on the singular capabilities of a fighter jet for the control of air-space
The more immediately problem for Russia in that case is more likely to be the few-hundred existing Typhoons.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 11:40 AM on March 14, 2018
The Republicans have moved so very far to the right, indeed into frothing wingnut territory in most cases, that the Democrats have become a really, really big tent. My own House Rep - Mark DeSaulnier, a great guy who does lots of good for his district and is in the Progressive Caucus and only slightly to the right of Barbara Lee - started out as a Republican, according to his Wiki bio. (Yes, a Massachusetts Republican, but still!)
This means that a lot of conservative Democrats might have been Republicans a generation or so ago. Maybe that means we can have a DSA or Working Families viable third party one day, but for right now, this means we have to keep everyone together under one very big umbrella. I'm willing to live with "personally pro-life but believes in women's right to choose and will not restrict reproductive rights." Or "personally pro-gun but isn't buying what the NRA is selling and doesn't want to arm teachers."
Personally, I want a guaranteed minimum income, food stamps for all, Medicare for all, unions for all workers, solar panels on the White House roof, and a gi-huge-ic WPA that includes a giant push for our schools and mental health system. And, of course, a pony. But I'm willing to settle for "Democrats in every possible seat they can win and let's go from there" which is what we can realistically have at this time.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 11:48 AM on March 14, 2018 [57 favorites]
This means that a lot of conservative Democrats might have been Republicans a generation or so ago. Maybe that means we can have a DSA or Working Families viable third party one day, but for right now, this means we have to keep everyone together under one very big umbrella. I'm willing to live with "personally pro-life but believes in women's right to choose and will not restrict reproductive rights." Or "personally pro-gun but isn't buying what the NRA is selling and doesn't want to arm teachers."
Personally, I want a guaranteed minimum income, food stamps for all, Medicare for all, unions for all workers, solar panels on the White House roof, and a gi-huge-ic WPA that includes a giant push for our schools and mental health system. And, of course, a pony. But I'm willing to settle for "Democrats in every possible seat they can win and let's go from there" which is what we can realistically have at this time.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 11:48 AM on March 14, 2018 [57 favorites]
@Kasparov63:
Modern kleptocracies like Putin's are built on laundering & keeping their looted riches in the free world. This is also their greatest weakness, one the West has not exploited, preferring the fiction of common ground & engagement.
posted by Artw at 11:48 AM on March 14, 2018 [33 favorites]
Modern kleptocracies like Putin's are built on laundering & keeping their looted riches in the free world. This is also their greatest weakness, one the West has not exploited, preferring the fiction of common ground & engagement.
posted by Artw at 11:48 AM on March 14, 2018 [33 favorites]
Vanity Fair, Gabe Sherman, "Trump wants them out of there": After swinging the axe at Tillerson, Trump mulls what to do with McMaster, Sessions, Jared, and Ivanka. Mostly the usual "Jared and Ivanka back to NYC," bring in Bolton for McMaster's job rumors, but this is new:
posted by zachlipton at 11:53 AM on March 14, 2018 [64 favorites]
Perhaps most consequential for Robert Mueller’s investigation, sources said Trump has discussed a plan to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions. According to two Republicans in regular contact with the White House, there have been talks that Trump could replace Sessions with E.P.A. Administrator Scott Pruitt, who would not be recused from overseeing the Russia probe. Also, because Pruitt is already a Cabinet secretary, he would not have to go through another Senate confirmation hearing.Are you fucking kidding me?
posted by zachlipton at 11:53 AM on March 14, 2018 [64 favorites]
the New York City real estate market is absolutely distorted by great big gobs of Russian dark money, love to see some assets seized
posted by The Whelk at 11:54 AM on March 14, 2018 [39 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 11:54 AM on March 14, 2018 [39 favorites]
Yeah, anti-choice sites have been freaking out for at least a month over the fact that Democrats aren't running any pro-life candidates this year. There are 91 districts the Dems would like to flip from red to blue in November, and none of their people who are running in them are openly anti-abortion.
After the Senate failed to pass the 20 week abortion ban in January, there was talk of reaching across the aisle to try to woo Dems. But now anti-choice groups have no choice but to place all of their eggs in the GOP basket, and hope the party will remain in power to protect/enact their agenda. They were already leaning in that direction anyway. Anti-choice groups were at one point making their support contingent on a pledge by a candidate to support conservative judicial nominees at the Federal and SCOTUS level. Even Democrats who were sympathetic to their cause found that hard to swallow.
By running pro-choice candidates and supporting their own party platform (for once,) the Democrats have now drawn a line in the sand. No more lip service.
posted by zarq at 11:56 AM on March 14, 2018 [39 favorites]
After the Senate failed to pass the 20 week abortion ban in January, there was talk of reaching across the aisle to try to woo Dems. But now anti-choice groups have no choice but to place all of their eggs in the GOP basket, and hope the party will remain in power to protect/enact their agenda. They were already leaning in that direction anyway. Anti-choice groups were at one point making their support contingent on a pledge by a candidate to support conservative judicial nominees at the Federal and SCOTUS level. Even Democrats who were sympathetic to their cause found that hard to swallow.
By running pro-choice candidates and supporting their own party platform (for once,) the Democrats have now drawn a line in the sand. No more lip service.
posted by zarq at 11:56 AM on March 14, 2018 [39 favorites]
5 Lessons From the Pennsylvania Special Election (Eric Levitz | NY Mag)
Over the past three months, America’s two major parties spent over $12 million on a race for a House vote that won’t matter — in a district that will soon cease to exist. Which is to say: Last night’s special election in southwestern Pennsylvania was, primarily, a battle over this morning’s headlines.posted by Barack Spinoza at 11:56 AM on March 14, 2018 [70 favorites]
A victory for Democrat Conor Lamb was never going to threaten a single item on Paul Ryan’s agenda — but it would threaten his colleagues’ peace of mind. A win for Team Blue in the heart of Trump country could convince GOP incumbents that a blue wave was coming, thereby pushing more into retirement, depressing contributions to campaigns, and torpedoing morale across the board. Thus, the actual result of the election would matter less than the lessons that it appeared to teach.
And so, even though we don’t yet have an official result for the final contest in (this version of) Pennsylvania’s 18th district, we do have the only returns that really matter:
1. The GOP’s House majority is (probably) not long for this earth.
2. Democrats can win back white working-class voters with economic populism (where the labor movement still exists).
3. Democrats don’t need to sell out reproductive rights to compete in red America.
4. Opioids can be a gateway issue for Democrats in rural America.
5. The suburbs are in revolt.
the New York City real estate market is absolutely distorted by great big gobs of Russian dark money, love to see some assets seized
And London even more so. We are of like mind.
posted by adamgreenfield at 12:03 PM on March 14, 2018 [35 favorites]
And London even more so. We are of like mind.
posted by adamgreenfield at 12:03 PM on March 14, 2018 [35 favorites]
That seems weird given that Trump just re-hired McEntee for his campaign, but I figure it's just game respecting game.
In his capacity as Trump's bodyman, McEntee doubtless saw a few things at the White House that Trump would rather he not tell the press. Adding him to his reelection campaign payroll simultaneously buys him off and links him to Trump's political fortunes. It's a pretty respectable move in terms of game and a reminder Trump isn't a completely incompetent boss.
By the way, the WSJ updated their scoop yesterday afternoon, revealing that "online gambling and mishandling taxes" were behind his security clearance issues.
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:04 PM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
In his capacity as Trump's bodyman, McEntee doubtless saw a few things at the White House that Trump would rather he not tell the press. Adding him to his reelection campaign payroll simultaneously buys him off and links him to Trump's political fortunes. It's a pretty respectable move in terms of game and a reminder Trump isn't a completely incompetent boss.
By the way, the WSJ updated their scoop yesterday afternoon, revealing that "online gambling and mishandling taxes" were behind his security clearance issues.
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:04 PM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
soren_lorensen: "Hey guys remember about 100 Scaramuccis ago someone (can't remember who) posted a local (personal, clearly leftist perspective) blog about how Lamb was alienating labor and his campaign was such a disastrous disorganized mess and the unions were rolling their eyes at him and he was totally definitely going to lose lose lose? Good times, good times."
Oh, I remember who.
The cherry on the sundae about the original blog piece was that Lamb was doomed because he didn't sound yinzer enough. "Hmmm, I like this guy, but he doesn't say 'warsh' and 'gumbands', so forget him!"
posted by Chrysostom at 12:10 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
Oh, I remember who.
The cherry on the sundae about the original blog piece was that Lamb was doomed because he didn't sound yinzer enough. "Hmmm, I like this guy, but he doesn't say 'warsh' and 'gumbands', so forget him!"
posted by Chrysostom at 12:10 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
The more immediately problem for Russia in that case is more likely to be the few-hundred existing Typhoons.
And 72 Gripen in Sweden with another 60 on order. Even closer to a hypothetical Baltic breakout. (12 more in the Czech Republic.)
Also lots of Falcons up there. Norway has another 46 F-16s, plus 3 F-35s and another 49 on order. Denmark has 33 F-16s, Netherlands has 52 and 2 F-35s. (They have orders for 27 and 35, respectively.)
If retirement of the Falcons is delayed in the face of Russian hijinks, that would be upwards of ~350 planes before Typhoons or US contributions (by the time F-35 orders are filled). I'm sure they're not all mission ready and there wouldn't be enough aircrews for all of them, or even armament, but the same is surely true of Russian forces in pure numbers of airframes.
posted by snuffleupagus at 12:11 PM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
And 72 Gripen in Sweden with another 60 on order. Even closer to a hypothetical Baltic breakout. (12 more in the Czech Republic.)
Also lots of Falcons up there. Norway has another 46 F-16s, plus 3 F-35s and another 49 on order. Denmark has 33 F-16s, Netherlands has 52 and 2 F-35s. (They have orders for 27 and 35, respectively.)
If retirement of the Falcons is delayed in the face of Russian hijinks, that would be upwards of ~350 planes before Typhoons or US contributions (by the time F-35 orders are filled). I'm sure they're not all mission ready and there wouldn't be enough aircrews for all of them, or even armament, but the same is surely true of Russian forces in pure numbers of airframes.
posted by snuffleupagus at 12:11 PM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
the New York City real estate market is absolutely distorted by great big gobs of Russian dark money, love to see some assets seized
And redistributed to the populace! How's that for irony?
posted by Gelatin at 12:17 PM on March 14, 2018 [17 favorites]
And redistributed to the populace! How's that for irony?
posted by Gelatin at 12:17 PM on March 14, 2018 [17 favorites]
You guys can stop dancing around the call out, I was the one who posted the on the ground Union piece about Lamb’s campaign.
And look, of course I’m glad he won and that report turned out to be not reflective of the race outcome. But again, Lamb narrowly winning doesn’t prove he was a great candidate or that a more progressive candidate there would’ve lost the Democrats for a generation. I won’t apologize for critisizisng even good Democrats, or linking to people who do, and one win in one race doesn’t change my outlook on overall strategy or values.
I’m happy when our moderate and marginal Democrats win. I’m less happy when they win over a better choice, and much less happy when they go on to prove to us why when in office.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:21 PM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
And look, of course I’m glad he won and that report turned out to be not reflective of the race outcome. But again, Lamb narrowly winning doesn’t prove he was a great candidate or that a more progressive candidate there would’ve lost the Democrats for a generation. I won’t apologize for critisizisng even good Democrats, or linking to people who do, and one win in one race doesn’t change my outlook on overall strategy or values.
I’m happy when our moderate and marginal Democrats win. I’m less happy when they win over a better choice, and much less happy when they go on to prove to us why when in office.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:21 PM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
Apropos of nothing, a drawing I did last month of one Mr Paul Ryan with the cracks starting to appear, threatening to reveal his real self.
It might be awhile before I post another drawing so in the meantime enjoy this portrait of a swaybacked, gormless jackanapes who has done so much in the service of truly heinous human beings.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 12:30 PM on March 14, 2018 [33 favorites]
It might be awhile before I post another drawing so in the meantime enjoy this portrait of a swaybacked, gormless jackanapes who has done so much in the service of truly heinous human beings.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 12:30 PM on March 14, 2018 [33 favorites]
d redistributed to the populace! How's that for irony?
I would literally make this a campaign platform.
posted by The Whelk at 12:33 PM on March 14, 2018 [26 favorites]
I would literally make this a campaign platform.
posted by The Whelk at 12:33 PM on March 14, 2018 [26 favorites]
According to two Republicans in regular contact with the White House, there have been talks that Trump could replace Sessions with E.P.A. Administrator Scott Pruitt, who would not be recused from overseeing the Russia probe. Also, because Pruitt is already a Cabinet secretary, he would not have to go through another Senate confirmation hearing.
That would be bad, for a whole Superfund site of reasons. Here're a few!
That would be bad, for a whole Superfund site of reasons. Here're a few!
- Scott Pruitt's evangelicalism at the top of the DOJ .
- Scott Pruitt's competence, as demonstrated by his work at EPA so far, at crippling an effective, forward looking bureaucracy.
- Scott Pruitt's antipathy toward science and reason.
- Scott Pruitt's lack of independence with respect to Trump.
- Scott Pruitt's paranoia.
- Scott Pruitt's corruption.
Are there actually polling and studies that affirm the DNC belief that in areas with lots of Republicans the Democrats are right wing... Yeah, this is a thing. Democrats in more conservative, Republican-leaning areas are on average more conservative than Democrats in deep-blue strongholds. You can pull the CCES data and look for yourself.
We know that Democrats in more conservative districts are a bit more conservative. But the question is whether they have to be -- ie, how necessary (causal) is it to actually win elections. My reading of the political science literature is that this continues to be an active area of research, but that most seem to agree that if the effects exist (ie, more extremist Dems do less well in moderate districts, all else being equal), they are quite small, on the order of a couple points of vote share. (And even then, it's unclear how much of this is due the direct effects of the candidate's ideology on voters vs the indirect effects of that ideology on the strategies pursued by the Democratic establishment itself -- the DCCC, PACs, donors, etc.)
Given that small effect, Dem candidate ideology really only matter in a very few districts -- those that are very close to tied in expectation -- and even there, there is so much uncertainty about how big the electoral effect will be in any given district that it's hardly worth strategizing around except in a few marginal cases. And even there, it's important to have an up-to-date model of close elections, since in a wave election, a close district for 2018 is likely to have gone +10 to Trump in 2016, and anything less than that is likely to be so far on the Dem side that the tiny effect of candidate ideology won't matter.
The upshot is that one of the few places candidate moderation might have mattered is in this election just now, PA-18, which was essentially a tie. And there will likely be a dozen or two more in the general in November. But in terms of picking who to support in Dem primaries, it matters a lot whether Democrats think the general election is going to be a near-tie, because only if so does the ideology of the Dem matter at all. And since for a leftist there's a high cost in pragmatically backing a centrist Dem over a more preferred leftist Dem, they can't just play it safe and treat every district as close, since that would result in backing centrist Dems in many places where that is unnecessary. (Which is arguably the DCCC's strategy.) Instead, left-leaning Democrats have to work hard to figure out for which of the hundreds of races in 2018 ideology won't matter much compared to blanket partisanship, and then only duke it out in those very few likely-close contests.
posted by chortly at 12:45 PM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
5. The suburbs are in revolt.
The fact that today our kids are literally marching in the streets so they won't get shot to death in school, and the Republicans have responded by attacking the children because they're so terrified of the Russian-funded domestic terrorists that give them money
...might be contributing to this.
posted by leotrotsky at 12:46 PM on March 14, 2018 [141 favorites]
The fact that today our kids are literally marching in the streets so they won't get shot to death in school, and the Republicans have responded by attacking the children because they're so terrified of the Russian-funded domestic terrorists that give them money
...might be contributing to this.
posted by leotrotsky at 12:46 PM on March 14, 2018 [141 favorites]
All of the discussion about left-ish podcasts makes me wonder- what would it take to get all of that existing content broadcast on the AM dial? My mother-in-law isn't going to download a podcast, but if Crooked stuff is just out there on the air she might listen to it on her school bus route.
posted by Uncle Ira at 12:47 PM on March 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by Uncle Ira at 12:47 PM on March 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
All of the discussion about left-ish podcasts makes me wonder- what would it take to get all of that existing content broadcast on the AM dial?
Those programs would need to support the ads that run on those stations. I would bet their audience is at least as old as Fox News, namely antediluvian. I would also bet their ads are similar: gold, reverse mortgages, and predatory lending. It's a dying medium, particularly given satellite radio and podcasts.
posted by leotrotsky at 12:50 PM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
Those programs would need to support the ads that run on those stations. I would bet their audience is at least as old as Fox News, namely antediluvian. I would also bet their ads are similar: gold, reverse mortgages, and predatory lending. It's a dying medium, particularly given satellite radio and podcasts.
posted by leotrotsky at 12:50 PM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
The recommendation to fire McCabe is based on an OIG investigation.
And the IG seems like a straight shooter.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 12:54 PM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
And the IG seems like a straight shooter.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 12:54 PM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
Wan't there just an FPP about low-power radio? Ah, yes!
posted by wenestvedt at 12:54 PM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by wenestvedt at 12:54 PM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
PA-18 takes wrapup:
* Linked earlier, but still relevant - the DCCC gave Lamb lots of help, but did so on the downlow.
* GOP leadership sure seems to be deluding themselves - Ryan, Barton, McMorris Rogers all quoted here as seeing PA-18 as a fluke. Similar at Politico.
* RealClearPolitics: "You can probably think of PA-18 in the same was as MA-Sen in 2010. Not every race that was as or less Democratic was really ready to flip, but it did confirm a really, really bad environment for the party in power."
* Byler: Dem performance in specials appears to be getting even better.
* Enten: Lamb isn't a one-off, the GOP is in major trouble.
* NBC with some conventional wisdom roundup.
* Vox: Trumpism only works for Trump.
* Health care was *the* issue for the majority of folks.
* 538: PA-18 results in line with what all the other data has been saying.
* Silver: Dem enthusiasm could turn this from a good year into one of historic gains.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:58 PM on March 14, 2018 [37 favorites]
* Linked earlier, but still relevant - the DCCC gave Lamb lots of help, but did so on the downlow.
* GOP leadership sure seems to be deluding themselves - Ryan, Barton, McMorris Rogers all quoted here as seeing PA-18 as a fluke. Similar at Politico.
* RealClearPolitics: "You can probably think of PA-18 in the same was as MA-Sen in 2010. Not every race that was as or less Democratic was really ready to flip, but it did confirm a really, really bad environment for the party in power."
* Byler: Dem performance in specials appears to be getting even better.
* Enten: Lamb isn't a one-off, the GOP is in major trouble.
* NBC with some conventional wisdom roundup.
* Vox: Trumpism only works for Trump.
* Health care was *the* issue for the majority of folks.
* 538: PA-18 results in line with what all the other data has been saying.
* Silver: Dem enthusiasm could turn this from a good year into one of historic gains.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:58 PM on March 14, 2018 [37 favorites]
The irony is that McCabe's dealings with the press HURT the Clinton campaign. He's in trouble for being less than forthcoming about his role in that fiasco.
posted by xyzzy at 12:58 PM on March 14, 2018
posted by xyzzy at 12:58 PM on March 14, 2018
According to two Republicans in regular contact with the White House, there have been talks that Trump could replace Sessions with E.P.A. Administrator Scott Pruitt, who would not be recused from overseeing the Russia probe. Also, because Pruitt is already a Cabinet secretary, he would not have to go through another Senate confirmation hearing.
Would removal of Sessions for the purpose of firing Mueller constitute more Obstruction of Justice? You bet it would!
Question: How stupid is Scott Pruitt? Literally the first thing that Trump's going to ask the new AG is to fire Mueller. As of now, he's not yet entangled in the Russia stuff, he's just regular evil. Does he really want to catch that hand grenade? Does anyone?
posted by leotrotsky at 12:58 PM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
Would removal of Sessions for the purpose of firing Mueller constitute more Obstruction of Justice? You bet it would!
Question: How stupid is Scott Pruitt? Literally the first thing that Trump's going to ask the new AG is to fire Mueller. As of now, he's not yet entangled in the Russia stuff, he's just regular evil. Does he really want to catch that hand grenade? Does anyone?
posted by leotrotsky at 12:58 PM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
* GOP leadership sure seems to be deluding themselves - Ryan, Barton, McMorris Rogers all quoted here as seeing PA-18 as a fluke. Similar at Politico.
What else are they going to say? Blame Trump? He'll go nuclear. Tack to the center? You'll get called a RINO by the base. They've got no ability to course correct.
posted by leotrotsky at 1:01 PM on March 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
What else are they going to say? Blame Trump? He'll go nuclear. Tack to the center? You'll get called a RINO by the base. They've got no ability to course correct.
posted by leotrotsky at 1:01 PM on March 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
Donald Trump Jr and wife Vanessa Trump are in the news for reasons I won't stoop to specifying, but I will quote the description of how they met from this 2006 New York Times article
"I'm at this fashion show," Vanessa Trump said, recalling their meeting in 2003. "Donald Trump comes up to me with his son: 'Hi, I'm Donald Trump. I wanted to introduce you to my son Donald Trump Jr.'"posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:02 PM on March 14, 2018 [95 favorites]
The three engaged in a brief, awkward conversation.
At intermission, the elder Trump again noticed a gorgeous girl nearby.
"Donald comes back up to me again, 'I don't think you've met my son Donald Trump Jr.,'" Vanessa Trump recalled. She remembers responding, "Yeah, we just met, five minutes ago."
Six weeks later, at a birthday party at a New York restaurant, they were introduced a third time, this time by a mutual friend. Neither remembered the other. "We talked for an hour," she recalled.
Then suddenly, something clicked: Wait, you were at that fashion show. Wait, you're "the one with the retarded dad!" Vanessa blurted out.
All of the discussion about left-ish podcasts makes me wonder- what would it take to get all of that existing content broadcast on the AM dial?
The percentage of their current audiences that have never heard an AM radio broadcast is probably in the double digits. Hell, I'm 37 and the last time I listed to AM radio that wasn't a Dodger game was over 2 decades ago and I was a passenger in my now deceased mother's car. Even with baseball I haven't listened to AM since MLB released their iPhone app.
posted by sideshow at 1:05 PM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
The percentage of their current audiences that have never heard an AM radio broadcast is probably in the double digits. Hell, I'm 37 and the last time I listed to AM radio that wasn't a Dodger game was over 2 decades ago and I was a passenger in my now deceased mother's car. Even with baseball I haven't listened to AM since MLB released their iPhone app.
posted by sideshow at 1:05 PM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
Question: How stupid is Scott Pruitt?
He is very very stupid indeed, I'm sorry to report, and is as venal and prone to doing dumb things with email as the rest of this administration.
posted by halation at 1:05 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
He is very very stupid indeed, I'm sorry to report, and is as venal and prone to doing dumb things with email as the rest of this administration.
posted by halation at 1:05 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
An aside, but:
'Hi, I'm Donald Trump. I wanted to introduce you to my son Donald Trump Jr.'
I've always felt that naming your son after yourself is a profoundly narcissistic act: it denies them their own identity in favor of stamping your own onto them.
Donald and Donald Jr. do nothing to dissuade me of that opinion.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 1:19 PM on March 14, 2018 [23 favorites]
'Hi, I'm Donald Trump. I wanted to introduce you to my son Donald Trump Jr.'
I've always felt that naming your son after yourself is a profoundly narcissistic act: it denies them their own identity in favor of stamping your own onto them.
Donald and Donald Jr. do nothing to dissuade me of that opinion.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 1:19 PM on March 14, 2018 [23 favorites]
Stopped clock Rand Paul really might not vote for Pompeo, he’s been the most consistent in his isolationism.
’They want an Iran War next.’ Why Rand Paul won’t back Trump nominees at State, CIA.
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:27 PM on March 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
’They want an Iran War next.’ Why Rand Paul won’t back Trump nominees at State, CIA.
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:27 PM on March 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
'Right twice a day' seems awfully charitable.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:29 PM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:29 PM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
This paper was mentioned on The Weeds podcast yesterday and I thought I'd bring it over here. I haven't read it yet but the discussion of it on the show was pretty interesting.
Partisanship in the Trump Era
Larry M. Bartels
Department of Political Science Vanderbilt University
Partisanship in the Trump Era
Larry M. Bartels
Department of Political Science Vanderbilt University
I explore the contours of the contemporary American partisan landscape, including social and political divisions within and between the Republican and Democratic parties, (minimal) shifts in partisanship over the past two years, the relative standing of President Trump and the Republican “establishment” among rank and file party members, and prospects for partisan change in the short term (prompted by significant changes in people’s views about Trump), in the medium term (prompted by attitude mismatches and cross-pressures) and in the longer term (prompted by generational replacement of the white conservatives who comprise Trump’s base). In contrast to much journalistic speculation, I find that Republicans are not particularly divided by cultural conservatism (as measured by survey items focusing on respect for the American flag, the English language, and negative feelings toward Muslims, immigrants, atheists, and gays and lesbians, among others); indeed, they tend to be united and energized by these values. Democrats, by comparison, are relatively divided on cultural issues, with more than one-fourth finding themselves closer to the average Republican position than to the average position of their own party.posted by soren_lorensen at 1:30 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
Points all well taken, but if he really did do something wrong wouldn't it be better to let the OIG come to conclusions about his potential misconduct and deal with it afterwards than summarily fire him for rather transparently vindictive reasons?
I'm totally cool with Trump and co being transparently vindictive. It is who they are. The more open and transparent they are about it the more the people under them will start to wonder when the transparent vindictiveness will land on them.
In an ordinary political scenario this would be a problem because underlings would start "working toward the fuhrer" to avoid recriminations. But as we have seen, even hand-picked cronies cannot predict what this presidential toddler wants so they cannot proactively work to meet his demands and he is incapable of articulating and/or sticking with any actual programs.
It'd be a circular firing squad but I am not sure they could even form a circle.
posted by srboisvert at 1:33 PM on March 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
I'm totally cool with Trump and co being transparently vindictive. It is who they are. The more open and transparent they are about it the more the people under them will start to wonder when the transparent vindictiveness will land on them.
In an ordinary political scenario this would be a problem because underlings would start "working toward the fuhrer" to avoid recriminations. But as we have seen, even hand-picked cronies cannot predict what this presidential toddler wants so they cannot proactively work to meet his demands and he is incapable of articulating and/or sticking with any actual programs.
It'd be a circular firing squad but I am not sure they could even form a circle.
posted by srboisvert at 1:33 PM on March 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
It wasn't the OIG, guys. It was the Office of Professional Responsibility.
posted by xyzzy at 1:37 PM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by xyzzy at 1:37 PM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
Are there actually polling and studies that affirm the DNC belief that in areas with lots of Republicans the Democrats are right wing?
That isn't really the point. By definition, in areas with fewer Democrats you need to win over Republicans and independents to win. I wouldn't be surprised if Democrats in, say, West Texas are more liberal than average for the same reason that my friends who grew up in rural areas hate country music. But it doesn't really matter.
The point of centrist candidates is getting a coalition with enough non-Democrats to get elected. And also, less cynically, because their precise job is represent their District. So even if you can maneuver an extreme lefty to win a conservative district, it's anti-democratic as well as not likely that they'll hold the seat.
posted by msalt at 1:40 PM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
That isn't really the point. By definition, in areas with fewer Democrats you need to win over Republicans and independents to win. I wouldn't be surprised if Democrats in, say, West Texas are more liberal than average for the same reason that my friends who grew up in rural areas hate country music. But it doesn't really matter.
The point of centrist candidates is getting a coalition with enough non-Democrats to get elected. And also, less cynically, because their precise job is represent their District. So even if you can maneuver an extreme lefty to win a conservative district, it's anti-democratic as well as not likely that they'll hold the seat.
posted by msalt at 1:40 PM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
One of the parts I'm enjoying most about the PA results is that a personally pro-choice yet ideologically anti-abortion representative is being replaced
no he isn't personally pro-choice that anybody knows of, and the scandal was about about exactly this. "asking [a woman] to abort" her theoretical pregnancy for his own reasons and his own benefit, as she accused him of doing, is not pro-choice. Pro-choice has only ever meant free and uncoerced choice for the pregnant party; pro-choice people fight against all legislative efforts to give special rights of influence to parents and male partners of pregnant people. they do not try to acquire or exercise such rights, either openly or in secret.
otherwise, you might as well say all male republicans are personally pro-choice because they believe they are the persons who should make the choice in either direction when women they know get pregnant. and they generally do believe that, and that's textbook anti-choice ideology. it's not a cute language argument; it's the fundamental principle of the entire debate.
posted by queenofbithynia at 1:41 PM on March 14, 2018 [48 favorites]
no he isn't personally pro-choice that anybody knows of, and the scandal was about about exactly this. "asking [a woman] to abort" her theoretical pregnancy for his own reasons and his own benefit, as she accused him of doing, is not pro-choice. Pro-choice has only ever meant free and uncoerced choice for the pregnant party; pro-choice people fight against all legislative efforts to give special rights of influence to parents and male partners of pregnant people. they do not try to acquire or exercise such rights, either openly or in secret.
otherwise, you might as well say all male republicans are personally pro-choice because they believe they are the persons who should make the choice in either direction when women they know get pregnant. and they generally do believe that, and that's textbook anti-choice ideology. it's not a cute language argument; it's the fundamental principle of the entire debate.
posted by queenofbithynia at 1:41 PM on March 14, 2018 [48 favorites]
The fact that today our kids are literally marching in the streets so they won't get shot to death in school, and the Republicans have responded by attacking the children because they're so terrified of the Russian-funded domestic terrorists that give them money
It's been absolutely disgusting to see a very vocal group of parents parrot the Republican talking points here in the local parenting Facebook group. The things they've said about the students who participated in the walkout today have been shameful.
I spend a lot of time in cars with teenagers. I know better than to underestimate them.
posted by Ruki at 1:43 PM on March 14, 2018 [35 favorites]
It's been absolutely disgusting to see a very vocal group of parents parrot the Republican talking points here in the local parenting Facebook group. The things they've said about the students who participated in the walkout today have been shameful.
I spend a lot of time in cars with teenagers. I know better than to underestimate them.
posted by Ruki at 1:43 PM on March 14, 2018 [35 favorites]
Do you need to win over Republicans or just ensure that you get a higher percentage of Democratic voters to the polls? If you're only looking at 40% voter turnout during the average midterm why not have a candidate who stands for something and then work on GOTV to make sure that enough Democratic voters actually vote to put her in power?
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:46 PM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:46 PM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
"asking [a woman] to abort" her theoretical pregnancy for his own reasons and his own benefit, as she accused him of doing, is not pro-choice.
Literally pro-abortion, in very specific circumstances.
It’s always projection with these externalizing gasbags.
posted by schadenfrau at 1:47 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
Literally pro-abortion, in very specific circumstances.
It’s always projection with these externalizing gasbags.
posted by schadenfrau at 1:47 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
Do you need to win over Republicans or just ensure that you get a higher percentage of Democratic voters to the polls
It's not clear cut and depends on a lot of factors, some local.
Because it may be easier to motivate a Democratic non-voter to get to the polls. But every Republican voter who you persuade is worth twice as much as a non-voter voting because in the former case it's a -1/+1 swing while in the latter it's 0/+1. So the question is whether you can motivate more than 2 non-voters to vote for every persuaded R voter depending on how you allocate your resources.
I assume there are political operatives whose job is to figure out what the best strategy is. I'm also sure that it is more art than science, or to put it less kindly it's mostly voodoo.
posted by Justinian at 1:50 PM on March 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
It's not clear cut and depends on a lot of factors, some local.
Because it may be easier to motivate a Democratic non-voter to get to the polls. But every Republican voter who you persuade is worth twice as much as a non-voter voting because in the former case it's a -1/+1 swing while in the latter it's 0/+1. So the question is whether you can motivate more than 2 non-voters to vote for every persuaded R voter depending on how you allocate your resources.
I assume there are political operatives whose job is to figure out what the best strategy is. I'm also sure that it is more art than science, or to put it less kindly it's mostly voodoo.
posted by Justinian at 1:50 PM on March 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
It's been absolutely disgusting to see a very vocal group of parents parrot the Republican talking points here in the local parenting Facebook group. The things they've said about the students who participated in the walkout today have been shameful.
I spend a lot of time in cars with teenagers. I know better than to underestimate them.
Nothing fires up teenagers like being met with pious hypocrisy from elders abusing. Their righteous indignation is probably through the roof right now. Go get'em kids.
posted by leotrotsky at 1:50 PM on March 14, 2018 [48 favorites]
I spend a lot of time in cars with teenagers. I know better than to underestimate them.
Nothing fires up teenagers like being met with pious hypocrisy from elders abusing. Their righteous indignation is probably through the roof right now. Go get'em kids.
posted by leotrotsky at 1:50 PM on March 14, 2018 [48 favorites]
I will stoop to mention the reason the Donald Trump Jr. and his wife Vanessa are in the news: because they are reportedly getting a divorce, according to the tabloidy pagesix.com.
Worth remembering: Don Jr. asking his Secret Service detail to get lost, which he walked back after a month.
This matters because Vanessa undoubtedly knows a bunch of things the Trumps won't want known to Mueller (or publicly). Any way to crack this crime family is a good one, IMHO.
posted by msalt at 1:50 PM on March 14, 2018 [44 favorites]
Worth remembering: Don Jr. asking his Secret Service detail to get lost, which he walked back after a month.
This matters because Vanessa undoubtedly knows a bunch of things the Trumps won't want known to Mueller (or publicly). Any way to crack this crime family is a good one, IMHO.
posted by msalt at 1:50 PM on March 14, 2018 [44 favorites]
Founder of Daily Kos launched Civiqs recently, and Civiqs has lots of meaningful data, according to a Buzzfeed article by Ben Smith.
The new data, Moulitsas said, should show Democrats how to win.
“We’re the reality-based community and we’ve always prided ourselves on our allegiance to data,” he said. “We don’t talk about what the American people think — we look at the data. A lot of that is practical. We want a more progressive America, and to get there we need to know how to win.”
Here’s some of what the data is telling him: that the liberal base is “fired up”; that the tax law brought the conservative base “back to life”; and that “they love Donald Trump and they hate Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan.”
Practically speaking, that means Democrats should shut up about impeaching the president.
“If you run against Donald Trump and you put him on the ballot, you risk bringing out more Republicans. Talking about impeachment puts Donald Trump on the ballot,” he said. “My argument would be to run against Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan — they’re very unpopular and they depress the Republican base. Keep Donald Trump off the ballot to the extent possible.”
posted by Bella Donna at 1:52 PM on March 14, 2018 [21 favorites]
The new data, Moulitsas said, should show Democrats how to win.
“We’re the reality-based community and we’ve always prided ourselves on our allegiance to data,” he said. “We don’t talk about what the American people think — we look at the data. A lot of that is practical. We want a more progressive America, and to get there we need to know how to win.”
Here’s some of what the data is telling him: that the liberal base is “fired up”; that the tax law brought the conservative base “back to life”; and that “they love Donald Trump and they hate Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan.”
Practically speaking, that means Democrats should shut up about impeaching the president.
“If you run against Donald Trump and you put him on the ballot, you risk bringing out more Republicans. Talking about impeachment puts Donald Trump on the ballot,” he said. “My argument would be to run against Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan — they’re very unpopular and they depress the Republican base. Keep Donald Trump off the ballot to the extent possible.”
posted by Bella Donna at 1:52 PM on March 14, 2018 [21 favorites]
Do you need to win over Republicans or just ensure that you get a higher percentage of Democratic voters to the polls?
The latter, which still means that we have to match the candidate with the district. That doesn't mean "Republican Lite" or "let's court swing voters" - who don't really exist anymore - but it does mean "what plays in California might not play in Allegheny County." But getting voters to the polls is so important, not just on principle, but because Democrats' Achilles heel has always been turnout.
And Republicans know that their policies aren't really popular in action, which is why they are so desperate to gerrymander and to disenfranchise likely Democrats.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 1:53 PM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
The latter, which still means that we have to match the candidate with the district. That doesn't mean "Republican Lite" or "let's court swing voters" - who don't really exist anymore - but it does mean "what plays in California might not play in Allegheny County." But getting voters to the polls is so important, not just on principle, but because Democrats' Achilles heel has always been turnout.
And Republicans know that their policies aren't really popular in action, which is why they are so desperate to gerrymander and to disenfranchise likely Democrats.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 1:53 PM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
You need to motivate the base to go out of their way to vote for you. If your base is somewhat conservative/centrist, they'll just skip voting if it's six to one half dozen of the other to them if the Republican gets the nod. These elections are special because the opposing candidates are so disgusting, which is highly motivational to dem voters. But a "normal" Republican against Elizabeth Warren's twin sister in deep red Pennsylvania in a normal election when Trump is not President? Let's be real, here.
posted by xyzzy at 1:55 PM on March 14, 2018
posted by xyzzy at 1:55 PM on March 14, 2018
Nikki Haley at the UN this morning:
posted by scaryblackdeath at 1:56 PM on March 14, 2018 [74 favorites]
"If we don't take immediate concrete measures to address this now, Salisbury will not be the last place we see chemical weapons used," said Haley. "They could be used here in New York or in cities of any country that sits on this council."...huh.
"This is a defining moment," she continued. "Time and time again, member states say they oppose the use of chemical weapons under any circumstance. Now one member stands accused of using chemical weapons on the sovereign soil of another member. The credibility of this council will not survive if we fail to hold Russia accountable."
posted by scaryblackdeath at 1:56 PM on March 14, 2018 [74 favorites]
that the tax law brought the conservative base “back to life”
Yeah, it worked so well in Pennsylvania that in the final weeks they pulled all the tax ads and switched to scary brown people ads because the tax stuff was getting zero traction with voters.
posted by leotrotsky at 1:57 PM on March 14, 2018 [11 favorites]
Yeah, it worked so well in Pennsylvania that in the final weeks they pulled all the tax ads and switched to scary brown people ads because the tax stuff was getting zero traction with voters.
posted by leotrotsky at 1:57 PM on March 14, 2018 [11 favorites]
It might be awhile before I post another drawing...
So we're doing art in these threads? Well, shee-it!
Coupla weeks ago I was talking Pink Floyd with a co-worker, which got me to listening to The Wall while I was reading the news...
And this happened (NSFW).
Sorry.
posted by Trinity-Gehenna at 1:57 PM on March 14, 2018 [23 favorites]
So we're doing art in these threads? Well, shee-it!
Coupla weeks ago I was talking Pink Floyd with a co-worker, which got me to listening to The Wall while I was reading the news...
And this happened (NSFW).
Sorry.
posted by Trinity-Gehenna at 1:57 PM on March 14, 2018 [23 favorites]
Also from Haley (probably as important as the rest I quoted, sorry): "The United States believes that Russia is responsible for the attack on two people in the United Kingdom using a military-grade nerve agent."
posted by scaryblackdeath at 1:58 PM on March 14, 2018 [38 favorites]
posted by scaryblackdeath at 1:58 PM on March 14, 2018 [38 favorites]
I know I've said this before, but I think that people often overestimate how important ideology is to voters. I think that issues sometimes aren't even that important to voters. There are some shibboleths, like guns as a stand-in for "respects our rural lifestyle," but voters largely go with people whom they like and trust and think respect them. Issues aren't irrelevant, but they're not always the main factor that voters are looking at. At least, that's how it seems to me, as someone who has talked to *a lot* of voters who tell me that they support the entire Democratic platform but are going to vote for the Republican because he seems like a good guy.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 1:59 PM on March 14, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 1:59 PM on March 14, 2018 [17 favorites]
“My argument would be to run against Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan — they’re very unpopular and they depress the Republican base. Keep Donald Trump off the ballot to the extent possible.”
My question would be: what does keeping Trump in the conversation do to the Democratic base? Maybe people should be thinking about what fires up their base, encourages turnout and involvement, instead of trying to play a game of voter depression.
Strong turnout wins elections. How do you get that? That seems the better question.
posted by nubs at 2:01 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
My question would be: what does keeping Trump in the conversation do to the Democratic base? Maybe people should be thinking about what fires up their base, encourages turnout and involvement, instead of trying to play a game of voter depression.
Strong turnout wins elections. How do you get that? That seems the better question.
posted by nubs at 2:01 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
Oh, absolutely Haley is looking out for herself. But this makes me wonder if she looked at her instructions from the White House and decided, "Fuck it, I'd rather go out as the one who stood firm against Russia and pin that to my coat." Or if maybe they flat-out forgot to give her a script, 'cause that wouldn't shock me, either.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 2:01 PM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by scaryblackdeath at 2:01 PM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
Nobody seriously thinks Haley could run against a sitting Republican President, right? It's got to be a 2024 campaign for her. That or against President Pelosi in 2020, natch.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:01 PM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:01 PM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
Here’s some of what the data is telling him: that the liberal base is “fired up”; that the tax law brought the conservative base “back to life”; and that “they love Donald Trump and they hate Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan.”
Practically speaking, that means Democrats should shut up about impeaching the president.
“If you run against Donald Trump and you put him on the ballot, you risk bringing out more Republicans. Talking about impeachment puts Donald Trump on the ballot,” he said. “My argument would be to run against Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan — they’re very unpopular and they depress the Republican base. Keep Donald Trump off the ballot to the extent possible.”
How are these people reality based? Again and again stats show that the "Republican base" is diminishing. So yes, the remaining Republican base love Trump, but since the base is getting smaller, they matter less than just a year ago.
posted by mumimor at 2:02 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
Practically speaking, that means Democrats should shut up about impeaching the president.
“If you run against Donald Trump and you put him on the ballot, you risk bringing out more Republicans. Talking about impeachment puts Donald Trump on the ballot,” he said. “My argument would be to run against Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan — they’re very unpopular and they depress the Republican base. Keep Donald Trump off the ballot to the extent possible.”
How are these people reality based? Again and again stats show that the "Republican base" is diminishing. So yes, the remaining Republican base love Trump, but since the base is getting smaller, they matter less than just a year ago.
posted by mumimor at 2:02 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
Valerie Insinna of Defense News on Twitter: Oh FML. Trump says DoD will buy 24 F/A-18s that are the "latest and greatest" complete with stealth (THEY ARE NOT). He says if he can't buy them from Boeing, he'll buy them somewhere else (HE CANNOT BUY SUPER HORNETS ANYWHERE ELSE).
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:04 PM on March 14, 2018 [49 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:04 PM on March 14, 2018 [49 favorites]
Coupla weeks ago I was talking Pink Floyd with a co-worker, which got me to listening to The Wall while I was reading the news...
And this happened (NSFW).
All in all, he's just another dick with his wall.
posted by leotrotsky at 2:04 PM on March 14, 2018 [19 favorites]
And this happened (NSFW).
All in all, he's just another dick with his wall.
posted by leotrotsky at 2:04 PM on March 14, 2018 [19 favorites]
@ppppolls (Public Policy Polling)
Our election night poll in PA-18 found that health care was a defining issue in the race. 52% said it was either the most important issue or very important in their vote, and Conor Lamb won those voters 62-38.
- Only 39% of voters in PA-18 supported the GOP efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, 53% were opposed. Among independents- who Lamb won 58-41- just 33% supported GOP repeal efforts with 63% opposed.
- 41% of voters said Saccone’s support for GOP health care agenda made them less likely to vote for him to only 28% who said more likely. By contrast 48% of voters said Lamb’s health care positions made them more likely to vote for him, only 27% less likely.
- Even with the close race overall Lamb beat Saccone 45-38 on the metric of which candidate voters thought was more in line with them on health care, and the advantage for Lamb extended to 50-34 with independents:
- One particularly noteworthy health care poll finding in PA-18...voters there support the Affordable Care Act 44-42. That it’s now supported even in Trump +20 districts really speaks to how much things have shifted on that since GOP repeal efforts.
- One final note on our election night health care poll in PA-18. Trump’s approval rating among yesterday’s voters was only 50-48 in a district he won by 20 points.
https://www.publicpolicypolling.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/PA18PostElectionSurvey.pdf
---
@ppppolls
There are more PA-18’s out there. We recently found Democrats leading in KY-6 which voted for Trump by 16, and KS-2 which voted for Trump by 19
posted by chris24 at 2:06 PM on March 14, 2018 [43 favorites]
Our election night poll in PA-18 found that health care was a defining issue in the race. 52% said it was either the most important issue or very important in their vote, and Conor Lamb won those voters 62-38.
- Only 39% of voters in PA-18 supported the GOP efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, 53% were opposed. Among independents- who Lamb won 58-41- just 33% supported GOP repeal efforts with 63% opposed.
- 41% of voters said Saccone’s support for GOP health care agenda made them less likely to vote for him to only 28% who said more likely. By contrast 48% of voters said Lamb’s health care positions made them more likely to vote for him, only 27% less likely.
- Even with the close race overall Lamb beat Saccone 45-38 on the metric of which candidate voters thought was more in line with them on health care, and the advantage for Lamb extended to 50-34 with independents:
- One particularly noteworthy health care poll finding in PA-18...voters there support the Affordable Care Act 44-42. That it’s now supported even in Trump +20 districts really speaks to how much things have shifted on that since GOP repeal efforts.
- One final note on our election night health care poll in PA-18. Trump’s approval rating among yesterday’s voters was only 50-48 in a district he won by 20 points.
https://www.publicpolicypolling.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/PA18PostElectionSurvey.pdf
---
@ppppolls
There are more PA-18’s out there. We recently found Democrats leading in KY-6 which voted for Trump by 16, and KS-2 which voted for Trump by 19
posted by chris24 at 2:06 PM on March 14, 2018 [43 favorites]
The degree to which Democrats should run centrist vs progressive candidates has been talked about a lot here. In the 538 podcast just after Lamb/Saccone, they they emphasized that this was not something that needed to be decided once and for all at a national level. They guessed that district/candidate fit might be worth about 5ish points, but the general Dem fired-upedness was worth about 10-15.
I take away from this that centrist candidates probably do have a better shot in deep red territory, but if you're looking at something R+10 (or more liberal than that) (which is a LOT of the country) progressives are still viable.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 2:14 PM on March 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
I take away from this that centrist candidates probably do have a better shot in deep red territory, but if you're looking at something R+10 (or more liberal than that) (which is a LOT of the country) progressives are still viable.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 2:14 PM on March 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
Trump’s approval rating among yesterday’s voters was only 50-48 in a district he won by 20 points.
Emphasis mine. Part of that shift may be because he truly is becoming less popular across the board, but part of this is because dissenters Showed The Hell Up.
This is the only way we can hope to stop the madness. Show. The Hell. Up.
posted by mcstayinskool at 2:15 PM on March 14, 2018 [44 favorites]
Emphasis mine. Part of that shift may be because he truly is becoming less popular across the board, but part of this is because dissenters Showed The Hell Up.
This is the only way we can hope to stop the madness. Show. The Hell. Up.
posted by mcstayinskool at 2:15 PM on March 14, 2018 [44 favorites]
But in terms of picking who to support in Dem primaries, it matters a lot whether Democrats think the general election is going to be a near-tie, because only if so does the ideology of the Dem matter at all.
When they have the opportunity to support one of several candidates, I expect that the DCCC is putting *much* more weight on professionalism, drive, and charisma. If we put money into you, are you going to do the work, and do it well, and translate it into a win? This is a big reason they care about existing fundraising -- it shows you're already doing the work, and it shows that you're doing that aspect of the work well, and it shows that you're charismatic enough to get people to give to you.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 2:16 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
When they have the opportunity to support one of several candidates, I expect that the DCCC is putting *much* more weight on professionalism, drive, and charisma. If we put money into you, are you going to do the work, and do it well, and translate it into a win? This is a big reason they care about existing fundraising -- it shows you're already doing the work, and it shows that you're doing that aspect of the work well, and it shows that you're charismatic enough to get people to give to you.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 2:16 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
If I were a Republican leader contemplating the PA-18 result I'd be playing it just the same way as Ryan. That is, I'd talk down its significance and preach the virtues of a steady course under the Dear Leader. I'd continue to collect all the donations I could but I'd be preparing to lose. The alternative would be losing anyway, but with less money.
The thing that interests me is: will this affect the way they spend money? The huge amount they spent on PA-18 was obviously an act of desperation. The rational thing to do would be to focus their spending on safer seats and protecting party leaders, but that's effectively conceding the outcome of the election. Fun!
posted by Joe in Australia at 2:17 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
The thing that interests me is: will this affect the way they spend money? The huge amount they spent on PA-18 was obviously an act of desperation. The rational thing to do would be to focus their spending on safer seats and protecting party leaders, but that's effectively conceding the outcome of the election. Fun!
posted by Joe in Australia at 2:17 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
Betsy Woodruff, Pentagon Spent $17,000 at Panama Trump Hotel. The Trump Organization gets a revenue share under their management contract, meaning some of that money would have ended up in Trump’s pocket.
posted by zachlipton at 2:20 PM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 2:20 PM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
If I were a Republican leader contemplating the PA-18 result I'd be playing it just the same way as Ryan. That is, I'd talk down its significance and preach the virtues of a steady course under the Dear Leader. I'd continue to collect all the donations I could but I'd be preparing to lose. The alternative would be losing anyway, but with less money.
That's an obvious and good point. They can't step back from trumpism today, they need to first develop a strategy. It's like with Nixon, they were behind him until they weren't
posted by mumimor at 2:22 PM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
That's an obvious and good point. They can't step back from trumpism today, they need to first develop a strategy. It's like with Nixon, they were behind him until they weren't
posted by mumimor at 2:22 PM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
The rational thing to do would be to focus their spending on safer seats and protecting party leaders, but that's effectively conceding the outcome of the election.
Well, that's the question, isn't it? The previous question was 'how much has Trump captured the party?' The answer is, pretty much all of it. Now the question is 'how much will the party take a beating for him?' A survival instinct has to kick in somewhere around August/September, or they're looking at a bloodbath. This is, not coincidentally, when Manafort's case is scheduled to be heard. It's going to be a tough race for the GOP for many reasons.
posted by eclectist at 2:24 PM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
Well, that's the question, isn't it? The previous question was 'how much has Trump captured the party?' The answer is, pretty much all of it. Now the question is 'how much will the party take a beating for him?' A survival instinct has to kick in somewhere around August/September, or they're looking at a bloodbath. This is, not coincidentally, when Manafort's case is scheduled to be heard. It's going to be a tough race for the GOP for many reasons.
posted by eclectist at 2:24 PM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
He says if he can't buy [Block III Super Hornets] from Boeing, he'll buy them somewhere else (HE CANNOT BUY SUPER HORNETS ANYWHERE ELSE).
I just saw some marked-down Super Hornets on the discount rack at the local Target. They were colored pink and red and had HAPPY VALENTINES 2018! printed on their canopies, but they're still perfectly good multirole fighters no matter the season.
posted by Iridic at 2:30 PM on March 14, 2018 [50 favorites]
I just saw some marked-down Super Hornets on the discount rack at the local Target. They were colored pink and red and had HAPPY VALENTINES 2018! printed on their canopies, but they're still perfectly good multirole fighters no matter the season.
posted by Iridic at 2:30 PM on March 14, 2018 [50 favorites]
The thing that interests me is: will this affect the way they spend money? The huge amount they spent on PA-18 was obviously an act of desperation. The rational thing to do would be to focus their spending on safer seats and protecting party leaders, but that's effectively conceding the outcome of the election. Fun!
They won't do the sane thing. They won't concede. We're going to be inundated with a veritable flood of election ads from both parties until November because the stakes are realistically high.
posted by zarq at 2:31 PM on March 14, 2018
They won't do the sane thing. They won't concede. We're going to be inundated with a veritable flood of election ads from both parties until November because the stakes are realistically high.
posted by zarq at 2:31 PM on March 14, 2018
They don’t have the money to spend 10 mm on every seat. And smart donors won’t want to see their money wasted on losers.
posted by leotrotsky at 2:35 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by leotrotsky at 2:35 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
yes, it's a failure to understand class--three classes, Owners, Coordinators, and Workers,
And people wonder why feminists are suspicious of Marxists.
That was a classic derailing tactic, and naturally people jumped on it to avoid talking about the actual problem with the broadcast. It's amazing how academic people can get when it avoids talking about misogyny.
posted by happyroach at 2:38 PM on March 14, 2018 [36 favorites]
And people wonder why feminists are suspicious of Marxists.
That was a classic derailing tactic, and naturally people jumped on it to avoid talking about the actual problem with the broadcast. It's amazing how academic people can get when it avoids talking about misogyny.
posted by happyroach at 2:38 PM on March 14, 2018 [36 favorites]
I'm familiar enough with his methods now to know his plans. He'll buy a dozen used cessna 172's, spraypaint them black, and force his staff to tell everyone how amazing his fleet of next gen stealth aircraft are. He'll also never send in the second payment to the flight school he purchased them from.
posted by cmfletcher at 2:39 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by cmfletcher at 2:39 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
I would suggest that it would be more effective to determine whether a given candidate is prepared to advocate for local Democratic issues, before worrying about whether they are liberal enough in respect to the overall position of the party on the right/left spectrum. It certainly matters whether the party overall will advocate for things like reproductive rights on the national level, but we have to win the seats first before we start eliminating candidates for the “perfect” one. It’s not about whether the Democratic Party should run a centrist over a leftist as a rule, but if a local district is likely to vote for a centrist over a leftist this time and in this district then by all means, run the centrist. And do the opposite where a leftist is more likely to win. We will have a much easier time gradually moving the narrative to the left and being choosier about candidates once we have a majority.
posted by Autumnheart at 2:40 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Autumnheart at 2:40 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
That’s a BCDU. Ben Carson Dining Unit. It’s like a Scaramucci for money.
posted by leotrotsky at 2:43 PM on March 14, 2018 [61 favorites]
posted by leotrotsky at 2:43 PM on March 14, 2018 [61 favorites]
That’s a BCDU.
Ben Carson Dining Unit?
posted by Faint of Butt at 2:44 PM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
Ben Carson Dining Unit?
posted by Faint of Butt at 2:44 PM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
He's just as stupid as he always was but now he's powerful. And he's on a roll.
posted by Gaz Errant at 2:45 PM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Gaz Errant at 2:45 PM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
They don’t have the money to spend 10 mm on every seat. And smart donors won’t want to see their money wasted on losers.
No, but if fundraising remains consistent for both parties, they could still spend a lot of money in many key districts. There are 468 seats up for grabs in the House and Senate, I think. That's 435 seats in the House and then the 33 up in the Senate. In 2016, the cost of the overall election was 6.4 billion. That's around 3 billion spent by each parties plus whatever the candidates and outside groups spent. In 2014, the cost of the overall election was 3.8 billion. Around 1.7 billion per party and then the rest. (Source)
With 2014 numbers, they could spend at least 1 to 2 million on every House and Senate race and still have something left over for the various gubernatorial and local races nationwide. With 2016 numbers they could spend 4-5 million on each and still have a lot left over.
posted by zarq at 2:46 PM on March 14, 2018
No, but if fundraising remains consistent for both parties, they could still spend a lot of money in many key districts. There are 468 seats up for grabs in the House and Senate, I think. That's 435 seats in the House and then the 33 up in the Senate. In 2016, the cost of the overall election was 6.4 billion. That's around 3 billion spent by each parties plus whatever the candidates and outside groups spent. In 2014, the cost of the overall election was 3.8 billion. Around 1.7 billion per party and then the rest. (Source)
With 2014 numbers, they could spend at least 1 to 2 million on every House and Senate race and still have something left over for the various gubernatorial and local races nationwide. With 2016 numbers they could spend 4-5 million on each and still have a lot left over.
posted by zarq at 2:46 PM on March 14, 2018
I think the more limiting factor would be top tier staff and GOTV organizers rather than pure dollars? At least in my amateur opinion.
posted by Justinian at 2:48 PM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 2:48 PM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
Probably! But I think ad buys and publicity can make up for a lot of on-the-ground shortfall.
posted by zarq at 2:49 PM on March 14, 2018
posted by zarq at 2:49 PM on March 14, 2018
I am super terrified of Trump’s sudden, manic turnaround of firing tons of people and hiring even worse people, especially if it means getting us into a ridiculous land battle with Iran.
posted by gucci mane at 2:51 PM on March 14, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by gucci mane at 2:51 PM on March 14, 2018 [21 favorites]
regarding Pruitt for Attorney General, what are the chances that his ethics, fiscal, and morale problems at EPA could come back to bite him in his second confirmation hearing?
posted by murphy slaw at 2:51 PM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by murphy slaw at 2:51 PM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
The question is what they consider to be a "key" district. Do you spend to protect the most vulnerable incumbents, or give them up for lost and instead pull out all the stops to prevent any more Conor Lambs from swamping your "safe" gerrymanders?
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:51 PM on March 14, 2018
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:51 PM on March 14, 2018
> In 2016, the cost of the overall election was 6.4 billion. [...] In 2014, the cost of the overall election was 3.8 billion.
For scale, the entire annual budget for the National Science Foundation is (was) about 7 billion, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration cost us about 6 billion. Note, according to Paul Ryan and Republicans in Congress, those are things we can't really afford.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by RedOrGreen at 2:52 PM on March 14, 2018 [19 favorites]
For scale, the entire annual budget for the National Science Foundation is (was) about 7 billion, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration cost us about 6 billion. Note, according to Paul Ryan and Republicans in Congress, those are things we can't really afford.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by RedOrGreen at 2:52 PM on March 14, 2018 [19 favorites]
"yes, it's a failure to understand class--three classes, Owners, Coordinators, and Workers",
And people wonder why feminists are suspicious of Marxists.
I'm not an expert in Marxism, but I don't think "owners, coordinators, and workers" is a Marxist formulation of class. I'm pretty sure most Marxists believe that sexism and racism are a tool that capitalists use to divide the populace to more easily oppress them, and that combating sexism and racism are an essential part of combating capital. I've noticed that a lot of centrists like to accuse Marxists of sexism and racism (or of privileging class over identity) in order to discredit their ideology.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 2:52 PM on March 14, 2018 [11 favorites]
And people wonder why feminists are suspicious of Marxists.
I'm not an expert in Marxism, but I don't think "owners, coordinators, and workers" is a Marxist formulation of class. I'm pretty sure most Marxists believe that sexism and racism are a tool that capitalists use to divide the populace to more easily oppress them, and that combating sexism and racism are an essential part of combating capital. I've noticed that a lot of centrists like to accuse Marxists of sexism and racism (or of privileging class over identity) in order to discredit their ideology.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 2:52 PM on March 14, 2018 [11 favorites]
regarding Pruitt for Attorney General, what are the chances that his ethics, fiscal, and morale problems at EPA could come back to bite him in his second confirmation hearing?
I thought the scam was he doesn't have to have one?
posted by Artw at 2:53 PM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
I thought the scam was he doesn't have to have one?
posted by Artw at 2:53 PM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
Nah, shuffling the cabinet still requires confirmation hearings or else Pompeo wouldn't need one. The article hypothesized that he could be made acting Attorney General without a vote, but apparently that was a mistake on the writer's part, since it's been updated and now reads, "Also, as an agency head and former state attorney general, Pruitt would presumably have a good shot at passing a Senate confirmation hearing."
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:55 PM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:55 PM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
As a PS to my earlier comment, Marxist Feminism is absolutely a thing.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 2:57 PM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 2:57 PM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'm not an expert in Marxism, but I don't think "owners, coordinators, and workers" is a Marxist formulation of class. I'm pretty sure most Marxists believe that sexism and racism are a tool that capitalists use to divide the populace to more easily oppress them, and that combating sexism and racism are an essential part of combating capital. I've noticed that a lot of centrists like to accuse Marxists of sexism and racism (or of privileging class over identity) in order to discredit their ideology.The problem isn't the "owners, coordinators, and workers" formulation. It's the assumption that anyone who sits on their butt at work is probably a coordinator, who strategizes and researches and writes all day. That's super ignorant about the realities of work, and especially women's work, in the modern era. My grandmother was a receptionist for almost thirty years. She sat down at work, which was something for which she was immensely grateful, but she was not a "coordinator," and she didn't call the shots in any way. She was born working-class, and she died working-class. Pink-collar work is a thing. Not all workers are coal miners or construction workers.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 3:03 PM on March 14, 2018 [68 favorites]
Chrysostom:
I've been writing Postcards to Voters for Marie Newman and you get to choose which issues you want to highlight on your card, and I've been using health care.
(I mean, how could it NOT be a huge issue for everybody, but ... good to know.)
Thanks, Chrysostom!
posted by kristi at 3:03 PM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
PA-18 takes wrapup:Oh, that's good to know - thanks!
* Health care was *the* issue for the majority of folks.
I've been writing Postcards to Voters for Marie Newman and you get to choose which issues you want to highlight on your card, and I've been using health care.
(I mean, how could it NOT be a huge issue for everybody, but ... good to know.)
Thanks, Chrysostom!
posted by kristi at 3:03 PM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
Y'all aren't accounting for some big-ass disaster in these election-strategy scenarios. So far The Shit Circus has been allowed to fester in relative peace and quiet. Some national bullshit will tear that façade down but quick. Even Chuck Fucking Todd will change his key if it gets bad enough.
Trump could replace Sessions with E.P.A. Administrator Scott Pruitt
Does the phone booth go with him, or does he defraud another one out of us? The horse goes, I assume. I mean, yeah the horse is part of it. Oh no wait I was confusing him with that other crooked ignorant bastard in the Trump cesspit.
posted by petebest at 3:03 PM on March 14, 2018
Trump could replace Sessions with E.P.A. Administrator Scott Pruitt
Does the phone booth go with him, or does he defraud another one out of us? The horse goes, I assume. I mean, yeah the horse is part of it. Oh no wait I was confusing him with that other crooked ignorant bastard in the Trump cesspit.
posted by petebest at 3:03 PM on March 14, 2018
any portmanteau in a storm: "Do you need to win over Republicans or just ensure that you get a higher percentage of Democratic voters to the polls? If you're only looking at 40% voter turnout during the average midterm why not have a candidate who stands for something and then work on GOTV to make sure that enough Democratic voters actually vote to put her in power?"
FWIW, in elections so far, it seems clear that both effects are in play. Probably more Dem enthusiasm than swaying straying voters.
posted by Chrysostom at 3:05 PM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
FWIW, in elections so far, it seems clear that both effects are in play. Probably more Dem enthusiasm than swaying straying voters.
posted by Chrysostom at 3:05 PM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
In comparison, Avenatti has been very proactive in firmly denying there's any pregnancy or abortion issue.
@kylegriffin1 (MSNBC)
NICOLLE WALLACE: Is there a sex tape?
MICHAEL AVENATTI, Stormy Daniels' attorney: I'm not going to answer that.
WALLACE: Could there be a sex tape?
AVENATTI: There could be, might be, would be, could be. Who knows?
posted by chris24 at 3:07 PM on March 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
@kylegriffin1 (MSNBC)
NICOLLE WALLACE: Is there a sex tape?
MICHAEL AVENATTI, Stormy Daniels' attorney: I'm not going to answer that.
WALLACE: Could there be a sex tape?
AVENATTI: There could be, might be, would be, could be. Who knows?
posted by chris24 at 3:07 PM on March 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
I'm pretty sure most Marxists believe that sexism and racism are a tool that capitalists use to divide the populace to more easily oppress them, and that combating sexism and racism are an essential part of combating capital. I've noticed that a lot of centrists like to accuse Marxists of sexism and racism (or of privileging class over identity) in order to discredit their ideology.
Possibly because their ideology involves blaming sexism and racism on “capitalists” rather than all the actual people who are actually being sexist and racist, including those on the left, because it allows them to avoid interrogating their own racism and sexism.
Fixing capitalism won’t fix misogyny or racism, and eliminating misogyny and racism are not just steps on a path towards a Marxist utopia. They exist in their own right, even on the left.
posted by schadenfrau at 3:11 PM on March 14, 2018 [46 favorites]
Possibly because their ideology involves blaming sexism and racism on “capitalists” rather than all the actual people who are actually being sexist and racist, including those on the left, because it allows them to avoid interrogating their own racism and sexism.
Fixing capitalism won’t fix misogyny or racism, and eliminating misogyny and racism are not just steps on a path towards a Marxist utopia. They exist in their own right, even on the left.
posted by schadenfrau at 3:11 PM on March 14, 2018 [46 favorites]
There was also a nationwide student walkout today to protest gun violence.
posted by WidgetAlley at 3:12 PM on March 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by WidgetAlley at 3:12 PM on March 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
zachlipton: "Kudlow to be top White House economic adviser as Trump adds longtime loyalist. This is a guy who straight up announced his job is to tell the President what he wants to hear."
This got lost in the shuffle a bit, but this does strike me as bad. As New York points out, he's *always* wrong about *everything.*
posted by Chrysostom at 3:22 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
This got lost in the shuffle a bit, but this does strike me as bad. As New York points out, he's *always* wrong about *everything.*
posted by Chrysostom at 3:22 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
I should say that I don't personally identify as a Marxist, but I like many Marxists.
The Marxists I like see the end of racism and misogyny as a worthwhile goal in itself, as well as a necessary step toward the society they'd like to see. The idea is to lessen the occurrence of racism and misogyny by changing the material conditions that contribute to their prevalence. Sure, that's probably not a silver bullet that will end misogyny and racism, but what is?
Yes, there are sexist Marxists, just like there are sexist mainstream liberals. I don't think it's fair to tar them all with that brush.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 3:23 PM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
The Marxists I like see the end of racism and misogyny as a worthwhile goal in itself, as well as a necessary step toward the society they'd like to see. The idea is to lessen the occurrence of racism and misogyny by changing the material conditions that contribute to their prevalence. Sure, that's probably not a silver bullet that will end misogyny and racism, but what is?
Yes, there are sexist Marxists, just like there are sexist mainstream liberals. I don't think it's fair to tar them all with that brush.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 3:23 PM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
I thought Kudlow was supposed to be a hardcore free trader.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:23 PM on March 14, 2018
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:23 PM on March 14, 2018
> Ray Walston, Luck Dragon:
"I thought Kudlow was supposed to be a hardcore free trader."
Well it's not like he's going to be in that job a year from now.
posted by rhizome at 3:24 PM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
"I thought Kudlow was supposed to be a hardcore free trader."
Well it's not like he's going to be in that job a year from now.
posted by rhizome at 3:24 PM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
Chris McDaniel Switching Senate Races In Mississippi
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:25 PM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:25 PM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
Can people wanting to debate the relationship of Marxism and other -isms get a room or something?
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 3:25 PM on March 14, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 3:25 PM on March 14, 2018 [26 favorites]
If Kristol's scenario is right, and granted Kristol has a long long lonnnng track record of derp before recently finding some clarity, that's ballgame. It's casus belli for every other nation in the world to invade us for everyone's own good.
posted by delfin at 3:32 PM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by delfin at 3:32 PM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
Mod note: Folks, the general Marxism debate is a full-on derail at this point, let's cut it off.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 3:33 PM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 3:33 PM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
The funniest things to come out of the GOP teeth-gnashing about teenagers Having Opinions are a) apparently some magic transformation happens the night of your 18th birthday, before which you are not allowed to think or say political things, but sure, you can vote the next day (and buy a gun)
and b) it makes it sadly obvious how much they'd love to (further) disenfranchise those pesky young people showing up at the polls with their ideals.
posted by nakedmolerats at 3:37 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
and b) it makes it sadly obvious how much they'd love to (further) disenfranchise those pesky young people showing up at the polls with their ideals.
posted by nakedmolerats at 3:37 PM on March 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
[PUFF OF TIME-TRAVEL SMOKE]
2018 PBO: Hey. So in the current timeline, you're desperately hoping Jeff Sessions stays on as Attorney General so that he can continue exerting his moderating influence
2015 PBO: I have a restraining order to serve you with
posted by prize bull octorok at 3:38 PM on March 14, 2018 [61 favorites]
2018 PBO: Hey. So in the current timeline, you're desperately hoping Jeff Sessions stays on as Attorney General so that he can continue exerting his moderating influence
2015 PBO: I have a restraining order to serve you with
posted by prize bull octorok at 3:38 PM on March 14, 2018 [61 favorites]
If you're curious as to who would replace Pruitt at the EPA: if Pruitt left right this minute, it would be Acting Deputy Administrator Mike Flynn (no relation), a dedicated Agency lifer. Unfortunately, Flynn recently announced he's retiring on April 3rd, though I suppose he could still change his mind if circumstances warranted.
Trump nominated coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler as permanent Deputy Administrator back in October. He glided through initial hearings last month despite basically being a Captain Planet villain. No final senate vote has been scheduled, however, and he could face stronger opposition now that he's more obviously in line to head the Agency.
If Pruitt leaves without a Deputy Administrator in place, then the EPA General Counsel would become Acting Administrator. Currently, that's one Matthew Z. Leopold, a Trump appointee and outspoken opponent of the Clean Power Plan.
posted by Iridic at 3:38 PM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
Trump nominated coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler as permanent Deputy Administrator back in October. He glided through initial hearings last month despite basically being a Captain Planet villain. No final senate vote has been scheduled, however, and he could face stronger opposition now that he's more obviously in line to head the Agency.
If Pruitt leaves without a Deputy Administrator in place, then the EPA General Counsel would become Acting Administrator. Currently, that's one Matthew Z. Leopold, a Trump appointee and outspoken opponent of the Clean Power Plan.
posted by Iridic at 3:38 PM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
Does anyone know what happens if Pruitt fires Mueller? Does Mueller have a secret drawer with all the things in it? Are we all doomed?
posted by localhuman at 3:45 PM on March 14, 2018
posted by localhuman at 3:45 PM on March 14, 2018
Beware of Devin Nunes’s Next Move
We must in addition look for Representative Nunes and his ilk to back the president should he seek to install a crony in one of the positions within the Justice Department that oversees the Mueller investigation. Why should the president fire the special counsel outright, with the attendant fuss? Mr. Trump instead can try to throttle him by replacing Attorney General Jeff Sessions or his deputy, Rod Rosenstein, with a compliant soul who can slowly choke off Mr. Mueller by cutting his budget, trimming his staff or curtailing the scope of his review. In a week in which there has already been a major cabinet reshuffle, with the firings of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and one of his top aides, Steve Goldstein, the possibility of such a move looms larger — and the likelihood of full-throated backing from Mr. Nunes and company, greater.posted by T.D. Strange at 3:46 PM on March 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
The damage the House majority can do here goes beyond mere cheerleading. When Mr. Nunes released his first memo, there were ominous rumblings that it was intended to target Mr. Rosenstein for his alleged role in FISA warrant abuses. When the memo fell flat, the rumors faded away. We would hardly be surprised to see a renewed effort against him — and his boss. Since Mr. Rosenstein oversees Mr. Mueller only because Mr. Sessions has a conflict (he worked on the Trump campaign), the replacement of either would serve Mr. Trump and Mr. Nunes’s malign purposes.
We predict that these and other forms of mischief will continue to flow from a committee majority run amok. Any oversight function that body might have provided as to Trump-Russia matters has been co-opted by the president, with the House Republicans even adopting his lie-ridden methodologies. A dangerous new era of alternative reality is advancing, and House Republicans are signaling that, like their president, they intend to ignore, bend or assail truth to fight the Mueller investigation (and presumably that of the Senate Intelligence Committee as well, should it reach inconvenient conclusions).
Speaking of Joe Manchin, seems like another good time to remind everyone that he's got a great primary challenger, Paula Jean Swearengin. The West Virginia primary is on May 8. Her candidacy is a long shot, but running progressive candidates in primaries is one way to develop local talent for the future even if they don't win this time.
posted by biogeo at 3:48 PM on March 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by biogeo at 3:48 PM on March 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
My favorite rant about Those Uppity Kids today was some yahoo screaming about how these kids didn't even understand what they were protesting _because the Parkland shooting was completely Obama's and Eric Holder's fault_.
Come again? Well, Obama pushed a program encouraging more leniency towards lesser criminal offenses in schools -- slowing down the high school-to-prison pipeline, so to speak -- with federal grant money. Which means that Obama and Holder "literally paid the Broward sheriff to not do his job and lock criminals up, and if he had Cruz would have been a felon and not have been able to buy his gun."
At this point, the mental gymnastics involved in "Obama actively impeded the gun background check system" sprained my frontal lobe and I had to lie down.
posted by delfin at 3:50 PM on March 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
Come again? Well, Obama pushed a program encouraging more leniency towards lesser criminal offenses in schools -- slowing down the high school-to-prison pipeline, so to speak -- with federal grant money. Which means that Obama and Holder "literally paid the Broward sheriff to not do his job and lock criminals up, and if he had Cruz would have been a felon and not have been able to buy his gun."
At this point, the mental gymnastics involved in "Obama actively impeded the gun background check system" sprained my frontal lobe and I had to lie down.
posted by delfin at 3:50 PM on March 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
Does anyone know what happens if Pruitt fires Mueller? Does Mueller have a secret drawer with all the things in it?
Hopefully Mueller has been planning for this and running the investigation essentially in parrallel with Eric Schneiderman in New York state, who would immediately file state charges. We don't know that though. The Watergate precedent was that the office of the special prosecutor didn't just die with Archibald Cox's firing, a new prosecutor was appointed after public outcry, who was maybe less aggressive initially but then finished the job. But that decision would fall to the new Trumpist AG, so.
No one knows or can know, it would entirely depend on the public outcry. We're well into "what wild legal scenarios can stoned 2Ls dream up" here.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:51 PM on March 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
Hopefully Mueller has been planning for this and running the investigation essentially in parrallel with Eric Schneiderman in New York state, who would immediately file state charges. We don't know that though. The Watergate precedent was that the office of the special prosecutor didn't just die with Archibald Cox's firing, a new prosecutor was appointed after public outcry, who was maybe less aggressive initially but then finished the job. But that decision would fall to the new Trumpist AG, so.
No one knows or can know, it would entirely depend on the public outcry. We're well into "what wild legal scenarios can stoned 2Ls dream up" here.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:51 PM on March 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
The Senate passed the banking bill, as amended, 67-31. It goes back to the House. I don’t have a vote breakdown yet.
Also in legislative news, NEW -- @SpeakerRyan just told NY & NJ Rs that he doesn't think they can pass an omni that Trump will veto & Trump has told him FOUR TIMES in recent days that he won't sign omni w/Gateway $$, per @RepPeteKing
Trump repeatedly threatening to veto his own party’s spending bill and shut down th government if it funds a much-needed infrastructure project for his home state is something that could benefit from more attention.
The Senate is done voting for the week (it is, *checks calendar*,Wednesday, which is not ordinarily the end of the workweek), having once again gotten nowhere on DACA or guns or anything else people care about.
posted by zachlipton at 3:51 PM on March 14, 2018 [27 favorites]
Also in legislative news, NEW -- @SpeakerRyan just told NY & NJ Rs that he doesn't think they can pass an omni that Trump will veto & Trump has told him FOUR TIMES in recent days that he won't sign omni w/Gateway $$, per @RepPeteKing
Trump repeatedly threatening to veto his own party’s spending bill and shut down th government if it funds a much-needed infrastructure project for his home state is something that could benefit from more attention.
The Senate is done voting for the week (it is, *checks calendar*,Wednesday, which is not ordinarily the end of the workweek), having once again gotten nowhere on DACA or guns or anything else people care about.
posted by zachlipton at 3:51 PM on March 14, 2018 [27 favorites]
I’m going to suggest we calm down and freak out at the same time. To me the last week or so is a clear desperation play, by both Trump and the entire Republican Party. They’re waking up to the reality of how fucked they are. At the very least politically for a generation and quite possibly criminally for anyone with even minor ties to President. So this is a panic attack combined with every single high risk move they can think of to save themselves. Probably (hell, very probably) it won’t work and they’re only burying themselves more. But these high risk/high reward acts do work sometimes, and with republicans controlling all meaningful levels of power and accountability they’ll keep raising the ugliness until they’re dragged out.
So calm down cause the insanity is evidence we’re winning. But freak out because a cornered rabid animal with nothing to lose can do some insane shit.
posted by Glibpaxman at 4:03 PM on March 14, 2018 [42 favorites]
So calm down cause the insanity is evidence we’re winning. But freak out because a cornered rabid animal with nothing to lose can do some insane shit.
posted by Glibpaxman at 4:03 PM on March 14, 2018 [42 favorites]
When they have the opportunity to support one of several candidates, I expect that the DCCC is putting *much* more weight on professionalism, drive, and charisma. If we put money into you, are you going to do the work, and do it well, and translate it into a win? This is a big reason they care about existing fundraising -- it shows you're already doing the work, and it shows that you're doing that aspect of the work well, and it shows that you're charismatic enough to get people to give to you.
I'm sure their first-cut strategy is to only look at those who have raised more than $X. The dangers are (1) using dollars raised beyond some basic threshold as a marker of quality, which leads to favoring centrist/corporate-friendly Dems systematically (and also is a mistake in that, as I recall, money raised above some basic threshold doesn't actually offer increasing electoral benefits), and (2) among those who are above the threshold, the DCCC and others seems to prefer centrists in centrist districts with a vehemence out-of-proportion to the very meager benefits that centrism confers.
It’s not about whether the Democratic Party should run a centrist over a leftist as a rule, but if a local district is likely to vote for a centrist over a leftist this time and in this district then by all means, run the centrist. And do the opposite where a leftist is more likely to win.
Again, the issue is that the party tends to vastly overestimate the electoral benefits of centrism. As a rule, yes, a centrist district prefers a centrist candidate, but that preference is both small and noisy, and in practice, in most districts the difference between a centrist and a leftist will make no discernible electoral difference. If you don't care about ideology at all, sure, every fraction of a percent matter and you should run the centrist, but if you do care about ideology, its often worth running the leftist if the cost is ~2 percentage points with a giant standard deviation.
posted by chortly at 4:08 PM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
I'm sure their first-cut strategy is to only look at those who have raised more than $X. The dangers are (1) using dollars raised beyond some basic threshold as a marker of quality, which leads to favoring centrist/corporate-friendly Dems systematically (and also is a mistake in that, as I recall, money raised above some basic threshold doesn't actually offer increasing electoral benefits), and (2) among those who are above the threshold, the DCCC and others seems to prefer centrists in centrist districts with a vehemence out-of-proportion to the very meager benefits that centrism confers.
It’s not about whether the Democratic Party should run a centrist over a leftist as a rule, but if a local district is likely to vote for a centrist over a leftist this time and in this district then by all means, run the centrist. And do the opposite where a leftist is more likely to win.
Again, the issue is that the party tends to vastly overestimate the electoral benefits of centrism. As a rule, yes, a centrist district prefers a centrist candidate, but that preference is both small and noisy, and in practice, in most districts the difference between a centrist and a leftist will make no discernible electoral difference. If you don't care about ideology at all, sure, every fraction of a percent matter and you should run the centrist, but if you do care about ideology, its often worth running the leftist if the cost is ~2 percentage points with a giant standard deviation.
posted by chortly at 4:08 PM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
oh christ, kudlow is an instant disaster, just add influence. from National Review in 2002:
posted by murphy slaw at 4:16 PM on March 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
A couple of weeks later a final assault on Baghdad can take place. A small war, to use Wall Street Journal editorialist Max Boot’s lexicon, led by fast-moving special forces and leather-toughened Marines, and assisted by high-tech precision bombs and air cover, can get the job done. All-out war mobilization is unnecessary. Iraq will fall with much less. At the same time, U.S. special forces must conduct a similar sweep to root out the bin Ladens and al Qaedas along the Pakistani/Afghan border.“Amazing. Every word of what you just said was wrong.”
In his key war speeches thus far — the axis-of-evil designation before Congress, the first-strike-preemption speech at West Point, and this week’s Palestine-directed statement of institution-building through the principles of freedom — Bush has kept democracy and a market economy central to solving this world terrorism crisis. But statements of principle only go so far. The spirit and security of the United States now require the instrument of war.
The shock therapy of decisive war will elevate the stock market by a couple-thousand points. We will know that our businesses will stay open, that our families will be safe, and that our future will be unlimited. The world will be righted in this life-and-death struggle to preserve our values and our civilization. But to do all this, we must act.
posted by murphy slaw at 4:16 PM on March 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
Ok here's a list.
Democratic yes votes on bank deregulation:
@SenBennetCO
@SenatorCarper
@ChrisCoons
@SenDonnelly
@SenatorHassan
@SenatorHeitkamp
@SenDougJones
@timkaine
@SenAngusKing
@Sen_JoeManchin
@clairecmc
@SenBillNelson
@SenGaryPeters
@SenatorShaheen
@SenStabenow
@SenatorTester
@MarkWarner
posted by zachlipton at 4:18 PM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
Democratic yes votes on bank deregulation:
@SenBennetCO
@SenatorCarper
@ChrisCoons
@SenDonnelly
@SenatorHassan
@SenatorHeitkamp
@SenDougJones
@timkaine
@SenAngusKing
@Sen_JoeManchin
@clairecmc
@SenBillNelson
@SenGaryPeters
@SenatorShaheen
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posted by zachlipton at 4:18 PM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
Paula Jean Swearengin is one of the.most impassioned snd Damn Reasonable political speakers I've seen, I hope she wins or sticks with it cause when I say there are progressive democrats I admire I am talking about her.
posted by The Whelk at 4:18 PM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 4:18 PM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
My favorite rant about Those Uppity Kids today was some yahoo screaming about how these kids didn't even understand what they were protesting
Honestly, I have super fucking complicated feelings about the kids protesting, but I'll be the first to admit that most of the people talking negatively about the kids protesting are...coming from Team Red Hooligan rather than a thoughtful analysis.
Like, there are very real questions to be asked about how supportive some administrations were in organizing how the 'student' led protests would be executed, especially when said administrations have not, historically, been kind to student protests when it hasn't been a big thing that everyone was getting all into and that they generally agreed with. I remember, for example, at my own high school getting severely punished for walkouts: that high school is now posting photos of the protests on its social media and talking about how thrilled they all are and making room for media appearances.
Because education is run by the federal government, there is an appearance of impropriety when teachers and schools support one protest but not another, and I think we are better served when teachers are completely hands off and enforce the rules evenly. As a parent with a teen with a lot of mom friends, I saw a lot of different approaches that the schools took, from 'we're not going to punish' to 'we're going to organize an assembly and control the speakers' - some were textbook perfect, and some blurred some lines in a way that I think lessens the trust people should be placing in public education.
But if you believe in America, and I do, then the right to protest is one of the most fundamental of our rights, and it cannot be denied. You can think the protesters are dumb, or wrong, or ill-informed - but you need to support it because it is foundational to the fucking creation of the country, and if you don't, you forfeit your title to the word 'patriot'. And civic virtue is essential to becoming a citizen - you're supposed to get it wrong when you're young, so that you learn through aches and pains how to join as a contributing member of this great nation of ours. And - and this is again foundational - people have the right to protest ESPECIALLY when you think it's dumb or wrong. That is what fucking makes us a nation.
Also on a side note anyone who is angry that students are protesting also forfeits their right to say my fellow soldiers died for our freedoms. I'm serious about this one. I'm going to track people down on July 4 and bring it up again.
posted by corb at 4:20 PM on March 14, 2018 [29 favorites]
Honestly, I have super fucking complicated feelings about the kids protesting, but I'll be the first to admit that most of the people talking negatively about the kids protesting are...coming from Team Red Hooligan rather than a thoughtful analysis.
Like, there are very real questions to be asked about how supportive some administrations were in organizing how the 'student' led protests would be executed, especially when said administrations have not, historically, been kind to student protests when it hasn't been a big thing that everyone was getting all into and that they generally agreed with. I remember, for example, at my own high school getting severely punished for walkouts: that high school is now posting photos of the protests on its social media and talking about how thrilled they all are and making room for media appearances.
Because education is run by the federal government, there is an appearance of impropriety when teachers and schools support one protest but not another, and I think we are better served when teachers are completely hands off and enforce the rules evenly. As a parent with a teen with a lot of mom friends, I saw a lot of different approaches that the schools took, from 'we're not going to punish' to 'we're going to organize an assembly and control the speakers' - some were textbook perfect, and some blurred some lines in a way that I think lessens the trust people should be placing in public education.
But if you believe in America, and I do, then the right to protest is one of the most fundamental of our rights, and it cannot be denied. You can think the protesters are dumb, or wrong, or ill-informed - but you need to support it because it is foundational to the fucking creation of the country, and if you don't, you forfeit your title to the word 'patriot'. And civic virtue is essential to becoming a citizen - you're supposed to get it wrong when you're young, so that you learn through aches and pains how to join as a contributing member of this great nation of ours. And - and this is again foundational - people have the right to protest ESPECIALLY when you think it's dumb or wrong. That is what fucking makes us a nation.
Also on a side note anyone who is angry that students are protesting also forfeits their right to say my fellow soldiers died for our freedoms. I'm serious about this one. I'm going to track people down on July 4 and bring it up again.
posted by corb at 4:20 PM on March 14, 2018 [29 favorites]
Loony leftist uodate: we got our first moves that a NYC high school wants to form a YDSA chapter to better organize politically as students.
posted by The Whelk at 4:25 PM on March 14, 2018 [36 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 4:25 PM on March 14, 2018 [36 favorites]
Don't worry. In the metro-Atlanta area, students were being locked in the building (fire code be damned) and threatened with a week's suspension if they walked out. I see no danger that kids were being coerced into protesting.
posted by hydropsyche at 4:25 PM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by hydropsyche at 4:25 PM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
The Matt Heimbach incident is even more bizarre (and Oedipal) than previously noted, according to the charging document.
Heimbach was living in a trailer on the property of his wife's mother and stepfather (one David "Matt" Parrott, 36, TWP co-founder). Parrott and his daughter-in-law discovered that their spouses were having an affir (that is, Heimbach and his landlord/mother-in-law). Mom!!!
The lovers claimed it was over, but their suspicious spouses set up a sting, and were filming them through the window as they began having sex. David Parrott confronted Heimbach, who choked him out. Parrot ran back to his house; Heimbach pursued and choked him out again.
So Parrott ran to Walmart and called the police. At the trailer, they heard Heimbach through the door, telling his wife to go tell the cops everything was OK. She refused and he grabbed her by the face and threw her on the bed in front of their two little kids. The officer heard this, broke in and arrested Heimbach.
Parrott, the TWP's spokesman and webmaster, then deleted all their computer records and membership lists. TWP was pretty dangerous, well funded by some mysterious source -- all four people here listed their job as "white nationalist" --and Heimbach has been a fairly smooth-talking spokesman despite allying with the worst of neo-Nazis (the National Socialist Movement -- literal Nazis -- and the League of the South.) So this implosion is good news. Other groups including LOS are already trying to scoop up TWP members.
posted by msalt at 4:28 PM on March 14, 2018 [23 favorites]
Heimbach was living in a trailer on the property of his wife's mother and stepfather (one David "Matt" Parrott, 36, TWP co-founder). Parrott and his daughter-in-law discovered that their spouses were having an affir (that is, Heimbach and his landlord/mother-in-law). Mom!!!
The lovers claimed it was over, but their suspicious spouses set up a sting, and were filming them through the window as they began having sex. David Parrott confronted Heimbach, who choked him out. Parrot ran back to his house; Heimbach pursued and choked him out again.
So Parrott ran to Walmart and called the police. At the trailer, they heard Heimbach through the door, telling his wife to go tell the cops everything was OK. She refused and he grabbed her by the face and threw her on the bed in front of their two little kids. The officer heard this, broke in and arrested Heimbach.
Parrott, the TWP's spokesman and webmaster, then deleted all their computer records and membership lists. TWP was pretty dangerous, well funded by some mysterious source -- all four people here listed their job as "white nationalist" --and Heimbach has been a fairly smooth-talking spokesman despite allying with the worst of neo-Nazis (the National Socialist Movement -- literal Nazis -- and the League of the South.) So this implosion is good news. Other groups including LOS are already trying to scoop up TWP members.
posted by msalt at 4:28 PM on March 14, 2018 [23 favorites]
I remember, for example, at my own high school getting severely punished for walkouts: that high school is now posting photos of the protests on its social media and talking about how thrilled they all are and making room for media appearances.
First, I would suggest that teens today are considerably less moved by the array of disciplinary measures available to schools than they were in the past. Do you remember when a teacher could shut things down with glares, or warnings, or a few cutting words? That sort of thing is rarer now than it used to be.
Kids are more aware of their second chances and how the whole "permanent record" thing is a myth. They have more perspective on how detention is only a temporary drag and not a big deal. And I'm only talking about general misbehavior. This isn't even including something where widespread students are motivated by what they know is truly justified.
From today: "I will sit in detention before I sit in my coffin."
And that really gets to the crux of this. Sure, a handful of jackasses are gonna take advantage of this just to screw off and get out of class, because jackasses gonna jackass. The vast majority of these kids are completely sincere. They don't want to die. They're growing up in a world they see adults fucking up before they really get to live in it, over and over again. How could they not hold the system in utter contempt?
Far as I'm concerned--and I say this as a 10+ year teacher big on teaching things like accountability--those kids should stay out of school until real gun reform starts happening. Because all of this is flatly insane.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 4:35 PM on March 14, 2018 [85 favorites]
First, I would suggest that teens today are considerably less moved by the array of disciplinary measures available to schools than they were in the past. Do you remember when a teacher could shut things down with glares, or warnings, or a few cutting words? That sort of thing is rarer now than it used to be.
Kids are more aware of their second chances and how the whole "permanent record" thing is a myth. They have more perspective on how detention is only a temporary drag and not a big deal. And I'm only talking about general misbehavior. This isn't even including something where widespread students are motivated by what they know is truly justified.
From today: "I will sit in detention before I sit in my coffin."
And that really gets to the crux of this. Sure, a handful of jackasses are gonna take advantage of this just to screw off and get out of class, because jackasses gonna jackass. The vast majority of these kids are completely sincere. They don't want to die. They're growing up in a world they see adults fucking up before they really get to live in it, over and over again. How could they not hold the system in utter contempt?
Far as I'm concerned--and I say this as a 10+ year teacher big on teaching things like accountability--those kids should stay out of school until real gun reform starts happening. Because all of this is flatly insane.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 4:35 PM on March 14, 2018 [85 favorites]
If I was a teacher, and my students were angry and walking out trying to minimize the possibility of gunmen coming into my school and murdering people potentially including me, you're damn right that I would be sympathetic to their cause.
posted by delfin at 4:37 PM on March 14, 2018 [52 favorites]
posted by delfin at 4:37 PM on March 14, 2018 [52 favorites]
in 2009, President Obama was in the White House, the House of Representatives was in Dem hands (257 D to 178 R), and the Senate was oscillating between 55 and 59 Senators in the Dem caucus as various people took ill, etc. For four blissful months, the Dem caucus had 60 Senators, and during that window of opportunity, Obamacare was passed.
Pundits were talking about how the GOP “culture of corruption”, inexorable demographic shifts, and the steady reduction in GOP self-identification could mean the end of the Republican Party for a generation, if not for all time.
Yet here we are, not even a decade later, with GOP control of all three of those institutions, while the country experiences a fascist resurgence, a possible new trade war with the world, a reignited Cold War with Russia, a possible nuclear exchange with North Korea, and governmental corruption, incompetence and chaos to an astounding degree.
It’s amazing how fast things can change.
posted by darkstar at 4:37 PM on March 14, 2018 [34 favorites]
Pundits were talking about how the GOP “culture of corruption”, inexorable demographic shifts, and the steady reduction in GOP self-identification could mean the end of the Republican Party for a generation, if not for all time.
Yet here we are, not even a decade later, with GOP control of all three of those institutions, while the country experiences a fascist resurgence, a possible new trade war with the world, a reignited Cold War with Russia, a possible nuclear exchange with North Korea, and governmental corruption, incompetence and chaos to an astounding degree.
It’s amazing how fast things can change.
posted by darkstar at 4:37 PM on March 14, 2018 [34 favorites]
Our students walked out today for 17 minutes. 17 of our students laid down on the ground around our quad. Our students spoke eloquently about gun control. They let a kid who shoots speak about how he, as a gun enthusiast, feels like stricter controls on what guns are sold and who is able to buy them and how the process for owning one needs to be aggressively regulated. The last student speaker listed all the things they could do to fight back and ended with something like "many of us can vote in 2018; almost all of us can vote in 2020; if they won't listen to us, let's vote in people who will."
It felt like a wave is coming. Politicians, ignore and belittle these kids at your peril. They're angry, they're motivated and they're coming for you at the ballot box.
I was so proud.
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:45 PM on March 14, 2018 [151 favorites]
It felt like a wave is coming. Politicians, ignore and belittle these kids at your peril. They're angry, they're motivated and they're coming for you at the ballot box.
I was so proud.
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:45 PM on March 14, 2018 [151 favorites]
Parrott, the TWP's spokesman and webmaster, then deleted all their computer records and membership lists. TWP was pretty dangerous, well funded by some mysterious source
Let's hope it's less deleted and more "deleted", then. C'mon, computer forensics investigators!
posted by jason_steakums at 4:46 PM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
Let's hope it's less deleted and more "deleted", then. C'mon, computer forensics investigators!
posted by jason_steakums at 4:46 PM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
FWIW, Rick Perry says he's not interested in the VA secretary slot.
posted by Chrysostom at 4:49 PM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 4:49 PM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
well he clearly wasn’t interested in the department of energy but it didn’t stop him
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:54 PM on March 14, 2018 [53 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:54 PM on March 14, 2018 [53 favorites]
Politico, Josh Gerstein, BuzzFeed maneuver could free Stormy Daniels to speak on Trump
Hey, if Cohen is going to sue BuzzFeed, why not use discovery to advance their reporting?
posted by zachlipton at 5:01 PM on March 14, 2018 [76 favorites]
BuzzFeed may have found a legal opening to allow the porn actress Stormy Daniels to discuss her alleged relationship with President Donald Trump and a $130,000 payment she received just before the 2016 election as part of a nondisclosure agreement she is now trying to void.The argument here is that the dossier alleges that Cohen was trying to cover up Trump-Russia connections, so other payments he made during the campaign to cover things up are relevant to the ongoing lawsuit over the dossier. It doesn't just stop there; BuzzFeed also sent preservation notices to Manafort, Gates, Lewendowski, Bannon, Conway, Schiller, Kushner, and Don Jr.
The same Trump attorney who brokered the deal with Daniels, Michael Cohen, filed a libel suit in January against BuzzFeed and four of its staffers over publication of the so-called dossier compiling accurate, inaccurate and unproven allegations about Trump’s relationship with Russia.
Now, BuzzFeed is using Cohen’s libel suit as a vehicle to demand that Daniels preserve all records relating to her relationship with Trump, as well as her dealings with Cohen and the payment he has acknowledged arranging in 2016.
On Tuesday, BuzzFeed's lawyer wrote to Daniels’ attorney asking that the adult film actress, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, preserve various categories of documents. Such preservation letters are often a prelude to a subpoena. If Daniels’ testimony is formally demanded in a deposition, the nondisclosure agreement would likely be no obstacle, legal experts said.
Hey, if Cohen is going to sue BuzzFeed, why not use discovery to advance their reporting?
posted by zachlipton at 5:01 PM on March 14, 2018 [76 favorites]
He’s having a go at the birds, now...
Trump USDA withdraws animal welfare regulation for organic farms, sparking backlash
posted by darkstar at 5:09 PM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
Trump USDA withdraws animal welfare regulation for organic farms, sparking backlash
posted by darkstar at 5:09 PM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
But wait, there's more. WSJ, Michael Rothfeld and Joe Palazzolo, Top Trump Company Lawyer Worked to Silence Stormy Daniels
posted by zachlipton at 5:11 PM on March 14, 2018 [38 favorites]
Documents marked “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL PROCEEDING” for the first time tie President Donald Trump’s flagship holding company to the continuing effort to silence a former adult-film actress who says she had an affair with Mr. Trump.Yeah, she was acting in her individual capacity when she decided to represent her boss, the President of the United States. That sounds credible.
A Trump Organization lawyer, Jill A. Martin, is listed as counsel in an arbitration demand for Essential Consultants LLC, a Delaware company formed by Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer and used to pay $130,000 to Stephanie Clifford in exchange for her silence, according to Feb. 22 arbitration documents filed in Orange County, Calif.
...
Ms. Martin emailed a statement saying that she facilitated the filing “in her individual capacity” until a New York-based lawyer gained approval to practice in California. “The company has had no involvement in the matter,” the statement said.
posted by zachlipton at 5:11 PM on March 14, 2018 [38 favorites]
Have we all considered what we are going to do if Mueller is fired, and an equivalently powerful Congressional investigation is not created, and Trump is not otherwise immediately impeached? How much time we are going to dedicate to “persuading” our congresspeople and the Federal Government by all legal means? What are we going to risk beyond attending the initial protest? It’s time to start considering.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:12 PM on March 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:12 PM on March 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
First option remains voting them out, second option remains taking to the streets.
posted by Artw at 5:16 PM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Artw at 5:16 PM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
Because education is run by the federal government, there is an appearance of impropriety when teachers and schools support one protest but not another, and I think we are better served when teachers are completely hands off and enforce the rules evenly.
Education in the U.S. is not run by the Federal government. They provide some funding (but not all) and some standards (but not all). But the bulk of education, including who writes the teachers’ paychecks, who sets the budgets, and who establishes the curricula, is a quiltwork of state education bodies and local school boards.
posted by Andrhia at 5:20 PM on March 14, 2018 [42 favorites]
Education in the U.S. is not run by the Federal government. They provide some funding (but not all) and some standards (but not all). But the bulk of education, including who writes the teachers’ paychecks, who sets the budgets, and who establishes the curricula, is a quiltwork of state education bodies and local school boards.
posted by Andrhia at 5:20 PM on March 14, 2018 [42 favorites]
Kids are more aware of their second chances and how the whole "permanent record" thing is a myth.
The "permanent record" myth also suffered from college admissions people being willing to go on social media and say "Haha no, we really don't care about anything on your transcript except your grades. And oh yeah, a story about how you got in trouble for social activism could be great for an admission essay."
Not that I or anyone I know mentioned that to any students directly... *whistles innocently*
posted by happyroach at 5:30 PM on March 14, 2018 [36 favorites]
The "permanent record" myth also suffered from college admissions people being willing to go on social media and say "Haha no, we really don't care about anything on your transcript except your grades. And oh yeah, a story about how you got in trouble for social activism could be great for an admission essay."
Not that I or anyone I know mentioned that to any students directly... *whistles innocently*
posted by happyroach at 5:30 PM on March 14, 2018 [36 favorites]
It's 2018 now, so elections are 6 months away...taking to the streets for six months is not completely out of the question. certainly we have to protect the vulnerable, and not get fatigued, but a massive show of anger, and sustained pressure on congress especially in good weather, is not so far fetched is it?
posted by OHenryPacey at 5:33 PM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by OHenryPacey at 5:33 PM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
New documents obtained by CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" on Wednesday suggest a deeper link than previously known between the Trump Organization and the company that Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, established in 2016 to pay off porn star Stormy Daniels in exchange for silence about her alleged affair with Trump.
A "demand for arbitration" document dated February 22, 2018, names Jill Martin, a top lawyer at the Trump Organization based in California, as the attorney representing "EC, LLC." "EC, LLC" is Essential Consultants, according to Daniels' lawsuit, a company that Cohen established in the weeks leading up to the 2016 presidential election to facilitate a payment of $130,000 to Daniels.
Martin's title at the Trump Organization is vice president and assistant general counsel, according to her LinkedIn page. The address listed for Martin on both documents is One Trump National Drive in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, which is the location of Trump National Golf Club, Los Angeles.
In addition to showing a second attorney connected with the Trump Organization having direct involvement in legal matters related to Daniels, the new documents raise questions about Cohen's previous insistence that "neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford”
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:41 PM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
A "demand for arbitration" document dated February 22, 2018, names Jill Martin, a top lawyer at the Trump Organization based in California, as the attorney representing "EC, LLC." "EC, LLC" is Essential Consultants, according to Daniels' lawsuit, a company that Cohen established in the weeks leading up to the 2016 presidential election to facilitate a payment of $130,000 to Daniels.
Martin's title at the Trump Organization is vice president and assistant general counsel, according to her LinkedIn page. The address listed for Martin on both documents is One Trump National Drive in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, which is the location of Trump National Golf Club, Los Angeles.
In addition to showing a second attorney connected with the Trump Organization having direct involvement in legal matters related to Daniels, the new documents raise questions about Cohen's previous insistence that "neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford”
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:41 PM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
ELECTIONS NEWS
** PA-18 special: Faced with a seemingly insurmountable Conor Lamb lead, the GOP is starting to make voter fraud noises. More from the Post-Gazette.
** AZ-08 special: Lake Research poll has GOP nominee Lesko up 48-34 on Dem Tipirneni. The district went Trump +21.
** MS Senate special: Mentioned earlier, Chris McDaniel has switched over to the special election race for the open Cochran seat, which should be a considerably easier hill to climb than knocking off popular incumbent Wicker. McDaniel also wants governor Bryant to pick him to fill the interim vacancy, but Bryant is having absolutely none of that. Unclear yet what moves the Dems will make in response.
** 2018 House:
** PA-18 special: Faced with a seemingly insurmountable Conor Lamb lead, the GOP is starting to make voter fraud noises. More from the Post-Gazette.
** AZ-08 special: Lake Research poll has GOP nominee Lesko up 48-34 on Dem Tipirneni. The district went Trump +21.
** MS Senate special: Mentioned earlier, Chris McDaniel has switched over to the special election race for the open Cochran seat, which should be a considerably easier hill to climb than knocking off popular incumbent Wicker. McDaniel also wants governor Bryant to pick him to fill the interim vacancy, but Bryant is having absolutely none of that. Unclear yet what moves the Dems will make in response.
** 2018 House:
-- In our weekly check in on the generic ballot, the 538 average is D+8.4 (47.7/39.3).** 2018 Senate:
-- PA primed for Dem pickup of seats.
-- Poll shows Dems at risk of shutout from top two in CA-39 and CA-49. One Dem has since dropped out of CA-39, in an effort to avoid this.
-- PA-06: Incumbent GOP Rep Costello may drop out of the race. The filing deadline is next Tuesday, so this could really put the GOP behind the eight ball to find a candidate.
-- NJ: Quinnipiac poll has Sen Menendez up 49-32 on possible GOP candidate Hugin. Menendez is at +7 approval, which is actually a big improvement for him.** Odds & ends:
-- MT: It looks like some ratfuckery is going on - the AP has found that the Green Party candidate for Senate is secretly being funded by the GOP.
-- NC GOP concerned they might lose control of both chambers if the Lamb result is any indication (more here). That would be beyond huge, the NC GOP is among the worst in the nation.posted by Chrysostom at 5:42 PM on March 14, 2018 [30 favorites]
-- A challenge is being mounted to unseat New Hampshire's SOS, who has held the office since the 70s, and - despite being nominally a Dem - supports all kinds of voter suppression methods. The NH legislature names the SOS, so flipping at least one house is a prerequisite.
Not that I or anyone I know mentioned that to any students directly... *whistles innocently*
Once again, grateful to live in a city where both the mayor (who is strongly in favor of gun control) and the school superintendent gave their blessings to students to walk out (although the superintendent did ask they get permission slips from their parents). Even cooler: Kids showed up at the planned protest at the State House today even though they had nothing to walk out of since school was canceled because of the previous day's blizzard.
posted by adamg at 5:43 PM on March 14, 2018 [12 favorites]
Once again, grateful to live in a city where both the mayor (who is strongly in favor of gun control) and the school superintendent gave their blessings to students to walk out (although the superintendent did ask they get permission slips from their parents). Even cooler: Kids showed up at the planned protest at the State House today even though they had nothing to walk out of since school was canceled because of the previous day's blizzard.
posted by adamg at 5:43 PM on March 14, 2018 [12 favorites]
Props to her and also Peggy Peterson, wherever she may have roamed
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:47 PM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:47 PM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
This matters because [Don Jr.'s wife] Vanessa undoubtedly knows a bunch of things the Trumps won't want known to Mueller (or publicly). Any way to crack this crime family is a good one, IMHO.
My mind immediately went to spousal privilege, as to whether or not she can be compelled to testify against Mini Trump after the divorce finalizes. According to Wikipedia, unfortunately no. However, all is not lost. State law tends to favor the rights of the party-spouse (i.e. Jr.) in deciding whether the witness-spouse is allowed to testify, but for Federal cases, it's the opposite, the witness-spouse makes the decision as to whether or not she is willing to testify against her ex-husband. So it's up to her if she wants to offer testimony against him. Furthermore, the privilege only extends to information shared during the marriage; any communications from before the wedding or after divorce proceedings are not protected. At least, according to a five minute perusal of the internet regarding a subject about which I know nothing.
posted by xigxag at 5:49 PM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
My mind immediately went to spousal privilege, as to whether or not she can be compelled to testify against Mini Trump after the divorce finalizes. According to Wikipedia, unfortunately no. However, all is not lost. State law tends to favor the rights of the party-spouse (i.e. Jr.) in deciding whether the witness-spouse is allowed to testify, but for Federal cases, it's the opposite, the witness-spouse makes the decision as to whether or not she is willing to testify against her ex-husband. So it's up to her if she wants to offer testimony against him. Furthermore, the privilege only extends to information shared during the marriage; any communications from before the wedding or after divorce proceedings are not protected. At least, according to a five minute perusal of the internet regarding a subject about which I know nothing.
posted by xigxag at 5:49 PM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
Beware of Devin Nunes’s Next Move
... Somehow or other, I figure he's going to end up as White House Chief of Staff.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 6:04 PM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
... Somehow or other, I figure he's going to end up as White House Chief of Staff.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 6:04 PM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
I really have to give Stormy Daniels lots of credit for sustaining, and even building on, media attention to this story in an environment where many huge news stories get overshadowed and disappear within the hour (see title of this post).
Eliot Cohen puts it this way in the Atlantic:
Eliot Cohen puts it this way in the Atlantic:
As one looks at those in and out of government who have either excused or attempted to ignore the president’s conduct, one notes only one figure who has not merely stood up to the president but in some measure thwarted him. It is someone who, like them, has pleased the president but unlike them has failed to be intimidated or even, in large measure, silenced by him. Indeed, it is someone who, unlike Sean Spicer or Michael Flynn or even Stephen Bannon, has successfully monetized an intimate association with the president.posted by peeedro at 6:05 PM on March 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
That is, of course, the pornographic actress and director Stormy Daniels. She has demonstrated a sense of humor, shrewd judgment, and toughness. She has used the president’s own formidable skills at playing the lowest end of the television market against him. She has not been steamrollered by Trump’s flunkies. It is a sad day for the country, however, when that sorry array of Republican elders, senior officials, hypocritical preachers, and compromised intellectuals demonstrate that they lack the gumption, or indeed the self-respect, of a trollop.
Once again, grateful to live in a city where both the mayor (who is strongly in favor of gun control) and the school superintendent gave their blessings to students to walk out
I went to Twitter today to see how Seattle did with the walkout and found none other than Governor Jay Inslee turning up in support.
Also, before anyone wants to get wishy-washy about it not being a real protest if it's supported like this: I'm deeply familiar with that particular high school. This is one moment where the administration knew they could either get out of the way or get behind the students, 'cause getting in the way wasn't gonna work at all.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 6:13 PM on March 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
I went to Twitter today to see how Seattle did with the walkout and found none other than Governor Jay Inslee turning up in support.
Also, before anyone wants to get wishy-washy about it not being a real protest if it's supported like this: I'm deeply familiar with that particular high school. This is one moment where the administration knew they could either get out of the way or get behind the students, 'cause getting in the way wasn't gonna work at all.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 6:13 PM on March 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
It is a sad day for the country, however, when that sorry array of Republican elders, senior officials, hypocritical preachers, and compromised intellectuals demonstrate that they lack the gumption, or indeed the self-respect, of a trollop
What a shitty ending.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 6:16 PM on March 14, 2018 [97 favorites]
What a shitty ending.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 6:16 PM on March 14, 2018 [97 favorites]
wtf is trollop about?
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 6:17 PM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 6:17 PM on March 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
Our students walked out today for 17 minutes. 17 of our students laid down on the ground around our quad. Our students spoke eloquently about gun control. They let a kid who shoots speak about how he, as a gun enthusiast, feels like stricter controls on what guns are sold and who is able to buy them and how the process for owning one needs to be aggressively regulated. The last student speaker listed all the things they could do to fight back and ended with something like "many of us can vote in 2018; almost all of us can vote in 2020; if they won't listen to us, let's vote in people who will."
I want to send my kids to your school district. Here, they had a half-assed "protest"; 68 of the high school students left class (including our kid, so, yay). This was fully sanctioned by the school administration. Ten of those kids, however, staged a "counter-protest", and the only kind thing I have to say about that is that sometimes it's good that certain people that grow up in Small Town America never leave it.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 6:19 PM on March 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
I want to send my kids to your school district. Here, they had a half-assed "protest"; 68 of the high school students left class (including our kid, so, yay). This was fully sanctioned by the school administration. Ten of those kids, however, staged a "counter-protest", and the only kind thing I have to say about that is that sometimes it's good that certain people that grow up in Small Town America never leave it.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 6:19 PM on March 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
It's worth noting as a significant development, that Stephanie Clifford is not just sustaining and directing media attention, but has also effectively controlled the tone of that coverage.
Mainstream, prime time news programs are, for the most part, treating a sex worker with dignity and respect.
That's quite a breakthrough, really.
posted by dirge at 6:19 PM on March 14, 2018 [52 favorites]
Mainstream, prime time news programs are, for the most part, treating a sex worker with dignity and respect.
That's quite a breakthrough, really.
posted by dirge at 6:19 PM on March 14, 2018 [52 favorites]
But then you get stuff like that line calling her a trollop. She is a woman with power, so there will always be some gross way to dismiss her for it.
posted by mochapickle at 6:28 PM on March 14, 2018 [33 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 6:28 PM on March 14, 2018 [33 favorites]
I don't think I've seen a headline yet that didn't include "porn star." Hard to believe they don't mean that as a slur.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 6:30 PM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by scaryblackdeath at 6:30 PM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
Mainstream, prime time news programs are, for the most part, treating a sex worker with dignity and respect.
I suspect adult actors would object to the term "sex worker."
posted by leotrotsky at 6:36 PM on March 14, 2018
I suspect adult actors would object to the term "sex worker."
posted by leotrotsky at 6:36 PM on March 14, 2018
Sorry, I didn't read it as a slur and wouldn't have posted it if I knew that's how most people would see it.
posted by peeedro at 6:37 PM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by peeedro at 6:37 PM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
A challenge is being mounted to unseat New Hampshire's SOS, who has held the office since the 70s, and - despite being nominally a Dem - supports all kinds of voter suppression methods. The NH legislature names the SOS, so flipping at least one house is a prerequisite.
Errr. This seems like it might not be such a great idea. I wish Gardner had staunchly opposed voter ID bullshit coming from the legislature too, and that he'd refused to even give the Trump voter suppression commission the time of day, but it has seemed to me that he did so primarily for reasons of neutrality rather than partisanship. There's a reason why he's a Dem SOS who has survived into his third Sununu dynasty governorship.
NH went to Clinton in 2016 and gained a U.S. Senate seat for Dems only by a very narrow margin, while the governor switched to Republican, so... I just hope that the state Dems have planned this all out so that they don't simply shake things up in a way that makes the Republican-held legislature think "Hey, why don't we put an unabashedly partisan Republican in that spot while we still can" and convert what has in recent decades been a point of stability into one more to-the-winner-go-the-spoils piece on the board.
posted by XMLicious at 6:37 PM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
Apologies if I've made a vocabulary error of any sort.
Clearly there's a bit of ugliness towards adult actors implicit in Eliot Cohen's thesis that it's pathetic that the "sorry array of Republican elders" can't muster the dignity of an adult actor. And there are plenty of dubious editorial choices about headlines, terminology, choice of photos, etc.
Still, we're seeing in that Cohen piece and elsewhere, Stephanie Clifford being favorably compared to the most powerful men in the country. We're seeing her get a (mostly) respectful hearing in interviews and elsewhere.
I certainly didn't mean to suggest that we've suddenly arrived in the promised land, merely that this is a substantially higher tone than I'd have expected, and I think Ms. Clifford deserves some credit for engineering that. We might look back on it as a big deal some day.
posted by dirge at 6:51 PM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
Clearly there's a bit of ugliness towards adult actors implicit in Eliot Cohen's thesis that it's pathetic that the "sorry array of Republican elders" can't muster the dignity of an adult actor. And there are plenty of dubious editorial choices about headlines, terminology, choice of photos, etc.
Still, we're seeing in that Cohen piece and elsewhere, Stephanie Clifford being favorably compared to the most powerful men in the country. We're seeing her get a (mostly) respectful hearing in interviews and elsewhere.
I certainly didn't mean to suggest that we've suddenly arrived in the promised land, merely that this is a substantially higher tone than I'd have expected, and I think Ms. Clifford deserves some credit for engineering that. We might look back on it as a big deal some day.
posted by dirge at 6:51 PM on March 14, 2018 [15 favorites]
For those who don’t know much about him, Larry Kudlow isn’t an economist, but he plays one on TV. He has a long track record of being spectacularly wrong in his economic predictions.
Which, really, makes him the perfect chief economic advisor for the Dumbass Administration.
posted by darkstar at 7:00 PM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
Which, really, makes him the perfect chief economic advisor for the Dumbass Administration.
posted by darkstar at 7:00 PM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
Spare a moment to pity the poor White House official anonymously spilling their guts about their terrible working conditions to Axios:
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:03 PM on March 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
Nobody knows what exactly is happening, who’s about to be fired, or which staffer will next be frogmarched out the door by security for some shadowy clearance issue.Incidentally, why didn't the resignation of Melania's director of operations, Justin Caporale, over security clearance issues merit even a ripple in D.C.?
"This is the most toxic working environment on the planet. Usually tough times bring people together. But right now this atmosphere is ripping people apart. There's no leadership, no trust, no direction and this point there's very little hope. Would you want to go to work every day not knowing whether your future career was going to be destroyed without explanation?"— A White House official to Axios
Senior officials are equivocating privately when asked whether they think John Kelly and H.R. McMaster are staying or going. Nobody knows because it’s Trump, and the way he dealt with Rex Tillerson was sudden, even though he’d long been fed up with his Secretary of State.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:03 PM on March 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
Sorry, I didn't read it as a slur and wouldn't have posted it if I knew that's how most people would see it.
I wouldn't worry about it. In my experience that's generally the preferred neutral term.
posted by Justinian at 7:12 PM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
I wouldn't worry about it. In my experience that's generally the preferred neutral term.
posted by Justinian at 7:12 PM on March 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
In response to the growing GOP chorus that Conor Lamb only won because he ran as a conservative, former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau aptly smacked down that notion.
Conor Lamb campaigned:posted by darkstar at 7:17 PM on March 14, 2018 [82 favorites]
1. For universal health care
2. Against Trump’s tax cut
3. For expanded background checks
4. For stronger unions
5. Against cuts to Social Security
6. For a woman’s right to choose
7. For medical marijuana
“Conservative Democrat.” Ok. Cool.
"This is the most toxic working environment on the planet."
Snowflakes. If you want to complain about toxic working environments, don't try to drag us back to the Gilded Age.
posted by tivalasvegas at 7:19 PM on March 14, 2018 [58 favorites]
Snowflakes. If you want to complain about toxic working environments, don't try to drag us back to the Gilded Age.
posted by tivalasvegas at 7:19 PM on March 14, 2018 [58 favorites]
"This is the most toxic working environment on the planet."
Snowflakes. If you want to complain about toxic working environments, don't try to drag us back to the Gilded Age.
No doubt. 'The Jungle' should be required reading for everyone.
posted by Quonab at 7:24 PM on March 14, 2018 [10 favorites]
Snowflakes. If you want to complain about toxic working environments, don't try to drag us back to the Gilded Age.
No doubt. 'The Jungle' should be required reading for everyone.
posted by Quonab at 7:24 PM on March 14, 2018 [10 favorites]
Chrysostom: The cherry on the sundae about the original blog piece was that Lamb was doomed because he didn't sound yinzer enough. "Hmmm, I like this guy, but he doesn't say 'warsh' and 'gumbands', so forget him!""
Like Western Pennsylvanians wouldn't find an ivy league educated lawyer from a privileged background putting on a fake working class accent to be offensive as hell. For that matter, I can't think of too many, or any, politicians from around Pittsburgh who have a Pittsburgh accent.
posted by octothorpe at 7:25 PM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
Like Western Pennsylvanians wouldn't find an ivy league educated lawyer from a privileged background putting on a fake working class accent to be offensive as hell. For that matter, I can't think of too many, or any, politicians from around Pittsburgh who have a Pittsburgh accent.
posted by octothorpe at 7:25 PM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
Is anybody, besides people like some of us here, or the few friends of mine that pay special attention to the investigation, actually going to protest if Mueller is fired? Do "typical" Americans pay attention or care about the investigation? I live in Portland and I never overhear people talking about the investigation, and outside of a few of my friends, I don't know anyone who even knows particulars about it. It almost feels like a niche aspect of this administration, only reserved for some of the nerdiest of people. More than anything, I'm expecting Mueller to have a dead man's switch on this. Surely he knows this investigation is on its own, with no help from the Republicans, and the Democrats don't have sufficient power to protect him.
I just have a terrible feeling about the end of this week, and then a continual terrible feeling for the rest of this administration.
posted by gucci mane at 7:33 PM on March 14, 2018 [26 favorites]
I just have a terrible feeling about the end of this week, and then a continual terrible feeling for the rest of this administration.
posted by gucci mane at 7:33 PM on March 14, 2018 [26 favorites]
Kudlow is a terrible choice, but he definitely had a career as an economist in the private and public sectors before hitting cable news.
That’s true, though he never had a degree in economics, and hasn’t worked as an economist in a generation. Combined with his terrible track record of erroneous prognostications, I’m leaning toward Paul Krugman’s assessment:
That’s true, though he never had a degree in economics, and hasn’t worked as an economist in a generation. Combined with his terrible track record of erroneous prognostications, I’m leaning toward Paul Krugman’s assessment:
“The right way to view this appointment is, I think, as if Donald Trump were to name William Shatner to command the Navy's 7th Fleet."posted by darkstar at 7:34 PM on March 14, 2018 [50 favorites]
Sorry, I didn't read it as a slur and wouldn't have posted it if I knew that's how most people would see it.
I wouldn't worry about it. In my experience that's generally the preferred neutral term.
I apologize if I came off as complaining at peedro or anyone on the blue here. The "porn star" label is subjective, of course, but I tend to see an undertone of "hurr hurr porn star" in the broader discussions about this whole thing. Porn is in this ugly corner where people spend billions on it and then shame everyone who both produces and consumes it. The annoying thing about the Stormy Daniels headlines is how her career is literally the least relevant factor in all this--except for the clickbait of putting in the words "porn star."
I haven't seen anything like that attitude here on the blue, and I've been grateful for that.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 7:40 PM on March 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
I wouldn't worry about it. In my experience that's generally the preferred neutral term.
I apologize if I came off as complaining at peedro or anyone on the blue here. The "porn star" label is subjective, of course, but I tend to see an undertone of "hurr hurr porn star" in the broader discussions about this whole thing. Porn is in this ugly corner where people spend billions on it and then shame everyone who both produces and consumes it. The annoying thing about the Stormy Daniels headlines is how her career is literally the least relevant factor in all this--except for the clickbait of putting in the words "porn star."
I haven't seen anything like that attitude here on the blue, and I've been grateful for that.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 7:40 PM on March 14, 2018 [16 favorites]
From Chris McDaniel Switching Senate Races In Mississippi above, this bit jumped out at me:
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:00 PM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and President Trump have both encouraged [Mississippi governor] Bryant to appoint himself [to Cochran's Senate seat], but sources say he’s not thrilled with the idea.Bryant is right to be wary. In Minnesota, a mishandled appointment to fill an open Senate seat led in part to statewide election losses for the Democrats in 1978, sometimes known as the "Minnesota Massacre".
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:00 PM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
In fundraising speech, Trump says he made up facts in meeting with Justin Trudeau (WaPo)
posted by Barack Spinoza at 8:15 PM on March 14, 2018 [31 favorites]
President Trump boasted in a fundraising speech Wednesday that he made up facts in a meeting with the leader of a top U.S ally, saying he insisted to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the United States runs a trade deficit with its neighbor to the north without knowing whether or not that was the case. ...The linked piece features more, uh, tidbits from his speech tonight.
In his 30-minute speech to donors in Missouri, Trump heaped praise on himself while ticking through a list of U.S. allies that he said were actually taking advantage of the United States.
The president did not mention his abrupt firing of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson by tweet, or the personnel turmoil that is swirling in Washington, or special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's investigation into Russian meddling, or reports of his affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels – and his lawyer paying her off.
While his White House picked up the pieces after a Republican lost a special election in a western Pennsylvania congressional district that Trump won by 20 percent in 2016, and pollsters said the results showed how Trump was dragging down the Republican party, Trump took none of the blame. He said that the candidate, Rick Saccone, would have lost even bigger without him. And he said the Democrat, Conor Lamb, won the seat because he was “like Trump” but that he would vote with Pelosi.
Trump was in Missouri to fundraise for Josh Hawley, who is taking on incumbent Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill. He called McCaskill “bad for Missouri, and bad for the country.” But he barely spoke about Hawley. Instead, he talked about Trump – even bragging about his 2016 election win.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 8:15 PM on March 14, 2018 [31 favorites]
@Doktor Zed:
For example:
To be fair and answer their question: I have never felt my career would be destroyed because I keep doing work that is something that I believe is honest and believe in.
But, I make low 5 digits. Maybe I should sell my morals out to make more money that I would never spend. (hamburger)
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 8:18 PM on March 14, 2018 [19 favorites]
Spare a moment to pity the poor White House official anonymously spilling their guts about their terrible working conditions to Axios:Nope. While I assume this comment was made sarcastically, I won't even entertain that joke while those remain in power and remain in power via ill-gotten means.
For example:
Nobody knows what exactly is happening, who’s about to be fired, or which staffer will next be frogmarched out the door by security for some shadowy clearance issue.That would not be an issue if the majority of your hires are not criminals.
This is the most toxic working environment on the planet.That one really pisses me the hell off. Anyone who believes working in the White House is "toxic" neither deserves to work there nor has any idea of an actual toxic (as in, literally poisoning) work environment. They almost certainly do not have an idea of work environments that are figuratively orders of magnitude worse than what they are working in (slavery to this day, all the way to "we'll pay them enough but not enough for them to find a new job or get affordable health care") definitions of toxic.
Usually tough times bring people together. But right now this atmosphere is ripping people apart. There's no leadership, no trust, no direction and this point there's very little hope.Sentence 2 & 3 are why people in tough times are not coming together in sentence 1.
Would you want to go to work every day not knowing whether your future career was going to be destroyed without explanation?The quoted person is either really young and doesn't realize they can have a long career in politics jumping from campaign to campaign or drank the Trump kool-aid so much that they are probably in a bad place.
To be fair and answer their question: I have never felt my career would be destroyed because I keep doing work that is something that I believe is honest and believe in.
But, I make low 5 digits. Maybe I should sell my morals out to make more money that I would never spend. (hamburger)
Why this matters: This acute level of uncertainty — and these rapid fire executions, especially the security clearance issues — are shredding an already devastated morale inside the building.Good. Working for criminals should devastate morale.
Be smart: This makes it harder than ever to attract top-tier talent. They're going to have big problems replacing the next wave of vacancies.See above. This may be the Pollyanna in me, but it seems like generally the top tier also have morals and wouldn't want to work for a corrupt administration.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 8:18 PM on March 14, 2018 [19 favorites]
"Like, there are very real questions to be asked about how supportive some administrations were in organizing how the 'student' led protests would be executed, especially when said administrations have not, historically, been kind to student protests when it hasn't been a big thing that everyone was getting all into and that they generally agreed with."
Given that for YEARS schools have been permitting conservative protests of many types -- Meet me at the flagpole, guerrilla prayers at graduations, pro-life demonstrations, school prayer sit-ins, Holocaust denial protests -- which are often organized by outside adults and supported by outside lobbying groups who train the students in how to protest, while there are very few similar left-wing protests (but those that occur tend to be organized by the students as there are not national left-wing organizations dedicated to school protests that garner publicity and create lawsuit opportunities), is your complaint that left-wing students are finally doing what right-wing students have done all along, and now that it's a cause you disagree with, you're offended to discover that adults influence children?
Administrations have been VERY kind to RIGHT-wing protests in the US in the last 15 years, not least because irght-wing protests appear at school board meetings with national law firms threatening to sue if you don't let them distribute their abortion literature. To me, this looks like students who aren't part of the evangelical Christian right finally having their protests treated similarly to right-wing protests.
"Because education is run by the federal government,"
This is so incorrect -- and I know you know better -- that I have to assume it's a talking point from right-wing media.
" there is an appearance of impropriety when teachers and schools support one protest but not another, and I think we are better served when teachers are completely hands off and enforce the rules evenly. "
Right, that's why so many of us were upset by constant right-wing propaganda being fed to students at our schools with the backing of major national lobbying groups, and are relieved to see that schools are treating these student-led anti-gun protests the way they have treated right-wing evangelical Christian protests for years.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:18 PM on March 14, 2018 [117 favorites]
Given that for YEARS schools have been permitting conservative protests of many types -- Meet me at the flagpole, guerrilla prayers at graduations, pro-life demonstrations, school prayer sit-ins, Holocaust denial protests -- which are often organized by outside adults and supported by outside lobbying groups who train the students in how to protest, while there are very few similar left-wing protests (but those that occur tend to be organized by the students as there are not national left-wing organizations dedicated to school protests that garner publicity and create lawsuit opportunities), is your complaint that left-wing students are finally doing what right-wing students have done all along, and now that it's a cause you disagree with, you're offended to discover that adults influence children?
Administrations have been VERY kind to RIGHT-wing protests in the US in the last 15 years, not least because irght-wing protests appear at school board meetings with national law firms threatening to sue if you don't let them distribute their abortion literature. To me, this looks like students who aren't part of the evangelical Christian right finally having their protests treated similarly to right-wing protests.
"Because education is run by the federal government,"
This is so incorrect -- and I know you know better -- that I have to assume it's a talking point from right-wing media.
" there is an appearance of impropriety when teachers and schools support one protest but not another, and I think we are better served when teachers are completely hands off and enforce the rules evenly. "
Right, that's why so many of us were upset by constant right-wing propaganda being fed to students at our schools with the backing of major national lobbying groups, and are relieved to see that schools are treating these student-led anti-gun protests the way they have treated right-wing evangelical Christian protests for years.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:18 PM on March 14, 2018 [117 favorites]
these student-led anti-gun protests
There's also that teachers are themselves getting killed in school shootings, sacrificing their lives to save those entrusted to them. And those that survive, living ,wondering if something they may have done could have saved the lives of the _children_ entrusted to their care... The chronic fear for all teachers that it may be their junior class 2b next is presumably a daily lived experience. One that sickens the entire edifice in that the suspicion that the weird kid in the duster is going to snap one day is presumably poisoning classes and individual lives everywhere on a daily basis as well.
A strict NPOV is all well and fine when it's the debate team discussing the merits of hunting vs. factory farming, or Aung Sang Su Chi vs. Blue Whale Apartheid.
At this point anyone in the US education system not supporting the kids who are doing the job now wot they should've* is missing the whole duty of care part of their calling. [*well, at least to the degree they are able without ending up on the dole].
posted by Buntix at 8:54 PM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
There's also that teachers are themselves getting killed in school shootings, sacrificing their lives to save those entrusted to them. And those that survive, living ,wondering if something they may have done could have saved the lives of the _children_ entrusted to their care... The chronic fear for all teachers that it may be their junior class 2b next is presumably a daily lived experience. One that sickens the entire edifice in that the suspicion that the weird kid in the duster is going to snap one day is presumably poisoning classes and individual lives everywhere on a daily basis as well.
A strict NPOV is all well and fine when it's the debate team discussing the merits of hunting vs. factory farming, or Aung Sang Su Chi vs. Blue Whale Apartheid.
At this point anyone in the US education system not supporting the kids who are doing the job now wot they should've* is missing the whole duty of care part of their calling. [*well, at least to the degree they are able without ending up on the dole].
posted by Buntix at 8:54 PM on March 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
leotrotsky: "I don't know why folks are focusing on the military component. It's completely possible to squeeze the Putin regime to death without firing a single bullet. Sanctions and asset seizures would plunge their economy into a death spiral; the West just needs to decide to act. "
wenestvedt: "There are a LOT of ordinary people in Russia who would be totally screwed if we "plunge their economy into a death spiral," when really we only want their top 0.1%, like ours, to be stuffed into barrels and thrown down a disused mineshaft."
There are a lot of people in Europe who are completely screwed if Russia's economy plunges into a death spiral and they, for one example, become unwilling or unable to sell heating gas.
posted by Mitheral at 8:56 PM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
wenestvedt: "There are a LOT of ordinary people in Russia who would be totally screwed if we "plunge their economy into a death spiral," when really we only want their top 0.1%, like ours, to be stuffed into barrels and thrown down a disused mineshaft."
There are a lot of people in Europe who are completely screwed if Russia's economy plunges into a death spiral and they, for one example, become unwilling or unable to sell heating gas.
posted by Mitheral at 8:56 PM on March 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
From the WaPo article linked by Barack Spinoza, one of the more illuminating examples of how Trump thinks "truth" works.
In this instance, he's suggesting that he dragged "proud" Mr Trudeau down a notch by simply telling him "nuh-uh". Because there's no such thing as a shared reality, we ought to be just as impressed by this as we would by clever or researched arguments. Truly, Donald has cut the Gordian knot with a simple "Nope!" (Not so smart now, are you, Justin?)
Breaking it down a bit more, Trump understands "trade deficit" to mean nothing but "We're getting screwed by them", and "them" is of course anyone he feels like.
The bit about "energy and timber", I'm guessing, is a stretch made by restricting your consideration to those things, rather than "including" them or not, like he said. But by the logic of that definition, even being a net exporter of goods wouldn't be enough to avoid "trade deficits"! Even if Canada gives us more money and we give them more stuff (as is currently the case, hence our "surplus"), we're still somehow in a "deficit" if we buy a single bottle of maple syrup without selling two more to them. Like, specifically maple syrup, honey doesn't count. We'd have to sell the world literally everything we'd like to use ourselves! It's absurd.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:15 PM on March 14, 2018 [47 favorites]
“Nice guy, good-looking guy, comes in – ‘Donald we have no trade deficit.’ He’s very proud because everybody else, you know, we’re getting killed. ...He thinks every statement, every idea, even every fact itself is just a pose, a wrestling angle. This goes a bit beyond the old lies-vs-bullshit realm of dishonesty, or Bush-era "thinking with your gut", though the path from then to now is clear.
“So he’s proud. I said, ‘Wrong Justin, you do.’ I didn’t even know. ... I had no idea. I just said, ‘You’re wrong.’ You know why? Because we’re so stupid. … And I thought they were smart. I said, ‘You’re wrong Justin.’ He said, ‘Nope we have no trade deficit.’ I said, ‘Well in that case I feel differently,’ I said, ‘but I don’t believe it.’ I sent one of our guys out, his guy, my guy, they went out, I said ‘check because I can’t believe it.’
‘Well, sir, you’re actually right. We have no deficit but that doesn’t include energy and timber … And when you do, we lose $17 billion a year.’ It’s incredible.”
The United States trade representative office says the United States has a trade surplus with Canada.
In this instance, he's suggesting that he dragged "proud" Mr Trudeau down a notch by simply telling him "nuh-uh". Because there's no such thing as a shared reality, we ought to be just as impressed by this as we would by clever or researched arguments. Truly, Donald has cut the Gordian knot with a simple "Nope!" (Not so smart now, are you, Justin?)
Breaking it down a bit more, Trump understands "trade deficit" to mean nothing but "We're getting screwed by them", and "them" is of course anyone he feels like.
The bit about "energy and timber", I'm guessing, is a stretch made by restricting your consideration to those things, rather than "including" them or not, like he said. But by the logic of that definition, even being a net exporter of goods wouldn't be enough to avoid "trade deficits"! Even if Canada gives us more money and we give them more stuff (as is currently the case, hence our "surplus"), we're still somehow in a "deficit" if we buy a single bottle of maple syrup without selling two more to them. Like, specifically maple syrup, honey doesn't count. We'd have to sell the world literally everything we'd like to use ourselves! It's absurd.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:15 PM on March 14, 2018 [47 favorites]
Some classic episodes of Trump’s Space Force (Alexandra Petri, WaPo)
(Swelling orchestral music) Space. Force. The final frontier. Force. These are the voyages of the space ship SpaceForce Ship. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To carry the values of the Trump administration to infinity and beyond. To boldly go where no one has gone before.posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:21 PM on March 14, 2018 [87 favorites]
Episode 103: The half-alien first officer explains that because of his different cultural background, he experiences the world differently than the captain does. The captain becomes upset — “I didn’t join Space Force so people could lecture me with this political correctness!” — and makes him leave the bridge. While this discussion is distracting everyone, the ship flies into an asteroid and everyone aboard is killed.
Episode 104: The science officer very carefully explains using a holographic presentation and small, simple words that diverting all power from the life support to the Space Drive will kill everyone on the ship. The captain gives the order anyway. Everyone on board is, as predicted, killed.
Episode 105: The captain randomly reassigns the ship’s doctor to become head of engineering, because he places no value on expertise. No one knows what they are doing and the second there is a problem, the ship explodes and everyone on board is killed.
"He thinks every statement, every idea, even every fact itself is just a pose, a wrestling angle. This goes a bit beyond the old lies-vs-bullshit realm of dishonesty, or Bush-era "thinking with your gut", though the path from then to now is clear.I'd disagree - that's exactly how & why bullshitters bullshit. They lie without any consideration at all to the truth (which is the essence of bullshitting), when called on it they double-down with a straight dismissal of your position & more of the same bullshit, and they'll throw in extra bullshit to muddy the argument. If you keep disagreeing with their bullshit they'll turn and attack you personally with more bullshit, and they'll keep bullshitting until some minor piece of their bullshit is at least arguably true enough (or you make some minor factual mistake) that they can claim it validates all their bullshit and vindicates their position.
In this instance, he's suggesting that he dragged "proud" Mr Trudeau down a notch by simply telling him "nuh-uh". Because there's no such thing as a shared reality, we ought to be just as impressed by this as we would by clever or researched arguments. Truly, Donald has cut the Gordian knot with a simple "Nope!" (Not so smart now, are you, Justin?)"
That's how the most toxic bullshitters work, and that's exactly how the WaPo recounting of his meeting with Trudeau reads.
(I've always hated bullshitters, I've known far too many of them, and I've spent the best part of my 50 years trying to figure out how to handle them. To be honest I still haven't worked it out, and kinda hoped that with one in the White House people smarter than me would've figured out some general strategies for that, but it seems I'm doomed to be disappointed…)
posted by Pinback at 9:47 PM on March 14, 2018 [61 favorites]
Episode 104: The science officer very carefully explains using a holographic presentation and small, simple words that diverting all power from the life support to the Space Drive will kill everyone on the ship. The captain gives the order anyway. Everyone on board is, as predicted, killed.
Normally I love Alexandra Petri as much as the rest of MetaFilter, but this is clearly just a Futurama spinoff featuring Zapp Brannigan and Kif. [Kif sigh]
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 10:09 PM on March 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
Normally I love Alexandra Petri as much as the rest of MetaFilter, but this is clearly just a Futurama spinoff featuring Zapp Brannigan and Kif. [Kif sigh]
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 10:09 PM on March 14, 2018 [18 favorites]
Nobody seriously thinks Haley could run against a sitting Republican President, right? It's got to be a 2024 campaign for her. That or against President Pelosi in 2020, natch.
She'd make an interesting VP choice, either to replace Pence if he goes down first or to fill his shoes when he ascends to the Presidency following Trump's removal/conviction/impeachment/resignation/death.
posted by carmicha at 10:12 PM on March 14, 2018
She'd make an interesting VP choice, either to replace Pence if he goes down first or to fill his shoes when he ascends to the Presidency following Trump's removal/conviction/impeachment/resignation/death.
posted by carmicha at 10:12 PM on March 14, 2018
East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94: "rump says DoD will buy 24 F/A-18s that are the "latest and greatest" complete with stealth (THEY ARE NOT). He says if he can't buy them from Boeing, he'll buy them somewhere else (HE CANNOT BUY SUPER HORNETS ANYWHERE ELSE)."
Well I'm sure he can buy something _called_ a F/A-18 from somewhere else and in his world the name is all that matters. Enjoy your rebranded Gulfstreams Airforce.
Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick: "Ten of those kids, however, staged a "counter-protest", and the only kind thing I have to say about that is that sometimes it's good that certain people that grow up in Small Town America never leave it."
Those are exactly the kids that need to leave their small town communities and be exposed to, uh, alternative viewpoints/cultures.
darkstar: "“The right way to view this appointment is, I think, as if Donald Trump were to name William Shatner to command the Navy's 7th Fleet.""
TJ Hooker is a weird choice but OK.
InTheYear2017: "In this instance, he's suggesting that he dragged "proud" Mr Trudeau down a notch by simply telling him "nuh-uh"."
It's been a while since a PM Trudeau expounded on the relative merits of a sitting US president; maybe time for a sequel.
xigxag: "My mind immediately went to spousal privilege, as to whether or not she can be compelled to testify against Mini Trump after the divorce finalizes. According to Wikipedia, unfortunately no. However, all is not lost. State law tends to favor the rights of the party-spouse (i.e. Jr.) in deciding whether the witness-spouse is allowed to testify, but for Federal cases, it's the opposite, the witness-spouse makes the decision as to whether or not she is willing to testify against her ex-husband. So it's up to her if she wants to offer testimony against him. Furthermore, the privilege only extends to information shared during the marriage; any communications from before the wedding or after divorce proceedings are not protected."
That sounds all fine as far as court rules goes but how does spousal privilege effect the ability to just crank out a tell all book? The Trump family is going to be experiencing a cash flow problem in the future; sales of a book could really help out members who have escaped.
posted by Mitheral at 10:35 PM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
Well I'm sure he can buy something _called_ a F/A-18 from somewhere else and in his world the name is all that matters. Enjoy your rebranded Gulfstreams Airforce.
Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick: "Ten of those kids, however, staged a "counter-protest", and the only kind thing I have to say about that is that sometimes it's good that certain people that grow up in Small Town America never leave it."
Those are exactly the kids that need to leave their small town communities and be exposed to, uh, alternative viewpoints/cultures.
darkstar: "“The right way to view this appointment is, I think, as if Donald Trump were to name William Shatner to command the Navy's 7th Fleet.""
TJ Hooker is a weird choice but OK.
InTheYear2017: "In this instance, he's suggesting that he dragged "proud" Mr Trudeau down a notch by simply telling him "nuh-uh"."
It's been a while since a PM Trudeau expounded on the relative merits of a sitting US president; maybe time for a sequel.
xigxag: "My mind immediately went to spousal privilege, as to whether or not she can be compelled to testify against Mini Trump after the divorce finalizes. According to Wikipedia, unfortunately no. However, all is not lost. State law tends to favor the rights of the party-spouse (i.e. Jr.) in deciding whether the witness-spouse is allowed to testify, but for Federal cases, it's the opposite, the witness-spouse makes the decision as to whether or not she is willing to testify against her ex-husband. So it's up to her if she wants to offer testimony against him. Furthermore, the privilege only extends to information shared during the marriage; any communications from before the wedding or after divorce proceedings are not protected."
That sounds all fine as far as court rules goes but how does spousal privilege effect the ability to just crank out a tell all book? The Trump family is going to be experiencing a cash flow problem in the future; sales of a book could really help out members who have escaped.
posted by Mitheral at 10:35 PM on March 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
She'd make an interesting VP choice, either to replace Pence if he goes down first or to fill his shoes when he ascends to the Presidency following Trump's removal/conviction/impeachment/resignation/death.
Seems like it might be rather inconvenient if the President can't meet privately with the Vice President.
posted by Justinian at 11:06 PM on March 14, 2018 [65 favorites]
Seems like it might be rather inconvenient if the President can't meet privately with the Vice President.
posted by Justinian at 11:06 PM on March 14, 2018 [65 favorites]
Kudlow is a terrible choice, but he definitely had a career as an economist in the private and public sectors before hitting cable news.
He was fired as chief economist at Bear Stearns becaue he had a $100,000 a month cocaine habit. That's probably enough to impress even Trump.
posted by msalt at 11:48 PM on March 14, 2018 [38 favorites]
He was fired as chief economist at Bear Stearns becaue he had a $100,000 a month cocaine habit. That's probably enough to impress even Trump.
posted by msalt at 11:48 PM on March 14, 2018 [38 favorites]
On Vanessa Trump as a potential witness against Don Jr.:
Spouses generally can't be forced to testify against their exes, but they usually can do so voluntarily. And the divorce at this point, especially, suggests a certain lack of sympathy for her husband's fate.
posted by msalt at 11:51 PM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
Spouses generally can't be forced to testify against their exes, but they usually can do so voluntarily. And the divorce at this point, especially, suggests a certain lack of sympathy for her husband's fate.
posted by msalt at 11:51 PM on March 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
Spouses generally can't be forced to testify against their exes, but they usually can do so voluntarily.
No, they can't. Part of spousal privilege means that what was said by both sides is under lock - a lawyer can't voluntarily waive privileged communications, and neither can a spouse. With spouses, that goes both ways. The theory is, he believed what he said to her was protected, and vice versa. They don't stop being secrets when the marriage is over.
However, there are plenty of details of a marriage that aren't covered by spousal privilege. Details like "where we went on our vacation" and "who he talked to at that party" and even "how he spends his money" are not privileged communication; it's only information that's only shared between the spouses (spice?) that can't be revealed. She can't say, "he was so angry about that meeting in the White House; he was yelling for the whole day after!" She can say, "he came home, packed a travel bag with $15,000 in cash, and left for Europe the next morning."
Also worth noting: There is no parent-child privilege. Children can be required to testify against parents, and vice versa. (Not that, given the age of their kids, this is likely to be relevant here.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:26 AM on March 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
No, they can't. Part of spousal privilege means that what was said by both sides is under lock - a lawyer can't voluntarily waive privileged communications, and neither can a spouse. With spouses, that goes both ways. The theory is, he believed what he said to her was protected, and vice versa. They don't stop being secrets when the marriage is over.
However, there are plenty of details of a marriage that aren't covered by spousal privilege. Details like "where we went on our vacation" and "who he talked to at that party" and even "how he spends his money" are not privileged communication; it's only information that's only shared between the spouses (spice?) that can't be revealed. She can't say, "he was so angry about that meeting in the White House; he was yelling for the whole day after!" She can say, "he came home, packed a travel bag with $15,000 in cash, and left for Europe the next morning."
Also worth noting: There is no parent-child privilege. Children can be required to testify against parents, and vice versa. (Not that, given the age of their kids, this is likely to be relevant here.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:26 AM on March 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
the divorce at this point, especially, suggests a certain lack of sympathy for her husband's fate.
But perhaps not his fortune.
No, they can't. Part of spousal privilege means that what was said by both sides is under lock...
No....there is testimonial privilege and communications privilege. In Federal court, the testifying spouse gets to decide whether they want to waive the privilege.
Trammel v. US (1980)
posted by snuffleupagus at 12:27 AM on March 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
But perhaps not his fortune.
No, they can't. Part of spousal privilege means that what was said by both sides is under lock...
No....there is testimonial privilege and communications privilege. In Federal court, the testifying spouse gets to decide whether they want to waive the privilege.
Trammel v. US (1980)
posted by snuffleupagus at 12:27 AM on March 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
To be clear -- they can waive the testimonial privilege in a criminal case and testify if willing. There may be some wrangling as to what they can testify about, and how, under the communications privelege.
posted by snuffleupagus at 12:34 AM on March 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 12:34 AM on March 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
Have we all considered what we are going to do if Mueller is fired, and an equivalently powerful Congressional investigation is not created, and Trump is not otherwise immediately impeached? How much time we are going to dedicate to “persuading” our congresspeople and the Federal Government by all legal means? What are we going to risk beyond attending the initial protest? It’s time to start considering.
GENERAL STRIKE. DOWN TOOLS. STOP WORKING. SICK OUT. STOP PAYING MORTGAGE/BILLS/TAXES. HIT THEM WHERE IT HURTS AND WHERE THEY CARE THE MOST - THE WALLET.
I'm not kidding. Shut it down. The American Dream is decidedly over at that point. Stop participating, and get ready for rough and lean times.
Do not let yourself forget the vast majority of elected national politicians and officials sit, sat or plan to sit again on the boards of one or many more corporations, sometimes having seats on many different boards. They have one love: money, and the power it brings.
And that money and power is actually yours.
posted by loquacious at 1:31 AM on March 15, 2018 [29 favorites]
GENERAL STRIKE. DOWN TOOLS. STOP WORKING. SICK OUT. STOP PAYING MORTGAGE/BILLS/TAXES. HIT THEM WHERE IT HURTS AND WHERE THEY CARE THE MOST - THE WALLET.
I'm not kidding. Shut it down. The American Dream is decidedly over at that point. Stop participating, and get ready for rough and lean times.
Do not let yourself forget the vast majority of elected national politicians and officials sit, sat or plan to sit again on the boards of one or many more corporations, sometimes having seats on many different boards. They have one love: money, and the power it brings.
And that money and power is actually yours.
posted by loquacious at 1:31 AM on March 15, 2018 [29 favorites]
He was fired as chief economist at Bear Stearns becaue he had a $100,000 a month cocaine habit. That's probably enough to impress even Trump.
Wait, what? I guess he can't get a security clearance then?
posted by mumimor at 1:33 AM on March 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
Wait, what? I guess he can't get a security clearance then?
posted by mumimor at 1:33 AM on March 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
Isn't $100,000/mo on the order of an ounce a day?
That or his dealer is ripping him off.
On the other hand, if you're rolling that deep in those kinds of circles, how much blow are you handing out to compatriots at safety meetings all day, every day? No one with that kind of coke habit does it solo, they need someone to jaw at/with idiotically for hours on end. And how much of that gets blown on the bathroom floor because "who gives a shit there's always more"?
And I never really thought about it in these specific terms, but having that much coke around would likely be a powerful business tool. It'd make you really popular with other shady fuckers, you could bribe people with it, and if things got weird you could also blackmail the shit out of people.
posted by loquacious at 2:38 AM on March 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
That or his dealer is ripping him off.
On the other hand, if you're rolling that deep in those kinds of circles, how much blow are you handing out to compatriots at safety meetings all day, every day? No one with that kind of coke habit does it solo, they need someone to jaw at/with idiotically for hours on end. And how much of that gets blown on the bathroom floor because "who gives a shit there's always more"?
And I never really thought about it in these specific terms, but having that much coke around would likely be a powerful business tool. It'd make you really popular with other shady fuckers, you could bribe people with it, and if things got weird you could also blackmail the shit out of people.
posted by loquacious at 2:38 AM on March 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
either way, he's got me beat
posted by ryanrs at 2:40 AM on March 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by ryanrs at 2:40 AM on March 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
Kudlow has been pretty open about his recovery and his many years of sobriety. Rather than poking at his history with addiction, I'd rather focus on the many, many other reasons he is wholly unsuitable for the job, such as:
A record of no good, very bad predictions that would generally preclude a person from being in the running for a job as the president’s top economic adviser, but in Trump world make him a front-runner. Some of Kudlow’s greatest hits include the time, on December 7, 2007, he said: “There’s no recession coming. The pessimistas were wrong. It’s not going to happen. . . . The Bush boom is alive and well. It’s finishing up it sixth consecutive year with more to come.” Or on January 16, 2008, when he declared: “[B]anks are taking significant steps to repair their balance sheets. Even though some people might not be happy with the speed, the reality is things are improving.” Or when he predicted, on February 5, 2008: “I’m going to bet that the economy will be rebounding sometime this summer, if not sooner. We are in a slow patch. That’s all. It’s nothing to get up in arms about.” Then, of course, there was his poetic attempt to save face, when he wrote a blog post for CNBC called “The Therapeutic Power of Recessions.”posted by zachlipton at 3:00 AM on March 15, 2018 [19 favorites]
The bit about "energy and timber", I'm guessing, is a stretch made by restricting your consideration to those things, rather than "including" them or not, like he said.
On timber at least, see Wikipedia: Canada–United States softwood lumber dispute. It's basically over differences in how the logging industries work in each country and whether these differences produce an unfair advantage for either side. I don't think there's any way to construe it as a trade deficit, though. (Not that there's any detail beyond "good" or "bad" going on inside Trump's head anyways.)
posted by XMLicious at 3:03 AM on March 15, 2018
The whole "admitting he made up basic economic facts while meeting with Trudeau" thing (and Trump is still wrong, $17B is the trade deficit in goods, it's a net surplus when services are included>) is obviously the main theme of the Post's story on the leaked fundraiser tape, but what even is this:
posted by zachlipton at 3:09 AM on March 15, 2018 [66 favorites]
He accused Japan of using gimmicks to deny U.S. auto companies access to their consumers, said South Korea was taking advantage of outdated trade rules even though its economy was strong and said China had single-handedly rebuilt itself on the back of its trade surplus with the United States.I've yet to see anyone, and I've looked, who has a clue where he got the idea that Japan only permits the importation of cars that don't dent if you drop bowling balls on them from 20 feet in the air. Japan does have fairly strict requirements, and one of the things TPP would have done was relaxed them to help facilitate more imports, but nobody has any idea where the bowling balls come from, except for that time Letterman tried it. (the David Letterman Show is, for the avoidance of doubt, not the regulatory body responsible for approving the importation of vehicles in Japan.)
“It’s the bowling ball test. They take a bowling ball from 20 feet up in the air and drop it on the hood of the car,” Trump said of Japan. “If the hood dents, the car doesn’t qualify. It’s horrible,” he said. It was unclear what he was talking about.
posted by zachlipton at 3:09 AM on March 15, 2018 [66 favorites]
You guys missed the most terrifying part of his speech:
posted by Talez at 3:17 AM on March 15, 2018 [76 favorites]
He also seemed to threaten to pull U.S. troops stationed in South Korea if he didn’t get what he wanted on trade with Seoul, an ally. He said that the country had gotten rich but that U.S. politicians never negotiated better deals. “We have a very big trade deficit with them, and we protect them,” Trump said. “We lose money on trade, and we lose money on the military. We have right now 32,000 soldiers on the border between North and South Korea. Let’s see what happens.”He has no idea what soft power is. He has no idea of how the post-Bretton Woods world order works. He just turns everything into a dick measuring contest and will salt the fucking Earth so long as he "wins".
“Our allies care about themselves,” he said. “They don’t care about us.”
posted by Talez at 3:17 AM on March 15, 2018 [76 favorites]
@BillKristol
Email to me this morning from former Senator Gordon Humphrey (R-NH), quoted with permission:
"The upset in Trumpland sends a message to Trump toadies in Congress...I sent the max. First time in about 50 years I’ve made a contribution to a Democrat. First time ever, actually."
@brianros1 (Penn prof, political historian)
Brian Rosenwald Retweeted Bill Kristol
Folks, understand the historical context: Gordon Humphrey was at the leading edge of the Reagan movement. He scored a stunning upset over a Democratic incumbent in 1978 & was considered as far right as it got. Hell of a statement to see him donating to Democrats.
posted by chris24 at 3:45 AM on March 15, 2018 [68 favorites]
Email to me this morning from former Senator Gordon Humphrey (R-NH), quoted with permission:
"The upset in Trumpland sends a message to Trump toadies in Congress...I sent the max. First time in about 50 years I’ve made a contribution to a Democrat. First time ever, actually."
@brianros1 (Penn prof, political historian)
Brian Rosenwald Retweeted Bill Kristol
Folks, understand the historical context: Gordon Humphrey was at the leading edge of the Reagan movement. He scored a stunning upset over a Democratic incumbent in 1978 & was considered as far right as it got. Hell of a statement to see him donating to Democrats.
posted by chris24 at 3:45 AM on March 15, 2018 [68 favorites]
From HuffPo, sourced from WaPo’s Josh Dawsey:
Trump White House Staffers Reportedly Have A ‘Dead Pool’ On Who Will Be Next To Go
posted by GrammarMoses at 3:53 AM on March 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
Trump White House Staffers Reportedly Have A ‘Dead Pool’ On Who Will Be Next To Go
posted by GrammarMoses at 3:53 AM on March 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
Trump White House Staffers Reportedly Have A ‘Dead Pool’ On Who Will Be Next To Go
Who has the name that's an alliteration?
posted by Talez at 3:56 AM on March 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
Who has the name that's an alliteration?
posted by Talez at 3:56 AM on March 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
coincidentally, deadpool would be a better economic advisor than kudlow
posted by murphy slaw at 4:02 AM on March 15, 2018 [59 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 4:02 AM on March 15, 2018 [59 favorites]
The Bowling Ball Test sounds like something from the same slapstick universe as the Gorilla Channel.
posted by acb at 4:33 AM on March 15, 2018 [28 favorites]
posted by acb at 4:33 AM on March 15, 2018 [28 favorites]
See-Through Walls, Space Force, The Bowling Ball Test, covfefe, Trudeau. Can't wait for this guy to be interviewed by Mueller.
posted by rc3spencer at 4:46 AM on March 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by rc3spencer at 4:46 AM on March 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
In the Felix Sater story from a few days ago there would appear to be a seven-year gap, from when he started working for Trump up until the "Ukraine Peace Deal" thing in 2017. If I'm recalling correctly, several of the things which happened during that time were covered in the first episode of the Dutch television news magazine Zembla's "The Dubious Friends of Donald Trump" series put out last year: Part 1: The Russians, Part 2: King of Diamonds, Part 3: The billion dollar fraud. (narrated in English)
posted by XMLicious at 5:11 AM on March 15, 2018 [24 favorites]
posted by XMLicious at 5:11 AM on March 15, 2018 [24 favorites]
I hadn't seen part 3 yet. Gonna need to take a long lunch to watch that.
posted by OnceUponATime at 5:19 AM on March 15, 2018
posted by OnceUponATime at 5:19 AM on March 15, 2018
And I never really thought about it in these specific terms, but having that much coke around would likely be a powerful business tool.
have known people of that world and yes that is pretty much exactly how it functions. (though for a certain subset, it functions like more like free office coffee, frankly.) it's not as easy to expense as the other tools, like alcohol and meals, but it's considerably more effective. for a certain short-term sense of 'effective,' at least. it's a pity bear sterns got out of the habit of firing people for doing all of the cocaines; if they'd continued holding to the same policies they apparently had back in 1995 maybe they wouldn't have collapsed and taken so many down with them.
subsequent decades have proven that kudlow is terrible at economic anything, though, cocaine or no cocaine.
posted by halation at 5:24 AM on March 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
have known people of that world and yes that is pretty much exactly how it functions. (though for a certain subset, it functions like more like free office coffee, frankly.) it's not as easy to expense as the other tools, like alcohol and meals, but it's considerably more effective. for a certain short-term sense of 'effective,' at least. it's a pity bear sterns got out of the habit of firing people for doing all of the cocaines; if they'd continued holding to the same policies they apparently had back in 1995 maybe they wouldn't have collapsed and taken so many down with them.
subsequent decades have proven that kudlow is terrible at economic anything, though, cocaine or no cocaine.
posted by halation at 5:24 AM on March 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
Honestly, the Bowling Ball Test reads to me like something somebody else dropped in a random conversation with Trump, a hyperbolic exaggeration to paint the Japanese standards as super draconian, which Trump then latched onto as gospel truth, while Trumpishly appending a bullshit quantitative detail (20 Feet!!).
posted by obliviax at 5:26 AM on March 15, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by obliviax at 5:26 AM on March 15, 2018 [16 favorites]
The biggest problem with Japan as a US import destination is that the dealer networks are crazy on service and the cars are right hand drive. US auto makers are neither big on service and are not big on small runs of RHD cars.
One of the things I often lament about in the United States is the lack of access to Japanese imports. Back home in Australia we had access to all sorts of older but cheaper Japanese supercars. Skyline GTRs, Supras, Lancer Evo, JDM STIs. I wanted a nice GC8 WRX to run around with in the snow and was heartbroken to find out that the GC series never made it to a left hand drive variant.
posted by Talez at 5:35 AM on March 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
One of the things I often lament about in the United States is the lack of access to Japanese imports. Back home in Australia we had access to all sorts of older but cheaper Japanese supercars. Skyline GTRs, Supras, Lancer Evo, JDM STIs. I wanted a nice GC8 WRX to run around with in the snow and was heartbroken to find out that the GC series never made it to a left hand drive variant.
posted by Talez at 5:35 AM on March 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
IIRC, Western Samoa (?) switched to driving on the left some years ago specifically because of the Japanese second-hand car market.
posted by acb at 5:46 AM on March 15, 2018
posted by acb at 5:46 AM on March 15, 2018
Trump White House Staffers Reportedly Have A ‘Dead Pool’ On Who Will Be Next To Go
Lisa: I feel like I'm going to die, Bart!
Bart: We're all gonna die, Lis.
Lisa: I meant soon!
Bart: So did I.
posted by The Card Cheat at 5:47 AM on March 15, 2018 [35 favorites]
Lisa: I feel like I'm going to die, Bart!
Bart: We're all gonna die, Lis.
Lisa: I meant soon!
Bart: So did I.
posted by The Card Cheat at 5:47 AM on March 15, 2018 [35 favorites]
East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94: "rump says DoD will buy 24 F/A-18s that are the "latest and greatest" complete with stealth (THEY ARE NOT). He says if he can't buy them from Boeing, he'll buy them somewhere else (HE CANNOT BUY SUPER HORNETS ANYWHERE ELSE)."
Well I'm sure he can buy something _called_ a F/A-18 from somewhere else and in his world the name is all that matters. Enjoy your rebranded Gulfstreams Airforce.
He can probably get a deal on the 18 hornets that Canada ordered and put on hold because of the start of the trade war over Bombardier.
posted by srboisvert at 5:49 AM on March 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
Well I'm sure he can buy something _called_ a F/A-18 from somewhere else and in his world the name is all that matters. Enjoy your rebranded Gulfstreams Airforce.
He can probably get a deal on the 18 hornets that Canada ordered and put on hold because of the start of the trade war over Bombardier.
posted by srboisvert at 5:49 AM on March 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
Pinback: I'd disagree - that's exactly how & why bullshitters bullshit.
Yes, that's right. But for me, the difference is that Trump thinks in bullshit (and dominance games).
The bullshitter car salesman, trying to get you to overpay for a lemon, probably doesn't assume you're also hoping to scam him. And an awful, abusive manager may still have some people in his life that he doesn't treat as means to an end -- he can grasp the value of mutual cooperation, perhaps the form of management cooperating to screw over labor, or companies fixing prices. He has poker buddies -- the games are competitive, but they serve a social purpose.
Meanwhile, Trump is incapable of any of that, by his cocktail of paranoia and insatiable narcissism (as in, if you praise him, he'll be momentarily pleased, then he'll expect more and more until he's angry again, which is the only way he's happy, which he never is).
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:05 AM on March 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
Yes, that's right. But for me, the difference is that Trump thinks in bullshit (and dominance games).
The bullshitter car salesman, trying to get you to overpay for a lemon, probably doesn't assume you're also hoping to scam him. And an awful, abusive manager may still have some people in his life that he doesn't treat as means to an end -- he can grasp the value of mutual cooperation, perhaps the form of management cooperating to screw over labor, or companies fixing prices. He has poker buddies -- the games are competitive, but they serve a social purpose.
Meanwhile, Trump is incapable of any of that, by his cocktail of paranoia and insatiable narcissism (as in, if you praise him, he'll be momentarily pleased, then he'll expect more and more until he's angry again, which is the only way he's happy, which he never is).
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:05 AM on March 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
"The Bowling Ball Test" sounds like a hyperbolic wives tale executives at US automakers told each other and themselves in '80's/90's.
I had a car sales training class facilitated by a guy who had done some consulting for manufacturers and he was NOT impressed with US auto manufacturing standards. One anecdote is about how, at a GM plant there was typically a huge parking lot for brand new cars fresh off the line that were waiting some kind of repair or adjustment before they got shipped. At an equivalent Honda they had just six stalls for the same thing.
In a class in college I had heard a story about manufacturer talking to a Japanese supplier about a part they wanted them to manufacture for them. They were looking at the specs and the supplier was asking about the +/- after all the measurements. "Oh, that's the tolerance for the parts we need made."
"No, we don't need that. If the part needs to be 1.578 in. then 1.578 in. it will be."
It's easy to see how US manufacturers would have an impression that Japanese manufacturing standards are comically high.
posted by VTX at 6:20 AM on March 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
I had a car sales training class facilitated by a guy who had done some consulting for manufacturers and he was NOT impressed with US auto manufacturing standards. One anecdote is about how, at a GM plant there was typically a huge parking lot for brand new cars fresh off the line that were waiting some kind of repair or adjustment before they got shipped. At an equivalent Honda they had just six stalls for the same thing.
In a class in college I had heard a story about manufacturer talking to a Japanese supplier about a part they wanted them to manufacture for them. They were looking at the specs and the supplier was asking about the +/-
"No, we don't need that. If the part needs to be 1.578 in. then 1.578 in. it will be."
It's easy to see how US manufacturers would have an impression that Japanese manufacturing standards are comically high.
posted by VTX at 6:20 AM on March 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
Tillerson's firing was like just half a Scaramucci ago.
posted by Cookiebastard at 6:39 AM on March 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Cookiebastard at 6:39 AM on March 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
"No, we don't need that. If the part needs to be 1.578 in. then 1.578 in. it will be."
And all the millennials and post-millennials who grew up in the age of "zero tolerance" for misbehavior in school and the workplace find this sort of expectation to be perfectly normal. Why can't American manufacturers just shape up and do things right?
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:41 AM on March 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
And all the millennials and post-millennials who grew up in the age of "zero tolerance" for misbehavior in school and the workplace find this sort of expectation to be perfectly normal. Why can't American manufacturers just shape up and do things right?
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:41 AM on March 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
Pompeo as SoS, Bolton coming in to replace McMaster, Mattis being pushed out.
So I guess the question is, are we going to war with North Korea/China next or Iran?
posted by Talez at 6:45 AM on March 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
So I guess the question is, are we going to war with North Korea/China next or Iran?
posted by Talez at 6:45 AM on March 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrumpJesus take the wheel. I still can't believe this man is president.
We do have a Trade Deficit with Canada, as we do with almost all countries (some of them massive). P.M. Justin Trudeau of Canada, a very good guy, doesn’t like saying that Canada has a Surplus vs. the U.S.(negotiating), but they do...they almost all do...and that’s how I know!
posted by Talez at 6:47 AM on March 15, 2018 [48 favorites]
So I guess the question is, are we going to war with North Korea/China next or Iran?
Por que no los dos? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by lydhre at 6:48 AM on March 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
Por que no los dos? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by lydhre at 6:48 AM on March 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
in a sane world, that tweet would be all the evidence required for a 25th amendment claim. however, in a sane world, he wouldn’t be president, so here we are.
last year, i surprised myself by missing george w. bush. today, i would rather have ronald reagan ca. 1997 than this nutcase.
posted by murphy slaw at 6:58 AM on March 15, 2018 [10 favorites]
last year, i surprised myself by missing george w. bush. today, i would rather have ronald reagan ca. 1997 than this nutcase.
posted by murphy slaw at 6:58 AM on March 15, 2018 [10 favorites]
Pompeo as SoS, Bolton coming in to replace McMaster, Mattis being pushed out.
That story from CBS, "Trump may not be finished with staff shakeup", is the same RUMINT we've been hearing for the past week or two, but CBS has no confirmation yet:
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:59 AM on March 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
That story from CBS, "Trump may not be finished with staff shakeup", is the same RUMINT we've been hearing for the past week or two, but CBS has no confirmation yet:
The sense that H.R. McMaster's days are numbered as national security adviser has reached something close to a fever pitch. Several sources inside and outside the White House say they expect McMaster to leave this week and, in all likelihood, return to the Army with the anticipation that the three-star general will be given a fourth star. This would be part of the easing out deal Defense Secretary James Mattis (who retired as a four-star general) has quietly nudged along.In short, we can't tell yet whether this is the usual Trumpian chaos or if something's going to happen.
Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, is waiting in the wings to replace McMaster. That is the expected outcome -- he has been patient and persistent, and he shares Mr. Trump's hostility toward the Iran deal.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:59 AM on March 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
Por que no los dos? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
OK, it could be Switzerland, or New Zealand, or *spins globe, stops with finger* um, Switzerland, twice.
Thoughtful analysis [HAMBURGER] from the Washington Post on why President Bumblefuck McBonespurs constant stream of vacuous bullshit has finally touched a nerve with Aaron Blake. Apparently, Trade was supposed to be Our Horrible President's thing and it's ominous that he is as pig ign't about that as he is about literally everything else or something. I don't know.
posted by Cookiebastard at 7:01 AM on March 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
OK, it could be Switzerland, or New Zealand, or *spins globe, stops with finger* um, Switzerland, twice.
Thoughtful analysis [HAMBURGER] from the Washington Post on why President Bumblefuck McBonespurs constant stream of vacuous bullshit has finally touched a nerve with Aaron Blake. Apparently, Trade was supposed to be Our Horrible President's thing and it's ominous that he is as pig ign't about that as he is about literally everything else or something. I don't know.
posted by Cookiebastard at 7:01 AM on March 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
Trump keeps bringing up trade deficits literally because the word “deficit” is in the term and he thinks that’s a negative word. He can’t explain the idea, or even why he thinks running a trade deficit is bad, just that the word implies less than, and not “winning”. If it were talked about by experts as a “current accounts surplus” or something without “deficit” and he’d never heard the word deficits used, he wouldn’t have ever latched on to this specific, rather petty, thing as the center of his economic understanding (to the extent he has any).
It’s literally because the word is “deficit”.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:07 AM on March 15, 2018 [80 favorites]
It’s literally because the word is “deficit”.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:07 AM on March 15, 2018 [80 favorites]
Trump keep bringing up trade deficits literally because the word “deficit” is in the term and he thinks that’s a negative word.
Is this like a Billy Madison "I choose....Business Ethics" thing? The fact that the President of the United States of America can be compared to the Villain in an Adam Sandler movie makes me weep.
posted by Twain Device at 7:10 AM on March 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
Is this like a Billy Madison "I choose....Business Ethics" thing? The fact that the President of the United States of America can be compared to the Villain in an Adam Sandler movie makes me weep.
posted by Twain Device at 7:10 AM on March 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
Talez: Pompeo as SoS, Bolton coming in to replace McMaster, Mattis being pushed out.
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Mattis Sends More Troops To Afghanistan With Hopes To End War -- Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was in Afghanistan today. He commanded soldiers there 16 years ago. Now, as part of the Trump administration, he is sending in more troops, hoping to end America's longest war. (NPR, March 14, 2018)
I hope Mattis has a backup plan on how to get back to the US. I hear it's dangerous to be overseas if you're in the Trump administration.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:30 AM on March 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Mattis Sends More Troops To Afghanistan With Hopes To End War -- Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was in Afghanistan today. He commanded soldiers there 16 years ago. Now, as part of the Trump administration, he is sending in more troops, hoping to end America's longest war. (NPR, March 14, 2018)
I don't think things have changed a lot on the ground in Afghanistan. We did hear from a couple of American generals that the U.S. and Afghan forces have been killing what they call a high number of Taliban fighters, though we weren't given the actual numbers.A note on the casual comment about not getting figures from Afghanistan: the Pentagon restricted release of Afghanistan war data in January of this year, and THAT'S A HUGE RED FLAG.
Last time that Mattis was in Afghanistan in September, enemy rockets hit Kabul while he was there. And last night, he and those of us traveling with him stayed at Bagram Air Base outside Kabul, and sure enough, another rocket was fired there. And, you know, even though it didn't hit its mark, it did send a message that this is a very long war that by no means is winding down.
The crackdown on information comes just months after President Donald Trump announced a new Afghanistan strategy aimed at breaking a battlefield stalemate by accelerating Afghan-led operations against the Taliban and other insurgent groups in the country.And now Mattis is likely on his way out? Fuck this clusterfuck of an administration and their disregard for human life or even the pretense of decency.
Trump on Monday railed against the recent string of attacks in Afghanistan, and ruled out any U.S. discussions with the Taliban as part of the effort to seek peace talks between the Afghan government and the insurgents.
The auditing agency, established by Congress and known as the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, revealed the new gag order in its latest three-month assessment of conditions in Afghanistan. The restrictions fly in the face of Pentagon assertions over the past year that it was striving to be more transparent about the U.S. war campaigns across Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.
Over the years, the SIGAR auditing effort has revealed many dubious practices by the U.S., including instances of contractor fraud. Since January 2016 it had published data on the number of governing districts controlled by Kabul, the number controlled by the Taliban, and the number that are contested.
John F. Sopko, head of the auditing organization, expressed disappointment that the Pentagon had forbidden release of the data on relative control of the governing districts.
"This development is troubling for a number of reasons, not least of which is that this is the first time SIGAR has been specifically instructed not to release information marked 'unclassified' to the American taxpayer," Sopko wrote.
"Aside from that, the number of districts controlled or influenced by the Afghan government had been one of the last remaining publicly available indicators for members of Congress — many of whose staff do not have access to the classified annexes to SIGAR reports_and for the American public of how the 16-year-long U.S. effort to secure Afghanistan is faring," he added.
I hope Mattis has a backup plan on how to get back to the US. I hear it's dangerous to be overseas if you're in the Trump administration.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:30 AM on March 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
In a class in college I had heard a story about manufacturer talking to a Japanese supplier about a part they wanted them to manufacture for them. They were looking at the specs and the supplier was asking about the +/- after all the measurements. "Oh, that's the tolerance for the parts we need made."
"No, we don't need that. If the part needs to be 1.578 in. then 1.578 in. it will be."
The sillier version I was told was that an order of parts from a Japanese supplier specified a "5% defect rate", and the supplier apologetically explained they needed extra time to accumulate that many defective parts.
posted by Foosnark at 7:38 AM on March 15, 2018 [13 favorites]
"No, we don't need that. If the part needs to be 1.578 in. then 1.578 in. it will be."
The sillier version I was told was that an order of parts from a Japanese supplier specified a "5% defect rate", and the supplier apologetically explained they needed extra time to accumulate that many defective parts.
posted by Foosnark at 7:38 AM on March 15, 2018 [13 favorites]
WaPo, Trump administration sanctions Russian spies, trolls over U.S. election interference, cyber attacks:
The Trump administration on Thursday imposed fresh financial sanctions on Russian government hackers and spy agencies to punish Moscow for interfering in the 2016 presidential election and for a cyberattack against Ukraine and other countries that officials have characterized as “the most destructive and costly” in history.posted by peeedro at 7:45 AM on March 15, 2018 [9 favorites]
Sanctions also were imposed on individuals known as “trolls” and Russian organizations that supported them in connection with the election interference.
The administration on Thursday also alerted the public that Russia is targeting the U.S. energy grid with computer malware that could potentially sabotage the systems.
The move seeks to deter Russia from tampering in this year’s midterm elections and is intended to signal that the United States will not allow Russian aggression in cyberspace to go unchallenged.
AP: BREAKING: US imposes sanctions on 19 Russians for alleged interference in American election, including 13 indicted by Mueller.
posted by PenDevil at 7:46 AM on March 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by PenDevil at 7:46 AM on March 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
That’s a BCDU. Ben Carson Dining Unit. It’s like a Scaramucci for money.
Sorry folks, this is catnip to datanerds:
1 Scaramucci, 10 days, is perfectly convertible to BCDUs via the well known time is money equation Business loves so much. Thus, a Scaramucci is 10 days, at a notional salary of 172k (~ 1 Spicer/yr) or roughly $8000-$9000 ($8,600).
Thus we can conclude a $31,000 BCDU is roughly 3.6 Scaramuccis, in a world where dining tables and comms directors are perfectly fungible.
posted by bonehead at 7:51 AM on March 15, 2018 [127 favorites]
Sorry folks, this is catnip to datanerds:
1 Scaramucci, 10 days, is perfectly convertible to BCDUs via the well known time is money equation Business loves so much. Thus, a Scaramucci is 10 days, at a notional salary of 172k (~ 1 Spicer/yr) or roughly $8000-$9000 ($8,600).
Thus we can conclude a $31,000 BCDU is roughly 3.6 Scaramuccis, in a world where dining tables and comms directors are perfectly fungible.
posted by bonehead at 7:51 AM on March 15, 2018 [127 favorites]
The administration on Thursday also alerted the public that Russia is targeting the U.S. energy grid with computer malware that could potentially sabotage the systems.
From last year: "For John Hultquist, head of the team of researchers at FireEye that first spotted and named the Sandworm group, the wolves have arrived. “We’ve seen this actor show a capability to turn out the lights and an interest in US systems,” Hultquist says. Three weeks after the 2016 Kiev attack, he wrote a prediction on Twitter and pinned it to his profile for posterity: “I swear, when Sandworm Team finally nails Western critical infrastructure, and folks react like this was a huge surprise, I’m gonna lose it.”"
posted by OnceUponATime at 7:59 AM on March 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
From last year: "For John Hultquist, head of the team of researchers at FireEye that first spotted and named the Sandworm group, the wolves have arrived. “We’ve seen this actor show a capability to turn out the lights and an interest in US systems,” Hultquist says. Three weeks after the 2016 Kiev attack, he wrote a prediction on Twitter and pinned it to his profile for posterity: “I swear, when Sandworm Team finally nails Western critical infrastructure, and folks react like this was a huge surprise, I’m gonna lose it.”"
posted by OnceUponATime at 7:59 AM on March 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
cjelli: No, as already noted above, he is not. The linked article that was summarized as saying that Mattis is 'being pushed out' never says that.
Thank you for clarifying and linking!
Back to Pompeo: World Leaders Will Need To Adjust If Secretary Of State Nominee Is Confirmed (NPR, March 14, 2018)
There goes the possibility that Trump bumbles into some miraculous negotiation with North Korea. If anything, South Korea may broker a deal, and it will be "despite statements from Trump and Pompeo."
And I think it's already clear that Pompeo and Trump are like-minded racists, so yeah, there goes the US standing on the world stage, dropping down a few more notches.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:03 AM on March 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
Thank you for clarifying and linking!
Back to Pompeo: World Leaders Will Need To Adjust If Secretary Of State Nominee Is Confirmed (NPR, March 14, 2018)
MICHELE KELEMEN, NPR: If confirmed as secretary of state, it will fall to Pompeo to prepare President Trump to meet the North Korean leader as early as May. That's the same month the president will have to weigh in again on the Iran deal. Many foreign policy experts say the U.S. needs to keep the deal in order to show North Korea that diplomacy is worthwhile. But Pompeo is likely to take an opposite view, says Reuel Marc Gerecht of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.(Emphasis mine)
REUEL MARC GERECHT: He looks at it more or less as just a repeat of the unsuccessful diplomacy that we've had with North Korea starting in 1994.
KELEMEN: Europeans who are committed to the Iran deal will likely be nervous about this, he says, but added that with Pompeo, what you see is what you get. And the world should already know how skeptical he is about Iran.
GERECHT: That is one of his cardinal issues. And I would expect him to focus on that fairly laser-like.
KELEMEN: Pompeo's close relationship with Trump will be a plus on the world stage, says retired diplomat Richard Boucher, but there's more to diplomacy.
RICHARD BOUCHER: He fits in with a crowd that I think tends to be quite confrontational and quite assertive about the United States. And that's fine. Every negotiation starts with, what do I want to get out of this? But at the same time, you've got to go out of your way to make sure that other people want to give you what you want.
KELEMEN: Boucher, now at Brown University, is also worried about anti-Muslim statements that Pompeo has made in the past.
BOUCHER: The president's already seen as being against most people in the world - Muslims, people who live in Third World countries. If he shares the president's prejudices, then the United States is not going to be accepted.
There goes the possibility that Trump bumbles into some miraculous negotiation with North Korea. If anything, South Korea may broker a deal, and it will be "despite statements from Trump and Pompeo."
And I think it's already clear that Pompeo and Trump are like-minded racists, so yeah, there goes the US standing on the world stage, dropping down a few more notches.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:03 AM on March 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
including 13 indicted by Mueller
That sounds very pretend effective.
posted by Artw at 8:04 AM on March 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
That sounds very pretend effective.
posted by Artw at 8:04 AM on March 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
did you know a Russian mole tried to infiltrate the activist scene here in Atlanta and everyone like immediately thought dude was shady and assumed he was COINTELPRO?
like, there's definitely unreasonable paranoia in the circles here about a massive, super competent police state (it's more like a mean bouncer you can sneak around most of the time, in my experience) but activists tend to be very open to newcomers who show up on the scene, even out of the blue like I once did and they spotted his ass from a mile away
I feel unhappily confident in the belief that our democratic institutions are fucked because we personally fucked them up and Russian meddling has less influence than we're giving them credit for
posted by runt at 8:05 AM on March 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
like, there's definitely unreasonable paranoia in the circles here about a massive, super competent police state (it's more like a mean bouncer you can sneak around most of the time, in my experience) but activists tend to be very open to newcomers who show up on the scene, even out of the blue like I once did and they spotted his ass from a mile away
I feel unhappily confident in the belief that our democratic institutions are fucked because we personally fucked them up and Russian meddling has less influence than we're giving them credit for
posted by runt at 8:05 AM on March 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
Pardon my ignorance, but these new sanctions, do they overlap at all with the sanctions approved by Congress and pointedly not implemented by Trump?
posted by stonepharisee at 8:07 AM on March 15, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by stonepharisee at 8:07 AM on March 15, 2018 [19 favorites]
“I swear, when Sandworm Team finally nails Western critical infrastructure, and folks react like this was a huge surprise, I’m gonna lose it.”"
So many potential dumb Dune jokes; shame I'll have to type them on a dead keyboard in a post-electricity apocalyptic hellworld.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:11 AM on March 15, 2018 [9 favorites]
So many potential dumb Dune jokes; shame I'll have to type them on a dead keyboard in a post-electricity apocalyptic hellworld.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:11 AM on March 15, 2018 [9 favorites]
And now Mattis is likely on his way out?
No, as already noted above, he is not. The linked article that was summarized as saying that Mattis is 'being pushed out' never says that.
I think this comes from a slightly ambiguous sentence in that article that says McMaster being removed as NSA but given his fourth star is "part of the easing out deal Defense Secretary James Mattis (who retired as a four-star general) has quietly nudged along." Mattis is negotiating McMaster's exit, not his own.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:11 AM on March 15, 2018
No, as already noted above, he is not. The linked article that was summarized as saying that Mattis is 'being pushed out' never says that.
I think this comes from a slightly ambiguous sentence in that article that says McMaster being removed as NSA but given his fourth star is "part of the easing out deal Defense Secretary James Mattis (who retired as a four-star general) has quietly nudged along." Mattis is negotiating McMaster's exit, not his own.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:11 AM on March 15, 2018
Today on Only the Best People: George Nader is a convicted pedophile.
posted by mubba at 8:14 AM on March 15, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by mubba at 8:14 AM on March 15, 2018 [17 favorites]
Artw:
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:17 AM on March 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
I know the perpetrators behind the Internet Research Agency probably can't be extradited, but are sanctions in fact pointless to them? Will they be unaffected, or is the possible problem that this will only punish them, not hurt Putin/Russia?including 13 indicted by MuellerThat sounds very pretend effective.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:17 AM on March 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
I know the perpetrators behind the Internet Research Agency probably can't be extradited, but are sanctions in fact pointless to them? Will they be unaffected, or is the possible problem that this will only punish them, not hurt Putin/Russia?
Kind of sucks not to be able to save money in a bank account outside Putin's reach.
posted by ocschwar at 8:23 AM on March 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
Indefinite, arbitrary, groundless imprisonment in windowless rooms for people repeatedly granted asylum.
ACLU: ICE Is Illegally Imprisoning Asylum Seekers
Ansly Damus has been locked up for one year, four months, and counting.[...] He is an ethics teacher from Grand-Rivière-du-Nord in Haiti and was forced to flee Haiti because of political persecution by “La Meezorequin,” known as the Shark Bones Army, an armed gang that supported a local official, Benjamin Ocenjac. In one of his seminars, he cited Ocenjac as an example of a politician who had used gangs to terrorize the population. As retribution, members of La Meezorequin attacked Damus while he was riding home on his motorcycle, beat him, set his motorcycle on fire, and threatened to kill him. [...] After interviewing him, an asylum officer verified that he had a credible asylum claim and referred him for a hearing before an immigration judge. The judge then granted him asylum twice. But because the government appealed each asylum grant, he’s been locked up ever since in a detention facility in Chardon, Ohio, where detainees are kept in windowless rooms. “I have not breathed fresh air or felt the sun on my face,” he says, “and I never know if it is cold or hot outside, if the sun is out, and if the seasons are changing.”
ICE has to be disbanded. Keep paying nonoffending employees, fine; nobody wants a new Ba'ath purge. But they can't keep coming to work as muscle or enablement for a criminal organization and the leadership and proven offenders have to face consequences beyond losing their jobs.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:32 AM on March 15, 2018 [60 favorites]
ACLU: ICE Is Illegally Imprisoning Asylum Seekers
Ansly Damus has been locked up for one year, four months, and counting.[...] He is an ethics teacher from Grand-Rivière-du-Nord in Haiti and was forced to flee Haiti because of political persecution by “La Meezorequin,” known as the Shark Bones Army, an armed gang that supported a local official, Benjamin Ocenjac. In one of his seminars, he cited Ocenjac as an example of a politician who had used gangs to terrorize the population. As retribution, members of La Meezorequin attacked Damus while he was riding home on his motorcycle, beat him, set his motorcycle on fire, and threatened to kill him. [...] After interviewing him, an asylum officer verified that he had a credible asylum claim and referred him for a hearing before an immigration judge. The judge then granted him asylum twice. But because the government appealed each asylum grant, he’s been locked up ever since in a detention facility in Chardon, Ohio, where detainees are kept in windowless rooms. “I have not breathed fresh air or felt the sun on my face,” he says, “and I never know if it is cold or hot outside, if the sun is out, and if the seasons are changing.”
ICE has to be disbanded. Keep paying nonoffending employees, fine; nobody wants a new Ba'ath purge. But they can't keep coming to work as muscle or enablement for a criminal organization and the leadership and proven offenders have to face consequences beyond losing their jobs.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:32 AM on March 15, 2018 [60 favorites]
But they can't keep coming to work as muscle or enablement for a criminal organization and the leadership and proven offenders have to face consequences beyond losing their jobs.
Don't worry, they'll just wind up at various local, country or state police and sheriff departments.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:38 AM on March 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
Don't worry, they'll just wind up at various local, country or state police and sheriff departments.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:38 AM on March 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
Re: illegal pardons or firing protests: MoveOn.org's Rapid Response Protest page.
I suggest finding your local protest and making a note of the location and contacts. On paper. Not on the cloud or in your bookmarks.
If shit really goes down with a nationwide general strike or protest, you can pretty much count on widespread phone/net outages, slowdowns or blocked sites.
As I mentioned upthread there's a lot you can do right now to mentally and physically prepare for a general strike. It can even help your stress or anxiety levels to know you're better prepared, and it can help you be brave to know you've prepared.
posted by loquacious at 8:46 AM on March 15, 2018 [23 favorites]
I suggest finding your local protest and making a note of the location and contacts. On paper. Not on the cloud or in your bookmarks.
If shit really goes down with a nationwide general strike or protest, you can pretty much count on widespread phone/net outages, slowdowns or blocked sites.
As I mentioned upthread there's a lot you can do right now to mentally and physically prepare for a general strike. It can even help your stress or anxiety levels to know you're better prepared, and it can help you be brave to know you've prepared.
posted by loquacious at 8:46 AM on March 15, 2018 [23 favorites]
Mod note: A few things removed; if there's an interesting discussion to be had about manufacturing, maybe spin up a thread with some good links. The football sub-sub-derail we can probably skip entirely.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:49 AM on March 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:49 AM on March 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
WaPo, Trump administration sanctions Russian spies, trolls over U.S. election interference, cyber attacks:
I can't help but notice how neither this article nor a similar one from The Hill includes the word "Congress." Or "sanctions bill the president signed."
posted by scaryblackdeath at 8:51 AM on March 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
I can't help but notice how neither this article nor a similar one from The Hill includes the word "Congress." Or "sanctions bill the president signed."
posted by scaryblackdeath at 8:51 AM on March 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
19 sanctioned Russians, 13 of whom are the hacker/trolls?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:54 AM on March 15, 2018
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:54 AM on March 15, 2018
"The leaders of France, Germany, the US and UK say there is 'no plausible alternative explanation' to Russia having been behind the nerve agent attack in the UK.," the BBC reports. "They condemned the 'first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War', calling it an assault on UK sovereignty."
Full statement mirrored on the White House web site here.
Up to this point, Trump himself had only said about the UK's investigation, "And as soon as we get the facts straight, if we agree with them, we will condemn Russia or whoever it may be."
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:59 AM on March 15, 2018 [10 favorites]
Full statement mirrored on the White House web site here.
Up to this point, Trump himself had only said about the UK's investigation, "And as soon as we get the facts straight, if we agree with them, we will condemn Russia or whoever it may be."
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:59 AM on March 15, 2018 [10 favorites]
“If we agree with them” being the operative phrase there.
posted by gucci mane at 9:02 AM on March 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by gucci mane at 9:02 AM on March 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
The sillier version I was told was that an order of parts from a Japanese supplier specified a "5% defect rate", and the supplier apologetically explained they needed extra time to accumulate that many defective parts.
That's why Roland stopped building the TR-808 drum machine; they used defective transistors, bought cheaply from a local factory, as a white-noise source, and the factory improved its yield, cutting off the supply.
posted by acb at 9:11 AM on March 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
That's why Roland stopped building the TR-808 drum machine; they used defective transistors, bought cheaply from a local factory, as a white-noise source, and the factory improved its yield, cutting off the supply.
posted by acb at 9:11 AM on March 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
Macron's made a separate statement condemning the attack and standing by the UK. French Embassy UK @FranceintheUK says, "President @EmmanuelMacron and @theresa_may spoke this morning about #SalisburyChemicalAttack. Statement here. Full support and solidarity. Translation coming soon!"
So has NATO. "Allies expressed solidarity with the UK, offered their support in the conduct of the ongoing investigation, and called on Russia to address the UK’s questions including providing full and complete disclosure of the Novichok programme to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Allies agreed that the attack was a clear breach of international norms and agreements."
Yesterday Trump had Sarah Huckabee Sanders issue a statement rather than say anything himself.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:12 AM on March 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
So has NATO. "Allies expressed solidarity with the UK, offered their support in the conduct of the ongoing investigation, and called on Russia to address the UK’s questions including providing full and complete disclosure of the Novichok programme to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Allies agreed that the attack was a clear breach of international norms and agreements."
Yesterday Trump had Sarah Huckabee Sanders issue a statement rather than say anything himself.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:12 AM on March 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
“If we agree with them” being the operative phrase there.
Of course. How typically Republican -- the facts may be x, but if that means something we don't want to do, we'll disagree with the facts.
Which is, of course, why so many conservative policies wind up being disastrous.
posted by Gelatin at 9:16 AM on March 15, 2018 [17 favorites]
Of course. How typically Republican -- the facts may be x, but if that means something we don't want to do, we'll disagree with the facts.
Which is, of course, why so many conservative policies wind up being disastrous.
posted by Gelatin at 9:16 AM on March 15, 2018 [17 favorites]
Reporter Josh Dawsey: Trump aide tells me he frequently mentions in meetings about the Japanese dropping bowling balls on cars. No one knows exactly where he got the story from.
So, some possibilities people have brought up include: the Dave Letterman thing, the movie Gung Ho (though I haven't found a bowling-ball scene), and the one I'd actually put my money on: this Nissan commercial in which parked cars are bombarded by hundreds of bowling balls.
Regardless, per my very sketchy knowledge of car safety, I believe you basically wouldn't want to drive an "undentable" car, because the car body is supposed to absorb as much of the force of an impact as possible so that your human body doesn't. So I dunno whether the Nissan ad has even a tenuous connection to reality, in the sense that any cars are somehow tested to physically withstand impacts.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:19 AM on March 15, 2018 [26 favorites]
So, some possibilities people have brought up include: the Dave Letterman thing, the movie Gung Ho (though I haven't found a bowling-ball scene), and the one I'd actually put my money on: this Nissan commercial in which parked cars are bombarded by hundreds of bowling balls.
Regardless, per my very sketchy knowledge of car safety, I believe you basically wouldn't want to drive an "undentable" car, because the car body is supposed to absorb as much of the force of an impact as possible so that your human body doesn't. So I dunno whether the Nissan ad has even a tenuous connection to reality, in the sense that any cars are somehow tested to physically withstand impacts.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:19 AM on March 15, 2018 [26 favorites]
Maybe it's that old Lexus ad with a ball bearing rolling down the car's door/body seam?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AktHnnA9QIM
It is filmed from pretty close up....
posted by wenestvedt at 9:21 AM on March 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AktHnnA9QIM
It is filmed from pretty close up....
posted by wenestvedt at 9:21 AM on March 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
this Nissan commercial in which parked cars are bombarded by hundreds of bowling balls.
Too recent. It's likely that Donald Trump has never heard of Nissan. I'd reckon he still believes that Datsun is a major Japanese brand of car marketed in the US.
posted by adamgreenfield at 9:22 AM on March 15, 2018 [16 favorites]
Too recent. It's likely that Donald Trump has never heard of Nissan. I'd reckon he still believes that Datsun is a major Japanese brand of car marketed in the US.
posted by adamgreenfield at 9:22 AM on March 15, 2018 [16 favorites]
On dropping bowling balls on cars - are we sure that it wasn't just said in passing on a Fox News program?
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:32 AM on March 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:32 AM on March 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
Trump’s Dangerous Allegiance Threatens Every One of Us (Josh Marshall, TPM)
I feel like we're just barreling towards a (more) terrible situation that could have been prevented. Even if we somehow manage to dodge the most terrible outcomes (i.e. open military confrontations between the great powers), this period of capricious policy and internal instability will likely have damaged the post-war global situation to a point where it will not recover in our lifetimes. Ugh.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 9:36 AM on March 15, 2018 [66 favorites]
Yesterday, after news broke that Rex Tillerson had been fired and replaced by Mike Pompeo, I heard some voices reassuring themselves that unlike many in the Trump world Pompeo is fairly hostile to Russia. At least, they say, he views Russia through a more traditional Republican prism. This raises a general point that is critical and we all must address. We don’t need more hostility toward Russia or more hawkishness. What we need is an un-compromised policy toward Russia. Most specifically, we need an uncompromised President, something we currently do not have. [...]
The key danger we currently face is not Russia itself. It is the success of the 2016 campaign. I’m not talking about the fact that President Trump won the election. We don’t know the impact of the disruption campaign and in any case, that fact is in the past. I’m talking about the fact that Russia and Vladimir Putin clearly exercise some control over Donald Trump. Now. I know that is a dramatic accusation. Perhaps to some, it will appear hyperbolic. But after a year I think there’s no longer any way to doubt that this is true. On every front, he resists taking punitive measures against Russia, even when mandated to do so by US laws. He goes to great lengths never to criticize Russia. In the exceedingly rare cases in which he does, it is in prepared statements written for him by others. In other words, when it’s not really him. He finds himself spilling highly classified intelligence to top Russian government officials. He seeks out private meetings with Vladimir Putin where no other Americans are present. The latest instance with this chemical weapons assassination attempt in the UK is just the latest example. Some members of the administration have been outspoken. But President Trump has done his very best to keep his criticism to an absolute minimum, always leaving open the possibility that others are involved. It’s just like he does when he’s asked about Russia’s interference in the 2016 campaign. [...]
That isn’t just a massive indictment of President Trump. It’s a great danger for the United States and every American citizen. Because on this critical front – not an existential threat, not the only or even necessarily the greatest threat – our government is decapitated at the top. We don’t know how far this goes. This mini-chemical weapons attack, again, is instructive. My greatest fear with Trump is not so much that he would ‘sell out’ the US as that his subservience and public lickspittledom would lead Putin to be so aggressive that it would set in motion a chain of events that would be difficult to stop. What if one of those Russian planes buzzing US ships crashes into one? What if Putin kills someone with nerve gas on American soil? What happens then? At some point, inevitably, the U.S. snaps from Trump accommodation to aggressive response. How much of a hold does Russia have over Trump? Can he be driven to inflict willful damage on the United States? We don’t know. But our ability to act, in critical decisions and engagements implicating our most essential alliances, is crippled.
I feel like we're just barreling towards a (more) terrible situation that could have been prevented. Even if we somehow manage to dodge the most terrible outcomes (i.e. open military confrontations between the great powers), this period of capricious policy and internal instability will likely have damaged the post-war global situation to a point where it will not recover in our lifetimes. Ugh.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 9:36 AM on March 15, 2018 [66 favorites]
This is the current best theory for what the bowling ball thing is all about:
posted by zachlipton at 9:41 AM on March 15, 2018 [13 favorites]
Update: There is a test that is conducted by the Japanese government that involves testing car hoods, as someone brought to our attention. In the test, a head-shaped object is fired at a car hood at about 20 mph to determine the effects if a car strikes a pedestrian. The head-like objects come in both adult and child sizes.Maybe we could consider adopting safety standards like these instead of telling falsehoods about Japan?
In essence, the test is meant to evaluate how much damage would be done to the head — not the car — by a collision. It’s not clear whether this is Trump’s bowling-ball test.
posted by zachlipton at 9:41 AM on March 15, 2018 [13 favorites]
The mods have asked us to stop with the bowling balls/manufacturing... STOP.
posted by Sophie1 at 9:42 AM on March 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Sophie1 at 9:42 AM on March 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
@MSNBC: BREAKING: House Democrats say a whistle blower has come forward with claims the State Dept. was targeting career employees who aren't "supportive" of Trump's agenda
posted by zombieflanders at 9:44 AM on March 15, 2018 [68 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 9:44 AM on March 15, 2018 [68 favorites]
Metafilter: The mods have asked us to stop with the bowling balls/manufacturing.
posted by notyou at 9:45 AM on March 15, 2018 [53 favorites]
posted by notyou at 9:45 AM on March 15, 2018 [53 favorites]
I think maybe Trump is mentally merging mattress ads and car ads (trucks falling from the sky, rocks and dirt being dumped in beds of pickup trucks or other more surreal tableaux) seen while zoning out on cable news for decades.
arrgh, missed the note :\
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:46 AM on March 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
arrgh, missed the note :\
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:46 AM on March 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
I wonder how many Captains Of Industry who thought that getting Trump elected would be a good way to make a buck are privately shitting themselves these days? I guess arms manufacturers are probably in a good mood.
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:47 AM on March 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:47 AM on March 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
The mods have asked us to stop with the bowling balls/manufacturing... STOP.
Yes, please spare us, we don't want them to have to strike a bunch of comments. These de-rails aren't up their alley.
(OK, I'll split now.)
posted by azpenguin at 9:57 AM on March 15, 2018 [60 favorites]
Yes, please spare us, we don't want them to have to strike a bunch of comments. These de-rails aren't up their alley.
(OK, I'll split now.)
posted by azpenguin at 9:57 AM on March 15, 2018 [60 favorites]
Here's the letter to John Kelly from House Democrats regarding a political purge at the State Department
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:08 AM on March 15, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:08 AM on March 15, 2018 [17 favorites]
@MSNBC: BREAKING: House Democrats say a whistle blower has come forward with claims the State Dept. was targeting career employees who aren't "supportive" of Trump's agenda
Question is, is this somehow illegal? I know its against norms, but the Trump administration doesn't care about things being illegal, much less against norms.
If no law is being broken here, what recourse is there?
posted by Twain Device at 10:09 AM on March 15, 2018
Question is, is this somehow illegal? I know its against norms, but the Trump administration doesn't care about things being illegal, much less against norms.
If no law is being broken here, what recourse is there?
posted by Twain Device at 10:09 AM on March 15, 2018
Under the Civil Service Reform Act (passed in 1978) it's illegal for the government to discriminate against civil-service employees because of their personal politics.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:11 AM on March 15, 2018 [88 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:11 AM on March 15, 2018 [88 favorites]
If working at the State Department requires thinking that Donald Trump is good at foreign relations, I can understand why they no longer have any employees.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:13 AM on March 15, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:13 AM on March 15, 2018 [13 favorites]
Five House ratings changes from Sabato:
AZ-08 special: Safe GOP => Likely GOPposted by Chrysostom at 10:15 AM on March 15, 2018 [26 favorites]
OH-12 special: Likely GOP => Leans GOP
OH-14 (Joyce): Safe GOP => Likely GOP
OH-15 (Stivers): Safe GOP => Likely GOP
OH-16 (open): Safe GOP => Likely GOP
Under the Civil Service Reform Act (passed in 1978) it's illegal for the government to discriminate against civil-service employees because of their personal politics.
And yet I would not doubt there's one or more "smoking gun" memos or emails proving that Trump and his minion have done exactly that. It seems obvious that's what they're doing.
posted by Gelatin at 10:16 AM on March 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
And yet I would not doubt there's one or more "smoking gun" memos or emails proving that Trump and his minion have done exactly that. It seems obvious that's what they're doing.
posted by Gelatin at 10:16 AM on March 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
If no law is being broken here, what recourse is there?
get it out into the public sphere loud and clear, add it to the ammo we'll be bringing to the midterms this November.
posted by philip-random at 10:17 AM on March 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
get it out into the public sphere loud and clear, add it to the ammo we'll be bringing to the midterms this November.
posted by philip-random at 10:17 AM on March 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
Is there any non shady reason Scott Pruitt would need a sound proof phone booth at the EPA? *puts on tinfoil hat* aside from communicating with russians or corporate corruption. *removes hat*
posted by Anchorite_of_Palgrave at 10:19 AM on March 15, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Anchorite_of_Palgrave at 10:19 AM on March 15, 2018 [12 favorites]
Punishing an employee because you mistakenly believe that they were born in Iran seems pretty cut-and-dried.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:20 AM on March 15, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:20 AM on March 15, 2018 [21 favorites]
folks, the WaPo has a full transcript of the Missouri fundraiser for hawley and …
i mean, i knew he was gaga but just seeing it all in one place…
i pity the poor reporter who had to listen to the tapes and try to convert his blather into sentences.
there is too much hot nonsense in this to quote but here's a tiny snippet that captures the essence:
posted by murphy slaw at 10:22 AM on March 15, 2018 [37 favorites]
i mean, i knew he was gaga but just seeing it all in one place…
i pity the poor reporter who had to listen to the tapes and try to convert his blather into sentences.
there is too much hot nonsense in this to quote but here's a tiny snippet that captures the essence:
I’ve been using the expression, if you don’t have steel you don’t have a country. There’s a lot to it. This is like we’re making pencils. This is big stuff.It's like we're making pencils, folks. Obviously.
posted by murphy slaw at 10:22 AM on March 15, 2018 [37 favorites]
Is there any non shady reason Scott Pruitt would need a sound proof phone booth at the EPA?
His on-record explanation is that it's for secured communications with the White House. I have personally heard a member of Congress break out laughing at the idea that EPA-White House calls would require this level of security.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:23 AM on March 15, 2018 [33 favorites]
His on-record explanation is that it's for secured communications with the White House. I have personally heard a member of Congress break out laughing at the idea that EPA-White House calls would require this level of security.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:23 AM on March 15, 2018 [33 favorites]
If no law is being broken here, what recourse is there?
If a law IS being broken here, what recourse is there?
“Catch-22,” the old woman repeated, rocking her head up and down. “Catch-22. Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can’t stop them from doing.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Yossarian shouted at her in bewildered, furious protest.
“How did you know it was Catch-22? Who the hell told you it was Catch-22?”
“The soldiers with the hard white hats and clubs. The girls were crying. ‘Did we do anything wrong?’ they said. The men said no and pushed them away out the door with the ends of their clubs. ‘Then why are you chasing us out?’ the girls said. ‘Catch-22,’ the men said. ‘What right do you have?’ the girls said. ‘Catch-22,’ the men said. All they kept saying was ‘Catch-22, Catch-22.’ What does it mean, Catch-22? What is Catch-22?”
“Didn’t they show it to you?” Yossarian demanded, stamping about in anger and distress. “Didn’t you even make them read it?”
“They don’t have to show us Catch-22,” the old woman answered. “The law says they don’t have to.”
“What law says they don’t have to?”
“Catch-22.”
posted by delfin at 10:23 AM on March 15, 2018 [24 favorites]
If a law IS being broken here, what recourse is there?
“Catch-22,” the old woman repeated, rocking her head up and down. “Catch-22. Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can’t stop them from doing.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Yossarian shouted at her in bewildered, furious protest.
“How did you know it was Catch-22? Who the hell told you it was Catch-22?”
“The soldiers with the hard white hats and clubs. The girls were crying. ‘Did we do anything wrong?’ they said. The men said no and pushed them away out the door with the ends of their clubs. ‘Then why are you chasing us out?’ the girls said. ‘Catch-22,’ the men said. ‘What right do you have?’ the girls said. ‘Catch-22,’ the men said. All they kept saying was ‘Catch-22, Catch-22.’ What does it mean, Catch-22? What is Catch-22?”
“Didn’t they show it to you?” Yossarian demanded, stamping about in anger and distress. “Didn’t you even make them read it?”
“They don’t have to show us Catch-22,” the old woman answered. “The law says they don’t have to.”
“What law says they don’t have to?”
“Catch-22.”
posted by delfin at 10:23 AM on March 15, 2018 [24 favorites]
East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94: Punishing an employee because you mistakenly believe that they were born in Iran seems pretty cut-and-dried.
If it becomes a top story, Trump will explicitly defend it in the same heart-sinkingly-racist way he attacked Judge Curiel's impartiality. Both cases amount to bigotry justifying itself: "Anyone I don't consider white enough is ipso facto unqualified... because surely they hate me, what with my racism and all." (Also see the whole conservative "argument" for being super-restrictive about citizenship because immigrants will vote for Democrats. Like, what if you just tried not being racist? But nah. It's so disgusting.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:28 AM on March 15, 2018 [14 favorites]
If it becomes a top story, Trump will explicitly defend it in the same heart-sinkingly-racist way he attacked Judge Curiel's impartiality. Both cases amount to bigotry justifying itself: "Anyone I don't consider white enough is ipso facto unqualified... because surely they hate me, what with my racism and all." (Also see the whole conservative "argument" for being super-restrictive about citizenship because immigrants will vote for Democrats. Like, what if you just tried not being racist? But nah. It's so disgusting.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:28 AM on March 15, 2018 [14 favorites]
I’m talking about the fact that Russia and Vladimir Putin clearly exercise some control over Donald Trump.
I've believed this for a long time, but it's still startling whenever I see it in print from someone I trust. It's so strange to believe that the President is compromised by Russia, and then just go about my day like everything is fine. But what's the alternative?
posted by diogenes at 10:32 AM on March 15, 2018 [28 favorites]
I've believed this for a long time, but it's still startling whenever I see it in print from someone I trust. It's so strange to believe that the President is compromised by Russia, and then just go about my day like everything is fine. But what's the alternative?
posted by diogenes at 10:32 AM on March 15, 2018 [28 favorites]
What Happens After the Progressive Revolution Comes to a City Like Durham? --
On the challenges of governing a bright-blue city in the middle of a hot-red state.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:38 AM on March 15, 2018 [10 favorites]
On the challenges of governing a bright-blue city in the middle of a hot-red state.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:38 AM on March 15, 2018 [10 favorites]
> Punishing an employee because you mistakenly believe that they were born in Iran seems pretty cut-and-dried.
See, this is angels-dancing-on-the-head-of-a-pin territory, but I'm sure a clever lawyer will find a way to claim that if she really *was* born in Iran, it would have been illegal, but since she actually wasn't, it can't be illegal discrimination on the basis of ethnic origin.
And:
is this somehow illegal? I know its against norms, but the Trump administration doesn't care about things being illegal, much less against norms.
As another Republican president told us, when the president does it, that means it is not illegal. (And it took a few Republicans breaking ranks to establish otherwise.)
posted by RedOrGreen at 10:39 AM on March 15, 2018
See, this is angels-dancing-on-the-head-of-a-pin territory, but I'm sure a clever lawyer will find a way to claim that if she really *was* born in Iran, it would have been illegal, but since she actually wasn't, it can't be illegal discrimination on the basis of ethnic origin.
And:
is this somehow illegal? I know its against norms, but the Trump administration doesn't care about things being illegal, much less against norms.
As another Republican president told us, when the president does it, that means it is not illegal. (And it took a few Republicans breaking ranks to establish otherwise.)
posted by RedOrGreen at 10:39 AM on March 15, 2018
WaPo, Trump administration sanctions Russian spies, trolls over U.S. election interference, cyber attacks
Rep. Adam Schiff said in a statement quoted by the Guardian: “The sanctions today are a grievous disappointment and fall far short of what is needed to respond to that attack on our democracy let alone deter Russia’s escalating aggression, which now includes a chemical weapons attack on the soil of our closest ally.”
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia/NSC Director for Russia Michael Carpenter @ mikercarpenter is similarly unimpressed:
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:43 AM on March 15, 2018 [22 favorites]
Rep. Adam Schiff said in a statement quoted by the Guardian: “The sanctions today are a grievous disappointment and fall far short of what is needed to respond to that attack on our democracy let alone deter Russia’s escalating aggression, which now includes a chemical weapons attack on the soil of our closest ally.”
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia/NSC Director for Russia Michael Carpenter @ mikercarpenter is similarly unimpressed:
These new sanctions are totally inconsequential. The previous administration had already sanctioned most of the entities and individuals designated today, so there's really nothing new here.Meanwhile, at this morning's press spray with the Irish PM, Trump ignored a question about the sanctions and instead answered one about the UK attack, "It certainly looks like the Russians were behind it. Something that should never ever happen and we're taking it very seriously,"
Furthermore, such narrowly targeted sanctions have little to no impact on the operations of Russia's intelligence services or its proxies, since these organizations don't transact (at least overtly) through the U.S. financial system.
Finally, they have no impact on Russia's economy at all. I suspect the Trump administration will cite these designations as evidence that it is getting "tough" on Russia but in this case it's all smoke and mirrors.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:43 AM on March 15, 2018 [22 favorites]
In "slim ray of hope" news, the Oregon Supreme has suspended Judge Vance Day without pay for 3 years, for things like instructing his clerks to screen out same-sex marriage license applications and allowing a felon to have a gun (for which the judge is also separately under indictment).
In 2015, the judicial fitness commission found "clear and convincing evidence" on eight counts of misconduct against Day, including allegations that he allowed Brian Shehan, a man who had previously been convicted of a felony, to access and control guns on at least two occasions in 2013 and 2014, instructed his staff to "inappropriately" screen same-sex wedding applicants and lied to the commission on multiple occasions.posted by hanov3r at 10:44 AM on March 15, 2018 [23 favorites]
Politico: Trump finalizing opioid plan that includes death penalty for dealers
posted by murphy slaw at 10:45 AM on March 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
The Trump administration is finalizing a long-awaited plan that it says will solve the opioid crisis, but it also calls for law enforcement measures — like the death penalty for some drug dealers — that public health advocates and congressional Republicans warn will detract from efforts to reverse the epidemic.(note: there still is a death penalty at the federal level but everyone on federal death row at the moment is convicted of aggravated murder)
The ambitious plan, which the White House has quietly been circulating among political appointees this month, could be announced as soon as Monday when President Donald Trump visits New Hampshire, a state hard hit by the epidemic. It includes a mix of prevention and treatment measures that advocates have long endorsed, as well as beefed-up enforcement in line with the president’s frequent calls for a harsh crackdown on drug traffickers and dealers.
…
However, the plan could cost billions of dollars more than Trump budgeted — and likely far more than any funding package that Congress would approve — raising questions about how much of it can actually be put into practice. Trump's emphatic embrace of the death penalty for some drug dealers has also alarmed some advocates, who say the idea has been ineffective when tried in other countries and resurrects the nation’s unsuccessful war on drugs.
posted by murphy slaw at 10:45 AM on March 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
Punishing an employee because you mistakenly believe that they were born in Iran seems pretty cut-and-dried.
Responsibility for enforcing the Civil Service Reform Act is divided among several different groups, but I think this particular violation falls to the Merit Systems Protection Board, which fields appeals over "removals, suspensions, furloughs, and demotions." Thing is, the MSPB requires a quorum of board members to issue finalized rulings, and Trump has declined to appoint enough members to reach quorum, effectively rendering it toothless. (Incidentally, the MSPB is also responsible for adjudicating Hatch Act charges, which helps explain why Kellyane Conway, Dan Scavino, and Nikki Haley never faced any consequences for their violations.)
posted by Iridic at 10:47 AM on March 15, 2018 [20 favorites]
Responsibility for enforcing the Civil Service Reform Act is divided among several different groups, but I think this particular violation falls to the Merit Systems Protection Board, which fields appeals over "removals, suspensions, furloughs, and demotions." Thing is, the MSPB requires a quorum of board members to issue finalized rulings, and Trump has declined to appoint enough members to reach quorum, effectively rendering it toothless. (Incidentally, the MSPB is also responsible for adjudicating Hatch Act charges, which helps explain why Kellyane Conway, Dan Scavino, and Nikki Haley never faced any consequences for their violations.)
posted by Iridic at 10:47 AM on March 15, 2018 [20 favorites]
Will the death penalty apply to marijuana dispensary operators operating legally under California/Colorado state law but not federal law?
posted by acb at 10:48 AM on March 15, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by acb at 10:48 AM on March 15, 2018 [9 favorites]
See, this is angels-dancing-on-the-head-of-a-pin territory, but I'm sure a clever lawyer will find a way to claim that if she really *was* born in Iran, it would have been illegal, but since she actually wasn't, it can't be illegal discrimination on the basis of ethnic origin.
I'm not sure if you were deliberately referencing this or not, but the Supreme Court shot down similar logic in a 2016 case, Heffernan v. City of Paterson, where a police officer was demoted after he was seen picking up a lawn sign for the candidate running against the current mayor -- except the sign was for his mother, not for him, so he hadn't actually taken a political stance. The court said that if you try to discriminate based on political speech, that's illegal even if you were too stupid to figure out who your political opponents are.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:49 AM on March 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
I'm not sure if you were deliberately referencing this or not, but the Supreme Court shot down similar logic in a 2016 case, Heffernan v. City of Paterson, where a police officer was demoted after he was seen picking up a lawn sign for the candidate running against the current mayor -- except the sign was for his mother, not for him, so he hadn't actually taken a political stance. The court said that if you try to discriminate based on political speech, that's illegal even if you were too stupid to figure out who your political opponents are.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:49 AM on March 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
"Question is, is this somehow illegal? "
It is illegal. There are basically three kinds of civil servant employees -- run-of-the-mill employees (sometimes called bureaucrats), who cannot be fired for their politics. They are expected to do their jobs regardless of how they feel about the politics, and as long as they do that, their jobs are secure (even if they choose to bitch about their partisan superiors' politics). Their jobs are functional, not political, and they have no authority over policy.
Political appointees (sometimes in what are called "policy positions") who are ALWAYS fired for their politics when an administration changes -- these are the people selected by the president (or a state governor) to run agencies and departments and to create policies in concert with the chief executive and turn politics into policies and oversee their implementation.
Then there's a third type (called different things in different states/agencies) who are very senior managers, lawyers, etc., who are not political appointees but whose work involves a lot of policy-making work with their cabinet secretary or department head or whomever. The political appointees are generally viewed as having the right to pick their management team and part of that will be their politics, since it's fair to want people who agree with your broad vision to be on the team responsible for creating the policies to implement it. They are often career government employees who have risen through the ranks because they're talented and highly competent. They're generally protected more by norms than law (although it varies quite a bit!); not many people want their predecessor's loyal right-hand man in their inner circle, but agencies and departments are also loathe to cut loose that level of talent and institutional expertise. So these are the guys you often see playing musical chairs between departments, to different congressional staffs, or serving one administration as a top person for (say) the Library of Congress working closely with the director, and going to manage the creation of a new digital acquisition program under the next. Anyway, this level is complicated and varies quite a bit based on specifics.
Regular employees being protected from political firings was a long-time REPUBLICAN cause, because the GOP hated patronage hiring, and rightly pointed out that when you clean out the entire government every time the executive changes party and appoint a bunch of cronies with no experience, you get a shittily-run government. But the GOP is now the party of running the government shittily on purpose, so I suppose it's no surprise they're now in favor of patronage hires of incompetent cronies.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:51 AM on March 15, 2018 [46 favorites]
It is illegal. There are basically three kinds of civil servant employees -- run-of-the-mill employees (sometimes called bureaucrats), who cannot be fired for their politics. They are expected to do their jobs regardless of how they feel about the politics, and as long as they do that, their jobs are secure (even if they choose to bitch about their partisan superiors' politics). Their jobs are functional, not political, and they have no authority over policy.
Political appointees (sometimes in what are called "policy positions") who are ALWAYS fired for their politics when an administration changes -- these are the people selected by the president (or a state governor) to run agencies and departments and to create policies in concert with the chief executive and turn politics into policies and oversee their implementation.
Then there's a third type (called different things in different states/agencies) who are very senior managers, lawyers, etc., who are not political appointees but whose work involves a lot of policy-making work with their cabinet secretary or department head or whomever. The political appointees are generally viewed as having the right to pick their management team and part of that will be their politics, since it's fair to want people who agree with your broad vision to be on the team responsible for creating the policies to implement it. They are often career government employees who have risen through the ranks because they're talented and highly competent. They're generally protected more by norms than law (although it varies quite a bit!); not many people want their predecessor's loyal right-hand man in their inner circle, but agencies and departments are also loathe to cut loose that level of talent and institutional expertise. So these are the guys you often see playing musical chairs between departments, to different congressional staffs, or serving one administration as a top person for (say) the Library of Congress working closely with the director, and going to manage the creation of a new digital acquisition program under the next. Anyway, this level is complicated and varies quite a bit based on specifics.
Regular employees being protected from political firings was a long-time REPUBLICAN cause, because the GOP hated patronage hiring, and rightly pointed out that when you clean out the entire government every time the executive changes party and appoint a bunch of cronies with no experience, you get a shittily-run government. But the GOP is now the party of running the government shittily on purpose, so I suppose it's no surprise they're now in favor of patronage hires of incompetent cronies.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:51 AM on March 15, 2018 [46 favorites]
According to language circulating this week, the Trump administration will call for the death penalty as an option in "certain cases where opioid, including Fentanyl-related, drug dealing and trafficking are directly responsible for death."
JFC. Will that include doctors that distribute opioids illegally? Because that's a great way to get doctors to stop prescribing opioids altogether. Not to mention that the death penalty is COMPLETELY FUCKING INAPPROPRIATE for drug cases, and a barbaric practice that should be eliminated altogether. What the actual fuck.
This is terrible for criminal justice and justice reform, terrible for chronic pain sufferers who need opioid painkillers, terrible for addicts, terrible for doctors and nurses and PAs and the health care system as a whole.
posted by Existential Dread at 10:54 AM on March 15, 2018 [40 favorites]
JFC. Will that include doctors that distribute opioids illegally? Because that's a great way to get doctors to stop prescribing opioids altogether. Not to mention that the death penalty is COMPLETELY FUCKING INAPPROPRIATE for drug cases, and a barbaric practice that should be eliminated altogether. What the actual fuck.
This is terrible for criminal justice and justice reform, terrible for chronic pain sufferers who need opioid painkillers, terrible for addicts, terrible for doctors and nurses and PAs and the health care system as a whole.
posted by Existential Dread at 10:54 AM on March 15, 2018 [40 favorites]
I called my Republican senators' DC offices to ask if they had issued statements about the illegal political purge at the State Department (they had not) and I urged them to do so because punishing or firing employees after emailing Newt Gingrich to see if he approves of their politics is illegal under the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. I urged the senators to speak out against this criminal administration. I also asked if they had made any statements about the illegal racist purge at the State Department (they had not) and I urged them to do so because State Department White House Liason Julia Haller said in an email regarding career State Department civil servant Sahar Nowrouzzadeh "As background, she worked on the Iran Deal, specifically works on Iran with S/P [the Policy Planning Staff], was born in Iran and upon my understanding cried when the President won." Nowrouzzadeh was subsequently demoted based on the mistaken belief that she was born in Iran instead of Connecticut, which is illegal racial discrimination by a government employer. This likely happened because the President is a Neo-Nazi and anyone in the politics business who supports him, such as my senators, are also Neo-Nazis, so I would urge them to stop being Neo-Nazis and speak out against a Neo-Nazi administration. Finally I asked whether the staffer I spoke to or anyone in his office had been punished for their race (they had not) and I congratulated their office for being so much better than the State Department, and said they should keep up the good work.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:56 AM on March 15, 2018 [63 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:56 AM on March 15, 2018 [63 favorites]
Note that certain drug offenses are already eligible for the the federal death penalty under the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. (This was the law that enshrined much more stringent penalties for crack dealers than those convicted of selling powder cocaine, because everyone loves racist drug policy.) No one is currently on death row for drugs, however.
posted by murphy slaw at 10:58 AM on March 15, 2018
posted by murphy slaw at 10:58 AM on March 15, 2018
NYT: Mueller Subpoenas Trump Organization, Demanding Documents About Russia
This has all the hallmarks of a strategic leak to the press, by "two people briefed on the matter", likely as a signal to other parties implicated in Mueller's investigation. The article says only, "The breadth of the subpoena was not clear, nor was it clear why Mr. Mueller issued it instead of simply asking for the documents from the company, an umbrella organization that oversees Mr. Trump’s business ventures. In the subpoena, delivered in recent weeks, Mr. Mueller ordered the Trump Organization to hand over all documents related to Russia and other topics he is investigating, the people said."
This is a potentially significant milestone, though: "The order is the first known time that the special counsel demanded documents directly related to President Trump’s businesses, bringing the investigation closer to the president."
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:05 AM on March 15, 2018 [29 favorites]
This has all the hallmarks of a strategic leak to the press, by "two people briefed on the matter", likely as a signal to other parties implicated in Mueller's investigation. The article says only, "The breadth of the subpoena was not clear, nor was it clear why Mr. Mueller issued it instead of simply asking for the documents from the company, an umbrella organization that oversees Mr. Trump’s business ventures. In the subpoena, delivered in recent weeks, Mr. Mueller ordered the Trump Organization to hand over all documents related to Russia and other topics he is investigating, the people said."
This is a potentially significant milestone, though: "The order is the first known time that the special counsel demanded documents directly related to President Trump’s businesses, bringing the investigation closer to the president."
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:05 AM on March 15, 2018 [29 favorites]
Eamon Javers on twitter:
White House is referring all questions about the NYT report on the Mueller subpoena of the Trump Organization to the Trump Organization for comment.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:06 AM on March 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
White House is referring all questions about the NYT report on the Mueller subpoena of the Trump Organization to the Trump Organization for comment.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:06 AM on March 15, 2018 [11 favorites]
nor was it clear why Mr. Mueller issued it instead of simply asking for the documents from the company
Quit whining, Devin, you subpoena things so people don't claim "executive privilege" that you don't have the balls to call them on.
posted by Dashy at 11:10 AM on March 15, 2018 [19 favorites]
Quit whining, Devin, you subpoena things so people don't claim "executive privilege" that you don't have the balls to call them on.
posted by Dashy at 11:10 AM on March 15, 2018 [19 favorites]
How broadly can an investigator demand that documents be preserved? Could Mueller copy and paste every name in the DC phone book and require that private documents related to Trump-Russia relations be preserved? He should do that.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:13 AM on March 15, 2018
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:13 AM on March 15, 2018
White House is referring all questions about the NYT report on the Mueller subpoena of the Trump Organization to the Trump Organization for comment.
so presumably Eric and Junior will have a lot of interviews scheduled shortly?
posted by murphy slaw at 11:19 AM on March 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
so presumably Eric and Junior will have a lot of interviews scheduled shortly?
posted by murphy slaw at 11:19 AM on March 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
White House is referring all questions about the NYT report on the Mueller subpoena of the Trump Organization to the Trump Organization for comment.
Poor Meredith.
posted by soren_lorensen at 11:20 AM on March 15, 2018 [38 favorites]
Poor Meredith.
posted by soren_lorensen at 11:20 AM on March 15, 2018 [38 favorites]
Scoop o'clock came early today.
Mueller's a bit of an early bird, isn't he? It's Trump's side that drops shit at 4:45PM.
posted by ocschwar at 11:27 AM on March 15, 2018
Mueller's a bit of an early bird, isn't he? It's Trump's side that drops shit at 4:45PM.
posted by ocschwar at 11:27 AM on March 15, 2018
Mod note: Comment removed. No harm, no foul, but n.b. it reduces potential confusion if non-mod folks refrain from using mod-style small-and-square brackets styling on comments. And, yes, it would be totally reasonable for someone to look into putting together a new thread, this one has gotten beefy.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:35 AM on March 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:35 AM on March 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
Sarah Sanders is live
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:06 PM on March 15, 2018
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:06 PM on March 15, 2018
And, yes, it would be totally reasonable for someone to look into putting together a new thread, this one has gotten beefy
I'm on it.
posted by msalt at 12:24 PM on March 15, 2018 [27 favorites]
I'm on it.
posted by msalt at 12:24 PM on March 15, 2018 [27 favorites]
The Trump administration is finalizing a long-awaited plan that it says will solve the opioid crisis, but it also calls for law enforcement measures — like the death penalty for some drug dealers
At the press conference when this is announced, I hope some one asks if the death penalties would apply to the Sackler family.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 12:39 PM on March 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
At the press conference when this is announced, I hope some one asks if the death penalties would apply to the Sackler family.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 12:39 PM on March 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
murphy slaw: "However, the plan could cost billions of dollars more than Trump budgeted — and likely far more than any funding package that Congress would approve — raising questions about how much of it can actually be put into practice. Trump's emphatic embrace of the death penalty for some drug dealers has also alarmed some advocates, who say the idea has been ineffective when tried in other countries and resurrects the nation’s unsuccessful war on drugs."
Consider a murder death penalty case routinely costs double what a non-capital case costs (easily costing a couple mil a piece); adding a death penalty for dealing is just going to blow the hell out of any law enforcement budget that takes that on.
posted by Mitheral at 12:39 PM on March 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
Consider a murder death penalty case routinely costs double what a non-capital case costs (easily costing a couple mil a piece); adding a death penalty for dealing is just going to blow the hell out of any law enforcement budget that takes that on.
posted by Mitheral at 12:39 PM on March 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
The cost of the death penalty is because of some very, very necessary legal and civil procedures that help defendants. So it's absolutely my least favorite argument against it -- knowing these people, they'll counter with proposals to make the penalty immediate and irrevocable (like, I dunno, "arm the judges").
posted by InTheYear2017 at 12:43 PM on March 15, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by InTheYear2017 at 12:43 PM on March 15, 2018 [10 favorites]
---------------------------------------------------------->
SPACE FORCE: THE NEXT THREADERATION
---------------------------------------------------------->
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:02 PM on March 15, 2018 [36 favorites]
SPACE FORCE: THE NEXT THREADERATION
---------------------------------------------------------->
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:02 PM on March 15, 2018 [36 favorites]
EJECT EJECT EJECT
OUT OF THE FRYING PAN INTO THE FIRE
posted by wenestvedt at 1:09 PM on March 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
OUT OF THE FRYING PAN INTO THE FIRE
posted by wenestvedt at 1:09 PM on March 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
You know, there was a time I used to think what a wonderful archive this ongoing megathread series would be, for future generations who were wondering how in the world it could all happen.
Now I think that future generations — assuming they exist and retain the ability to read digital files — would probably just delete the whole thing and try their best to forget it. Besides, the Morlock sirens would have just started again and there’d be no time for such historical research.
posted by darkstar at 1:11 PM on March 15, 2018 [17 favorites]
Now I think that future generations — assuming they exist and retain the ability to read digital files — would probably just delete the whole thing and try their best to forget it. Besides, the Morlock sirens would have just started again and there’d be no time for such historical research.
posted by darkstar at 1:11 PM on March 15, 2018 [17 favorites]
IF IT IS SAFE TO DO SO NOW THAT THERE'S ANOTHER THREAD AND IT DOESN'T MATTER MUCH WHETHER THIS ONE GETS MORE CLOGGERATED I WOULD LIKE TO NOTE FOR THE RECORD THAT THERE'S NOWT WRONG WITH BEEFY
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 1:16 PM on March 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 1:16 PM on March 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
Also I have been waiting to say
Wenn ist das Nunberg git und Slotermueller?
[facemcshooty]Thankyou.[/facemcshooty]
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 1:36 PM on March 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
Wenn ist das Nunberg git und Slotermueller?
[facemcshooty]Thankyou.[/facemcshooty]
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 1:36 PM on March 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
HAIL BEEF
posted by Existential Dread at 1:44 PM on March 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Existential Dread at 1:44 PM on March 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
It's like we're making pencils, folks. Obviously.
If you don't have pencils, you don't have a country
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 2:13 PM on March 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
If you don't have pencils, you don't have a country
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 2:13 PM on March 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
🍖🍖🍪🍪
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 4:21 PM on March 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 4:21 PM on March 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
InTheYear2017: " So it's absolutely my least favorite argument against it -- knowing these people, they'll counter with proposals to make the penalty immediate and irrevocable (like, I dunno, "arm the judges")."
Surely it will be putting the judges on the front line ala Judge Dredd.
True on the reasons for huge cost. I wasn't really put the cost out there as an argument against in this case. More noting that once again the Cheeto is putting forth policy that he doesn't have a hope in hell of actually paying for.
posted by Mitheral at 5:34 PM on March 15, 2018
Surely it will be putting the judges on the front line ala Judge Dredd.
True on the reasons for huge cost. I wasn't really put the cost out there as an argument against in this case. More noting that once again the Cheeto is putting forth policy that he doesn't have a hope in hell of actually paying for.
posted by Mitheral at 5:34 PM on March 15, 2018
I am so confused.
posted by StrawberryPie at 5:46 PM on March 15, 2018
posted by StrawberryPie at 5:46 PM on March 15, 2018
If you don't have pencils, you don't have a country
I assumed that Trump was referring to the manufacturing pace shown in stock footage from a pencil factory
posted by mikelieman at 5:57 PM on March 15, 2018
I assumed that Trump was referring to the manufacturing pace shown in stock footage from a pencil factory
posted by mikelieman at 5:57 PM on March 15, 2018
Ugh was going to make a beefy joke but y'all beat me to it
you are my gay space socialism comrades
posted by tivalasvegas at 6:56 PM on March 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
you are my gay space socialism comrades
posted by tivalasvegas at 6:56 PM on March 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
This religious parable about pencils is popular with techbros convinced that everybody who isn't them needs educating on how economies work.
posted by flabdablet at 7:42 PM on March 15, 2018
posted by flabdablet at 7:42 PM on March 15, 2018
> flabdablet:
"This religious parable about pencils"
What the hell did I just watch 68 seconds of?
posted by rhizome at 8:30 PM on March 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
"This religious parable about pencils"
What the hell did I just watch 68 seconds of?
posted by rhizome at 8:30 PM on March 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
Aww, you stopped before the background music really had a chance to crank up.
posted by flabdablet at 8:47 PM on March 15, 2018
posted by flabdablet at 8:47 PM on March 15, 2018
> "This religious parable about pencils"
What the hell did I just watch 68 seconds of?
If you really want to understand pencils this is a much better video.
posted by komara at 8:54 PM on March 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
What the hell did I just watch 68 seconds of?
If you really want to understand pencils this is a much better video.
posted by komara at 8:54 PM on March 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
"This religious parable about pencils"
What the hell did I just watch 68 seconds of?
tldr; the sun rises in the east
It's 6 and a half minutes of very obvious "it takes millions of people to cut the trees and build the roads and exploit the developing world workers to make your pencil," then it tries to sneak in the beneficent and invisible hand of the Allmarket as having been proven.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 9:02 PM on March 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
What the hell did I just watch 68 seconds of?
tldr; the sun rises in the east
It's 6 and a half minutes of very obvious "it takes millions of people to cut the trees and build the roads and exploit the developing world workers to make your pencil," then it tries to sneak in the beneficent and invisible hand of the Allmarket as having been proven.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 9:02 PM on March 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
Really? Because it seemed like it was going to wind up pointing to Jesus.
posted by rhizome at 9:22 PM on March 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 9:22 PM on March 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
It did remind me of the Kirk Cameron banana video when I was watching it.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 9:27 PM on March 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by ActingTheGoat at 9:27 PM on March 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
Iron helps us play!
posted by rhizome at 9:32 PM on March 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by rhizome at 9:32 PM on March 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
tldr; the sun rises in the east
as if lifted by an invisible hand.
posted by flabdablet at 10:10 PM on March 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
as if lifted by an invisible hand.
posted by flabdablet at 10:10 PM on March 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
I've noticed that someone in these threads keeps mooting "Prosperity for All" as a Democratic election slogan, and in the interest of maybe acquiring a bumper sticker to that effect, my Google top results for that phrase seem to have pulled up a bunch of technocratic capitalist hits and repeated references to an Ivanka Trump speech (apparently relating to that being a paraphrase of an International Women's Day slogan from a few years ago). Good luck making that a thing, but I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with that on my car with that pedigree at the moment.
posted by servoret at 12:08 PM on March 16, 2018
posted by servoret at 12:08 PM on March 16, 2018
It's 6 and a half minutes of very obvious "it takes millions of people to cut the trees and build the roads and exploit the developing world workers to make your pencil," then it tries to sneak in the beneficent and invisible hand of the Allmarket as having been proven.
Thus the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Capitalism-ization of China. Pencils are important!
posted by srboisvert at 12:38 PM on March 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
Thus the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Capitalism-ization of China. Pencils are important!
posted by srboisvert at 12:38 PM on March 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
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My father passed away some six weeks ago from health complications related to his time at Hanford, and while his situation was taken care of well by DoE, not all health problems related to it have been.
So thank you, Governor Inslee, on behalf of my father, and his coworkers.
posted by Archelaus at 8:10 AM on March 8, 2018 [41 favorites]