Comey Is Not Trump's Homey
April 15, 2018 7:00 PM Subscribe
On April 17, former FBI Director James Comey will publish his much-anticipated memoir, A Higher Loyalty. Kicking off his month-long, multi-state book tour, his first interview since Trump fired him a year ago will air Sunday night with George Stephanopoulos in a primetime special of 20/20 (ABC). The Trump White House, currently without a communications director or a counter-Comey media strategy (Politico), has outsourced the spin to the RNC (CNN), while Trump heads off to Mar-a-lago for a summit with Japanese PM Shinzo Abe (Palm Beach Post). Reviews of the book so far are favorable (New York Times, NPR), but not uncritical (Washington Post).
• Yesterday, Trump declared "Mission Accomplished!" (CNN) following Friday night airstrikes on three Syrian chemical weapons facilities by U.S., French, and British forces (CNBC) in retaliation over a deadly gas attack on the town of Douma last weekend (Reuters). Today, American UN Ambassador Nikki Haley warned Russia and Iran about new sanctions over supporting the Assad regime (CBS), while Russian President Vladimir Putin predicted "chaos in international relations" if the West attacked Syria again (Reuters).
• On Monday, the FBI, authorized by the US Attorney for Southern District of New York, executed search warrants on the office, home, and hotel room of Trump lawyer/fixer and RNC Deputy National Finance Chairman Michael Cohen (New York Times), who is now under federal investigation for possible bank fraud, wire fraud, and violations of campaign finance law (Washington Post). Looking in particular for evidence pertaining to hush-money payments, federal agents seized business information, including on his taxi companies and real estate ventures (Yahoo), and his audio recordings , including conversations between Cohen and lawyer Keith Davidson, who at the time represented both Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal in their NDA negotiations about their affairs with Donald Trump. (CNN)
• Because of Trump's extreme reaction to these raids (New York Times), Trump's legal team suggests that an interview with Robert Mueller is now unlikely, but Mueller's investigation is moving forward regardless (NBC). In the New Yorker, Adam Davidson argues that this unprecedented raid spells the end stage of the Trump Presidency as public opinion approaches a possible tipping point, though 538's Nate Silver and TNR's Jeet Heer caution against underestimating the political factor.
• Meanwhile, it has been revealed that Mueller has evidence that Cohen did indeed make a secret trip to Prague during the 2016 presidential campaign (McClatchy DC), corroborating the Steele Dossier's allegation he went there to meet with Kremlin-backed hackers to discuss the DNC e-mail cybertheft—potentially a huge development in the Russia probe (Washington Post). He also has new information that in 2016, a former GRU agent conducted negotiations on behalf of the Trump Organization for the financing of a Moscow Trump Tower with a Russian state-owned bank under US sanctions (BuzzFeed News).
• On Wednesday, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan abruptly announced (New York Times) he will not run for reelection, and anonymous GOP sources suggest he'll step down as speaker soon, too (Axios). He joins Florida Rep. Dennis Ross (Tampa Bay Tribune) in the growing ranks of retiring Republicans (Pew Research) (not to mention those who have just resigned, such as the scandal-ridden Rep. Blake Farenthold (CNN)).
• Also, on Friday a week ago, a four-alarm fire at the New York Trump Tower killed a resident and injured six firefighters on a floor without sprinklers (NY1). Trump, who had lobbied against mandatory sprinkler regulations (Yahoo) and called his tenant a "crazy Jew" (People), initially claimed on Twitter the fire "is out. Very confined (well built building)." while the FDNY was in fact still battling it. And the news vortex spirals along…
Time Until Trump's Current Term Is Over: 2 Years, 9 Months, 6 Days (there are 205 days left until the 2018 midterm elections).
Please consider MeFi chat for hot-takes and live-blogging breaking news and the new MetaTalk venting thread for catharsis and sympathizing. And please bear in mind the MetaTalk on expectations about U.S. political discussion on MetaFilter.
• Yesterday, Trump declared "Mission Accomplished!" (CNN) following Friday night airstrikes on three Syrian chemical weapons facilities by U.S., French, and British forces (CNBC) in retaliation over a deadly gas attack on the town of Douma last weekend (Reuters). Today, American UN Ambassador Nikki Haley warned Russia and Iran about new sanctions over supporting the Assad regime (CBS), while Russian President Vladimir Putin predicted "chaos in international relations" if the West attacked Syria again (Reuters).
• On Monday, the FBI, authorized by the US Attorney for Southern District of New York, executed search warrants on the office, home, and hotel room of Trump lawyer/fixer and RNC Deputy National Finance Chairman Michael Cohen (New York Times), who is now under federal investigation for possible bank fraud, wire fraud, and violations of campaign finance law (Washington Post). Looking in particular for evidence pertaining to hush-money payments, federal agents seized business information, including on his taxi companies and real estate ventures (Yahoo), and his audio recordings , including conversations between Cohen and lawyer Keith Davidson, who at the time represented both Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal in their NDA negotiations about their affairs with Donald Trump. (CNN)
• Because of Trump's extreme reaction to these raids (New York Times), Trump's legal team suggests that an interview with Robert Mueller is now unlikely, but Mueller's investigation is moving forward regardless (NBC). In the New Yorker, Adam Davidson argues that this unprecedented raid spells the end stage of the Trump Presidency as public opinion approaches a possible tipping point, though 538's Nate Silver and TNR's Jeet Heer caution against underestimating the political factor.
• Meanwhile, it has been revealed that Mueller has evidence that Cohen did indeed make a secret trip to Prague during the 2016 presidential campaign (McClatchy DC), corroborating the Steele Dossier's allegation he went there to meet with Kremlin-backed hackers to discuss the DNC e-mail cybertheft—potentially a huge development in the Russia probe (Washington Post). He also has new information that in 2016, a former GRU agent conducted negotiations on behalf of the Trump Organization for the financing of a Moscow Trump Tower with a Russian state-owned bank under US sanctions (BuzzFeed News).
• On Wednesday, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan abruptly announced (New York Times) he will not run for reelection, and anonymous GOP sources suggest he'll step down as speaker soon, too (Axios). He joins Florida Rep. Dennis Ross (Tampa Bay Tribune) in the growing ranks of retiring Republicans (Pew Research) (not to mention those who have just resigned, such as the scandal-ridden Rep. Blake Farenthold (CNN)).
• Also, on Friday a week ago, a four-alarm fire at the New York Trump Tower killed a resident and injured six firefighters on a floor without sprinklers (NY1). Trump, who had lobbied against mandatory sprinkler regulations (Yahoo) and called his tenant a "crazy Jew" (People), initially claimed on Twitter the fire "is out. Very confined (well built building)." while the FDNY was in fact still battling it. And the news vortex spirals along…
Time Until Trump's Current Term Is Over: 2 Years, 9 Months, 6 Days (there are 205 days left until the 2018 midterm elections).
Please consider MeFi chat for hot-takes and live-blogging breaking news and the new MetaTalk venting thread for catharsis and sympathizing. And please bear in mind the MetaTalk on expectations about U.S. political discussion on MetaFilter.
The transcript is also unedited, corresponding to something like five hours of interview that was condensed way down for TV.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:18 PM on April 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:18 PM on April 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
ELECTIONS NEWS
** 2018 House:
-- 2018 Senate:
This week: not a single special election! Lots of them next week, though.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:26 PM on April 15, 2018 [57 favorites]
** 2018 House:
--CA-48: Rohrabacher approval in low to mid-30s, not good for an incumbent in a Clinton district.-- MS Senate special -- Chamber of Commerce dumping in money to support interim senator Cindy Hyde-Smith and torpedo Chris McDaniel candidacy.
-- WI-01: Internal poll from Randy Bryce campaign has him tied or leading various possible GOP candidates. Sample may be wonky, though, as Trump approval seems too low (-15) for the district.
-- Weekly check-in on the generic ballot average has it as D+6.9 (46.4/39.5). As mentioned earlier regarding the latest NBC/WSJ poll, polling has also consistently found considerably higher levels of enthusiasm among Dems.
-- WP: GOP pulling out all the stops in an effort to keep majority.
-- Politico: GOP worried about second-tier seats - not enough resources to help everyone who may be vulnerable.
-- Decision Desk is doing a deep dive on a new district each week. First up, CT-05.
-- 2018 Senate:
-- PA: Three recent polls all give Casey leads in the high teens.** Odds & ends:
-- WV: GOP is getting very worried about the possibility of convicted murderer Don Blankenship getting the nomination, launches effort to torpedo him.
-- NY gov: Marist poll has Cuomo up 68-21 on Nixon. There's also been some controversy about Nixon being endorsed by the Working Families Party (NY has electoral fusion) - major unions may pull their support of the party and other backers (see Nixon thread).***
-- PA gov: Muhlenberg College poll has Dem gov Wolf with high teens leads against all three GOP candidates.
-- Latest ABC/WP Trump approval poll has huge disparities in approval:*Non-college white men: 70%
*College white men: 48%
*Non-college white women: 49%
*College white women: 34%
This week: not a single special election! Lots of them next week, though.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:26 PM on April 15, 2018 [57 favorites]
The transcript is also unedited, corresponding to something like five hours of interview that was condensed way down for TV.
For those who want a more condensed version of the transcript, the New York Times has you covered with some select highlights and annotations: James Comey’s Interview on ABC’s ‘20/20’: Annotated Excerpts
posted by Fizz at 7:28 PM on April 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
For those who want a more condensed version of the transcript, the New York Times has you covered with some select highlights and annotations: James Comey’s Interview on ABC’s ‘20/20’: Annotated Excerpts
posted by Fizz at 7:28 PM on April 15, 2018 [15 favorites]
The New York Times: While many of Mr. Trump’s critics believe that the proper remedy for his perceived transgressions is impeachment, Mr. Comey insisted that would just “let the American people off the hook.” He said the public was “duty bound” to vote Mr. Trump out of office in the next election.
“You cannot have, as president of the United States, someone who does not reflect the values that I believe Republicans treasure and Democrats treasure and independents treasure,” Mr. Comey said. “That is the core of this country. That’s our foundation. And so impeachment, in a way, would short-circuit that.”
"Letting the American people off the hook" of an additional 2.75 years of being ruled by someone you describe as "morally unfit" and compare to a mob boss seems pretty good, actually.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:43 PM on April 15, 2018 [106 favorites]
“You cannot have, as president of the United States, someone who does not reflect the values that I believe Republicans treasure and Democrats treasure and independents treasure,” Mr. Comey said. “That is the core of this country. That’s our foundation. And so impeachment, in a way, would short-circuit that.”
"Letting the American people off the hook" of an additional 2.75 years of being ruled by someone you describe as "morally unfit" and compare to a mob boss seems pretty good, actually.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:43 PM on April 15, 2018 [106 favorites]
I'm watching it on TV and I don't feel like Comey's coming across very well. Stephanopolous (who I don't think is all that great an interviewer) asking him, "why didn't you do this, why didn't you do that?" is making Comey seem less like the upstanding Lawman he wants to think of himself as, and more like a coward.
(Also all the physical details about Trump -- too-long tie, average-sized hands, etc. -- are gross and unbecoming coming from Comey. Trump is a ridiculous person who chooses to present himself in a ridiculous fashion, but that's for late night TV to mock, not the director of the FBI.)
Overall he is coming across as very, very self-impressed. I think his account of Trump's shady activities would be more persuasive if Comey spent less time trying to self-justify. Stormy Daniels was a better interviewee, who came across as more honest and straightforward than Comey is, IMO.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:47 PM on April 15, 2018 [102 favorites]
(Also all the physical details about Trump -- too-long tie, average-sized hands, etc. -- are gross and unbecoming coming from Comey. Trump is a ridiculous person who chooses to present himself in a ridiculous fashion, but that's for late night TV to mock, not the director of the FBI.)
Overall he is coming across as very, very self-impressed. I think his account of Trump's shady activities would be more persuasive if Comey spent less time trying to self-justify. Stormy Daniels was a better interviewee, who came across as more honest and straightforward than Comey is, IMO.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:47 PM on April 15, 2018 [102 favorites]
I hope books go unsold.
posted by armacy at 7:49 PM on April 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by armacy at 7:49 PM on April 15, 2018 [6 favorites]
One of the things I’ve struggled with my whole life is my ego and — and a sense that I — I have to be careful not to fall in love with my own view of things.Says the man who wrote a book about leadership to share his own view of things with the the world, who spends the entire interview pushing back against anything that would challenge that view. Christ what an asshole.
(Also all the physical details about Trump -- too-long tie, average-sized hands, etc. -- are gross and unbecoming coming from Comey. Trump is a ridiculous person who chooses to present himself in a ridiculous fashion, but that's for late night TV to mock, not the director of the FBI.)
Thank you. Comey’s main purpose is to be a witness to obstruction of justice right now. His cheap shots at Trump just undercut his ability to appear as impartial as possible. There are plenty other of people in the country available to mock Trump’s ties. Comey is actively doing harm to the case when he does it.
posted by zachlipton at 7:52 PM on April 15, 2018 [59 favorites]
And then I started to tell him about the allegation was that he had been involved with prostitutes in a hotel in Moscow in 2013 during the visit for the Miss Universe pageant and that the Russians had — filmed the episode. And he interrupted very defensively and started talking about it, you know, “Do I look like a guy who needs hookers?”
This is the second time I've read this, and I just...how can anyone who isn't wrapped up in self-delusion think the answer to this is ANYTHING but yes? Yes, Donald Trump, you look like someone who has to pay for sex. You have to pressure, coerce, or pay for it. Your wife got riches and citizenship. You paid a porn star $130,000. No, you are not inherently attractive to women. Dear god, what a sick, delusional man.
posted by threeturtles at 7:53 PM on April 15, 2018 [104 favorites]
This is the second time I've read this, and I just...how can anyone who isn't wrapped up in self-delusion think the answer to this is ANYTHING but yes? Yes, Donald Trump, you look like someone who has to pay for sex. You have to pressure, coerce, or pay for it. Your wife got riches and citizenship. You paid a porn star $130,000. No, you are not inherently attractive to women. Dear god, what a sick, delusional man.
posted by threeturtles at 7:53 PM on April 15, 2018 [104 favorites]
I have no idea if this adheres to Cheeto thread rules. It's a short anecdote.
I am visiting my parents in North Carolina, a state that currently has a Koch legislature and which had aggressively implemented the voter-suppression readguard plan that both empowered Trump in the primaries nationally and which has led to the amazing incompetence and foolishness in Congress.
I got a drink with an old, old, old friend, who is now among the oldheads of NC political reporting. Things are terrible. Crooks, incompetents, fools, and idiots are in office and attempting to defend what they see as their natural right.
We're both, at base, pretty optimistic. He deals with these goons every day. They're fun to write about! They are deluded, dangers to themselves. It's astounding that they hold office. They won't keep the positions, and this is true as far as he can see from dogcatcher to whatever the highest GOP held office is here or nationally.
The bad news is that the Dems are just the people who would have been the reasonable Republicans. He (and I) foresee the complete collapse of the modern Republican party. I see that as creating an actual incipient possibility for an American democratic socialist party. Not sure about his views, but that is not germane.
Here's hopin'.
posted by mwhybark at 7:54 PM on April 15, 2018 [32 favorites]
I am visiting my parents in North Carolina, a state that currently has a Koch legislature and which had aggressively implemented the voter-suppression readguard plan that both empowered Trump in the primaries nationally and which has led to the amazing incompetence and foolishness in Congress.
I got a drink with an old, old, old friend, who is now among the oldheads of NC political reporting. Things are terrible. Crooks, incompetents, fools, and idiots are in office and attempting to defend what they see as their natural right.
We're both, at base, pretty optimistic. He deals with these goons every day. They're fun to write about! They are deluded, dangers to themselves. It's astounding that they hold office. They won't keep the positions, and this is true as far as he can see from dogcatcher to whatever the highest GOP held office is here or nationally.
The bad news is that the Dems are just the people who would have been the reasonable Republicans. He (and I) foresee the complete collapse of the modern Republican party. I see that as creating an actual incipient possibility for an American democratic socialist party. Not sure about his views, but that is not germane.
Here's hopin'.
posted by mwhybark at 7:54 PM on April 15, 2018 [32 favorites]
Self-serving or not, I take his recollections as honest. There was a detail that struck me in his recollections, about Trump asking him to dinner:
And so I just said to him, "Sir-- certainly, sir." And he said-- "6:00 or 6:30?" And I said, "It's up to you, sir." And he actually say, "And if you're-- if you're busy tonight, I can do it tomorrow. I'm here all weekend."
That’s a President speaking to his FBI Director, but because it’s Trump, it’s all wrong. Trump occasionally wants to charm people, but he doesn’t have it in him, so he does it by being oddly submissive for a minute or two, then getting back to bluster ASAP. He did this when circumstances required him to be nice to Hillary and Obama. It’s a little sad.
I couldn’t watch this on TV. I couldn’t watch more archival footage of the election. Not for years yet, I think.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:03 PM on April 15, 2018 [16 favorites]
And so I just said to him, "Sir-- certainly, sir." And he said-- "6:00 or 6:30?" And I said, "It's up to you, sir." And he actually say, "And if you're-- if you're busy tonight, I can do it tomorrow. I'm here all weekend."
That’s a President speaking to his FBI Director, but because it’s Trump, it’s all wrong. Trump occasionally wants to charm people, but he doesn’t have it in him, so he does it by being oddly submissive for a minute or two, then getting back to bluster ASAP. He did this when circumstances required him to be nice to Hillary and Obama. It’s a little sad.
I couldn’t watch this on TV. I couldn’t watch more archival footage of the election. Not for years yet, I think.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:03 PM on April 15, 2018 [16 favorites]
My feelings summed up:
Jim Comey can be a sanctimonious egotist whose inappropriate actions disrupted an election and still be a valid source of damning information about Donald Trump.posted by Chrysostom at 8:05 PM on April 15, 2018 [159 favorites]
So I've read the entire Comey transcript (and that's a long read) and the thing I came away with from it is: Comey expressly and repeatedly compared Trump and his loyalists in the administration to the Mafia.
Given his involvement in prosecuting the Gambinos, this seems like something he'd know. The comparison is super unflattering, and given Trump's historical rumored ties to the Family, seems like a pretty dead-center shot on Trump's ego.
posted by Archelaus at 8:20 PM on April 15, 2018 [54 favorites]
Given his involvement in prosecuting the Gambinos, this seems like something he'd know. The comparison is super unflattering, and given Trump's historical rumored ties to the Family, seems like a pretty dead-center shot on Trump's ego.
posted by Archelaus at 8:20 PM on April 15, 2018 [54 favorites]
TIL that Comey prosecuted Martha Stewart for insider trading yet managed to snooze through an entire decade of men doing insider trading before waking up and prosecuting Hillary Clinton.
It shouldn’t be possible to be both this satisfied in a suspicion predictably vindicated and this angry at the same time.
Christ, if we hate him this much... His priggish assholery is so potent it might derail the political future of the country again.
These writers. I can’t.
posted by schadenfrau at 8:27 PM on April 15, 2018 [21 favorites]
It shouldn’t be possible to be both this satisfied in a suspicion predictably vindicated and this angry at the same time.
Christ, if we hate him this much... His priggish assholery is so potent it might derail the political future of the country again.
These writers. I can’t.
posted by schadenfrau at 8:27 PM on April 15, 2018 [21 favorites]
I have tickets to see Comey speak here in Kansas City at the end of May and am really looking forward to it. I'm still not 100% sure what I think of him, but right now I'm leaning towards the fact that he recognizes the fact that he fucked up bigly before the election, and now recognizes his mistake. Maybe I'm too optimistic there, who knows. I'll go pick up my copy of the book on Tuesday, and report back after reading.
posted by jferg at 8:29 PM on April 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by jferg at 8:29 PM on April 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
"Letting the American people off the hook" of an additional 2.75 years of being ruled by someone you describe as "morally unfit" and compare to a mob boss seems pretty good, actually.
I’m torn. On one hand, having a mob boss for president is, obviously, pretty bad. On the other hand, the guy who would replace him sees the US as a christian caliphate as a pretty good idea.
~ flips coin...
posted by Thorzdad at 8:30 PM on April 15, 2018 [18 favorites]
I’m torn. On one hand, having a mob boss for president is, obviously, pretty bad. On the other hand, the guy who would replace him sees the US as a christian caliphate as a pretty good idea.
~ flips coin...
posted by Thorzdad at 8:30 PM on April 15, 2018 [18 favorites]
I still firmly believe to this day that Comey's big reveal that the investigation was re-opened barely a week before election day was intended as a shot across Clinton's bow, telling the new incoming President who (by all available info) he profoundly personally disliked not to mess with him.
Turns out the shot across the bow happened to strike, right under the water line.
posted by tclark at 8:34 PM on April 15, 2018 [70 favorites]
Turns out the shot across the bow happened to strike, right under the water line.
posted by tclark at 8:34 PM on April 15, 2018 [70 favorites]
I'm only reading the transcript, but I am particularly fond of this bit.
JAMES COMEY: I worry that the norms at the center of this country-- we can fight as Americans about guns or taxes or immigration, and we always have. But what we have in common is a set of norms. Most importantly, the truth. "We hold these truths to be self-evident," right? Truth is the fourth word of that sentence. That's what we are. And if we lose that, if we lose tethering of our leaders to that truth, what are we? And so I started to worry. Actually, the foundation of this country is in jeopardy when we stop measuring our leaders against that central value of the truth.
I forget sometimes that most Americans aren't tuned into the megathreads. Like, for me, it's so obviously obvious that Trump is a lying grifter, but then I think of my sister, who isn't necessarily ride or die with Trump but still defends him, and I think of where and how she gets her political news. She and I... we each have a different relationship with the concept of truth. She's the type of person who uses zero critical thinking skills before clicking share on a random Facebook post. I'm the type of person who facts checks and cites sources in comments.
So I love the quote because, yes, let's keep arguing about taxes, because that's how we roll, but surely it's not partisan to expect our elected officials to not, I don't know, maintain such a distant relationship with the truth as Trump does. But then I get depressed, because maybe we as a people are losing our tethering to truth. And I don't know how we fix that.
posted by Ruki at 8:36 PM on April 15, 2018 [49 favorites]
JAMES COMEY: I worry that the norms at the center of this country-- we can fight as Americans about guns or taxes or immigration, and we always have. But what we have in common is a set of norms. Most importantly, the truth. "We hold these truths to be self-evident," right? Truth is the fourth word of that sentence. That's what we are. And if we lose that, if we lose tethering of our leaders to that truth, what are we? And so I started to worry. Actually, the foundation of this country is in jeopardy when we stop measuring our leaders against that central value of the truth.
I forget sometimes that most Americans aren't tuned into the megathreads. Like, for me, it's so obviously obvious that Trump is a lying grifter, but then I think of my sister, who isn't necessarily ride or die with Trump but still defends him, and I think of where and how she gets her political news. She and I... we each have a different relationship with the concept of truth. She's the type of person who uses zero critical thinking skills before clicking share on a random Facebook post. I'm the type of person who facts checks and cites sources in comments.
So I love the quote because, yes, let's keep arguing about taxes, because that's how we roll, but surely it's not partisan to expect our elected officials to not, I don't know, maintain such a distant relationship with the truth as Trump does. But then I get depressed, because maybe we as a people are losing our tethering to truth. And I don't know how we fix that.
posted by Ruki at 8:36 PM on April 15, 2018 [49 favorites]
I have no sympathy for Comey. But the FBI has always been political. I personally loved the pull quote:
Secondly, I have seen the darkness too, of the FBI - from J. Edgar’s files, to the surveillance of anyone on the left, the targeting of ecological activists, and the agency’s infiltrators, agent provocateurs, and their sting operations.
Trump is a disaster but, hopefully, short-lived. The FBI, however, should be burned down, for the good of the country.
posted by sudogeek at 8:39 PM on April 15, 2018 [21 favorites]
“I would frequently joke with the FBI ‘Going Dark’ team assigned to seek solutions, ‘Of course the Silicon Valley types don’t see the darkness—they live where it’s sunny all the time and everybody is rich and smart.’ “First, it’s typical disingenuous crap from Comey and the FBI. Perhaps, he didn’t get the memo that law enforcement agencies can and do easily crack cell phone encryption with the help of commercial software.
Secondly, I have seen the darkness too, of the FBI - from J. Edgar’s files, to the surveillance of anyone on the left, the targeting of ecological activists, and the agency’s infiltrators, agent provocateurs, and their sting operations.
Trump is a disaster but, hopefully, short-lived. The FBI, however, should be burned down, for the good of the country.
posted by sudogeek at 8:39 PM on April 15, 2018 [21 favorites]
It looks like Comey believes he was asked to drop the Russia investigation and was fired because he wouldn't drop it, but still believes there's enough of a gray area that Trump shouldn't be impeached. All hopes for that are now firmly pinned on Mueller finding damning new information.
Mueller did a great job talking about why Trump is unfit for office. I totally thought he was going to dodge that question.
posted by xammerboy at 8:39 PM on April 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
Mueller did a great job talking about why Trump is unfit for office. I totally thought he was going to dodge that question.
posted by xammerboy at 8:39 PM on April 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
Early in Comey's interview George Stephanopoulos mentions that Comey worked on Mafia cases earlier in his career. I presume that was a setup, because Comey keeps coming back to this analogy: Trump and his circle are like the Mafia. The Mafia tries to seduce you, and make you complicit, and then you're someone they own, "amica nostra". Comey uses that phrase a lot. According to his account he started seeing things that way right from the start, when he first briefed the incoming team about attempted Russian interference in the election, and that's why he carefully left a paper trail of unclassified memos about Trump's improper pressure for Comey to exonerate him.
I don't know if Comey's later recollection of his thoughts is accurate, but it sounds plausible. It would be kind of hilarious if it turned out that Trump was ultimately brought down not over any explicit wrongdoing, but because Comey was offended by the way Trump's cronies talked sbout press management.
posted by Joe in Australia at 8:40 PM on April 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
I don't know if Comey's later recollection of his thoughts is accurate, but it sounds plausible. It would be kind of hilarious if it turned out that Trump was ultimately brought down not over any explicit wrongdoing, but because Comey was offended by the way Trump's cronies talked sbout press management.
posted by Joe in Australia at 8:40 PM on April 15, 2018 [7 favorites]
Comey reminds me of my uncle who is a very old-school conservative Republican. He worked for the state of Michigan's welfare agency tracking down deadbeat dads or some shit. He has never, to my knowledge, exceeded the posted speed limit while operating a motor vehicle. I remember he once told me that if he were hiding Jews in Nazi Germany and the Gestapo came to the door to ask if he were hiding Jews, he would not ethically be able to lie.
Unfortunately people with this sort of personality / ethical stance are not great at resisting fascist omnishambleses.
posted by tivalasvegas at 8:50 PM on April 15, 2018 [116 favorites]
Unfortunately people with this sort of personality / ethical stance are not great at resisting fascist omnishambleses.
posted by tivalasvegas at 8:50 PM on April 15, 2018 [116 favorites]
Damnit, if they hadn't released 5th edition D&D then Lawful Neutral would still be obsolete, James Comey couldn't exist, and we wouldn't be in this mess.
posted by jackbishop at 9:01 PM on April 15, 2018 [30 favorites]
posted by jackbishop at 9:01 PM on April 15, 2018 [30 favorites]
I’m torn. On one hand, having a mob boss for president is, obviously, pretty bad. On the other hand, the guy who would replace him sees the US as a christian caliphate as a pretty good idea.
Pence's administration would be bad but it'd be predictably bad. The Christian Right is based a horrible ideology & awful, hypocritical morality but they're consistent about it. As a hacker the things I look for most in a system I'm attacking are predictability & structure. It gives me something to hold onto & manipulate. Everything about Trump is chaos, randomness & unpredictability. How do you prepare defenses against someone who goes in multiple directions at the same time? I'll take Pence over Trump any day of the week.
posted by scalefree at 9:05 PM on April 15, 2018 [21 favorites]
Pence's administration would be bad but it'd be predictably bad. The Christian Right is based a horrible ideology & awful, hypocritical morality but they're consistent about it. As a hacker the things I look for most in a system I'm attacking are predictability & structure. It gives me something to hold onto & manipulate. Everything about Trump is chaos, randomness & unpredictability. How do you prepare defenses against someone who goes in multiple directions at the same time? I'll take Pence over Trump any day of the week.
posted by scalefree at 9:05 PM on April 15, 2018 [21 favorites]
Polite request that we don't do "Who's Worse? Pence vs Trump" for the 3 millionth time.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:09 PM on April 15, 2018 [113 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 9:09 PM on April 15, 2018 [113 favorites]
Rollover from previous topic:
Cohen is not a lawyer. Trump's his only client, and he does no legal work for him.
At this point, Broidy is a confirmed second client, and Don Jr. is likely in connection with the 2013 affair HE had, that Cohen also covered up. They're all perpetrators in nasty unknown scandals, and who knows, there may be many of them.
The good part of that is that tomorrow, Cohen is required to declare in court his full list of clients, which should be a Xmas list for investigative journalists. With any luck, he'll be required to give dates of representation too, which will further narrow the search for scandals.
posted by msalt at 9:20 PM on April 15, 2018 [24 favorites]
Cohen is not a lawyer. Trump's his only client, and he does no legal work for him.
At this point, Broidy is a confirmed second client, and Don Jr. is likely in connection with the 2013 affair HE had, that Cohen also covered up. They're all perpetrators in nasty unknown scandals, and who knows, there may be many of them.
The good part of that is that tomorrow, Cohen is required to declare in court his full list of clients, which should be a Xmas list for investigative journalists. With any luck, he'll be required to give dates of representation too, which will further narrow the search for scandals.
posted by msalt at 9:20 PM on April 15, 2018 [24 favorites]
Random thought - Not that I think we could pass anything of the sort right now, but we need a constitutional amendment preventing the president from pardoning anyone for a crime they haven’t been convicted of yet.
posted by azpenguin at 9:30 PM on April 15, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by azpenguin at 9:30 PM on April 15, 2018 [9 favorites]
I don't do a lot of broadcast TV so kudos to lalex for posting the transcript. I don't know how Comey came off on the teevee, but I felt the long read was worth it, since it THOROUGHLY covered the entire scope of the events, and gave good insight.
My take away is that Comey was "Damned if you do, Damned if you don't", and as someone who, retrospectively, SHOULD HAVE spoken to the CTO when the OWNER came and asked me to do something for him, but didn't and the CTO got pissed, and... long story short, that gig ended -- am somewhat sympathetic to "no option is GOOD", and the sense I got was that his actions were internally consistent with "What can I do that's acceptable, even if exceptional ( the discussions of cases ).
So, in summary, I believe that Comey tried his best in a bunch of shitty situations, and made mistakes, big mistakes. And he knows that. And it bugs the shit out of him. Which is just, in my opinion.
posted by mikelieman at 9:31 PM on April 15, 2018 [12 favorites]
My take away is that Comey was "Damned if you do, Damned if you don't", and as someone who, retrospectively, SHOULD HAVE spoken to the CTO when the OWNER came and asked me to do something for him, but didn't and the CTO got pissed, and... long story short, that gig ended -- am somewhat sympathetic to "no option is GOOD", and the sense I got was that his actions were internally consistent with "What can I do that's acceptable, even if exceptional ( the discussions of cases ).
So, in summary, I believe that Comey tried his best in a bunch of shitty situations, and made mistakes, big mistakes. And he knows that. And it bugs the shit out of him. Which is just, in my opinion.
posted by mikelieman at 9:31 PM on April 15, 2018 [12 favorites]
My take away is that Comey was "Damned if you do, Damned if you don't"
Coincidentally, This American Life this week: "It’s one thing to weigh pros and cons. But sometimes all you have is con and con. This week, stories of people having to make a choice, when no good options exist."
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:34 PM on April 15, 2018 [9 favorites]
Coincidentally, This American Life this week: "It’s one thing to weigh pros and cons. But sometimes all you have is con and con. This week, stories of people having to make a choice, when no good options exist."
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:34 PM on April 15, 2018 [9 favorites]
Cohen is required to declare in court his full list of clients, which should be a Xmas list for investigative journalists.
Unless Cohen's clients trust the lawyers representing him (ha) I think a lot of amica nostra are going to want to be amici curiae.
posted by Joe in Australia at 9:34 PM on April 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
Unless Cohen's clients trust the lawyers representing him (ha) I think a lot of amica nostra are going to want to be amici curiae.
posted by Joe in Australia at 9:34 PM on April 15, 2018 [8 favorites]
James Comey: The cause of, and solution to, the 2016 election
posted by gottabefunky at 9:36 PM on April 15, 2018 [56 favorites]
posted by gottabefunky at 9:36 PM on April 15, 2018 [56 favorites]
Two things about Comey’s interview:
1. His best wasn’t good enough.
2. He seems to be getting enjoyment out of bugging Trump.
Oh, and three, he said we when referring to having a hand in getting Trump elected. ‘We’ for the bad thing but the rest of the interview was personal pronouns, I or me. That is classic spreading the blame talk there, maybe unconscious?
posted by Gadgetenvy at 9:37 PM on April 15, 2018 [17 favorites]
1. His best wasn’t good enough.
2. He seems to be getting enjoyment out of bugging Trump.
Oh, and three, he said we when referring to having a hand in getting Trump elected. ‘We’ for the bad thing but the rest of the interview was personal pronouns, I or me. That is classic spreading the blame talk there, maybe unconscious?
posted by Gadgetenvy at 9:37 PM on April 15, 2018 [17 favorites]
The bit of the interview where they discuss the classified information that's still out there is interesting:
The first step in coming to terms with 2016 needs to be a public reckoning with everything Russia did. This letter was likely far more effective than the internet trolls or even the hacked emails, and we barely know anything about it. And those were fairly straightforward operations; if Russia went so far so as to prepare and spread a fake document about Loretta Lynch, just how complex did this thing really get?
I'd also recommend reading the "conceal" or "speak" segment about the emails on Weiner's laptop. Comey presents this as a binary choice, with no consideration given to trying to figure out what the emails even are before he speaks (despite the FBI's initial claims it would take way too long to go through the emails, it wound up being quite fast after all). And he does seem to acknowledge that fear of leaks played a role in this decision.
posted by zachlipton at 9:38 PM on April 15, 2018 [91 favorites]
JAMES COMEY: Reason number two. And I have to talk about it very carefully. Classified information came into the possession of the U.S. intelligence community in the early part of 2016 that indicated there was material out there that raised the question of whether Loretta Lynch was controlling me and the F.B.I. and keeping the Clinton campaign informed about our investigation.Comey is acknowledging that his decision-making was influenced by disinformation, and that he wouldn't be able to refute it without revealing classified information, so that caused him to say more about the Clinton investigation than is normal. What a shittastic way of fighting Russian disinformation; no wonder they did nothing about Russia throughout the entire election. This false document could have been the most successful Russian operation of them all, and nobody can acknowledge it even happened. Forget Comey's hubris for a second (I know, it's impossible, right?); he got himself painted into a corner by Russia and gave the "extreme carelessness" speech as a result. Comey was running scared because of a Russian op, and we can't even publicly acknowledge it? Forget Comey's advice on ethical leadership; where the hell is his explanation for that?
Now, I don't believe that. And I don't believe that's true. But there was material that I knew someday, when it's declassified, and I thought that would be decades in the future, would cause historians to wonder, "Hmm, was there some strange business going on there? Was Loretta Lynch somehow in -- carrying water for the campaign and controlling what the F.B.I. did?"
Again, it wasn't true. But there was material that would allow that to come out someday in the long future when it's declassified. That all changed when someday, in my mind, became maybe tomorrow. That was in the middle of June, when the Russian government, using some fronts, started dumping stolen material that had been hacked from organizations associated with the Democratic party in the United States. And all of a sudden, it dawned on me that that someday decades from now when this material comes out actually may be now, tomorrow. And again, even though I didn't believe it, the material was real. Whether what it said was true or not, I didn't know. But it would allow people, partisans and even people who were partisans, to strongly argue that something was wrong with the way the investigation--
[...]
JAMES COMEY: Yeah, that's tricky for me 'cause-- 'cause the F.B.I.'s told me that I have to be very careful speaking about this 'cause it's still classified. What I can say is the material is legitimate. It-- it is real. The content is real. Now, whether the content is true is a different question. And again, to my mind, I believed it was not true.
I-- I didn't see any indication that Loretta Lynch was trying to cover this investigation for the Clinton campaign or direct me in any way. She stayed away from it as far as I could tell. But the point of it is I knew there was material that might hit the public square any moment, that would allow people to argue powerfully that there was monkey business going on--
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: But then wouldn't-- your obligation then be you get up and say, "No, there's no monkey business. I know that. I've investigated it. I've looked into it. It's not true"?
JAMES COMEY: Well, sure, if I could do that, given the rules of classified information, but I couldn't. But what I could do instead is offer unusual transparency to the American people about the investigation. Tell them, "Here's what we did, here's what we found, here's what we think about it. You can trust us because we're showing you our work." Again, which Department of Justice policy permits in an unusual case.
And so, it was frustrating. I'm sure it's frustrating to Loretta Lynch that-- that this material was out there. But it-- to my mind, it added to the case that we need to do something unusual to offer the American people transparency. And then the capper happened at the end of June.
The first step in coming to terms with 2016 needs to be a public reckoning with everything Russia did. This letter was likely far more effective than the internet trolls or even the hacked emails, and we barely know anything about it. And those were fairly straightforward operations; if Russia went so far so as to prepare and spread a fake document about Loretta Lynch, just how complex did this thing really get?
I'd also recommend reading the "conceal" or "speak" segment about the emails on Weiner's laptop. Comey presents this as a binary choice, with no consideration given to trying to figure out what the emails even are before he speaks (despite the FBI's initial claims it would take way too long to go through the emails, it wound up being quite fast after all). And he does seem to acknowledge that fear of leaks played a role in this decision.
posted by zachlipton at 9:38 PM on April 15, 2018 [91 favorites]
My initial fear about the Mueller investigation was that even with a full team of full-time investigators, there would be so much criminality in Trump world that Mueller would literally never be "done" enough for a report or recommendations or whatever. Like they would think they have it wrapped and then find out about some crazy organ-harvesting operation out of his hotel in some other country or some shit.
And now I feel like somebody out there is going to spend their entire career unraveling Cohen's shit, too. He really comes off--like Trump--as a guy who does shady shit out of habit. Even when these guys could get things done just as easily by playing it straight, they still look for ways to be sketchy as fuck.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 9:39 PM on April 15, 2018 [28 favorites]
And now I feel like somebody out there is going to spend their entire career unraveling Cohen's shit, too. He really comes off--like Trump--as a guy who does shady shit out of habit. Even when these guys could get things done just as easily by playing it straight, they still look for ways to be sketchy as fuck.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 9:39 PM on April 15, 2018 [28 favorites]
At this point, Broidy is a confirmed second client, and Don Jr. is likely in connection with the 2013 affair HE had, that Cohen also covered up.
...yea...drafting likely illegal coverups really stretches the definition of attorney-client relationship, and Cohen doesn't seem to have performed much actual "legal" work for either of those two apart from structuring coverup payments.
There's sort of an existential issue here, if the only thing your attorney is doing for you is help you commit crimes, is he your attorney?
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:39 PM on April 15, 2018 [22 favorites]
...yea...drafting likely illegal coverups really stretches the definition of attorney-client relationship, and Cohen doesn't seem to have performed much actual "legal" work for either of those two apart from structuring coverup payments.
There's sort of an existential issue here, if the only thing your attorney is doing for you is help you commit crimes, is he your attorney?
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:39 PM on April 15, 2018 [22 favorites]
In my world, we are taught that written communications with attorneys are only privileged if they involve a direct request for legal advice. I’m sure Drumpf gets mulligans on this just like he does in golf and with Christians, but I can only imagine what would come to light if he had to live by the rules that the rest of us do.
If my understanding is correct, Hope Hicks and/or his secretary did all of his email - printing it out, then answering it based on his written notes or spoken orders. So hey, lawyers, how does that work? Does Hope Hicks then automatically also get her commo privileged, acting as go-between? If that's the case then just daisy chain everything through the whole staff and it is all privileged? WTF?
posted by Meatbomb at 9:47 PM on April 15, 2018
If my understanding is correct, Hope Hicks and/or his secretary did all of his email - printing it out, then answering it based on his written notes or spoken orders. So hey, lawyers, how does that work? Does Hope Hicks then automatically also get her commo privileged, acting as go-between? If that's the case then just daisy chain everything through the whole staff and it is all privileged? WTF?
posted by Meatbomb at 9:47 PM on April 15, 2018
Will there be a place to watch the interview?
posted by gucci mane at 9:52 PM on April 15, 2018
posted by gucci mane at 9:52 PM on April 15, 2018
Will there be a place to watch the interview?
The interview is over but you can probably catch it on abc news’ website?
posted by dis_integration at 9:56 PM on April 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
The interview is over but you can probably catch it on abc news’ website?
posted by dis_integration at 9:56 PM on April 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
Remember when Don Jr. thought attorney-client applied because they had a lawyer on the conference call? So clearly they were free to commit any kind of crime. That appears to be the entire TrumpOrg's understanding of attorney-client. Like Michael Scott declaring bankruptcy, I DECLARE PRIVILEGED!
...the worst part is now we have actual (formerly) respected lawyers making that argument to defend the Trump Administration.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:58 PM on April 15, 2018 [17 favorites]
...the worst part is now we have actual (formerly) respected lawyers making that argument to defend the Trump Administration.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:58 PM on April 15, 2018 [17 favorites]
Trump's lawyers filed a fairly remarkable document intervening in Cohen's suit to stop the review of his files (MonkeyToes linked this in the tail of the last thread, and I think it bears extra note). The President, who ultimately oversees the Department of Justice, is intervening in a lawsuit against the Department of Justice to argue that the Department of Justice can't be trusted to run a "taint team" (for the love of god can we stop using this term?) and wants the court to let Cohen and Trump himself decide for themselves what evidence isn't privileged.
Seems to me this should be settled by bringing in the President to testify. He wants to intervene in the lawsuit? He should show up. He told us on Air Force One that he doesn't know about the Stormy Daniels payment. If he wants to argue that Cohen really is his lawyer and that communications about that matter should be privileged, it seems reasonable to put him on the stand and make inquiries as to the nature of this purported attorney-client relationship. If Trump isn't willing to testify he knew what his lawyer was doing, and his public statement is that he didn't know, why should a court conclude the privilege exists at all?
posted by zachlipton at 10:02 PM on April 15, 2018 [74 favorites]
Seems to me this should be settled by bringing in the President to testify. He wants to intervene in the lawsuit? He should show up. He told us on Air Force One that he doesn't know about the Stormy Daniels payment. If he wants to argue that Cohen really is his lawyer and that communications about that matter should be privileged, it seems reasonable to put him on the stand and make inquiries as to the nature of this purported attorney-client relationship. If Trump isn't willing to testify he knew what his lawyer was doing, and his public statement is that he didn't know, why should a court conclude the privilege exists at all?
posted by zachlipton at 10:02 PM on April 15, 2018 [74 favorites]
"Trump Dismisses Russia Probe As A 'Witch Hunt,' But Mueller Keeps Finding Witches":
Cohen cigar buddy is the CFO of Deutsche Bank
TPM: Choose Your Caption
Captured Saturday night in Alameda CA
And the new #MAGA hat: My Attorney Got Arrested
posted by growabrain at 10:15 PM on April 15, 2018 [22 favorites]
Cohen cigar buddy is the CFO of Deutsche Bank
TPM: Choose Your Caption
Captured Saturday night in Alameda CA
And the new #MAGA hat: My Attorney Got Arrested
posted by growabrain at 10:15 PM on April 15, 2018 [22 favorites]
for the love of god can we stop using this term?
zachlipton launches quaint taint restraint complaint
posted by kirkaracha at 10:25 PM on April 15, 2018 [131 favorites]
zachlipton launches quaint taint restraint complaint
posted by kirkaracha at 10:25 PM on April 15, 2018 [131 favorites]
Can someone please explain like I’m five the people in the Michael Cohen photo? I’ve tried. I’ve really tried, but there are just too many assholes to keep track of. (I’m like THIS CLOSE to breaking out a bulletin board and some red yarn.)
posted by Weeping_angel at 10:28 PM on April 15, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by Weeping_angel at 10:28 PM on April 15, 2018 [18 favorites]
Comey is acknowledging that his decision-making was influenced by disinformation, and that he wouldn't be able to refute it without revealing classified information, so that caused him to say more about the Clinton investigation than is normal. What a shittastic way of fighting Russian disinformation; no wonder they did nothing about Russia throughout the entire election. This false document could have been the most successful Russian operation of them all, and nobody can acknowledge it even happened.
Holy shit. I missed this before. This is why it's so important to investigate the Kremlin's meddling in the 2016 election. Yes, the Cambridge Analytica stuff matters, and yes, the Russian troll farms matter, but I believe these kinds of actions at best pulled on the margins of the vote. That doesn't mean they aren't serious attacks on the U.S.; they absolutely are. But if the Kremlin was pursuing these kinds of operations, they were certainly pursuing others -- and this seems to be one of them. Comey's actions in 2016 absolutely influenced the outcome of the election. Clinton's poll numbers crashed after he announced they were reopening investigation into her emails, suggesting that it very probably cost her the election. If Comey was manipulated into his actions by Russian psy-ops, that to me is the strongest evidence yet that Putin and the other Russian oligarchs really did manage to effectively rig the election.
posted by biogeo at 10:36 PM on April 15, 2018 [88 favorites]
Holy shit. I missed this before. This is why it's so important to investigate the Kremlin's meddling in the 2016 election. Yes, the Cambridge Analytica stuff matters, and yes, the Russian troll farms matter, but I believe these kinds of actions at best pulled on the margins of the vote. That doesn't mean they aren't serious attacks on the U.S.; they absolutely are. But if the Kremlin was pursuing these kinds of operations, they were certainly pursuing others -- and this seems to be one of them. Comey's actions in 2016 absolutely influenced the outcome of the election. Clinton's poll numbers crashed after he announced they were reopening investigation into her emails, suggesting that it very probably cost her the election. If Comey was manipulated into his actions by Russian psy-ops, that to me is the strongest evidence yet that Putin and the other Russian oligarchs really did manage to effectively rig the election.
posted by biogeo at 10:36 PM on April 15, 2018 [88 favorites]
There's sort of an existential issue here, if the only thing your attorney is doing for you is help you commit crimes, is he your attorney?
Whether or not you "have an attorney" in some existential sense, if all the person with the law degree is doing for you is help you commit crimes, then your communications are not privileged and can be subpoenaed in any case - not just cases against one or the other of you, but any case, civil or criminal, in which those records might be relevant.
Once there's an official record that Cohen broke the law with his quasi-lawyering, the whole concept of privilege gets thrown out.
... How long has he "been trump's lawyer?" Did he work on any of the business bankruptcy cases? On the one hand, there's statutes of limitations on criminal charges; on the others, if you can prove an ongoing string of criminal activity - like a coverup - you can sometimes claim the crime is still going on.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:17 PM on April 15, 2018 [10 favorites]
Whether or not you "have an attorney" in some existential sense, if all the person with the law degree is doing for you is help you commit crimes, then your communications are not privileged and can be subpoenaed in any case - not just cases against one or the other of you, but any case, civil or criminal, in which those records might be relevant.
Once there's an official record that Cohen broke the law with his quasi-lawyering, the whole concept of privilege gets thrown out.
... How long has he "been trump's lawyer?" Did he work on any of the business bankruptcy cases? On the one hand, there's statutes of limitations on criminal charges; on the others, if you can prove an ongoing string of criminal activity - like a coverup - you can sometimes claim the crime is still going on.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:17 PM on April 15, 2018 [10 favorites]
The first step in coming to terms with 2016 needs to be a public reckoning with everything Russia did.
I suspect that this is how an intelligence officer might respond:
"We collect a huge amount of intelligence from a wide variety of sources. Some of the information is reliable, some of it isn't, and sometimes the most significant thing about the information is its source. Revealing all the information we have collected wouldn't help you, because much of it is contradictory or is only meaningful when viewed in a context you don't have access to. But, revealing our information would help the Russians enormously because it would reveal our sources.
"The Russian document claiming that Loretta Lynch was muzzling the FBI is clearly wrong, so wrong that we think it may have been deliberately planted to distract our investigation. That would mean they know we have access to that source. It also means we need to go back and reassess our beliefs based on information from other sources, in case that information has also been planted. They don't know for sure which other sources we have, though, until and unless we do something reckless like reveal everything at once."
posted by Joe in Australia at 11:50 PM on April 15, 2018 [27 favorites]
I suspect that this is how an intelligence officer might respond:
"We collect a huge amount of intelligence from a wide variety of sources. Some of the information is reliable, some of it isn't, and sometimes the most significant thing about the information is its source. Revealing all the information we have collected wouldn't help you, because much of it is contradictory or is only meaningful when viewed in a context you don't have access to. But, revealing our information would help the Russians enormously because it would reveal our sources.
"The Russian document claiming that Loretta Lynch was muzzling the FBI is clearly wrong, so wrong that we think it may have been deliberately planted to distract our investigation. That would mean they know we have access to that source. It also means we need to go back and reassess our beliefs based on information from other sources, in case that information has also been planted. They don't know for sure which other sources we have, though, until and unless we do something reckless like reveal everything at once."
posted by Joe in Australia at 11:50 PM on April 15, 2018 [27 favorites]
There's so very much wrong with the idea of classified disinformation, with every facet of it, it could be, like, none more wrong. Maybe this belongs in the existential facepalm thread.
posted by riverlife at 12:10 AM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by riverlife at 12:10 AM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
Cohen doesn't seem to have performed much actual "legal" work for either of those two apart from structuring coverup payments. There's sort of an existential issue here, if the only thing your attorney is doing for you is help you commit crimes, is he your attorney?
There's a key distinction here: did he help clean up messes after they happened? That's what all defense lawyers do, and it's totally legit (if distasteful).
Once there's an official record that Cohen broke the law with his quasi-lawyering, the whole concept of privilege gets thrown out.
If he helped his client(s) plan and prepare crimes, that crosses the line and removes privilege for that conversation, though I don't think it's a "one strike and you're out" situation. In other words, that violation does not eliminate your attorney-client privilege in other incidents where you played by the rules. It's case by case.
posted by msalt at 12:15 AM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
There's a key distinction here: did he help clean up messes after they happened? That's what all defense lawyers do, and it's totally legit (if distasteful).
Once there's an official record that Cohen broke the law with his quasi-lawyering, the whole concept of privilege gets thrown out.
If he helped his client(s) plan and prepare crimes, that crosses the line and removes privilege for that conversation, though I don't think it's a "one strike and you're out" situation. In other words, that violation does not eliminate your attorney-client privilege in other incidents where you played by the rules. It's case by case.
posted by msalt at 12:15 AM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
I'm really running late so can't read the transcript yet, but what you are all writing fits so much with my perception of Comey: he should be discussing this with a therapist, not the rest of the world. He's done something terrible to America, and keeps trying to amend it but I don't think he really can yet.
The other thing is: he says it, but doesn't realize it describes himself too: Trump soils everyone he touches, and that includes Comey. I wonder what Comey would have said if Obama had invited him to a private dinner? (Completely unlikely, I know). But I think that in this hypothetical situation, Comey would have known how to say no. Still, he gets caught up into Trump's meat loafing for a moment. I think that's why he needs to talk about the vulgarity of the experience, he's soothing himself, though a more balanced man would know it makes him look bad.
posted by mumimor at 12:20 AM on April 16, 2018 [39 favorites]
The other thing is: he says it, but doesn't realize it describes himself too: Trump soils everyone he touches, and that includes Comey. I wonder what Comey would have said if Obama had invited him to a private dinner? (Completely unlikely, I know). But I think that in this hypothetical situation, Comey would have known how to say no. Still, he gets caught up into Trump's meat loafing for a moment. I think that's why he needs to talk about the vulgarity of the experience, he's soothing himself, though a more balanced man would know it makes him look bad.
posted by mumimor at 12:20 AM on April 16, 2018 [39 favorites]
This is the entirety of my reaction to everything Comey. Fuck that guy until proven otherwise.
That is an entirely appropriate response to anyone who's been the head of the FBI, even if allegations of foolishness are proven otherwise.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 12:23 AM on April 16, 2018 [15 favorites]
That is an entirely appropriate response to anyone who's been the head of the FBI, even if allegations of foolishness are proven otherwise.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 12:23 AM on April 16, 2018 [15 favorites]
Comey probably (or almost assuredly) made a bad decision there, but the media treated it as if it was the first scandal of the Clinton administration, after already pounding on Clinton relentlessly for “her emails” and other horse race bullshit.
posted by gucci mane at 12:31 AM on April 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by gucci mane at 12:31 AM on April 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
weeping angel: Can someone please explain like I’m five the people in the Michael Cohen photo? I’ve tried. I’ve really tried, but there are just too many assholes to keep track of. (I’m like THIS CLOSE to breaking out a bulletin board and some red yarn.)
OK -- Let's standardize on this photo (here's some video too)
There are eight gentlemen in the photo. From left to right:
1) Jerry Rotonda, former CFO of Deutsche Bank America's Wealth Management Branch until 2017 and still an advisor to them.
2) Dan Elituv
3) Not yet identified
4) Probable bystander
5) Michael Cohen
6) Not yet identified
7) Rotem Rosen (married to Alex Sapir's sister Zina)
8) Eyal Ben-Yosef
Note 1: Rotonda and Rosen formed a real estate development firm (MRR Development) in 2017 with Indian billionaire Anand Mahindra. Rotonda is often incorrectly ID'ed as [current] CFO of Deutsche Bank [globally].
Note 2: Alex and Zina Sapir are children of the late Tamir Sapir, a billionaire emigre to NYC with KGB ties (acc. to NYT) who Trump called "a great friend"
Note 3: This epic and highly detailed report in Politico details the ties between this circle, Trump's associates Felix Sater and Tevfik Arif, and Putin's oligarch buddies Lev Leviev and Roman Abramovich. The group is connected through a Chabad-Lubavitch community center in Port Washington on Long Island.
Hopefully you're a precocious five-year-old.
posted by msalt at 12:38 AM on April 16, 2018 [50 favorites]
OK -- Let's standardize on this photo (here's some video too)
There are eight gentlemen in the photo. From left to right:
1) Jerry Rotonda, former CFO of Deutsche Bank America's Wealth Management Branch until 2017 and still an advisor to them.
2) Dan Elituv
3) Not yet identified
4) Probable bystander
5) Michael Cohen
6) Not yet identified
7) Rotem Rosen (married to Alex Sapir's sister Zina)
8) Eyal Ben-Yosef
Note 1: Rotonda and Rosen formed a real estate development firm (MRR Development) in 2017 with Indian billionaire Anand Mahindra. Rotonda is often incorrectly ID'ed as [current] CFO of Deutsche Bank [globally].
Note 2: Alex and Zina Sapir are children of the late Tamir Sapir, a billionaire emigre to NYC with KGB ties (acc. to NYT) who Trump called "a great friend"
Note 3: This epic and highly detailed report in Politico details the ties between this circle, Trump's associates Felix Sater and Tevfik Arif, and Putin's oligarch buddies Lev Leviev and Roman Abramovich. The group is connected through a Chabad-Lubavitch community center in Port Washington on Long Island.
Hopefully you're a precocious five-year-old.
posted by msalt at 12:38 AM on April 16, 2018 [50 favorites]
3) Not yet identified
4) Probable bystander
6) Not yet identified
Certainly one of these guys must be Pepe Silvia
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 1:09 AM on April 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
4) Probable bystander
6) Not yet identified
Certainly one of these guys must be Pepe Silvia
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 1:09 AM on April 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
Rotonda's a nasty piece of work; the guardian has a writeup on 1998 case when he made racist threats at a metermaid.
posted by sebastienbailard at 1:21 AM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by sebastienbailard at 1:21 AM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
Ugh, I hate how many of these loathesome human beings are Israeli or Jewish or both, have Jewish-sounding names, or at least ones that will sound Jewish to folks who don’t travel much. One of the most plausible endgames for all of this, it has always seemed to me, is for the broad center to accept that there were high crimes and misdemeanors committed, but to shunt off all responsibility for same onto a shadowy cabal of malefactors pulling the idiot Trump’s strings – no points awarded for guessing who that shadowy cabal would turn out to be, in this telling.
If Don DeLillo has it that all plots tend deathward, I’d argue as a corrollary that all conspiracy theories in the end resolve to good ol’ Protocols-style anti-Semitism, and the optics of this vile crowd only reinforce that narrative. It turns my stomach.
posted by adamgreenfield at 2:48 AM on April 16, 2018 [51 favorites]
If Don DeLillo has it that all plots tend deathward, I’d argue as a corrollary that all conspiracy theories in the end resolve to good ol’ Protocols-style anti-Semitism, and the optics of this vile crowd only reinforce that narrative. It turns my stomach.
posted by adamgreenfield at 2:48 AM on April 16, 2018 [51 favorites]
Ugh, I hate how many of these loathesome human beings are Israeli or Jewish or both, have Jewish-sounding names, or at least ones that will sound Jewish to folks who don’t travel much
Since the influx of Jews from the Soviet Union into Israel in the 1990's, there seems to be a depressingly increasing link between Russian and Israeli organised crime.
posted by PenDevil at 3:18 AM on April 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
Since the influx of Jews from the Soviet Union into Israel in the 1990's, there seems to be a depressingly increasing link between Russian and Israeli organised crime.
posted by PenDevil at 3:18 AM on April 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
It should probably be noted that one of the easiest ways of getting out of the USSR was to persuade the Israeli government that one was Jewish; they would then move heaven and earth to get you out. Some of the people who did this actually practiced Judaism or had Jewish ancestry, others, not so much.
There was an underground industry in the USSR that would, for a fee, teach you enough about Judaism and Russian Jewish history to be able to pass an interview, as well as rumours of candidates submitting to backyard circumcisions for extra verisimilitude. As with all underground industries, they disproportionately select for, shall we say, individuals of extraordinary moral flexibility.
posted by acb at 3:31 AM on April 16, 2018 [61 favorites]
There was an underground industry in the USSR that would, for a fee, teach you enough about Judaism and Russian Jewish history to be able to pass an interview, as well as rumours of candidates submitting to backyard circumcisions for extra verisimilitude. As with all underground industries, they disproportionately select for, shall we say, individuals of extraordinary moral flexibility.
posted by acb at 3:31 AM on April 16, 2018 [61 favorites]
Perry seems in favor of emergency order to bail out coal, nuclear plants
Comments suggest struggling firm FirstEnergy could get help from the DOE.
While unsuccessfully searching for video of the hearing I found a ½-hour film released by the DoE in 1978 entitled Energy: The American Experience (starts about two minutes in.) I won't be able to watch it until later, so I cannot report on its contents yet, but the intro music and the opening scene of a frontiersman vigorously chopping wood seem to indicate it will be awfully exciting.
posted by XMLicious at 4:26 AM on April 16, 2018 [22 favorites]
Comments suggest struggling firm FirstEnergy could get help from the DOE.
At a hearing on Capitol Hill on Thursday, Energy Secretary Rick Perry expressed his willingness to help coal and nuclear plants out with an emergency order similar to one requested by energy firm FirstEnergy earlier this month.The email address currently listed at the latter link above is "AskOE@hq.doe.gov".
Two weeks ago, FirstEnergy asked the Department of Energy (DOE) to invoke Section 202(c), which allows the department to order certain US power plants to keep running during wartime or during a natural disaster. The energy firm then filed for bankruptcy a few days later.
There has been skepticism within the DOE that Section 202(c) should be used for any purpose other than a disaster. But at Thursday's hearing, Perry seemed to play up the dire state of the American grid throughout his comments in front of the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Energy, where he took questions from representatives about the Trump administration's budget request for 2019.
The secretary said that Americans were having to choose between keeping their families warm and turning the lights on, and he repeatedly invoked national security as a reason to maintain existing coal and nuclear plants. However, major grid operators have contended that resilience can be improved without keeping uneconomic coal plants online.
Earlier this week, the DOE opened an unofficial comment period on whether the department should use Section 202(c) to bail out FirstEnergy, updating the department's Section 202(c) landing page with an email address people can send their comments and concerns to.
While unsuccessfully searching for video of the hearing I found a ½-hour film released by the DoE in 1978 entitled Energy: The American Experience (starts about two minutes in.) I won't be able to watch it until later, so I cannot report on its contents yet, but the intro music and the opening scene of a frontiersman vigorously chopping wood seem to indicate it will be awfully exciting.
posted by XMLicious at 4:26 AM on April 16, 2018 [22 favorites]
Greg Sargent - WaPo: An important detail from the Comey interview: Comey suggests it's still an *open question* whether Trump knew Mike Flynn had lied to the FBI when Trump pressed him to drop the probe into Flynn.
Comey says this is something Mueller is likely looking at:
Comey says this is something Mueller is likely looking at:
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: But you knew at this point that Mike Flynn was in some jeopardy.posted by chris24 at 5:01 AM on April 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
JAMES COMEY: Yes.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Serious jeopardy.
JAMES COMEY: Yes.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Did the president know that?
JAMES COMEY: I don't know. That is obviously an area that a special prosecutor would want to investigate. I don't know the answer to that.
Marcy Wheeler: Overnight I realized that SDNY is going to have to talk about crimes the president was party to in today's hearing.
And Stormy will be present as a reminder.
Matthew Miller (MSNBC Justice analyst, ex-DOJ): The filings by Trump and Cohen do seem to be asking for this kind of response, just as the Manafort filings brought about the howitzer responses from Mueller.
---
And IANAL, but a lot of smart people who are – Renato Mariotti, Orin Kerr, Norm Eisen – think this motion will fail.
posted by chris24 at 5:13 AM on April 16, 2018 [10 favorites]
And Stormy will be present as a reminder.
Matthew Miller (MSNBC Justice analyst, ex-DOJ): The filings by Trump and Cohen do seem to be asking for this kind of response, just as the Manafort filings brought about the howitzer responses from Mueller.
---
And IANAL, but a lot of smart people who are – Renato Mariotti, Orin Kerr, Norm Eisen – think this motion will fail.
posted by chris24 at 5:13 AM on April 16, 2018 [10 favorites]
Comey comes off to me as an upstanding guy who made a lot of dumb decisions.
posted by CottonCandyCapers at 5:28 AM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by CottonCandyCapers at 5:28 AM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
Ugh, I hate how many of these loathesome human beings are Israeli or Jewish or both, have Jewish-sounding names, or at least ones that will sound Jewish to folks who don’t travel much
Since the influx of Jews from the Soviet Union into Israel in the 1990's, there seems to be a depressingly increasing link between Russian and Israeli organised crime.
posted by PenDevil at 7:18 PM on April 16 [5 favorites +] [!]
Where goes a diaspora go the criminals. Organized crime loves nothing more than an exit. Don't feel disgust at yourself for feeling that the particular people involved of a certain identity are icky, but do feel disgust at the people involved for being icky. You'll find the same in many diaspora communities, precisely because of the disgusting things enabled by YAY NEW LAND WHERE THEY DON'T KNOW WE GET UP TO SHIT.
It's not about being anti-Semetic, or at least it better not be. Nasty fuckers is some nasty fuckers and they cluster by some rules that are discernible and that just how it be.
posted by saysthis at 5:44 AM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
Since the influx of Jews from the Soviet Union into Israel in the 1990's, there seems to be a depressingly increasing link between Russian and Israeli organised crime.
posted by PenDevil at 7:18 PM on April 16 [5 favorites +] [!]
Where goes a diaspora go the criminals. Organized crime loves nothing more than an exit. Don't feel disgust at yourself for feeling that the particular people involved of a certain identity are icky, but do feel disgust at the people involved for being icky. You'll find the same in many diaspora communities, precisely because of the disgusting things enabled by YAY NEW LAND WHERE THEY DON'T KNOW WE GET UP TO SHIT.
It's not about being anti-Semetic, or at least it better not be. Nasty fuckers is some nasty fuckers and they cluster by some rules that are discernible and that just how it be.
posted by saysthis at 5:44 AM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
Since the influx of Jews from the Soviet Union into Israel in the 1990's, there seems to be a depressingly increasing link between Russian and Israeli organised crime.
Not just Israel. After '89, when restrictions were lifted under Gorbachev, most Russian/Soviet Jewish emigres were coming to the US. One wonders if tensions between Russia and Ukraine have been mirrored in conflicts in those organizations...
posted by snuffleupagus at 5:48 AM on April 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Not just Israel. After '89, when restrictions were lifted under Gorbachev, most Russian/Soviet Jewish emigres were coming to the US. One wonders if tensions between Russia and Ukraine have been mirrored in conflicts in those organizations...
posted by snuffleupagus at 5:48 AM on April 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Russian reporter Borodin dead after mystery fall. A Russian investigative journalist who wrote about the deaths of mercenaries in Syria has died in hospital after falling from his fifth-floor flat.
posted by scalefree at 5:53 AM on April 16, 2018 [74 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 5:53 AM on April 16, 2018 [74 favorites]
From the BBC article linked:
What did Borodin write?
In recent weeks, the journalist had written about Russian mercenaries known as the "Wagner Group" who were reportedly killed in Syria on 7 February in a confrontation with US forces.
Last week, the outgoing head of the CIA, Mike Pompeo, said that "a couple hundred" Russian mercenaries died in the clash in Deir al-Zour province. The mercenaries were apparently taking part in an attack by pro-Syrian government fighters on the headquarters of a US ally, the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Last month, Borodin had written that three of those killed had come from the Sverdlovsk region in the Urals, in which Yekaterinburg is the main city. Two of the men were from the towns of Asbest and one from Kedrovoye, he said.
He had also investigated political scandals, including allegations made by a Belarusian escort known as Nastya Rybka in a video posted by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
posted by snuffleupagus at 5:59 AM on April 16, 2018 [26 favorites]
What did Borodin write?
In recent weeks, the journalist had written about Russian mercenaries known as the "Wagner Group" who were reportedly killed in Syria on 7 February in a confrontation with US forces.
Last week, the outgoing head of the CIA, Mike Pompeo, said that "a couple hundred" Russian mercenaries died in the clash in Deir al-Zour province. The mercenaries were apparently taking part in an attack by pro-Syrian government fighters on the headquarters of a US ally, the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Last month, Borodin had written that three of those killed had come from the Sverdlovsk region in the Urals, in which Yekaterinburg is the main city. Two of the men were from the towns of Asbest and one from Kedrovoye, he said.
He had also investigated political scandals, including allegations made by a Belarusian escort known as Nastya Rybka in a video posted by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
posted by snuffleupagus at 5:59 AM on April 16, 2018 [26 favorites]
[Cohen] has suggested to people close to him that perhaps he should act as his own attorney, because he may be the most apt person to defend himself.
Vanity Fair, hyperlink mine
Why not? He's had a fool for a client for years.
@hrhacl
my favorite thing about skeevy mob lawyer Michael Cohen is that he's too stupid to understand how much trouble he's in, which makes him stupider than Trump, which is impressive all by itself
@jefftiedrich
posted by Busy Old Fool at 6:11 AM on April 16, 2018 [52 favorites]
Vanity Fair, hyperlink mine
Why not? He's had a fool for a client for years.
@hrhacl
my favorite thing about skeevy mob lawyer Michael Cohen is that he's too stupid to understand how much trouble he's in, which makes him stupider than Trump, which is impressive all by itself
@jefftiedrich
posted by Busy Old Fool at 6:11 AM on April 16, 2018 [52 favorites]
Michael Cohen seems more and more like Michael Scott if he was a character on The Sopranos. Good.
posted by rc3spencer at 6:23 AM on April 16, 2018 [57 favorites]
posted by rc3spencer at 6:23 AM on April 16, 2018 [57 favorites]
One more step towards authoritarianism.
Without mentioning Mueller, Trump lawyers urge high court to bolster his power to fire executive officials.
Without mentioning Mueller, Trump lawyers urge high court to bolster his power to fire executive officials.
The Supreme Court is set to hear a seemingly minor case later this month on the status of administrative judges at the Securities and Exchange Commission, an issue that normally might only draw the interest of those accused of stock fraud.posted by scalefree at 6:26 AM on April 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
But the dispute turns on the president's power to hire and fire officials throughout the government. And it comes just as the White House is saying President Trump believes he has the power to fire special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.
Trump's Solicitor Gen. Noel Francisco intervened in the SEC case to urge the high court to clarify the president's constitutional power to fire all "officers of the United States" who "exercise significant authority" under the law.
"The Constitution gives the president what the framers saw as the traditional means of ensuring accountability: the power to oversee executive officers through removal," he wrote in Lucia vs. SEC. "The president is accordingly authorized under our constitutional system to remove all principal officers, as well as all 'inferior officers' he has appointed."
In addition to representing the administration before the Supreme Court, Francisco, a former law clerk for the late Justice Antonin Scalia, could be in line to oversee the Mueller inquiry if Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein is fired. Atty. Gen Jeff Sessions has recused himself from the investigation.
That Vanity Fair article does a good job setting the stage for this week's proceedings. When we last saw our fearless zero, Mikey Cohen, he was holding court on hotel benches. Meanwhile...
Further downtown, however, Judge Kimba Wood was asking Cohen’s attorney, Todd Harrison, the whereabouts of his client. Wood, the Senior United States District Judge for Manhattan’s Southern District, was herself no stranger to the harsh glare of the media. In 1993, her chances of an appointment as U.S. Attorney General were famously dashed by ["nannygate."]... [in] a hearing over whether she would grant the temporary restraining order (T.R.O.) that Cohen’s legal team had asked for...Harrison argued that the thousands of documents were protected by attorney-client privilege, and that Cohen or an independent lawyer should be allowed to review them first, rather than a so-called “filter team” of impartial government prosecutors. Judge Wood had asked Harrison to provide her with a list of Cohen’s clients...but Harrison could not offer an accurate estimate and asked for more time. Prosecutors, meanwhile, argued that their investigation focused on his business dealings, not his legal work, and that Cohen...was “performing little to no legal work,” and had exchanged zero e-mails with his famous client.
Meanwhile, Joanna Hendon, a lawyer hired by Trump two days earlier, addressed the court on her new client’s behalf. She asked Judge Wood for more time, too, arguing that she needed to get up to speed. “Those searches have been executed, and the evidence is locked down,” Hendon, said in court. “I’m not trying to delay,” she continued, “I’m just trying to ensure that it’s done scrupulously.” Her client, who she punctiliously noted was the President of the United States, had an acute interest in these proceedings. “Ultimately,” she said, “this is of most concern to him.”
As the session adjourned, Judge Wood granted Harrison until Monday to come up with a client list and ordered him to appear alongside Cohen for another hearing on Monday.
That's today.
REUTERS: Trump lawyer Michael Cohen expected at court hearing over searches
A longtime personal lawyer for U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to appear Monday in Manhattan federal court as he seeks an order limiting federal prosecutors’ ability to review documents seized in raids on his home and office last week...
Adult-film actress Stormy Daniels plans to attend Monday’s hearing, her lawyer Michael Avenatti, said on Sunday...
In a court filing Sunday night, lawyers for Trump asked to be allowed to review documents that in any way relate to the president...
The judge ordered that Cohen himself be present Monday so that he could answer questions about his clients.
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:28 AM on April 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
Further downtown, however, Judge Kimba Wood was asking Cohen’s attorney, Todd Harrison, the whereabouts of his client. Wood, the Senior United States District Judge for Manhattan’s Southern District, was herself no stranger to the harsh glare of the media. In 1993, her chances of an appointment as U.S. Attorney General were famously dashed by ["nannygate."]... [in] a hearing over whether she would grant the temporary restraining order (T.R.O.) that Cohen’s legal team had asked for...Harrison argued that the thousands of documents were protected by attorney-client privilege, and that Cohen or an independent lawyer should be allowed to review them first, rather than a so-called “filter team” of impartial government prosecutors. Judge Wood had asked Harrison to provide her with a list of Cohen’s clients...but Harrison could not offer an accurate estimate and asked for more time. Prosecutors, meanwhile, argued that their investigation focused on his business dealings, not his legal work, and that Cohen...was “performing little to no legal work,” and had exchanged zero e-mails with his famous client.
Meanwhile, Joanna Hendon, a lawyer hired by Trump two days earlier, addressed the court on her new client’s behalf. She asked Judge Wood for more time, too, arguing that she needed to get up to speed. “Those searches have been executed, and the evidence is locked down,” Hendon, said in court. “I’m not trying to delay,” she continued, “I’m just trying to ensure that it’s done scrupulously.” Her client, who she punctiliously noted was the President of the United States, had an acute interest in these proceedings. “Ultimately,” she said, “this is of most concern to him.”
As the session adjourned, Judge Wood granted Harrison until Monday to come up with a client list and ordered him to appear alongside Cohen for another hearing on Monday.
That's today.
REUTERS: Trump lawyer Michael Cohen expected at court hearing over searches
A longtime personal lawyer for U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to appear Monday in Manhattan federal court as he seeks an order limiting federal prosecutors’ ability to review documents seized in raids on his home and office last week...
Adult-film actress Stormy Daniels plans to attend Monday’s hearing, her lawyer Michael Avenatti, said on Sunday...
In a court filing Sunday night, lawyers for Trump asked to be allowed to review documents that in any way relate to the president...
The judge ordered that Cohen himself be present Monday so that he could answer questions about his clients.
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:28 AM on April 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
Dan Scavino, the Secretary of Offense
Robert Draper, NYTimes
posted by mumimor at 6:31 AM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
Robert Draper, NYTimes
Today Trump has not so much drained Washington’s swamp as convulsed it with daily electroshocks of presidential id. Journalists now routinely awaken to the sound of a notification on their smartphones, telling them that the president is already up and driving the news in 280-character gonzo fusillades. A far more common spectacle today than a legislative signing ceremony is the image of House Speaker Paul Ryan facing the microphones and, with a mortician’s smile, trying to explain away his party leader’s latest tweet: “It’s what he does. We’ve kind of learned to live with it.” (Or maybe not: Ryan made it less than halfway through Trump’s first term before announcing his retirement from Congress.) The question of whether Trump’s social media outbursts constitute actual news has been rendered moot by his front-page-worthy announcements on Twitter: that his secretary of Veterans Affairs has been replaced, that he considers his own attorney general “beleaguered,” that “trade wars are good,” that “DACA is dead.” The Trump presidency’s defining feature — its resolute abnormality — is above all the handiwork of @realDonaldTrump. It therefore stands to reason that Trump’s most valued aide is the one whose job description has no precedent.It's sad.
posted by mumimor at 6:31 AM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
my favorite thing about skeevy mob lawyer Michael Cohen is that he's too stupid to understand how much trouble he's in
At this point I’m not sure if it’s stupidity or just pure hubris that his friends will fix this all for him.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 6:34 AM on April 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
At this point I’m not sure if it’s stupidity or just pure hubris that his friends will fix this all for him.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 6:34 AM on April 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
Trusting Trump is indistinguishable from stupidity.
posted by chris24 at 6:39 AM on April 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 6:39 AM on April 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
> At this point I’m not sure if it’s stupidity or just pure hubris that his friends will fix this all for him.
Although none of these people seem very smart I'm pretty sure it's mostly the latter (this goes for Kushner, Trump's kids and...you know, everyone in that gang who hasn't already pleaded guilty and cut a deal), and it remains to be seen if he will be proven wrong.
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:41 AM on April 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
Although none of these people seem very smart I'm pretty sure it's mostly the latter (this goes for Kushner, Trump's kids and...you know, everyone in that gang who hasn't already pleaded guilty and cut a deal), and it remains to be seen if he will be proven wrong.
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:41 AM on April 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
At this point I’m not sure if it’s stupidity or just pure hubris that his friends will fix this all for him.
Por que no los dos? It's stupidity and hubris. Two great tastes that taste great together (brought to you by Dunning-Kruger!).
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:41 AM on April 16, 2018 [24 favorites]
Por que no los dos? It's stupidity and hubris. Two great tastes that taste great together (brought to you by Dunning-Kruger!).
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:41 AM on April 16, 2018 [24 favorites]
Comey comes off to me as an upstanding guy who made a lot of dumb decisions.
This is my take. I can't dislike Comey, no matter how I try. He's flawed, and I think he knows it, but I think he's always tried to do the right thing. Unfortunately, his overthinking led to really lousy decisions.
posted by DrAstroZoom at 6:46 AM on April 16, 2018 [14 favorites]
This is my take. I can't dislike Comey, no matter how I try. He's flawed, and I think he knows it, but I think he's always tried to do the right thing. Unfortunately, his overthinking led to really lousy decisions.
posted by DrAstroZoom at 6:46 AM on April 16, 2018 [14 favorites]
In the last few years, I’ve known two people with family who were in the NY commercial real estate business. One’s immediate family member did a lot of sketchy business with Felix Sater and I think was contemplating getting out of town, the other’s immediate family member worked out of the Port Washington area and died, suddenly and unnaturally, in an accident that nobody else witnessed. It was as traumatizing for my friend as it sounds.
I would fucking love it if, as a side effect of ridding our country of this fascist piece of shit via ruthless prosecution, we cleaned up organized crime in NY real estate. It is predatory as fuck, it has the direct effect of screwing over New Yorkers who don’t have millions of dollars to launder, and it has been operating brazenly, out in the open, for fucking ever.
Fuck it, let’s not limit it to NYC. If the response to this whole climactic shitticane is not a wave of anti-corruption zealotry, we will have failed. We can’t keep letting rich people get away with whatever they want and maintain a society. It’s not sustainable.
So if Trump manages to accidentally drain the swamp by bringing this much attention to it...Christ, that would actually be perfect. The writers would love it.
posted by schadenfrau at 6:46 AM on April 16, 2018 [103 favorites]
I would fucking love it if, as a side effect of ridding our country of this fascist piece of shit via ruthless prosecution, we cleaned up organized crime in NY real estate. It is predatory as fuck, it has the direct effect of screwing over New Yorkers who don’t have millions of dollars to launder, and it has been operating brazenly, out in the open, for fucking ever.
Fuck it, let’s not limit it to NYC. If the response to this whole climactic shitticane is not a wave of anti-corruption zealotry, we will have failed. We can’t keep letting rich people get away with whatever they want and maintain a society. It’s not sustainable.
So if Trump manages to accidentally drain the swamp by bringing this much attention to it...Christ, that would actually be perfect. The writers would love it.
posted by schadenfrau at 6:46 AM on April 16, 2018 [103 favorites]
At this point I’m not sure if it’s stupidity or just pure hubris that his friends will fix this all for him.
This is a thing I've been thinking a lot about since 2016, and which was actually reinforced by the Comey interview in a way he probably wouldn't have enjoyed. There is this part where he says he doesn't think Trump is mentally impaired, but morally impaired, and I agree with that. But he also said Trump is above average intelligent, and that really made me realize that the acceptable average intelligence level for white males is something like 20-30 points below that of non-white people or women. I don't think Comey is lying or exaggerating, I think he is speaking from an experience I to some degree know, and its scary.
Apart from the above, these people have being getting away with crimes for 50+ years. Why would there suddenly be repercussions now?
posted by mumimor at 6:46 AM on April 16, 2018 [35 favorites]
This is a thing I've been thinking a lot about since 2016, and which was actually reinforced by the Comey interview in a way he probably wouldn't have enjoyed. There is this part where he says he doesn't think Trump is mentally impaired, but morally impaired, and I agree with that. But he also said Trump is above average intelligent, and that really made me realize that the acceptable average intelligence level for white males is something like 20-30 points below that of non-white people or women. I don't think Comey is lying or exaggerating, I think he is speaking from an experience I to some degree know, and its scary.
Apart from the above, these people have being getting away with crimes for 50+ years. Why would there suddenly be repercussions now?
posted by mumimor at 6:46 AM on April 16, 2018 [35 favorites]
Update: I've tried three or four different classification methods, and so far I can't get any of them above about 70% or so accuracy. (My record is ~73%, which I think came from a random forest classifier.)
Either I'm not picking the right features (or not enough of them), or my sample size, much like Donny's hands, is too small to be useful. Bleah.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 6:51 AM on April 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
Either I'm not picking the right features (or not enough of them), or my sample size, much like Donny's hands, is too small to be useful. Bleah.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 6:51 AM on April 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
It may interest you to know, though, that so far the readability score and ratio of capital letters to all other characters seem to be winners as Trump-ian tweet features.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 6:56 AM on April 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 6:56 AM on April 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
I can't dislike Comey, no matter how I try. He's flawed, and I think he knows it, but I think he's always tried to do the right thing.
He didn't try to do the right thing. He did absolutely the wrong thing at every turn. He broke department rules that were designed specifically to prevent people like Comey from doing the wrong thing. And every time he did it because he was afraid of Republicans saying bad things about him. That's cowardice.
He thinks he did the right thing. But that is just his holier than thou hubris. It's the hubris that got him in trouble, causing his wrong decisions. All he had to do was follow the rules. He didn't. There's no excuse for it.
posted by JackFlash at 6:57 AM on April 16, 2018 [84 favorites]
He didn't try to do the right thing. He did absolutely the wrong thing at every turn. He broke department rules that were designed specifically to prevent people like Comey from doing the wrong thing. And every time he did it because he was afraid of Republicans saying bad things about him. That's cowardice.
He thinks he did the right thing. But that is just his holier than thou hubris. It's the hubris that got him in trouble, causing his wrong decisions. All he had to do was follow the rules. He didn't. There's no excuse for it.
posted by JackFlash at 6:57 AM on April 16, 2018 [84 favorites]
East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94: The New York Times: While many of Mr. Trump’s critics believe that the proper remedy for his perceived transgressions is impeachment, Mr. Comey insisted that would just “let the American people off the hook.” He said the public was “duty bound” to vote Mr. Trump out of office in the next election.
That's the plan: the blue wave we're working for later this year should also wash over the current administration and finally do what the GOP should have done long ago: impeach Trump and Pence, and clean out this administration's corruption from the top down.
(And for good measure, there are a number of federal judges appointed by Trump (Wikipedia list) that should be re-evaluated, to ensure that those lifetime appointments weren't made in error.)
posted by filthy light thief at 6:58 AM on April 16, 2018 [23 favorites]
That's the plan: the blue wave we're working for later this year should also wash over the current administration and finally do what the GOP should have done long ago: impeach Trump and Pence, and clean out this administration's corruption from the top down.
(And for good measure, there are a number of federal judges appointed by Trump (Wikipedia list) that should be re-evaluated, to ensure that those lifetime appointments weren't made in error.)
posted by filthy light thief at 6:58 AM on April 16, 2018 [23 favorites]
I don't know if this is derail-ish, but as a comment to my above comment, I have noticed that among the truly above-normal intelligent men I know, more than usual are not as successful as expected.
posted by mumimor at 6:59 AM on April 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by mumimor at 6:59 AM on April 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
But he also said Trump is above average intelligent, and that really made me realize that the acceptable average intelligence level for white males is something like 20-30 points below that of non-white people or women.
IQ points don't say much, at least about intelligence. But I think it's safe to say that white men in our society have been able to attain higher levels of success with less observable cleverness due to masking it by better access to education, control of the academe, gatekeeping access to the professions or to technical careers, prejudiced hiring and advancement practices, etc. Perceived intelligence has a component of social ascription.
I don't know if this is derail-ish, but as a comment to my above comment, I have noticed that among the truly above-normal intelligent men I know, more than usual are not as successful as expected.
I'd hazard a guess that this is true for people of above-normal smarts generally. That being smart leads to being successful is something of a platitude. As often as not, being smart leads to being depressed, because, have a look around.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:04 AM on April 16, 2018 [81 favorites]
IQ points don't say much, at least about intelligence. But I think it's safe to say that white men in our society have been able to attain higher levels of success with less observable cleverness due to masking it by better access to education, control of the academe, gatekeeping access to the professions or to technical careers, prejudiced hiring and advancement practices, etc. Perceived intelligence has a component of social ascription.
I don't know if this is derail-ish, but as a comment to my above comment, I have noticed that among the truly above-normal intelligent men I know, more than usual are not as successful as expected.
I'd hazard a guess that this is true for people of above-normal smarts generally. That being smart leads to being successful is something of a platitude. As often as not, being smart leads to being depressed, because, have a look around.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:04 AM on April 16, 2018 [81 favorites]
If the response to this whole climactic shitticane is not a wave of anti-corruption zealotry, we will have failed. We can’t keep letting rich people get away with whatever they want and maintain a society. It’s not sustainable.
This riposte should be the standard Democratic response every time a Republican whines about "job-killing regulations" -- "Republicans want the rich to be able to get away with everything!" -- until complaining about regulations polls so badly in Frank Luntz's focus groups that Republicans quit doing it.
posted by Gelatin at 7:04 AM on April 16, 2018 [22 favorites]
This riposte should be the standard Democratic response every time a Republican whines about "job-killing regulations" -- "Republicans want the rich to be able to get away with everything!" -- until complaining about regulations polls so badly in Frank Luntz's focus groups that Republicans quit doing it.
posted by Gelatin at 7:04 AM on April 16, 2018 [22 favorites]
IQ points don't say much, at least about intelligence.
Yeah, I first made a long disclaimer, then realized it would make no sense as a comment, but obviously I agree. On the other hand, some people are obviously smarter than others and this is where I have observed that white men get away with less "smartness" than everyone else, and also that really smart white men sometimes don't.
And then let's end this derail and I apologize for starting it.
posted by mumimor at 7:11 AM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Yeah, I first made a long disclaimer, then realized it would make no sense as a comment, but obviously I agree. On the other hand, some people are obviously smarter than others and this is where I have observed that white men get away with less "smartness" than everyone else, and also that really smart white men sometimes don't.
And then let's end this derail and I apologize for starting it.
posted by mumimor at 7:11 AM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Mr. No Comment: Meet the Utahn who speaks for the special counsel’s Russia-Trump probe, but don’t expect him to say too much
Carr, a Bountiful native who previously worked as press secretary for Sen. Orrin Hatch, serves as Mueller’s spokesman, fielding requests from The Washington Post, The New York Times, CNN and a slew of media outlets repeatedly asking for reaction from the special counsel on the latest revelation in the ongoing investigation.posted by BungaDunga at 7:13 AM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
The standard reply: “No comment.”
In Washington, Carr may be the most quoted person saying absolutely nothing. And that’s by design.
The NYT editorial board can also use all-caps: THE PRESIDENT IS NOT ABOVE THE LAW. "The president is not a king but a citizen, deserving of the presumption of innocence and other protections, yet also vulnerable to lawful scrutiny. We hope Mr. Trump recognizes this. If he doesn’t, how Republican lawmakers respond will shape the future not only of this presidency and of one of the country’s great political parties, but of the American experiment itself."
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:15 AM on April 16, 2018 [32 favorites]
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:15 AM on April 16, 2018 [32 favorites]
Russian reporter Borodin dead after mystery fall.
I think I've reached peak cynicism when I find myself genuinely surprised that such "accidents" haven't happened here in the US. As much as Trump acts like a very petulant Jersey goodfella (Donny Tiny Hands?) it just doesn't seem out of the question anymore that a reporter or activist hasn't had an "accident" yet. It makes me ill that I even think such things would possible now.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:19 AM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
I think I've reached peak cynicism when I find myself genuinely surprised that such "accidents" haven't happened here in the US. As much as Trump acts like a very petulant Jersey goodfella (Donny Tiny Hands?) it just doesn't seem out of the question anymore that a reporter or activist hasn't had an "accident" yet. It makes me ill that I even think such things would possible now.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:19 AM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
-- WV: GOP is getting very worried about the possibility of convicted murderer Don Blankenship getting the nomination, launches effort to torpedo him.
No mention of Blankenship should neglect to add that the guy literally poisoned his own town's water supply, and then paid to run a water line from the next town over to his house (and only his house.)
posted by ocschwar at 7:19 AM on April 16, 2018 [58 favorites]
No mention of Blankenship should neglect to add that the guy literally poisoned his own town's water supply, and then paid to run a water line from the next town over to his house (and only his house.)
posted by ocschwar at 7:19 AM on April 16, 2018 [58 favorites]
Either I'm not picking the right features (or not enough of them), or my sample size, much like Donny's hands, is too small to be useful. Bleah.
Are you utilizing the tens of thousands of tweets from before the campaign that he almost definitely wrote himself? Would seem a good baseline for TruTrumpTweets™.
posted by chris24 at 7:20 AM on April 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Are you utilizing the tens of thousands of tweets from before the campaign that he almost definitely wrote himself? Would seem a good baseline for TruTrumpTweets™.
posted by chris24 at 7:20 AM on April 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
genuinely surprised that such "accidents" haven't happened here in the US
Vladimir Putin’s former media czar was murdered in Washington, DC, on the eve of a planned meeting with the US Justice Department, according to two FBI agents whose assertions cast new doubts on the US government’s official explanation of his death.
posted by BungaDunga at 7:22 AM on April 16, 2018 [43 favorites]
Vladimir Putin’s former media czar was murdered in Washington, DC, on the eve of a planned meeting with the US Justice Department, according to two FBI agents whose assertions cast new doubts on the US government’s official explanation of his death.
posted by BungaDunga at 7:22 AM on April 16, 2018 [43 favorites]
> No mention of Blankenship should neglect to add that the guy literally poisoned his own town's water supply, and then paid to run a water line from the next town over to his house (and only his house.)
I love that a guy who gets described in news stories as a coal "baron" and who actually served prison time for Mr. Burns-style business crimes actually has the balls to run a anti-establishment/elites/drain-the-swamp campaign.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:24 AM on April 16, 2018 [22 favorites]
I love that a guy who gets described in news stories as a coal "baron" and who actually served prison time for Mr. Burns-style business crimes actually has the balls to run a anti-establishment/elites/drain-the-swamp campaign.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:24 AM on April 16, 2018 [22 favorites]
Some people, esp. EPA chief Scott Pruitt, are using "drain the swamp" as a weird euphemism for slashing red tape. It's weird. Like taking a phrase and forcing it to mean something else.
posted by puddledork at 7:26 AM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by puddledork at 7:26 AM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
It's weird. Like taking a phrase and forcing it to mean something else.
The first thing that comes to mind:
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.” “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master—that's all.”
Also, that these guys aren't smart enough to come up with their own catchphrases, so they just copy the existing ones and use them as shibboleths.
posted by BungaDunga at 7:30 AM on April 16, 2018 [21 favorites]
The first thing that comes to mind:
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.” “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master—that's all.”
Also, that these guys aren't smart enough to come up with their own catchphrases, so they just copy the existing ones and use them as shibboleths.
posted by BungaDunga at 7:30 AM on April 16, 2018 [21 favorites]
(This where the ecologist in the room points out again that draining swamps is bad for biodiversity and clean water, and that Scott Pruitt is also bad for those things.)
posted by hydropsyche at 7:32 AM on April 16, 2018 [110 favorites]
posted by hydropsyche at 7:32 AM on April 16, 2018 [110 favorites]
I don't know if this is derail-ish, but as a comment to my above comment, I have noticed that among the truly above-normal intelligent men I know, more than usual are not as successful as expected.
Even if one were naive enough to believe our society rewards merit, they would have to admit that the primary success-determining merit is aggressiveness, not intelligence.
posted by rocket88 at 7:32 AM on April 16, 2018 [15 favorites]
Even if one were naive enough to believe our society rewards merit, they would have to admit that the primary success-determining merit is aggressiveness, not intelligence.
posted by rocket88 at 7:32 AM on April 16, 2018 [15 favorites]
Some people, esp. EPA chief Scott Pruitt, are using "drain the swamp" as a weird euphemism for slashing red tape. It's weird. Like taking a phrase and forcing it to mean something else.
"It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of words." -- George Orwell, 1984
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:33 AM on April 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
"It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of words." -- George Orwell, 1984
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:33 AM on April 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
Like tivalasvegas's uncle, people like Comey follow the rules to the myopic letter, as long as the rules are in their favor. When the rules proscribe what they want they suddenly find flexibility, perceive moral ambiguity, and engage in "strategic thinking". It's banal, pedestrian, everyday hubris and exceptionalism.
Plus, because much of Comey's justifications hinge on his intentions at the time, we will never know to what extent they have been created, consciously or subconsciously, post hoc.
He's neither an angel or a devil, but he sure isn't as self aware as I would hope for in a director of the FBI.
posted by Horkus at 7:36 AM on April 16, 2018 [55 favorites]
Plus, because much of Comey's justifications hinge on his intentions at the time, we will never know to what extent they have been created, consciously or subconsciously, post hoc.
He's neither an angel or a devil, but he sure isn't as self aware as I would hope for in a director of the FBI.
posted by Horkus at 7:36 AM on April 16, 2018 [55 favorites]
I was struck by how strong his criticism was of Attorney General Loretta Lynch. Of all the terrible decisions made, he seemed to be most critical of the first black woman to be attorney general. There is absolutely no evidence she did anything wrong. He was clearly deceived by Russian propaganda about her, and even seems to acknowledge that. But he really digs into her and expresses doubts of her decision making in a way he doesn't do even for Michael Flynn who is very clearly a Russian agent. But Hillary Clinton and Loretta Lynch, y'all, they made some bad decisions.
posted by hydropsyche at 7:44 AM on April 16, 2018 [126 favorites]
posted by hydropsyche at 7:44 AM on April 16, 2018 [126 favorites]
Well isn't that interesting.
@Spy_Stations Russian GLONASS system went offline for a while in April 14
posted by scalefree at 7:48 AM on April 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
@Spy_Stations Russian GLONASS system went offline for a while in April 14
posted by scalefree at 7:48 AM on April 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
"Drain the swamp" now just means "beat the other team." The "swamp" doesn't mean corruption or elites or anything like that, it just means Them, however you want to define that as at any particular moment.
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:48 AM on April 16, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:48 AM on April 16, 2018 [23 favorites]
(This where the ecologist in the room points out again that draining swamps is bad for biodiversity and clean water, and that Scott Pruitt is also bad for those things.)
Yeah, to this Miami-born boy the most notorious swamp-meddling that always comes to my mind is how much of the everglades were fucked with over decades, often at the nation's expense using the Army Corps of Engineers, in service of those sugar-growing fucks in middle Florida.
posted by phearlez at 7:49 AM on April 16, 2018 [21 favorites]
Yeah, to this Miami-born boy the most notorious swamp-meddling that always comes to my mind is how much of the everglades were fucked with over decades, often at the nation's expense using the Army Corps of Engineers, in service of those sugar-growing fucks in middle Florida.
posted by phearlez at 7:49 AM on April 16, 2018 [21 favorites]
But Hillary Clinton and Loretta Lynch, y'all, they made some bad decisions.
He’s a Clinton email truther through and through, baffled that he kept finding nothing and at least sane enough to admit that was what he found, but dogged by the insistent thought that something should have been there.
posted by Artw at 7:49 AM on April 16, 2018 [28 favorites]
He’s a Clinton email truther through and through, baffled that he kept finding nothing and at least sane enough to admit that was what he found, but dogged by the insistent thought that something should have been there.
posted by Artw at 7:49 AM on April 16, 2018 [28 favorites]
GLONASS is Russia's GPS system, just for reference.
posted by scalefree at 7:52 AM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 7:52 AM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
Also, that these guys aren't smart enough to come up with their own catchphrases, so they just copy the existing ones and use them as shibboleths.
The Koch, Club for Growth, Bannon etc. A/B test them on the base and then distribute the winners that make old white racists froth, see e.g. "amnesty"
posted by benzenedream at 7:52 AM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
The Koch, Club for Growth, Bannon etc. A/B test them on the base and then distribute the winners that make old white racists froth, see e.g. "amnesty"
posted by benzenedream at 7:52 AM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
He’s a Clinton email truther through and through, baffled that he kept finding nothing and at least sane enough to admit that was what he found, but dogged by the insistent thought that something should have been there.
Not unlike the whiff of bafflement from the NYT editorial board that the lengthy investigation into Bill Clinton turned up only a lie about an affair. To the point that they draw an equivalence between the Democrats' view the investigation (led by a Republican) was partisan and the current Republican claim that the investigation (led by a Republican) is supposed to be partisan too.
posted by Gelatin at 7:53 AM on April 16, 2018 [17 favorites]
Not unlike the whiff of bafflement from the NYT editorial board that the lengthy investigation into Bill Clinton turned up only a lie about an affair. To the point that they draw an equivalence between the Democrats' view the investigation (led by a Republican) was partisan and the current Republican claim that the investigation (led by a Republican) is supposed to be partisan too.
posted by Gelatin at 7:53 AM on April 16, 2018 [17 favorites]
What did Borodin write?
In recent weeks, the journalist had written about Russian mercenaries known as the "Wagner Group" who were reportedly killed in Syria on 7 February in a confrontation with US forces.
The Wagner Group is owned by Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, a.k.a. "Putin's Cook". He also owns the Internet Research Agency - named in Mueller's indictment as a defendant, along with Prigozhin's Concord Catering - and has now embarked on a proxy lawfare campaign to fight these charges.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:56 AM on April 16, 2018 [26 favorites]
In recent weeks, the journalist had written about Russian mercenaries known as the "Wagner Group" who were reportedly killed in Syria on 7 February in a confrontation with US forces.
The Wagner Group is owned by Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, a.k.a. "Putin's Cook". He also owns the Internet Research Agency - named in Mueller's indictment as a defendant, along with Prigozhin's Concord Catering - and has now embarked on a proxy lawfare campaign to fight these charges.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:56 AM on April 16, 2018 [26 favorites]
(And for good measure, there are a number of federal judges appointed by Trump (Wikipedia list) that should be re-evaluated, to ensure that those lifetime appointments weren't made in error.)
Fruit of the poisoned tree. Impeach each and every one of them. If they're so great, they'll be nominated a second time.
posted by mikelieman at 7:58 AM on April 16, 2018 [31 favorites]
Fruit of the poisoned tree. Impeach each and every one of them. If they're so great, they'll be nominated a second time.
posted by mikelieman at 7:58 AM on April 16, 2018 [31 favorites]
We need an American Truth and Reconfirmation Commission.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:59 AM on April 16, 2018 [36 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:59 AM on April 16, 2018 [36 favorites]
(reminder that Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Wylie claims that said outfit tested Trump campaign messages like "drain the swamp" and "deep state" for their effectiveness) (WaPo)
posted by salix at 8:00 AM on April 16, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by salix at 8:00 AM on April 16, 2018 [17 favorites]
Upon further reflection, Trump's obsession with the word "collusion," which as previous discussions have established, is not a crime, reveals much about the difference between the scandals Mueller is investigating versus those that dogged both Clintons.
As noted above, Republicans love to deploy words that provoke an emotional response in their supporters -- "Whitewater!" "Benghazi" "Butteremails!" But while they deployed those words to refer to a situation in which their pundits and opinion leaders want their audience to presume connotes wrongdoing, like "Watergate" encompassed an actual set of scandals, the trouble is that it's difficult to say what specific wrongdoing any of their words are supposed to be about.
Whitewater? The Clintons lost money on a real estate deal. So what? Hillary Clinton used a private email server? So what?
But Trump's involvement with the Russians is summed up accurately by one word: Collusion. Trump's campaign pretty obviously worked with the Russians to help him win. That in itself is probably illegal, and it's probably driven by Trump's likely indebtedness to the Russians for other illegal matters like money laundering.
So yes, while Republicans are forced to eventually concede that with Whitewater and Hillary Clinton's email server and Loretta Lynch and et cetera that there's nothing actually there, the very word "collusion" invokes the many dirty deeds Donald did. And every time he denies it, he invokes it all over again.
posted by Gelatin at 8:04 AM on April 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
As noted above, Republicans love to deploy words that provoke an emotional response in their supporters -- "Whitewater!" "Benghazi" "Butteremails!" But while they deployed those words to refer to a situation in which their pundits and opinion leaders want their audience to presume connotes wrongdoing, like "Watergate" encompassed an actual set of scandals, the trouble is that it's difficult to say what specific wrongdoing any of their words are supposed to be about.
Whitewater? The Clintons lost money on a real estate deal. So what? Hillary Clinton used a private email server? So what?
But Trump's involvement with the Russians is summed up accurately by one word: Collusion. Trump's campaign pretty obviously worked with the Russians to help him win. That in itself is probably illegal, and it's probably driven by Trump's likely indebtedness to the Russians for other illegal matters like money laundering.
So yes, while Republicans are forced to eventually concede that with Whitewater and Hillary Clinton's email server and Loretta Lynch and et cetera that there's nothing actually there, the very word "collusion" invokes the many dirty deeds Donald did. And every time he denies it, he invokes it all over again.
posted by Gelatin at 8:04 AM on April 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
Fruit of the poisoned tree. Impeach each and every one of them. If they're so great, they'll be nominated a second time.
Up to and including Gorsuch. And make clear that McConnell's refusing to grant Garland a hearing is directly responsible. McConnell likes to crow about the benefit his bad faith got the Republicans; let him take the blame for Gorsuch's removal, too.
posted by Gelatin at 8:08 AM on April 16, 2018 [66 favorites]
Up to and including Gorsuch. And make clear that McConnell's refusing to grant Garland a hearing is directly responsible. McConnell likes to crow about the benefit his bad faith got the Republicans; let him take the blame for Gorsuch's removal, too.
posted by Gelatin at 8:08 AM on April 16, 2018 [66 favorites]
Alternatively, restore the same effective balance by adding two justices (with control of the Presidency). Political impeachments of sitting SCOTUS Justices is a dangerous road to embark on. However they got there.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:11 AM on April 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:11 AM on April 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
The ability of a single party controlling the Presidency and the Congress to pack/expand the Supreme Court is a theoretical Constitutional problem which is as yet unaddressed... but the ability of a hostile Congress to refuse to consider a President's nominee is a no-longer-theoretical Constitutional problem which can be addressed by spamming the fuck out of the previously-mentioned problem
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:14 AM on April 16, 2018 [34 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:14 AM on April 16, 2018 [34 favorites]
Listen, I know we're all getting just horny as hell for impeachment/indictment but neither of those things is a magic undo button, no matter how much we want it to be. Judges are not going to get un-nominated.
posted by runcibleshaw at 8:16 AM on April 16, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 8:16 AM on April 16, 2018 [26 favorites]
I'd hazard a guess that this is true for people of above-normal smarts generally. That being smart leads to being successful is something of a platitude. As often as not, being smart leads to being depressed, because, have a look around.
Something I learned last week about one of the founders of MENSA: "Berrill was an unashamed elitist, who regretted the passing of an aristocratic tradition. He regarded Mensa as "an aristocracy of the intellect". He noticed with some disappointment that a majority of Mensans appeared to have come from humble homes."*
I'd guess that there's a sweet spot in the matrix scatterplot of: "intelligence", gender, culture, colour, dark-triad pathologies, aggressiveness/hubris, and luck where the dunning-kruger effect advantages individuals. It's odd (but believable) to think that Trump could be the exemplar. Could be quite a meta-research project, although IIRC most studies have pointed at luck being the biggest factor, though that wouldn't entirely account for the obvious white male bias. Also a potential proxy value for measuring how broke the system is in order to unbroke it.
Are you utilizing the tens of thousands of tweets from before the campaign that he almost definitely wrote himself? Would seem a good baseline for TruTrumpTweets™.
It could also be worth flipping it and trying to detect Not-Trump. Presumably now Hope is lost they're largely going to be from Stephen Miller or Sarah Sanders - https://twitter.com/PressSec
* An*hic*dotally SWIM went to a bunch of their meetings in their youth and can confirm they are mostly ordinary low-to-mid wage earners (council employees, bus drivers, accountants) and the primary topic of conversation is generally regarding quantum sobriety and who can make a run into the village for booze when the shops open in the morning.
posted by Buntix at 8:16 AM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
Something I learned last week about one of the founders of MENSA: "Berrill was an unashamed elitist, who regretted the passing of an aristocratic tradition. He regarded Mensa as "an aristocracy of the intellect". He noticed with some disappointment that a majority of Mensans appeared to have come from humble homes."*
I'd guess that there's a sweet spot in the matrix scatterplot of: "intelligence", gender, culture, colour, dark-triad pathologies, aggressiveness/hubris, and luck where the dunning-kruger effect advantages individuals. It's odd (but believable) to think that Trump could be the exemplar. Could be quite a meta-research project, although IIRC most studies have pointed at luck being the biggest factor, though that wouldn't entirely account for the obvious white male bias. Also a potential proxy value for measuring how broke the system is in order to unbroke it.
Are you utilizing the tens of thousands of tweets from before the campaign that he almost definitely wrote himself? Would seem a good baseline for TruTrumpTweets™.
It could also be worth flipping it and trying to detect Not-Trump. Presumably now Hope is lost they're largely going to be from Stephen Miller or Sarah Sanders - https://twitter.com/PressSec
* An*hic*dotally SWIM went to a bunch of their meetings in their youth and can confirm they are mostly ordinary low-to-mid wage earners (council employees, bus drivers, accountants) and the primary topic of conversation is generally regarding quantum sobriety and who can make a run into the village for booze when the shops open in the morning.
posted by Buntix at 8:16 AM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
I think I've reached peak cynicism when I find myself genuinely surprised that such "accidents" haven't happened here in the US.
I know you're talking about Russian operations with this comment, but I think it is important to acknowledge that these "accidents" do happen, notably to Black Lives Matters activists in Ferguson:
"This is the third “suspicious” death in the past two-and-a-half years of a prominent Ferguson activist being found dead in their car from a gun shot.
In November 2014, DeAndre Joshua, 20, was found dead in his burning vehicle with a gunshot wound to the head. In September of 2016, Darren Seals also was found dead in his burning car after being shot."
posted by Emmy Rae at 8:19 AM on April 16, 2018 [108 favorites]
I know you're talking about Russian operations with this comment, but I think it is important to acknowledge that these "accidents" do happen, notably to Black Lives Matters activists in Ferguson:
"This is the third “suspicious” death in the past two-and-a-half years of a prominent Ferguson activist being found dead in their car from a gun shot.
In November 2014, DeAndre Joshua, 20, was found dead in his burning vehicle with a gunshot wound to the head. In September of 2016, Darren Seals also was found dead in his burning car after being shot."
posted by Emmy Rae at 8:19 AM on April 16, 2018 [108 favorites]
Yes. Essentially, McConnell found a loophole in the Constitution that allowed him to violate the spirit, but not the letter, of the law, by preventing Garland's hearing. The ability to pack the court by expanding it is another such loophole. If and when the Democrats have control over the government, they should use the latter to remedy the former, and then legislatively close both loopholes, by Constitutional amendment if necessary. They should also be very clear about what they're doing and why; this is purely an act to address McConnell and the GOP's overreach, which is necessary as a one-time corrective measure but should not be used again.
posted by biogeo at 8:21 AM on April 16, 2018 [35 favorites]
posted by biogeo at 8:21 AM on April 16, 2018 [35 favorites]
Political impeachments of sitting SCOTUS Justices is a dangerous road to embark on.
True, but Clarence Thomas has been operating in such bad faith and for so long over his conflicts of interest – to say nothing of his wife's – that he should be impeached on general principle.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:22 AM on April 16, 2018 [71 favorites]
True, but Clarence Thomas has been operating in such bad faith and for so long over his conflicts of interest – to say nothing of his wife's – that he should be impeached on general principle.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:22 AM on April 16, 2018 [71 favorites]
I know I'm a broken record at this point. I had a lot of sympathy for Comey's position before the interview and having read it all, now I have even more. There's so much anger here, which I also understand, for his having made the wrong choices, which makes it hard to imagine convincing anyone else to view the situation in the way I do.
I think at the very least he's nailed two issues: 1. a key problem that we must deal with in our democracy is the devaluation of knowing or seeking the truth and 2. though it be, in a strict sense, unknown what crimes Trump has committed, he fundamentally thinks and acts like a crook.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 8:25 AM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
I think at the very least he's nailed two issues: 1. a key problem that we must deal with in our democracy is the devaluation of knowing or seeking the truth and 2. though it be, in a strict sense, unknown what crimes Trump has committed, he fundamentally thinks and acts like a crook.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 8:25 AM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
Listen, I know we're all getting just horny as hell for impeachment/indictment but neither of those things is a magic undo button, no matter how much we want it to be. Judges are not going to get un-nominated.
Overton Window. Demanding to rip out everything Trump did, whether rulemaking, appointment, bill signing or nomination, makes it easier to undo the more vulnerable bad shit in the end.
(Also, Gorsuch could be impeached for headlining a Trump bribeathon....er, a fundraiser at the Trump Hotel in DC, after joining the court, given a Congress that's enough of a stickler on emoluments.)
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:27 AM on April 16, 2018 [40 favorites]
Overton Window. Demanding to rip out everything Trump did, whether rulemaking, appointment, bill signing or nomination, makes it easier to undo the more vulnerable bad shit in the end.
(Also, Gorsuch could be impeached for headlining a Trump bribeathon....er, a fundraiser at the Trump Hotel in DC, after joining the court, given a Congress that's enough of a stickler on emoluments.)
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:27 AM on April 16, 2018 [40 favorites]
I think we're in need of a couple Constitutional amendments re the court. The first is just to clarify "advise and consent" in confirming judges: if the Senate doesn't confirm or reject in 30 days, that's implicit consent. The second is to just fix the number of justices.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 8:28 AM on April 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 8:28 AM on April 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
I'd like to call my senators (and tell my political mailing list to call their senators) to push them to hold Trump to account for a) letting in only 11 Syrian refugees this year and b) conducting a military operation without the proper consent of the Senate.
Anyone have good ideas for scripts? I think I've become overwhelmed with the obvious wrongness of everything this administration is doing and I can only splutter incoherently.
posted by Emmy Rae at 8:32 AM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
Anyone have good ideas for scripts? I think I've become overwhelmed with the obvious wrongness of everything this administration is doing and I can only splutter incoherently.
posted by Emmy Rae at 8:32 AM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
I don't even expect Democrats will apply "the McConnell rule" even if they retake they Senate and there is another SCOTUS opening between 2018 and 2020. Democrats do not play the same game. They don't do constitutional hardball. If Trump gets another appointment, he will be allowed to fill it and he will do it with Democratic votes, no matter how right wing the nominee. Gorsuch got 3 Democratic votes after everything.
We can fantasize about everything Democrats SHOULD do in retaliation, or just to correct past wrongs and close future loopholes. But every shred of evidence we actually have tells us that the party we live with in the real world will do zero of those things.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:32 AM on April 16, 2018 [23 favorites]
We can fantasize about everything Democrats SHOULD do in retaliation, or just to correct past wrongs and close future loopholes. But every shred of evidence we actually have tells us that the party we live with in the real world will do zero of those things.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:32 AM on April 16, 2018 [23 favorites]
I'd like to call my senators (and tell my political mailing list to call their senators) to push them to hold Trump to account for a) letting in only 11 Syrian refugees this year and b) conducting a military operation without the proper consent of the Senate.
I think that sounds pretty good, more or less? It doesn't need to be fancy, just:
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 8:40 AM on April 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
I think that sounds pretty good, more or less? It doesn't need to be fancy, just:
Good morning, I'm calling to urge Senator Name to hold Trump accountable for only letting in 11 Syrian refugees this year. We should let in more refugees [if you want to say why like "especially when we are bombing their home go for it]. I am also concerned that he is conducting a military operation without the proper consent of the Senate. Please hold him accountable for both of these and urge your senate colleagues to do likewise. Thank you.It's basically just what you said with "Good morning" tacked on the front (:
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 8:40 AM on April 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
I was struck by how strong his criticism was of Attorney General Loretta Lynch. Of all the terrible decisions made, he seemed to be most critical of the first black woman to be attorney general. There is absolutely no evidence she did anything wrong. He was clearly deceived by Russian propaganda about her, and even seems to acknowledge that. But he really digs into her and expresses doubts of her decision making in a way he doesn't do even for Michael Flynn who is very clearly a Russian agent. But Hillary Clinton and Loretta Lynch, y'all, they made some bad decisions.
“A Comey” should be an entry in the taxonomy of misogynists.
posted by schadenfrau at 8:44 AM on April 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
“A Comey” should be an entry in the taxonomy of misogynists.
posted by schadenfrau at 8:44 AM on April 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
“A Comey” should be an entry in the taxonomy of misogynists.
It should be a mass noun for undeservingly elevated servitors of the establishment who wildly overestimate their own talents and freeze out anyone not like them: "a Comey of pinstriped assholes."
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:51 AM on April 16, 2018 [27 favorites]
It should be a mass noun for undeservingly elevated servitors of the establishment who wildly overestimate their own talents and freeze out anyone not like them: "a Comey of pinstriped assholes."
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:51 AM on April 16, 2018 [27 favorites]
We can fantasize about everything Democrats SHOULD do in retaliation, or just to correct past wrongs and close future loopholes. But every shred of evidence we actually have tells us that the party we live with in the real world will do zero of those things.
It's important that we tell politicians what they should ideally do, because things can change fast. Look at how quickly gay marriage went from an impossible fantasy to something required by Democrats and broadly regarded as inevitable or beneficial by Republicans.
If Trump is charged and judged by the American people to be guilty of morally unconscionable crimes, the Republican politicians who supported him in full knowledge of his likely guilt will suffer his taint. They will be a Tainted Team. Democrats may be motivated by their base to treat the guilty parties with severe measures.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:55 AM on April 16, 2018 [17 favorites]
It's important that we tell politicians what they should ideally do, because things can change fast. Look at how quickly gay marriage went from an impossible fantasy to something required by Democrats and broadly regarded as inevitable or beneficial by Republicans.
If Trump is charged and judged by the American people to be guilty of morally unconscionable crimes, the Republican politicians who supported him in full knowledge of his likely guilt will suffer his taint. They will be a Tainted Team. Democrats may be motivated by their base to treat the guilty parties with severe measures.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:55 AM on April 16, 2018 [17 favorites]
Political impeachments of sitting SCOTUS Justices is a dangerous road to embark on.
Runaway truck ramps are very dangerous roads to embark on. If you use one, you have high odds of ruining the undercarriage of your vehicle and totalling it.
But if you need to use one, it's better than not using it.
posted by ocschwar at 8:58 AM on April 16, 2018 [36 favorites]
Runaway truck ramps are very dangerous roads to embark on. If you use one, you have high odds of ruining the undercarriage of your vehicle and totalling it.
But if you need to use one, it's better than not using it.
posted by ocschwar at 8:58 AM on April 16, 2018 [36 favorites]
They will be a Tainted Team.
I'm not usually one for derisive nicknames, but "Taint Team" as a descriptor for the complicit Republican establishment does have a certain special something.
posted by contraption at 9:01 AM on April 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
I'm not usually one for derisive nicknames, but "Taint Team" as a descriptor for the complicit Republican establishment does have a certain special something.
posted by contraption at 9:01 AM on April 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
I have zero sympathy for Comey. He acted out of self-interest in violation of the specific directives of his office. He put his thumb on the scales in favor of Republicans because he figured that if he demonstrated loyalty by providing them with an October Surprise, he would be repaid in kind. And he was. The minute he became a convenient scapegoat to provide a distraction, he was fired. Now he’s angry that what he did was in turn done to him. Fuck him.
posted by Autumnheart at 9:06 AM on April 16, 2018 [51 favorites]
posted by Autumnheart at 9:06 AM on April 16, 2018 [51 favorites]
Democrats do not play the same game. They don't do constitutional hardball.
Pre-2018 Dems. Post-2018, things just might change, y'know...
posted by eclectist at 9:07 AM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Pre-2018 Dems. Post-2018, things just might change, y'know...
posted by eclectist at 9:07 AM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Snerk alert: This Medium post guessing at the congressional Safeway ranter's identity contains a bonus long list of alternate epithets for Erick Erickson, including man whose middle name we hope is also Erick, 6 Polo Shirts in Search of an Authoritarian Regime, and Samwise Gangrene.
posted by salix at 9:08 AM on April 16, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by salix at 9:08 AM on April 16, 2018 [15 favorites]
Clinton's longtime Communications Director Nick Merrill has a thread responding to the Comey interview. It's too long to post here, but is a detailed breakdown and rebuttal of the interview and is a must read to see how the Clinton camp feels. It's... unflinching.
From the end of it...
@NickMerrill: Yes, being "extremely careless" is not a crime. But carelessness can be destructive. With emails, it was the revelation that HRC doesn't know how to use her DVR & some paper wasted from "Pls Print" requests. In the case of Comey, it was the arc of American history.
@NickMerrill: But yes, Hillary Clinton is the one that should go away.
posted by chris24 at 9:08 AM on April 16, 2018 [114 favorites]
From the end of it...
@NickMerrill: Yes, being "extremely careless" is not a crime. But carelessness can be destructive. With emails, it was the revelation that HRC doesn't know how to use her DVR & some paper wasted from "Pls Print" requests. In the case of Comey, it was the arc of American history.
@NickMerrill: But yes, Hillary Clinton is the one that should go away.
posted by chris24 at 9:08 AM on April 16, 2018 [114 favorites]
man whose middle name we hope is also Erick, 6 Polo Shirts in Search of an Authoritarian Regime, and Samwise Gangrene
My favorite is Father of Erickson Ericksonson.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:12 AM on April 16, 2018 [21 favorites]
My favorite is Father of Erickson Ericksonson.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:12 AM on April 16, 2018 [21 favorites]
But yeah, adding additional Supreme Court seats is both more achievable and more unquestionably Constitutional than impeaching and convicting Gorsuch without clear evidence of "high crimes and misdemeanors".
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:13 AM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:13 AM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
We have an actual illegitimate sitting justice right now.
Two. We have two. Because no rational person would consider Clarence Thomas a legitimate choice.
posted by teleri025 at 9:14 AM on April 16, 2018 [26 favorites]
Two. We have two. Because no rational person would consider Clarence Thomas a legitimate choice.
posted by teleri025 at 9:14 AM on April 16, 2018 [26 favorites]
Clarence Thomas is much more clearly illegitimate than Gorsuch. Gorsuch himself isn't guilty of anything other than being a smug douche. Thomas is a harasser.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 9:16 AM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 9:16 AM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
Clinton's longtime Communications Director Nick Merrill has a thread responding to the Comey interview.
Consolidated into a post for the Twitter adverse.
posted by chris24 at 9:16 AM on April 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
Consolidated into a post for the Twitter adverse.
posted by chris24 at 9:16 AM on April 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
I want to believe. /mulder
@gelliottmorris (Crosstab, Economist)
New special election polling just in!
Poll from @EmersonPolling shows the Democrat Hiral Tipeirneni within 1 point of Republican Debbie Lesko in the #AZ08 special election. Donald Trump won this seat by 21 points. http://bit.ly/2H4KHQQ
- A poll last week found #AZ08 to be a ten point race for the GOP candidate Debbie Lesko, which is closer to where I peg the district
- Also worth noting that the early vote (take with grain of salt) shows Republicans have pretty good advantage here, median age of voters so far is 57.
posted by chris24 at 9:22 AM on April 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
@gelliottmorris (Crosstab, Economist)
New special election polling just in!
Poll from @EmersonPolling shows the Democrat Hiral Tipeirneni within 1 point of Republican Debbie Lesko in the #AZ08 special election. Donald Trump won this seat by 21 points. http://bit.ly/2H4KHQQ
- A poll last week found #AZ08 to be a ten point race for the GOP candidate Debbie Lesko, which is closer to where I peg the district
- Also worth noting that the early vote (take with grain of salt) shows Republicans have pretty good advantage here, median age of voters so far is 57.
posted by chris24 at 9:22 AM on April 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
long list of alternate epithets for Erick Erickson
Some of which, by right, should contain Viking references.
posted by acb at 9:22 AM on April 16, 2018
Some of which, by right, should contain Viking references.
posted by acb at 9:22 AM on April 16, 2018
We have an actual illegitimate sitting justice right now.
Two. We have two. Because no rational person would consider Clarence Thomas a legitimate choice.
OH METAFILTER, what won't you relitigate?
posted by fluttering hellfire at 9:23 AM on April 16, 2018 [42 favorites]
Two. We have two. Because no rational person would consider Clarence Thomas a legitimate choice.
OH METAFILTER, what won't you relitigate?
posted by fluttering hellfire at 9:23 AM on April 16, 2018 [42 favorites]
I scrupulously avoid making firm predictions, but I will be *quite* surprised if that Emerson poll of AZ-08 is anywhere near reflective of the outcome.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:23 AM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 9:23 AM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
I scrupulously avoid making firm predictions, but I will be *quite* surprised if that Emerson poll of AZ-08 is anywhere near reflective of the outcome.
Same here. The demographics of that district are very firmly conservative. We're talking a ton of retirees who moved here for low taxes and sunshine. If this race ends up being within 10 then o me, that's a win because of what it portends for the November elections.
posted by azpenguin at 9:26 AM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
Same here. The demographics of that district are very firmly conservative. We're talking a ton of retirees who moved here for low taxes and sunshine. If this race ends up being within 10 then o me, that's a win because of what it portends for the November elections.
posted by azpenguin at 9:26 AM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
Big Cases Bot on Twitter: New filings in the Cohen case. Lawyers have given up asking for first access to the documents and are limiting their request to a "special master".
"Federal prosecutors have seized the data and files of the personal attorney of the President of the United States. This is completely unprecedented."
I mean... that's true, it is completely unprecedented. I kinda blame your client for that.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:26 AM on April 16, 2018 [47 favorites]
"Federal prosecutors have seized the data and files of the personal attorney of the President of the United States. This is completely unprecedented."
I mean... that's true, it is completely unprecedented. I kinda blame your client for that.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:26 AM on April 16, 2018 [47 favorites]
We can fantasize about everything Democrats SHOULD do in retaliation, or just to correct past wrongs and close future loopholes. But every shred of evidence we actually have tells us that the party we live with in the real world will do zero of those things.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:32 AM on April 17 [8 favorites +] [!]
That's why you take to the streets, donate, polemicize, and make good of every right the got darn founders gave you. Government on autopilot was not their gift to us, coming straight off monarchy as they did. We prove the cynics wrong by existing and denting the armor and assailing the cracks until the walls fall. Women can vote now, Jim Crow is over, etc etc. We can win this sumbitch.
posted by saysthis at 9:26 AM on April 16, 2018 [29 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:32 AM on April 17 [8 favorites +] [!]
That's why you take to the streets, donate, polemicize, and make good of every right the got darn founders gave you. Government on autopilot was not their gift to us, coming straight off monarchy as they did. We prove the cynics wrong by existing and denting the armor and assailing the cracks until the walls fall. Women can vote now, Jim Crow is over, etc etc. We can win this sumbitch.
posted by saysthis at 9:26 AM on April 16, 2018 [29 favorites]
ABC News: EPA broke spending law on Pruitt phone booth: government watchdog
There's a place in my metaphorical poetic justice trophy case especially for this one. The damn phone booth. I want Pruitt to go down because of the phone booth.
posted by saysthis at 9:29 AM on April 16, 2018 [10 favorites]
There's a place in my metaphorical poetic justice trophy case especially for this one. The damn phone booth. I want Pruitt to go down because of the phone booth.
posted by saysthis at 9:29 AM on April 16, 2018 [10 favorites]
Cohen also listed his legal "clients." Three. Trump, Broidy (misspelled), and a third he refused to name and who he said required him to file suit to protect the identity of if compelled.
posted by chris24 at 9:30 AM on April 16, 2018 [31 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 9:30 AM on April 16, 2018 [31 favorites]
Clarence Thomas is much more clearly illegitimate than Gorsuch. Gorsuch himself isn't guilty of anything other than being a smug douche. Thomas is a harasser.
And although Senate Republicans succeeded in suppressing testimony corroborating Anita Hill, it's now clear that Thomas lied during his confirmation hearing.
posted by Gelatin at 9:30 AM on April 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
And although Senate Republicans succeeded in suppressing testimony corroborating Anita Hill, it's now clear that Thomas lied during his confirmation hearing.
posted by Gelatin at 9:30 AM on April 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
Russian GLONASS system went offline for a while in April 14
What’s the implication? That some plane or missile was aloft that they didn’t want tracked?
posted by msalt at 9:32 AM on April 16, 2018
What’s the implication? That some plane or missile was aloft that they didn’t want tracked?
posted by msalt at 9:32 AM on April 16, 2018
Democrats do not play the same game. They don't do constitutional hardball.
It's true that the GOP has been much more aggressive in their norm-breaking than the Democratic party has been, but it's actually been a fairly tit for tat process for a while now. For the GOP, they still hold a grudge about Robert Bork's nomination, and in a way this all began as retaliation for that. It's petty bullshit, but each side has a list of grievances dating back to the Carter administration basically to justify their actions.
posted by dis_integration at 9:34 AM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's true that the GOP has been much more aggressive in their norm-breaking than the Democratic party has been, but it's actually been a fairly tit for tat process for a while now. For the GOP, they still hold a grudge about Robert Bork's nomination, and in a way this all began as retaliation for that. It's petty bullshit, but each side has a list of grievances dating back to the Carter administration basically to justify their actions.
posted by dis_integration at 9:34 AM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'd like to plant a seed with all of you.
If Trump fires Mueller, I want to see protests on the streets of DC. Not a protest - but protests every weekend, in perpetuity, until Trump is removed from office. (Yes, like the candlelight vigils in South Korea.)
It may start small, but it will grow.
I mean, do you have something to do on the weekends that's more important? I didn't think so.
If Trump is allowed to fire Mueller without consequence, then the President of the United States (an office currently occupied by a racist, fascist criminal) is above the law, and American democracy is over.
That must not be allowed to happen. We must not allow it to happen. Don't wait for permits, organizers, or instructions. Just cancel your plans, get to DC, and make your intent clear: impeach now.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 9:34 AM on April 16, 2018 [53 favorites]
If Trump fires Mueller, I want to see protests on the streets of DC. Not a protest - but protests every weekend, in perpetuity, until Trump is removed from office. (Yes, like the candlelight vigils in South Korea.)
It may start small, but it will grow.
I mean, do you have something to do on the weekends that's more important? I didn't think so.
If Trump is allowed to fire Mueller without consequence, then the President of the United States (an office currently occupied by a racist, fascist criminal) is above the law, and American democracy is over.
That must not be allowed to happen. We must not allow it to happen. Don't wait for permits, organizers, or instructions. Just cancel your plans, get to DC, and make your intent clear: impeach now.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 9:34 AM on April 16, 2018 [53 favorites]
Cohen also listed his legal "clients." Three. Trump, Broidy (misspelled), and a third he refused to name and who he said required him to file suit to protect the identity of if compelled.
By refusing to be named, is this client (and their idiot lawyer) effectively waiving their attorney-client privilege with regard to anything seized in the raid?
posted by rocket88 at 9:37 AM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
By refusing to be named, is this client (and their idiot lawyer) effectively waiving their attorney-client privilege with regard to anything seized in the raid?
posted by rocket88 at 9:37 AM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
if the Senate doesn't confirm or reject in 30 days, that's implicit consent. The second is to just fix the number of justices.
I wouldn't want a deadline on hearing times - but I'd be happy with "they've got 30 days to begin public deliberations." President's busy; the court shouldn't be left at partial capacity for long stretches; if they've got objections to a candidate, that's what the hearing is for. If it takes two months to bring up and discuss various bits of evidence, fine--but we have the right to have a functional court, barring extreme circumstances. "We don' wanna until the next president is sworn in" is not extreme circumstances.
And yeah, increase the number. The more justices on the court, the more valid legal perspectives there are to drown out whoever's pet issue the current case is.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:37 AM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
I wouldn't want a deadline on hearing times - but I'd be happy with "they've got 30 days to begin public deliberations." President's busy; the court shouldn't be left at partial capacity for long stretches; if they've got objections to a candidate, that's what the hearing is for. If it takes two months to bring up and discuss various bits of evidence, fine--but we have the right to have a functional court, barring extreme circumstances. "We don' wanna until the next president is sworn in" is not extreme circumstances.
And yeah, increase the number. The more justices on the court, the more valid legal perspectives there are to drown out whoever's pet issue the current case is.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:37 AM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
they still hold a grudge about Robert Bork's nomination
You mean the guy who got full hearings and a vote that he lost 42-58 with 6 Republicans voting against. Yeah, totally the same.
posted by chris24 at 9:38 AM on April 16, 2018 [60 favorites]
You mean the guy who got full hearings and a vote that he lost 42-58 with 6 Republicans voting against. Yeah, totally the same.
posted by chris24 at 9:38 AM on April 16, 2018 [60 favorites]
but it's actually been a fairly tit for tat process for a while now. For the GOP, they still hold a grudge about Robert Bork's nomination, and in a way this all began as retaliation for that.
Bork's rejection, besides being a perfectly cromulent exercise of the Senate's advise and consent function (unlike Garland, he was granted a hearing and a vote) was arguably payback for his role in the Saturday Night Massacre, and therefore also a perfectly cromulent exercise of the Senate's oversight function.
For that matter, the doomed exercise of the Clinton impeachment was arguably payback for Nixon resigning rather than face impeachment for his own many crimes.
Yes, Republicans hold grudges when they are held to account for their misdeeds. That doesn't mean Democrats shouldn't exact a political price for those misdeeds.
posted by Gelatin at 9:38 AM on April 16, 2018 [26 favorites]
Bork's rejection, besides being a perfectly cromulent exercise of the Senate's advise and consent function (unlike Garland, he was granted a hearing and a vote) was arguably payback for his role in the Saturday Night Massacre, and therefore also a perfectly cromulent exercise of the Senate's oversight function.
For that matter, the doomed exercise of the Clinton impeachment was arguably payback for Nixon resigning rather than face impeachment for his own many crimes.
Yes, Republicans hold grudges when they are held to account for their misdeeds. That doesn't mean Democrats shouldn't exact a political price for those misdeeds.
posted by Gelatin at 9:38 AM on April 16, 2018 [26 favorites]
By refusing to be named, is this client (and their idiot lawyer) effectively waiving their attorney-client privilege with regard to anything seized in the raid?
The name might be revealed under seal to the court, without mentioning it in public. But again - we're back to "if the only thing he did for them was aid criminal activity, there is no privilege."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:39 AM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
The name might be revealed under seal to the court, without mentioning it in public. But again - we're back to "if the only thing he did for them was aid criminal activity, there is no privilege."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:39 AM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
Oh come on. We have an actual illegitimate sitting justice right now. We all saw it happen. If you still have confidence in SCOTUS I'm not really sure I understand why.
I'm not sure how you get from a failure of Congress to a failure of SCOTUS. Reasons to have some confidence in SCOTUS include Breyer, Ginsburg, Kagan, Sotomayor and on some issues Kennedy and maybe even Roberts (given how much he seems to dislike Gorsuch).
That seat was stolen, in the open, and it continues to be an absolute disgrace.
That's true, but it's foolish to pretend that the GOP wouldn't abuse a new norm that Justices can be impeached because the party in control of Congress decides to take issue with their confirmation, after the fact. The Democrats would do it to correct these kinds of egregious abuses, the Republicans would do it to change the balance of the Court after an unfavorable decision. And they might try to extend it to the rest of the Federal judiciary.
Sometimes it makes sense to sink to their level, this isn't one of them. On the other hand, if there are actual reasons pertaining to judicial misconduct or manifest incompetence then have at it.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:41 AM on April 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
I'm not sure how you get from a failure of Congress to a failure of SCOTUS. Reasons to have some confidence in SCOTUS include Breyer, Ginsburg, Kagan, Sotomayor and on some issues Kennedy and maybe even Roberts (given how much he seems to dislike Gorsuch).
That seat was stolen, in the open, and it continues to be an absolute disgrace.
That's true, but it's foolish to pretend that the GOP wouldn't abuse a new norm that Justices can be impeached because the party in control of Congress decides to take issue with their confirmation, after the fact. The Democrats would do it to correct these kinds of egregious abuses, the Republicans would do it to change the balance of the Court after an unfavorable decision. And they might try to extend it to the rest of the Federal judiciary.
Sometimes it makes sense to sink to their level, this isn't one of them. On the other hand, if there are actual reasons pertaining to judicial misconduct or manifest incompetence then have at it.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:41 AM on April 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
If Trump fires Mueller, I want to see protests on the streets of DC. Not a protest - but protests every weekend, in perpetuity, until Trump is removed from office. (Yes, like the candlelight vigils in South Korea.)
I agree. I'm not sure we need a Color Revolution per se, but we might need something awfully close. The only other thing I can think of is a general strike.
posted by BungaDunga at 9:42 AM on April 16, 2018
I agree. I'm not sure we need a Color Revolution per se, but we might need something awfully close. The only other thing I can think of is a general strike.
posted by BungaDunga at 9:42 AM on April 16, 2018
That all assumes that not sinking to the Republicans' level, and allowing their nominees to hold control of the Supreme Court for however long it takes to naturally appoint liberal judges, will placate them sufficiently to prevent them from sacking said liberal judges because {Chewbacca Defense here} once the pendulum swings back their way and they have the means to do so.
posted by acb at 9:45 AM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by acb at 9:45 AM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
Cohen also listed his legal "clients." Three. Trump, Broidy (misspelled), and a third he refused to name and who he said required him to file suit to protect the identity of if compelled.
"Ivan Doesky"
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:46 AM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
"Ivan Doesky"
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:46 AM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
When you've gone too far for Dersh...
Dershowitz Slams Trump For ‘Dead Wrong’ Tweet: Comey ‘Did Not Commit Many Crimes
Dershowitz Slams Trump For ‘Dead Wrong’ Tweet: Comey ‘Did Not Commit Many Crimes
After saying that James Comey should have told the president he was wrong to his face about the Hillary Clinton probe, he contended that he would tell the president “you’re dead wrong” about the tweet he just shared.posted by chris24 at 9:47 AM on April 16, 2018 [10 favorites]
“[Comey] did not commit many crimes,” Dershowitz said. “Let’s not try to criminalize what he did. If you don’t like what Comey did, come on the show, say you don’t like what Comey did, but don’t try to invent crimes against your political enemies.”
After some back-and-forth, Brian Kilmeade asked of the Clinton probe: “Why wouldn’t she say something that would bend the truth if the truth didn’t make her look bad? How can you draft an exoneration letter without talking to her, and say that’s the proper procedure?”
“That is not proper procedure but it is not criminal,” Dershowitz explained. “In order to charge somebody with a crime, you have to find something that is criminal.”
He acted counter to Trump's will, which in Trump's mind is the worst crime of all.
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:50 AM on April 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:50 AM on April 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
We prove the cynics wrong by existing and denting the armor and assailing the cracks until the walls fall. Women can vote now, Jim Crow is over, etc etc. We can win this sumbitch.
At the very least, I want to make sure that if we fail to achieve those things it will NOT be because I failed to do my part.
And it doesn't really take each and everyone one of us doing everything within their power. If your circumstances and ability are such that you're able to go out and protest every weekend and make calls to your reps every day that's awesome and I hope you keep at it. But I think everyone else should basically just try to do a little more, be a little more active than they were. What exactly that means is up to each of us. Maybe it means you do more than you did in 2016, maybe it's more than you did last week, maybe both of those, or something in between.
Maybe it means you sign up to make calls or knock on doors, maybe it's writing post cards, maybe it's just donating or donating more. Maybe you were already doing a lot but you feel like you have room to do more and you want to run for office. Just figure out how you want to contribute and try to do more of it and maybe stick a toe outside of your comfort zone. When you comfort zone eventually expands (and it might not and that's okay), stick that toe out a little farther.
There are a LOT of us and if each of us that's able does just a little more, it adds up to TON more activity and the rest it kind of out our hands, all we can do is try.
posted by VTX at 9:50 AM on April 16, 2018 [21 favorites]
At the very least, I want to make sure that if we fail to achieve those things it will NOT be because I failed to do my part.
And it doesn't really take each and everyone one of us doing everything within their power. If your circumstances and ability are such that you're able to go out and protest every weekend and make calls to your reps every day that's awesome and I hope you keep at it. But I think everyone else should basically just try to do a little more, be a little more active than they were. What exactly that means is up to each of us. Maybe it means you do more than you did in 2016, maybe it's more than you did last week, maybe both of those, or something in between.
Maybe it means you sign up to make calls or knock on doors, maybe it's writing post cards, maybe it's just donating or donating more. Maybe you were already doing a lot but you feel like you have room to do more and you want to run for office. Just figure out how you want to contribute and try to do more of it and maybe stick a toe outside of your comfort zone. When you comfort zone eventually expands (and it might not and that's okay), stick that toe out a little farther.
There are a LOT of us and if each of us that's able does just a little more, it adds up to TON more activity and the rest it kind of out our hands, all we can do is try.
posted by VTX at 9:50 AM on April 16, 2018 [21 favorites]
But yeah, adding additional Supreme Court seats is both more achievable and more unquestionably Constitutional...
I suggest you ask FDR's ghost about that.
Impeaching a sitting member of SCOTUS is a horrible, destructive precedent to set. You would empower state-level pols to impeach their own supreme court justices any time they feel justified. See also: What Pennsylvania pols threatened to do following their supreme court justices re-drew the gerrymandered districts. If you successfully impeach a SCOTUS member, the gloves will be off in the states.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:53 AM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
I suggest you ask FDR's ghost about that.
Impeaching a sitting member of SCOTUS is a horrible, destructive precedent to set. You would empower state-level pols to impeach their own supreme court justices any time they feel justified. See also: What Pennsylvania pols threatened to do following their supreme court justices re-drew the gerrymandered districts. If you successfully impeach a SCOTUS member, the gloves will be off in the states.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:53 AM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
The only other thing I can think of is a general strike.
I’d like to see blue states refuse to send the Feds money. A general strike on a state level. With lots of states participating.
(I admittedly have no idea how or if this would work; if the Federal government gets most of its blue state money through withholdings on personal income taxes then...idk. But we have smart wonks, they can figure it out.)
posted by schadenfrau at 9:53 AM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
I’d like to see blue states refuse to send the Feds money. A general strike on a state level. With lots of states participating.
(I admittedly have no idea how or if this would work; if the Federal government gets most of its blue state money through withholdings on personal income taxes then...idk. But we have smart wonks, they can figure it out.)
posted by schadenfrau at 9:53 AM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
He acted counter to Trump's will, which in Trump's mind is the worst crime of all.
In the Declaration of Independence, the Founders declared this behavior that of a tyrant. In the Constitution, they put forward due process protections specifically so a President could not declare someone guilty of a crime at whim.
Trump's behavior is not at all consistent with the founding documents of this country. (I almost said principles, but a rich white man throwing a tantrum might qualify at that.)
posted by Gelatin at 9:54 AM on April 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
In the Declaration of Independence, the Founders declared this behavior that of a tyrant. In the Constitution, they put forward due process protections specifically so a President could not declare someone guilty of a crime at whim.
Trump's behavior is not at all consistent with the founding documents of this country. (I almost said principles, but a rich white man throwing a tantrum might qualify at that.)
posted by Gelatin at 9:54 AM on April 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
I'm not sure we need a Color Revolution per se, but we might need something awfully close.
Josh Marshall, in Oct 2016:
Josh Marshall, in Oct 2016:
For all this, what is Putin trying to accomplish exactly?posted by OnceUponATime at 9:55 AM on April 16, 2018 [15 favorites]
The best explanation I’ve seen is that he is trying to pull off a so-called ‘color revolution’ in the US. ‘Color revolutions’ are a short-hand for a series of electoral/popular uprisings in post-Soviet successor states on Russia’s borders and also in the Balkans. (To a degree the Arab Spring uprisings are seen in the same light, especially in Russia.) The big examples for Russia were the so-called ‘Rose Revolution’ in Georgia in 2003 and the Orange Revolution in Ukraine in 2004. The Russians have viewed these electoral uprisings as America-backed subversion using among other things novel communications technologies. They viewed the protests in Russia in 2012 tied to that year’s Russian presidential election as evidence that the US was no longer satisfied with overthrowing client states in what Russia has historically called its ‘near abroad’ to trying to overthrow the Russian state itself.
Is any of this true? Well, sort of, yes. The US has long been focused on fomenting democratic change, greater transparency and the rule of law abroad – especially in non-friendly states.
...
That’s why I think the color revolution model is the best framework for understanding what’s happening here. Some of it is bad faith. A lot of it. But at some level they believe this is what was done to them.
That’s why I think the color revolution model is the best framework for understanding what’s happening here. Some of it is bad faith. A lot of it. But at some level they believe this is what was done to them.
I think the irony of successfully fomenting a color revolution in the US, only of the wrong color — the oligarch hating color — will appeal to the writers. Very much so.
posted by schadenfrau at 10:00 AM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
I think the irony of successfully fomenting a color revolution in the US, only of the wrong color — the oligarch hating color — will appeal to the writers. Very much so.
posted by schadenfrau at 10:00 AM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
The nerve of this guy, thinking he can get away with not even disclosing the NAMES of his clients. Come the fuck on.
The identity of a client is considered confidential information that an attorney may not disclose without the client's consent or some other superseding exception to the ethical rules, one of which is that “A lawyer may reveal information relating to the representation of a client to the extent the lawyer reasonably believes necessary to comply with other law or court order.” The ABA wrote a Formal Opinion in February 2016 [pdf] explaining (in a non-binding fashion) what it thinks that exception means. The bottom line:
posted by jedicus at 10:00 AM on April 16, 2018 [15 favorites]
The identity of a client is considered confidential information that an attorney may not disclose without the client's consent or some other superseding exception to the ethical rules, one of which is that “A lawyer may reveal information relating to the representation of a client to the extent the lawyer reasonably believes necessary to comply with other law or court order.” The ABA wrote a Formal Opinion in February 2016 [pdf] explaining (in a non-binding fashion) what it thinks that exception means. The bottom line:
A lawyer receiving a subpoena or other compulsory process for information or documents relating to the representation of a client has several obligations. If the client is available, the lawyer must consult the client. If instructed by the client or if the client is unavailable, the lawyer must assert all reasonable claims against disclosure and seek to limit the subpoena or other demand on any reasonable ground.Basically, Cohen is correct to refuse to name the client, if that's what the client wants, but he will probably end up being forced to reveal the client's name in the end, possibly under seal. My guess is that the public will learn the name of the client when they are indicted shortly thereafter.
If ordered to disclose confidential or privileged information and the client is available, a lawyer must consult with the client about whether to produce the information or to appeal.
...
When disclosing documents and information—whether in response to an initial demand or to a court order and whether or not the client is available—the lawyer may reveal information only to the extent reasonably necessary. The lawyer should seek appropriate protective orders or other protective arrangements so that access to the information is limited to the tribunal ordering its disclosure and to persons having a need to know.
posted by jedicus at 10:00 AM on April 16, 2018 [15 favorites]
Bork's rejection, besides being a perfectly cromulent exercise of the Senate's advise and consent function (unlike Garland, he was granted a hearing and a vote) was arguably payback for his role in the Saturday Night Massacre, and therefore also a perfectly cromulent exercise of the Senate's oversight function.
Oh, yeah, I mean I think they have idiotic grievances. But the argument with Bork is that the supreme court nomination process was supposed to be "a-political" and focus solely on the nominees qualifications as a jurist (we still make this bullshit claim). Bork was perfectly qualified to be a Supreme, but the Democratic party voted against him for political reasons. Ever since then, the GOP has given themselves carte blanche to use judicial nominations as political weapons instead of giving deference to the president and voting on them on qualifications alone.
posted by dis_integration at 10:02 AM on April 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
Oh, yeah, I mean I think they have idiotic grievances. But the argument with Bork is that the supreme court nomination process was supposed to be "a-political" and focus solely on the nominees qualifications as a jurist (we still make this bullshit claim). Bork was perfectly qualified to be a Supreme, but the Democratic party voted against him for political reasons. Ever since then, the GOP has given themselves carte blanche to use judicial nominations as political weapons instead of giving deference to the president and voting on them on qualifications alone.
posted by dis_integration at 10:02 AM on April 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
Impeaching a sitting member of SCOTUS is a horrible, destructive precedent to set. You would empower state-level pols to impeach their own supreme court justices any time they feel justified. See also: What Pennsylvania pols threatened to do following their supreme court justices re-drew the gerrymandered districts. If you successfully impeach a SCOTUS member, the gloves will be off in the states.
I respectfully submit that that genie is already out of the bottle. Gorsuch's very presence on the SCOTUS proves that Republicans are willing if not eager to cheat to bolster the conservative faction on the Court. The abortive effort in Pennsylvania failed not because Pennsylvania Republicans are great respectors of political norms, but because they didn't have the votes.
And, likely, neither will Democrats, when it comes to impeaching Gorsuch. But if a political price isn't exacted for stealing Obama's nomination, no Democratic president will ever get a nominee thru a Republican Senate again. There's no appealing to their better natures to change their behavior, so it has to be about avoiding unpleasant consequences.
Checks and balances, in other words.
posted by Gelatin at 10:02 AM on April 16, 2018 [24 favorites]
I respectfully submit that that genie is already out of the bottle. Gorsuch's very presence on the SCOTUS proves that Republicans are willing if not eager to cheat to bolster the conservative faction on the Court. The abortive effort in Pennsylvania failed not because Pennsylvania Republicans are great respectors of political norms, but because they didn't have the votes.
And, likely, neither will Democrats, when it comes to impeaching Gorsuch. But if a political price isn't exacted for stealing Obama's nomination, no Democratic president will ever get a nominee thru a Republican Senate again. There's no appealing to their better natures to change their behavior, so it has to be about avoiding unpleasant consequences.
Checks and balances, in other words.
posted by Gelatin at 10:02 AM on April 16, 2018 [24 favorites]
In other words, we've devolved to a Hobbesian world order, and the only way the liberals can prevail is by putting aside Kantian high-mindedness and moving to crush the conservatives with overwhelming force and make sure they stay crushed?
posted by acb at 10:06 AM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by acb at 10:06 AM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
There's a debate to be had over whether Democrats need to (a) establish ironclad checks and balances, rather than norm-based ones, to keep Republicans from shredding government again when they're back in power; or (b) assume that if Republicans ever take power again we're fucked no matter what, and just do whatever it takes to thwart Trumpism right now.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:09 AM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:09 AM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
Is any of this true? Well, sort of, yes. The US has long been focused on fomenting democratic change, greater transparency and the rule of law abroad – especially in non-friendly states.
Yes, that is exactly how I would describe American interventions abroad. Fomenting democratic change and the rule of law, that is precisely the American project.
Honestly, as long as people don't understand how the United States operates abroad, we're going to be completely wrong-footed by Russia, ISIS, pretty much everyone, really, and liberal media outlets that want to win rather than pander should get their heads right. We are not the world's good guys. Lots of people have legitimate grievances against the United States, and that's the swamp, as it were, in which some unattractive actors are swimming. Drain that swamp and we'll have a chance; continue to talk as though the CIA is out there "fomenting democracy" and we simply don't.
Please remember Victor Jara in the Santiago Stadium, as the fellow said.
posted by Frowner at 10:12 AM on April 16, 2018 [29 favorites]
Yes, that is exactly how I would describe American interventions abroad. Fomenting democratic change and the rule of law, that is precisely the American project.
Honestly, as long as people don't understand how the United States operates abroad, we're going to be completely wrong-footed by Russia, ISIS, pretty much everyone, really, and liberal media outlets that want to win rather than pander should get their heads right. We are not the world's good guys. Lots of people have legitimate grievances against the United States, and that's the swamp, as it were, in which some unattractive actors are swimming. Drain that swamp and we'll have a chance; continue to talk as though the CIA is out there "fomenting democracy" and we simply don't.
Please remember Victor Jara in the Santiago Stadium, as the fellow said.
posted by Frowner at 10:12 AM on April 16, 2018 [29 favorites]
...and a third he refused to name...
The nerve of this guy, thinking he can get away with not even disclosing the NAMES of his clients. Come the fuck on.
"Surely, your honor, you can see that any unknown client of his would have their reputation seriously damaged by merely being associated with Mr Comey at this point."
posted by jaduncan at 10:17 AM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
The nerve of this guy, thinking he can get away with not even disclosing the NAMES of his clients. Come the fuck on.
"Surely, your honor, you can see that any unknown client of his would have their reputation seriously damaged by merely being associated with Mr Comey at this point."
posted by jaduncan at 10:17 AM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
Frowner, did you click through? I didn't want to quote more than was needed to make the irony clear, but Marshall does qualify that statement.
... especially in non-friendly states. The mix of idealism and interest and hypocrisy and obliviousness in all this has always been of a piece. It’s not one or the other. They all combine. The US long funded various pro-democracy and civil society groups in Egypt, for example, under Mubarak. But it’s certainly the case that this was always tempered by the US’s deep investment in Mubarak’s regime.posted by OnceUponATime at 10:17 AM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
And it doesn't really take each and everyone one of us doing everything within their power. If your circumstances and ability are such that you're able to go out and protest every weekend and make calls to your reps every day that's awesome and I hope you keep at it. But I think everyone else should basically just try to do a little more, be a little more active than they were.
For those who don't have the energy or resources for formal activism, just refusing to normalize the current regime is useful.
Don't laugh at racist "jokes." When someone says, "it's just locker-room talk," reply with "if I heard it on TV, it's not staying in the locker rooms" or "I don't want my sons talking like that, no matter where they are." Call bigots bigots. When someone bitches about "politically correct" labels, ask why they object to using the terms people prefer to call themselves. Or if you're not up to being confrontational, or are in a position where it's not safe, just... don't smile. If someone pesters you about it, just shrug and say, "I don't think that's funny."
We need activism, but we also very much need to move the Overton window back, and that's done by individual participation in community standards. Follow the standards you wish your community had.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:17 AM on April 16, 2018 [73 favorites]
For those who don't have the energy or resources for formal activism, just refusing to normalize the current regime is useful.
Don't laugh at racist "jokes." When someone says, "it's just locker-room talk," reply with "if I heard it on TV, it's not staying in the locker rooms" or "I don't want my sons talking like that, no matter where they are." Call bigots bigots. When someone bitches about "politically correct" labels, ask why they object to using the terms people prefer to call themselves. Or if you're not up to being confrontational, or are in a position where it's not safe, just... don't smile. If someone pesters you about it, just shrug and say, "I don't think that's funny."
We need activism, but we also very much need to move the Overton window back, and that's done by individual participation in community standards. Follow the standards you wish your community had.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:17 AM on April 16, 2018 [73 favorites]
In other words, we've devolved to a Hobbesian world order, and the only way the liberals can prevail is by putting aside Kantian high-mindedness and moving to crush the conservatives with overwhelming force and make sure they stay crushed?
I didn't say that; I said that Republicans should pay a political price for transgressing norms. They don't have to stay crushed if they're willing to abide in good faith by the rules. And if they aren't, then either conservatives are crushed or our republic is.
I take a "why not both?" approach to HZSF's choice: Thwart Trumpism now, and put ironclad, law-based checks and balances in place later. Like many of the campaign finance laws that were put in place after Watergate, which endured (more or less) until John Roberts assured us that there would be no perception of corruption following his ruling that money is speech.
posted by Gelatin at 10:18 AM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
I didn't say that; I said that Republicans should pay a political price for transgressing norms. They don't have to stay crushed if they're willing to abide in good faith by the rules. And if they aren't, then either conservatives are crushed or our republic is.
I take a "why not both?" approach to HZSF's choice: Thwart Trumpism now, and put ironclad, law-based checks and balances in place later. Like many of the campaign finance laws that were put in place after Watergate, which endured (more or less) until John Roberts assured us that there would be no perception of corruption following his ruling that money is speech.
posted by Gelatin at 10:18 AM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
SakuraK: TIL that Comey prosecuted Martha Stewart for insider trading yet managed to snooze through an entire decade of men doing insider trading before waking up and prosecuting Hillary Clinton.
There's a whole lot of white collar crime in this country that goes some combination of unnoticed, unremarked, or unprosecuted. It usually only seems to end up noticed, remarked, and prosecuted when it's somehow newsworthy enough that the FBI and federal prosecutors have their hands forced, either by political pressure or news coverage (or both). Sucks for Martha that she was one of the few people to get caught and prosecuted, but I'm not sure that one's on Comey. The Hillary Clinton stuff is certainly a fair and accurate representation of events (and also the Loretta Lynch stuff looks super problematic).
zachlipton: Comey is acknowledging that his decision-making was influenced by disinformation, and that he wouldn't be able to refute it without revealing classified information, so that caused him to say more about the Clinton investigation than is normal. What a shittastic way of fighting Russian disinformation; no wonder they did nothing about Russia throughout the entire election. This false document could have been the most successful Russian operation of them all, and nobody can acknowledge it even happened.
This, though, is really interesting to me. I thought it was safe to assume at the time that there was a Trump investigation going on, and that if there were such an investigation it wouldn't be public until they filed indictments. And what hey, that's exactly what turned out to be true. The FBI's opsec is better than, say, Jason Chaffetz's, and they would have known that to be true, so they had nothing to gain (and a lot to lose) by confirming what was then still clandestine activity.
It's hard to think that the NYT's coverage of the email mess would have been what it was without Comey as its standard bearer, but any real or fake documents that made the Democrats and/or Clinton look bad would have come out by way of the Russian ties to Trump's campaign, with or without FBI involvement.
posted by fedward at 10:20 AM on April 16, 2018
There's a whole lot of white collar crime in this country that goes some combination of unnoticed, unremarked, or unprosecuted. It usually only seems to end up noticed, remarked, and prosecuted when it's somehow newsworthy enough that the FBI and federal prosecutors have their hands forced, either by political pressure or news coverage (or both). Sucks for Martha that she was one of the few people to get caught and prosecuted, but I'm not sure that one's on Comey. The Hillary Clinton stuff is certainly a fair and accurate representation of events (and also the Loretta Lynch stuff looks super problematic).
zachlipton: Comey is acknowledging that his decision-making was influenced by disinformation, and that he wouldn't be able to refute it without revealing classified information, so that caused him to say more about the Clinton investigation than is normal. What a shittastic way of fighting Russian disinformation; no wonder they did nothing about Russia throughout the entire election. This false document could have been the most successful Russian operation of them all, and nobody can acknowledge it even happened.
This, though, is really interesting to me. I thought it was safe to assume at the time that there was a Trump investigation going on, and that if there were such an investigation it wouldn't be public until they filed indictments. And what hey, that's exactly what turned out to be true. The FBI's opsec is better than, say, Jason Chaffetz's, and they would have known that to be true, so they had nothing to gain (and a lot to lose) by confirming what was then still clandestine activity.
It's hard to think that the NYT's coverage of the email mess would have been what it was without Comey as its standard bearer, but any real or fake documents that made the Democrats and/or Clinton look bad would have come out by way of the Russian ties to Trump's campaign, with or without FBI involvement.
posted by fedward at 10:20 AM on April 16, 2018
As far as blue state revolts go, California has given some thought to cutting off revenue, though it's come to nothing - yet; probably because the last time Trump (or rather, Sessions) tried to get tough with California, Governor Brown and AG Becerra basically laughed in his face.
If you look at GDP, California is the five-hundred-pound gorilla, or, rather, grizzly bear. If Cali cuts off her federal revenue, Washington DC will hurt. Also, too, you know that Xavier Becerra would just love to get his hands on Trump just as much as New York AG Schneiderman does.
#BlueWave2018 for local and state governments as well as federal! Elect Democrats to all offices and your state, too, can have nice things!
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 10:22 AM on April 16, 2018 [27 favorites]
If you look at GDP, California is the five-hundred-pound gorilla, or, rather, grizzly bear. If Cali cuts off her federal revenue, Washington DC will hurt. Also, too, you know that Xavier Becerra would just love to get his hands on Trump just as much as New York AG Schneiderman does.
#BlueWave2018 for local and state governments as well as federal! Elect Democrats to all offices and your state, too, can have nice things!
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 10:22 AM on April 16, 2018 [27 favorites]
(I'll add that both thwarting Trumpism and putting laws in place that reinforce norms is not only the right thing to do, but also the popular and (small-d) democratic thing to do. Looking at the evidence of a building wave from recent election results, a majority of loyal Americans don't want to live under a would-be tyrant. And I'd bet that a majority of Trump supporters wouldn't want a Democrat to assert the kind of power Trump has -- indeed, much of their opposition to Obama was rooted in racism pretending he already had. )
posted by Gelatin at 10:22 AM on April 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by Gelatin at 10:22 AM on April 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
But the argument with Bork is that the supreme court nomination process was supposed to be "a-political" and focus solely on the nominees qualifications as a jurist (we still make this bullshit claim). Bork was perfectly qualified to be a Supreme, but the Democratic party voted against him for political reasons.
Since when has "belief in the rule of law" not been part of the qualifications of a jurist? Bork willingly took part in obstruction of justice in the hopes of being personally rewarded after the fact. If not for refusing to confirm a candidate so tainted as Bork, why the fuck is there a confirmation process at all?
The Republicans are pissed because their incredibly tainted guy wasn't rubber-stamped, and have thus been retaliating by pushing back against qualified candidates ever since. To call his failure to be confirmed "political" is buying into bullshit framing.
posted by tocts at 10:23 AM on April 16, 2018 [42 favorites]
Since when has "belief in the rule of law" not been part of the qualifications of a jurist? Bork willingly took part in obstruction of justice in the hopes of being personally rewarded after the fact. If not for refusing to confirm a candidate so tainted as Bork, why the fuck is there a confirmation process at all?
The Republicans are pissed because their incredibly tainted guy wasn't rubber-stamped, and have thus been retaliating by pushing back against qualified candidates ever since. To call his failure to be confirmed "political" is buying into bullshit framing.
posted by tocts at 10:23 AM on April 16, 2018 [42 favorites]
I'm so sick of the Republicans' continuing ability to thrive as the "do as I say, not as I do" party. There continues to be no bottom. A Republican politician or appointee can get away with any crime or repugnant act as long as they say the right things. Bork is very much in that tradition. Of course they defend him.
posted by prefpara at 10:25 AM on April 16, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by prefpara at 10:25 AM on April 16, 2018 [21 favorites]
Since when has "belief in the rule of law" not been part of the qualifications of a jurist? Bork willingly took part in obstruction of justice in the hopes of being personally rewarded after the fact. If not for refusing to confirm a candidate so tainted as Bork, why the fuck is there a confirmation process at all?
I'm not disagreeing, but I think the responses to this show exactly how the tit for tat game gets played and how our democracy is thrown into chaos because of these sorts of grievances. Republicans genuinely believe that Bork was eminently qualified (shit, a large number of them didn't think Nixon did anything wrong! Reagan certainly didn't), Democrats genuinely believe various aspects of his career disqualified him. Both think *they're* making the just and correct judgment, and that the other side is playing politics. And so the grudge match goes on and on forever.
posted by dis_integration at 10:30 AM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'm not disagreeing, but I think the responses to this show exactly how the tit for tat game gets played and how our democracy is thrown into chaos because of these sorts of grievances. Republicans genuinely believe that Bork was eminently qualified (shit, a large number of them didn't think Nixon did anything wrong! Reagan certainly didn't), Democrats genuinely believe various aspects of his career disqualified him. Both think *they're* making the just and correct judgment, and that the other side is playing politics. And so the grudge match goes on and on forever.
posted by dis_integration at 10:30 AM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Betcha the unnamed client is DJT Jr.
posted by azpenguin at 10:35 AM on April 16, 2018 [33 favorites]
posted by azpenguin at 10:35 AM on April 16, 2018 [33 favorites]
There's a whole lot of white collar crime in this country that goes some combination of unnoticed, unremarked, or unprosecuted. It usually only seems to end up noticed, remarked, and prosecuted when it's somehow newsworthy enough that the FBI and federal prosecutors have their hands forced, either by political pressure or news coverage (or both).
Yes, and plenty of white people use the restroom at Starbucks and then wait for their friends to arrive before ordering drinks, but the barista only calls the cops when black people do it.
Selective enforcement of the law is wrong. If we don't have enough FBI agents to prosecute all the rich white men engaged in insider trading or using private emails servers as federal employees, then lets hire more agents, rather than just waiting until women get all uppity and then prosecute them like they are the worst criminals in the world.
Because misogyny and racism aren't going anywhere anytime soon (if there's one thing the events of the past 2 years have taught us all, surely it's that).
posted by hydropsyche at 10:35 AM on April 16, 2018 [33 favorites]
Yes, and plenty of white people use the restroom at Starbucks and then wait for their friends to arrive before ordering drinks, but the barista only calls the cops when black people do it.
Selective enforcement of the law is wrong. If we don't have enough FBI agents to prosecute all the rich white men engaged in insider trading or using private emails servers as federal employees, then lets hire more agents, rather than just waiting until women get all uppity and then prosecute them like they are the worst criminals in the world.
Because misogyny and racism aren't going anywhere anytime soon (if there's one thing the events of the past 2 years have taught us all, surely it's that).
posted by hydropsyche at 10:35 AM on April 16, 2018 [33 favorites]
But the argument with Bork is that the supreme court nomination process was supposed to be "a-political" and focus solely on the nominees qualifications as a jurist
Nonsense. There's nothing in the advise and consent clause that says the Senate must confirm a judicial nominee willy-nilly simply for meeting some standard of "qualification." Being willfully blind to a jurist's opinions is also a political act, as much as is voting to confirm ideologically friendly judges who espouse radical opinions or refuse to disavow them.
posted by Gelatin at 10:36 AM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
Nonsense. There's nothing in the advise and consent clause that says the Senate must confirm a judicial nominee willy-nilly simply for meeting some standard of "qualification." Being willfully blind to a jurist's opinions is also a political act, as much as is voting to confirm ideologically friendly judges who espouse radical opinions or refuse to disavow them.
posted by Gelatin at 10:36 AM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
Frowner, did you click through? I didn't want to quote more than was needed to make the irony clear, but Marshall does qualify that statement.
On the one hand, I think it's a really well-chosen thing to quote, and I think that Marshall is right in identifying the color-revolution model and Russian perception that the color revolutions were primarily (rather than partially) an outgrowth of US interference, but...
Okay, I didn't click through, I won't lie. But now that I have clicked through, I just don't think he really qualifies it. That whole essay takes for granted that what the US has been doing really is "democratic" even if it's also mixed in with self-interest, and I think that except in extremely unusual circumstances, this is not the case. Even leaving aside Kissinger-esque interventions, we tend to undercut genuinely popular movements and support astroturf "democractic" ones that serve our interests, and/or hang activists out to dry once they're no longer useful. The US is not interested in democracy; it's interested in leveraging whatever it can leverage in the interests of US hegemony.
I just think there's this terrible need in people to have heroes and good examples from among our politicians and foreign policy actions, and it leads us down stupid paths because there are no heroes and there are no good actions.
posted by Frowner at 10:36 AM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
Avenatti just released the opposition to Cohen's motion to stay the case "based on his intention to plead the Fifth Amendment."
Avenatti also noted the similarity between what Trump's lawyers are up to in New York and the attempted "Stennis Compromise" during Watergate (which preceded the Saturday Night Massacre).
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:38 AM on April 16, 2018 [24 favorites]
Avenatti also noted the similarity between what Trump's lawyers are up to in New York and the attempted "Stennis Compromise" during Watergate (which preceded the Saturday Night Massacre).
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:38 AM on April 16, 2018 [24 favorites]
Ari Berman: Top Republican Official Says Trump Won Wisconsin Because of Voter ID Law
“We battled to get voter ID on the ballot for the November ’16 election,” Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel, who defended the law in court, told conservative radio host Vicki McKenna on April 12. “How many of your listeners really honestly are sure that Sen. [Ron] Johnson was going to win reelection or President Trump was going to win Wisconsin if we didn’t have voter ID to keep Wisconsin’s elections clean and honest and have integrity?”posted by zombieflanders at 10:38 AM on April 16, 2018 [91 favorites]
The law, which went into effect in 2016, required specific forms of government-issued photo identification to vote. In a cover story last year, Mother Jones reported that the law kept tens of thousands of eligible voters from the polls and likely tipped the state to Trump. A federal court found in 2014 that 9 percent of registered voters in Wisconsin did not possess the identification necessary to vote. In a University of Wisconsin study published in September 2017, 1 in 10 registered voters in Milwaukee County and Madison’s Dane County who did not cast a ballot in 2016 cited the voter ID law as a reason why. That meant that up to 23,000 voters in the two heavily Democratic counties—and as many as 45,000 voters statewide—didn’t vote because of the voter ID law. Trump won the state by 22,000 votes.
African Americans, who favored Hillary Clinton over Trump by an 88-to-8 margin, were three times as likely as whites to say they were deterred from voting by the law.
Indeed, turnout fell most sharply in black neighborhoods of Milwaukee that heavily supported Clinton. Nearly 41,000 fewer people in the city—where Clinton received 77 percent of the vote to Trump’s 18—voted in 2016 than in 2012.
Republicans genuinely believe that Bork was eminently qualified (shit, a large number of them didn't think Nixon did anything wrong! Reagan certainly didn't), Democrats genuinely believe various aspects of his career disqualified him. Both think *they're* making the just and correct judgment, and that the other side is playing politics. And so the grudge match goes on and on forever.
There is an objective reality and allowing people to opt out of it in favor of believing what makes them feel good enables the most heinous crimes.
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:41 AM on April 16, 2018 [20 favorites]
There is an objective reality and allowing people to opt out of it in favor of believing what makes them feel good enables the most heinous crimes.
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:41 AM on April 16, 2018 [20 favorites]
How Russian Facebook Ads Divided and Targeted US Voters Before the 2016 Election
posted by Artw at 10:48 AM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Artw at 10:48 AM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
Trump jokes about being jealous of Bolton
Trump acknowledged Bolton, who was standing along the wall of a gym near Miami where the president was participating in a tax event. The crowd gave Bolton a raucous standing ovation.
“John, that’s pretty good. I didn’t expect that. I’m a little jealous,” Trump quipped. “Are you giving him all the credit? Uh oh, you know that means the end of his job.”
Trump does not joke, ever: he floats what he wants to do and gauges the reaction. The warmongers had better stifle their enthusiasm for Bolton's offerings to the BloodGod or he'll be out in two shakes.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:52 AM on April 16, 2018 [45 favorites]
Trump acknowledged Bolton, who was standing along the wall of a gym near Miami where the president was participating in a tax event. The crowd gave Bolton a raucous standing ovation.
“John, that’s pretty good. I didn’t expect that. I’m a little jealous,” Trump quipped. “Are you giving him all the credit? Uh oh, you know that means the end of his job.”
Trump does not joke, ever: he floats what he wants to do and gauges the reaction. The warmongers had better stifle their enthusiasm for Bolton's offerings to the BloodGod or he'll be out in two shakes.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:52 AM on April 16, 2018 [45 favorites]
He said the public was “duty bound” to vote Mr. Trump out of office in the next election.
Comey wants the public to vote Trump out of office in 2020 instead of Congress impeaching Trump. I agree we have a moral duty to vote him out, but we can accomplish that by electing people that will impeach him. Also, waiting until the 2020 election also gives a pass to his Republican enablers in Congress.
Impeachment and removal from office is the proper remedy for the crimes he has committed in office as president. Obstruction of justice is the most egregious one, then violating the emoluments clause. (Honestly, if he isn't impeached for violating the emoluments clause, why do we even have it? See also the electoral college.)
If he committed crimes during the election, he should be tried and sent to prison if convicted. I don't believe he should be impeached for crimes he may have committed before becoming president. I think it's possible he wasn't directly involved with the Russians, but he has certainly obstructed justice as president.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:55 AM on April 16, 2018 [25 favorites]
Comey wants the public to vote Trump out of office in 2020 instead of Congress impeaching Trump. I agree we have a moral duty to vote him out, but we can accomplish that by electing people that will impeach him. Also, waiting until the 2020 election also gives a pass to his Republican enablers in Congress.
Impeachment and removal from office is the proper remedy for the crimes he has committed in office as president. Obstruction of justice is the most egregious one, then violating the emoluments clause. (Honestly, if he isn't impeached for violating the emoluments clause, why do we even have it? See also the electoral college.)
If he committed crimes during the election, he should be tried and sent to prison if convicted. I don't believe he should be impeached for crimes he may have committed before becoming president. I think it's possible he wasn't directly involved with the Russians, but he has certainly obstructed justice as president.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:55 AM on April 16, 2018 [25 favorites]
Comey's the only other person I can think of offhand that Trump said he was jealous of .
posted by kirkaracha at 10:58 AM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 10:58 AM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
The nerve of this guy, thinking he can get away with not even disclosing the NAMES of his clients. Come the fuck on.
Jedicus is exactly right. The identity of a client is in itself privileged information, which the client may waive or the Court to direct disclosed *however*.
There are good reasons for this. Say a wife consults a lawyer about ending her marriage. If that lawyer has to name the wife as a client, that would reveal to the world that she has consulted that lawyer -- information she might have very good reasons to keep to herself. Same for a business partner consulting a lawyer different from her partnership's usual lawyer. Same for an employee considering his future options, without wanting his current employer to know. There are any number of scenarios.
Cohen is quite correct in refusing to disclose the names of his clients, either until the clients themselves waive that privilege, or the Court tells him to.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:04 AM on April 16, 2018 [14 favorites]
Jedicus is exactly right. The identity of a client is in itself privileged information, which the client may waive or the Court to direct disclosed *however*.
There are good reasons for this. Say a wife consults a lawyer about ending her marriage. If that lawyer has to name the wife as a client, that would reveal to the world that she has consulted that lawyer -- information she might have very good reasons to keep to herself. Same for a business partner consulting a lawyer different from her partnership's usual lawyer. Same for an employee considering his future options, without wanting his current employer to know. There are any number of scenarios.
Cohen is quite correct in refusing to disclose the names of his clients, either until the clients themselves waive that privilege, or the Court tells him to.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:04 AM on April 16, 2018 [14 favorites]
the unnamed client is DJT Jr.
I mean, we can speculate all day. And I recognize that we probably shouldn't. But my favorite speculation so far is Steve Wynn.
posted by OnceUponATime at 11:06 AM on April 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
I mean, we can speculate all day. And I recognize that we probably shouldn't. But my favorite speculation so far is Steve Wynn.
posted by OnceUponATime at 11:06 AM on April 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
As always, God bless the Onion.
Comey: ‘What Can I Say, I’m Just A Catty Bitch From New Jersey And I Live For Drama’
Previously -
16 April 2018 Washington Post: Daily 202: How James Comey's battles with the Bush White House prepared him to stand up to Trump
16 May 2007: Mefi: "I am not the attorney general. That's the attorney general."
2007: Daily Show - Comey Don't Play That (autoplaying video)
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:08 AM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Comey: ‘What Can I Say, I’m Just A Catty Bitch From New Jersey And I Live For Drama’
Previously -
16 April 2018 Washington Post: Daily 202: How James Comey's battles with the Bush White House prepared him to stand up to Trump
16 May 2007: Mefi: "I am not the attorney general. That's the attorney general."
2007: Daily Show - Comey Don't Play That (autoplaying video)
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:08 AM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Could the hacked RNC emails have something to do with their fundraising and finances?
posted by gucci mane at 11:11 AM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by gucci mane at 11:11 AM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Selective enforcement of the law is wrong. If we don't have enough FBI agents to prosecute all the rich white men engaged in insider trading or using private emails servers as federal employees, then lets hire more agents, rather than just waiting until women get all uppity and then prosecute them like they are the worst criminals in the world.
Oh, in case I wasn't perfectly clear, I agree with you that selective enforcement is wrong. My point was simply that I don't think the decision to prosecute Martha Stewart (and let however many other [white men's] white collar crimes slide) was on Comey (or at least solely his responsibility). That particular case, at least, was a symptom of multiple systemic problems of which selective enforcement and inadequate staffing are only two.
posted by fedward at 11:12 AM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Oh, in case I wasn't perfectly clear, I agree with you that selective enforcement is wrong. My point was simply that I don't think the decision to prosecute Martha Stewart (and let however many other [white men's] white collar crimes slide) was on Comey (or at least solely his responsibility). That particular case, at least, was a symptom of multiple systemic problems of which selective enforcement and inadequate staffing are only two.
posted by fedward at 11:12 AM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Scott Lemieux, LGM: The “NY Bureau Made Comey Do It” Defense Is Exceptionally Weak
[...] The favorite current angle of Comey apologists is to argue that the threat of the NY Bureau leaking the re-started investigation left him no choice but to violate longstanding norms and the explicit guidelines of the Attorney General and send a prejudicial letter about the investigation into Hillary Clinton (but not the investigation into Donald Trump’s campaign.) [...]posted by tonycpsu at 11:13 AM on April 16, 2018 [28 favorites]
This defense fails on every possible level:Comey made his choice and he owns the consequences. He wasn’t forced to issue a selective and prejudicial letter by other forces.
- Controlling the agents at the NY bureau is Comey’s job. Even taking it at face value, the argument boils down to “my managerial failures left me with no choice but to compound the issue by improperly sending a prejudicial letter.” This…isn’t much of a defense.
- The argument also assumes that rumors of an investigation leaked by rogue elements at the FBI who couldn’t go on the record would have the same impact as the Director of the FBI explicitly confirming the existence of the investigation, and in so doing strongly implying that there was a very real chance that Clinton was guilty of serious wrongdoing. But this is absurd. [...] Comey putting his sterling (justified or not) reputation for Nonpartisan Integritude behind the story makes a yoooooge difference, and the extremely unusual nature of his actions created the strong impression that the FBI really had something on Clinton although they had absolutely nothing. [...]
For your Michael Cohen hearing livetweeting needs:
@KlasfeldReports (Courthouse News)
@eorden (WSJ)
@chrisgeidner (BuzzFeed)
@ambiej (BuzzFeed)
Elliot Spitzer is there for some reason, because apparently the courthouse is the largest drama magnet in the NY area.
posted by zachlipton at 11:14 AM on April 16, 2018 [20 favorites]
@KlasfeldReports (Courthouse News)
@eorden (WSJ)
@chrisgeidner (BuzzFeed)
@ambiej (BuzzFeed)
Elliot Spitzer is there for some reason, because apparently the courthouse is the largest drama magnet in the NY area.
posted by zachlipton at 11:14 AM on April 16, 2018 [20 favorites]
From the prior thread: Republican voters are being hurt right now by Trump policies. The opioid crisis is largely a rural, red state, crisis. Republican voters are disproportionately affected by red state spending policies and cuts in services, education and health care. They don't care, because Trump is white and loves Republican Jesus.
Related to this, I saw a short film at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival about one (of the many) tattoo artists in Appalachian Ohio who offer free obscuration of racist and Nazi tattoos to any and all. It was called Beneath the Ink and it was quite moving to see the people having swastikas, falming crosses, and such covered up and hear them tell their stories. The filmmaker, a commercial artist who was on location for a commercial shoot, met the inker and decided to shoot the documentary at that time. The scenes of poverty, demise, and decay the film showed were depressing and certainly explain why so many from areas like that feel abandoned by society. They see their communities disappearing as the businesses and infrastructure that supported them go away. The turning to opiates and meth as a way to dull the pain is understandable. But the tattooist was also cognizant of the large number of frankly racist people in the area, and their impact on the tone and mood of those communities. I was quite moved by this small film and it not only gave me insight into the problems faced, but also the hardened racism that is only slowly being chipped away at in the face of new encouragement by the people at the top of society. This man, covered in tattoos, said he knew he had to do something to make a difference and was using the only tool he knew.
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:15 AM on April 16, 2018 [43 favorites]
Related to this, I saw a short film at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival about one (of the many) tattoo artists in Appalachian Ohio who offer free obscuration of racist and Nazi tattoos to any and all. It was called Beneath the Ink and it was quite moving to see the people having swastikas, falming crosses, and such covered up and hear them tell their stories. The filmmaker, a commercial artist who was on location for a commercial shoot, met the inker and decided to shoot the documentary at that time. The scenes of poverty, demise, and decay the film showed were depressing and certainly explain why so many from areas like that feel abandoned by society. They see their communities disappearing as the businesses and infrastructure that supported them go away. The turning to opiates and meth as a way to dull the pain is understandable. But the tattooist was also cognizant of the large number of frankly racist people in the area, and their impact on the tone and mood of those communities. I was quite moved by this small film and it not only gave me insight into the problems faced, but also the hardened racism that is only slowly being chipped away at in the face of new encouragement by the people at the top of society. This man, covered in tattoos, said he knew he had to do something to make a difference and was using the only tool he knew.
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:15 AM on April 16, 2018 [43 favorites]
From the Courthouse News reporter's updates:
"AUSA McKay: Cohen has more attorneys than he has clients."
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:18 AM on April 16, 2018 [51 favorites]
"AUSA McKay: Cohen has more attorneys than he has clients."
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:18 AM on April 16, 2018 [51 favorites]
Washington Post: Trump puts the brakes on new Russian sanctions, reversing Haley’s announcement
Gee. How odd.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:20 AM on April 16, 2018 [85 favorites]
Gee. How odd.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:20 AM on April 16, 2018 [85 favorites]
Elliot Spitzer is there for some reason
I want a moratorium on straight white men rising to power
Send them all to therapy instead
posted by schadenfrau at 11:20 AM on April 16, 2018 [29 favorites]
I want a moratorium on straight white men rising to power
Send them all to therapy instead
posted by schadenfrau at 11:20 AM on April 16, 2018 [29 favorites]
WaPo, Trump puts the brakes on new Russian sanctions, reversing Haley’s announcement
I'm not saying he's being blackmailed by Russia, but all of this behavior seems consistent with being blackmailed by Russia.
posted by zachlipton at 11:21 AM on April 16, 2018 [83 favorites]
President Trump on Monday put the brakes on a preliminary plan to impose additional economic sanctions on Russia, walking back a Sunday announcement by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley that the Kremlin had swiftly denounced as “international economic raiding.”See also yesterday's story about Trump swearing about expelling Russian diplomats.
Preparations to punish Russia anew for its support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government over the alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria caused consternation at the White House. Haley said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that sanctions on Russian companies behind the equipment related to Assad’s alleged chemical weapons attack would be announced Monday by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
But as officials in Moscow condemned the planned sanctions as overly punitive, Trump conferred with his national security advisers later Sunday and told them he was upset the sanctions were being officially rolled out because he was not yet comfortable executing them, according to several people familiar with the plan.
Administration officials said the economic sanctions were under serious consideration, along with other measures that could be taken against Russia, but said Trump had not given final authorization to implement them. Administration officials said Monday it was unlikely Trump would approve any additional sanctions without another triggering event by Russia, describing the strategy as being in a holding pattern.
I'm not saying he's being blackmailed by Russia, but all of this behavior seems consistent with being blackmailed by Russia.
posted by zachlipton at 11:21 AM on April 16, 2018 [83 favorites]
Oops, she accidentally told the truth: Kellyanne Conway To ABC: Comey ‘Swung The Election’
posted by kirkaracha at 11:24 AM on April 16, 2018 [29 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 11:24 AM on April 16, 2018 [29 favorites]
@andyriga: Evidence presented at Alexandre Bissonnette's sentencing hearing this morning includes a list of some of the Twitter accounts he was checking in the month before he killed six men at a Quebec City mosque.
If you want to know who radicalized him, just look to Ben Shapiro and Breitbart and Tucker Carlson and Baked Alaska and Richard Spencer.
posted by zachlipton at 11:24 AM on April 16, 2018 [56 favorites]
If you want to know who radicalized him, just look to Ben Shapiro and Breitbart and Tucker Carlson and Baked Alaska and Richard Spencer.
posted by zachlipton at 11:24 AM on April 16, 2018 [56 favorites]
I fail to see how the Democrats stopping the payment of Nixon's bribe to Bork is in any way a bad thing or an excuse for future Republican misbehavior. Bork was promised a seat on the Supreme Court if he'd make the Watergate investigation go away, that's not a valid reason to confirm a person to the Supreme Court, in fact I'd argue it's a valid reason for a long prison sentence and a lifelong ban on practicing the law at any level.
acb In other words, we've devolved to a Hobbesian world order, and the only way the liberals can prevail is by putting aside Kantian high-mindedness and moving to crush the conservatives with overwhelming force and make sure they stay crushed?
Yup. Sounds about right.
Or, rather, we're in a situation where there are rules, but no agency that actually enforces those rules, which means the rules effectively don't exist.
In any situation like that the only behavior that stops the breaking of norms is tit for tat retaliation. This is game theory 101 level stuff here. It's how a player can "win" the iterated Prisoner's Dilemma: begin by being honest and if cheated retaliate.
There are no refs here. There are no authorities we can appeal to when the Republicans break norms, rules, and even laws.
Another way of looking at it is that we're in a sort of forced honor society situation where in order to avoid being bullied you must be aggressive, repay any slight with a fight, and sometimes push the other person's boundaries just to make sure they know you're too strong to easily beat. We've got to show the Republicans that fucking with us hurts, or they'll keep fucking with us.
It'd be a lot better if people followed the rules, I'm 100% in agreement there. But since there's no referee, no parent, no authority, to actually enforce the rules and penalize rule breakers then if we don't retaliate when the Republicans hurt us we aren't claiming the high ground, we're just victims.
Now, personally I'm also 100% in favor of stomping conservatism until its either dead or so defeated it never rises again. I see no value or merit in that position and I see harm in permitting it to fester. There is no gain in delaying necessary civil rights, there is no profit in slowing or putting off equality and justice. I want those fuckers who "stand[s] athwart history, yelling Stop" to be crushed utterly and have no power at all.
But my personal level of commitment to progressive causes is irrelevant here. I'm bloodthirsty, no denying it, but when we subtract the blood thirst game theory tells us we must retaliate and hurt them back when they hurt us, or else we'll be perpetual victims and we'll wind up being he ones crushed with overwhelming force to make sure we stay crushed.
When there are no refs and one person fights by Marquess of Queensberry rules and the other fights dirty, the person fighting Marquess of Queensberry loses. I want to win for a change thanks.
posted by sotonohito at 11:31 AM on April 16, 2018 [40 favorites]
acb In other words, we've devolved to a Hobbesian world order, and the only way the liberals can prevail is by putting aside Kantian high-mindedness and moving to crush the conservatives with overwhelming force and make sure they stay crushed?
Yup. Sounds about right.
Or, rather, we're in a situation where there are rules, but no agency that actually enforces those rules, which means the rules effectively don't exist.
In any situation like that the only behavior that stops the breaking of norms is tit for tat retaliation. This is game theory 101 level stuff here. It's how a player can "win" the iterated Prisoner's Dilemma: begin by being honest and if cheated retaliate.
There are no refs here. There are no authorities we can appeal to when the Republicans break norms, rules, and even laws.
Another way of looking at it is that we're in a sort of forced honor society situation where in order to avoid being bullied you must be aggressive, repay any slight with a fight, and sometimes push the other person's boundaries just to make sure they know you're too strong to easily beat. We've got to show the Republicans that fucking with us hurts, or they'll keep fucking with us.
It'd be a lot better if people followed the rules, I'm 100% in agreement there. But since there's no referee, no parent, no authority, to actually enforce the rules and penalize rule breakers then if we don't retaliate when the Republicans hurt us we aren't claiming the high ground, we're just victims.
Now, personally I'm also 100% in favor of stomping conservatism until its either dead or so defeated it never rises again. I see no value or merit in that position and I see harm in permitting it to fester. There is no gain in delaying necessary civil rights, there is no profit in slowing or putting off equality and justice. I want those fuckers who "stand[s] athwart history, yelling Stop" to be crushed utterly and have no power at all.
But my personal level of commitment to progressive causes is irrelevant here. I'm bloodthirsty, no denying it, but when we subtract the blood thirst game theory tells us we must retaliate and hurt them back when they hurt us, or else we'll be perpetual victims and we'll wind up being he ones crushed with overwhelming force to make sure we stay crushed.
When there are no refs and one person fights by Marquess of Queensberry rules and the other fights dirty, the person fighting Marquess of Queensberry loses. I want to win for a change thanks.
posted by sotonohito at 11:31 AM on April 16, 2018 [40 favorites]
MetaFilter: what won't you relitigate?
posted by scalefree at 11:33 AM on April 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 11:33 AM on April 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
Politico: Senate poised to allow Duckworth’s newborn on the floor
posted by Chrysostom at 11:36 AM on April 16, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 11:36 AM on April 16, 2018 [26 favorites]
>and charged with running an international underage prostitution ring
>>In the fullness of time, we will discover that just as with everything else, Pizzagate was pure projection.
posted by adamgreenfield at 5:58 PM on April 15 [49 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
I smell inoculation. Any charges that Trump is involved in such dealings will be looked on by the faithful as pure "I know you are, but what am I?"
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:38 AM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
>>In the fullness of time, we will discover that just as with everything else, Pizzagate was pure projection.
posted by adamgreenfield at 5:58 PM on April 15 [49 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
I smell inoculation. Any charges that Trump is involved in such dealings will be looked on by the faithful as pure "I know you are, but what am I?"
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:38 AM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
What’s the implication? That some plane or missile was aloft that they didn’t want tracked?
No, that we turned it off for them during the missile strike.
posted by scalefree at 11:41 AM on April 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
No, that we turned it off for them during the missile strike.
posted by scalefree at 11:41 AM on April 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
Basically, Cohen is correct to refuse to name the client, if that's what the client wants, but he will probably end up being forced to reveal the client's name in the end, possibly under seal.
From the ongoing court thread by Adam Klasfeld @KlasfeldReports:
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:45 AM on April 16, 2018 [32 favorites]
From the ongoing court thread by Adam Klasfeld @KlasfeldReports:
Cohen's other attorney Steve Ryan says the third client is a "publicly prominent individual," and he didn't want the name to be released from the public.(This is unexpectedly good legal drama, though I doubt playwrights in the future will be inspired to write anything on the level of Inherit the Wind.)
"We are protecting that persons identity, but not from the court," he claims, if there will be a sealed in camera review.
Jargon explanation: In camera = for the judge's eyes alone.
Judge Wood wants to know the "legal grounds" for withholding the client's name.
After commenting on Cohen's responsibilities, Ryan says: "I'm simply trying to protect the privacy of that individual."
An attorney for the press objects, notes that the public also has a right.
That attorney's name is Robert Balin, who reads a citation indicating that a client's fear of guilt by association is not enough to prevent disclosure.
The reason this is so, Balin says, is, "So that We the People, and the press, can monitor our institutions."[...]
BREAKING: Judge Wood rules that the name "must be disclosed publicly now."
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:45 AM on April 16, 2018 [32 favorites]
Cohen attorney Steve Ryan regarding mystery third client: "The client is a publicly prominent individual."
Probably coincedence, but Paul Ryan announced his retirement the day after the search warrant on Cohen was executed and it has been speculated that Trump has dirt on him.
posted by stopgap at 11:45 AM on April 16, 2018 [17 favorites]
Probably coincedence, but Paul Ryan announced his retirement the day after the search warrant on Cohen was executed and it has been speculated that Trump has dirt on him.
posted by stopgap at 11:45 AM on April 16, 2018 [17 favorites]
The problem with focusing on Comey or any other specific actor's actions in 2016 is that if our democracy is so fragile that a single act by an FBI director can make or break the system, we have much bigger issues. It's common in industrial accidents to blame human error instead of the systemic conditions which made it possible for that error to result in loss of life. That's a recipe for allowing some version of the same problem to occur again.
"Ultimately, a quite normal variation in somebody's behaviour can then release an accident. Had this particular 'root cause' been avoided by some additional safety measure, the accident would very likely be released by another cause at another point in time. In other words, an explanation of the accident in terms of events, acts, and errors is not very useful for design of improved systems." —Rasmussen, Risk Management in a Dynamic Society
"An accident model should encourage a broad view of accident mechanisms that expands the investigation beyond the proximate events. A narrow focus on operator actions, physical component failures, and technology may lead to ignoring some of the most important factors in terms of preventing future accidents. The whole concept of "root cause" needs to be reconsidered." —Leveson, Engineering a Safer World
It also appears that our "checks and balances" need to be refreshed:
"In any well designed work system, numerous precautions are taken to protect... the system against major accidents, using a 'defence in depth' design strategy. One basic problem is that in such a system having functionally redundant protective defenses, a local violation of one of the defenses has no immediate, visible effect and then may not be observed in action… Therefore, in systems designed according to the defence-in-depth strategy, the defenses are likely to degenerate systematically through time..." —Rasmussen
Then, quite naturally, the result is a "systematic migration toward the boundary of functionally acceptable performance, and, if crossing the boundary is irreversible, an error or an accident may occur".
You might say the Russian efforts have been a form of fuzz testing of our democratic system, nudging various components of that system in various directions. And since that system was already operating at the boundary of failure, any slight nudge of any of its components would be sufficient to push it across that boundary.
posted by hyperbolic at 11:46 AM on April 16, 2018 [36 favorites]
"Ultimately, a quite normal variation in somebody's behaviour can then release an accident. Had this particular 'root cause' been avoided by some additional safety measure, the accident would very likely be released by another cause at another point in time. In other words, an explanation of the accident in terms of events, acts, and errors is not very useful for design of improved systems." —Rasmussen, Risk Management in a Dynamic Society
"An accident model should encourage a broad view of accident mechanisms that expands the investigation beyond the proximate events. A narrow focus on operator actions, physical component failures, and technology may lead to ignoring some of the most important factors in terms of preventing future accidents. The whole concept of "root cause" needs to be reconsidered." —Leveson, Engineering a Safer World
It also appears that our "checks and balances" need to be refreshed:
"In any well designed work system, numerous precautions are taken to protect... the system against major accidents, using a 'defence in depth' design strategy. One basic problem is that in such a system having functionally redundant protective defenses, a local violation of one of the defenses has no immediate, visible effect and then may not be observed in action… Therefore, in systems designed according to the defence-in-depth strategy, the defenses are likely to degenerate systematically through time..." —Rasmussen
Then, quite naturally, the result is a "systematic migration toward the boundary of functionally acceptable performance, and, if crossing the boundary is irreversible, an error or an accident may occur".
You might say the Russian efforts have been a form of fuzz testing of our democratic system, nudging various components of that system in various directions. And since that system was already operating at the boundary of failure, any slight nudge of any of its components would be sufficient to push it across that boundary.
posted by hyperbolic at 11:46 AM on April 16, 2018 [36 favorites]
Judge Wood ordered Cohen's third client has to be disclosed publicly (turns out there's a rather high bar to keep it a secret, and it doesn't sound like Cohen's team had much of an argument): Sean Hannity
posted by zachlipton at 11:50 AM on April 16, 2018 [109 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 11:50 AM on April 16, 2018 [109 favorites]
...Trump conferred with his national security advisers later Sunday and told them he was upset the sanctions were being officially rolled out because he was not yet comfortable executing them...
Mr. "trade wars are easy to win!" wasn't comfortable rolling out economic sanctions.
posted by XMLicious at 11:50 AM on April 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
Welp. That explains why Hannity's gone so far out on the Trump Train.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:52 AM on April 16, 2018 [42 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:52 AM on April 16, 2018 [42 favorites]
You know O'Reilly must be so pissed he had to pay $30m to keep his affair hush hush, meanwhile everyone else is going to Michael the Mob Lawyer and getting deals cut for $130K.
posted by PenDevil at 11:53 AM on April 16, 2018 [66 favorites]
posted by PenDevil at 11:53 AM on April 16, 2018 [66 favorites]
WaPo, Trump puts the brakes on new Russian sanctions, reversing Haley’s announcement
It's like Trump is hellbent on being the punch line to Johnny Carson's old mentalist routine, "How can Trump prove he's beholden to the Russians?"
posted by Gelatin at 11:54 AM on April 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
It's like Trump is hellbent on being the punch line to Johnny Carson's old mentalist routine, "How can Trump prove he's beholden to the Russians?"
posted by Gelatin at 11:54 AM on April 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
HMMMM Leann Tweeden was a friend of Hannity.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 11:55 AM on April 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 11:55 AM on April 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
hyperbolic I'd argue that you're right, and that the deeper problem that has weakened our system to the point where a single rogue FBI agent can derail an electon is that America is fundamentally and perhaps irrevocably split on the essential question of what the nation is supposed to be.
On the Republican side they believe "America" means a white, Christian, ethnostate with a hierarchical system of law enforcement where the higher on the social hierarchy you stand the less the law binds you and the more the law protects you, and the lower you stand the less the law protects you and the more it binds you.
On the Democratic side they believe "America" means a multi-ethnic nation where all people are accorded equality under the law, and everyone has more or less equal liberty, civil rights, government protection, and so on.
That fundamental divide has been present since the founding of the nation and isn't really possible to compromise on. The left has been slowly (painfully slowly) chipping away and winning a trickle of victories that expand legal protections and liberty to one group or another, while the right has been fighting that every step of the way and doing their utmost to undermine the official legal equality that the left has won.
Which is what brings us to Comey being able to tip the election, or at least add some significant weight to the side he favors. We're perilously balanced and both visions of America have more or less equal numbers. It doesn't take much to push things one way or the other.
I have no idea if one or the other side will eventually prevail and we'll have something approaching national unity on the question of what America is and means. But for now we're fairly close to perfectly balanced, in large part because of increasing urbanization.
I'd say I don't think the situation can last much longer, but it's lasted a very long time already, so we'll see.
posted by sotonohito at 11:56 AM on April 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
On the Republican side they believe "America" means a white, Christian, ethnostate with a hierarchical system of law enforcement where the higher on the social hierarchy you stand the less the law binds you and the more the law protects you, and the lower you stand the less the law protects you and the more it binds you.
On the Democratic side they believe "America" means a multi-ethnic nation where all people are accorded equality under the law, and everyone has more or less equal liberty, civil rights, government protection, and so on.
That fundamental divide has been present since the founding of the nation and isn't really possible to compromise on. The left has been slowly (painfully slowly) chipping away and winning a trickle of victories that expand legal protections and liberty to one group or another, while the right has been fighting that every step of the way and doing their utmost to undermine the official legal equality that the left has won.
Which is what brings us to Comey being able to tip the election, or at least add some significant weight to the side he favors. We're perilously balanced and both visions of America have more or less equal numbers. It doesn't take much to push things one way or the other.
I have no idea if one or the other side will eventually prevail and we'll have something approaching national unity on the question of what America is and means. But for now we're fairly close to perfectly balanced, in large part because of increasing urbanization.
I'd say I don't think the situation can last much longer, but it's lasted a very long time already, so we'll see.
posted by sotonohito at 11:56 AM on April 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
Hannity? My god, that’s delicious. It means blood in the water where there was merely placid ocean moments before, and a tightening gyre of lawyers who’ve scented it. Sharks, if you will – real killers.
posted by adamgreenfield at 11:57 AM on April 16, 2018 [70 favorites]
posted by adamgreenfield at 11:57 AM on April 16, 2018 [70 favorites]
Hannity!!
Steve Bannon Sees #MeToo As An 'Existential Threat' To Trump, Says Journalist
"From your lips to God's ear," we all said.
God seems to have heard.
posted by notyou at 11:57 AM on April 16, 2018 [44 favorites]
Steve Bannon Sees #MeToo As An 'Existential Threat' To Trump, Says Journalist
"From your lips to God's ear," we all said.
God seems to have heard.
posted by notyou at 11:57 AM on April 16, 2018 [44 favorites]
Beyond the Pee Tape, What the Steele Dossier Got Right
If Mueller actually has evidence [of Cohen going to Prague] as described by McClatchy, it is yet another confirmation of what was reported by Christopher Steele. The next step would be to confirm the purpose of the trip. That is the truly explosive part of the dossier. To summarize, it reported that initially Paul Manafort was the Trump campaign’s chief contact with the Russians, but when he was fired, Michael Cohen took over.posted by kirkaracha at 11:58 AM on April 16, 2018 [15 favorites]
...
In other words, one of the main topics of the meeting in Prague was to discuss how to handle payments to the hackers who had “worked in Europe under Kremlin direction against the Clinton campaign.” About those payments, it was reported that they “had been paid by both Trump’s team and the Kremlin.” If that turns out to be true, it is game, set and match for a criminal conspiracy.
Can some explain to me why it's important that it's Hannity?
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 11:59 AM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 11:59 AM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
AT&T and cable lobby are terrified of a California net neutrality bill -- ISPs hate California bill even more than the FCC rules they helped kill. (Jon Brodkin for Ars Technica, April 16, 2018)
Good on you, California - you can make that a reality! Set the threshold for the rest of the country, and make it easier to make this a national standard!
posted by filthy light thief at 11:59 AM on April 16, 2018 [81 favorites]
AT&T and the lobby group that represents Comcast, Charter, Cox, and other cable companies have been making their displeasure known to lawmakers in advance of hearings on a bill that could impose the toughest net neutrality law in the nation. The California bill implements the FCC's basic net neutrality rules from 2015, but it also bans paid zero-rating arrangements in which home or mobile Internet providers charge online services for data cap exemptions.Brodkin notes that there are other, less stringent net neutrality bills up for debate in California, but it's proposal submitted by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) that has AT&T writing a comparison (18 page PDF) of of the old FCC rules (that Pai killed) and showing how much farther Wiener's go.
Good on you, California - you can make that a reality! Set the threshold for the rest of the country, and make it easier to make this a national standard!
posted by filthy light thief at 11:59 AM on April 16, 2018 [81 favorites]
Will Sommer [via Twitter]: Michael Cohen revealed Sean Hannity as his third client just minutes before Hannity's radio show starts.
OK, who's going to take one for the team and tune into Hannity's show?
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:01 PM on April 16, 2018 [26 favorites]
OK, who's going to take one for the team and tune into Hannity's show?
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:01 PM on April 16, 2018 [26 favorites]
Can some explain to me why it's important that it's Hannity?
Cohen's other two clients employ him seemingly solely to cover up affairs and abortions.
posted by PenDevil at 12:02 PM on April 16, 2018 [86 favorites]
Cohen's other two clients employ him seemingly solely to cover up affairs and abortions.
posted by PenDevil at 12:02 PM on April 16, 2018 [86 favorites]
Can some explain to me why it's important that it's Hannity?
Hannity is the most virulently, absurdly pro-Trump voice on basic cable. Every show is sixty minutes of Trumpist horse excrement.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:02 PM on April 16, 2018 [35 favorites]
Hannity is the most virulently, absurdly pro-Trump voice on basic cable. Every show is sixty minutes of Trumpist horse excrement.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:02 PM on April 16, 2018 [35 favorites]
Beyond the likelihood of Cohen arranging a hush NDA for Hannity, there's the unseemliness (maybe an actual conflict?) of Trump and Hannity sharing the same personal attorney.
Hoo boy.
posted by notyou at 12:03 PM on April 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
Hoo boy.
posted by notyou at 12:03 PM on April 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
I've been saying that I kinda expected Michael Cohen's file cabinet would be full of nothing but spiders and right now I feel pretty vindicated.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 12:03 PM on April 16, 2018 [41 favorites]
posted by scaryblackdeath at 12:03 PM on April 16, 2018 [41 favorites]
Sean Hannity’s response to being named Michael Cohen’s third client: "We have been friends a long time. I have sought legal advice from Michael."
posted by warble at 12:04 PM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by warble at 12:04 PM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
PenDevil: Cohen's other two clients employ him seemingly solely to cover up affairs and abortions.
And if Cohen's work for Hannity was bad enough that Cohen didn't want to mention Hannity's name? I imagine people who are good at digging into legal records will have fun today, and we'll get a scoop or two within 24 hours.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:05 PM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
And if Cohen's work for Hannity was bad enough that Cohen didn't want to mention Hannity's name? I imagine people who are good at digging into legal records will have fun today, and we'll get a scoop or two within 24 hours.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:05 PM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
If this means Hannity's downfall, I will make a raindrop cake and savor it as sweet, sweet conservative tears.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 12:05 PM on April 16, 2018 [50 favorites]
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 12:05 PM on April 16, 2018 [50 favorites]
Among the many issues here, Hannity has been using his show to rant about the horrible unfairness of the Cohen raid. Not that Fox News cares about ethics, but not providing commentary on the raid of your own lawyer's office (particularly when you are just one of three clients of said lawyer) without mentioning that is a pretty minimal ethical bar. Did he really think this wasn't going to come out?
posted by zachlipton at 12:05 PM on April 16, 2018 [80 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:05 PM on April 16, 2018 [80 favorites]
The Sean Hannity Show live audio
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:05 PM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:05 PM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Also, POTUS (Cohen client) urged the country to watch Hannity (Cohen client) right after the FBI raided Cohen.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:06 PM on April 16, 2018 [37 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:06 PM on April 16, 2018 [37 favorites]
Jimmy Kimmel just lit a cigar.
posted by valkane at 12:06 PM on April 16, 2018 [56 favorites]
posted by valkane at 12:06 PM on April 16, 2018 [56 favorites]
scaryblackdeath: I've been saying that I kinda expected Michael Cohen's file cabinet would be full of nothing but spiders and right now I feel pretty vindicated.
Hey, that's not a nice thing to say about spiders, especially as they're likely to have more company than Trump, Broidy and Hannity
Hey, that's not a nice thing to say about spiders, especially as they're likely to have more company than Trump, Broidy and Hannity
A number of other previous clients are referred to in the letter. The clients are not named. Cohen's lawyers said in their letter that they do not know if work for those clients was seized in the raids, or whether Cohen's work for them was relevant to the information sought by the search warrants authorizing the raids.posted by filthy light thief at 12:06 PM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
Those wacky time traveling Trumpers are at it again.
@KellyannePolls Astonished by the all-out assault on Comey by Team Clinton. Suggesting he is a partisan interfering with the election is dangerous & unfair.
1:10 PM - 29 Oct 2016
posted by scalefree at 12:07 PM on April 16, 2018 [27 favorites]
@KellyannePolls Astonished by the all-out assault on Comey by Team Clinton. Suggesting he is a partisan interfering with the election is dangerous & unfair.
1:10 PM - 29 Oct 2016
posted by scalefree at 12:07 PM on April 16, 2018 [27 favorites]
Listening to Hannity's live stream and there is currently a LOT of dead air...
posted by Rhaomi at 12:07 PM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Rhaomi at 12:07 PM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
Can some explain to me why it's important that it's Hannity?
Mainly insofar as Hannity was basically marching in front of the Trump bandwagon way back in the beginning, when most conservative politicians and media personalities were still squirming in indecision or telling anyone who would listen that Trump was either A) a ridiculous assclown who was going to be laughed out of the primaries any moment now or B) the literal death of movement conservatism and the republic. Knowing now that Hannity has a formal business/legal connection to Trump's inner circle sheds some light on why he was so quick to support the man.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:07 PM on April 16, 2018 [10 favorites]
Mainly insofar as Hannity was basically marching in front of the Trump bandwagon way back in the beginning, when most conservative politicians and media personalities were still squirming in indecision or telling anyone who would listen that Trump was either A) a ridiculous assclown who was going to be laughed out of the primaries any moment now or B) the literal death of movement conservatism and the republic. Knowing now that Hannity has a formal business/legal connection to Trump's inner circle sheds some light on why he was so quick to support the man.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:07 PM on April 16, 2018 [10 favorites]
Right-wing news must have been blindsided. Fox is covering the trial but hasn't updated since, and Drudge doesn't even Ctrl-F for "Cohen".
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:08 PM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:08 PM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
My birthday is on Wednesday. I used to be a reporter. I'll gladly accept an early Hannity-related present. Just sayin.'
posted by martin q blank at 12:08 PM on April 16, 2018 [33 favorites]
posted by martin q blank at 12:08 PM on April 16, 2018 [33 favorites]
What are the chances they're forced to put Hannity on leave now that he's part of the story?
posted by cmfletcher at 12:11 PM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by cmfletcher at 12:11 PM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Hi Sean! First-time caller, long-time (involuntary) listener. Say, what'd you hire Cohen for?
posted by saturday_morning at 12:11 PM on April 16, 2018 [46 favorites]
posted by saturday_morning at 12:11 PM on April 16, 2018 [46 favorites]
It means Hannity, arguably the most popular news reporter in America, was always owned by Trump. It means the separation between the press and state was broken. It means Hannity was Trump's tool.
Cohen deals in dirt. Whatever matter he was handling for Hannity was likely a radioactive situation that could end Hannity's career if it became public. Cohen is little more than Trump's proxy. He does Trump's bidding. He's practically family. So, Hannity's always been aware that Trump likely knows career killing information about him that Trump could release any time he was unhappy with him. Hannity has been Trump's puppet for forever, and never could have said a bad word about him even if he wanted to. This is outrageous.
posted by xammerboy at 12:12 PM on April 16, 2018 [150 favorites]
Cohen deals in dirt. Whatever matter he was handling for Hannity was likely a radioactive situation that could end Hannity's career if it became public. Cohen is little more than Trump's proxy. He does Trump's bidding. He's practically family. So, Hannity's always been aware that Trump likely knows career killing information about him that Trump could release any time he was unhappy with him. Hannity has been Trump's puppet for forever, and never could have said a bad word about him even if he wanted to. This is outrageous.
posted by xammerboy at 12:12 PM on April 16, 2018 [150 favorites]
Y'all for the sake of thread size can we cool it with the one-liners?
posted by Tevin at 12:12 PM on April 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Tevin at 12:12 PM on April 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
Hannity: there's a part of me that really wants to build this up into something massive and make the media go nuts. I had no idea all these media people like me so much and now they have to listen to the program...I actually think it's pretty funny.
Then he starts playing clips from the Comey interview and says "I'm going to have to decide whether I'm going to put out a statement."
posted by zachlipton at 12:12 PM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Then he starts playing clips from the Comey interview and says "I'm going to have to decide whether I'm going to put out a statement."
posted by zachlipton at 12:12 PM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Knowing now that Hannity has a formal business/legal connection to Trump's inner circle
Hard to believe that "Trump's inner circle" didn't also use this as a sort of blackmail. It's organized crime 101: have your underlings participate in something illegal/unseemly, or find out about their preexisting bad acts and exploit that knowledge so you have control over them.
posted by stopgap at 12:13 PM on April 16, 2018 [10 favorites]
Hard to believe that "Trump's inner circle" didn't also use this as a sort of blackmail. It's organized crime 101: have your underlings participate in something illegal/unseemly, or find out about their preexisting bad acts and exploit that knowledge so you have control over them.
posted by stopgap at 12:13 PM on April 16, 2018 [10 favorites]
Hannity is just playing back bits of the Comey interview to buy time. Not worth a listen.
posted by prefpara at 12:13 PM on April 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by prefpara at 12:13 PM on April 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
The show so far has been repeated jingles, dead air, and commentary-free clips from the ABC Comey interview. Hannity just broke in, sounding disturbed, and saying he thought it was funny to see his name taking up the bottom third of the screen on Fox News, and funny that people in TV claim to hate him but will now have to learn all about him. Then he said "I'll decide whether to make a statement, but let's go back to the Comey interview". He's now once again just playing long commentary-free clips of the ABC Comey interview.
This is fine.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:14 PM on April 16, 2018 [25 favorites]
This is fine.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:14 PM on April 16, 2018 [25 favorites]
@oneunderscore__: Fun fact: Neither Fox News, Hannity, nor Julian Assange would respond when I asked what "other channels" Hannity used to talk to Assange.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:15 PM on April 16, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:15 PM on April 16, 2018 [18 favorites]
Hannity's endless playing of Comey clips is basically his version of the Soviet Union's televising Swan Lake on a loop in '91.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:15 PM on April 16, 2018 [125 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:15 PM on April 16, 2018 [125 favorites]
Right-wing news must have been blindsided. Fox is covering the trial but hasn't updated since, and Drudge doesn't even Ctrl-F for "Cohen".
Asking from across the Atlantic: at what point does ordinary not really news-following Americans begin to get what this is all about? Today was the first time our tabloids really revealed the Trump chaos, but at the same time there were plenty other news pretending the administration was normal.
posted by mumimor at 12:15 PM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Just spitballing here, but doesn't Hannity (like Roger Stone) also have a history of trading Twitter DMs with Julian Assange? And "other channels"? This really is the stupidest possible timeline.
posted by stopgap at 12:16 PM on April 16, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by stopgap at 12:16 PM on April 16, 2018 [18 favorites]
Right-wing news must have been blindsided. Fox is covering the trial but hasn't updated since, and Drudge doesn't even Ctrl-F for "Cohen".
Apparently Shep Smith reported it on his show, at least.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 12:18 PM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
Apparently Shep Smith reported it on his show, at least.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 12:18 PM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
Asking from across the Atlantic: at what point does ordinary not really news-following Americans begin to get what this is all about?
When they tell their grandchildren that they understood all along.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:18 PM on April 16, 2018 [24 favorites]
When they tell their grandchildren that they understood all along.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:18 PM on April 16, 2018 [24 favorites]
Hannity has chosen not to address the Cohen thing and is just repeating the complaints from the Nunes memo. I'm going to switch off now!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:19 PM on April 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:19 PM on April 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
I hope Cohen made recordings of his conversations with Hannity. Please, someone leak those to the Press!!!
posted by W Grant at 12:20 PM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by W Grant at 12:20 PM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
Hannity, arguably the most popular news reporter in America
Hey, he's "not a journalist jackass. [He's] a talk show host."
posted by stopgap at 12:20 PM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
Hey, he's "not a journalist jackass. [He's] a talk show host."
posted by stopgap at 12:20 PM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
Did Fox News as an organization know? Are there any possible consequences for them? If they got blindsided, then lol. I mean, it probably doesn't matter, because nothing does, but it'd be nice if Hannity got shitcanned for this.
posted by yasaman at 12:21 PM on April 16, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by yasaman at 12:21 PM on April 16, 2018 [10 favorites]
A Vanity Fair reporter on MSNBC whose name I didn't catch says early reporting points to Hannity using Cohen to look into and counter (through nebulous methods) left-wing groups that called for boycotts of his program after Bill O'Reilly got kicked off the air. Notably, this would mean he hired Cohen after Donald Trump took office.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:21 PM on April 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:21 PM on April 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
@jefftiedrich: first they came for Sean Hannity and I did not speak out— because seriously, fuck that guy
posted by scaryblackdeath at 12:22 PM on April 16, 2018 [135 favorites]
posted by scaryblackdeath at 12:22 PM on April 16, 2018 [135 favorites]
It means Hannity, arguably the most popular news reporter in America, was always owned by Trump.
I'd argue that Hannity isn't even necessarily that popular as a media figure per se, outside of his traditional middle-aged meatheads and angry senior-citizens demo. But yes, if I were Trump and wanted to control any one right wing media figure to tilt coverage in my favor, Hannity is the one I'd pick.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:23 PM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'd argue that Hannity isn't even necessarily that popular as a media figure per se, outside of his traditional middle-aged meatheads and angry senior-citizens demo. But yes, if I were Trump and wanted to control any one right wing media figure to tilt coverage in my favor, Hannity is the one I'd pick.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:23 PM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
OK - this is as good an explanation as any from @KrangTNelson:
Sean Hannity spent every single ounce of his time and energy for the last two years breathlessly supporting Donald trump and all it got him was all of his sex pervert secrets revealed in federal court
posted by Sophie1 at 12:23 PM on April 16, 2018 [68 favorites]
Sean Hannity spent every single ounce of his time and energy for the last two years breathlessly supporting Donald trump and all it got him was all of his sex pervert secrets revealed in federal court
posted by Sophie1 at 12:23 PM on April 16, 2018 [68 favorites]
Mod note: Folks, I know this whole Hannity thing is nutty and delicious but let's keep it to a dull roar, please.
posted by cortex (staff) at 12:23 PM on April 16, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 12:23 PM on April 16, 2018 [18 favorites]
A Vanity Fair reporter on MSNBC whose name I didn't catch says early reporting points to Hannity using Cohen to look into and counter (through nebulous methods) left-wing groups that called for boycotts of his program after Bill O'Reilly got kicked off the air.
You hire a reputable PR firm to do this for you, not Cut Rate Consigliere.
posted by PenDevil at 12:23 PM on April 16, 2018 [36 favorites]
You hire a reputable PR firm to do this for you, not Cut Rate Consigliere.
posted by PenDevil at 12:23 PM on April 16, 2018 [36 favorites]
Cohen scrambled to try to be the one who got to review emails for privilege. Trump hired a lawyer to protect himself in a case where he supposedly wasn't a target. Now Hannity gets blindsided.
That SDNY raid hit them in the nuts.
posted by azpenguin at 12:25 PM on April 16, 2018 [35 favorites]
That SDNY raid hit them in the nuts.
posted by azpenguin at 12:25 PM on April 16, 2018 [35 favorites]
Contra Vanity Fair: Just because Hannity might have used Cohen to dig up muck on potential boycotters doesn't mean he didn't also use Cohen's services for any number of other prior shady purposes.
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:26 PM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:26 PM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
The right-wing reality bubble has no room for Hannity to even acknowledge that he is Cohen's client. He's babbling about Comey as if HE isn't the story right now.
posted by Yowser at 12:31 PM on April 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Yowser at 12:31 PM on April 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Hannity's mentions of "Cohen," courtesy of the Internet Archive caption search.
posted by snuffleupagus at 12:35 PM on April 16, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 12:35 PM on April 16, 2018 [10 favorites]
At the risk of stating the obvious and/or something already upthread: we already know Cohen was doing lots of non-lawyerly work for Trump. He handled a lot of Trump's business deals. This is really sounding more and more like Cohen wanted to throw an attorney-client privilege over literally everything he has ever done to hide it from the court.
At some point they're gonna pull out his accounting sheets for his child slavery ring and he's gonna claim it's inadmissible because it's under attorney-client privilege.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 12:36 PM on April 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
At some point they're gonna pull out his accounting sheets for his child slavery ring and he's gonna claim it's inadmissible because it's under attorney-client privilege.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 12:36 PM on April 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
You hire a reputable PR firm to do this for you, not Cut Rate Consigliere.
OMG this. As fixers go, Cohen’s no Fred Otash. Hannity’s closets gonna empty themselves of their skeletons with a mighty whoosh, like a crosstown shuttle pulling into Grand Central at rush hour. Those of you who’ve been talking about the fractal nature of these investigations are about to learn just how right you are.
posted by adamgreenfield at 12:39 PM on April 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
OMG this. As fixers go, Cohen’s no Fred Otash. Hannity’s closets gonna empty themselves of their skeletons with a mighty whoosh, like a crosstown shuttle pulling into Grand Central at rush hour. Those of you who’ve been talking about the fractal nature of these investigations are about to learn just how right you are.
posted by adamgreenfield at 12:39 PM on April 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
B.S. C-SPAN Facebook poll is showing Trump more trusted than Comey, FWIW.
posted by OnceUponATime at 12:39 PM on April 16, 2018
posted by OnceUponATime at 12:39 PM on April 16, 2018
B.S. C-SPAN Facebook poll is showing Trump more trusted than Comey, FWIW.
He's number one with bots, Russian trolls and deplorables who take the time to brigade Facebook polls for Dear Leader, alright.
posted by EatTheWeek at 12:44 PM on April 16, 2018 [26 favorites]
He's number one with bots, Russian trolls and deplorables who take the time to brigade Facebook polls for Dear Leader, alright.
posted by EatTheWeek at 12:44 PM on April 16, 2018 [26 favorites]
I hope Cohen made recordings of his conversations with Hannity. Please, someone leak those to the Press!!!
Ironically, those recordings (if they exist) might be the only thing in Cohen's files that actually IS legitimately covered by attorney-client privilege.
posted by msalt at 12:45 PM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
Ironically, those recordings (if they exist) might be the only thing in Cohen's files that actually IS legitimately covered by attorney-client privilege.
posted by msalt at 12:45 PM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
Alexandra Erin theorizes, based on a source saying that no third parties were involved in any of the matters Cohen handled for Hannity, that Cohen's role vis-a-vis Hannity and Trump was to sit on the phone while the two of them talked through subjects that made them nervous (like, say, how to respond to various TrumpRussia findings), such that they could later claim attorney-client privilege. That theory is consistent with the simplistic and incomplete understanding of attorney-client privilege evident in Trumpworld.
posted by carmicha at 12:45 PM on April 16, 2018 [76 favorites]
posted by carmicha at 12:45 PM on April 16, 2018 [76 favorites]
In case you're wondering, right now in court they're arguing about Attorney-Client Privilege theories, of the completely insane variety, held by Trump and Cohen's attorneys, so it's slowed to a crawl. And we still haven't heard from Stormy Daniels or Avenatti! So there may be more fireworks to come, if not exciting Hannity-esque revelations.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 12:46 PM on April 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 12:46 PM on April 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
A random thought. The judge asked for a client list on Friday, and it was to be produce today. It wasn’t a secret, it was in the news. Hannity apparently thought he was untouchable if he didn’t have some strategy ready to handle this info coming out, because the chances were good.
These are not bright people.
posted by azpenguin at 12:46 PM on April 16, 2018 [23 favorites]
These are not bright people.
posted by azpenguin at 12:46 PM on April 16, 2018 [23 favorites]
Wouldn't Fox News be the party that hires someone to deal with the boycott, not Hannity himself? Fox sells the ad time.
posted by jason_steakums at 12:48 PM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 12:48 PM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
hannity claiming he 'never retained [cohen] in the traditional sense of retaining a lawyer' and 'never received an invoice' but that 'i have occasionally had brief discussions with him about legal questions'
'not one issue.... ever, EVER involved a matter between me and a third party'
hannity claims he has 'over eight attorneys' but that Cohen wasn't one, and 'never sent me a bill' but that 'michael would very generously give me his time, and i'd say "attorney/client?" and he'd say "yeah"...'
posted by halation at 12:48 PM on April 16, 2018 [27 favorites]
'not one issue.... ever, EVER involved a matter between me and a third party'
hannity claims he has 'over eight attorneys' but that Cohen wasn't one, and 'never sent me a bill' but that 'michael would very generously give me his time, and i'd say "attorney/client?" and he'd say "yeah"...'
posted by halation at 12:48 PM on April 16, 2018 [27 favorites]
Those of you who’ve been talking about the fractal nature of these investigations are about to learn just how right you are.
Right now, the Taint Team is going over all of Hannity's communications with Cohen, and maybe they're finding things of note. Obviously, there'll be questions about privilege attached to that and whether they can use that information directly, but even so, the team will get a few good leads out of it which they *could* use.
Assuming there's anything to find, of course. And not for me to suggest there is.
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:48 PM on April 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Right now, the Taint Team is going over all of Hannity's communications with Cohen, and maybe they're finding things of note. Obviously, there'll be questions about privilege attached to that and whether they can use that information directly, but even so, the team will get a few good leads out of it which they *could* use.
Assuming there's anything to find, of course. And not for me to suggest there is.
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:48 PM on April 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Hannity eventually comes back to the subject at hand: "I've known Michael a long long time and let me be very clear to the media. Michael never represented me in any matter. I never retained him in the traditional sense as retaining a lawyer. I never received an invoice from Michael. I never paid an invoice from Michael. But I occasionally had brief discussions with him about legal issues about I wanted his input and perspective...Not one of any issue I ever dealt with Michael Cohen on ever ever involved a matter between me and any third party...We definitely had attorney-client privilege because I asked him for that."
posted by zachlipton at 12:49 PM on April 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:49 PM on April 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
claims he has 'over eight attorneys' but that 'michael would very generously give me his time, and i'd say "attorney/client?" and he'd say "yeah"...'
Isn't this a condition of employment? If I talk to a lawyer about the weather, I don't get attorney-client privilege
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 12:50 PM on April 16, 2018 [28 favorites]
Isn't this a condition of employment? If I talk to a lawyer about the weather, I don't get attorney-client privilege
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 12:50 PM on April 16, 2018 [28 favorites]
hannity claiming he 'never retained [cohen] in the traditional sense of retaining a lawyer' and 'never received an invoice'
How magnanimous of him. Cohen's generosity truly beggars belief.
posted by snuffleupagus at 12:51 PM on April 16, 2018 [15 favorites]
How magnanimous of him. Cohen's generosity truly beggars belief.
posted by snuffleupagus at 12:51 PM on April 16, 2018 [15 favorites]
I never received an invoice from Michael. I never paid an invoice from Michael.
Translation: I paid in services to avoid blackmail, and am also stupid
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:52 PM on April 16, 2018 [61 favorites]
Translation: I paid in services to avoid blackmail, and am also stupid
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:52 PM on April 16, 2018 [61 favorites]
Apparently Michael Cohen sucks at invoicing his clients. So what.
posted by carmicha at 12:52 PM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by carmicha at 12:52 PM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
Isn't this a condition of employment?
i mean, hannity went on to claim that he 'may have slipped [cohen] like ten bucks' at some point
he doesn't seem to perceive that this seems shadier than just admitting he retained the dude's services
posted by halation at 12:52 PM on April 16, 2018 [28 favorites]
i mean, hannity went on to claim that he 'may have slipped [cohen] like ten bucks' at some point
he doesn't seem to perceive that this seems shadier than just admitting he retained the dude's services
posted by halation at 12:52 PM on April 16, 2018 [28 favorites]
claims he has 'over eight attorneys' but that 'michael would very generously give me his time, and i'd say "attorney/client?" and he'd say "yeah"...'
This is akin to Michael Scott's understanding of how to declare bankruptcy.
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:53 PM on April 16, 2018 [69 favorites]
This is akin to Michael Scott's understanding of how to declare bankruptcy.
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:53 PM on April 16, 2018 [69 favorites]
By the time this is all over, they'll have renamed Dunning-Kruger "Hannity-Cohen."
posted by adamgreenfield at 12:54 PM on April 16, 2018 [80 favorites]
posted by adamgreenfield at 12:54 PM on April 16, 2018 [80 favorites]
So, Hannity is saying that Cohen was not his attorney, but that his communications are subject to attorney/client privilege because Cohen said they were. This is a novel theory of evidentiary privilege similar to the famous "No-Tagbacks" rule (Sawyer v. Finn, 539 U.S. 306)
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:54 PM on April 16, 2018 [110 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:54 PM on April 16, 2018 [110 favorites]
Just because Hannity might have used Cohen to dig up muck on potential boycotters doesn't mean he didn't also use Cohen's services for any number of other prior shady purposes.
Put it this way: what is the probability that Cohen et al fought tooth and nail not to have to reveal the fact that Hannity hired him to perform perfectly legit non-incriminating sunshine and rainbows
posted by saturday_morning at 12:55 PM on April 16, 2018 [21 favorites]
Put it this way: what is the probability that Cohen et al fought tooth and nail not to have to reveal the fact that Hannity hired him to perform perfectly legit non-incriminating sunshine and rainbows
posted by saturday_morning at 12:55 PM on April 16, 2018 [21 favorites]
@popehat: Protip: if possible avoid having a federal judge say this to you.:
>@PPVSRB:
>Judge Wood, to Cohen's attorneys: "It’s not that you’re not good people. It’s that you’ve miscited the law, at times."
posted by mosk at 12:56 PM on April 16, 2018 [74 favorites]
>@PPVSRB:
>Judge Wood, to Cohen's attorneys: "It’s not that you’re not good people. It’s that you’ve miscited the law, at times."
posted by mosk at 12:56 PM on April 16, 2018 [74 favorites]
It also doesn't really help Cohen's claim that he has all these sensitive client files the government shouldn't be going through. This 'I never paid a bill, ok maybe I slip him a tenner, and he answers random legal questions' relationship doesn't sound like the kind of operation that involved a lot of note-taking and work product.
posted by zachlipton at 12:57 PM on April 16, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:57 PM on April 16, 2018 [17 favorites]
If you want to liveblog the goings-on in court today, and the hot-takes on Twitter, may I recommend, chat?
posted by runcibleshaw at 12:58 PM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 12:58 PM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
i really want to know what kind of legal question DOESN'T involve a client and 'any third party'
he keeps insisting on this point and, like... if no other party was ever involved... what was your 'legal question,' then???
posted by halation at 1:00 PM on April 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
he keeps insisting on this point and, like... if no other party was ever involved... what was your 'legal question,' then???
posted by halation at 1:00 PM on April 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
I sure hope Cohen declared that $10 on his 1040.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:00 PM on April 16, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:00 PM on April 16, 2018 [23 favorites]
I'm trying to wrap my head around this from Hannity:
Not one of any issue I ever dealt with Michael Cohen on ever ever involved a matter between me and any third party
What legal issues could possibly fall under this umbrella? Maaybe this meant Cohen never represented Hannity in any matter. But it sounded strange to me.
posted by Green With You at 1:00 PM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Not one of any issue I ever dealt with Michael Cohen on ever ever involved a matter between me and any third party
What legal issues could possibly fall under this umbrella? Maaybe this meant Cohen never represented Hannity in any matter. But it sounded strange to me.
posted by Green With You at 1:00 PM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Hypothetical risk analysis, for one. But who cares what nonsense Hannity is spouting right now? Except for in whatever ways in which it winds up conflicting with the actual facts that we are likely to learn soon.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:02 PM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:02 PM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
Colorado Democrats to education "reformers": GTFO:
posted by NoxAeternum at 1:02 PM on April 16, 2018 [95 favorites]
Delegates at the Colorado Democratic state assembly Saturday sent a clear message to the state chapter of Democrats for Education Reform: You don’t have a place in our party.Good riddance to bad rubbish. This has been a long time coming.
After booing down the head of the education reform organization, who described herself as a lifelong Democrat, delegates voted overwhelmingly Saturday to call for the organization to no longer use “Democrats” in its name. While it’s unclear how that would be enforced, the vote means a rejection of DFER is now part of the Colorado Democratic Party platform.
…
The platform amendment reads: “We oppose making Colorado’s public schools private or run by private corporations or becoming segregated again through lobbying and campaigning efforts of the organization called Democrats for Education Reform and demand that they immediately stop using the party’s name Democrat in their name.”
posted by NoxAeternum at 1:02 PM on April 16, 2018 [95 favorites]
Ten bucks, same as in town.
posted by monospace at 1:02 PM on April 16, 2018 [39 favorites]
posted by monospace at 1:02 PM on April 16, 2018 [39 favorites]
Interesting how Hannity's initial, seemingly off-the-cuff explanation (he wanted Cohen's "input and perspective", never contracted with any third party, assumed they were privileged, etc.) has been repeated on-air near-verbatim at least once and the same was just texted live to a CNN commentator. Prepared statement?
Edit: And on Twitter.
posted by Rhaomi at 1:03 PM on April 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
Edit: And on Twitter.
posted by Rhaomi at 1:03 PM on April 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
I never received an invoice from Michael. I never paid an invoice from Michael.
Alternate translation: I paid Michael through my shell company LLC.
Seriously, an anonymous source tells CNN's Gloria Borger: "From source familiar with legal relationship between Cohen and Hannity - Hannity did not get billed, there was no formal attorney client relationship, called from time to time and got input from Cohen on legal issues."
So how on earth does that translate into attorney-client privilege? Hell, even Saul Goodman would ask you to slip a dollar into his pocket to establish the formal relationship.
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:04 PM on April 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
Alternate translation: I paid Michael through my shell company LLC.
Seriously, an anonymous source tells CNN's Gloria Borger: "From source familiar with legal relationship between Cohen and Hannity - Hannity did not get billed, there was no formal attorney client relationship, called from time to time and got input from Cohen on legal issues."
So how on earth does that translate into attorney-client privilege? Hell, even Saul Goodman would ask you to slip a dollar into his pocket to establish the formal relationship.
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:04 PM on April 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
Prepared statement?
Prepared in the studio while they were running long raw clips of the Comey interview I guess
posted by saturday_morning at 1:05 PM on April 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
Prepared in the studio while they were running long raw clips of the Comey interview I guess
posted by saturday_morning at 1:05 PM on April 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
What legal issues could possibly fall under this umbrella? Maaybe this meant Cohen never represented Hannity in any matter. But it sounded strange to me.
I think he meant that he never hired Cohen to pay off a mistress. Mistress = third party.
posted by mudpuppie at 1:07 PM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
I think he meant that he never hired Cohen to pay off a mistress. Mistress = third party.
posted by mudpuppie at 1:07 PM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
This ongoing web of political scandal is starting to link so many different personalities and office-holders within the Republican Party that we should just start calling it #YouToo.
posted by Autumnheart at 1:07 PM on April 16, 2018 [70 favorites]
posted by Autumnheart at 1:07 PM on April 16, 2018 [70 favorites]
i really want to know what kind of legal question DOESN'T involve a client and 'any third party' he keeps insisting on this point and, like... if no other party was ever involved... what was your 'legal question,' then???
That's actually totally legitimate and what most lawyers actually do. (Trial lawyers are a small subset of the entire attorney business. It's like the Art of War said about battles: the best generals are the ones that don't fight at all, because they convince others not to attack them, whether by intimidation or appearing unthreatening or whatever.)
EG Hannity might ask, "Say I'm dating this lady, what do I have to do to make sure I don't get charged with sexual harassment or something like that?" And a real lawyer would discuss evolving standards of behavior, legal responsibilities, advise him to drink less on dates, that sort of thing.
That is classic legal advice, which is what attorney client privilege is designed to protect.
posted by msalt at 1:07 PM on April 16, 2018 [21 favorites]
That's actually totally legitimate and what most lawyers actually do. (Trial lawyers are a small subset of the entire attorney business. It's like the Art of War said about battles: the best generals are the ones that don't fight at all, because they convince others not to attack them, whether by intimidation or appearing unthreatening or whatever.)
EG Hannity might ask, "Say I'm dating this lady, what do I have to do to make sure I don't get charged with sexual harassment or something like that?" And a real lawyer would discuss evolving standards of behavior, legal responsibilities, advise him to drink less on dates, that sort of thing.
That is classic legal advice, which is what attorney client privilege is designed to protect.
posted by msalt at 1:07 PM on April 16, 2018 [21 favorites]
Genuine question: are there any major US media outlets that are or have been as closely connected to a specific political party or regime as Fox News (and Breitbart, for some definition of major) and the GOP?
I don't mean just ideologically but in terms of close personal and business connections, a revolving door on personnel and so on. I remember when George Stephanopoulos went straight to ABC after leaving Clinton, and Corey Lewandowski went straight to CNN. But on the whole it's not something I've paid a lot of attention to and I don't know if my perspective's accurate, so if the current level of connection between Fox and the GOP isn't unprecedented I'd like to learn about it.
posted by trig at 1:09 PM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
I don't mean just ideologically but in terms of close personal and business connections, a revolving door on personnel and so on. I remember when George Stephanopoulos went straight to ABC after leaving Clinton, and Corey Lewandowski went straight to CNN. But on the whole it's not something I've paid a lot of attention to and I don't know if my perspective's accurate, so if the current level of connection between Fox and the GOP isn't unprecedented I'd like to learn about it.
posted by trig at 1:09 PM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
Is attorney-client privilege somehow a more nebulous and complicated concept than I had previously thought? My understanding was you hire an attorney, tell them about your troubles, and they give advice, and those talks are privileged. That's pretty simple. How have these grown men completely misunderstood this concept? I had previously thought Hannity to be a craven, disgusting, self-serving, pig of a man, but I'm starting to feel that I was too harsh on him, since apparently he's deeply, pathologically, stupid. and maybe he just can't help himself.
posted by wabbittwax at 1:10 PM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by wabbittwax at 1:10 PM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
Sean Hannity then: "I never retained him in the traditional sense as retaining a lawyer. I never received an invoice from Michael. I never paid an invoice from Michael."
Sean Hannity right now: "Sean Hannity just explained on his radio show that his conversations with Michael Cohen were privileged because, 'I might have handed [Cohen] 10 bucks and said, I definitely want privilege on that.'"
So, yeah, Cohen is Trumpland's Saul Goodman, except not as wily.
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:12 PM on April 16, 2018 [33 favorites]
Sean Hannity right now: "Sean Hannity just explained on his radio show that his conversations with Michael Cohen were privileged because, 'I might have handed [Cohen] 10 bucks and said, I definitely want privilege on that.'"
So, yeah, Cohen is Trumpland's Saul Goodman, except not as wily.
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:12 PM on April 16, 2018 [33 favorites]
The man has devoted his entire life to the belief that if you repeat something enough it is taken as truth. We're witnessing a dealer who is now very high on his own supply.
posted by cmfletcher at 1:14 PM on April 16, 2018 [55 favorites]
posted by cmfletcher at 1:14 PM on April 16, 2018 [55 favorites]
Hannity claiming the government can't see his conversations with Cohen because they're "assumed to be confidential" is the same as Trump equating the criminal dissemination of classified material with Comey's discussion of "confidential" conversations, i.e. anything Trump doesn't want Comey to talk about. Desperate people often make dubious claims.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:16 PM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:16 PM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
Reality is starting to make Pizzagate look oversimplified.
posted by benzenedream at 1:18 PM on April 16, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by benzenedream at 1:18 PM on April 16, 2018 [27 favorites]
wabbittwax: They may have simply assumed that nobody would look too closely at material claimed to be privileged, because for a prosecutor or plaintiff to prove that an attorney-client communication isn't privileged is an extraordinary thing....and now have been caught completely blindsided when the extraordinary happened.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:18 PM on April 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:18 PM on April 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
The DOJ is sifting through mountains of incredibly rich dirt from Michael Cohen's files on Russian spies, mafia financing, threats and intimidation of witnesses, undoubtedly disgusting sexual escapades of the president, etc..
I guarantee that Cohen's advice to Sean Hannity on how to stay out of court is of no interest to them whatsoever.
posted by msalt at 1:18 PM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
I guarantee that Cohen's advice to Sean Hannity on how to stay out of court is of no interest to them whatsoever.
posted by msalt at 1:18 PM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
I don't know about you guys, but the latest revelations being what they are, I think it's time Special Counsel Mueller brought in a certain Rupert Murdoch for questioning.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:19 PM on April 16, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:19 PM on April 16, 2018 [15 favorites]
Potentially, Hannity went to Cohen for "input" on the Schussel affair, and is able to say that the matter didn't involve a third party because no one filed suit.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:20 PM on April 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:20 PM on April 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Sean Hannity then: "I never retained him in the traditional sense as retaining a lawyer. I never received an invoice from Michael. I never paid an invoice from Michael."
Sean Hannity right now: "Sean Hannity just explained on his radio show that his conversations with Michael Cohen were privileged because, 'I might have handed [Cohen] 10 bucks and said, I definitely want privilege on that.'"
Why did he ever say the first thing at all? What was the point of doing that?
posted by showbiz_liz at 1:20 PM on April 16, 2018 [10 favorites]
Sean Hannity right now: "Sean Hannity just explained on his radio show that his conversations with Michael Cohen were privileged because, 'I might have handed [Cohen] 10 bucks and said, I definitely want privilege on that.'"
Why did he ever say the first thing at all? What was the point of doing that?
posted by showbiz_liz at 1:20 PM on April 16, 2018 [10 favorites]
That he's on the horns of a dilemma: privilege (implying some real representation), or journalistic ethics (coverage involving your personal attorney without any disclosure).
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:22 PM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:22 PM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
Why did he ever say the first thing at all? What was the point of doing that?
It's possible he's not been getting top notch legal advice.
posted by Atom Eyes at 1:23 PM on April 16, 2018 [121 favorites]
It's possible he's not been getting top notch legal advice.
posted by Atom Eyes at 1:23 PM on April 16, 2018 [121 favorites]
"Why did he ever say the first thing at all? What was the point of doing that?"
Maybe he's not getting the best legal advice. [Atom beat me]
posted by parm=serial at 1:23 PM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
Maybe he's not getting the best legal advice. [Atom beat me]
posted by parm=serial at 1:23 PM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
Why did he ever say the first thing at all? What was the point of doing that?
Turns out that everyone in Trumpland's legal varsity is well versed in Sovereign Citizen law, and not so much the actual US Code.
See Also: Judge Wood, to Cohen's attorneys: "It’s not that you’re not good people. It’s that you’ve miscited the law, at times."
posted by mikelieman at 1:23 PM on April 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
Turns out that everyone in Trumpland's legal varsity is well versed in Sovereign Citizen law, and not so much the actual US Code.
See Also: Judge Wood, to Cohen's attorneys: "It’s not that you’re not good people. It’s that you’ve miscited the law, at times."
posted by mikelieman at 1:23 PM on April 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
Judge Wood is notably not saying that they are good people, just that the factor was not dispositive.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:25 PM on April 16, 2018 [24 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:25 PM on April 16, 2018 [24 favorites]
Genuine question: are there any major US media outlets that are or have been as closely connected to a specific political party or regime as Fox News (and Breitbart, for some definition of major) and the GOP?
Actually, newspapers used to be more openly aligned and allied with political parties. Fox News is a holdover from that, but it didn't set the trend.
posted by mudpuppie at 1:26 PM on April 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
Actually, newspapers used to be more openly aligned and allied with political parties. Fox News is a holdover from that, but it didn't set the trend.
posted by mudpuppie at 1:26 PM on April 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
See Also: Judge Wood, to Cohen's attorneys: "It’s not that you’re not good people. It’s that you’ve miscited the law, at times."
I am begging for a judge to tell Cohen that he can't represent himself because the whole point of the trial is that he's a shitty lawyer.
posted by Etrigan at 1:26 PM on April 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
I am begging for a judge to tell Cohen that he can't represent himself because the whole point of the trial is that he's a shitty lawyer.
posted by Etrigan at 1:26 PM on April 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
"Turns out that everyone in Trumpland's legal varsity is well versed in Sovereign Citizen law, and not so much the actual US Code. "
Hey now, even I know that's not how attorney-client privilege works. That's not how any of this works! Even when there isn't gold fringe on the flag!
By my own hand :Noted-Moon::Lawyer:
posted by Noted Moon Lawyer at 1:27 PM on April 16, 2018 [22 favorites]
Hey now, even I know that's not how attorney-client privilege works. That's not how any of this works! Even when there isn't gold fringe on the flag!
By my own hand :Noted-Moon::Lawyer:
posted by Noted Moon Lawyer at 1:27 PM on April 16, 2018 [22 favorites]
Erica Orden @eorden
Judge Wood: "I have faith in the Southern District U.S. attorneys office that their integrity is unimpeachable." She says a taint team is a "viable option" but adds that a special master "may have a role here."Adam Klasfeld @KlasfeldReports:
Wood warns: "I would want opposing counsel to move very fast."posted by Doktor Zed at 1:27 PM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
"If" there is a special master, she adds.
She solicited proposals on how to move fast.
"I'm denying the motion for a TRO because it's currently moot," she said.
The gov't isn't accessing the material now anyway
Hendon: So your honor has denied the TRO, but not the preliminary injunction.
Wood: Right
Alert (TA18-106A)
Russian State-Sponsored Cyber Actors Targeting Network Infrastructure Devices
"This joint Technical Alert (TA) is the result of analytic efforts between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). This TA provides information on the worldwide cyber exploitation of network infrastructure devices (e.g., router, switch, firewall, Network-based Intrusion Detection System (NIDS) devices) by Russian state-sponsored cyber actors. Targets are primarily government and private-sector organizations, critical infrastructure providers, and the Internet service providers (ISPs) supporting these sectors."
Original release date: April 16, 2018
posted by Annika Cicada at 1:27 PM on April 16, 2018 [29 favorites]
Russian State-Sponsored Cyber Actors Targeting Network Infrastructure Devices
"This joint Technical Alert (TA) is the result of analytic efforts between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). This TA provides information on the worldwide cyber exploitation of network infrastructure devices (e.g., router, switch, firewall, Network-based Intrusion Detection System (NIDS) devices) by Russian state-sponsored cyber actors. Targets are primarily government and private-sector organizations, critical infrastructure providers, and the Internet service providers (ISPs) supporting these sectors."
Original release date: April 16, 2018
posted by Annika Cicada at 1:27 PM on April 16, 2018 [29 favorites]
So, yeah, Cohen is Trumpland's Saul Goodman, except not as wily.
Cohen doesn't need the money and he probably doesn't even need a law license anymore. Saul Goodman has to work in a Cinnabon once he's not practicing law.
posted by rhizome at 1:32 PM on April 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
Cohen doesn't need the money and he probably doesn't even need a law license anymore. Saul Goodman has to work in a Cinnabon once he's not practicing law.
posted by rhizome at 1:32 PM on April 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
my favorite thing about skeevy mob lawyer Michael Cohen is that he's too stupid to understand how much trouble he's in, which makes him stupider than Trump, which is impressive all by itself
@jefftiedrich
posted by Busy Old Fool at 6:11 AM on April 16 [40 favorites +] [!]
Ah, THAT Jeff Tiedrich, creator of Smirking Chimp, named for a previous POTUS. Good aggregator and blog site.
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:46 PM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
@jefftiedrich
posted by Busy Old Fool at 6:11 AM on April 16 [40 favorites +] [!]
Ah, THAT Jeff Tiedrich, creator of Smirking Chimp, named for a previous POTUS. Good aggregator and blog site.
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:46 PM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
Erica Orden @eorden:
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:49 PM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
Judge Wood says she hasn't decided whether to appoint a special master.Quite an eventful day in court, and we haven't even heard anything from Michael Avenatti.
The parties are supposed to propose names for a special master. That won't happen today.
Hearing is over.
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:49 PM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
Sean Hannity then: "I never retained him in the traditional sense as retaining a lawyer. I never received an invoice from Michael. I never paid an invoice from Michael."
Why did he ever say the first thing at all?
He wanted to insist that there were no financial shenanigans to cause unwanted federal attention.
It didn't occur to him that by saying "he is not my attorney," he was also saying, "our communications are no more private than any random people's discussion, and every shred of conversation we've ever shared may be subpoenad by any court.
Now that what he wants to avoid is testimony, not financial review, he's claiming the opposite. It'll be interesting to see if the courts get around to asking him if he was lying the first time.
(He's not currently the target, but every new twist of Mueller's investigation is like flypaper for R scumbags. I wouldn't be surprised if Cheney gets dragged into this morass at some point.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:51 PM on April 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
Why did he ever say the first thing at all?
He wanted to insist that there were no financial shenanigans to cause unwanted federal attention.
It didn't occur to him that by saying "he is not my attorney," he was also saying, "our communications are no more private than any random people's discussion, and every shred of conversation we've ever shared may be subpoenad by any court.
Now that what he wants to avoid is testimony, not financial review, he's claiming the opposite. It'll be interesting to see if the courts get around to asking him if he was lying the first time.
(He's not currently the target, but every new twist of Mueller's investigation is like flypaper for R scumbags. I wouldn't be surprised if Cheney gets dragged into this morass at some point.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:51 PM on April 16, 2018 [19 favorites]
@seanhannity: In response to some wild speculation, let me make clear that I did not ask Michael Cohen to bring this proceeding on my behalf, I have no personal interest in this proceeding, and, in fact, asked that my de minimis discussions with Michael Cohen, which dealt almost exclusively about real estate, not be made a part of this proceeding.
@markpopham the only thing i ever talked about with the guy who was almost certainly laundering money through real estate was *checks notes* real estate
posted by zachlipton at 1:53 PM on April 16, 2018 [134 favorites]
@markpopham the only thing i ever talked about with the guy who was almost certainly laundering money through real estate was *checks notes* real estate
posted by zachlipton at 1:53 PM on April 16, 2018 [134 favorites]
Stormy made a very concise, pointed statement just now, the jist of which is "Fuck you Michael Cohen, you misogynist dick."
posted by FelliniBlank at 1:53 PM on April 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 1:53 PM on April 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
I wouldn't be surprised if Cheney gets dragged into this morass at some point.
Well, the recently-pardoned Scooter Libby was Cheney's aide...
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:55 PM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
Well, the recently-pardoned Scooter Libby was Cheney's aide...
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:55 PM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
The Pulitzers are out: Winners include the NYTimes for public service, for coverage of Harvey Weinstein, the Washington Post for investigative reporting, for digging into the Roy Moore allegations, the Arizona Republic and the USA Today Network for explanatory reporting, for detailing the implications of the Wall, and both the Post and the Times for national reporting, for "deeply sourced, relentlessly reported coverage in the public interest that dramatically furthered the nation’s understanding of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its connections to the Trump campaign, the President-elect’s transition team and his eventual administration."
posted by adamg at 1:57 PM on April 16, 2018 [48 favorites]
posted by adamg at 1:57 PM on April 16, 2018 [48 favorites]
I'm trying to wrap my head around this from Hannity:
Not one of any issue I ever dealt with Michael Cohen on ever ever involved a matter between me and any third party
What legal issues could possibly fall under this umbrella? Maaybe this meant Cohen never represented Hannity in any matter. But it sounded strange to me.
Drafting a will, or an advanced directive, for example. You could make an argument that the government/courts are a future third party for such things but I don't think many people would think that way. Drafting a privacy policy for your website, or a blanket release of some sort might qualify in the same way. I once asked a lawyer friend to look at a proposed contract between myself an a video production agency because I had concerns about the scope of the release. While I offered to pay him for the work he just scanned it as a favor, but either way I would not have used his as an intermediary between myself and that agency. So mayyyybeeeee you say that's not between me and a third party because he just did document review and wasn't involved in any communication.
If you get into specialties like IP you could be paying a patent attorney to do a search; whether you would call the USPTO a third party in that is arguable but I'd again say no unless you then ask the attorney to file a patent for you. Ditto trademarks.
Now, do I think this H/C relationship is anything that legit? Heelllllllllllll no. But such things exist and happen.
posted by phearlez at 1:58 PM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
Not one of any issue I ever dealt with Michael Cohen on ever ever involved a matter between me and any third party
What legal issues could possibly fall under this umbrella? Maaybe this meant Cohen never represented Hannity in any matter. But it sounded strange to me.
Drafting a will, or an advanced directive, for example. You could make an argument that the government/courts are a future third party for such things but I don't think many people would think that way. Drafting a privacy policy for your website, or a blanket release of some sort might qualify in the same way. I once asked a lawyer friend to look at a proposed contract between myself an a video production agency because I had concerns about the scope of the release. While I offered to pay him for the work he just scanned it as a favor, but either way I would not have used his as an intermediary between myself and that agency. So mayyyybeeeee you say that's not between me and a third party because he just did document review and wasn't involved in any communication.
If you get into specialties like IP you could be paying a patent attorney to do a search; whether you would call the USPTO a third party in that is arguable but I'd again say no unless you then ask the attorney to file a patent for you. Ditto trademarks.
Now, do I think this H/C relationship is anything that legit? Heelllllllllllll no. But such things exist and happen.
posted by phearlez at 1:58 PM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
Hopefully Teen Vogue will win one some day.
posted by Melismata at 1:59 PM on April 16, 2018 [61 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 1:59 PM on April 16, 2018 [61 favorites]
In response to "Michael Cohen and the End Stage of the Trump Presidency", see Cohen Isn't the Biggest Catch from Trump World.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 1:59 PM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 1:59 PM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
Actually, newspapers used to be more openly aligned and allied with political parties. Fox News is a holdover from that, but it didn't set the trend.
Thanks, mudpuppie. I should have specified that I meant national media in the modern era - basically since the point where media outlets started explicitly claiming that they were independent and not party organs. That was a good read, though.
posted by trig at 2:03 PM on April 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
Thanks, mudpuppie. I should have specified that I meant national media in the modern era - basically since the point where media outlets started explicitly claiming that they were independent and not party organs. That was a good read, though.
posted by trig at 2:03 PM on April 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
I just got an work e-mail from one of those legal news things about how Cohen's counsel was claiming that Morgan Lewis and Squire Patton Boggs materials were among those seized.
Squire Patton has been pretending that they just let Cohen use some space in their offices. Good luck getting the bottom-feeder slime off your fancy biglaw shoes now,
posted by joyceanmachine at 2:05 PM on April 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
Squire Patton has been pretending that they just let Cohen use some space in their offices. Good luck getting the bottom-feeder slime off your fancy biglaw shoes now,
posted by joyceanmachine at 2:05 PM on April 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
"...my de minimis discussions with Michael Cohen, which dealt almost exclusively about real estate, not be made a part of this proceeding."
Real estate wasn't it. Michael Cohen is not a real estate lawyer. Real estate is a fairly specialized field, and something lawyers cannot just dabble in. If you do not do real estate law on a regular basis, there is a high probability you will get things wrong, and it will be bad for you and your client.
Michael Cohen may be able to answer general, academic-type questions about real estate law, as any lawyer could. But get into a specific scenario requiring specific solutions, and there is simply no way a non-practitioner can (or would want to) get into that.
posted by Capt. Renault at 2:07 PM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
Real estate wasn't it. Michael Cohen is not a real estate lawyer. Real estate is a fairly specialized field, and something lawyers cannot just dabble in. If you do not do real estate law on a regular basis, there is a high probability you will get things wrong, and it will be bad for you and your client.
Michael Cohen may be able to answer general, academic-type questions about real estate law, as any lawyer could. But get into a specific scenario requiring specific solutions, and there is simply no way a non-practitioner can (or would want to) get into that.
posted by Capt. Renault at 2:07 PM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
MediaMatters' Angelo Carusone: Newsflash everyone: Cohen is not the first lawyer that Trump and Hannity have shared. He's actually the second! Last year, Hannity ALSO hired Jay Sekulow who is on Trump's Russia legal team.
Relevant image
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:11 PM on April 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
Relevant image
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:11 PM on April 16, 2018 [13 favorites]
Real estate wasn't it. Michael Cohen is not a real estate lawyer. Real estate is a fairly specialized field, and something lawyers cannot just dabble in. If you do not do real estate law on a regular basis, there is a high probability you will get things wrong, and it will be bad for you and your client.
Michael Cohen may be able to answer general, academic-type questions about real estate law, as any lawyer could. But get into a specific scenario requiring specific solutions, and there is simply no way a non-practitioner can (or would want to) get into that.
But he certainly could have been talking real estate deals and things with Cohen, who has been doing that sort of business with Trump for over a decade. Unfortunately for Hannity that doesn't become A/C privileged just because your contact has a JD.
posted by phearlez at 2:14 PM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
Michael Cohen may be able to answer general, academic-type questions about real estate law, as any lawyer could. But get into a specific scenario requiring specific solutions, and there is simply no way a non-practitioner can (or would want to) get into that.
But he certainly could have been talking real estate deals and things with Cohen, who has been doing that sort of business with Trump for over a decade. Unfortunately for Hannity that doesn't become A/C privileged just because your contact has a JD.
posted by phearlez at 2:14 PM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
Michael Cohen may be able to answer general, academic-type questions about real estate law, as any lawyer could. But get into a specific scenario requiring specific solutions, and there is simply no way a non-practitioner can (or would want to) get into that.
Another example of how this works - an attorney handling a family member's estate explained that there would be some tax issues, and you were likely to see x, y, and z. Very general stuff. But once the specific questions came up, he recommended they talk to another lawyer or a CPA and gave a couple of names.
Now, would not specializing in a field stop Cohen? He's probably not THAT stupid, although anything's possible. Remember that these guys aren't used to getting called on things.
posted by azpenguin at 2:20 PM on April 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Another example of how this works - an attorney handling a family member's estate explained that there would be some tax issues, and you were likely to see x, y, and z. Very general stuff. But once the specific questions came up, he recommended they talk to another lawyer or a CPA and gave a couple of names.
Now, would not specializing in a field stop Cohen? He's probably not THAT stupid, although anything's possible. Remember that these guys aren't used to getting called on things.
posted by azpenguin at 2:20 PM on April 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
@MikeDrucker
I know it's easy for all of us to make fun of Sean Hannity, but please remember that he pushed a conspiracy theory that forced the parents of a murdered man to beg him to stop so fuck him, fuck him in his dead lego face
posted by chris24 at 2:24 PM on April 16, 2018 [184 favorites]
I know it's easy for all of us to make fun of Sean Hannity, but please remember that he pushed a conspiracy theory that forced the parents of a murdered man to beg him to stop so fuck him, fuck him in his dead lego face
posted by chris24 at 2:24 PM on April 16, 2018 [184 favorites]
Cohen Isn't the Biggest Catch from Trump World
Bloomberg gets the Trump Org relationship exactly backward when they claim Trump chief legal counsel Jason Greenblatt is more important than Cohen because he signs off on all the official deals. That might be true in a regular company, but as Jim Comey points out, Trump runs his organization like a mafia family. Cohen's role is to deal with the dirt behind the scenes, getting filthy in the process, maybe eventually cleaning things off enough to hand over to Greenblatt if he has to be involved at the end. Greenblatt covers the public-facing affairs of the Trump Org and puts his sterling imprimatur on them as legitimate business. (Greenblatt's came into Trump's employ after working out at the prestigious Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson; Cohen at the middling Phillips Nizer LLP.)
Greenblatt would be like the chief counsel of Pizza Connection, LLP, while Michael Cohen would be in charge of turning pizza parlors into fronts for selling cocaine.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:26 PM on April 16, 2018 [21 favorites]
Bloomberg gets the Trump Org relationship exactly backward when they claim Trump chief legal counsel Jason Greenblatt is more important than Cohen because he signs off on all the official deals. That might be true in a regular company, but as Jim Comey points out, Trump runs his organization like a mafia family. Cohen's role is to deal with the dirt behind the scenes, getting filthy in the process, maybe eventually cleaning things off enough to hand over to Greenblatt if he has to be involved at the end. Greenblatt covers the public-facing affairs of the Trump Org and puts his sterling imprimatur on them as legitimate business. (Greenblatt's came into Trump's employ after working out at the prestigious Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson; Cohen at the middling Phillips Nizer LLP.)
Greenblatt would be like the chief counsel of Pizza Connection, LLP, while Michael Cohen would be in charge of turning pizza parlors into fronts for selling cocaine.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:26 PM on April 16, 2018 [21 favorites]
‘This Will Be The End Of The Trump Investigation,’ Says Increasingly Nervous Man For Seventh Time This Year
posted by Rhaomi at 2:28 PM on April 16, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by Rhaomi at 2:28 PM on April 16, 2018 [14 favorites]
He's probably not THAT stupid, although anything's possible.
Oh, no, he really is. That's been clear any time he opened his mouth. One of the most remarkable aspects of this whole thing is that 45 managed to find a lawyer who's actually stupider than he is -- no mean feat.
posted by holborne at 2:29 PM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
Oh, no, he really is. That's been clear any time he opened his mouth. One of the most remarkable aspects of this whole thing is that 45 managed to find a lawyer who's actually stupider than he is -- no mean feat.
posted by holborne at 2:29 PM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
Interesting development in the Greitens scandal in Missouri:
posted by Chrysostom at 2:29 PM on April 16, 2018 [82 favorites]
@RGreggKeller: Whoa: #MOLeg State Rep from estimable @missouriscout today: “Lots of people, including me, have been threatened that if we go against the Governor, we will never get financial support from any of the major donors in MO.”That's Senator McCaskill on the response there.
@clairecmc: That is rampant corruption. Hope someone in law enforcement investigates.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:29 PM on April 16, 2018 [82 favorites]
Imagine, if you will, that the FBI now has a recording of Cohen and Hannity discussing Trump's involvement in pushing the false Seth Rich conspiracy on Fox News. Wouldn't that be interesting?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:33 PM on April 16, 2018 [33 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:33 PM on April 16, 2018 [33 favorites]
@KT_So_It_Goes
this tweet seems ummmmm highly problematic
posted by chris24 at 2:35 PM on April 16, 2018 [71 favorites]
this tweet seems ummmmm highly problematic
@realDonaldTrump: Big show tonight on @seanhannity! 9:00 P.M. on @FoxNews. 7:48 PM - 11 Apr 2018on the same day Cohen’s office was raided two of three of Cohen’s clients - one the sitting president, the other a cable news megastar - arranged a nationwide broadcast hit villainizing the investigation. is that textbook obstruction? I dunno, maybe it’s not, but when you purposefully organize a very public poop in the very public pool *and then your subsequent legal defense becomes “the public pool has too much poop in it”*, you’re on pretty dangerous ground
posted by chris24 at 2:35 PM on April 16, 2018 [71 favorites]
Comey's the only other person I can think of offhand that Trump said he was jealous of .
He said something similar about Nikki Haley a while back, and she smartly didn't say anything in public for several weeks.
posted by Etrigan at 2:38 PM on April 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
He said something similar about Nikki Haley a while back, and she smartly didn't say anything in public for several weeks.
posted by Etrigan at 2:38 PM on April 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
Trump Tower fire caused by overloaded power strips.
posted by Melismata at 2:39 PM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 2:39 PM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
Judge Kimba Wood! Folks of a certain age may remember her as Bill Clinton's 2nd unsuccessful Attorney General pick in a series of events known as Nannygate.
This is just going to feed the conspiracy theorists.
posted by Rumple at 2:42 PM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
This is just going to feed the conspiracy theorists.
posted by Rumple at 2:42 PM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Fox News is America's RT.
posted by gucci mane at 2:47 PM on April 16, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by gucci mane at 2:47 PM on April 16, 2018 [21 favorites]
Fox News is America's RT.
They certainly have the same owners.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:49 PM on April 16, 2018 [46 favorites]
They certainly have the same owners.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:49 PM on April 16, 2018 [46 favorites]
Mod note: A few comments removed, let's not start the Trump Tower fire stuff all over again. See previous thread or two for existing discussion of the whole "how is that up to code/legal" thing.
posted by cortex (staff) at 2:52 PM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 2:52 PM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
That would be amazing if FBI has recordings of Hannity debriefing Cohen on intel from Asange/WikiLeaks. Attorney client privilege to hide a backchannel? Explains why Cohen didn’t get a White House job? Am I in the weeds here or is this a big deal? It seems like a big deal.
posted by H. Roark at 3:04 PM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by H. Roark at 3:04 PM on April 16, 2018 [7 favorites]
So, if someone for example had a civil suit against Fox and Sean Hannity for pushing the Seth Rich story in a fraudulent and defamatory manner, would their attorneys be able to subpoena evidence that the SDNY DOJ investigators might have just found? How does that work?
posted by msalt at 3:18 PM on April 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by msalt at 3:18 PM on April 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
In my experience, the recorded evidence of wrongdoing is the tip of the iceberg. There are many events and connections that are explained best by crooked behavior in Trumpland, but the case for these is circumstantial. It's hard to predict which will have enough evidence to bring charges and bring him and his shady stooges down.
That's why following every trail and not leaking is so important to the investigation. Mueller seems to be doing it right.
(I really respect competence. I wish HRC were running things.)
posted by Emmy Noether at 3:21 PM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
That's why following every trail and not leaking is so important to the investigation. Mueller seems to be doing it right.
(I really respect competence. I wish HRC were running things.)
posted by Emmy Noether at 3:21 PM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
Rod Wheeler filed a lawsuit for defamation claiming that he didn't say the things he said? Huh.
posted by Yowser at 3:21 PM on April 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Yowser at 3:21 PM on April 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Not just Shep...
Mediaite: Fox News' Juan Williams Calls Out Hannity: Why Didn’t He Disclose Relationship with Michael Cohen? (VIDEO)
posted by chris24 at 3:25 PM on April 16, 2018 [23 favorites]
Mediaite: Fox News' Juan Williams Calls Out Hannity: Why Didn’t He Disclose Relationship with Michael Cohen? (VIDEO)
posted by chris24 at 3:25 PM on April 16, 2018 [23 favorites]
Another interesting detail on Judge Kimba Wood: in addition to having degrees from Harvard Law School and the London School of Economics, she at one point in her youth trained for five days on how to become a Playboy Bunnie.
I imagine this has a certain restraining effect on any temptation by Cohen's attorneys to use slut-shaming insinuations and rhetoric in their attempt to defend Cohen's coverup behavior in these cases.
posted by msalt at 3:26 PM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
I imagine this has a certain restraining effect on any temptation by Cohen's attorneys to use slut-shaming insinuations and rhetoric in their attempt to defend Cohen's coverup behavior in these cases.
posted by msalt at 3:26 PM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
CNN: 'Law & Order' star Waterston comes to Rosenstein's defense
Speaking direct to camera in a new two-minute web video, Sam Waterston -- who played Manhattan district attorney Jack McCoy on NBC's hit crime series "Law & Order" for 16 years -- expressed concern about reports that President Donald Trump is considering firing Rosenstein and urged people to commit to peaceful protests if that happens. "In America, there's a simple rule: no person is above the law," Waterston said
I mean, good, but things seem past the point of no return regarding the merging of fictional entertainment media and actual geopolitics. We're pretty close to Captain Planet corporealizing to produce anti-Pruitt PSAs.
posted by Rust Moranis at 3:27 PM on April 16, 2018 [58 favorites]
Speaking direct to camera in a new two-minute web video, Sam Waterston -- who played Manhattan district attorney Jack McCoy on NBC's hit crime series "Law & Order" for 16 years -- expressed concern about reports that President Donald Trump is considering firing Rosenstein and urged people to commit to peaceful protests if that happens. "In America, there's a simple rule: no person is above the law," Waterston said
I mean, good, but things seem past the point of no return regarding the merging of fictional entertainment media and actual geopolitics. We're pretty close to Captain Planet corporealizing to produce anti-Pruitt PSAs.
posted by Rust Moranis at 3:27 PM on April 16, 2018 [58 favorites]
One notable thing about all this is that, in this morning's filing, Cohen's lawyers said that the as-then-unnamed third client "did not authorize their name to be publicly filed in connection with this matter and directed Mr. Cohen to appeal any order to disclose their name."
Such an appeal really isn't going to, you know, work, but it's quite the example of Cohen's lawyering skills (or those of his lawyers anyway):
'My client demands his identity be kept secret and he's specifically instructed me to appeal any order to name him'
'Nope. Name him.'
'Ok it's Sean Hannity'
I can't even imagine the set of terrible lawyers that would be involved in Sean Hannity suing Michael Cohen for malpractice though. I don't think we've done enough to deserve to witness that spectacle.
posted by zachlipton at 3:28 PM on April 16, 2018 [36 favorites]
Such an appeal really isn't going to, you know, work, but it's quite the example of Cohen's lawyering skills (or those of his lawyers anyway):
'My client demands his identity be kept secret and he's specifically instructed me to appeal any order to name him'
'Nope. Name him.'
'Ok it's Sean Hannity'
I can't even imagine the set of terrible lawyers that would be involved in Sean Hannity suing Michael Cohen for malpractice though. I don't think we've done enough to deserve to witness that spectacle.
posted by zachlipton at 3:28 PM on April 16, 2018 [36 favorites]
Hannity would never want Cohen to get discovery on him.
I have to wonder, though: Hannity surely has access to decent lawyers. Odious as he is, I don't see him as so much of a bridge-burner because careerism is a fundamentally conservative project. That is, why would he ever go to a crappy lawyer like Cohen for anything?
posted by rhizome at 3:37 PM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
I have to wonder, though: Hannity surely has access to decent lawyers. Odious as he is, I don't see him as so much of a bridge-burner because careerism is a fundamentally conservative project. That is, why would he ever go to a crappy lawyer like Cohen for anything?
posted by rhizome at 3:37 PM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
That is, why would he ever go to a crappy lawyer like Cohen for anything?
Because he needed Cohen's very particular set of skills.
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:41 PM on April 16, 2018 [64 favorites]
Because he needed Cohen's very particular set of skills.
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:41 PM on April 16, 2018 [64 favorites]
Here's a very nice video of Fox News correspondent Laura Ingle rushing past the Hannity reveal as fast as possible.
posted by murphy slaw at 3:45 PM on April 16, 2018 [34 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 3:45 PM on April 16, 2018 [34 favorites]
That is, why would he ever go to a crappy lawyer like Cohen for anything?
Trump wanted Cohen in the room or on the phone in conversations about hacked emails, fake stories like Seth Rich, etc. to create what he thought was a cone of immunity that lawyers magically cast in a large radius around themselves. Otherwise Hannity could be subpoenaed to testify about these things. I wish I was joking.
posted by msalt at 3:50 PM on April 16, 2018 [60 favorites]
Trump wanted Cohen in the room or on the phone in conversations about hacked emails, fake stories like Seth Rich, etc. to create what he thought was a cone of immunity that lawyers magically cast in a large radius around themselves. Otherwise Hannity could be subpoenaed to testify about these things. I wish I was joking.
posted by msalt at 3:50 PM on April 16, 2018 [60 favorites]
Man this all must really distract Michael Cohen from his important work helping Dr. Pinder-Schloss and Gordon get their hands on the Addams fortune.
posted by jason_steakums at 3:53 PM on April 16, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 3:53 PM on April 16, 2018 [20 favorites]
Here's a very nice video of Fox News correspondent Laura Ingle rushing past the Hannity reveal as fast as possible.
We've all heard of the Gish Gallop. Would this be an example of the Fox Trot?
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:54 PM on April 16, 2018 [79 favorites]
We've all heard of the Gish Gallop. Would this be an example of the Fox Trot?
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:54 PM on April 16, 2018 [79 favorites]
Trump wanted Cohen in the room or on the phone in conversations about hacked emails, fake stories like Seth Rich, etc. to create what he thought was a cone of immunity that lawyers magically cast in a large radius around themselves. Otherwise Hannity could be subpoenaed to testify about these things. I wish I was joking.
Ah this is so much better if you picture Patton Oswalt’s character in Reno 911.
“But I cast the cone of privilege! You can’t hear anything inside this cone!”
posted by schadenfrau at 4:01 PM on April 16, 2018 [28 favorites]
Ah this is so much better if you picture Patton Oswalt’s character in Reno 911.
“But I cast the cone of privilege! You can’t hear anything inside this cone!”
posted by schadenfrau at 4:01 PM on April 16, 2018 [28 favorites]
FWIW someone is attacking Syrian airfields with missiles tonight; Pentagon says no coalition activity.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 4:12 PM on April 16, 2018
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 4:12 PM on April 16, 2018
Is there a source for that? I see a Russia Today article from an hour ago claiming that the real target for last weeks attack was airfields, but thats it. (Won't link here because RT, but "Syrian airfields" finds it easy enough).
posted by thefoxgod at 4:23 PM on April 16, 2018
posted by thefoxgod at 4:23 PM on April 16, 2018
Annnnd now I see the current reports too, although it seems to be just Syrian/Russian media so far.
posted by thefoxgod at 4:24 PM on April 16, 2018
posted by thefoxgod at 4:24 PM on April 16, 2018
thefoxgod: Is there a source for that?
Journalist Sulome Anderson (daughter of journalist Terry Anderson who was held hostage by Hezbollah for six years in the 80s) says she has unconfirmed reports the Israelis hit an airfield near Homs and a base allegedly used by Hezbollah and the Iranians in Qalamoun.
posted by bluecore at 4:31 PM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Journalist Sulome Anderson (daughter of journalist Terry Anderson who was held hostage by Hezbollah for six years in the 80s) says she has unconfirmed reports the Israelis hit an airfield near Homs and a base allegedly used by Hezbollah and the Iranians in Qalamoun.
posted by bluecore at 4:31 PM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'm confused on the number of clients Cohen has/had. When the court asks for a number are they asking for all the clients Cohen has ever had or only the clients that Cohen has represented and still has files on? I thought that Cohen acted for Don, Jr. by hushing up the US magazine article about Junior's affair with O'Day but today in court Cohen's lawyer says he has 3 clients: Trump, Broidy, & Hannity.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:34 PM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:34 PM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
When the court asks for a number are they asking for all the clients Cohen has ever had or only the clients that Cohen has represented and still has files on?
They're asking for clients since 2017. From the NYT:
They're asking for clients since 2017. From the NYT:
In a legal filing before the proceeding on Monday, Mr. Cohen revealed that he had worked as a lawyer since 2017 for 10 clients, seven of whom he served by providing “strategic advice and business consulting.” Of the other three, two were President Trump and the Republican fund-raiser Elliott Broidy, the filing said. The third person remained unnamed — at least until Judge Wood forced Mr. Cohen’s lawyers to identify him as Mr. Hannity before a packed courtroom.posted by palomar at 4:39 PM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
So Trump unilaterally walked back some Russian sanctions today, effectively sawing off the limb that Haley had walked out on. And so far as I can tell the total number of casualties from Trump's big Syrian strike was... zero. Which, hey, I'm glad because it was bullshit in the first place. But taken together those things pretty much completely shred the right wing talking points from the last week that, see, Trump isn't a Russian puppet! He's strong on Russia! More sanctions! Big airstrikes!
Nope, he called off the sanctions and we spent like $200million dollars to blow up 3 empty buildings. No puppet. No puppet. You're the puppet.
posted by Justinian at 4:40 PM on April 16, 2018 [85 favorites]
Nope, he called off the sanctions and we spent like $200million dollars to blow up 3 empty buildings. No puppet. No puppet. You're the puppet.
posted by Justinian at 4:40 PM on April 16, 2018 [85 favorites]
As Syria has just been mentioned again here is Robert Fisk on the last piece of theatre.
posted by adamvasco at 4:43 PM on April 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by adamvasco at 4:43 PM on April 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
FWIW someone is attacking Syrian airfields with missiles tonight; Pentagon says no coalition activity.
It's Israel.
Senior IDF official admits Israeli responsibility for Syria T-4 strike.
posted by scalefree at 4:49 PM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
It's Israel.
Senior IDF official admits Israeli responsibility for Syria T-4 strike.
posted by scalefree at 4:49 PM on April 16, 2018 [6 favorites]
Photos indicate that Russia's missile defense in ineffectual.
Finally something good from this: a diminution of Putin's credibility on the world stage.
I'll take my comforts where I can.
posted by ocschwar at 5:08 PM on April 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
Finally something good from this: a diminution of Putin's credibility on the world stage.
I'll take my comforts where I can.
posted by ocschwar at 5:08 PM on April 16, 2018 [16 favorites]
Apparently, Israel was unamused by the shed strike and decided to (a) blow some stuff up properly (b) not tweet it first. Which is, as far as I can tell, a more effective military strategy.
A quick poke around the feeds also shows that iran is getting more feisty, Israel is not liking that either and is thus in no mood to play footsie.
It's at this point that you stop being able to hide the fact that you have no foreign policy, no ability to forge one, and no detectable chance of changing those two things. I'm also wondering if the 'we gonna smoke Iran' as-close-as-he-gets-to-policy may be tempered by 45's deathly cowardice when faced with things that might bite back.
posted by Devonian at 5:09 PM on April 16, 2018 [18 favorites]
A quick poke around the feeds also shows that iran is getting more feisty, Israel is not liking that either and is thus in no mood to play footsie.
It's at this point that you stop being able to hide the fact that you have no foreign policy, no ability to forge one, and no detectable chance of changing those two things. I'm also wondering if the 'we gonna smoke Iran' as-close-as-he-gets-to-policy may be tempered by 45's deathly cowardice when faced with things that might bite back.
posted by Devonian at 5:09 PM on April 16, 2018 [18 favorites]
"Sean, We are all clients of Michael Cohen now. That includes everyone on the left. All of us."
So everyone has attorney-client privilege, at all times, with everyone.
posted by MrVisible at 5:13 PM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
So everyone has attorney-client privilege, at all times, with everyone.
posted by MrVisible at 5:13 PM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
I’m reading the Scaramucci tweet as an I AM SCARTACUS sort of attempt at showing solidarity and/or distracting people. Mostly it looks dumb, though.
posted by fedward at 5:14 PM on April 16, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by fedward at 5:14 PM on April 16, 2018 [14 favorites]
I think they are using "clients" in the sense of someone you pay so they don't do something.
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:14 PM on April 16, 2018
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:14 PM on April 16, 2018
Also: @Scaramucci: "Sean, We are all clients of Michael Cohen now. That includes everyone on the left. All of us."
Does anyone know what this means?
It's an attempt to buttress Trump's claims that attorney-client privilege is uniquely threatened by the warrant against Cohen.
posted by thelonius at 5:15 PM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
Does anyone know what this means?
It's an attempt to buttress Trump's claims that attorney-client privilege is uniquely threatened by the warrant against Cohen.
posted by thelonius at 5:15 PM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
In a legal filing before the proceeding on Monday, Mr. Cohen revealed that he had worked as a lawyer since 2017 for 10 clients, seven of whom he served by providing “strategic advice and business consulting.” Of the other three, two were President Trump and the Republican fund-raiser Elliott Broidy, the filing said. The third person remained unnamed — at least until Judge Wood forced Mr. Cohen’s lawyers to identify him as Mr. Hannity before a packed courtroom.
Hannity's description of his legal dealings with Cohen sounds an awful lot like that of those seven clients who just got consulting and advice, but I can't find any information on who those seven are or if anyone is even pushing for their names to be revealed. Are they relevant, and if not, why not, if Hannity is relevant and claims the same (but even less formal!) kind of client relationship with Cohen? Why wasn't Hannity just put under this blanket “strategic advice and business consulting” category in the first place if there's nothing sketchy about the work Cohen did for him? Interesting.
posted by jason_steakums at 5:27 PM on April 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
Hannity's description of his legal dealings with Cohen sounds an awful lot like that of those seven clients who just got consulting and advice, but I can't find any information on who those seven are or if anyone is even pushing for their names to be revealed. Are they relevant, and if not, why not, if Hannity is relevant and claims the same (but even less formal!) kind of client relationship with Cohen? Why wasn't Hannity just put under this blanket “strategic advice and business consulting” category in the first place if there's nothing sketchy about the work Cohen did for him? Interesting.
posted by jason_steakums at 5:27 PM on April 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
Basically, Hannity really doesn't want Cohen as his lawyer, unless there are tapes of him talking dirt with Trump. He can't be sure, so Hannity's answer is he doesn't remember if Cohen is his lawyer or not. Wow.
posted by xammerboy at 5:27 PM on April 16, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by xammerboy at 5:27 PM on April 16, 2018 [15 favorites]
At the rate this is going Hannity is going to be a Russia asset/spy and Cohen is the go between. They've stumbled into the backchannel.
It's weird that this even is a semi-plausible thought.
posted by Jalliah at 5:34 PM on April 16, 2018 [49 favorites]
It's weird that this even is a semi-plausible thought.
We're going to need another color of yarn for the board.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 5:36 PM on April 16, 2018 [73 favorites]
We're going to need another color of yarn for the board.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 5:36 PM on April 16, 2018 [73 favorites]
Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch thinks Trump should just pardon everybody. (FWIW, their tagline is still "Because no one is above the law!")
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:44 PM on April 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:44 PM on April 16, 2018 [12 favorites]
Mod note: Couple deleted; let's ease back on the one-liners.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 5:50 PM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 5:50 PM on April 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
Broadband advisor picked by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai arrested on fraud charges
posted by Artw at 5:51 PM on April 16, 2018 [71 favorites]
posted by Artw at 5:51 PM on April 16, 2018 [71 favorites]
Why wasn't Hannity just put under this blanket “strategic advice and business consulting” category
Attorney-client privilege only covers information shared for the purpose of seeking legal advice; "if an attorney provides non-legal business advice, that communication is not privileged." So, communications with those other 7 clients are not privileged, and their identities would not be relevant to the privilege hearing. Those communications may very well be relevant to the Mueller investigation, however, and will presumably be available to Mueller. We may hear about it when and if there are additional indictments...
posted by Emera Gratia at 5:52 PM on April 16, 2018 [17 favorites]
Attorney-client privilege only covers information shared for the purpose of seeking legal advice; "if an attorney provides non-legal business advice, that communication is not privileged." So, communications with those other 7 clients are not privileged, and their identities would not be relevant to the privilege hearing. Those communications may very well be relevant to the Mueller investigation, however, and will presumably be available to Mueller. We may hear about it when and if there are additional indictments...
posted by Emera Gratia at 5:52 PM on April 16, 2018 [17 favorites]
If I were a coward, a criminal, and a general pantload like Cheeto, I would only appoint utter scum to office. The constant, never-ending stream of scandals is only going to be to my benefit, either via their distraction value, actual graft, settling scores, accruing favors or just moving the definition of competence so far from its original meaning that when people blanch at the "c" word, that's what they're thinking of.
posted by maxwelton at 5:59 PM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by maxwelton at 5:59 PM on April 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
Thanks, Emera! I was a little confused about that because the article includes those seven as clients of Cohen's in his capacity as a lawyer, but the work he supposedly did for them doesn't seem to be legal work, just garden variety business consultant work. But I suppose you could probably hire a lawyer to clean your gutters or whatever and they can invoice you through their solo practice for it and technically you weren't given legal advice but you're a client.
posted by jason_steakums at 5:59 PM on April 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 5:59 PM on April 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
ELECTIONS NEWS
** AZ-08 special: Mentioned earlier, Emerson poll has Dem Tipirneni up 46-45 on GOPer Lesko [MOE: +/- 5.2%]. Pretty much everyone is super skeptical of this, though - it's a Trump +19 district, and the early vote so far has been considerably GOP on balance. Election is next week.
** 2018 House:
posted by Chrysostom at 7:06 PM on April 16, 2018 [38 favorites]
** AZ-08 special: Mentioned earlier, Emerson poll has Dem Tipirneni up 46-45 on GOPer Lesko [MOE: +/- 5.2%]. Pretty much everyone is super skeptical of this, though - it's a Trump +19 district, and the early vote so far has been considerably GOP on balance. Election is next week.
** 2018 House:
-- Monmouth poll in New Jersey has some eye-popping numbers. Dems lead on the generic ballot 54-35. However, in GOP-held districts, Rs are up 46-44. That's really bad - the average lead in 2014 and 2016 was R 60-38. NJ experts are saying Dems could pick up at least three, maybe as many as all five of the GOP seats.** Odds & ends -- NBC/WSJ poll finds the GOP tax law is pretty unpopular - only 27% think it was a good idea.
-- 1Q fundraising numbers are coming in, and National Journal finds at least 40 GOP incumbents outraised by one or more Dem challengers.
-- WI-01: Lots of possible GOP candidates have passed on the Paul Ryan seat, looks like it is coalescing around UW Regent Bryan Steil, whom I confess I don't know much about, other than he is buddies with Ryan.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:06 PM on April 16, 2018 [38 favorites]
"[Comey] was asked tonight why if he thought AG Lynch was compromised he didn't just go to her deputy, Sally Yates. Yates has an impeccable reputation.
This wasn't just another option, this was the obvious next step if you are trying to act without bias and within Department protocols. He couldn't answer the question."
Gee, what might Loretta Lynch and Sally Yates have in common?
This guy is the worst.
posted by JackFlash at 7:09 PM on April 16, 2018 [90 favorites]
This wasn't just another option, this was the obvious next step if you are trying to act without bias and within Department protocols. He couldn't answer the question."
Gee, what might Loretta Lynch and Sally Yates have in common?
This guy is the worst.
posted by JackFlash at 7:09 PM on April 16, 2018 [90 favorites]
Carter Page is on Laura Ingraham. I repeat, Carter Page on Laura Ingraham.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:21 PM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:21 PM on April 16, 2018 [9 favorites]
This is a crucial moment for Democrats. They need to get R’s on the record NOW, defending Trump or standing up to him. Russia, Mueller protection, applying conflict of interest to President, anti-gerrymandering, etc.
Trump will implode soon enough, and none of the cowards supporting him now can be allowed to weasel out of their guilt after the fall.
Also, draw up a 10 point Fairness package and make it the national issue in this fall’s election. Make sure state’s rights on marijuana is in there, too.
posted by msalt at 7:24 PM on April 16, 2018 [38 favorites]
Trump will implode soon enough, and none of the cowards supporting him now can be allowed to weasel out of their guilt after the fall.
Also, draw up a 10 point Fairness package and make it the national issue in this fall’s election. Make sure state’s rights on marijuana is in there, too.
posted by msalt at 7:24 PM on April 16, 2018 [38 favorites]
Ken Popehat White, Lawsplainer: Michael Cohen's Attempt To Delay The Stormy Daniels Litigation. That's not today's hearing, but about the California case and Cohen's attempt to enforce the arbitration agreement except he also maybe wants to take the fifth now. Anyway, it's a lot of drama and it's all explained here.
Politico, Jennifer Haberkorn, Abortion foes seize on chance to overturn Roe, in which the right is arguing over how quickly to try to ban abortion entirely or find out how close to that line they can get. Related infuriating awfulness from the Texas Observer: Indoctrinated, in which a huge Catholic hospital system in the Austin area forces patients who miscarry to consent to fetal burials, which take place in a Catholic cemetery with Catholic iconography, and they provide the parent's name to the cemetery even if it's against their wishes.
Wired, The White House Loses Its Cybersecurity Brain Trust, in which everyone who seems to know anything about the topic keeps fleeing the White House, but that's ok because it's not like hacking is at all a matter of national interest or something we should have any leadership from the White House on.
FastCo, Glenn Fleishman, Thousands Of Advertisers Shun Breitbart, But Amazon Remains. Where Amazon continues to allow Breitbart as an affiliate, and continues to refuse to comment. Google's Adsense and Facebook's Audience Network still serve ads on the site as well.
WaPo, How Congress’s and Trump’s latest deficit binge paved the way for the next one: "By 2022, the U.S. government is projected to spend almost as much money on interest payments for its massive debt as it will on the Pentagon, more than $600 billion every year."
I also want to call attention to the Times Mag story Dan Scavino, the Secretary of Offense, which mumimor posted this morning but it got lost in all of today's madness. There's a lot in here worth reading, but I want to highlight this paragraph on the ways Scavino brings alt-right figures into the White House:
Politico, Jennifer Haberkorn, Abortion foes seize on chance to overturn Roe, in which the right is arguing over how quickly to try to ban abortion entirely or find out how close to that line they can get. Related infuriating awfulness from the Texas Observer: Indoctrinated, in which a huge Catholic hospital system in the Austin area forces patients who miscarry to consent to fetal burials, which take place in a Catholic cemetery with Catholic iconography, and they provide the parent's name to the cemetery even if it's against their wishes.
Wired, The White House Loses Its Cybersecurity Brain Trust, in which everyone who seems to know anything about the topic keeps fleeing the White House, but that's ok because it's not like hacking is at all a matter of national interest or something we should have any leadership from the White House on.
FastCo, Glenn Fleishman, Thousands Of Advertisers Shun Breitbart, But Amazon Remains. Where Amazon continues to allow Breitbart as an affiliate, and continues to refuse to comment. Google's Adsense and Facebook's Audience Network still serve ads on the site as well.
WaPo, How Congress’s and Trump’s latest deficit binge paved the way for the next one: "By 2022, the U.S. government is projected to spend almost as much money on interest payments for its massive debt as it will on the Pentagon, more than $600 billion every year."
I also want to call attention to the Times Mag story Dan Scavino, the Secretary of Offense, which mumimor posted this morning but it got lost in all of today's madness. There's a lot in here worth reading, but I want to highlight this paragraph on the ways Scavino brings alt-right figures into the White House:
More than anyone else in the White House, the director of social media spends his day online, monitoring the #MAGA congregation. “Dan talks to the base more than anybody else after the president,” one senior White House official told me. “He’s the conductor of the Trump Train, and these people know he’s true blue, and he also knows all the influencers.” A year ago, the former chief strategist Steve Bannon shared a West Wing office with Scavino. “He has his hands on the Pepes,” Bannon recalls, referring to the cartoon frog that serves as mascot to the alt-right. “He knew who the players were and who were not. He’d bring me Cernovich — I didn’t know who Cernovich was until Scavino told me.” Bannon was referring to the alt-right blogger Mike Cernovich, who has frequently promoted debunked and scurrilous conspiracy theories.posted by zachlipton at 8:12 PM on April 16, 2018 [38 favorites]
Regarding the sanctions update, as it's been a long process and the occasional updates often get lost in the news overload, here is where we're at:
- July 2017 - Congress passes the CAATSA almost unanimously (419-3 in the House, 98-2 in the Senate)
- August, 2017 - Trump signs the bill, but calls it "seriously flawed" and "clearly unconstitutional."
- October, 2017 - Congress calls out the State Dept for ignoring their deadline for providing a list of names to sanction.
- January, 2018 - Treasury Dept squeaks in before their 180-day deadline for a report to identify sanction targets. 210 names were given including Russian politicians and 96 oligarchs. The administration made it clear that no sanctions were actually being implemented yet, and moreover considered them unneccessary.
- March, 2018 - Sanctions finally implemented, but only against 19 individuals, 13 of whom were already indicted by the Mueller probe in connection with the Internet Research Agency. State officials promised there would be more sanctions coming.
- April, 2018 - Nikki Haley recently promised a new round of sanctions were imminent before today's news that Trump won't allow the sanctions as he's "not yet comfortable executing them."
Michael Avenatti: I'm going to make a prediction... I think Michael Cohen is going to be indicted in the next 90 days. I think those charges are going to be serious, potentially carry decades in a federal penitentiary. I also predict that within 6 months thereafter, maybe sooner... he's going to flip on the president.
posted by orange swan at 8:37 PM on April 16, 2018 [92 favorites]
posted by orange swan at 8:37 PM on April 16, 2018 [92 favorites]
Here's "Sean Hannity setting the record straight about Michael Cohen" if you really want to put yourself through that. Leni Riefenstahl it ain't.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:39 PM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:39 PM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Best reply to the tweet about Avenatti's prediction:
If it's what you say I love it, especially later in the summer.
posted by medusa at 8:53 PM on April 16, 2018 [107 favorites]
If it's what you say I love it, especially later in the summer.
posted by medusa at 8:53 PM on April 16, 2018 [107 favorites]
Can I just say that I think Steven Bannon is lying when he says he didn't know who Cernovich was before Scavino told him? Considering GamerGate was largely Breitbart's brainchild, it doesn't pass the smell test.
posted by Yowser at 9:17 PM on April 16, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by Yowser at 9:17 PM on April 16, 2018 [10 favorites]
"Subtle reminder that Sean Hannity made 36 million last year. He's the highest paid cable news personality in the entire world.
He can afford any attorney he wants.
He chose the same fixer as Donald Trump for a reason."
posted by vverse23 at 10:47 PM on April 16, 2018 [93 favorites]
He can afford any attorney he wants.
He chose the same fixer as Donald Trump for a reason."
posted by vverse23 at 10:47 PM on April 16, 2018 [93 favorites]
Dr. Emma Briant conducted a series of interviews about Brexit and SCL (Cambridge Analytica's parent), which were taken into evidence by Parliament and published. The segment that's receiving a lot of attention is this one with Nigel Oakes, founded and CEO of SCL (Cambridge Analytica's parent company), in which he compares Trump's campaign strategy to Hitler's (audio clip):
Emma Briant: It didn’t matter with the rest of what he’s [Donald Trump] saying, it didn’t matter if he is alienating all of the liberal women, actually, and I think he was never going to get them anyway.posted by zachlipton at 10:51 PM on April 16, 2018 [33 favorites]
Nigel Oakes: That’s right
Emma Briant: You’ve got to think about what would resonate with as many as possible.
Nigel Oakes: And often, as you rightly say, it’s the things that resonate, sometimes to attack the other group and know that you are going to lose them is going to reinforce and resonate your group. Which is why, you know, Hitler, got to be very careful about saying so, must never probably say this, off the record, but of course Hitler attacked the Jews, because... He didn’t have a problem with the Jews at all, but the people didn’t like the Jews. So if the people... He could just use them to say... So he just leverage an artificial enemy. Well that’s exactly what Trump did. He leveraged a Muslim-I mean, you know, it’s-It was a real enemy. ISIS is a real, but how big a threat is ISIS really to America? Really, I mean, we are still talking about 9/11, well 9/11 is a long time ago.
but of course Hitler attacked the Jews, because... He didn’t have a problem with the Jews at all, but the people didn’t like the Jews.
Apologies if this is a derail, but isn't that utter nonsense? My impression from Shirer's book, at least, was that Hitler was a true believer, that from the time of his first forays into German politics he had already acquired a bone-deep and monomaniacally ferocious hatred of Jews. And, you know, the fact that he concluded his suicide note with one last antisemitic harangue. Motherfucker didn't really have much to gain by keeping up appearances at that point.
posted by Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam at 2:36 AM on April 17, 2018 [63 favorites]
Apologies if this is a derail, but isn't that utter nonsense? My impression from Shirer's book, at least, was that Hitler was a true believer, that from the time of his first forays into German politics he had already acquired a bone-deep and monomaniacally ferocious hatred of Jews. And, you know, the fact that he concluded his suicide note with one last antisemitic harangue. Motherfucker didn't really have much to gain by keeping up appearances at that point.
posted by Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam at 2:36 AM on April 17, 2018 [63 favorites]
Apologies if this is a derail, but isn't that utter nonsense?
Yes, it's at the very least a bizarrely misconstrued understanding of history. Whether it's motivated by anything darker, I don't think we know enough about Mr Oakes to tell. But, yeah, completely and demonstrably false.
posted by adamgreenfield at 3:07 AM on April 17, 2018 [9 favorites]
Yes, it's at the very least a bizarrely misconstrued understanding of history. Whether it's motivated by anything darker, I don't think we know enough about Mr Oakes to tell. But, yeah, completely and demonstrably false.
posted by adamgreenfield at 3:07 AM on April 17, 2018 [9 favorites]
My rant about Hannity/Cohen demonstrating that the entire network is corrupt as hell seems to have been the final straw.
This morning, my guy changed channels from Fox and Friends to Good Morning America.
posted by Jacqueline at 4:35 AM on April 17, 2018 [127 favorites]
This morning, my guy changed channels from Fox and Friends to Good Morning America.
posted by Jacqueline at 4:35 AM on April 17, 2018 [127 favorites]
He (Hannity) can afford any attorney he wants.
He chose the same fixer as Donald Trump for a reason."
posted by vverse23 5 ¾ hours ago [24 favorites +] [!]
That twitter link, the second sentence doesn't expand on what that reason might be, frustratingly, but there is a very revealing link to a Rolling Stone article that seems to have slipped through the net here but is well worth the read.
Tl/dr: Cohen's uncle owned a hang out for Russia Mafiya types _and_ Cohen and his immediate family have poured a good 20million or so into various Trump properties. After reading the article it seems pretty obvious why Mueller would fixate on him - his ties to Russians of arguably criminal background and extensive .
posted by From Bklyn at 4:39 AM on April 17, 2018 [35 favorites]
He chose the same fixer as Donald Trump for a reason."
posted by vverse23 5 ¾ hours ago [24 favorites +] [!]
That twitter link, the second sentence doesn't expand on what that reason might be, frustratingly, but there is a very revealing link to a Rolling Stone article that seems to have slipped through the net here but is well worth the read.
Tl/dr: Cohen's uncle owned a hang out for Russia Mafiya types _and_ Cohen and his immediate family have poured a good 20million or so into various Trump properties. After reading the article it seems pretty obvious why Mueller would fixate on him - his ties to Russians of arguably criminal background and extensive .
posted by From Bklyn at 4:39 AM on April 17, 2018 [35 favorites]
That twitter link, the second sentence doesn't expand on what that reason might be, frustratingly, but there is a very revealing link to a Rolling Stone article that seems to have slipped through the net here but is well worth the read.
That article has several gems, like this:
posted by mumimor at 6:10 AM on April 17, 2018 [59 favorites]
That article has several gems, like this:
In an observation that several people I spoke with echoed, Kenneth McCallion, a former prosecutor who tracked the flows of Russian criminal money into Trump's properties, told me, "Trump's genius – or evil genius – was, instead of Russian criminal money being passive, incidental income, it became a central part of his business plan." McCallion continued, "It's not called 'Little Moscow' for nothing. The street signs are in Russian. But his towers there were built specifically for the Russian middle-class criminal."And I think we've seen this before, but it is worth putting back front of mind:
What Cohen called his old friend's "colorful language" attracted attention from congressional investigators and Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office: "Michael I arranged for Ivanka to sit in Putins private chair at his desk and office in the Kremlin," Sater emailed Cohen in November 2015. "I will get Putin on this program and we will get Donald elected. We both know no one else knows how to pull this off without stupidity or greed getting in the way. I know how to play it and we will get this done. Buddy our boy can become President of the USA and we can engineer. I will get all of Putins team to buy in on this."It's really amazing what they have gotten away with, for ages. Not so strange they thought they could keep going with Trump as president.
posted by mumimor at 6:10 AM on April 17, 2018 [59 favorites]
Lest there be any doubt that the Trumpists doesn't know exactly who Michael Cohen is and the threat his investigation poses to his boss, Axios has posted this assessment from one of its many anonymous sources ("a former Trump campaign official", which might as well be code for "Steve Bannon" at this point):
"The guys that know Trump best are the most worried. People are very, very worried. Because it’s Michael fucking Cohen. Who knows what he’s done? [...] People at the Trump Organization don’t even really know everything he does. It’s all side deals and off-the-books stuff. Trump doesn’t even fully know; he knows some but not everything. [...] Cohen thinks he’s Ray Donovan [the Showtime series starring a fixer for Hollywood's elite]. Did you see the photos of him sitting outside on the street with his buddies smoking cigars? Makes it look like a Brooklyn social club."
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:26 AM on April 17, 2018 [10 favorites]
"The guys that know Trump best are the most worried. People are very, very worried. Because it’s Michael fucking Cohen. Who knows what he’s done? [...] People at the Trump Organization don’t even really know everything he does. It’s all side deals and off-the-books stuff. Trump doesn’t even fully know; he knows some but not everything. [...] Cohen thinks he’s Ray Donovan [the Showtime series starring a fixer for Hollywood's elite]. Did you see the photos of him sitting outside on the street with his buddies smoking cigars? Makes it look like a Brooklyn social club."
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:26 AM on April 17, 2018 [10 favorites]
Every Embarrassing Story Michael Cohen Tried to Squash
posted by 1970s Antihero at 6:30 AM on April 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by 1970s Antihero at 6:30 AM on April 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
ocschwar Photos indicate that Russia's missile defense in ineffectual.
I'm in favor of LOL Putin as much as the next person, but all missile defense is pretty ineffectual. Turns out that shooting down a missile is really damn hard because missiles are small and move at high speed.
The actual success rate of any missile defense system is classified, but it's fairly well known that that the US Patriot missile defense system is not so great. During Bush the Elder's attack on Iraq the Iraqi Scud missiles got through the Patriot defense on several occasions, and the Scud has no jamming or other system to help it defeat anti-missile defenses.
More recently there was social media video released of the Patriot system the US had sold Saudi Arabia failing spectacularly during the March 25 attack on Riyadh. As near as can be told by examining publicly available data none of the incoming missiles were stopped by the Patriot system and at least one Patriot missile suffered catastrophic guidance failure, reversed course, and hit an area near its launch point.
This is because shooting down a missile with another missile is hard, even when the incoming missile isn't trying to spoof the defenses.
The Navy's Phalanx system tries to solve the problem by throwing a wall of bullets at the incoming missile and hoping a few hit and it too has a classified success rate. The US Navy likes to claim it's perfect, or at least close to it, others claim its total crap. Probably, like the Patriot system it has a moderately good success rate but is far from really great.
So I can't say i'm surprised that Russia's missile defense system is ineffectual. That's about par for the course. It might be **MORE** ineffectual than the American systems, but we can't really say because the actual tested success rates are classified and, of course, I'd be a bit iffy about the honesty of the tests even if they weren't classified.
posted by sotonohito at 6:33 AM on April 17, 2018 [25 favorites]
I'm in favor of LOL Putin as much as the next person, but all missile defense is pretty ineffectual. Turns out that shooting down a missile is really damn hard because missiles are small and move at high speed.
The actual success rate of any missile defense system is classified, but it's fairly well known that that the US Patriot missile defense system is not so great. During Bush the Elder's attack on Iraq the Iraqi Scud missiles got through the Patriot defense on several occasions, and the Scud has no jamming or other system to help it defeat anti-missile defenses.
More recently there was social media video released of the Patriot system the US had sold Saudi Arabia failing spectacularly during the March 25 attack on Riyadh. As near as can be told by examining publicly available data none of the incoming missiles were stopped by the Patriot system and at least one Patriot missile suffered catastrophic guidance failure, reversed course, and hit an area near its launch point.
This is because shooting down a missile with another missile is hard, even when the incoming missile isn't trying to spoof the defenses.
The Navy's Phalanx system tries to solve the problem by throwing a wall of bullets at the incoming missile and hoping a few hit and it too has a classified success rate. The US Navy likes to claim it's perfect, or at least close to it, others claim its total crap. Probably, like the Patriot system it has a moderately good success rate but is far from really great.
So I can't say i'm surprised that Russia's missile defense system is ineffectual. That's about par for the course. It might be **MORE** ineffectual than the American systems, but we can't really say because the actual tested success rates are classified and, of course, I'd be a bit iffy about the honesty of the tests even if they weren't classified.
posted by sotonohito at 6:33 AM on April 17, 2018 [25 favorites]
I think the phalanx CIWS is largely being replaced by a missile system now, which makes me a little sad as someone who is perhaps a bit too enthusiastic about gatling gun robots.
I have a suspicion that being mounted on the incoming missile’s target in the middle of a very large very flat surface (the ocean) helps a bit.
posted by Artw at 6:43 AM on April 17, 2018 [7 favorites]
I have a suspicion that being mounted on the incoming missile’s target in the middle of a very large very flat surface (the ocean) helps a bit.
posted by Artw at 6:43 AM on April 17, 2018 [7 favorites]
North and South Korea expected to announce an end to their (technically still ongoing) war. (SLCNBC, byline is Sam Meredith.)
Good? Good. Good?
The entire situation is so complicated and I am so admittedly igorant of the politics and history of the region that I feel like I have to hedge, but...good? Less threat of imminent death for like 30 million people in Seoul seems like it’s pretty much gonna outweigh any other possible complication that comes with this, so. Yes. Hopefully that’s what this is.
And all it took was the United States turning into such an angry, drunk toddler that we became, in effect, a nonentity and got the fuck out of the way. Am I reading that right?
posted by schadenfrau at 6:51 AM on April 17, 2018 [28 favorites]
Good? Good. Good?
The entire situation is so complicated and I am so admittedly igorant of the politics and history of the region that I feel like I have to hedge, but...good? Less threat of imminent death for like 30 million people in Seoul seems like it’s pretty much gonna outweigh any other possible complication that comes with this, so. Yes. Hopefully that’s what this is.
And all it took was the United States turning into such an angry, drunk toddler that we became, in effect, a nonentity and got the fuck out of the way. Am I reading that right?
posted by schadenfrau at 6:51 AM on April 17, 2018 [28 favorites]
This morning, my guy changed channels from Fox and Friends to Good Morning America.
Imagining this same event repeated in several other homes across the country has sincerely given me more hope than I've had in quite some time.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:54 AM on April 17, 2018 [54 favorites]
Imagining this same event repeated in several other homes across the country has sincerely given me more hope than I've had in quite some time.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:54 AM on April 17, 2018 [54 favorites]
Sandy Hook Parents Hit Alex Jones With Defamation Lawsuits (huffpo)
posted by valkane at 6:55 AM on April 17, 2018 [89 favorites]
posted by valkane at 6:55 AM on April 17, 2018 [89 favorites]
This may be the dumbest question ever, but what does "SL" in front of the source mean? It's not in the thread reference, but I see it all over.
At one time I briefly harbored the belief that people here were linking to a renegade publication called the St. Louis Atlantic, but I feel confident in saying there is no St. Louis CNBC or St. Louis New York Times....
posted by shenderson at 6:58 AM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
At one time I briefly harbored the belief that people here were linking to a renegade publication called the St. Louis Atlantic, but I feel confident in saying there is no St. Louis CNBC or St. Louis New York Times....
posted by shenderson at 6:58 AM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
Big ups to the Washington Post for going with the headline: "Hannity Insanity"
posted by Twain Device at 7:01 AM on April 17, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by Twain Device at 7:01 AM on April 17, 2018 [27 favorites]
This morning, my guy changed channels from Fox and Friends to Good Morning America.
Imagining this same event repeated in several other homes across the country has sincerely given me more hope than I've had in quite some time.
Same here! I hold Fox responsible for much of the mess this country is in. I've said before they are basically a cult that especially brainwashes older people who still get their news from TV and radio. In The Brainwashing of my Dad, Jen Senko relates how her father turned from a middle-of-the-road guy into a perpetually angry right-winger because he started listening to right-wing talk radio when there was nothing else to listen to on a long commute. I like to think that more tech-savvy folks who have access to podcasts will listen to them instead - but there are still parts of the country where both local news and broadband are hard to come by.
But if Fox - or at least its worst hatemongers like Hannity - starts losing viewers, ratings, and influence, there will be CAKE FOR DAYS at Chez Banks. Cake for breakfast, cake for lunch, cake for dinner. And champagne. Maybe CNN isn't the greatest, but at least it's not hate-filled, and if we can peel off voters by simply weaning them off Fox, it's a victory.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 7:02 AM on April 17, 2018 [51 favorites]
Imagining this same event repeated in several other homes across the country has sincerely given me more hope than I've had in quite some time.
Same here! I hold Fox responsible for much of the mess this country is in. I've said before they are basically a cult that especially brainwashes older people who still get their news from TV and radio. In The Brainwashing of my Dad, Jen Senko relates how her father turned from a middle-of-the-road guy into a perpetually angry right-winger because he started listening to right-wing talk radio when there was nothing else to listen to on a long commute. I like to think that more tech-savvy folks who have access to podcasts will listen to them instead - but there are still parts of the country where both local news and broadband are hard to come by.
But if Fox - or at least its worst hatemongers like Hannity - starts losing viewers, ratings, and influence, there will be CAKE FOR DAYS at Chez Banks. Cake for breakfast, cake for lunch, cake for dinner. And champagne. Maybe CNN isn't the greatest, but at least it's not hate-filled, and if we can peel off voters by simply weaning them off Fox, it's a victory.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 7:02 AM on April 17, 2018 [51 favorites]
I'm in favor of LOL Putin as much as the next person, but all missile defense is pretty ineffectual. Turns out that shooting down a missile is really damn hard because missiles are small and move at high speed.
What's important is that now that it's more public, if Putin invites any other nation with "come troll with us, we'll keep you covered", they're more likely to say LOL no.
posted by ocschwar at 7:03 AM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
What's important is that now that it's more public, if Putin invites any other nation with "come troll with us, we'll keep you covered", they're more likely to say LOL no.
posted by ocschwar at 7:03 AM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
Interesting Wikipedia find: scroll down to "American-led intervention in Syria" to see Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE listed on both sides of the al-Qaeda/US-Allied conflict, Palpatine-style. Fun!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:26 AM on April 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:26 AM on April 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
Justinian: we spent like $200million dollars to blow up 3 empty buildings
Just like last year, when Trump directed US forces to strike an airbase ... but warned Russia, who warned Syria. Except last year, there were some casualties, including children. That strike was on the morning of April 7, 2017, a year and a week before this year's bombing of Damascus and Homs.
If Trump is still president next year, this might be his April tradition: look tough for the cameras by blowing up (mostly) empty buildings, after a series of reported chemical weapons attacks in the months prior. And in a few days, Syria will be back to where it was before the bombings, more or less, making the bombing just a bit of expensive posturing.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:33 AM on April 17, 2018 [9 favorites]
Just like last year, when Trump directed US forces to strike an airbase ... but warned Russia, who warned Syria. Except last year, there were some casualties, including children. That strike was on the morning of April 7, 2017, a year and a week before this year's bombing of Damascus and Homs.
If Trump is still president next year, this might be his April tradition: look tough for the cameras by blowing up (mostly) empty buildings, after a series of reported chemical weapons attacks in the months prior. And in a few days, Syria will be back to where it was before the bombings, more or less, making the bombing just a bit of expensive posturing.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:33 AM on April 17, 2018 [9 favorites]
Fresh from Rep. Charlie Dent, R.-Pa.: "After discussions with my family and careful reflection, I have decided to leave Congress in the coming weeks. .. It is my intention to continue to aggressively advocate for responsible governance and pragmatic solutions in the coming years."
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:36 AM on April 17, 2018 [45 favorites]
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:36 AM on April 17, 2018 [45 favorites]
BREAKING NEWS: Gorsuch... did a good thing!
CNN: The Supreme Court on Tuesday invalidated a provision of federal law that requires the mandatory deportation of immigrants who have been convicted of some crimes, holding that the law is unconstitutionally vague.
As expected after the oral argument, Justice Neil Gorsuch joined with the more liberal justices for the first time since joining the court to produce a 5-4 majority invalidating the federal statute.
Writers, stop!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:37 AM on April 17, 2018 [67 favorites]
CNN: The Supreme Court on Tuesday invalidated a provision of federal law that requires the mandatory deportation of immigrants who have been convicted of some crimes, holding that the law is unconstitutionally vague.
As expected after the oral argument, Justice Neil Gorsuch joined with the more liberal justices for the first time since joining the court to produce a 5-4 majority invalidating the federal statute.
Writers, stop!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:37 AM on April 17, 2018 [67 favorites]
SCOTUS opinion in SESSIONS, ATTORNEY GENERAL v. DIMAYA is here
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:38 AM on April 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:38 AM on April 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
And all it took was the United States turning into such an angry, drunk toddler that we became, in effect, a nonentity and got the fuck out of the way. Am I reading that right?
Well, and South Korean just went through two right wing hardline administrations that were plagued by scandals and impeachment, replaced by a liberal administration that openly advocated a peace process if not reunification. They changed approaches really dramatically. Insane Trump may have accidentally scared North Korea into coming to the table, but most of the credit probably goes to the South Koreans doing real diplomacy in America's absence of it.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:44 AM on April 17, 2018 [65 favorites]
Well, and South Korean just went through two right wing hardline administrations that were plagued by scandals and impeachment, replaced by a liberal administration that openly advocated a peace process if not reunification. They changed approaches really dramatically. Insane Trump may have accidentally scared North Korea into coming to the table, but most of the credit probably goes to the South Koreans doing real diplomacy in America's absence of it.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:44 AM on April 17, 2018 [65 favorites]
Writers, stop!
Don't worry, there's bad precedence being set by SCOTUS to balance this good: Supreme Court shields a police officer from being sued for shooting a woman in her front yard (David G. Savage for Los Angeles Times, April 02, 2018)
Don't worry, there's bad precedence being set by SCOTUS to balance this good: Supreme Court shields a police officer from being sued for shooting a woman in her front yard (David G. Savage for Los Angeles Times, April 02, 2018)
The Supreme Court on Monday shielded a police officer from being sued for shooting an Arizona woman in her front yard, once again making it harder to bring legal action against officers who use excessive force, even against an innocent person.posted by filthy light thief at 7:46 AM on April 17, 2018 [20 favorites]
With two dissents, the high court tossed out a lawsuit by a Tucson woman who was shot four times outside her home because she was seen carrying a large knife.
The ruling — which comes at a time of growing controversy over police shootings nationwide — effectively advises courts to rely more heavily on the officer's view of such incidents, rather than the victim's.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg said in dissent the victim did not threaten the police or a friend who was standing nearby. This "decision is not just wrong on the law; it also sends an alarming signal to law enforcement officers and the public. It tells officers that they can shoot first and think later," Sotomayor wrote.
...
In an eight-page unsigned opinion in Kisela vs. Hughes, the justices did not rule on whether officer Andrew Kisela acted reasonably when he used potentially deadly force against Amy Hughes, who was standing in her driveway a few feet away from her friend and roommate, Sharon Chadwick. The police had been called after a neighbor reported seeing a woman acting strangely and carrying a large knife.
Rather than decide whether Kisela used excessive force, the court instead ruled he could not be sued because the victim could not cite a similar case involving a police shooting of a person holding a knife.
"Police officers are entitled to qualified immunity unless existing precedent squarely governs the specific facts at issue...This is far from an obvious case in which any competent officer would have known that shooting Hughes to protect Chadwick would violate the 4th Amendment" and its ban on unreasonable seizures, the court said Monday.
The decision reversed the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which had allowed the woman's lawsuit to go before a jury.
Fresh from Rep. Charlie Dent, R.-Pa.: "After discussions with my family and careful reflection, I have decided to leave Congress in the coming weeks
In September Dent announced that he wouldn't seek reelection, so he moved the schedule up by almost a year. Dent had called on the party to force Trump off the presidential ticket in the wake of the Access Hollywood tape. In the end, though, he has voted with Trump 92.9% of the time, 12.3% more than you'd expect based on Trump's margin of victory in Dent's district. So...¯\_(ツ)_/¯
"Police officers are entitled to qualified immunity unless existing precedent squarely governs the specific facts at issue...This is far from an obvious case in which any competent officer would have known that shooting Hughes to protect Chadwick would violate the 4th Amendment"
This is an absurd Catch-22. You can't win without a prior nearly-identical example, and there won't be any prior examples unless you win. Qualified immunity is a destructive moral hazard that should be abolished entirely.
posted by jedicus at 7:58 AM on April 17, 2018 [36 favorites]
In September Dent announced that he wouldn't seek reelection, so he moved the schedule up by almost a year. Dent had called on the party to force Trump off the presidential ticket in the wake of the Access Hollywood tape. In the end, though, he has voted with Trump 92.9% of the time, 12.3% more than you'd expect based on Trump's margin of victory in Dent's district. So...¯\_(ツ)_/¯
"Police officers are entitled to qualified immunity unless existing precedent squarely governs the specific facts at issue...This is far from an obvious case in which any competent officer would have known that shooting Hughes to protect Chadwick would violate the 4th Amendment"
This is an absurd Catch-22. You can't win without a prior nearly-identical example, and there won't be any prior examples unless you win. Qualified immunity is a destructive moral hazard that should be abolished entirely.
posted by jedicus at 7:58 AM on April 17, 2018 [36 favorites]
A question on Dent and Pa.'s 15th CD: Can anybody here comment on likelihood of a special election? Does Gov. Wolf, a Democrat, get to name a replacement? What does the timeline look like (that is, is there a law/statute/rule about special elections having to take place within a certain window w/r/t an upcoming election? Is the timing of Dent's departure important as far as naming a replacement or holding a special election?)?
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:58 AM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:58 AM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg said in dissent the victim did not threaten the police or a friend who was standing nearby. This "decision is not just wrong on the law; it also sends an alarming signal to law enforcement officers and the public. It tells officers that they can shoot first and think later," Sotomayor wrote.
I do not see how the Conservatives concluded that the Right to Keep and Bear Arms doesn't include edged weapons on your own property.
posted by mikelieman at 8:00 AM on April 17, 2018 [40 favorites]
I do not see how the Conservatives concluded that the Right to Keep and Bear Arms doesn't include edged weapons on your own property.
posted by mikelieman at 8:00 AM on April 17, 2018 [40 favorites]
Representatives can’t be appointed. Article I: “When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.”
Not sure whether they will have a special election or just do it with the regular elections.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 8:04 AM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
Not sure whether they will have a special election or just do it with the regular elections.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 8:04 AM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
schadenfrau (re: Korea): And all it took was the United States turning into such an angry, drunk toddler that we became, in effect, a nonentity and got the fuck out of the way.
Living in Japan, my impression from local news is sort of the same- but not so much that getting out of the way helped so much as it wouldn't have mattered what the US did anyways (ok, except for maybe dropping actual bombs) since South Korea is driving most of this.
The Atlantic had a story about President Moon last month, who has made this a main objective since taking office last year, and he seems much more driven on the issue than previous administrations.
It's a potentially promising first step, but their ultimate reunification goals will be WAY harder of course. Also, how long until 45 tries to take credit for this?
posted by p3t3 at 8:04 AM on April 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
Living in Japan, my impression from local news is sort of the same- but not so much that getting out of the way helped so much as it wouldn't have mattered what the US did anyways (ok, except for maybe dropping actual bombs) since South Korea is driving most of this.
The Atlantic had a story about President Moon last month, who has made this a main objective since taking office last year, and he seems much more driven on the issue than previous administrations.
It's a potentially promising first step, but their ultimate reunification goals will be WAY harder of course. Also, how long until 45 tries to take credit for this?
posted by p3t3 at 8:04 AM on April 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
I do not see how the Conservatives concluded that the Right to Keep and Bear Arms doesn't include edged weapons on your own property.
Because no one's getting filthy rich in the edged weapons arms trade.
posted by biogeo at 8:05 AM on April 17, 2018 [27 favorites]
Because no one's getting filthy rich in the edged weapons arms trade.
posted by biogeo at 8:05 AM on April 17, 2018 [27 favorites]
Edged weapons really are a weird case when it comes to citizenry carry. I've been a concealed weapons permit holder for most of the last 20 years but they're actually explicit to let you know that it doesn't extend to bladed weapons here in Virginia. Shove a giant 45 that holds ten rounds under my coat? Perfectly okay. A bowie knife? Nope, explicitly illegal. I suspect the combination of lack of lobby and police pants-wetting over knives explains most of it.
posted by phearlez at 8:10 AM on April 17, 2018 [25 favorites]
posted by phearlez at 8:10 AM on April 17, 2018 [25 favorites]
Mod note: One deleted. Enough on "why knives not guns".
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:19 AM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:19 AM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
If you are interested in missile defense and want to make fun of some very bad math (that's not how probability works!!), the old Arms Control Wonk episode about ballistic missile defense is a good one. This episode focuses mostly on ICBMs but I think the underlying problems are probably relevant to shorter range things too?
posted by threementholsandafuneral at 8:30 AM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by threementholsandafuneral at 8:30 AM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
Washington Post: Pruitt upgraded to a larger, customized SUV with bullet-resistant seat covers
How many bulletproofed items are we up to now? There's the bulletproof booth, the bulletproof desk, now this. Presumably his plan is to wriggle and squirm his way under the SUV seat covers when he sees someone who appears about to try and avenge his attempted murder of the planet? It seems like both too much self-awareness of the harm he's causing and also too much risk-taking if he genuinely believes the job is that dangerous.
Unless....
Guys I think Pruitt is a bulletproofing fetishist. I think the easy bulletproofing-grift is why he took the job. I think that if he were given a bulletproof house in the desert containing a nesting doll of bulletproof chambers he'd happily slither into its silent darkness and disappear from public life. We can do this, people.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:34 AM on April 17, 2018 [51 favorites]
How many bulletproofed items are we up to now? There's the bulletproof booth, the bulletproof desk, now this. Presumably his plan is to wriggle and squirm his way under the SUV seat covers when he sees someone who appears about to try and avenge his attempted murder of the planet? It seems like both too much self-awareness of the harm he's causing and also too much risk-taking if he genuinely believes the job is that dangerous.
Unless....
Guys I think Pruitt is a bulletproofing fetishist. I think the easy bulletproofing-grift is why he took the job. I think that if he were given a bulletproof house in the desert containing a nesting doll of bulletproof chambers he'd happily slither into its silent darkness and disappear from public life. We can do this, people.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:34 AM on April 17, 2018 [51 favorites]
The composite pic of the man who threatened Stormy Daniels Via @JuddLegum
posted by Buntix at 8:36 AM on April 17, 2018 [22 favorites]
posted by Buntix at 8:36 AM on April 17, 2018 [22 favorites]
Why Sexual-Harassment Legislation Stalled in the Senate - Michelle Cottle, The Atlantic
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:41 AM on April 17, 2018 [25 favorites]
Unless reformers can figure out a way to get iron-fisted Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to say “MeToo,” Congress may very well miss its reform moment.When asked about that sticking point, McConnell's sent out a statement that only talked about harassment.
...
McConnell had problems with a provision that would make individual members financially responsible for harassment and discrimination settlements against them. (Currently, members can use taxpayer dollars to handle such unpleasantness.) More specifically, McConnell was said to be more-or-less OK with putting members on the hook for harassment, but discrimination liability was too much for him to swallow. And so the omnibus left the station sans a reform package.
...
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:41 AM on April 17, 2018 [25 favorites]
The composite pic of the man who threatened Stormy Daniels Via @JuddLegum
Look, to be honest, I'm shocked it's not an immediately recognizable public figure.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 8:43 AM on April 17, 2018 [86 favorites]
Look, to be honest, I'm shocked it's not an immediately recognizable public figure.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 8:43 AM on April 17, 2018 [86 favorites]
More specifically, McConnell was said to be more-or-less OK with putting members on the hook for harassment, but discrimination liability was too much for him to swallow.
The party of personal responsibility, ladies and gentlemen.
posted by Gelatin at 8:44 AM on April 17, 2018 [49 favorites]
The party of personal responsibility, ladies and gentlemen.
posted by Gelatin at 8:44 AM on April 17, 2018 [49 favorites]
At this point, given the demonstrated stupidity and arrogance of the Trump team, I figure its about 50/50 that the person was a random Trump cultist driven to an act of stochastic threats by a diet of hate radio slamming Daniels, or that it was someone actually hired by one of Trump's minions.
In a smarter administration I'd have assumed it was just a random person who took the bait that hate radio was holding out and decided that his "patriotism" required him to threaten the evil woman who was an inconvenience to Dear Leader. That's been the standard for US conservative violence for recent history. Don't hire people directly, just let hate radio do the targeting and count on that to produce a supremely deniable actor to do the actual violence.
But with Trump being both so supremely confident in his own invulnerability and so utterly incompetent I wouldn't be surprised if it came out that some Trump fixer had arranged for the threat themselves rather than trusting in FOX and the AM radio screamers to drive someone far right wing to it.
posted by sotonohito at 8:48 AM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
In a smarter administration I'd have assumed it was just a random person who took the bait that hate radio was holding out and decided that his "patriotism" required him to threaten the evil woman who was an inconvenience to Dear Leader. That's been the standard for US conservative violence for recent history. Don't hire people directly, just let hate radio do the targeting and count on that to produce a supremely deniable actor to do the actual violence.
But with Trump being both so supremely confident in his own invulnerability and so utterly incompetent I wouldn't be surprised if it came out that some Trump fixer had arranged for the threat themselves rather than trusting in FOX and the AM radio screamers to drive someone far right wing to it.
posted by sotonohito at 8:48 AM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
I should be working, damn it. I'm up to around 85% accuracy now. I added tweet text length and a couple of more "advanced" features like hashtag and URL occurrence, because Trump can't Twitter.
Those and adding a few sentiment words--"weak", "sleazy", and "disaster"--to my existing list of Trump's all-time favorites seem to have gotten me an additional twelve to fifteen percentage points.
Why do I keep doing this?
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 8:50 AM on April 17, 2018 [53 favorites]
Those and adding a few sentiment words--"weak", "sleazy", and "disaster"--to my existing list of Trump's all-time favorites seem to have gotten me an additional twelve to fifteen percentage points.
Why do I keep doing this?
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 8:50 AM on April 17, 2018 [53 favorites]
At this point, given the demonstrated stupidity and arrogance of the Trump team, I figure its about 50/50 that the person was a random Trump cultist driven to an act of stochastic threats by a diet of hate radio slamming Daniels...
It happened in 2011.
posted by chris24 at 8:51 AM on April 17, 2018 [28 favorites]
It happened in 2011.
posted by chris24 at 8:51 AM on April 17, 2018 [28 favorites]
But if Fox - or at least its worst hatemongers like Hannity - starts losing viewers, ratings, and influence, there will be CAKE
While Fox News still has the largest market share in cable news, their ratings have slid down 18% over last year and Maddow had higher ratings than Hannity in March. CNN is down 16% while MSNBC is up ~20%.
posted by gwint at 8:51 AM on April 17, 2018 [31 favorites]
While Fox News still has the largest market share in cable news, their ratings have slid down 18% over last year and Maddow had higher ratings than Hannity in March. CNN is down 16% while MSNBC is up ~20%.
posted by gwint at 8:51 AM on April 17, 2018 [31 favorites]
BREAKING: Chuck Tingle, Goddamn National Treasure, has released his latest Tingler, a timely little tale entitled NEWS COMMENTATOR SAM HANNITY POUNDED IN THE BUTT BY THE FACT THAT HE DIDN'T DISCLOSE HE HAS THE SAME LAWYER AS THE PRESIDENT.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 8:53 AM on April 17, 2018 [99 favorites]
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 8:53 AM on April 17, 2018 [99 favorites]
And all it took was the United States turning into such an angry, drunk toddler that we became, in effect, a nonentity and got the fuck out of the way. Am I reading that right?
Called it! (twice, even)
posted by jackbishop at 9:17 AM on April 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
Called it! (twice, even)
posted by jackbishop at 9:17 AM on April 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
MonkeyToes: "A question on Dent and Pa.'s 15th CD: Can anybody here comment on likelihood of a special election? Does Gov. Wolf, a Democrat, get to name a replacement? What does the timeline look like (that is, is there a law/statute/rule about special elections having to take place within a certain window w/r/t an upcoming election? Is the timing of Dent's departure important as far as naming a replacement or holding a special election?)?"
As Huffy Puffy mentioned, you can't appoint replacements for House members. You can leave a seat vacant for a period - imagine if a rep died in mid-October of an even-numbered year, it wouldn't make sense to try and cram an election in before the general. That period varies by state.
In PA's case, governor Wolf must set an election date within 10 days of the seat becoming vacant. Dent has said he'll step down in the coming weeks, so we'd probably know the date for sure in May. The election date must be at least 60 days out from the scheduling date. The suspicion is that Wolf will just schedule it to coincide with the general election in November.
In PA specials, a party cabal selects the candidate, so my guess is that the parties just choose as nominees for the special for the old PA-15 whomever ends up as the nominees for the new PA-07 (which is about a 70% overlap with old PA-15). They probably wouldn't get a lot of takers for someone to just be a rep for a couple of weeks.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:20 AM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
As Huffy Puffy mentioned, you can't appoint replacements for House members. You can leave a seat vacant for a period - imagine if a rep died in mid-October of an even-numbered year, it wouldn't make sense to try and cram an election in before the general. That period varies by state.
In PA's case, governor Wolf must set an election date within 10 days of the seat becoming vacant. Dent has said he'll step down in the coming weeks, so we'd probably know the date for sure in May. The election date must be at least 60 days out from the scheduling date. The suspicion is that Wolf will just schedule it to coincide with the general election in November.
In PA specials, a party cabal selects the candidate, so my guess is that the parties just choose as nominees for the special for the old PA-15 whomever ends up as the nominees for the new PA-07 (which is about a 70% overlap with old PA-15). They probably wouldn't get a lot of takers for someone to just be a rep for a couple of weeks.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:20 AM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
The 5-4 split in Dimaya is the result of Roberts, Kennedy and Thomas claiming that when they said that language defining a "crime of violence" was unconstitutionally vague in Johnson, a case punishing a white supremacist, they didn't mean to imply that extremely similar language in this case, which is about punishing immigrants, is also unconstitutionally vague. If it were, that would mean that immigrants might not be automatically deported. Here's a nice part of Kagan's Opinion of the Court:
In ACCA [The Johnson question], that threshold
was “serious potential risk”; in §16(b) [the Dimaya question], it is “substantial
risk.” See supra, at 2, 4. But the Government does not
argue that the latter formulation is any more determinate
than the former, and for good reason. As THE CHIEF
JUSTICE’s valiant attempt to do so shows, that would be
slicing the baloney mighty thin.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:23 AM on April 17, 2018 [34 favorites]
In ACCA [The Johnson question], that threshold
was “serious potential risk”; in §16(b) [the Dimaya question], it is “substantial
risk.” See supra, at 2, 4. But the Government does not
argue that the latter formulation is any more determinate
than the former, and for good reason. As THE CHIEF
JUSTICE’s valiant attempt to do so shows, that would be
slicing the baloney mighty thin.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:23 AM on April 17, 2018 [34 favorites]
Why do I keep doing this?
Because once you've sufficiently trained your discriminative model, you can use it to build a generative model, and then quietly when no one's looking replace Trump with that, thereby saving the Republic?
posted by biogeo at 9:24 AM on April 17, 2018 [56 favorites]
Because once you've sufficiently trained your discriminative model, you can use it to build a generative model, and then quietly when no one's looking replace Trump with that, thereby saving the Republic?
posted by biogeo at 9:24 AM on April 17, 2018 [56 favorites]
Salon: The fall of the “alt-right” came from anti-fascism
Argues against the usual narrative that far-right groups just naturally self destruct. Traces the collapse of Richard Spencer's college tours to organized anti-fascist movements.
Which makes sense - it's one thing to anonymously harass people or share dogma online, and a very different thing to actually go out and face real opposition.
posted by happyroach at 9:30 AM on April 17, 2018 [109 favorites]
Argues against the usual narrative that far-right groups just naturally self destruct. Traces the collapse of Richard Spencer's college tours to organized anti-fascist movements.
Which makes sense - it's one thing to anonymously harass people or share dogma online, and a very different thing to actually go out and face real opposition.
posted by happyroach at 9:30 AM on April 17, 2018 [109 favorites]
Does anyone have a supercut of Hannity freaking out about the Cohen investigation from before the news broke that he was a client now made all the more schadenfreude-y by that revelation? This popcorn ain't gonna eat itself.
posted by ckape at 9:47 AM on April 17, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by ckape at 9:47 AM on April 17, 2018 [10 favorites]
Greitens Watch: Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley says he believes there’s enough evidence to bring a criminal charge and pursue impeachment of Gov. Eric Greitens for allegedly using a charity donor list for political purposes.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:51 AM on April 17, 2018 [34 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 9:51 AM on April 17, 2018 [34 favorites]
Any chance of Greitens being criminally charged after impeachment and conviction? If so, can he pardon himself first?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:53 AM on April 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:53 AM on April 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
Missouri’s chaotic, contentious Senate race, explained - Ella Nilsen, Vox
Sen. Claire McCaskill is facing an extremely tough election in 2018.posted by ZeusHumms at 9:56 AM on April 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
The Missouri senator is considered the most embattled Democrat incumbent facing reelection in 2018; she’s near or at the top of nearly every list of toughest Senate races. A Democrat in an increasingly red state, McCaskill has survived the past two cycles in 2006 and 2012 with nothing short of political jiujitsu.
“It’s going to be a squeaker in my view,” said Adrianne Marsh, McCaskill’s campaign manager in 2012 and her communications director in 2006. “The dynamics, they’re tough.”
Missouri voted for Trump by nearly 20 points in 2016, and McCaskill needs to peel off some of those Trump voters to hang on to her Senate seat. Her challenger will likely be the state’s 38-year-old attorney general, Josh Hawley, the current frontrunner in the Republican primary. At the same time, McCaskill is struggling to hang on to her Democratic base, particularly black voters.
But Hawley also has a problem: Missouri’s scandal-ridden Republican Gov. Eric Greitens. ...
Come on Hawley. Despite Greitens' blackmailing of the victim of his brutalization and sexual assault, it's the donor list, at this late date, that gives grounds for impeachment?!? I mean, sure, add on whatever else you find in the closet, but we all know this situation did not become a situation because of any donor list.
As someone raised and educated in Missouri--and long gone due to this pervasive level of shit--they're now going to have to Show-Me that they have and know the words me and too in Kansas City, in Jefferson City, in the Bootheel, in St. Louis, the Ozarks, Cape Girardeau, Kirksville. A lot of other words too.
posted by riverlife at 10:12 AM on April 17, 2018 [21 favorites]
As someone raised and educated in Missouri--and long gone due to this pervasive level of shit--they're now going to have to Show-Me that they have and know the words me and too in Kansas City, in Jefferson City, in the Bootheel, in St. Louis, the Ozarks, Cape Girardeau, Kirksville. A lot of other words too.
posted by riverlife at 10:12 AM on April 17, 2018 [21 favorites]
Does anyone have a supercut of Hannity freaking out about the Cohen investigation...
There's this supercut of Hannity defending Cohen after the raid from Mother Jones including a lol-worthy Gorka cameo.
posted by peeedro at 10:18 AM on April 17, 2018 [15 favorites]
There's this supercut of Hannity defending Cohen after the raid from Mother Jones including a lol-worthy Gorka cameo.
posted by peeedro at 10:18 AM on April 17, 2018 [15 favorites]
Here's another cut of Hannity freaking out from The Daily Show. The cut itself starts at 2:00 but Noah's lead-up from the beginning is fun to watch.
posted by mochapickle at 10:26 AM on April 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 10:26 AM on April 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
I'm about 80% sure that composite sketch is Scaramucci.
posted by hanov3r at 10:29 AM on April 17, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by hanov3r at 10:29 AM on April 17, 2018 [15 favorites]
I just realized, that time when Comey got an Instagram and posted that vagueblog bible quote about justice was probably precisely the point when his book deal was finalized and he got a publicist. I don't know if there's any significance to that. Just puts that in context.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 10:44 AM on April 17, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 10:44 AM on April 17, 2018 [7 favorites]
Seriously, I'm shocked that we haven't gotten a tweet yet from Trump taking credit for "ending the Korean War" by forcing Little Rocket Man to back down with his tough talk. Seems like something his base would uncritically eat up.
posted by Rykey at 10:46 AM on April 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Rykey at 10:46 AM on April 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
I was chuckling about Hannity's rants about the search warrant and raids on Michael Cohen, because it's such a blatant case of privileged whining, 'rich white people like us aren't supposed to get investigated like this!' Then it turns out Hannity was one of Cohen's three clients. Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee! What turns up in the seized documents is probably going to be fun.
posted by nangar at 10:56 AM on April 17, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by nangar at 10:56 AM on April 17, 2018 [26 favorites]
As I've been saying over and over, alt-right's current decline is DIRECTLY related to the work of antifascist organizers. And by "work" I mean, tons of really fucking hard, dangerous, thankless work entirely in their spare time apart from the jobs they hold to actually survive.
I think we often fall into the trap of thinking that because the alt-right is largely made up of online trolls, it must mean that they somehow feed on people pushing back at them. While this may be true on the internet, where they are protected by anonymity and the illusion of being part of a vast army of Extreme Bad-Asses, in real life they are mostly sad, insecure, maladjusted little men for whom fears of social interaction and physical confrontation are the driving motivators of both their outward prejudices and their internal self-loathing.
And while the egotistic leaders of their movement (Richard Spencer, Milo, etc.) might be energized by fomenting protest and being shouted down by an angry crowd, the mass majority of the rank-and-file are so terrified of being outnumbered and drawn into a fight that they are easily cowed by strong opposition, even of the non-violent variety.
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:57 AM on April 17, 2018 [22 favorites]
I think we often fall into the trap of thinking that because the alt-right is largely made up of online trolls, it must mean that they somehow feed on people pushing back at them. While this may be true on the internet, where they are protected by anonymity and the illusion of being part of a vast army of Extreme Bad-Asses, in real life they are mostly sad, insecure, maladjusted little men for whom fears of social interaction and physical confrontation are the driving motivators of both their outward prejudices and their internal self-loathing.
And while the egotistic leaders of their movement (Richard Spencer, Milo, etc.) might be energized by fomenting protest and being shouted down by an angry crowd, the mass majority of the rank-and-file are so terrified of being outnumbered and drawn into a fight that they are easily cowed by strong opposition, even of the non-violent variety.
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:57 AM on April 17, 2018 [22 favorites]
rc3spencer: Comey on Fresh Air now.
Is Comey Risking Anything By Speaking Out About Trump Administration? (NPR, April 16, 2018)
In short, Comey's book and book tour looks like a cash-grab and desire for attention, to re-cast himself as an uwitting pawn, not an intentional actor in getting Trump elected. Which is dumb, but seems in line with his dumb actions before the election, which did make him look like he was trying to smear Hillary, which would then result in Trump winning the election.
Yeah, so it's probably sexism.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:03 AM on April 17, 2018 [35 favorites]
Is Comey Risking Anything By Speaking Out About Trump Administration? (NPR, April 16, 2018)
AILSA CHANG, HOST: ... Comey has a lot more interviews lined up this week, including with NPR. Comey is also a witness in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. So I wondered, what risks does Comey face by speaking out so publicly before the probe is over? We're going to put that question to someone who knows this sensitive territory all too well. John Dean was White House counsel for Richard Nixon, and his testimony at the Watergate hearings helped bring down the Nixon administration. But he turned down book deals and media appearances until the investigation was over. John Dean, welcome to the program.I think Dean lacks imagination, and possibly he's being quiet about his thoughts on the role Comey played in the 2016 election (or doesn't believe Comey played a significant role in getting Trump elected, intentionally or not). I think Comey is trying to set his own narrative, both through the book and through his book-related interviews. And there I agree with Dean that doing interviews is a bad idea. The book is a scripted thing, and one could write a book and ensure a certain story is told, complete with wordsmithing. And then you could stand back and let other people pick apart the book, with 3rd parties coming in to offer their perspective, but keeping yours intact. On the other hand, interviews open you up to "mis-statements" that could get you in trouble.
JOHN DEAN: Thank you.
CHANG: So why wait? When you were in Comey's position in 1973, why did you decide to wait until it was all over before telling your story?
DEAN: It wasn't that it wasn't tempting because I had offers dangled in front of me.
CHANG: I'm sure.
DEAN: That - as soon as I broke rank with the White House and left, there were offers. But I had long conversations with my criminal defense lawyer. And he said John - he said they're going to - inevitably, if you do a book, they're going to cross-examine you on everything in the book. They will - you'll, you know, book tour, make statements that may be slightly inconsistent, which they will make it seem greatly inconsistent. So he said, I'm just telling you you'd be smart not to do it. I thought that was good advice, and so I followed it. I didn't do a book. I didn't do interviews. I didn't do anything. In fact, I didn't even talk to the defense lawyers on the other side at my lawyer's advice.
...
CHANG: Do you see any upsides to having someone as integral to the investigation as Jim Comey beating the drum out there?
DEAN: I really don't.
(LAUGHTER)
DEAN: Other than the fact his family will get some money for the book - it's the only upside I can see.
In short, Comey's book and book tour looks like a cash-grab and desire for attention, to re-cast himself as an uwitting pawn, not an intentional actor in getting Trump elected. Which is dumb, but seems in line with his dumb actions before the election, which did make him look like he was trying to smear Hillary, which would then result in Trump winning the election.
Yeah, so it's probably sexism.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:03 AM on April 17, 2018 [35 favorites]
The big difference with John Dean of course is that everyone knew he had committed crimes. Comey violated DOJ policy but it’s very unlikely he did anything illegal. So any inconsistencies will only affect his value as a witness, not put him in jail. And he’s getting rich.
posted by msalt at 11:08 AM on April 17, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by msalt at 11:08 AM on April 17, 2018 [13 favorites]
the rank-and-file are so terrified of being outnumbered and drawn into a fight that they are easily cowed by strong opposition, even of the non-violent variety.
Yes, that’s why the alt-right hiding within the necrotic folds of /pol/ make heroes of violent sociopaths like based stickman.
posted by valkane at 11:09 AM on April 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
Yes, that’s why the alt-right hiding within the necrotic folds of /pol/ make heroes of violent sociopaths like based stickman.
posted by valkane at 11:09 AM on April 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
Yeah, so it's probably sexism.
Agreed. And Gross takes him to task on air a couple times. Pointing out to him that the uncomfortableness he felt interacting with transactional Trump is how women feel ALL THE TIME.
Also playing for him Clinton's interview comments on him, asking why broadcasting the sudden Weiner laptop investigation is fair when NOT broadcasting the ongoing(as of July 2016) Russia/Trump investigation.
posted by rc3spencer at 11:10 AM on April 17, 2018 [27 favorites]
Agreed. And Gross takes him to task on air a couple times. Pointing out to him that the uncomfortableness he felt interacting with transactional Trump is how women feel ALL THE TIME.
Also playing for him Clinton's interview comments on him, asking why broadcasting the sudden Weiner laptop investigation is fair when NOT broadcasting the ongoing(as of July 2016) Russia/Trump investigation.
posted by rc3spencer at 11:10 AM on April 17, 2018 [27 favorites]
Well Eric Greitens has made a statement.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 11:24 AM on April 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 11:24 AM on April 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
It has now been 0 days since an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.
posted by jaduncan at 11:26 AM on April 17, 2018 [57 favorites]
posted by jaduncan at 11:26 AM on April 17, 2018 [57 favorites]
In PA, the Governor sets a special election, which is what Wolf has done. No date yet, but my guess is late June.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 11:28 AM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 11:28 AM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
You mean a special election date in late June? I think that's very unlikely. Wolf has ten days from whenever Dent actually resigns, which is supposedly a couple of weeks from now. But even if he resigned today, and Wolf set a date today, the election itself has to be at least 60 days out.
From all indication, there's little appetite for the additional expense of a separate special, particularly given the district will be going away with the seating of the new Congress.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:33 AM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
From all indication, there's little appetite for the additional expense of a separate special, particularly given the district will be going away with the seating of the new Congress.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:33 AM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
Oh, I assumed Dent was gone already, but yeah, 60 days from whenever
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 11:39 AM on April 17, 2018
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 11:39 AM on April 17, 2018
Because once you've sufficiently trained your discriminative model, you can use it to build a generative model, and then quietly when no one's looking replace Trump with that, thereby saving the Republic?
I'm envisioning a cyberpunk Man in theIron Silicon Mask where Trump is replaced by an android while his consciousness is trapped forever in a phone without a SIM card.
posted by Behemoth at 11:42 AM on April 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
I'm envisioning a cyberpunk Man in the
posted by Behemoth at 11:42 AM on April 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
@GeoffRBennett: NEWS: Why did Trump block additional Russia sanctions after Nikki Haley announced them? Larry Kudlow -- Trump's top economic adviser -- says Haley's "momentary confusion" is to blame. Adds "Steve Mnuchin in Treasury will tell you the same thing. They're in charge of that."
Most administrations go to great lengths to avoid identifying their policymaking process on one of the most important issues of our time as 'confusion,' but here it's just what you say to avoid the question of whether the President is compromised. Between this and the Haley/Pence advisor situation, it's open war with Haley.
posted by zachlipton at 11:51 AM on April 17, 2018 [27 favorites]
Most administrations go to great lengths to avoid identifying their policymaking process on one of the most important issues of our time as 'confusion,' but here it's just what you say to avoid the question of whether the President is compromised. Between this and the Haley/Pence advisor situation, it's open war with Haley.
posted by zachlipton at 11:51 AM on April 17, 2018 [27 favorites]
And honestly, the only reason the Nazis are as much of a factor as they are, is they have free platforms on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and the Chans. They only thrive where they're allowed to do so.
posted by happyroach at 11:54 AM on April 17, 2018 [46 favorites]
posted by happyroach at 11:54 AM on April 17, 2018 [46 favorites]
I have a wild theory about Comey. Announcing the reopening of the investigation into her email server was supposed to be his way of positioning himself as her chief critic in her new administration. He may have even been thinking he would essentially lead the legitimate Republican opposition to her presidency, once that other guy was consigned back to Twitter. His eventual book on leadership would have featured Hillary as the counterpoint to the first two examples of ethical presidential behavior. He'd try to paint himself as a moderate Republican, uniter of the country that Hillary had torn apart, when he ran against her in 2020.
posted by Soliloquy at 11:55 AM on April 17, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by Soliloquy at 11:55 AM on April 17, 2018 [19 favorites]
A leader in the anti-abortion movement who writes for the Dallas Morning-News has become a white nationalist since Trump's election
Hatten wrote in late 2016 that she found Trump to be so “creepy, gross and tacky” and such a “repugnant chauvinist” during his campaign that she quit the internet for a while to avoid reading about him. But after he won, something changed. Hatten began sharing white supremacist content on social media. She self-identified on Twitter as alt-right and “ethnonationalist” ― the same term used by white nationalist icon Richard Spencer. She mused on Facebook that immigrant “invaders” are replacing white Europeans in their own countries, and shared a post imploring Trump to grant “asylum” to white South Africans.posted by Atom Eyes at 12:03 PM on April 17, 2018 [28 favorites]
BREAKING NEWS: Gorsuch... did a good thing!
He's also not terrible at hiring diverse law clerks.
posted by zakur at 12:03 PM on April 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
He's also not terrible at hiring diverse law clerks.
posted by zakur at 12:03 PM on April 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
ClickHole which is apparently now a Kinja joint: Step Right Up And Feast Your Eyes On The Unfathomable Comey, The Man Who Is Both Good And Bad! The Beautiful Monster Who Makes Resisters’ Minds Spin! Betrayer Of Hillary! Enemy Of Trump! Behold This Freak Of Nature!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:08 PM on April 17, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:08 PM on April 17, 2018 [10 favorites]
Larry Kudlow -- Trump's top economic adviser -- says Haley's "momentary confusion" is to blame
Talk about misogyny. "Nikki honey, don't worry your pretty little addled head about this. Let the men straighten this out."
posted by duoshao at 12:10 PM on April 17, 2018 [24 favorites]
Talk about misogyny. "Nikki honey, don't worry your pretty little addled head about this. Let the men straighten this out."
posted by duoshao at 12:10 PM on April 17, 2018 [24 favorites]
Kristen Walker Hatten says the quiet part loud. The One True Sin.
posted by Yowser at 12:10 PM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Yowser at 12:10 PM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
That article on the Hatten person is worth reading if only to learn about the connections between "pro-life" people and the white nationalism that might not be known to people outside those groups.
posted by emjaybee at 12:15 PM on April 17, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by emjaybee at 12:15 PM on April 17, 2018 [14 favorites]
re: Hatten.
It's not really that far from anti-women's choice to racist. Both want to control all 'others', whether women or non-'whites'.
posted by rc3spencer at 12:16 PM on April 17, 2018 [17 favorites]
It's not really that far from anti-women's choice to racist. Both want to control all 'others', whether women or non-'whites'.
posted by rc3spencer at 12:16 PM on April 17, 2018 [17 favorites]
I never thought about the anti-abortion / fourteen words overlap, but ... yeah.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:18 PM on April 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by uncleozzy at 12:18 PM on April 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
BREAKING NEWS: Gorsuch... did a good thing!
Don't get caught up looking at the lone tree of a pro-immigrant decision in your face, and miss the expanding forest of insanely right-wing judicial doctrine that would wipe out literally the entire modern federal regulatory state: Neil Gorsuch voted with the liberal justices, but his opinion should chill you to the bone
Don't get caught up looking at the lone tree of a pro-immigrant decision in your face, and miss the expanding forest of insanely right-wing judicial doctrine that would wipe out literally the entire modern federal regulatory state: Neil Gorsuch voted with the liberal justices, but his opinion should chill you to the bone
Gorsuch’s opinion in Dimaya, in other words, should not give even a moment of comfort to liberals. If anything, it should chill anyone who believes that a modern society must have robust labor and environmental regulation. Mr. Gorsuch does not outright endorse Thomas’ view of agency regulation, but Gorsuch’s opinion in Dimaya is another data point suggesting that he and Thomas have similar views on this subject. Gorsuch just chose to express his broader anti-regulatory view in a decision involving an immigrant.posted by T.D. Strange at 12:20 PM on April 17, 2018 [25 favorites]
...
But Gorsuch’s decision to vote with the liberals in Dimaya should not be read as a sign that he is more moderate than the consensus view suggested when Gorsuch was nominated for his current job. Indeed, if anything, Gorsuch’s opinion in Dimaya suggests that he is quite conservative indeed. He’s just willing to sweep a handful of immigrants and criminal defendants within a broader framework designed to hobble government.
>>Yes, that’s why the alt-right hiding within the necrotic folds of /pol/ make heroes of violent sociopaths like based stickman.
Ditto Mike Cernovich, the steroidal weight-lifter alpha-male. It's a bunch of vicious losers waiting for macho messiah to arrive and save them, which is why the cuckhold fetish is the most distinctive part of their ideology. They want a strong white cuckholder to save them from the scary black cuckholders they think are emasculating them now. Race is a huge part of the cuckhold fetish.
>None of these Nazis are in it "for the protests". They actually hate them, because it makes it more expensive and more risky to speak anywhere.
Don't get too comfortable. There are definitely vicious, street-brawling neo-Nazis eager to fight, as Charlottesville demonstrated. Michael Tubbs of the League of the South, for example, an ex-GI convicted of stealing M-16s from the Army and building a massive arsenal of explosives and weapons for a race war -- since released, he led much of the street fighting in Charlottesville.
Or Matt Heimbach, who was leader of the mysteriously-well-funded Traditionalist Workers Party and led many street brawls until his recent arrest for wife-beating in an incident where he was caught literally cuckholding his father-in-law and co-TWP leader Matt Parrott.
posted by msalt at 12:24 PM on April 17, 2018 [16 favorites]
Ditto Mike Cernovich, the steroidal weight-lifter alpha-male. It's a bunch of vicious losers waiting for macho messiah to arrive and save them, which is why the cuckhold fetish is the most distinctive part of their ideology. They want a strong white cuckholder to save them from the scary black cuckholders they think are emasculating them now. Race is a huge part of the cuckhold fetish.
>None of these Nazis are in it "for the protests". They actually hate them, because it makes it more expensive and more risky to speak anywhere.
Don't get too comfortable. There are definitely vicious, street-brawling neo-Nazis eager to fight, as Charlottesville demonstrated. Michael Tubbs of the League of the South, for example, an ex-GI convicted of stealing M-16s from the Army and building a massive arsenal of explosives and weapons for a race war -- since released, he led much of the street fighting in Charlottesville.
Or Matt Heimbach, who was leader of the mysteriously-well-funded Traditionalist Workers Party and led many street brawls until his recent arrest for wife-beating in an incident where he was caught literally cuckholding his father-in-law and co-TWP leader Matt Parrott.
posted by msalt at 12:24 PM on April 17, 2018 [16 favorites]
[Borodin] had also investigated political scandals, including allegations made by a Belarusian escort known as Nastya Rybka in a video posted by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Meanwhile, Nastya Rybka, a.k.a. Anastasia Vashukevich, briefly appeared at a closed legal hearing yesterday: Sex Worker Who Claims Dirt on Russian Oligarch Appears in Court (CBS):
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:25 PM on April 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
Meanwhile, Nastya Rybka, a.k.a. Anastasia Vashukevich, briefly appeared at a closed legal hearing yesterday: Sex Worker Who Claims Dirt on Russian Oligarch Appears in Court (CBS):
A Russian sex guru and his followers, one of whom claims to have evidence of Moscow's interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, emerged briefly on Tuesday for a Thai court hearing after being held virtually incommunicado in an immigration jail. The group's leader, Alexander Kirillov, and the woman making the election claims, Anastasia Vashukevich, were among about half a dozen people taken to a court in the resort town of Pattaya, where they were arrested Feb. 25 while holding a sex training course.Their earlier claims to fear for their personal safety hardly seem paranoid in the context of Putin's penchant for assassination.
The two were able to briefly shout back answers to reporters' questions as they arrived Tuesday at the court in Pattaya.
"Asked what he wished to tell the U.S., Kirillov responded in English: "Help us. Help us any way because we don't know what is happening."
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:25 PM on April 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
the connections between "pro-life" people and white nationalism
I'm surprised that more people aren't aware of the fundamentally white supremacist background of anti-abortion campaigning? That was one of the big arguments used back in the 1870's, in the first wave of anti-abortion hysteria; that "inferior" immigrants would outbreed the sturdy Anglo-Saxon colonial stock. The same thing is very much an undercurrent of anti-abortionism in the US today (if anything moreso, considering the demographic shifts of the past 40-odd years).
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 12:29 PM on April 17, 2018 [33 favorites]
I'm surprised that more people aren't aware of the fundamentally white supremacist background of anti-abortion campaigning? That was one of the big arguments used back in the 1870's, in the first wave of anti-abortion hysteria; that "inferior" immigrants would outbreed the sturdy Anglo-Saxon colonial stock. The same thing is very much an undercurrent of anti-abortionism in the US today (if anything moreso, considering the demographic shifts of the past 40-odd years).
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 12:29 PM on April 17, 2018 [33 favorites]
That article on the Hatten person is worth reading ... because it is fucking nuts! She is or inhabits a nexus of misogyny, the alt-right, confused thinking, racism, and casual violence. Holy cow!
posted by Horkus at 12:30 PM on April 17, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Horkus at 12:30 PM on April 17, 2018 [7 favorites]
I have a wild theory about Comey. Announcing the reopening of the investigation into her email server was supposed to be his way of positioning himself as her chief critic in her new administration ... He'd try to paint himself as a moderate Republican, uniter of the country that Hillary had torn apart, when he ran against her in 2020.
On the most recent episode of Pod Save America, the hosts discuss something similar to this idea, but they frame it more as a character flaw and do not ascribe any explicit political intent. Essentially they say that Comey seems to confuse the appearance of ethical behavior with ethical behavior itself. Acting under the belief that Clinton would win the election, this was what looked like ethical behavior to him.
To add my own thoughts to that interpretation: I suppose it's possible that Comey was so intent on trying to remove personal motivations from decision-making that he failed to ask himself, "What is the ethical thing for me to do?" Instead he asked, "What does an ethical outcome look like?"
This is perhaps a charitable interpretation of Comey's actions based on my own tendency to ascribe benign motives. The most solid evidence I can point to is Comey's apparent reluctance to examine or re-evaluate (at least in public/on the record) his own actions during the 2016 campaign. But that can be read any number of ways depending on your point of view.
posted by compartment at 12:31 PM on April 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
On the most recent episode of Pod Save America, the hosts discuss something similar to this idea, but they frame it more as a character flaw and do not ascribe any explicit political intent. Essentially they say that Comey seems to confuse the appearance of ethical behavior with ethical behavior itself. Acting under the belief that Clinton would win the election, this was what looked like ethical behavior to him.
To add my own thoughts to that interpretation: I suppose it's possible that Comey was so intent on trying to remove personal motivations from decision-making that he failed to ask himself, "What is the ethical thing for me to do?" Instead he asked, "What does an ethical outcome look like?"
This is perhaps a charitable interpretation of Comey's actions based on my own tendency to ascribe benign motives. The most solid evidence I can point to is Comey's apparent reluctance to examine or re-evaluate (at least in public/on the record) his own actions during the 2016 campaign. But that can be read any number of ways depending on your point of view.
posted by compartment at 12:31 PM on April 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
WaPo on the Saul Goodman defense: "The way I see it, someone is going to prison," Goodman tells his new clients. "It’s just a matter of who."
posted by the return of the thin white sock at 12:33 PM on April 17, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by the return of the thin white sock at 12:33 PM on April 17, 2018 [7 favorites]
Thing is, Comey had an ethical out, even under the false belief that he was somehow obligated to disclose the Clinton email investigation 10 days before the election.
He knew that the Trump / Russia connection was under FBI investigation, and he knew that there were incorrect media reports that such an investigation did not exist.
He could have written a letter simply "Correcting the facts regarding two major party candidates" which correctly stated that a) Anthony Weiner got emails from his wife so the FBI is reading them, and b) The FBI is investigating the connection between the Trump campaign and Russia, contrary to prior media reports.
That was the ethical thing to do. I'm not going to entertain backflips to recast his partisan attack as some moral principle.
posted by 0xFCAF at 12:38 PM on April 17, 2018 [42 favorites]
He knew that the Trump / Russia connection was under FBI investigation, and he knew that there were incorrect media reports that such an investigation did not exist.
He could have written a letter simply "Correcting the facts regarding two major party candidates" which correctly stated that a) Anthony Weiner got emails from his wife so the FBI is reading them, and b) The FBI is investigating the connection between the Trump campaign and Russia, contrary to prior media reports.
That was the ethical thing to do. I'm not going to entertain backflips to recast his partisan attack as some moral principle.
posted by 0xFCAF at 12:38 PM on April 17, 2018 [42 favorites]
Here's some fresh fuckery:
Politico: GOP maneuver could roll back decades of regulation
It's a novel (read: warped) use of the Congressional Review Act, which ordinarily allows Congress to overturn regulations within 60 "legislative days" of them being issued. That deadline officially starts running when the rule is formally "reported" to Congress or appears in the Federal Register. The Senate is now taking the view that if an agency neglects to file that report, and the rule doesn't have to appear in the Register, then the 60-day deadline never starts to run, and the CRA can be used to throw out, e.g., everything the CFPB has ever done, without a filibuster.
Koch-aligned anti-regulatory groups were pushing this interpretation back in the transition, but it got no traction at the time -- the CRA was only used within that 60-legislative-day window. Apparently Pat Toomey never gave up on the idea and has found enough support for a floor vote.
CRA resolutions are exempt from the filibuster but can be vetoed, so they only work when one party controls both chambers of Congress and the White House. Until now, that plus the short deadline has meant it only gets used at presidential transitions, against recently issued rules. If this interpretation becomes the norm it would allow "claw-backs" of rules from decades ago. Not good.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:39 PM on April 17, 2018 [40 favorites]
Politico: GOP maneuver could roll back decades of regulation
It's a novel (read: warped) use of the Congressional Review Act, which ordinarily allows Congress to overturn regulations within 60 "legislative days" of them being issued. That deadline officially starts running when the rule is formally "reported" to Congress or appears in the Federal Register. The Senate is now taking the view that if an agency neglects to file that report, and the rule doesn't have to appear in the Register, then the 60-day deadline never starts to run, and the CRA can be used to throw out, e.g., everything the CFPB has ever done, without a filibuster.
Koch-aligned anti-regulatory groups were pushing this interpretation back in the transition, but it got no traction at the time -- the CRA was only used within that 60-legislative-day window. Apparently Pat Toomey never gave up on the idea and has found enough support for a floor vote.
CRA resolutions are exempt from the filibuster but can be vetoed, so they only work when one party controls both chambers of Congress and the White House. Until now, that plus the short deadline has meant it only gets used at presidential transitions, against recently issued rules. If this interpretation becomes the norm it would allow "claw-backs" of rules from decades ago. Not good.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:39 PM on April 17, 2018 [40 favorites]
Comey's reasoning for not disclosing the Trump investigation is that the Clinton investigation was part of a publicly known investigation, while the Trump investigation was not. Disclosing it publicly could have, according to him, hurt the investigation.
posted by runcibleshaw at 12:40 PM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 12:40 PM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
He could have written a letter simply "Correcting the facts regarding two major party candidates" which correctly stated that a) Anthony Weiner got emails from his wife so the FBI is reading them
The best reason to never bring up Comey's name again is that it inevitably leads to seeing/hearing Anthony Weiner's name again.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:41 PM on April 17, 2018 [9 favorites]
The best reason to never bring up Comey's name again is that it inevitably leads to seeing/hearing Anthony Weiner's name again.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:41 PM on April 17, 2018 [9 favorites]
Any charitable reading of Comey's October actions is over shadowed by his grossly inappropriate partisan attacks in the July statement, which was inexcusable.
I don't understand why liberal podcast hosts and commentators keep treating Comey like he was acting in good faith. He wasn't. At best he broke every DOJ guideline because he couldn't control leaks from his own agency. At worst he actively wanted to sink Clinton's presidency, and instead ended up sinking her campaign before he got the chance to bring her down as President.
And either way he's now making millions pimping his historic fuckup and masquerading as the third way hero America needs.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:45 PM on April 17, 2018 [31 favorites]
I don't understand why liberal podcast hosts and commentators keep treating Comey like he was acting in good faith. He wasn't. At best he broke every DOJ guideline because he couldn't control leaks from his own agency. At worst he actively wanted to sink Clinton's presidency, and instead ended up sinking her campaign before he got the chance to bring her down as President.
And either way he's now making millions pimping his historic fuckup and masquerading as the third way hero America needs.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:45 PM on April 17, 2018 [31 favorites]
I have a thing I need to vent about.
In the Stephenopoulos interview, Comey went to great lengths to defend having drafted the summer closure of the Clinton investigation, even before she testified. He explained thoroughly that the vast majority of the investigation had turned up nada, and their overwhelming expectation was that her testimony would be consistent with those findings, and so they drafted text already. When it turned out to be so, and she failed to be crooked in testimony, case closed. Fin.
But when The Laptop turned up backups later, that approach and logic flew the fuck out the window.
Comey explained that had Clinton been elected, it would have been a travesty to have re-opened an investigation before the election but said nothing, so of course he had to notify Congress. What he implied was: it would have been a failure to have re-opened an investigation that turned out to reveal criminal behavior without saying so. He let the public fill in the Crooked, jail her! part.
But he failed to address the other, and by HIS OWN STATED APPROACH, MUCH MORE LIKELY explanation. That the overwhelmingly likely outcome of the laptop would be consistent with all of the other evidence gathered thus far: nothingburger. Risotto recipes. Regular boring work email. Kind social gestures. Let's fill in the end of the sentence again: it would have been a failure? to re-open an investigation that ... turned up nothing?
It's that internal inconsistency that kills me. They knew very well from terabytes of evidence, by the time Clinton testified about Her Emails, that it was all a nothingburger. That likelihood of prior expectations cannot have changed with the laptop. They knew the laptop was overwhelmingly likely to be nothing new or inconsistent with so many terabytes of evidence already in hand. They could see, at least on first glance, that it really was nothing.
But Comey abandoned the coolheaded guided-by-the-evidence approach, in favor of drama before the election. That's where the Fake News thing really started, for me. I get that the President* just flat out makes shit up and hope it's true. But the FBI .... made shit up and hoped it would be supported by evidence later, when they damn well knew it was extremely unlikely.
And that's leaving the utter neglect of the Trump investigation -- which, in contrast, had to have terabytes of this looks baaaaaad, they already had the Steele dossier, alone.
posted by Dashy at 12:49 PM on April 17, 2018 [54 favorites]
In the Stephenopoulos interview, Comey went to great lengths to defend having drafted the summer closure of the Clinton investigation, even before she testified. He explained thoroughly that the vast majority of the investigation had turned up nada, and their overwhelming expectation was that her testimony would be consistent with those findings, and so they drafted text already. When it turned out to be so, and she failed to be crooked in testimony, case closed. Fin.
But when The Laptop turned up backups later, that approach and logic flew the fuck out the window.
Comey explained that had Clinton been elected, it would have been a travesty to have re-opened an investigation before the election but said nothing, so of course he had to notify Congress. What he implied was: it would have been a failure to have re-opened an investigation that turned out to reveal criminal behavior without saying so. He let the public fill in the Crooked, jail her! part.
But he failed to address the other, and by HIS OWN STATED APPROACH, MUCH MORE LIKELY explanation. That the overwhelmingly likely outcome of the laptop would be consistent with all of the other evidence gathered thus far: nothingburger. Risotto recipes. Regular boring work email. Kind social gestures. Let's fill in the end of the sentence again: it would have been a failure? to re-open an investigation that ... turned up nothing?
It's that internal inconsistency that kills me. They knew very well from terabytes of evidence, by the time Clinton testified about Her Emails, that it was all a nothingburger. That likelihood of prior expectations cannot have changed with the laptop. They knew the laptop was overwhelmingly likely to be nothing new or inconsistent with so many terabytes of evidence already in hand. They could see, at least on first glance, that it really was nothing.
But Comey abandoned the coolheaded guided-by-the-evidence approach, in favor of drama before the election. That's where the Fake News thing really started, for me. I get that the President* just flat out makes shit up and hope it's true. But the FBI .... made shit up and hoped it would be supported by evidence later, when they damn well knew it was extremely unlikely.
And that's leaving the utter neglect of the Trump investigation -- which, in contrast, had to have terabytes of this looks baaaaaad, they already had the Steele dossier, alone.
posted by Dashy at 12:49 PM on April 17, 2018 [54 favorites]
Several House Republicans endorse bill to protect Mueller
Oh, that would be a source of some extra-delicious schadenfreude, if enough Republicans who're on their way out the door because they know they're fucked in November sign onto a bill to protect Mueller from being fired in the interim.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 12:53 PM on April 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
Oh, that would be a source of some extra-delicious schadenfreude, if enough Republicans who're on their way out the door because they know they're fucked in November sign onto a bill to protect Mueller from being fired in the interim.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 12:53 PM on April 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
Why American Pragmatists Saved Postwar Europe is a NYTimes book review by history professor Timothy Naftali. More importantly, the book that I now want to read, is by Benn Steil, and about the Marshall Plan, maybe the most successful US foreign policy strategy ever.
I don't imagine a scholarly work will convince the current US administration or anyone else. But I'll read it and use it to remind my students and children of that effort of the Great Generation.
posted by mumimor at 12:54 PM on April 17, 2018 [18 favorites]
Behind this American pragmatism — which would ultimately translate into $14.3 billion of assistance between 1948 and 1952 (approximately $130 billion in 2017) — was neither philanthropy nor dreams of hegemony. Secretary of State George Marshall and the powerful thinkers at the department of that era — Will Clayton, George Kennan and Charles “Chip” Bohlen in addition to Acheson — were looking for a way to stabilize the continent without long-term American economic and security commitments. Although anticommunism and the Keynesian approach to capitalism animated the effort, the Marshall Plan was nonetheless not some clever attempt to sell American surpluses to broken economies. As Steil notes, to help Western Europeans get back on their feet the Truman administration “orchestrated a shift in policy at home away from protectionism and toward encouragement of imports.”Convincing voters that foreign aid and international cooperation will lead to good outcomes for the nation and its population is really hard. But it is worth it in the long run. The Marshall Plan is not the only example — the German reunification after 1989 is another, though many wouldn't see it as such, and the EU expansion shortly after that was too. The latter examples aren't all rosy, but neither was post-war Europe. Baader-Meinhof, anyone?
The Marshall Plan was successful, though, as Steil, the senior fellow and director of international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations, demonstrates, American intervention in postwar Europe did not quite work out as expected. While the Marshall Plan helped restart Europe’s economy, it did not provide a glide path for the United States to avoid a long-term security entanglement.
I don't imagine a scholarly work will convince the current US administration or anyone else. But I'll read it and use it to remind my students and children of that effort of the Great Generation.
posted by mumimor at 12:54 PM on April 17, 2018 [18 favorites]
That was the ethical thing to do. I'm not going to entertain backflips to recast his partisan attack as some moral principle.
I suppose I could have worded my comment more clearly. That's not what I was trying to do and not what I was trying to describe. I think it's an obvious moral failure if Comey was more concerned about the appearance of ethics than with actual ethics.
posted by compartment at 1:07 PM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
I suppose I could have worded my comment more clearly. That's not what I was trying to do and not what I was trying to describe. I think it's an obvious moral failure if Comey was more concerned about the appearance of ethics than with actual ethics.
posted by compartment at 1:07 PM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
the connections between "pro-life" people and white nationalism
I'm sure a lot of this runs through Evangelical Christianity and good-ol'-fashioned American authoritarianism.
posted by Kitty Stardust at 1:08 PM on April 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
I'm sure a lot of this runs through Evangelical Christianity and good-ol'-fashioned American authoritarianism.
posted by Kitty Stardust at 1:08 PM on April 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
It's that internal inconsistency that kills me. They knew very well from terabytes of evidence, by the time Clinton testified about Her Emails, that it was all a nothingburger.
That's not quite correct. The laptop contained emails from the very beginning of the private-server setup (and just before), which could have spoken to her intent in setting it all up and the extent to which she was aware that this setup was improper. Up until then, they thought she had acted sloppily, but not maliciously; if they had uncovered emails from that early period that betrayed a more malign intent (or a more serious disclosure of classified information) that would have changed the case. From the interview:
That's not quite correct. The laptop contained emails from the very beginning of the private-server setup (and just before), which could have spoken to her intent in setting it all up and the extent to which she was aware that this setup was improper. Up until then, they thought she had acted sloppily, but not maliciously; if they had uncovered emails from that early period that betrayed a more malign intent (or a more serious disclosure of classified information) that would have changed the case. From the interview:
"...And something much more important than that. Thousands of emails from Hillary Clinton's Blackberry domain."posted by a snickering nuthatch at 1:09 PM on April 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
She used a Blackberry for the first three months or so of her tenure as secretary of State before setting up the personal server in the basement. And the reason that matters so much is, if there was gonna be a smoking gun, where Hillary Clinton was told, "Don't do this," or, "This is improper," it's highly likely to be at the beginning.
And we never found those emails. And so now they're telling me, "For reasons we can't explain, thousands of those Blackberry emails are on Anthony Weiner's laptop."
Rosie Gray, Sean Hannity’s Ties to Two More Trump-Connected Lawyers, in which Victoria Toensing and Jay Alan Sekulow sent a cease and desist letter for Hannity last year in response to allegations against him by Debbie Schlussel.
posted by zachlipton at 1:13 PM on April 17, 2018 [31 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 1:13 PM on April 17, 2018 [31 favorites]
I don't think that the crossover between white supremacy, misogyny, and right-to-life-ism is just American racism, because there are similar movements in other countries. In the US, however, there is a direct line between the Confederacy and these movements, as Fred Clark points out. They are people who want to turn the clock back and make civil rights, feminism, LGBT rights, etc. not exist. It's a kind of malevolent communitarianism.
From the Atlantic article zachlipton linked above:
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 1:28 PM on April 17, 2018 [16 favorites]
From the Atlantic article zachlipton linked above:
The letter was sent in response to accusations against Hannity made by the controversial conservative activist Debbie Schlussel. During an appearance on the Pat Campbell show on KFAQ last April, Schlussel said Hannity had been “creepy” towards her and had invited her to his hotel room.Hannity as Creepy Creeperson harasser doesn't surprise me. I wonder how many other accusers are going to come forward? Tarana Burke and #metoo are the pebbles that caused an avalanche that - I hope! oh please! - will bring down a right-wing media empire?
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 1:28 PM on April 17, 2018 [16 favorites]
If this interpretation becomes the norm it would allow "claw-backs" of rules from decades ago. Not good.
And keep in mind that once a regulation is annulled under the Congressional Review Act, it cannot be reissued by a future president unless specifically authorized in law by Congress. (This is the sort of obviously terrible idea that could only come from a mind like Newt Gingrich's.)
It's also been proposed that the Republican Congress could pre-empt future liberal regulations by having Trump tee up a Democratic wish list expressly so the Republicans can majority-vote it into oblivion for all time. Yet another reason to take back Congress and repeal the CRA toute fucking suite.
posted by Iridic at 1:39 PM on April 17, 2018 [18 favorites]
And keep in mind that once a regulation is annulled under the Congressional Review Act, it cannot be reissued by a future president unless specifically authorized in law by Congress. (This is the sort of obviously terrible idea that could only come from a mind like Newt Gingrich's.)
It's also been proposed that the Republican Congress could pre-empt future liberal regulations by having Trump tee up a Democratic wish list expressly so the Republicans can majority-vote it into oblivion for all time. Yet another reason to take back Congress and repeal the CRA toute fucking suite.
posted by Iridic at 1:39 PM on April 17, 2018 [18 favorites]
So I’m not all that familiar with Reinhold Niebuhr’s work, other than the stuff that everyone knows. Obviously Niebuhr’s writing has made a deep impression on Comey, though, or at least so sez Alexandra Petri. Based on that, what is the ethical framework that Comey’s operating in, or at least the ethical framework that he’d like to be operating in?
It’s rare for public figures of Comey’s notoriety to wear their philosophical influences on their sleeves quite so much as Comey does, so applying a Niebuhrian lens to Comey’s actions might be a good way to know the man’s mind and what moves him.
(I’m definitely not the reclusive novelist for the job, though; the Niebuhr I’ve read starts and ends with the serenity prayer)
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 1:46 PM on April 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
It’s rare for public figures of Comey’s notoriety to wear their philosophical influences on their sleeves quite so much as Comey does, so applying a Niebuhrian lens to Comey’s actions might be a good way to know the man’s mind and what moves him.
(I’m definitely not the reclusive novelist for the job, though; the Niebuhr I’ve read starts and ends with the serenity prayer)
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 1:46 PM on April 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
@caphilltrish: @SenateMajLdr just told Cavuto re-Mueller protection bill: “We will not be having this on the floor of the U.S. Senate.” Says he doesn't believe Trump will fire Mueller. [video]
McConnell's instance on backing Trump on everything is one of the oddest things about this whole situation. This was a Fox interview, but I wish there was some follow-up about the repeated times Trump has ordered Mueller fired already.
posted by zachlipton at 1:50 PM on April 17, 2018 [34 favorites]
McConnell's instance on backing Trump on everything is one of the oddest things about this whole situation. This was a Fox interview, but I wish there was some follow-up about the repeated times Trump has ordered Mueller fired already.
posted by zachlipton at 1:50 PM on April 17, 2018 [34 favorites]
Wouldn't any Mueller protection bill need a veto-proof majority, anyway? That seems hard to achieve.
posted by uosuaq at 1:54 PM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by uosuaq at 1:54 PM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
I dunno, I think forcing trump to veto a Mueller protection bill would have some political worth.
posted by mrgoat at 1:56 PM on April 17, 2018 [59 favorites]
posted by mrgoat at 1:56 PM on April 17, 2018 [59 favorites]
For some angles on the conservative religious tendency to cleave to authoritarian regimes, watch Theologians under Hitler, a doc on YouTube that I found... enlightening.
(Please don't use this for a derail; it goes some way towards answering the 'How could they even' issue, so perhaps it'll move things on a bit in this regard)
posted by Devonian at 2:00 PM on April 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
(Please don't use this for a derail; it goes some way towards answering the 'How could they even' issue, so perhaps it'll move things on a bit in this regard)
posted by Devonian at 2:00 PM on April 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
I don't understand why liberal podcast hosts and commentators keep treating Comey like he was acting in good faith.
My kindle app tells me I'm 41% through Comey's book so far. Trump hasn't really made an appearance yet. But here are some incidents he does write about in the first half which I think shed some light on why people are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
1) Making the decision, when he was a US Attorney, to indict Martha Stewart and...
3) Being asked to write a justification saying that the CIA torture program was legal when he believed it was not, after Alberto Gonzales had been appointed as Attorney General.
My kindle app tells me I'm 41% through Comey's book so far. Trump hasn't really made an appearance yet. But here are some incidents he does write about in the first half which I think shed some light on why people are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
1) Making the decision, when he was a US Attorney, to indict Martha Stewart and...
...hesitating to bring on the criticism and the circus I knew would come. Then, while I worried about myself and my image, I remembered a young black minister.2) Being asked to write a justification saying that there's "Stellar Wind" surveillance program was legal when he was convinced it was not.
...
The young minister was indicted and convicted of lying during the investigation.
...
As I stared out of my Manhattan office window and remembered that young minister, I was suddenly ashamed of myself. He was not famous. I was probably the only person outside Richmond who even knew his name. And here I was, the United States Attorney in Manhattan, hesitating to prosecute Martha Stewart because it would bring criticism. I was actually considering letting her go because she was rich and famous. What a miscarriage of justice. What a coward I was. I asked Dave Kelley to find out how many people had been indicted in the United States the previous year for lying to federal investigators. How many “regular people” lied and then paid dearly for it? The answer was two thousand. Kelley told me I needed to stop wringing my hands; this was the right thing to do and I should get on with it. He was right.
The president had reauthorized the program despite our warnings. [...] I knew this would be my final night in government service. The same for Bob Mueller. Like me, he could not continue to serve in an administration that was going to direct the FBI to participate in activity that had no lawful basis. I drafted a resignation letter and went home and told Patrice I was quitting the next day. Again, I had to leave out the particulars of why.(Instead of resigning, Comey and Mueller ended up racing against Alberto Gonzales to the bedside of the hospitalized Attorney General John Ashcroft, to convince the Ashcroft not to sign off on the legality of the program. They won. He didn't.)
3) Being asked to write a justification saying that the CIA torture program was legal when he believed it was not, after Alberto Gonzales had been appointed as Attorney General.
Knowing I’d never be able to plead the case to others on the National Security Council, Philbin and I did our best to buck up Gonzales to make the case on the department’s behalf. We protested that just because something was deemed to be legal—based on an opinion we disagreed with—and allegedly effective did not mean it was appropriate. I again reminded him, and hoped he would remind the others in the cabinet, that someday the interrogation methods used, and the shaky legal support for them, would all become public—adding that I had heard there was a videotape of one of these CIA interrogations—and this would reflect very poorly on the president and the country. Then I showed Gonzales a heavy-stock, cream-colored three-by-five card I’d compiled. On it I had written a list of the things that could be done to another human being under the CIA program as currently written and authorized by the Gonzales Justice Department. Reading from the card, I painted a picture for him [...]4) Trying increase diversity at the FBI.
No policy changes were made. CIA enhanced interrogations could continue. Human beings in the custody of the United States government would be subjected to harsh and horrible treatment. And I never got my card back. I left government service two months later. I was never going to return.
I was amazed at the talent, but I was frightened by one trend. The special agent workforce since 9/11 had been growing steadily more white. When I became director, 83 percent of the special agents were non-Hispanic Caucasians. As I explained to the workforce, I had no problem with white people, but that trend is a serious threat to our effectiveness. In a country that is growing more diverse, which, in my view, is wonderful, if every agent looks like me, we are less effective. Eighty-three percent could become 100 percent very quickly, if the FBI became known as “that place where white people work.” Iposted by OnceUponATime at 2:01 PM on April 17, 2018 [30 favorites]
[...]
During my third year at the FBI, a huge new-agent class at Quantico was 38 percent nonwhite. Our standards hadn’t changed; we were just doing a better job of showing people the life they could make by joining us, which is contagious in a positive way.
McConnell can't actually believe that Trump won't fire Mueller, though. Trump already tried twice! What more is he waiting for?!?
I try to understand people from the perspective that at least they think they're doing the right thing. But I can't think of any actual justification for McConnell's (or, let's face it, most Congresspeople's) words here. Nothing in the situation warrants their ostensible certainty. The words must be some sort of dodge; they have never explained their thinking in much detail. Just "he won't do it".
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 2:01 PM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
I try to understand people from the perspective that at least they think they're doing the right thing. But I can't think of any actual justification for McConnell's (or, let's face it, most Congresspeople's) words here. Nothing in the situation warrants their ostensible certainty. The words must be some sort of dodge; they have never explained their thinking in much detail. Just "he won't do it".
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 2:01 PM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
Forcing pols on both sides to vote Yea or Nay on a Mueller protection bill would have some political worth, which is probably enough to explain McConnell's reluctance to allow a vote. For the Dem side, it's an easy low stakes vote in favor of the American way. For the GOP? That's a lit bomb.
posted by notyou at 2:02 PM on April 17, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by notyou at 2:02 PM on April 17, 2018 [20 favorites]
The laptop contained emails from the very beginning of the private-server setup (and just before), which could have spoken to her intent in setting it all up and the extent to which she was aware that this setup was improper.
She testified in the summer to explain the reasoning behind her setup. Again: remember that her testimony was regarded as truthful, and consistent with all previous facts. There was no reason to expect that this would be some smoking gun that she'd been lying about all along.
A consistent and led-by-evidence approach would be to expect that the Blackberry emails would AGAIN show what she'd explained all along. Yes -- there's an eeeeeeeeeensy probability of "could have spoken" differently, but: that was not supported by incredibly consistent evidence, neither before nor after.
The terminology "much more important that that" and "smoking gun" and "For reasons we can't explain" -- drama and more drama.
posted by Dashy at 2:03 PM on April 17, 2018 [10 favorites]
She testified in the summer to explain the reasoning behind her setup. Again: remember that her testimony was regarded as truthful, and consistent with all previous facts. There was no reason to expect that this would be some smoking gun that she'd been lying about all along.
A consistent and led-by-evidence approach would be to expect that the Blackberry emails would AGAIN show what she'd explained all along. Yes -- there's an eeeeeeeeeensy probability of "could have spoken" differently, but: that was not supported by incredibly consistent evidence, neither before nor after.
The terminology "much more important that that" and "smoking gun" and "For reasons we can't explain" -- drama and more drama.
posted by Dashy at 2:03 PM on April 17, 2018 [10 favorites]
@JenniferJJacobs: Scooplet: Trump will do a rally in Washington, MI on Saturday, April 28, per a person familiar with Trump’s schedule. That’s the same time as the WHCA dinner.
Such a coward.
posted by zachlipton at 2:05 PM on April 17, 2018 [29 favorites]
Such a coward.
posted by zachlipton at 2:05 PM on April 17, 2018 [29 favorites]
Based on that, what is the ethical framework that Comey’s operating in, or at least the ethical framework that he’d like to be operating in?
Niebuhr has a rather long history of being picked up and wielded in a variety of ways, at times contradictory, by various DC types. Not exactly a cypher, but not exactly easy to interpret Comey's take -- honestly, the tenor of his writing is both sweepingly broad and vague to the point of occasional emptiness and if I'm being uncharitable he reads, at times, like History's Original High-Minded Concern Troll.
...which, when I think about it, does sound about right for comey...
posted by halation at 2:07 PM on April 17, 2018 [9 favorites]
Niebuhr has a rather long history of being picked up and wielded in a variety of ways, at times contradictory, by various DC types. Not exactly a cypher, but not exactly easy to interpret Comey's take -- honestly, the tenor of his writing is both sweepingly broad and vague to the point of occasional emptiness and if I'm being uncharitable he reads, at times, like History's Original High-Minded Concern Troll.
...which, when I think about it, does sound about right for comey...
posted by halation at 2:07 PM on April 17, 2018 [9 favorites]
NBC/WSJ poll on impact of tax-cut:
- in Dem-controlled districts - 35% positive, 58% negative
- in GOP districts: 42% positive, 49% negative
---
@LOLGOP
Paul Ryan's greatest accomplishment -- coming up with a tax cut for the rich even Republicans don't like
posted by chris24 at 2:13 PM on April 17, 2018 [52 favorites]
- in Dem-controlled districts - 35% positive, 58% negative
- in GOP districts: 42% positive, 49% negative
---
@LOLGOP
Paul Ryan's greatest accomplishment -- coming up with a tax cut for the rich even Republicans don't like
posted by chris24 at 2:13 PM on April 17, 2018 [52 favorites]
Is there any plausible scenario where McConnell becomes toxic to the GOP rank-and-file?
posted by whuppy at 2:19 PM on April 17, 2018
posted by whuppy at 2:19 PM on April 17, 2018
I've been thinking about The Corrections
It's been a while since I read it; mostly I remember the talking poop and the fish in the pants and the kicking the presents up the stairs, but one thing that struck me about the book, for the first time, is the nature of a stock market correction, because I'd had no interest in such things until I ran into it as a metaphor in the book.
I'm on board I guess the Adam Davidson train with the 'we may be near the end of the beginning' thing, but--how is that comforting. Because it has all been sooo much badness. What happens when we correct from this?
Especially when it seems like the critique that is for me the most trenchant against Obama, that he was too idealistic, is out there?
I don't know. I'd like to believe in a happy ending.
Which, by the way, WTF is Comey going on about letting the voters off the hook w/r/t impeachment? Yeah, Trump is mob boss but just hang on there and be sure you enjoy every bit of your bitter medicine.
Or maybe he's just legitimate all, 'no way the Senate gets took in 2018'
/goes off to look at cat videos
posted by angrycat at 2:24 PM on April 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
It's been a while since I read it; mostly I remember the talking poop and the fish in the pants and the kicking the presents up the stairs, but one thing that struck me about the book, for the first time, is the nature of a stock market correction, because I'd had no interest in such things until I ran into it as a metaphor in the book.
I'm on board I guess the Adam Davidson train with the 'we may be near the end of the beginning' thing, but--how is that comforting. Because it has all been sooo much badness. What happens when we correct from this?
Especially when it seems like the critique that is for me the most trenchant against Obama, that he was too idealistic, is out there?
I don't know. I'd like to believe in a happy ending.
Which, by the way, WTF is Comey going on about letting the voters off the hook w/r/t impeachment? Yeah, Trump is mob boss but just hang on there and be sure you enjoy every bit of your bitter medicine.
Or maybe he's just legitimate all, 'no way the Senate gets took in 2018'
/goes off to look at cat videos
posted by angrycat at 2:24 PM on April 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
McConnell can't actually believe that Trump won't fire Mueller, though. Trump already tried twice! What more is he waiting for?!?
I think McConnell does believe that Trump won't fire Mueller. Because they've all agreed that the smart thing to do is fire Rosenstein.
Ol' Mitchell "Oderiferous Tubule" McConnell
Petebest, you gotta warn us before saying something like this. I almost fell the fuck off of my chair. LMFAO
posted by duoshao at 2:25 PM on April 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
I think McConnell does believe that Trump won't fire Mueller. Because they've all agreed that the smart thing to do is fire Rosenstein.
Ol' Mitchell "Oderiferous Tubule" McConnell
Petebest, you gotta warn us before saying something like this. I almost fell the fuck off of my chair. LMFAO
posted by duoshao at 2:25 PM on April 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
The Hill: Coast Guard won’t ban transgender members without direct policy barring them
The head of the U.S. Coast Guard on Tuesday said it will continue allowing transgender members to serve in the military branch until a policy officially bans transgender troops.posted by scaryblackdeath at 2:29 PM on April 17, 2018 [42 favorites]
Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft told lawmakers that the Coast Guard is “certainly committed” to transgender individuals’ continued service in the military branch.
Politico: McConnell considering vote to make tax cuts permanent
The Kentucky Republican told reporters Tuesday the chamber "may" hold a vote this year on extending the tax cuts. While the 2017 law provided permanent tax cuts on corporations, tax cuts for regular people expire in 2027 due to Senate rule constraints.posted by hanov3r at 2:33 PM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
House GOP leaders are planning a similar effort. However, because Senate Republicans aren't using the "reconciliation" procedure to pass a tax cut bill on party lines, Democratic support would be needed — an unlikely scenario. At least nine Democrats would have to join with Republicans to pass such a bill and break a 60-vote threshold.
In his book, Comey is Skinner from X-Files. A man in a tough position who's asked to make moral choices that aren't always correct. In real life, Comey is Skinner from The Simpsons. A man who burned his dinner and tries to pass off fast food as steamed hams.
posted by runcibleshaw at 2:35 PM on April 17, 2018 [171 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 2:35 PM on April 17, 2018 [171 favorites]
Then I showed Gonzales a heavy-stock, cream-colored three-by-five card I’d compiled.
JFC, is that Comey's memoir or American Psycho?
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 2:45 PM on April 17, 2018 [63 favorites]
JFC, is that Comey's memoir or American Psycho?
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 2:45 PM on April 17, 2018 [63 favorites]
I look forward to Comey's next book, a collection of office-supply-themed erotica.
posted by medusa at 2:55 PM on April 17, 2018 [49 favorites]
posted by medusa at 2:55 PM on April 17, 2018 [49 favorites]
Is there any plausible scenario where McConnell becomes toxic to the GOP rank-and-file?
No. Trump has pretty much proven that the Republican rank and file will support human pond scum if it advances their agenda.
Around 650,000 people voted for Roy Moore in Alabama last December.
posted by zarq at 2:58 PM on April 17, 2018 [15 favorites]
No. Trump has pretty much proven that the Republican rank and file will support human pond scum if it advances their agenda.
Around 650,000 people voted for Roy Moore in Alabama last December.
posted by zarq at 2:58 PM on April 17, 2018 [15 favorites]
@JoeNBC: “With all due respect, I don’t get confused.”
~UN Ambassador Nikki Haley
Like I said, open war between the administration and Haley at this point.
posted by zachlipton at 3:11 PM on April 17, 2018 [80 favorites]
~UN Ambassador Nikki Haley
Like I said, open war between the administration and Haley at this point.
posted by zachlipton at 3:11 PM on April 17, 2018 [80 favorites]
> It's a potentially promising first step, but their ultimate reunification goals will be WAY harder of course. Also, how long until 45 tries to take credit for this?
That happened today, from the WaPo's Trump says U.S. and North Korea have had direct talks at ‘very high levels’:
posted by peeedro at 3:14 PM on April 17, 2018 [19 favorites]
That happened today, from the WaPo's Trump says U.S. and North Korea have had direct talks at ‘very high levels’:
Greeting visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at his Mar-a-Lago resort here, Trump took some credit for the rapid developments related to North Korea, whose nuclear and ballistic missile tests his administration has considered the gravest national security threat to the United States.In other words, the Korean Armistice Agreement is being recognized more and more.
“They’ve been very generous that without us, and without me in particular, I guess, they wouldn’t be discussing anything and the Olympics would have been a failure,” Trump said of South Korea and the Winter Olympics held there in February.
[...]
“They do have my blessing to discuss the end of the war. People don’t realize the Korean War has not ended. It’s going on right now,” Trump said.
posted by peeedro at 3:14 PM on April 17, 2018 [19 favorites]
"... without me... the Olympics would have been a failure," Trump said...
Every time I think he can't possibly get his foot farther into his mouth, he manages to surprise me. Every. Single. Time.
In other words, the Korean Armistice Agreement is being recognized more and more.
I mean, technically, the North called the Agreement invalid in 2013 after a set of UN sanctions.
posted by hanov3r at 3:23 PM on April 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
Every time I think he can't possibly get his foot farther into his mouth, he manages to surprise me. Every. Single. Time.
In other words, the Korean Armistice Agreement is being recognized more and more.
I mean, technically, the North called the Agreement invalid in 2013 after a set of UN sanctions.
posted by hanov3r at 3:23 PM on April 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
Every time I think he can't possibly get his foot farther into his mouth, he manages to surprise me. Every. Single. Time.
Well there was also this today: "Trump opened the meeting by praising the Japanese aides, in matching black suits, as looking like they were direct from a movie. youre perfect."
The exact quote was: Pres. Trump at summit with Japanese Prime Minister Abe: "I just want to say your representatives look right out of a movie. You're absolutely perfect.
Which is somewhat between Trump's racism and his weird obsession with whether people look like they were sent over from central casting instead of whether they can do their jobs.
posted by zachlipton at 3:28 PM on April 17, 2018 [41 favorites]
Well there was also this today: "Trump opened the meeting by praising the Japanese aides, in matching black suits, as looking like they were direct from a movie. youre perfect."
The exact quote was: Pres. Trump at summit with Japanese Prime Minister Abe: "I just want to say your representatives look right out of a movie. You're absolutely perfect.
Which is somewhat between Trump's racism and his weird obsession with whether people look like they were sent over from central casting instead of whether they can do their jobs.
posted by zachlipton at 3:28 PM on April 17, 2018 [41 favorites]
Second Cambridge Analytica whistleblower says 'sex compass' app gathered more Facebook data beyond the 87 million we already knew about.
"I believe it is almost certain that the number of Facebook users whose data was compromised through routes similar to that used by Kogan is much greater than 87 million; and that both Cambridge Analytica and other unconnected companies and campaigns were involved in these activities."posted by lazaruslong at 3:37 PM on April 17, 2018 [14 favorites]
It must be aggravating for Abe (not that I feel sorry for him) to know that his own scandal, which seems at this point likely to mean his departure this year, would barely register in the ocean of scandals and stupid comments and irresponsible actions that is Trump. And yet Trump is far more secure in his job.
posted by thefoxgod at 3:44 PM on April 17, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by thefoxgod at 3:44 PM on April 17, 2018 [14 favorites]
Like I said, open war between the administration and Haley at this point.
The location of the last duel of note in the US is not 5 miles from where I'm sitting. I vote we set something up there for its 159th birthday.
posted by rhizome at 3:53 PM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
The location of the last duel of note in the US is not 5 miles from where I'm sitting. I vote we set something up there for its 159th birthday.
posted by rhizome at 3:53 PM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump
States and Cities throughout our Country are being cheated and treated so badly by online retailers. Very unfair to traditional tax paying stores!
Amazon-grievance normally corresponds with the Washington Post publishing something he hates. Any ideas? Might could be he was asked to comment ahead of a bad 'un.
posted by Rust Moranis at 4:10 PM on April 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
States and Cities throughout our Country are being cheated and treated so badly by online retailers. Very unfair to traditional tax paying stores!
Amazon-grievance normally corresponds with the Washington Post publishing something he hates. Any ideas? Might could be he was asked to comment ahead of a bad 'un.
posted by Rust Moranis at 4:10 PM on April 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
If there is a summit in North Korea with Trump present, I suspect the table setting will include rolled up magazines next to the glasses of water.
posted by ecco at 4:11 PM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by ecco at 4:11 PM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's not (just) an Amazon grievance. Today the Supreme Court heard a case, SD vs Wayfair, regarding online tax collection and remittance. Ruling expected in June.
posted by yesster at 4:16 PM on April 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by yesster at 4:16 PM on April 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
Another update in this idiotic drama.
@juliehdavis: Kudlow just told me he has spoken to Haley & apologized to her, saying he was "totally wrong" to call her confused & didn't have complete info. "The policy was changed & she wasn't told about it, so she was in a box."
I'm really not sure that "she was in a box" is a substantial improvement over saying she had "momentary confusion" if by some weird chance this apology was actually intended as an apology. And who changed the policy, and why?
posted by zachlipton at 4:17 PM on April 17, 2018 [20 favorites]
@juliehdavis: Kudlow just told me he has spoken to Haley & apologized to her, saying he was "totally wrong" to call her confused & didn't have complete info. "The policy was changed & she wasn't told about it, so she was in a box."
I'm really not sure that "she was in a box" is a substantial improvement over saying she had "momentary confusion" if by some weird chance this apology was actually intended as an apology. And who changed the policy, and why?
posted by zachlipton at 4:17 PM on April 17, 2018 [20 favorites]
Like I said, open war between the administration and Haley at this point.
If Nikki Haley's preparing to run against Trump in the 2020 primary, or succeed him if he doesn't make it, she has set herself up perfectly to this point. She established her foreign policy credentials, did as good a job as anyone in this administration, and now take an obviously correct and moral stand on Trump's biggest weak spot, Russia.
Getting fired by Trump at this point would be the best possible outcome for her political career. She gets all the benefits from being part of his administration and none of the taint. Hell, she could even pull the "Trump had a great vision before he was compromised by foreign agents, I served him proudly" card.
posted by msalt at 4:20 PM on April 17, 2018 [28 favorites]
If Nikki Haley's preparing to run against Trump in the 2020 primary, or succeed him if he doesn't make it, she has set herself up perfectly to this point. She established her foreign policy credentials, did as good a job as anyone in this administration, and now take an obviously correct and moral stand on Trump's biggest weak spot, Russia.
Getting fired by Trump at this point would be the best possible outcome for her political career. She gets all the benefits from being part of his administration and none of the taint. Hell, she could even pull the "Trump had a great vision before he was compromised by foreign agents, I served him proudly" card.
posted by msalt at 4:20 PM on April 17, 2018 [28 favorites]
That’s fucking rich. Donald Trump complaining about online retailers not paying their fair share of taxes. Hey, you know who else doesn’t pay their fair share of taxes?
posted by Autumnheart at 4:22 PM on April 17, 2018 [56 favorites]
posted by Autumnheart at 4:22 PM on April 17, 2018 [56 favorites]
Amazon supports online sales taxes. They pay them in every state that has a sales tax (though they don't charge sales tax for third-party sales on the platform, which is another can of worms that looks extremely similar to the first can of worms). From Amazon's perspective, they have physical presence in a lot of states now, so they have to charge tax anyway, but they're hurt by competitors that don't charge sales tax and would like a law forcing them to do so as well.
I presume Trump doesn't know this. Also, where is his damn tax return?
posted by zachlipton at 4:24 PM on April 17, 2018 [22 favorites]
I presume Trump doesn't know this. Also, where is his damn tax return?
posted by zachlipton at 4:24 PM on April 17, 2018 [22 favorites]
Also, where is his damn tax return?
Mueller’s office.
posted by Celsius1414 at 4:25 PM on April 17, 2018 [70 favorites]
Mueller’s office.
posted by Celsius1414 at 4:25 PM on April 17, 2018 [70 favorites]
Point of clarification: is it not the duty of the consumer to ensure that any sales tax they owe has been paid? My limited understanding (being an Oregonian) is that businesses may be required to collect sales tax on behalf of their customers but they do not themselves pay sales tax. I believe the reason that online retailers were exempted from this requirement is that it would be prohibitively difficult for small businesses to keep track of and adhere to the patchwork of sales tax laws that vary from state to state.
posted by SpaceBass at 4:28 PM on April 17, 2018
posted by SpaceBass at 4:28 PM on April 17, 2018
Atlantic on Octoberish surprises and secrets that will live in infamy.
"That fact pattern establishes a clear story: Current or former FBI officials involved in investigating the Clinton Foundation apparently leaked information; Comey made his late-October announcement about the Clinton email investigation in part to get ahead of additional leaks; and McCabe publicly confirmed the existence of the separate Clinton Foundation investigation for similar reasons.
“The FBI agents had a legal and professional obligation to maintain the secrecy of the Clinton investigation,” Green said. “As law-enforcement agents, they, of all people, had an obligation to play by the rules. Violating their secrecy obligations in order to try to swing an election shows a fundamental lack of respect for the law.”
While the motivations of all of the actors here were not the same, their actions, in concert, may have substantially influenced the outcome of the 2016 presidential election."
posted by rc3spencer at 4:31 PM on April 17, 2018 [17 favorites]
"That fact pattern establishes a clear story: Current or former FBI officials involved in investigating the Clinton Foundation apparently leaked information; Comey made his late-October announcement about the Clinton email investigation in part to get ahead of additional leaks; and McCabe publicly confirmed the existence of the separate Clinton Foundation investigation for similar reasons.
“The FBI agents had a legal and professional obligation to maintain the secrecy of the Clinton investigation,” Green said. “As law-enforcement agents, they, of all people, had an obligation to play by the rules. Violating their secrecy obligations in order to try to swing an election shows a fundamental lack of respect for the law.”
While the motivations of all of the actors here were not the same, their actions, in concert, may have substantially influenced the outcome of the 2016 presidential election."
posted by rc3spencer at 4:31 PM on April 17, 2018 [17 favorites]
It's not (just) an Amazon grievance. Today the Supreme Court heard a case, SD vs Wayfair, regarding online tax collection and remittance. Ruling expected in June.
I will bet all the money in my pocket against all the money in your pocket that he doesn’t know that, or at least no more about it than you wrote here.
posted by Etrigan at 4:32 PM on April 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
I will bet all the money in my pocket against all the money in your pocket that he doesn’t know that, or at least no more about it than you wrote here.
posted by Etrigan at 4:32 PM on April 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
Just delete this if it's too much of a hot-take one liner but what kind of a world do we live in when North and South Korea announce plans for peace and it seems like a light news day?
posted by OHenryPacey at 4:33 PM on April 17, 2018 [92 favorites]
posted by OHenryPacey at 4:33 PM on April 17, 2018 [92 favorites]
Amazon didn’t mind when being an online-only retailer and not having to charge sales tax hurt the fuck out of brick-and-mortar retailers. That was the cornerstone of their business model for 15 years, they were going to “make stores obsolete” and turn other retailers into “Amazon’s Showroom”. Individual states responded by requiring Amazon to pay sales tax, and retailers figured out how to compete by price-matching, improving their distribution models, and pointing out that being able to go to a store and bring something home that day is actually very convenient! Now, I am firmly on the side of “all businesses should pay sales tax” but Amazon doesn’t get points from me for talking out of the other side of their mouth now that they’re on a level playing field with the other major retailers. I guess file this under “Trump is worse but that doesn’t make Amazon good”.
posted by Autumnheart at 4:35 PM on April 17, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by Autumnheart at 4:35 PM on April 17, 2018 [14 favorites]
My limited understanding (being an Oregonian) is that businesses may be required to collect sales tax on behalf of their customers but they do not themselves pay sales tax.
No, the opposite - businesses are required to pay sales tax; they are allowed to collect it from customers but this is not required. They can say "We pay the tax/we don't charge sales tax!" but they still have the obligation to pay that percentage to the state, even if they don't collect it.
Small businesses (flea market sellers, craft businesses) often say "tax is included in the price," and then calculate backwards to decide on the actual sales price.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 4:38 PM on April 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
No, the opposite - businesses are required to pay sales tax; they are allowed to collect it from customers but this is not required. They can say "We pay the tax/we don't charge sales tax!" but they still have the obligation to pay that percentage to the state, even if they don't collect it.
Small businesses (flea market sellers, craft businesses) often say "tax is included in the price," and then calculate backwards to decide on the actual sales price.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 4:38 PM on April 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
I guess file this under “Trump is worse but that doesn’t make Amazon good”.
This isn’t about Amazon. Not at all. Don’t let Trump frame it as though it is.
posted by Etrigan at 4:41 PM on April 17, 2018 [10 favorites]
This isn’t about Amazon. Not at all. Don’t let Trump frame it as though it is.
posted by Etrigan at 4:41 PM on April 17, 2018 [10 favorites]
Dumb quote of the day, via the WaPo, from Lindsey Graham explaining why he is "not at all" concerned about VA nominee Ronny Jackson’s lack of management experience:
posted by peeedro at 4:44 PM on April 17, 2018 [46 favorites]
“The VA is not a management problem. It’s an attitude problem. You don’t need a manager to run an organization. You need somebody with the right attitude,” Graham said. Asked whether Jackson had that attitude, the South Carolina senator responded: “Oh hell yeah.”When they say run government like a business they don’t mean a successful one.
posted by peeedro at 4:44 PM on April 17, 2018 [46 favorites]
This isn’t about Amazon. Not at all. Don’t let Trump frame it as though it is.
I assure you, I know.
posted by Autumnheart at 4:46 PM on April 17, 2018
I assure you, I know.
posted by Autumnheart at 4:46 PM on April 17, 2018
Sorry about the weird deleted comment upthread. What seems to have happened is that Trump answered "yes" when asked if he had spoken directly to Kim Jong-un, setting off all the news alarms. Then there was a follow-up question where he was asked again, and he said "well let's leave it a little bit short of that." Then the White House clarified that Trump misunderstood or misheard (there were apparently a lot of questions at once) and they've had high-level talks but not talks with Trump directly.
This has been your 7:50pm edition of "the President cannot answer a yes/no question correctly."
posted by zachlipton at 4:48 PM on April 17, 2018 [32 favorites]
This has been your 7:50pm edition of "the President cannot answer a yes/no question correctly."
posted by zachlipton at 4:48 PM on April 17, 2018 [32 favorites]
zachlipton: "@caphilltrish: @SenateMajLdr just told Cavuto re-Mueller protection bill: “We will not be having this on the floor of the U.S. Senate.” Says he doesn't believe Trump will fire Mueller. [video]"
I know this is very boring good government of me, but whenever the Democrats retake each house, they need to pass rules that a bill can be forced to a floor vote if, say, 40% of members vote for it. This bullshit where the Majority Leader/Speaker can bottle up popular legislation has got to stop.
For decades, this same shit was pulled by the committee chairs. Now, it's one level higher, but it still stinks.
posted by Chrysostom at 4:49 PM on April 17, 2018 [83 favorites]
I know this is very boring good government of me, but whenever the Democrats retake each house, they need to pass rules that a bill can be forced to a floor vote if, say, 40% of members vote for it. This bullshit where the Majority Leader/Speaker can bottle up popular legislation has got to stop.
For decades, this same shit was pulled by the committee chairs. Now, it's one level higher, but it still stinks.
posted by Chrysostom at 4:49 PM on April 17, 2018 [83 favorites]
fluttering hellfire: "Well Eric Greitens has made a statement."
Claire McCaskill has come out with a statement about Hawley's saying the fundraising should be impeachable, hitting him from the other direction - he was grossly incompetent for not moving on this a long time ago.
posted by Chrysostom at 4:54 PM on April 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
Claire McCaskill has come out with a statement about Hawley's saying the fundraising should be impeachable, hitting him from the other direction - he was grossly incompetent for not moving on this a long time ago.
posted by Chrysostom at 4:54 PM on April 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
What seems to have happened is that Trump answered "yes" when asked if he had spoken directly to Kim Jong-un, setting off all the news alarms. Then there was a follow-up question where he was asked again, and he said "well let's leave it a little bit short of that." Then the White House clarified that Trump misunderstood or misheard (there were apparently a lot of questions at once) and they've had high-level talks but not talks with Trump directly.
I can't wait for Mueller to interview this guy.
posted by rc3spencer at 4:54 PM on April 17, 2018 [13 favorites]
I can't wait for Mueller to interview this guy.
posted by rc3spencer at 4:54 PM on April 17, 2018 [13 favorites]
Overton Window Watch: Kirsten Gillibrand is floating a federal jobs guarantee.
posted by Chrysostom at 4:58 PM on April 17, 2018 [67 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 4:58 PM on April 17, 2018 [67 favorites]
Ok here's the actual story, broken by the Post. CIA Director Pompeo met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over Easter weekend
posted by zachlipton at 5:03 PM on April 17, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 5:03 PM on April 17, 2018 [17 favorites]
Sure, why not? Why not have the CIA Director do the Secretary of State's job? Saves a lot of trouble having to confirm him.
posted by runcibleshaw at 5:08 PM on April 17, 2018 [51 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 5:08 PM on April 17, 2018 [51 favorites]
If anything, I'm annoyed that Trump sent Pompeo to North Korea and THEY DIDN'T KEEP HIM.
posted by delfin at 5:22 PM on April 17, 2018 [35 favorites]
posted by delfin at 5:22 PM on April 17, 2018 [35 favorites]
Ken Starr subpoenaed Clinton and Clinton had to testify under oath. I think the rules should be the same.
posted by kirkaracha at 5:28 PM on April 17, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 5:28 PM on April 17, 2018 [9 favorites]
Yes, though it should be noted that Clinton was (legally) perfectly free to answer every question by invoking his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination. Republicans of course would have reacted to such an invocation in exactly they way they would react if and when Trump does the same.
posted by Justinian at 5:30 PM on April 17, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 5:30 PM on April 17, 2018 [9 favorites]
Trump wouldn't take the fifth; he can't concentrate on a course of action that doesn't involve him declaring how awesome he is. He might be able to invoke the fifth amendment for one or two questions, but he'd be easy to hit with something that has implications that he's dying to "set the record straight" about.
"Explain your relationship with Stormy Daniels" might not work (he'd be strongly coached to prepare him for that), but "Do you trust your sons to manage your businesses for the next few years?"(1) and "Do you understand that Hilary Clinton won the popular vote in 2016?"(2) would get him answering.
Questions about, "what did you mean by this tweet: _______" should also get past the "I take the 5th" response, especially if introduced as, "Agency X mentions Fact Y, which you deny in this tweet. Can you explain why you believe Agency X is mistaken?"
(1) Setup for questions about business ties with Russia.
(2) Setup for questions about Russian influence on key electoral college districts.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 5:42 PM on April 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
"Explain your relationship with Stormy Daniels" might not work (he'd be strongly coached to prepare him for that), but "Do you trust your sons to manage your businesses for the next few years?"(1) and "Do you understand that Hilary Clinton won the popular vote in 2016?"(2) would get him answering.
Questions about, "what did you mean by this tweet: _______" should also get past the "I take the 5th" response, especially if introduced as, "Agency X mentions Fact Y, which you deny in this tweet. Can you explain why you believe Agency X is mistaken?"
(1) Setup for questions about business ties with Russia.
(2) Setup for questions about Russian influence on key electoral college districts.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 5:42 PM on April 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
Meanwhile, Fox News reaffirms its journalistic integrity: Fox News Gives Sean Hannity 'Full Support' as Critics Slam Him for Hiding Link to Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen (CNBC) "'While Fox News was unaware of Sean Hannity's informal relationship with Michael Cohen and was surprised by the announcement in court yesterday, we have reviewed the matter and spoken to Sean and he continues to have our full support,' the cable channel said in a statement."
Not even rightwing media critics are willing to go that far: "Accuracy in Media, a conservative media watchdog group, agreed that Hannity erred by failing to publicly state a potential conflict of interest. 'He probably should have disclosed that,' said Don Irvine, the group's publisher. 'If you're going to be reporting on these stories,' he said, 'your listeners have a right to know.'"
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:50 PM on April 17, 2018 [16 favorites]
Not even rightwing media critics are willing to go that far: "Accuracy in Media, a conservative media watchdog group, agreed that Hannity erred by failing to publicly state a potential conflict of interest. 'He probably should have disclosed that,' said Don Irvine, the group's publisher. 'If you're going to be reporting on these stories,' he said, 'your listeners have a right to know.'"
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:50 PM on April 17, 2018 [16 favorites]
Ok here's the actual story, broken by the Post. CIA Director Pompeo met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over Easter weekend
I'm sure this leak of a top secret meeting has nothing to do with building up Pompeo so he gets confirmed. Wonder who leaked it? Gee Donny, are you gonna call for this leak to be investigated?
posted by chris24 at 5:57 PM on April 17, 2018 [10 favorites]
I'm sure this leak of a top secret meeting has nothing to do with building up Pompeo so he gets confirmed. Wonder who leaked it? Gee Donny, are you gonna call for this leak to be investigated?
posted by chris24 at 5:57 PM on April 17, 2018 [10 favorites]
I dunno, I can see Ivanka getting a little peeved at Pompeo stepping all over her portfolio.
posted by rhizome at 6:00 PM on April 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 6:00 PM on April 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
@JamesFallows: Republican Rep. Charlie Dent, to @NewsHour’s Judy Woodruff, on why he is retiring right now: “There’s a big wave coming. Sometimes you’ve got to get off the beach.”
*TTTCS*
posted by zachlipton at 6:08 PM on April 17, 2018 [68 favorites]
*TTTCS*
posted by zachlipton at 6:08 PM on April 17, 2018 [68 favorites]
The Trump condolence statement on First Lady Barbara Bush's passing is dated April 17, 2017.
posted by Caxton1476 at 6:32 PM on April 17, 2018 [40 favorites]
posted by Caxton1476 at 6:32 PM on April 17, 2018 [40 favorites]
"Loved her in Funny Girl."
posted by rhizome at 6:49 PM on April 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 6:49 PM on April 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
WaPo, Hannity’s rising role in Trump’s world: ‘He basically has a desk in the place’
posted by zachlipton at 6:59 PM on April 17, 2018 [39 favorites]
Advisers, at times, refer to Hannity as the “shadow” chief of staff, rivaling White House chief of staff John F. Kelly in terms of influence. Whenever Trump is irritated by his staff, he turns to outside allies, and Hannity is usually atop the call list."Eric and Don Jr are supposed to be off running the business having nothing to do with politics!" he shouts, into a void, and not a sound was heard.
Hannity’s relationship with attorney Jay Sekulow played a part in Sekulow signing on to Trump’s legal team on the Russia investigation, they said, adding that Hannity’s work with lawyers Victoria Toensing and her husband, Joseph diGenova, also contributed to the pair being considered to come aboard, although they did not ultimately do so.
Hannity long urged Bill Shine — who was Fox News’s co-president and had been Hannity’s first producer at Fox News but resigned last year — to join the Trump administration and has spoken highly of Shine to White House advisers. Shine, however, has declined to engage in serious talks about a job, an official said.
Hannity’s relationships with Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, have served as the “glue” of his relationship with the president, one White House official said.
posted by zachlipton at 6:59 PM on April 17, 2018 [39 favorites]
The thing that infuriated me about the Comey NPR interview is that there was no real followup. Comey claimed that he was stuck between two bad options: tell the world that he was re-opening the Clinton investigation, or "suppress" the story and thereby do irreparable harm to the reputation of the FBI.
No one asked him if he didn't think that maybe having the FBI be known as "those assholes who gave the election to Trump" might cause irreparable harm do the reputation of that agency.
because, speaking as a hardcore lefty, I've gone from thinking the FBI sucks but maybe could be reformed to thinking the FBI needs to be burned to the ground and anyone who ever worked for it forbidden from having anything at all to do what the agency we build to replace it.
The interviewer also failed to ask why, instead of screaming "WOO HOO MOTHERFUCKERS, WE GOT MORE CLINTON EMAIL AND ITS SUPER DUPER CRIMINAL!" he might have, you know, actually investigated the email on Weiner's computer and determined its value, or lack thereof, before taking action he knew would tip the scales strongly for Trump.
Also no one ever asked him if he thought the fact that he was a lifelong conservative Republican might, possibly, have maybe clouded his judgement a little.
Also, no one asked him why, if he felt that Trump was morally unfit to be President, he took action that strongly helped Trump become President.
Softball questions, no followup, exactly the sort of power worshiping tripe I've come to expect from NPR.
I said earlier that Comey did everything in his power to help Trump get elected and was rightly corrected. He did not. He merely did everything in his power that he could justify to himself as "impartial" to get Trump elected.
posted by sotonohito at 7:02 PM on April 17, 2018 [25 favorites]
No one asked him if he didn't think that maybe having the FBI be known as "those assholes who gave the election to Trump" might cause irreparable harm do the reputation of that agency.
because, speaking as a hardcore lefty, I've gone from thinking the FBI sucks but maybe could be reformed to thinking the FBI needs to be burned to the ground and anyone who ever worked for it forbidden from having anything at all to do what the agency we build to replace it.
The interviewer also failed to ask why, instead of screaming "WOO HOO MOTHERFUCKERS, WE GOT MORE CLINTON EMAIL AND ITS SUPER DUPER CRIMINAL!" he might have, you know, actually investigated the email on Weiner's computer and determined its value, or lack thereof, before taking action he knew would tip the scales strongly for Trump.
Also no one ever asked him if he thought the fact that he was a lifelong conservative Republican might, possibly, have maybe clouded his judgement a little.
Also, no one asked him why, if he felt that Trump was morally unfit to be President, he took action that strongly helped Trump become President.
Softball questions, no followup, exactly the sort of power worshiping tripe I've come to expect from NPR.
I said earlier that Comey did everything in his power to help Trump get elected and was rightly corrected. He did not. He merely did everything in his power that he could justify to himself as "impartial" to get Trump elected.
posted by sotonohito at 7:02 PM on April 17, 2018 [25 favorites]
sotonohito: Softball questions, no followup,
Hopefully, Stephen Colbert will grill him, comedians do the real job of journalism anyway these days
posted by dhruva at 7:27 PM on April 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
Hopefully, Stephen Colbert will grill him, comedians do the real job of journalism anyway these days
posted by dhruva at 7:27 PM on April 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
The laptop contained emails from the very beginning of the private-server setup (and just before), which could have spoken to her intent in setting it all up and the extent to which she was aware that this setup was improper.
For the record, there is nothing improper about using a private email server. There has never been and still is not a law prohibiting use of private email.
In fact, Congress took the opportunity to clarify this in 2014 after Clinton left office. The new law simply states that private email about official business must be copied to the federal archives within 20 days rather than after leaving office as was the case in the past.
posted by JackFlash at 7:27 PM on April 17, 2018 [59 favorites]
For the record, there is nothing improper about using a private email server. There has never been and still is not a law prohibiting use of private email.
In fact, Congress took the opportunity to clarify this in 2014 after Clinton left office. The new law simply states that private email about official business must be copied to the federal archives within 20 days rather than after leaving office as was the case in the past.
posted by JackFlash at 7:27 PM on April 17, 2018 [59 favorites]
NYT: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis urged President Trump to get congressional approval before the United States launched airstrikes against Syria last week, but was overruled by Mr. Trump, who wanted a rapid and dramatic response, military and administration officials said.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:28 PM on April 17, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 7:28 PM on April 17, 2018 [21 favorites]
Greitens updates:
* More top GOP leaders call for governor to quit immediately; otherwise, impeachment proceedings to begin asap.
* Greitens response: You'll never take me alive, coppers!
posted by Chrysostom at 7:32 PM on April 17, 2018 [15 favorites]
* More top GOP leaders call for governor to quit immediately; otherwise, impeachment proceedings to begin asap.
* Greitens response: You'll never take me alive, coppers!
posted by Chrysostom at 7:32 PM on April 17, 2018 [15 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump
Pastor Andrew Brunson, a fine gentleman and Christian leader in the United States, is on trial and being persecuted in Turkey for no reason. They call him a Spy, but I am more a Spy than he is. Hopefully he will be allowed to come home to his beautiful family where he belongs!
Only the finest of brains directs twitter readers to wonder just how much of a spy it is.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:40 PM on April 17, 2018 [75 favorites]
Pastor Andrew Brunson, a fine gentleman and Christian leader in the United States, is on trial and being persecuted in Turkey for no reason. They call him a Spy, but I am more a Spy than he is. Hopefully he will be allowed to come home to his beautiful family where he belongs!
Only the finest of brains directs twitter readers to wonder just how much of a spy it is.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:40 PM on April 17, 2018 [75 favorites]
NYT, Sanctions Flap Erupts Into Open Conflict Between Haley and White House, mostly a recap of what we discussed, but also a recounting of an earlier episode:
posted by zachlipton at 7:46 PM on April 17, 2018 [69 favorites]
At one point recently, he saw Ms. Haley on television sharply criticizing Russia over its intervention in Ukraine. “Who wrote that for her?” Mr. Trump yelled angrily at the screen, according to people briefed on the moment. “Who wrote that for her?”Again, not saying Trump is being blackmailed by Russia, but the fact that he has repeated outbursts whenever someone criticizes Russia is surely a clue.
posted by zachlipton at 7:46 PM on April 17, 2018 [69 favorites]
I don't think it even requires that Trump be blackmailed by Russia.
He quite possibly sees Russia as valuable friends and allies. Russians have given him lots of money, bailed him out of sticky situations, and generally done what he wanted, so inasmuch as he's capable of feeling friendly to anyone, he's doubtless quite fond of Russia.
He's also inherently contrarian so people criticizing Russia have doubtless driven him to decide that Russia must be the best place ever.
At this point Trump probably sees criticism of Russia as, by extension, criticism of himself so of course he throws a fit.
No blackmail required.
Putin was KGB, he knows how to handle compromised assets, and some people (like Trump) respond much better to gentle steering and false friendship than they do to threats and blackmail.
posted by sotonohito at 7:53 PM on April 17, 2018 [25 favorites]
He quite possibly sees Russia as valuable friends and allies. Russians have given him lots of money, bailed him out of sticky situations, and generally done what he wanted, so inasmuch as he's capable of feeling friendly to anyone, he's doubtless quite fond of Russia.
He's also inherently contrarian so people criticizing Russia have doubtless driven him to decide that Russia must be the best place ever.
At this point Trump probably sees criticism of Russia as, by extension, criticism of himself so of course he throws a fit.
No blackmail required.
Putin was KGB, he knows how to handle compromised assets, and some people (like Trump) respond much better to gentle steering and false friendship than they do to threats and blackmail.
posted by sotonohito at 7:53 PM on April 17, 2018 [25 favorites]
At a certain point once an asset is in deep enough, facing the truth or backing out would break their entire self-image and worldview. Like Marsha on The Americans, she learns the truth and still gets on the plane to Russia. At that point the distinction between blackmail and true belief doesn't really matter, and Trump was at that point decades ago. He's been utterly compromised for decades. Way more than Marsha. The exact mechanism isn't really important, because its not one thing, it's his whole existence. At this point he might as well BE Russian.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:01 PM on April 17, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:01 PM on April 17, 2018 [21 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump: While Japan and South Korea would like us to go back into TPP, I don’t like the deal for the United States. Too many contingencies and no way to get out if it doesn’t work. Bilateral deals are far more efficient, profitable and better for OUR workers. Look how bad WTO is to U.S.
@jasonfurman: South Korea is not in TPP.
posted by zachlipton at 8:05 PM on April 17, 2018 [76 favorites]
@jasonfurman: South Korea is not in TPP.
posted by zachlipton at 8:05 PM on April 17, 2018 [76 favorites]
@realghostfacekillah: Me and my brother @methodmanofficial Workin on getting that album back from the feds… wu Tang forever @comey
posted by Going To Maine at 8:09 PM on April 17, 2018 [40 favorites]
posted by Going To Maine at 8:09 PM on April 17, 2018 [40 favorites]
Sméagol Pruitt has finally attracted the Eye:
Head of Senate committee now seeks answers on Scott Pruitt’s email practices at EPA (Juliet Eilperin, WaPo)
Head of Senate committee now seeks answers on Scott Pruitt’s email practices at EPA (Juliet Eilperin, WaPo)
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) is now scrutinizing whether Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt is fully complying with public records requests, given the fact that he has multiple government email addresses. […]posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:11 PM on April 17, 2018 [24 favorites]
Until this week, Barrasso has refrained from criticizing any of Pruitt’s actions while in office, instead praising the EPA administrator’s deregulatory agenda. On Monday, however, Barrasso raised concern about the Government Accountability Office’s report that EPA had violated federal spending laws by failing to notify Congress before installing a private phone booth in Pruiit’s office last year at a cost of $43,000.
“During your confirmation hearing, I specifically asked you to ‘refrain from taking any action — that makes it difficult or impossible for the public to access your official written communications under the Freedom of Information Act,’ ” Barrasso wrote Pruitt. “You agreed to my request.”
“Can you affirm that the EPA does in fact search all your official email accounts when responding to FOIA requests?” Barrasso added.
> @jasonfurman: South Korea is not in TPP.
Ah, the joys of having an aggressively ignorant doddering racist for a president.
It's like that throwaway comment in the (magnificent) New Yorker piece about how the crown prince of Saudia Arabia has been manipulating Trump and Kushner (A Saudi Prince’s Quest to Remake the Middle East, much linked previously):
posted by RedOrGreen at 8:15 PM on April 17, 2018 [14 favorites]
Ah, the joys of having an aggressively ignorant doddering racist for a president.
It's like that throwaway comment in the (magnificent) New Yorker piece about how the crown prince of Saudia Arabia has been manipulating Trump and Kushner (A Saudi Prince’s Quest to Remake the Middle East, much linked previously):
After the [Saudi-led] blockade [of Qatar] began, President Trump tweeted his support, writing, “During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar—look!” (The former American diplomat suggested that his enthusiasm was partly motivated by ignorance: “I am convinced that Trump didn’t know that we had a military base in Qatar. He had no idea.”)And it's just so believable - not even a surprise. Of a piece with the sloppiness of condolences on Barbara Bush's death, dated 2017.
posted by RedOrGreen at 8:15 PM on April 17, 2018 [14 favorites]
ELECTIONS NEWS:
** 2018 House:
** MS Senate special -- Triumph Campaigns poll has interim GOP Senator Hyde-Smith tied with Dem Espy at 33%, nutbar McDaniel way back at 13%. In head-to-head matchups, Hyde-Smith leads Espy, 42% to 36%, while Espy leads McDaniel, 43% to 24%. [MOE: +/- 3%]
** 2018 Senate -- AZ: Magellan Strategies poll of the GOP primary has Rep McSally in the lead with 36%, with a tight race for second between scumball Arpaio at 26% and whackdoodle Ward at 25%.
** Odds & ends:
** 2018 House:
-- (old) PA-15: Mentioned earlier, Charlie Dent (R), who had already announced his retirement, has upgraded that into a resignation. A special election will be required, based on the 2016 district lines. Likeliest outcome is that the special is scheduled concurrently with the regular general, and that the nominees for new PA-07 (which is mostly the same geography) will be the nominees for the special.** AZ-08 special: Dem Tipirneni released an internal poll showing her tied 46-46 with GOPer Lesko. [MOE: +/- 4.9%]I'm still pretty skeptical, but Lake Research has a decent reputation, and it does address the observed GOP advantage in the early vote. If Tipirneni loses by 10 points or less, it's a good night for Dems. If she actually won, we're deep into tsunami time.
-- That Muhlenberg poll mentioned yesterday also has the PA generic ballot at 47/38 Dem. [MOE: +/- 5.5%]
-- GOP putting down $38M for early ad slot reservations in 20 top threatened districts. Interesting to see who didn't make the cut, and thus may already be considered dead meat by the party (Comstock, Rod Blum, etc.).
** MS Senate special -- Triumph Campaigns poll has interim GOP Senator Hyde-Smith tied with Dem Espy at 33%, nutbar McDaniel way back at 13%. In head-to-head matchups, Hyde-Smith leads Espy, 42% to 36%, while Espy leads McDaniel, 43% to 24%. [MOE: +/- 3%]
** 2018 Senate -- AZ: Magellan Strategies poll of the GOP primary has Rep McSally in the lead with 36%, with a tight race for second between scumball Arpaio at 26% and whackdoodle Ward at 25%.
** Odds & ends:
-- New Jersey became the latest state to enact automatic voter registration today. This starts out as "narrow" (DMV interactions only) but with provisions to broaden that to other government interactions after further study.posted by Chrysostom at 8:15 PM on April 17, 2018 [32 favorites]
-- There's been a lot of eye-glazing back and forth over Maine's ranked choice voting initiative, but the state Supreme Court has ruled it *will* be in effect for the June primaries.
-- NY gov: Siena poll of the Dem primary has Cuomo up 58-27 on Nixon. That's a considerable narrowing from their March poll (66-19).
The Onion: Comey: ‘What Can I Say, I’m Just A Catty Bitch From New Jersey And I Live For Drama’
COLBERT: Are there things that you know about the Russia investigation that were happening before you were fired that we haven’t learned yet as a public?
COMEY: Yes.
COLBERT: Can you tell me what those are.
COMEY: No.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:21 PM on April 17, 2018 [21 favorites]
COLBERT: Are there things that you know about the Russia investigation that were happening before you were fired that we haven’t learned yet as a public?
COMEY: Yes.
COLBERT: Can you tell me what those are.
COMEY: No.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:21 PM on April 17, 2018 [21 favorites]
AZ: Magellan Strategies poll of the GOP primary has Rep McSally in the lead with 36%, with a tight race for second between scumball Arpaio at 26% and whackdoodle Ward at 25%.
If one of them dropped out the scumball/whackadoodle vote could combine for another Roy Moore situation.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:35 PM on April 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
If one of them dropped out the scumball/whackadoodle vote could combine for another Roy Moore situation.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:35 PM on April 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
That's very true. McSally is definitely the strongest candidate in the general, but getting there is her challenge. Dems would be fairly confident of a pickup with either Ward or Arpaio as the GOP candidate.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:40 PM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Chrysostom at 8:40 PM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
Colbert's show put the full Comey interview (32 minutes) up. I presume the edited version as broadcast will be posted tomorrow.
posted by zachlipton at 8:48 PM on April 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 8:48 PM on April 17, 2018 [8 favorites]
They call him a Spy, but I am more a Spy than he is.
This springs from the same perverse compulsion that inspires Trump to recite "The Snake" allegory every chance he can at his rallies. Because he considers himself to be smarter and slicker and all-around better than everyone, he takes an especially nasty pleasure in making these mock-confessions and getting away with it. This is the Malignant Narcissistic Personality Disorder on full display.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:14 PM on April 17, 2018 [24 favorites]
This springs from the same perverse compulsion that inspires Trump to recite "The Snake" allegory every chance he can at his rallies. Because he considers himself to be smarter and slicker and all-around better than everyone, he takes an especially nasty pleasure in making these mock-confessions and getting away with it. This is the Malignant Narcissistic Personality Disorder on full display.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:14 PM on April 17, 2018 [24 favorites]
@MSNBC Is Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder running for president?
"Yeah, I'm thinking about it," he tells @chrislhayes
Watch.
posted by scalefree at 9:25 PM on April 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
"Yeah, I'm thinking about it," he tells @chrislhayes
Watch.
posted by scalefree at 9:25 PM on April 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
Comey:
Colbert goes on to show the clip from when he announced the Trump fired Comey and his audience cheered (it happened during the taping) and asks "have you made everyone in the world mad at you?" Comey: "when [the Clinton email case, which he calls a "nightmare"] began, I knew we were going to piss of at least half of partisans. It never occurred to me we would piss off all of them"
Colbert does press him on the classified Loretta Lynch documents, which Comey says he doesn't believe are true, "but I believe that what was in those documents, if released, would allow reasonable people to question whether the investigation was being done in a fair way, and that's why it worried me." Then he launches into blaming Obama for giving interviews where he said Clinton didn't do anything wrong. Colbert straight-up calls the documents "a 'you can't blame me' card that we don't get to see."
Comey says nobody from the FBI went to check out the Presidential Suite at the Ritz Carlton while he was Director and asks Colbert (who did go) if the room is "big enough for a germophobe to be at a safe distance from the activity." Colbert is saying he met people while he was there who claimed to have knowledge of Trump's attendance at the party in question.
Finally, Colbert asks about Comey's comments about impeachment from the Stephanopoulos interview, asking if Comey is blaming the voters:
posted by zachlipton at 9:42 PM on April 17, 2018 [17 favorites]
"He's tweeted at me probably 50 times. I've been gone for a year, I'm like a breakup he can't get over. He wakes up in the morning. I'm out there living my best life. He wakes up in the morning and tweets at me....Ok, but didn't you just destroy the whole norm about the FBI not interfering in an election (Colbert even says as much a bit later in the interview)?
My first reaction to those kinds of tweets is a shrug, like well there he goes again, but actually then I cought myself and I said wait a minute. If I'm shrugging, are the rest of the country shrugging, and does that mean we've become numb to this. It's not ok for the President of the United States should be in jail. It's not normal. It's not acceptable. It's not ok. But it's happened so much there's a danger we're now numb to it and the norm has been destroyed, and I feel that norm destroying in my own shrug. And so we can't allow that to happen."
Colbert goes on to show the clip from when he announced the Trump fired Comey and his audience cheered (it happened during the taping) and asks "have you made everyone in the world mad at you?" Comey: "when [the Clinton email case, which he calls a "nightmare"] began, I knew we were going to piss of at least half of partisans. It never occurred to me we would piss off all of them"
Colbert does press him on the classified Loretta Lynch documents, which Comey says he doesn't believe are true, "but I believe that what was in those documents, if released, would allow reasonable people to question whether the investigation was being done in a fair way, and that's why it worried me." Then he launches into blaming Obama for giving interviews where he said Clinton didn't do anything wrong. Colbert straight-up calls the documents "a 'you can't blame me' card that we don't get to see."
Comey says nobody from the FBI went to check out the Presidential Suite at the Ritz Carlton while he was Director and asks Colbert (who did go) if the room is "big enough for a germophobe to be at a safe distance from the activity." Colbert is saying he met people while he was there who claimed to have knowledge of Trump's attendance at the party in question.
Finally, Colbert asks about Comey's comments about impeachment from the Stephanopoulos interview, asking if Comey is blaming the voters:
Comey: Maybe partly. And I mostly blame those who haven't votedAnd then James Comey, the guy who wrote a book about preserving norms after becoming famous for violating them, says he's optimistic enough that the country will "not only survive this; we will thrive."
Colbert: Did you vote?
Comey: No. I was the FBI Director
Colbert: Are you going to vote in 2020?
Comey: Yes I will. [...] The law and the facts will drive whether there's an inpeachment process. What I was saying to George Stephanopoulos was in a way that would short-circuit something we need. We need a moment of clarity and inflection in this country. We need the people of this country. I hope the great middle to get off the couch, get out of their busy lives, and say the values of our leadership matters. And more than policy disputes, more than the rest of it. We stand for something in this country. And we need to send a signal that we know that and we treasure it.
posted by zachlipton at 9:42 PM on April 17, 2018 [17 favorites]
As for the AZ Senate GOP primary - I don’t expect Arpaio to drop out, but at the same time I would not be surprised if he did. He’s in his 80s and loves to keep his name out there, but I don’t know that he really wants the office as much as he wants to reminding everyone he’s still there and still able to raise money. Ward ain’t dropping out absent something extraordinary. If Arpaio does indeed drop out, McSally could have some serious trouble. She may still likely beat Ward in that case, but as it is she’s trying to move far right enough to win the primary and then she’ll move back toward the middle for the general. Having to compete with Ward for the far wingnut vote could haunt her in the general. It’s worth noting that McSally was likely toast in AZ-02, and stood a better chance running for Senate, so when state party leaders encouraged her, she was ready to go.
Another complicating factor: there’s some talk rattling around that McCain is in worse health than has been let on. If that is indeed the case, we could see both of Arizona’s Senate seats on the ballot this year. If this happens then I don’t know what to expect next. There’s a lot of people that will jump in for a GOP primary. The Dem bench here isn’t anywhere near as deep. It would be a free for all here. I could see either Arpaio or Ward jumping to the other Senate race in this scenario. What I would expect is to see the national GOP put a very heavy priority on Arizona because if the Dems were to take both Arizona Senate seats, then there’s a very strong chance of the Republicans losing their Senate majority.
posted by azpenguin at 9:47 PM on April 17, 2018 [13 favorites]
Another complicating factor: there’s some talk rattling around that McCain is in worse health than has been let on. If that is indeed the case, we could see both of Arizona’s Senate seats on the ballot this year. If this happens then I don’t know what to expect next. There’s a lot of people that will jump in for a GOP primary. The Dem bench here isn’t anywhere near as deep. It would be a free for all here. I could see either Arpaio or Ward jumping to the other Senate race in this scenario. What I would expect is to see the national GOP put a very heavy priority on Arizona because if the Dems were to take both Arizona Senate seats, then there’s a very strong chance of the Republicans losing their Senate majority.
posted by azpenguin at 9:47 PM on April 17, 2018 [13 favorites]
Does anyone reading this thread know anything about OGE Form 278e? ProPublica has put together a nifty tool called TrumpTown, a database of personnel records for thousands of Trump appointees. This financial disclosure form is one type of FOIA'ed document that they have in their database.
I looked up some names from a Department of Interior (DOI) press release, and many of the appointees have filed financial disclosure forms — but most of the forms seem sparse. See for example this disclosure form from one of Zinke's former staffers, who is now Deputy Director of DOI's Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs. It reports no assets, liabilities, compensation, or past employment. But his resume (PDF) reports that he worked for a lobbying and consulting firm during what I believe would have been the reporting period.
Is this level of "nothing to see here" normal on a 278e? Would it usually raise some kind of red flag if the employee answered "none" or "N/A" to literally every single question on the form? Is this the sort of thing that an ethics official would normally let through?
posted by compartment at 9:59 PM on April 17, 2018 [13 favorites]
I looked up some names from a Department of Interior (DOI) press release, and many of the appointees have filed financial disclosure forms — but most of the forms seem sparse. See for example this disclosure form from one of Zinke's former staffers, who is now Deputy Director of DOI's Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs. It reports no assets, liabilities, compensation, or past employment. But his resume (PDF) reports that he worked for a lobbying and consulting firm during what I believe would have been the reporting period.
Is this level of "nothing to see here" normal on a 278e? Would it usually raise some kind of red flag if the employee answered "none" or "N/A" to literally every single question on the form? Is this the sort of thing that an ethics official would normally let through?
posted by compartment at 9:59 PM on April 17, 2018 [13 favorites]
Comey & his homeys. Click for pic.
@samjcharles Method Man and Ghostface Killah are hanging out with James Comey and may be discussing the Wu-Tang album that Martin Shkreli bought.
posted by scalefree at 10:20 PM on April 17, 2018 [12 favorites]
@samjcharles Method Man and Ghostface Killah are hanging out with James Comey and may be discussing the Wu-Tang album that Martin Shkreli bought.
posted by scalefree at 10:20 PM on April 17, 2018 [12 favorites]
Another complicating factor: there’s some talk rattling around that McCain is in worse health than has been let on. If that is indeed the case, we could see both of Arizona’s Senate seats on the ballot this year.
If he leaves before May 30, there will have to be a special in November. Arizona law is a little vague, but the consensus is that if he leaves after, there wouldn't be one, and the appointed senator would serve through 2020.
Obviously, the thin Dem bench would definitely be a problem in a two race situation. Of course, you might have either Arpaio or Ward decide to run in the special, which would put the GOP in sticky situations in both races.
Trivia: the last time there were two Senate elections at the same time where the voters split and elected one D and one R was in 1966 (South Carolina, Strom Thurmond and Fritz Hollings).
posted by Chrysostom at 10:29 PM on April 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
If he leaves before May 30, there will have to be a special in November. Arizona law is a little vague, but the consensus is that if he leaves after, there wouldn't be one, and the appointed senator would serve through 2020.
Obviously, the thin Dem bench would definitely be a problem in a two race situation. Of course, you might have either Arpaio or Ward decide to run in the special, which would put the GOP in sticky situations in both races.
Trivia: the last time there were two Senate elections at the same time where the voters split and elected one D and one R was in 1966 (South Carolina, Strom Thurmond and Fritz Hollings).
posted by Chrysostom at 10:29 PM on April 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
Read.
@CoreyRobin Woke up this morning, scratched my head, and wondered, "Whatever happened to that green lantern theory of the presidency I used to hear so much about?"
posted by scalefree at 10:48 PM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
@CoreyRobin Woke up this morning, scratched my head, and wondered, "Whatever happened to that green lantern theory of the presidency I used to hear so much about?"
posted by scalefree at 10:48 PM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
I don't think that's a very fair description of the Green Lantern theory. The point was that Americans - certainly the mainstream media - tend to think the presidency is basically a monarchy and that a president should be able to get stuff done by sheer force of will. And that if they don't, it's because they are "weak."
posted by Chrysostom at 10:56 PM on April 17, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 10:56 PM on April 17, 2018 [9 favorites]
Was “the Green Lantern theory of the presidency” something people used to talk about a lot? This is the first time I’ve heard the phrase, and it doesn’t make much sense to me (a non-comic book reader.)
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:59 PM on April 17, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:59 PM on April 17, 2018 [18 favorites]
It was a Matt Yglesias coinage from 2006, it was kind of popular for a while in the blogosphere days.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:02 PM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Chrysostom at 11:02 PM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
Was “the Green Lantern theory of the presidency” something people used to talk about a lot? This is the first time I’ve heard the phrase, and it doesn’t make much sense to me (a non-comic book reader.)
Speaking *as* a comic book reader it makes no sense to me whatsoever as well.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 11:02 PM on April 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
Speaking *as* a comic book reader it makes no sense to me whatsoever as well.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 11:02 PM on April 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
Vox, The Green Lantern Theory of the Presidency, explained
posted by saysthis at 11:02 PM on April 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by saysthis at 11:02 PM on April 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
I've made many criticisms of Obama's weak rhetoric here over the years, but while Robin is right that there's a disanalogy between how Obama and Trump's rhetoric have been treated -- and while he may even be somewhat right in his implied criticism that the left defended Obama's weak rhetoric out of partisanship -- he doesn't do enough to explore the true roots of why Trump's rhetoric has the capacity to be so much more powerful than Obama's, no matter what Obama might have done. The basic point, which various folks in that Twitter thread make too, is that when your goals are to build things within an existing system of laws and legislative practices where thousands of players (legislators, bureaucrats, special interests, voters) have significant power, rhetoric is relatively weak. But when your goals are the destruction of that apparatus and vigilante violence, the capacity for rhetoric to directly achieve significant outcomes is much greater.
posted by chortly at 11:05 PM on April 17, 2018 [42 favorites]
posted by chortly at 11:05 PM on April 17, 2018 [42 favorites]
Got it. So basically because people haven't been given a good civics education no one knows we have checks and balances and that the president isn't a king with a power ring- so people think he can just Hal Jordan world peace/war/your policy goal here into existence and then get all mad when he can't.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 11:05 PM on April 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 11:05 PM on April 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
Yes, the president should just should just concentrate and boom - Middle East peace is achieved! Etc.
Your Chuck Todds of the world like to bring up FDR and LBJ, but a) it's telling that they have to reach back decades for relevant examples, b) both of them had Congressional support, and c) both of them had plenty of failures, too. The American system isn't a parliamentary one, and frequently the presidency is hamstrung.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:09 PM on April 17, 2018 [18 favorites]
Your Chuck Todds of the world like to bring up FDR and LBJ, but a) it's telling that they have to reach back decades for relevant examples, b) both of them had Congressional support, and c) both of them had plenty of failures, too. The American system isn't a parliamentary one, and frequently the presidency is hamstrung.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:09 PM on April 17, 2018 [18 favorites]
Comey was more concerned about the appearance of ethics than with actual ethics.
Even if all Comey was concerned about was whether or not the FBI would appear biased, he absolutely trashed Hillary Clinton in the process of protecting their reputation. Even if she had become president, he would have greatly weakened her presidency by calling her grossly irresponsible in his first press briefing. This is still hugely unethical.
posted by xammerboy at 11:09 PM on April 17, 2018 [34 favorites]
Even if all Comey was concerned about was whether or not the FBI would appear biased, he absolutely trashed Hillary Clinton in the process of protecting their reputation. Even if she had become president, he would have greatly weakened her presidency by calling her grossly irresponsible in his first press briefing. This is still hugely unethical.
posted by xammerboy at 11:09 PM on April 17, 2018 [34 favorites]
Mitch McConnell says the president hasn't given him any indication that Mueller will be fired, so there's no need to protect him.... Has Trump given anyone any indication they've been fired before the fact? So far, it seems like they all learn about it from the television or a tweet.
posted by xammerboy at 11:13 PM on April 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by xammerboy at 11:13 PM on April 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
Has Trump given anyone any indication they've been fired before the fact? So far, it seems like they all learn about it from the television or a tweet.
He does tend to telegraph his moves & express his displeasure with them, sometimes weeks in advance. The firings themselves though he likes to keep his fingerprints off of.
posted by scalefree at 11:36 PM on April 17, 2018
He does tend to telegraph his moves & express his displeasure with them, sometimes weeks in advance. The firings themselves though he likes to keep his fingerprints off of.
posted by scalefree at 11:36 PM on April 17, 2018
To the extent anybody talked about the green lantern theory (that's the Brendan Nyhan blogpost where it started, though it comes directly from Yglesias's green lantern theory of geopolitics), it was responding to people who blamed Obama for legislative compromises in cases where Congress forged ahead on whatever they could cobble together the votes for as opposed to preferred more left policies. The green lantern theory comes into play when people, say, picket the White House because they think Obama isn't trying hard enough to get Joe Lieberman to drop his opposition to a public option. Obama is so powerful, people who don't understand the presidency think, that Lieberman hasn't caved because Obama isn't making him, and therefore it makes more sense to picket the White House than Lieberman's office.
And I think that theory still holds. And it matters what those words are and how you use them. Would Obama giving a speech trashing Lieberman and demanding a public option have achieved that goal or would it have blown up the prospects for ever passing the ACA? Would Obama throwing a Trump-like tantrum at that moment have helped? We can't hop back in a time machine and try it, but if you believe Robin's criticism, you ought to have a convincing plan for what Obama should have done differently at that point in time that would have achieved your (and my, to be honest) desired outcome. The issue isn't simply, as Robin suggests, that people calling on Obama to say certain things were delusional because they thought the President's words mattered when they didn't; but rather the people calling on Obama to say certain things expected outcomes from those utterances that did not appear to be forthcoming.
I don't think there's any credible reading of the Obama administration where you can conclude he thought his words didn't matter; he was an incredibly careful and reflective speaker precisely because he knew the power of his words. In contrast, I'd argue that the entire Trump Presidency has been a big experiment of Trump trying to figure out what he can and cannot do and say in the job.
Ultimately, Robin concludes that Trump's words have had little effect on Congress (personally, I think he's had more of an effect that Robin gives Trump credit for, but I also think Trumpism is a lot closer to mainstream GOP policy than most people are capable of acknowledging), and that undercuts his entire thesis. Robin's complaint, summarized, is essentially:
1. During the Obama administration, we wanted Obama to say stuff to make stuff happen
2. People told us we expected too much from the power of the presidency
3. Obama didn't say our stuff and so we didn't get all our preferred policy outcomes
4. Trump now says lots of stuff
5. Saying that stuff hasn't gotten him his preferred policy outcomes out of Congress either
Well ok then. The green lantern theory is still true: the President's failure to achieve certain outcomes occurs because Congress mostly does its thing regardless of how much political will the President applies to make it do his thing. That Robin twists it around because he's aggrieved Obama didn't make a lot of noise while not achieving certain things is really irrelevant.
posted by zachlipton at 11:40 PM on April 17, 2018 [18 favorites]
And I think that theory still holds. And it matters what those words are and how you use them. Would Obama giving a speech trashing Lieberman and demanding a public option have achieved that goal or would it have blown up the prospects for ever passing the ACA? Would Obama throwing a Trump-like tantrum at that moment have helped? We can't hop back in a time machine and try it, but if you believe Robin's criticism, you ought to have a convincing plan for what Obama should have done differently at that point in time that would have achieved your (and my, to be honest) desired outcome. The issue isn't simply, as Robin suggests, that people calling on Obama to say certain things were delusional because they thought the President's words mattered when they didn't; but rather the people calling on Obama to say certain things expected outcomes from those utterances that did not appear to be forthcoming.
I don't think there's any credible reading of the Obama administration where you can conclude he thought his words didn't matter; he was an incredibly careful and reflective speaker precisely because he knew the power of his words. In contrast, I'd argue that the entire Trump Presidency has been a big experiment of Trump trying to figure out what he can and cannot do and say in the job.
Ultimately, Robin concludes that Trump's words have had little effect on Congress (personally, I think he's had more of an effect that Robin gives Trump credit for, but I also think Trumpism is a lot closer to mainstream GOP policy than most people are capable of acknowledging), and that undercuts his entire thesis. Robin's complaint, summarized, is essentially:
1. During the Obama administration, we wanted Obama to say stuff to make stuff happen
2. People told us we expected too much from the power of the presidency
3. Obama didn't say our stuff and so we didn't get all our preferred policy outcomes
4. Trump now says lots of stuff
5. Saying that stuff hasn't gotten him his preferred policy outcomes out of Congress either
Well ok then. The green lantern theory is still true: the President's failure to achieve certain outcomes occurs because Congress mostly does its thing regardless of how much political will the President applies to make it do his thing. That Robin twists it around because he's aggrieved Obama didn't make a lot of noise while not achieving certain things is really irrelevant.
posted by zachlipton at 11:40 PM on April 17, 2018 [18 favorites]
He's certainly started the firing cycle with Mueller (maybe Rosenstein too, can't remember for sure). Been tweeting about him a lot, after many months of leaving him out of his Twitter tantrums.
posted by scalefree at 11:40 PM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 11:40 PM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
Someone needs to distract the president by talking about kids marching for gun control. He can't hold two thoughts in his head at once; the Mueller investigation will go back into deep storage while he tries to parse the confusion of "I want to (be seen to) protect kids" and "I want to protect guns."
That, or get him to demand adulation for all the tax cuts he brought, since it's that time of year. Let him make some statements about how awesome "his" tax bill was (nevermind that he didn't write it and didn't even read it), and give the media a stack of incomprehensible "alternative facts" to play with for a couple of weeks.
He will assume that, since he's not thinking about Mueller, Mueller isn't thinking about him (the man has no sense of object permanence), and will be shocked anew when the next set of indictments roll around.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:46 PM on April 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
That, or get him to demand adulation for all the tax cuts he brought, since it's that time of year. Let him make some statements about how awesome "his" tax bill was (nevermind that he didn't write it and didn't even read it), and give the media a stack of incomprehensible "alternative facts" to play with for a couple of weeks.
He will assume that, since he's not thinking about Mueller, Mueller isn't thinking about him (the man has no sense of object permanence), and will be shocked anew when the next set of indictments roll around.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:46 PM on April 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
I haven't read the whole thread, but if this tweet from (Mefi's own) owillis hasn't been linked yet, then that should be rectified.
posted by asok at 1:55 AM on April 18, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by asok at 1:55 AM on April 18, 2018 [13 favorites]
“Dear Stanley, I have reached the conclusion that Mr Nixon is a bad man …” Stanley Cloud was part of Time magazine’s Watergate team, and went on to become Time’s Washington DC bureau chief, and here tells the Guardian readers about his experience back then.
posted by mumimor at 2:05 AM on April 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by mumimor at 2:05 AM on April 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
This seems out of character for this administration: Trump Administration Defends Obama’s Atlantic Monument. Defending something Obama did? Protecting the environment, like at all?
The monument must be a cover story for something military, is the only way it makes sense to me.
posted by ctmf at 2:26 AM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
The monument must be a cover story for something military, is the only way it makes sense to me.
posted by ctmf at 2:26 AM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
I read Corey Robin's post on FB. I think I understand his point better through where he's coming from.
1) He's been arguing that Trump isn't as much of a deviation from conservatism as liberals think. His book on conservatism has the thesis that behind a facade of virtuous restraint, conservatism is essentially about co-opting revolutionary fervor to fight back against the loss of power by society's upper strata.
Liberals have seen Trump as an anomaly, and according to Robin, have, in their fear of him, over-stated his anomalousness and also his effectiveness.
2) Robin is I think to the left of most liberal pundits.
So his point about the Green Lantern Theory falling by the wayside: it shows excessive liberal fear of Trump as able to buck history and institutions (earlier the mantra was that the President didn't have magic superhero powers). And maybe a lot of liberal pundits were Ok with Obama being so constrained because they themselves were a bit neoliberal and wanted any more populist left initiatives of Obama to fail.
posted by Schmucko at 2:30 AM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
1) He's been arguing that Trump isn't as much of a deviation from conservatism as liberals think. His book on conservatism has the thesis that behind a facade of virtuous restraint, conservatism is essentially about co-opting revolutionary fervor to fight back against the loss of power by society's upper strata.
Liberals have seen Trump as an anomaly, and according to Robin, have, in their fear of him, over-stated his anomalousness and also his effectiveness.
2) Robin is I think to the left of most liberal pundits.
So his point about the Green Lantern Theory falling by the wayside: it shows excessive liberal fear of Trump as able to buck history and institutions (earlier the mantra was that the President didn't have magic superhero powers). And maybe a lot of liberal pundits were Ok with Obama being so constrained because they themselves were a bit neoliberal and wanted any more populist left initiatives of Obama to fail.
posted by Schmucko at 2:30 AM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
OK, you're gonna like this one, let me summarize it for you.
Michael Cohen's uncle Morton Levine owned and ran a Brooklyn social club, El Caribe. From the 1970s until at least the 1990s, the bosses of the Russian mafia in the US had their primary office in El Caribe.
Like much of his family, Michael Cohen owned a stake in El Caribe. He sold it only when Donald Trump was elected President.
This is from Talking Points Memo.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:07 AM on April 18, 2018 [73 favorites]
Michael Cohen's uncle Morton Levine owned and ran a Brooklyn social club, El Caribe. From the 1970s until at least the 1990s, the bosses of the Russian mafia in the US had their primary office in El Caribe.
Like much of his family, Michael Cohen owned a stake in El Caribe. He sold it only when Donald Trump was elected President.
This is from Talking Points Memo.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:07 AM on April 18, 2018 [73 favorites]
Wow, I have family that live a few blocks from El Caribe and, while I didn't know it was there, it is in like literally the most perfect location I could imagine for being a Russian mob headquarters. Take a google street view tour of Mill Basin and check out some of the houses/cars. . .
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 5:13 AM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 5:13 AM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
This is a low-spec alternative to Grand Theft Auto 4.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:17 AM on April 18, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:17 AM on April 18, 2018 [15 favorites]
Most of that was in the Rolling Stone article from last week that was posted here yesterday, no? It really is incredible, though. Cohen isn't really a lawyer in any traditional sense, unless money laundering is generally considered part of the legal profession. And it makes perfect sense why he'd be tied up in so, so much Russian money laundering.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:21 AM on April 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by uncleozzy at 5:21 AM on April 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
"High levels" is D.C. press code for the whitehouse, and "very high" is for POTUS or VPOTUS (if I'm recalling correctly), but when Trump tries to say "high level talks" he can't help but inflate it, "we have had talks at VERY high levels, EXTREMELY high levels" [real], it's like a verbal tick, he doesn't know what the hell is coming out of his mouth, and he certainly doesn't care what it means. The only thing he didn't say was, "the HIGHEST levels, way higher than Obama."
posted by Horkus at 5:22 AM on April 18, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by Horkus at 5:22 AM on April 18, 2018 [16 favorites]
From a Politico piece at the end of last year about the make-up of Mueller's team...
Spearheading the criminal case against Manafort and his longtime deputy Rick Gates are three prosecutors schooled in money laundering, fraud, foreign bribery and organized crime: Andrew Weissmann, Greg Andres and Kyle Freeny.
Let's pull up a report from Huffpo in 2009 (updated 2011);
The Bonanno crime family mobster who was whacked in a pre-dawn hit in Staten Island as he waited for a bus to take him to his city construction job was allegedly thinking the unthinkable, Mafia-wise.
Sources tell Gang Land that soldier Anthony (Little Anthony) Seccafico was being investigated for possible involvement in an imprisoned mob chieftain’s plan to kill Greg Andres, a top federal prosecutor who has been a plague against the crime family in recent years.
How about Andrew Weissmann? From the LA Times earlier this year:
That tells you everything about Andrew Weissmann, the #2 official in the special counsel's investigation. [...] made his mark as a federal prosecutor in New York City in the 1990s, leveraging evidence and threats of lengthy prison sentences to "flip'' mob underlings to testify in trials of organized crime bosses.
[...]
Weissmann's approach — and his expertise in uncovering perjury, obstruction of justice and complex financial crimes — now could pose a mortal threat to Trump's presidency.
[...] Weissmann [is] a prime target of Trump's allies and surrogates, especially on cable TV. Sean Hannity, whose weeknight Fox News show pummels Trump's presumed foes, has said Weissmann "not only needs to be fired but fully investigated."
Hannity vilified the prosecutor during 14 episodes in December and January alone,
So, yeah. I'd say Mueller may have just the right people to hand to help understand the details of a recent shareholder in the Russian mob's HQ and his clients. No wonder Cohen looked defeated, and Hannity terrified, after the raid. As for 45... what delights await!
posted by Devonian at 5:44 AM on April 18, 2018 [48 favorites]
Spearheading the criminal case against Manafort and his longtime deputy Rick Gates are three prosecutors schooled in money laundering, fraud, foreign bribery and organized crime: Andrew Weissmann, Greg Andres and Kyle Freeny.
Let's pull up a report from Huffpo in 2009 (updated 2011);
The Bonanno crime family mobster who was whacked in a pre-dawn hit in Staten Island as he waited for a bus to take him to his city construction job was allegedly thinking the unthinkable, Mafia-wise.
Sources tell Gang Land that soldier Anthony (Little Anthony) Seccafico was being investigated for possible involvement in an imprisoned mob chieftain’s plan to kill Greg Andres, a top federal prosecutor who has been a plague against the crime family in recent years.
How about Andrew Weissmann? From the LA Times earlier this year:
That tells you everything about Andrew Weissmann, the #2 official in the special counsel's investigation. [...] made his mark as a federal prosecutor in New York City in the 1990s, leveraging evidence and threats of lengthy prison sentences to "flip'' mob underlings to testify in trials of organized crime bosses.
[...]
Weissmann's approach — and his expertise in uncovering perjury, obstruction of justice and complex financial crimes — now could pose a mortal threat to Trump's presidency.
[...] Weissmann [is] a prime target of Trump's allies and surrogates, especially on cable TV. Sean Hannity, whose weeknight Fox News show pummels Trump's presumed foes, has said Weissmann "not only needs to be fired but fully investigated."
Hannity vilified the prosecutor during 14 episodes in December and January alone,
So, yeah. I'd say Mueller may have just the right people to hand to help understand the details of a recent shareholder in the Russian mob's HQ and his clients. No wonder Cohen looked defeated, and Hannity terrified, after the raid. As for 45... what delights await!
posted by Devonian at 5:44 AM on April 18, 2018 [48 favorites]
Is he now full pants-on-head insane?
posted by PontifexPrimus at 5:47 AM on April 18, 2018 [47 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump: There is a Revolution going on in California. Soooo many Sanctuary areas want OUT of this ridiculous, crime infested & breeding concept. Jerry Brown is trying to back out of the National Guard at the Border, but the people of the State are not happy. Want Security & Safety NOW!Revolution? "Breeding concept"? What is going on with him?
posted by PontifexPrimus at 5:47 AM on April 18, 2018 [47 favorites]
-- GOP putting down $38M for early ad slot reservations in 20 top threatened districts. Interesting to see who didn't make the cut, and thus may already be considered dead meat by the party (Comstock, Rod Blum, etc.).
This morning, NPR aired a clip about Republicans spending lots of money to defend a seat in the upcoming special election in Arizona. They quoted a Republican saying something to the effect of "We're going to prove to Democrats that they can't win in red states."
How colossally stupid. The very fact they're spending money to defend a safe seat proves that Democrats can win in red states, and more, that Republicans know it. That quote -- which got no pushback or comment, of course -- should not have been run at all.
NPR seems to rely on its listeners to think critically enough to see thru Republican obfuscation, but that doesn't excuse them from airing palpable nonsense that doesn't even make sense on its face.
posted by Gelatin at 5:47 AM on April 18, 2018 [15 favorites]
This morning, NPR aired a clip about Republicans spending lots of money to defend a seat in the upcoming special election in Arizona. They quoted a Republican saying something to the effect of "We're going to prove to Democrats that they can't win in red states."
How colossally stupid. The very fact they're spending money to defend a safe seat proves that Democrats can win in red states, and more, that Republicans know it. That quote -- which got no pushback or comment, of course -- should not have been run at all.
NPR seems to rely on its listeners to think critically enough to see thru Republican obfuscation, but that doesn't excuse them from airing palpable nonsense that doesn't even make sense on its face.
posted by Gelatin at 5:47 AM on April 18, 2018 [15 favorites]
Trump is tweeting about the Stormy Daniels composite sketch. Someone must be getting closer…
posted by mumimor at 5:49 AM on April 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by mumimor at 5:49 AM on April 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
Your Chuck Todds of the world like to bring up FDR and LBJ, but a) it's telling that they have to reach back decades for relevant examples, b) both of them had Congressional support, and c) both of them had plenty of failures, too. The American system isn't a parliamentary one, and frequently the presidency is hamstrung.
I recall a lot of commenters on various media bringing up FDR and LBJ and why doesn't Obama just bully Congress and/or sway them with the power of his leaderly leadership? And I sighed and shake my head. FDR/LBJ had all of the above (Congressional majorities and their own failures) plus they had vast popular mandates because of national crises - the Depression and WW2 for FDR, Kennedy's assassination for LBJ. You really can't compare Obama's situation.
I think part of the problem is that the Democrats, in general, have focused on winning the Presidency above all else, and think that's all we really need to do. Witness voter engagement in 2008 and then right back to apathy in 2010 (where we got shellacked because apathy).
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 5:50 AM on April 18, 2018 [20 favorites]
I recall a lot of commenters on various media bringing up FDR and LBJ and why doesn't Obama just bully Congress and/or sway them with the power of his leaderly leadership? And I sighed and shake my head. FDR/LBJ had all of the above (Congressional majorities and their own failures) plus they had vast popular mandates because of national crises - the Depression and WW2 for FDR, Kennedy's assassination for LBJ. You really can't compare Obama's situation.
I think part of the problem is that the Democrats, in general, have focused on winning the Presidency above all else, and think that's all we really need to do. Witness voter engagement in 2008 and then right back to apathy in 2010 (where we got shellacked because apathy).
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 5:50 AM on April 18, 2018 [20 favorites]
Trump is tweeting about the Stormy Daniels composite sketch. Someone must be getting closer…
Surely his lawyer (does he have any now) told him to keep shtum about this case?
posted by PenDevil at 5:52 AM on April 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Surely his lawyer (does he have any now) told him to keep shtum about this case?
posted by PenDevil at 5:52 AM on April 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Surely his lawyer (does he have any now) told him to keep shtum about this case?
Seriously. Why bother bringing him in for under-oath testimony, when the Public Record is sufficient?
posted by mikelieman at 5:54 AM on April 18, 2018 [9 favorites]
Seriously. Why bother bringing him in for under-oath testimony, when the Public Record is sufficient?
posted by mikelieman at 5:54 AM on April 18, 2018 [9 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump: There is a Revolution going on in California. Soooo many Sanctuary areas want OUT of this ridiculous, crime infested & breeding concept. Jerry Brown is trying to back out of the National Guard at the Border, but the people of the State are not happy. Want Security & Safety NOW!
Revolution? "Breeding concept"? What is going on with him?
As a Californian, I can confidently say that we are laughing at, not with, The Donald. Most of us are happy with our sanctuary cities and our blue overlords. People like it here, which is why it costs so much to buy and/or rent. Any "revolution" will not be in the Republicans' favor, trust me - it will be more like "we're going to take our sweet, sweet, trillions with a "T" in tax revenues away from your racist, misogynist asses."
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 6:15 AM on April 18, 2018 [46 favorites]
Revolution? "Breeding concept"? What is going on with him?
As a Californian, I can confidently say that we are laughing at, not with, The Donald. Most of us are happy with our sanctuary cities and our blue overlords. People like it here, which is why it costs so much to buy and/or rent. Any "revolution" will not be in the Republicans' favor, trust me - it will be more like "we're going to take our sweet, sweet, trillions with a "T" in tax revenues away from your racist, misogynist asses."
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 6:15 AM on April 18, 2018 [46 favorites]
Colbert: Did you vote?And yet somehow you still had a voice in the election. <Yakov_Smirnoff >I love dees country!</Yakov_Smirnoff >
Comey: No. I was the FBI Director
posted by wenestvedt at 6:19 AM on April 18, 2018 [9 favorites]
Oh yes, about that composite photo. The chap to the right is the head of security for Trump Org, one Michael Calamari Jr. Or perhaps it's the one on the left. Hard to tell.
So, absolutely no idea why 45 is so exercised. None whatsoever. No sirree.
(But Calamari? Really?)
posted by Devonian at 6:19 AM on April 18, 2018 [25 favorites]
So, absolutely no idea why 45 is so exercised. None whatsoever. No sirree.
(But Calamari? Really?)
posted by Devonian at 6:19 AM on April 18, 2018 [25 favorites]
I have a favor to ask people: I need us to start focusing on what broad cross aisle coalitions look like. It’s fun to jeer at “the other side” and smugly talk about taking riches off the table but y’all need to know this: the only reason I as a trans woman can pee in Texas is because a republican. A single republican. A fucking beloved democrat in the Texas Senate misgendered me personally at a senate hearing And voted for the bill.
I need broad coalitions. I need your help.
When we fracture the coalitions the occulted minorities suffer. Do you part to help me.
That sole republican who stymied the anti-trans bill retired. Because the republican party is too busy jeering at progressives to build coalitions. I see us progressives doing the exact same damn thing. Neither side is doing their part to protect people like me.
I need republicans and Democrats to stop acting like a bunch of yobs at a football match and start being adults.
posted by Annika Cicada at 6:27 AM on April 18, 2018 [75 favorites]
I need broad coalitions. I need your help.
When we fracture the coalitions the occulted minorities suffer. Do you part to help me.
That sole republican who stymied the anti-trans bill retired. Because the republican party is too busy jeering at progressives to build coalitions. I see us progressives doing the exact same damn thing. Neither side is doing their part to protect people like me.
I need republicans and Democrats to stop acting like a bunch of yobs at a football match and start being adults.
posted by Annika Cicada at 6:27 AM on April 18, 2018 [75 favorites]
Crooks and Liars discusses Stormy Daniels' composite photo, which the President claims does not depict a real person (although how he would know this other than if he was hanging out in a Las Vegas parking garage in 2011 is unclear), and its resemblance to Matthew Calamari Jr. who is not a mini-boss from Splatoon but instead Director of Surveillance for the Trump Organization, like his allegedly violent father Matthew Calamari Sr (also not from Splatoon).
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:34 AM on April 18, 2018 [40 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:34 AM on April 18, 2018 [40 favorites]
WAPO: California limits National Guard’s border mission, risking clash with Trump
The state of California has rejected the terms of the Trump administration’s initial request to deploy National Guard troops along the border with Mexico, U.S. military officials and the head of the Border Patrol said Monday, the latest sign of persistent tension with the White House over immigration enforcement.posted by notyou at 6:53 AM on April 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
The troops in California are under the command of Gov. Jerry Brown (D), who last week said he would send up to 400 personnel in a limited role.
Just how limited became clearer Monday after California’s National Guard told Homeland Security officials the state will not allow soldiers to do the types of things they’re doing elsewhere on the border: monitoring surveillance cameras, performing maintenance and transporting U.S. border agents.
Why does a real estate company have a “director of surveillance?”
posted by chrchr at 6:57 AM on April 18, 2018 [61 favorites]
posted by chrchr at 6:57 AM on April 18, 2018 [61 favorites]
FDR/LBJ had all of the above (Congressional majorities and their own failures) plus they had vast popular mandates because of national crises
They also had large majorities in both houses of Congress.
posted by kirkaracha at 7:06 AM on April 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
They also had large majorities in both houses of Congress.
posted by kirkaracha at 7:06 AM on April 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
This isn’t a totally fully formed thought, but I feel like one of the reasons Avenatti is getting so much traction is that it feels like he plays the game the way Trump does. A little schoolyard, a little back of the class. He is much classier and doesn’t stoop that much, but let’s be honest, any front of the class attacks roll off trumps back, but his stick in the public sphere. He orchestrates the drama well.
posted by Brainy at 7:06 AM on April 18, 2018 [30 favorites]
posted by Brainy at 7:06 AM on April 18, 2018 [30 favorites]
This isn’t a totally fully formed thought, but I feel like one of the reasons Avenatti is getting so much traction is that it feels like he plays the game the way Trump does.
Agreed. Avenatti's PR strategies are exactly the same as Trump's, but Avenatti is much better at it.
Michael "Mikey the Squid" Calamari
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:11 AM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
Agreed. Avenatti's PR strategies are exactly the same as Trump's, but Avenatti is much better at it.
Michael "Mikey the Squid" Calamari
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:11 AM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
That sells Avenatti really short, or else really overestimates Trump's personal capacity for "strategy."
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:14 AM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:14 AM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
Mod note: A few deleted; eh, let's not get rolling on dozens of comments making fun of Calamari's name; yes, I know.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:17 AM on April 18, 2018 [28 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:17 AM on April 18, 2018 [28 favorites]
1) He's been arguing that Trump isn't as much of a deviation from conservatism as liberals think.
Since when do liberals think Trump, with his abhorrence of facts and monumental bad faith, is all that much of a deviation from conservatism? From what I've seen it's conservatives like David Brooks and Jonah Goldberg who have been trying to claim, unconvincingly, that Trumpism wasn't really what conservatism is about.
posted by Gelatin at 7:18 AM on April 18, 2018 [40 favorites]
Since when do liberals think Trump, with his abhorrence of facts and monumental bad faith, is all that much of a deviation from conservatism? From what I've seen it's conservatives like David Brooks and Jonah Goldberg who have been trying to claim, unconvincingly, that Trumpism wasn't really what conservatism is about.
posted by Gelatin at 7:18 AM on April 18, 2018 [40 favorites]
The chap to the right is the head of security for Trump Org, one Michael Calamari Jr. Or perhaps it's the one on the left. Hard to tell.
No problemo, we'll just get some well-respected, unbesmirched witnesses to verify he was in NY that month or whenever and badda boom accusatory clouds cleared.
/cut-to-commercial-music
posted by petebest at 7:19 AM on April 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
No problemo, we'll just get some well-respected, unbesmirched witnesses to verify he was in NY that month or whenever and badda boom accusatory clouds cleared.
/cut-to-commercial-music
posted by petebest at 7:19 AM on April 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
That sells Avenatti really short, or else really overestimates Trump's personal capacity for "strategy."
Let's put it this way: What Avenatti is doing is what Trump thinks he's doing.
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:20 AM on April 18, 2018 [45 favorites]
Let's put it this way: What Avenatti is doing is what Trump thinks he's doing.
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:20 AM on April 18, 2018 [45 favorites]
There is a Revolution going on in California. Soooo many Sanctuary areas want OUT of this ridiculous, crime infested & breeding concept.
Full-throated white-supremacist talking points.
posted by Sophie1 at 7:22 AM on April 18, 2018 [71 favorites]
Full-throated white-supremacist talking points.
posted by Sophie1 at 7:22 AM on April 18, 2018 [71 favorites]
There is a Revolution going on in California. Soooo many Sanctuary areas want OUT of this ridiculous, crime infested & breeding concept.
But enough about how they feel about your administration.
posted by azpenguin at 7:27 AM on April 18, 2018 [20 favorites]
But enough about how they feel about your administration.
posted by azpenguin at 7:27 AM on April 18, 2018 [20 favorites]
Colbert: Did you vote?
Comey: No. I was the FBI Director
Is that a thing? That's a stupid thing. Right?
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 7:27 AM on April 18, 2018 [21 favorites]
Comey: No. I was the FBI Director
Is that a thing? That's a stupid thing. Right?
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 7:27 AM on April 18, 2018 [21 favorites]
Since when do liberals think Trump, with his abhorrence of facts and monumental bad faith, is all that much of a deviation from conservatism? From what I've seen it's conservatives like David Brooks and Jonah Goldberg who have been trying to claim, unconvincingly, that Trumpism wasn't really what conservatism is about.
The recurring problem in this whole conversation is that no one is specifying who they're talking about because it's more convenient to lump everyone together. Liberal can mean the NYT editorial page, Vox/Talking Points Memo, right wing liberals, progressives, people who call themselves liberal even though their politics are left because that's how we frame things in this country (like, meet my dad), Mother Jones, the Nation, Harper's, the New Yorker...I mean, there's a lot of liberals out there, with a lot of different understandings of conservatism.
It's convenient to say that all liberals think this or that, just as it's convenient to say that all radicals are upper middle class white college students who've never had to work, etc, because this means that you never have to face any complex disagreements - just select the stupidest and most self-serving of people you disagree with and pretend they stand in for the whole.
It's also convenient to assume that your opponent doesn't have a point. It's never convenient to say, "In some ways Trump represents a continuity with the GOP and a continuity with the Obama administration, in others he represents an alarming rupture; discuss", because that requires at least some detailed knowledge about recent history and the mechanisms of government.
posted by Frowner at 7:28 AM on April 18, 2018 [24 favorites]
The recurring problem in this whole conversation is that no one is specifying who they're talking about because it's more convenient to lump everyone together. Liberal can mean the NYT editorial page, Vox/Talking Points Memo, right wing liberals, progressives, people who call themselves liberal even though their politics are left because that's how we frame things in this country (like, meet my dad), Mother Jones, the Nation, Harper's, the New Yorker...I mean, there's a lot of liberals out there, with a lot of different understandings of conservatism.
It's convenient to say that all liberals think this or that, just as it's convenient to say that all radicals are upper middle class white college students who've never had to work, etc, because this means that you never have to face any complex disagreements - just select the stupidest and most self-serving of people you disagree with and pretend they stand in for the whole.
It's also convenient to assume that your opponent doesn't have a point. It's never convenient to say, "In some ways Trump represents a continuity with the GOP and a continuity with the Obama administration, in others he represents an alarming rupture; discuss", because that requires at least some detailed knowledge about recent history and the mechanisms of government.
posted by Frowner at 7:28 AM on April 18, 2018 [24 favorites]
Guys, "breeding" is meant to modify "crime". It's saying that sanctuary cities breed crime.
posted by runcibleshaw at 7:34 AM on April 18, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 7:34 AM on April 18, 2018 [11 favorites]
Colbert: Did you vote?
Comey: No. I was the FBI Director
Is that a thing? That's a stupid thing. Right?
It's an old-school thing. Eisenhower is known not to have voted while he was in the Army, and was not alone in that (it's possible that the first vote he ever cast was for himself).
(And it's also indicative of a certain level of privilege and self-regard, where you think that you personally are so important that none of these mere candidates would affect your life unduly.)
posted by Etrigan at 7:40 AM on April 18, 2018 [31 favorites]
Comey: No. I was the FBI Director
Is that a thing? That's a stupid thing. Right?
It's an old-school thing. Eisenhower is known not to have voted while he was in the Army, and was not alone in that (it's possible that the first vote he ever cast was for himself).
(And it's also indicative of a certain level of privilege and self-regard, where you think that you personally are so important that none of these mere candidates would affect your life unduly.)
posted by Etrigan at 7:40 AM on April 18, 2018 [31 favorites]
I know many journalists who don’t vote, too. They say it’s because they don’t want to have a stake in the success of any candidate or party, which might interfere with their ability to report objectively.
posted by Superplin at 7:43 AM on April 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Superplin at 7:43 AM on April 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
It’s somewhat common for high ranking members of the military or federal law enforcement to abstain from voting. "I am in the pay of the United States government," Gen. George S. Patton said, "If I vote against the administration, I am voting against my commander in chief. If I vote for the administration in office I am being bought."
posted by peeedro at 7:44 AM on April 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by peeedro at 7:44 AM on April 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
Andrew McCabe also says he didn't vote in the general election because he was deputy director of the FBI.
I think it's probably a good idea, seeing as these guys have to work directly with whoever wins.
Voting for one particular candidate or party could be taken as a sign of loyalty to that party, especially if done consistently. But these guys don't want to be seen as loyal to a specific candidate or party or politician. They're supposed to be serving the law and finding the truth, not serving the political ends of some faction which is trying to get or keep power.
(Interesting, though, McCabe did vote in the Republican primary. He wouldn't say for whom, but presumably if it had been for Trump, he would still be employed.)
posted by OnceUponATime at 7:49 AM on April 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
I think it's probably a good idea, seeing as these guys have to work directly with whoever wins.
Voting for one particular candidate or party could be taken as a sign of loyalty to that party, especially if done consistently. But these guys don't want to be seen as loyal to a specific candidate or party or politician. They're supposed to be serving the law and finding the truth, not serving the political ends of some faction which is trying to get or keep power.
(Interesting, though, McCabe did vote in the Republican primary. He wouldn't say for whom, but presumably if it had been for Trump, he would still be employed.)
posted by OnceUponATime at 7:49 AM on April 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Mod note: Couple deleted; let's not go off into the weeds over this "fuck them if they don't vote" thing; if nothing is happening current eventswise at this very instant, there are a lot of other threads and there's Chat.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:55 AM on April 18, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:55 AM on April 18, 2018 [8 favorites]
Content aside, I'm so sick of having a President who can't write, whether that's defined as grasping the rules of grammar, avoiding mechanical spelling and punctuation mistakes, or expressing thoughts cogently, let alone lyrically. It's "unpresidented." Even George "Is our children learning?" Bush did better. Trump's defenders, especially his fellow anti-intellectuals, laud his "plain language" but that's Hemingway, not this horrorshow.
I've certainly made stupid errors in my posts on Metafilter and elsewhere--and there are many reasons to loathe everything about Trump and his ideas--but his every tweet enrages me and embarrasses our country. Then again, we elected this moron.
posted by carmicha at 7:59 AM on April 18, 2018 [53 favorites]
I've certainly made stupid errors in my posts on Metafilter and elsewhere--and there are many reasons to loathe everything about Trump and his ideas--but his every tweet enrages me and embarrasses our country. Then again, we elected this moron.
posted by carmicha at 7:59 AM on April 18, 2018 [53 favorites]
"breeding" is meant to modify "crime". It's saying that sanctuary cities breed crime.
Yeah, they’re breeding crime because they’re “infested”. Y’know, like infested with vermin that should be exterminated. Thanks for clearing that up; doesn’t sound problematic at all.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 8:05 AM on April 18, 2018 [52 favorites]
Yeah, they’re breeding crime because they’re “infested”. Y’know, like infested with vermin that should be exterminated. Thanks for clearing that up; doesn’t sound problematic at all.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 8:05 AM on April 18, 2018 [52 favorites]
There's really no universe in which "breeding" isn't a major red flag.
posted by Slothrup at 8:08 AM on April 18, 2018 [112 favorites]
posted by Slothrup at 8:08 AM on April 18, 2018 [112 favorites]
Remember the Green Lantern Theory oath?
In brightest day, in blackest night
no compromise escapes my sight
let those who would avoid some fights
beware my power: detached hindsight!
posted by EatTheWeek at 8:19 AM on April 18, 2018 [23 favorites]
In brightest day, in blackest night
no compromise escapes my sight
let those who would avoid some fights
beware my power: detached hindsight!
posted by EatTheWeek at 8:19 AM on April 18, 2018 [23 favorites]
There's really no universe in which "breeding" isn't a major red flag.
Especially with a figure like Trump who basically has no internal monologue, and whose every public utterance basically functions as a wide-open picture window to his psyche. His use of the word "breeding" in this case isn't anything so subtle as a Freudian slip; it's a direct articulation of his xenophobic reasons for hating sanctuary cities.
posted by Strange Interlude at 8:43 AM on April 18, 2018 [27 favorites]
Especially with a figure like Trump who basically has no internal monologue, and whose every public utterance basically functions as a wide-open picture window to his psyche. His use of the word "breeding" in this case isn't anything so subtle as a Freudian slip; it's a direct articulation of his xenophobic reasons for hating sanctuary cities.
posted by Strange Interlude at 8:43 AM on April 18, 2018 [27 favorites]
Hey instead of Trump saying "they're bringing crime, they're rapists" as his very first act as a presidential candidate, imagine that he said "they're breeding crime, they're rapists." Not racist at all now, right?
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:45 AM on April 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:45 AM on April 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
California violent crime has dropped by 61% over the last 25 years. Using the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics and using their legacy definition of rape (which applies to both time points), California had 1,119.7 violent crimes per 100,000 in 1992. In the most recently reported year (2016), it had 437.3.
Seriously, crime that does not exist, illegal voting that doesn't exist, Trump is raging against imaginary people. In anyone else that would be called schizophrenia.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:47 AM on April 18, 2018 [53 favorites]
Seriously, crime that does not exist, illegal voting that doesn't exist, Trump is raging against imaginary people. In anyone else that would be called schizophrenia.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:47 AM on April 18, 2018 [53 favorites]
For the record, there is nothing improper about using a private email server. There has never been and still is not a law prohibiting use of private email.
You wanna beat the drum about it not being illegal, that's fine. You want to talk ambiguous/subjective words like improper then I'm gonna say no, it absolutely was and is improper and it was improper when Powell did it and improper when Clinton did it and it's improper that Pruitt uses a half-dozen different email accounts that may or may not be under the government's management.
It was unacceptable that sufficient support and resources were given to Clinton to create the necessary email infrastructure for her to do her job and she cannot be called a dereliction of duty to create the framework needed to do the work. But it is unquestionably improper for people in an accountable position to set up a system that makes hiding government business as easy as simply not doing something; ie, subsequently failing to copy those messages which should be stored and accountable. I am not upset at my five-year-old because he hit the glass with his elbow and knocked it on the ground. I am upset that he put the glass where it could so easily be hit with an elbow.
The people who work for government need to conduct themselves in a way that presupposes and lends itself to accountability. (And that doesn't even address doing it in a way that lends itself to proper security, which isn't having some half-trained aide doing sysadmin work when there's a few spare minutes) It is improper both for a SoS to use such a system and it is improper for the government machine not to have sufficient resources in place such that they need to.
The way Clinton was treated and the presupposition of impropriety was and is wrong. That is not a reason to claim this bad process is okay.
posted by phearlez at 8:50 AM on April 18, 2018 [54 favorites]
You wanna beat the drum about it not being illegal, that's fine. You want to talk ambiguous/subjective words like improper then I'm gonna say no, it absolutely was and is improper and it was improper when Powell did it and improper when Clinton did it and it's improper that Pruitt uses a half-dozen different email accounts that may or may not be under the government's management.
It was unacceptable that sufficient support and resources were given to Clinton to create the necessary email infrastructure for her to do her job and she cannot be called a dereliction of duty to create the framework needed to do the work. But it is unquestionably improper for people in an accountable position to set up a system that makes hiding government business as easy as simply not doing something; ie, subsequently failing to copy those messages which should be stored and accountable. I am not upset at my five-year-old because he hit the glass with his elbow and knocked it on the ground. I am upset that he put the glass where it could so easily be hit with an elbow.
The people who work for government need to conduct themselves in a way that presupposes and lends itself to accountability. (And that doesn't even address doing it in a way that lends itself to proper security, which isn't having some half-trained aide doing sysadmin work when there's a few spare minutes) It is improper both for a SoS to use such a system and it is improper for the government machine not to have sufficient resources in place such that they need to.
The way Clinton was treated and the presupposition of impropriety was and is wrong. That is not a reason to claim this bad process is okay.
posted by phearlez at 8:50 AM on April 18, 2018 [54 favorites]
The Associated Press: President Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state, CIA Director Mike Pompeo, is facing so much opposition from Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the panel could be forced to take the unusual step of sending the nomination to the full Senate without a favorable recommendation.
Keep up the pressure!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:52 AM on April 18, 2018 [52 favorites]
Keep up the pressure!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:52 AM on April 18, 2018 [52 favorites]
Is it unusual when it's not the first time in this administration a candidate was brought for a floor vote after a committee said nay? That happened already, didn't it?
posted by phearlez at 8:54 AM on April 18, 2018
posted by phearlez at 8:54 AM on April 18, 2018
Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA): Today I received a candidate questionnaire from @NRA. This is how I answered it.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:03 AM on April 18, 2018 [64 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:03 AM on April 18, 2018 [64 favorites]
Ok, I looked into the “director of surveillance” thing. It is, in fact, a position at a casino. Casinos use surveillance to protect the games from cheating and from fraud. Trump, of course, has had casino interests in the past, though one still wonders why the Trump Org would have surveillance staff after the divestiture of the Atlantic City casinos.
posted by chrchr at 9:04 AM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by chrchr at 9:04 AM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
Reuters: Russian news agencies say U.S. told Moscow no new sanctions for now
How odd.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:05 AM on April 18, 2018 [33 favorites]
How odd.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:05 AM on April 18, 2018 [33 favorites]
runcibleshaw: "breeding" is meant to modify "crime". It's saying that sanctuary cities breed crime.
Maybe, but I (speaking as one descendant of the Yellow Peril) take it literally as meaning that Santuary Cities Let The Primitive Hordes Breed & Outnumber You [White people] Like Rats. Or Roaches, or insert your favorite Object Needing Extermination here. Crime is a part of the perceived evil, but they've demonstrated over and over that they don't want even law-abiding people of color here. Maybe "White Ethnostate" is too abstract for a lot of well-intentioned white people to understand in their guts.
I've got to quote one of Conspire's stellar comments here: when you, as a "white person", try to step into the shoes of a person of color, you make the mistake of putting aside "white" when it is actually "person" that you should be discarding.
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 9:11 AM on April 18, 2018 [66 favorites]
Maybe, but I (speaking as one descendant of the Yellow Peril) take it literally as meaning that Santuary Cities Let The Primitive Hordes Breed & Outnumber You [White people] Like Rats. Or Roaches, or insert your favorite Object Needing Extermination here. Crime is a part of the perceived evil, but they've demonstrated over and over that they don't want even law-abiding people of color here. Maybe "White Ethnostate" is too abstract for a lot of well-intentioned white people to understand in their guts.
I've got to quote one of Conspire's stellar comments here: when you, as a "white person", try to step into the shoes of a person of color, you make the mistake of putting aside "white" when it is actually "person" that you should be discarding.
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 9:11 AM on April 18, 2018 [66 favorites]
I fixed this up a bit, parts of it didn't parse. Let me know if I misread your intent.
It was unacceptable that sufficient support and resources weren't given to Clinton to create the necessary email infrastructure for her to do her job and she cannot be called guilty of a dereliction of duty to create the framework needed to do the work.
This is a thing that nearly everybody on both sides misses about the situation, that the State Dept's email system was (& probably still is) basically unusable, so if she wanted to do her job she pretty much had to setup her own server. Now the implementation she ended up with was deeply flawed & she certainly holds some culpability for that. But she was trying to solve a real problem even if she did it poorly.
posted by scalefree at 9:26 AM on April 18, 2018 [22 favorites]
It was unacceptable that sufficient support and resources weren't given to Clinton to create the necessary email infrastructure for her to do her job and she cannot be called guilty of a dereliction of duty to create the framework needed to do the work.
This is a thing that nearly everybody on both sides misses about the situation, that the State Dept's email system was (& probably still is) basically unusable, so if she wanted to do her job she pretty much had to setup her own server. Now the implementation she ended up with was deeply flawed & she certainly holds some culpability for that. But she was trying to solve a real problem even if she did it poorly.
posted by scalefree at 9:26 AM on April 18, 2018 [22 favorites]
Vox, I’m a former reality TV star who almost became a conservative pundit. I couldn’t stomach it.
posted by saysthis at 9:29 AM on April 18, 2018 [36 favorites]
We hear a lot of rhetoric about how the mainstream media is liberal, but when it came to “my type,” the demand seemed to come from conservative outlets. I’d have to proclaim a “war on Christmas” or conduct sympathetic interviews with bakers refusing to make cakes for gay couples. I didn’t have to believe it; I just had to say I believed it. If I did, there could potentially be a huge payday, I was told.[insert clever one-liner about Soros]
posted by saysthis at 9:29 AM on April 18, 2018 [36 favorites]
WTAE-TV: Pittsburgh police ordered to prepare riot gear until further notice in case Mueller is fired
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:32 AM on April 18, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:32 AM on April 18, 2018 [20 favorites]
Hey, remember when the government did a crap job responding to the hurricane in Puerto Rico?
CNN: Puerto Rico suffers island-wide power outage
CNN: Puerto Rico suffers island-wide power outage
Puerto Rico has suffered an island-wide power outage, Puerto Rico's power authority said Wednesday -- nearly seven months after Hurricane Maria destroyed much of the island's infrastructure and its electrical grid.posted by hanov3r at 9:34 AM on April 18, 2018 [31 favorites]
The authority said it estimates power will be restored within 24 to 36 hours. The cause of the blackout is unclear.
Seriously, crime that does not exist, illegal voting that doesn't exist, Trump is raging against imaginary people. In anyone else that would be called schizophrenia.
TBH this is just a thing right-wingers do: lie a lot, to everybody including themselves. A bunch of conservatives believe that Sweden routinely euthanizes old people to avoid paying for their healthcare so that they can feel good about opposing universal healthcare and accuse liberals of wanting to enact mass murder on the elderly. Similarly, it's a popular belief on the right that certain cities (the most prominent ones are Dearborn and Stockholm) are so "overrun" by feral Muslim immigrants that they're "no-go zones" for the police where evil jihadists patrol the streets, because pretending to believe that makes them feel good about white supremacy.
Trump, as ever, isn't really a new thing. He's just the old thing without enough sense to wear a mask.
posted by Pope Guilty at 9:35 AM on April 18, 2018 [31 favorites]
TBH this is just a thing right-wingers do: lie a lot, to everybody including themselves. A bunch of conservatives believe that Sweden routinely euthanizes old people to avoid paying for their healthcare so that they can feel good about opposing universal healthcare and accuse liberals of wanting to enact mass murder on the elderly. Similarly, it's a popular belief on the right that certain cities (the most prominent ones are Dearborn and Stockholm) are so "overrun" by feral Muslim immigrants that they're "no-go zones" for the police where evil jihadists patrol the streets, because pretending to believe that makes them feel good about white supremacy.
Trump, as ever, isn't really a new thing. He's just the old thing without enough sense to wear a mask.
posted by Pope Guilty at 9:35 AM on April 18, 2018 [31 favorites]
To be clear, I wasn't saying that the tweet wasn't portraying immigrants as a ravening horde of criminals. It's definitely some racist, xenophobic bullshit. People just seemed to be genuinely confused what "breeding" had to do with "crime" in it. Apologies if no one was and it was an unnecessary "um, actually" on my part.
posted by runcibleshaw at 9:36 AM on April 18, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 9:36 AM on April 18, 2018 [12 favorites]
Yes, that indicates what I was trying to say, scalefree. But the article you linked to covers this, though it hand-waves it away quite a bit.
We're all very reasonably up in arms about the ways the Trump administration is burning down these organizations and how long it will take to rebuild them after they're gone. Well, new projects and renovations are part of the basic maintenance of keeping something going. Not doing them is just slow-motion destruction. See: our national bridge infrastructure. Powell and Clinton had a basic duty to fix this shit while they were there, and oh it's not sexy or interesting and they want to do more Big Things so they can't be bothered. Fuuuuuucccckkkkkkk that excuse. You need a specialized server to get shit done right now? Okay. What did you do at the same time to move towards not needing it in a month/year/decade? When the answer is nothing then you absolutely have behaved improperly.
posted by phearlez at 9:42 AM on April 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
But career personnel at the State have little or no experience with how to procure the best systems or are hamstrung by the procurement process, itself. Moreover, the details of managing programs is often left to those at the lower levels who don’t have the political sway to demand modernization of systems. And the people at the top are rarely invested in making those kinds of changes. Fixing the IT infrastructure is not a very appealing topic for any high ranking political appointee doing a finite tour of duty. They are trying to achieve “big things” during their time at the helm.To which I say HAI THAT'S THE FUCKING JOB and it's why I am such a strident jackhole about not letting it be called anything but improper. Sure, you may not be able to fix this problem during your tenure and you may need to stand up some temporary shit along the way. But, without getting way into the weeds about the ways you can do this more properly, part of that is acknowledging that this is a half-assed hack and doing it in as many above-board ways as possible. And if you're going to be a responsible steward of a department/division/institution/company that will still be there after you're gone then you start up improvement projects that will need to continue after you're gone.
We're all very reasonably up in arms about the ways the Trump administration is burning down these organizations and how long it will take to rebuild them after they're gone. Well, new projects and renovations are part of the basic maintenance of keeping something going. Not doing them is just slow-motion destruction. See: our national bridge infrastructure. Powell and Clinton had a basic duty to fix this shit while they were there, and oh it's not sexy or interesting and they want to do more Big Things so they can't be bothered. Fuuuuuucccckkkkkkk that excuse. You need a specialized server to get shit done right now? Okay. What did you do at the same time to move towards not needing it in a month/year/decade? When the answer is nothing then you absolutely have behaved improperly.
posted by phearlez at 9:42 AM on April 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
Updated race ratings from Cook. Seven moves, all towards D.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:47 AM on April 18, 2018 [34 favorites]
AZ-08: VACANT (Franks) | Solid R to Likely RThey also note that Dem challengers have outraised GOP candidates in at least 60 GOP-held seats.
AR-02: Hill | Likely R to Lean R
IL-14: Hultgren | Likely R to Lean R
MI-01: Bergman | Solid R to Likely R
OH-14: Joyce | Solid R to Likely R
SC-05: Norman | Solid R to Likely R
VA-05: Garrett | Likely R to Lean R
posted by Chrysostom at 9:47 AM on April 18, 2018 [34 favorites]
Senate panel moving ahead with Mueller bill despite McConnell opposition
"They got together so I feel an obligation to keep my word and move forward," Grassley said when asked if he would still give the special counsel legislation a vote.
They're going to force Mitch to choose his side. Good.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:51 AM on April 18, 2018 [87 favorites]
"They got together so I feel an obligation to keep my word and move forward," Grassley said when asked if he would still give the special counsel legislation a vote.
They're going to force Mitch to choose his side. Good.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:51 AM on April 18, 2018 [87 favorites]
we are talking about Clinton's email server hahaha excuse me I need to go hurl myself into the sea
posted by prize bull octorok at 9:55 AM on April 18, 2018 [147 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 9:55 AM on April 18, 2018 [147 favorites]
I wonder if the power outage in Puerto Rico is related in any way to the recent DHS statement issued on router hacking. Focusing on routers was a bit weird, but perhaps they knew something was in the pipeline and they weren't sure what, or they wanted to issue an oblique statement that didn't telegraph their knowledge.
I mean, PR's infrastructure is in such dire straits, thanks to the complete abdication of the US government, that it certainly could have collapsed without outside interference. And a blackout not-quite-as large happened just a week ago, and that was caused by a tree. So it could be related to that incident, or the repairs after that incident. Still, it's probably one of the more vulnerable US grids given its instability, and toppling an entire island's grid might be more tempting than taking out even a major city for just a short time. And anything learned from taking out PR's grid would have applications for later efforts.
posted by halation at 9:56 AM on April 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
I mean, PR's infrastructure is in such dire straits, thanks to the complete abdication of the US government, that it certainly could have collapsed without outside interference. And a blackout not-quite-as large happened just a week ago, and that was caused by a tree. So it could be related to that incident, or the repairs after that incident. Still, it's probably one of the more vulnerable US grids given its instability, and toppling an entire island's grid might be more tempting than taking out even a major city for just a short time. And anything learned from taking out PR's grid would have applications for later efforts.
posted by halation at 9:56 AM on April 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
A more optimistic take on the possibility of firing Mueller from Robert Kuttner at The American Prospect: Trump's Impotent Rage:
In short, if ever there were window when Trump might have gotten away with a Saturday Night Massacre scenario of serial firings, that window has now slammed shut. The damage to Trump himself and to his remaining political support among election-anxious Republicans would far outweigh the gains.posted by Rosie M. Banks at 9:59 AM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
Even without Mueller, the investigation fueled by everything that Mueller has already unearthed would live on, whether via the U.S. attorney’s office in New York, Congress, the Justice Department, or any of several state attorneys general. A president with broad political support might have illusions of quashing all such investigations, but Trump lacks the political support, and firing Rosenstein and Mueller would further erode what remains of his political backing, even among Republicans.
@PatBlanchfield
TIL that James Comey thinks that the phrase "mass incarceration" is inaccurate and an offensive term used against Police People. Motherfucker is sitting in the oval office with the first black president and feels compelled to argue that talking about how african americans are imprisoned at five times the rate of whites, or how we imprison more people than anywhere else on the planet, is triggering to cops.
TIL that James Comey thinks that the phrase "mass incarceration" is inaccurate and an offensive term used against Police People. Motherfucker is sitting in the oval office with the first black president and feels compelled to argue that talking about how african americans are imprisoned at five times the rate of whites, or how we imprison more people than anywhere else on the planet, is triggering to cops.
"We talked about the impact on black communities from the extraordi-narily high percentage of black men in the criminal justice system, and how poor a job our country has done to prepare those in prison to return to pro-ductive lives. Although I agreed that the jailing of so many black men was a tragedy, I also shared how a term he used, "mass incarceration"—to describe what, in his view, was a national epidemic of locking up too many people—struck the ears of those of us who had dedicated much of our lives to trying to reduce crime in minority neighborhoods. To my ears, the term "mass incarceration" conjures an image of World War II Japanese internment camps, where vast numbers of people were herded behind barbed wire. I thought the term was both inaccurate and insulting to a lot of good people in law enforcement who cared deeply about helping people trapped in dan-gerous neighborhoods. It was inaccurate in the sense that there was nothing "mass" about the incarceration: every defendant was charged individually, represented individually by counsel, convicted by a court individually, sen-tenced individually, reviewed on appeal individually, and incarcerated. That added up to a lot of people in jail, but there was nothing "mass" about it, I said. And the insulting part, I explained, was the way it cast as illegitimate the efforts by cops, agents, and prosecutors—joined by the black community —to rescue hard-hit neighborhoods."posted by chris24 at 10:01 AM on April 18, 2018 [59 favorites]
the State Dept's email system was (& probably still is) basically unusable, so if she wanted to do her job she pretty much had to setup her own server. Now the implementation she ended up with was deeply flawed & she certainly holds some culpability for that. But she was trying to solve a real problem even if she did it poorly.
Bears repeating: as far as we know. Hillary Clinton's private email server was never hacked by the Russians, while the State Department's servers were, repeatedly. In fact, her server may be the only major US government server that wasn't; even the NSA got hacked of it's most secret hacking tools.
And this makes sense, because if only 3 or 4 people have credentials for the server, it's a lot harder to get them through phishing operations than a system shared by 1,000 or 10,000 people.
posted by msalt at 10:08 AM on April 18, 2018 [43 favorites]
Bears repeating: as far as we know. Hillary Clinton's private email server was never hacked by the Russians, while the State Department's servers were, repeatedly. In fact, her server may be the only major US government server that wasn't; even the NSA got hacked of it's most secret hacking tools.
And this makes sense, because if only 3 or 4 people have credentials for the server, it's a lot harder to get them through phishing operations than a system shared by 1,000 or 10,000 people.
posted by msalt at 10:08 AM on April 18, 2018 [43 favorites]
And...not sure if this should go in the Parkland thread, on the front page, or where, but...given that this is the general home of all things Trump, Republicans, politics, and OH FFS BECAUSE OF COURSE THEY DID, also from Vox:
posted by saysthis at 10:08 AM on April 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
You’ve heard of David Hogg. But the right has claimed another Parkland student as its own.Because of course. Also, Soros.
Kyle Kashuv is 16 years old. And now he’s in the middle of one of the most divisive debates in America.
Before the shooting in Parkland, Florida, on February 14, and before the March for Our Lives and Friday’s planned National School Walkout, Kyle Kashuv, a 16-year-old junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, spent a lot of his time taking Advanced Placement classes and playing video games in his spare time (his favorite is Fortnite). But since February 14, Kashuv has been too busy for video games. He’s visited Washington, met President Trump and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and made multiple appearances on Fox News.
[...]
With the help of a 19-year-old marketer, Michael Gruen, and popular conservative columnist Ben Shapiro, Kashuv met with dozens of lawmakers in March to urge the STOP School Violence Act toward passage — which it did, clearing the House on March 14 and becoming law as part of the omnibus funding bill on March 23. And his profile has only grown since then.
[...]
But more recently, Kashuv’s tweets about debating other Parkland survivors on gun control have made national news. And after former Newsweek senior writer and MSNBC contributor Kurt Eichenwald went after Kashuv on Twitter, Kashuv seemed to call for a boycott of MSNBC’s advertisers. Kashuv was trying to make a point about double standards in the media about boycotts, but at least one company pulled its ads from MSNBC in response.
[...]
A month after Morse’s story on Kashuv at RedState, the outlet has promised to stop publishing any stories about Parkland student activists, including Kashuv. “The main reason is that this entire media scrum is entirely out of hand and I don’t want to be a part of it,” RedState editor-in-chief Caleb Howe wrote. “And I don’t just mean criticisms of the students, I mean those purporting to admire or praise them. And I mean the kids themselves. It’s all an ugly mess.” I reached out to Howe but haven’t received a response.
posted by saysthis at 10:08 AM on April 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
Seriously, crime that does not exist, illegal voting that doesn't exist, Trump is raging against imaginary people. In anyone else that would be called schizophrenia.
Except that it's also a very effective technique in the modern world, because when everything is virtual, it's a lot easier to blur reality. Compare this to a world where Democrats' strength was rooted in unions, real-life meetings and rallies of people you work with every day, focused on issues you see played out 8 hours every day.
Trump may be an idiot savant of this strategy or the culmination of decades of false reality beginning with his fake-it-till-you-make-it preachers Norman Vincent Peale and Dale Carnegie, but it's an approach that works today, which is why young right-wingers are present online and hide in real life.
posted by msalt at 10:13 AM on April 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
Except that it's also a very effective technique in the modern world, because when everything is virtual, it's a lot easier to blur reality. Compare this to a world where Democrats' strength was rooted in unions, real-life meetings and rallies of people you work with every day, focused on issues you see played out 8 hours every day.
Trump may be an idiot savant of this strategy or the culmination of decades of false reality beginning with his fake-it-till-you-make-it preachers Norman Vincent Peale and Dale Carnegie, but it's an approach that works today, which is why young right-wingers are present online and hide in real life.
posted by msalt at 10:13 AM on April 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
Mod note: Enough on Clinton's email server, seriously.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 10:17 AM on April 18, 2018 [36 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 10:17 AM on April 18, 2018 [36 favorites]
There are so many things going on, and on the scale of scandals and problems, this barely even moves the needle. However: half a Scaramucci ago, I posted an update on "Robert Mercer's Secret Adventure, where rich assholes exploited a tiny New Mexico town's volunteer reserve police force to obtain concealed carry privileges in all 50 states" - after all the bad publicity, Tiny Town Shuts Police Program That Gave Robert Mercer a Badge.
Well, joke's on me, because these people are like cockroaches. You guessed it: Mercer is apparently part of the "sheriff's volunteer posse" in a another small town - this one in Colorado. Bloomberg: "Robert Mercer Got a New Badge, The Sheriff Got a New Dodge Ram".
The sheriff refused comment with this statement: “Some of my volunteer resources are directly involved in confidential undercover operations that involve direct ties and associations with the Mexican Cartel which has a presence in my area. It would not be safe tactically or personally to identify individuals who serve in association with those types of cases.”
(Via Matt Levine at Bloomberg, who comments, "OH BOY DO I EVER HOPE THAT ROBERT MERCER IS INFILTRATING CARTELS ON HIS DAYS OFF. Don't get me wrong: I doubt it! But if he is, then I will forever give up making jokes about writing movies based on financial news." Levine's Money Stuff column is a delightfully quirky read if you're into that sort of thing.)
[Everyone who reads these threads already knows who Robert Mercer is, right? Renaissance Technologies, the Sea Owl, Breitbart, Bannon, Cambridge Analytica, ...]
posted by RedOrGreen at 10:21 AM on April 18, 2018 [34 favorites]
Well, joke's on me, because these people are like cockroaches. You guessed it: Mercer is apparently part of the "sheriff's volunteer posse" in a another small town - this one in Colorado. Bloomberg: "Robert Mercer Got a New Badge, The Sheriff Got a New Dodge Ram".
The sheriff refused comment with this statement: “Some of my volunteer resources are directly involved in confidential undercover operations that involve direct ties and associations with the Mexican Cartel which has a presence in my area. It would not be safe tactically or personally to identify individuals who serve in association with those types of cases.”
(Via Matt Levine at Bloomberg, who comments, "OH BOY DO I EVER HOPE THAT ROBERT MERCER IS INFILTRATING CARTELS ON HIS DAYS OFF. Don't get me wrong: I doubt it! But if he is, then I will forever give up making jokes about writing movies based on financial news." Levine's Money Stuff column is a delightfully quirky read if you're into that sort of thing.)
[Everyone who reads these threads already knows who Robert Mercer is, right? Renaissance Technologies, the Sea Owl, Breitbart, Bannon, Cambridge Analytica, ...]
posted by RedOrGreen at 10:21 AM on April 18, 2018 [34 favorites]
Amended ethics filing shows Dennis Kucinich was paid $20k by pro-Syrian government group
CLEVELAND, Ohio - After initially not disclosing who paid him to give speeches in 2017, former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich filed an amended ethics disclosure showing he was paid $20,000 by a group sympathetic to the Syrian government.posted by Atom Eyes at 10:29 AM on April 18, 2018 [24 favorites]
Syria's President Bashar Assad has been accused by multiple intelligence agencies of using chemical weapons on his own people in the long-running Syrian Civil War.
The revelation comes when Kucinich has been dogged by his connection to Assad, whom he met with in 2017, in the gubernatorial race. Kucinich, a longtime critic of American involvement with foreign conflict, has questioned whether Assad used chemical weapons.
For the record, George Soros is 87 years old and still manages to micro-manage all liberal conspiracies. I want some of that goat gland juice he must be drinking.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 10:29 AM on April 18, 2018 [32 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 10:29 AM on April 18, 2018 [32 favorites]
I've been watching Flint Town, Netflix's documentary about the understaffed police force in Flint Michigan. As Flint's budget issues have grown more dire, the number of patrol officers has been cut from 300 to just 98 now and they have a huge backlog of calls every day.
The first thing I thought was if Robert Mercer really wants to play cops and robbers as a way of getting a concealed carry license he should do 10 hours/month of actual ride-along policing in Flint, where they actually need some extra hands.
[edited to change link to one non-Netflix members can actually access]
posted by duoshao at 10:30 AM on April 18, 2018 [8 favorites]
The first thing I thought was if Robert Mercer really wants to play cops and robbers as a way of getting a concealed carry license he should do 10 hours/month of actual ride-along policing in Flint, where they actually need some extra hands.
[edited to change link to one non-Netflix members can actually access]
posted by duoshao at 10:30 AM on April 18, 2018 [8 favorites]
Considering Mercers ties to Blackwater, having him hunt Mexicans seems like a license to kill, and this is bad.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 10:30 AM on April 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 10:30 AM on April 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
You guessed it: Mercer is apparently part of the "sheriff's volunteer posse" in a another small town - this one in Colorado.
Senator Cory Gardner is from Yuma.
posted by danielleh at 10:32 AM on April 18, 2018
Senator Cory Gardner is from Yuma.
posted by danielleh at 10:32 AM on April 18, 2018
Has anyone done a venn diagram on the overlap between Trump and Scientology? Just curious. "Trump Org", amongst a plethora of other things, make it seem like an interesting intersection.
posted by petebest at 10:33 AM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by petebest at 10:33 AM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
Considering Mercer's age and the fact that his participation in this play-acting is well-known enough to make it into his Wikipedia article (which also has a big picture of his face) it seems more likely to end up as a license for the cartels to kill him.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:33 AM on April 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:33 AM on April 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
FDR/LBJ had all of the above (Congressional majorities and their own failures) plus they had vast popular mandates because of national crises
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 10:33 AM on April 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
They also had large majorities in both houses of Congress.And FDR only got the New Deal passed, with the support of the Southern Democrats, by largely excluding black Americans from its benefits; LBJ only got what was arguably his most important legislation (the Civil Rights Act of 1964) passed by appealing to moderate Northern Republicans as "the party of Lincoln".
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 10:33 AM on April 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
Trump saying "they're bringing crime, they're rapists" as his very first act as a presidential candidate
We knew he was horrible from the first moment of his candidacy, and the Republicans still nominated him and the Republicans still elected him. And despite his unending examples of being a terrible person and a terrible president, most of the Republicans still support him.
Yet when he finally goes it will shock you how quickly he becomes a Democrat in disguise and you won't be able to find anyone that admits they supported him.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:38 AM on April 18, 2018 [63 favorites]
We knew he was horrible from the first moment of his candidacy, and the Republicans still nominated him and the Republicans still elected him. And despite his unending examples of being a terrible person and a terrible president, most of the Republicans still support him.
Yet when he finally goes it will shock you how quickly he becomes a Democrat in disguise and you won't be able to find anyone that admits they supported him.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:38 AM on April 18, 2018 [63 favorites]
Has anyone done a venn diagram on the overlap between Trump and Scientology? Just curious. "Trump Org", amongst a plethora of other things, make it seem like an interesting intersection.
I theorize that the ONLY reason trump hasn't already taken bribe money and filled his cabinet with Scientologists is that the Evangelicals got to him first. If their support were ever to dry up (which won't happen) you can bet he would start selling off public lands dirt cheap to Miscavige and Co. in a heartbeat.
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:41 AM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
I theorize that the ONLY reason trump hasn't already taken bribe money and filled his cabinet with Scientologists is that the Evangelicals got to him first. If their support were ever to dry up (which won't happen) you can bet he would start selling off public lands dirt cheap to Miscavige and Co. in a heartbeat.
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:41 AM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
Hey, if Trump let his kids take over management of the Trump Organization's various businesses, why is he still listed as the CEO of the Trump Hotel Management Company in its NY Secretary of State registry? I don't think they left off the "Jr.," because Junior is clearly identified as Junior in listings for some of their other businesses.
posted by mudpuppie at 10:46 AM on April 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by mudpuppie at 10:46 AM on April 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
Has anyone done a venn diagram on the overlap between Trump and Scientology? Just curious. "Trump Org", amongst a plethora of other things, make it seem like an interesting intersection.
Yep, I noticed a convergence in their TTP (tools, techniques & procedures) as soon as Trump arrived on the political scene. Lawfare, propaganda, distortion, hacking, trolls. But as far as I can tell it's purely a matter of parallel evolution; similar problems, similar mindset, similar solutions.
posted by scalefree at 10:46 AM on April 18, 2018 [9 favorites]
Yep, I noticed a convergence in their TTP (tools, techniques & procedures) as soon as Trump arrived on the political scene. Lawfare, propaganda, distortion, hacking, trolls. But as far as I can tell it's purely a matter of parallel evolution; similar problems, similar mindset, similar solutions.
posted by scalefree at 10:46 AM on April 18, 2018 [9 favorites]
Quinnipiac: Cruz, O'Rourke too close to call in Texas Senate race
Texas voters “like Ted Cruz as a person” 47 – 38 percent. D8<
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:46 AM on April 18, 2018 [43 favorites]
Texas voters “like Ted Cruz as a person” 47 – 38 percent. D8<
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:46 AM on April 18, 2018 [43 favorites]
It's a thing they do: Trump Trade Official Spent $1 Million on New Furniture, Blames Obama (Marisa Schultz, NY Post)
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer spent more than $917,000 to furnish the two trade offices near the White House, according to contracts reviewed by The Post.
That’s a significant increase compared to the last two trade reps. [. . . ] The project to upgrade offices has been going on since 2014,” the trade office said.
But Obama-era reps say they didn’t sign off on any major remodeling plans. [. . . ]
“We told 11 other countries that we were going to do a trade deal with them, and the Trump administration found the power to unwind that,” the Obama trade official told The Post. “So furniture purchases cannot be as binding as a trade agreement that the president of the United States signed.”
posted by petebest at 10:49 AM on April 18, 2018 [50 favorites]
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer spent more than $917,000 to furnish the two trade offices near the White House, according to contracts reviewed by The Post.
That’s a significant increase compared to the last two trade reps. [. . . ] The project to upgrade offices has been going on since 2014,” the trade office said.
But Obama-era reps say they didn’t sign off on any major remodeling plans. [. . . ]
“We told 11 other countries that we were going to do a trade deal with them, and the Trump administration found the power to unwind that,” the Obama trade official told The Post. “So furniture purchases cannot be as binding as a trade agreement that the president of the United States signed.”
posted by petebest at 10:49 AM on April 18, 2018 [50 favorites]
Stormy Daniel's lawyer is an excellent troll. He did this thing.
The sketch reveal and a $100,000 reward leading to his identification were announced by Daniels and Avenatti on ABC's "The View" on Tuesday morning. On CNN Tuesday evening, Avenatti raised the reward to $131,000.posted by Mental Wimp at 10:52 AM on April 18, 2018 [49 favorites]
the term "mass incarceration" conjures an image of World War II Japanese internment camps, where vast numbers of people were herded behind barbed wire
21% of black people can't vote in Florida. 26% in Kentucky. Comey not only dismisses the idea of voting himself, he dismisses the right to vote for millions of people by denying there's even a problem.
posted by zachlipton at 10:53 AM on April 18, 2018 [73 favorites]
21% of black people can't vote in Florida. 26% in Kentucky. Comey not only dismisses the idea of voting himself, he dismisses the right to vote for millions of people by denying there's even a problem.
posted by zachlipton at 10:53 AM on April 18, 2018 [73 favorites]
That added up to a lot of people in jail, but there was nothing "mass" about it, I said. And the insulting part, I explained, was the way it cast as illegitimate the efforts by cops, agents, and prosecutors—joined by the black community —to rescue hard-hit neighborhoods."
posted by chris24 at 10:01 AM on April 18 [14 favorites +] [!]
Same mentality as in Vietnam: "We had to destroy the village to save it" = "We had to lock the neighborhood up to save it"
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:55 AM on April 18, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 10:01 AM on April 18 [14 favorites +] [!]
Same mentality as in Vietnam: "We had to destroy the village to save it" = "We had to lock the neighborhood up to save it"
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:55 AM on April 18, 2018 [11 favorites]
@seungminkim: Drama on the Senate floor. Cloture on Bridenstine for NASA tied at 49-49 and Pence, the tie-breaker, is in Mar-a-Lago. Flake is the GOP vote against.
Now that's just bad staff work right there.
posted by zachlipton at 10:59 AM on April 18, 2018 [62 favorites]
Now that's just bad staff work right there.
posted by zachlipton at 10:59 AM on April 18, 2018 [62 favorites]
Cruz, O'Rourke too close to call in Texas Senate race
Bob Corker: Phil Bredesen is ahead in Tennessee Senate race
The Senate is in reach, and the closer we get, the better things look. It is not a pipe dream. Get the word out, knock on doors, give money if you can, and let's knock Mitch McConnell out on his pasty ass.
posted by saturday_morning at 10:59 AM on April 18, 2018 [50 favorites]
Bob Corker: Phil Bredesen is ahead in Tennessee Senate race
The Senate is in reach, and the closer we get, the better things look. It is not a pipe dream. Get the word out, knock on doors, give money if you can, and let's knock Mitch McConnell out on his pasty ass.
posted by saturday_morning at 10:59 AM on April 18, 2018 [50 favorites]
Noted several hours ago:
Michael Cohen's uncle Morton Levine owned and ran a Brooklyn social club, El Caribe. From the 1970s until at least the 1990s, the bosses of the Russian mafia in the US had their primary office in El Caribe.
Like much of his family, Michael Cohen owned a stake in El Caribe. He sold it only when Donald Trump was elected President.
This rabbit hole can only get deeper, because law enforcement and the media have been trying to ignore Trump & Co's organized crime links for as long as he's been "in business". I only hope that Mueller or somebody exposes that entire nest of vermin because it would most likely extend from the Trump Crime Family to the Mercers, Murdocks and/or Kochs.
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:04 AM on April 18, 2018 [27 favorites]
Michael Cohen's uncle Morton Levine owned and ran a Brooklyn social club, El Caribe. From the 1970s until at least the 1990s, the bosses of the Russian mafia in the US had their primary office in El Caribe.
Like much of his family, Michael Cohen owned a stake in El Caribe. He sold it only when Donald Trump was elected President.
This rabbit hole can only get deeper, because law enforcement and the media have been trying to ignore Trump & Co's organized crime links for as long as he's been "in business". I only hope that Mueller or somebody exposes that entire nest of vermin because it would most likely extend from the Trump Crime Family to the Mercers, Murdocks and/or Kochs.
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:04 AM on April 18, 2018 [27 favorites]
@seungminkim: Drama on the Senate floor. Cloture on Bridenstine for NASA tied at 49-49 and Pence, the tie-breaker, is in Mar-a-Lago. Flake is the GOP vote against.
The two missing votes (in addition to Pence's) are Duckworth and McCain, yes?
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:08 AM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
The two missing votes (in addition to Pence's) are Duckworth and McCain, yes?
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:08 AM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
Flake just switched his vote to yes, because he’s never going to be the actual holding point on anything ever. He just wants credit for it on CNN.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:12 AM on April 18, 2018 [50 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:12 AM on April 18, 2018 [50 favorites]
It is not a pipe dream. Get the word out, knock on doors, give money if you can
I would like to put in a plug for my Senator, Tammy Baldwin. I know she doesn't make the lists of "most vulnerable" Democrats, and certainly folks like Claire McCaskill do belong at the top of that list.
But I've lived in this state for more than 30 years, and what the GOP is managing to accomplish electorally here in America's Dairyland really scares me. Voter ID laws are real. They are the little push on the scale that the Republican party needs to get over the top.
No matter who ends up nominated to run by the GOP, either Nicholson or Vukmir represents a serious threat to one of the more liberal voices in the Senate. Senator Baldwin is a slam-dunk in favor of single-payer health care, and it would be a shame to lose her seat to whatever empty-suit dignity wraith comes out on top in the primary.
posted by rocketman at 11:13 AM on April 18, 2018 [26 favorites]
I would like to put in a plug for my Senator, Tammy Baldwin. I know she doesn't make the lists of "most vulnerable" Democrats, and certainly folks like Claire McCaskill do belong at the top of that list.
But I've lived in this state for more than 30 years, and what the GOP is managing to accomplish electorally here in America's Dairyland really scares me. Voter ID laws are real. They are the little push on the scale that the Republican party needs to get over the top.
No matter who ends up nominated to run by the GOP, either Nicholson or Vukmir represents a serious threat to one of the more liberal voices in the Senate. Senator Baldwin is a slam-dunk in favor of single-payer health care, and it would be a shame to lose her seat to whatever empty-suit dignity wraith comes out on top in the primary.
posted by rocketman at 11:13 AM on April 18, 2018 [26 favorites]
Has anyone done a venn diagram on the overlap between Trump and Scientology?
IMO Trump seems to regard Scientology as a rival real-estate scam; he's gone on record as saying that the church should lose its prized tax-exempt status. At the very least, game recognizes game.
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:13 AM on April 18, 2018 [38 favorites]
IMO Trump seems to regard Scientology as a rival real-estate scam; he's gone on record as saying that the church should lose its prized tax-exempt status. At the very least, game recognizes game.
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:13 AM on April 18, 2018 [38 favorites]
I only hope that Mueller or somebody exposes that entire nest of vermin because it would most likely extend from the Trump Crime Family to the Mercers, Murdocks and/or Kochs.
This is actually one of the stupidest things about Stupid Business Plot. The Mercers, Murdocks, Waltons, and Kochs, while immoral; unjust; and objectively evil. Are barely legal, but more deniably legal. The Trump Cosy Nostrum is the worst possible capitalist crime family they could have gone with.
To be fair they are working with very limited talent swimming in a depleted gene pool.
posted by Buntix at 11:17 AM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
This is actually one of the stupidest things about Stupid Business Plot. The Mercers, Murdocks, Waltons, and Kochs, while immoral; unjust; and objectively evil. Are barely legal, but more deniably legal. The Trump Cosy Nostrum is the worst possible capitalist crime family they could have gone with.
To be fair they are working with very limited talent swimming in a depleted gene pool.
posted by Buntix at 11:17 AM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
Has anyone done a venn diagram on the overlap between Trump and Scientology?
Not sure, but astonishingly, I actually have more respect for Scientology. I mean, that's not saying a lot — like, the amount of respect I have for Scientology might half-fill one of the larger pores on Carter Page's nose — but simply as a consequence of their tenacity and their ability to continue their scamnacious ways in the post-Clambake era, it's a grudging non-zero. Trump I have precisely zero respect for, whether as man, movement, ideology or icon.
posted by adamgreenfield at 11:23 AM on April 18, 2018 [8 favorites]
Not sure, but astonishingly, I actually have more respect for Scientology. I mean, that's not saying a lot — like, the amount of respect I have for Scientology might half-fill one of the larger pores on Carter Page's nose — but simply as a consequence of their tenacity and their ability to continue their scamnacious ways in the post-Clambake era, it's a grudging non-zero. Trump I have precisely zero respect for, whether as man, movement, ideology or icon.
posted by adamgreenfield at 11:23 AM on April 18, 2018 [8 favorites]
Part of the problem with Bridenstine, by the way, (there are many) is the time he had the museum he ran, the Tulsa Air and Space Museum, host a Rocket Racing League event, which he was an investor of. The museum lost money on the arrangement, and along with his other spending, went into debt.
posted by zachlipton at 11:29 AM on April 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 11:29 AM on April 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
In all my dealings with Scientology, I've never know of a connection to Trump. Admittedly, Trump was not at the forefront of my brain back during my days of protesting them so there could be a connection I missed.
THAT said, literally last week I was thinking about how many of his method's mimic Scientology. So while I don't think there's a direct relation, there is certainly some cross methodology there.
posted by Twain Device at 11:34 AM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
THAT said, literally last week I was thinking about how many of his method's mimic Scientology. So while I don't think there's a direct relation, there is certainly some cross methodology there.
posted by Twain Device at 11:34 AM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
Rust Moranis: "Quinnipiac: Cruz, O'Rourke too close to call in Texas Senate race"
Most of the Senate races have been super under-polled, so I'm just glad to see some kind of numbers - I think the last TX poll was in December.
I'm still pretty skeptical about TX working out, but anything that absorbs GOP time/energy is a win.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:43 AM on April 18, 2018 [18 favorites]
Most of the Senate races have been super under-polled, so I'm just glad to see some kind of numbers - I think the last TX poll was in December.
I'm still pretty skeptical about TX working out, but anything that absorbs GOP time/energy is a win.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:43 AM on April 18, 2018 [18 favorites]
Trump has that same powerful charismatic sleazebag thing that L. Ron Hubbard had, and I think maybe the similarities in their organizations come from those organizations essentially being outgrowths of the men at the center with no other forces in the organizations to limit the effects of that, so the concepts of sociopathic manipulation and narcissism escaped the containment of these men's minds and grew a physical form made of employees and lawyers and real estate and fixers and gaudy decorations. It's kind of terrifying if you think about it too much.
posted by jason_steakums at 11:44 AM on April 18, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 11:44 AM on April 18, 2018 [19 favorites]
About a third of a scaramucci above I said Comey wasn't as self aware as I like to see in an FBI director? Well, him explaining "the insulting part" of mass incarceration to the first black President of this country is less self awareness than I want to see in a god damn hamster!
And then I imagine Obama using his reasonable-voice to say "well, I hear what you're saying, Jim" and I just cringe-rage so hard. Could Obama maybe get TWO Nobel Peace Prizes? One for "just putting up with this kind of stuff, in this millennium, for crying out loud"?
I still don't think Comey is an angel or a devil, but he could be some kind of flatworm, or cnidarian.
posted by Horkus at 11:47 AM on April 18, 2018 [42 favorites]
And then I imagine Obama using his reasonable-voice to say "well, I hear what you're saying, Jim" and I just cringe-rage so hard. Could Obama maybe get TWO Nobel Peace Prizes? One for "just putting up with this kind of stuff, in this millennium, for crying out loud"?
I still don't think Comey is an angel or a devil, but he could be some kind of flatworm, or cnidarian.
posted by Horkus at 11:47 AM on April 18, 2018 [42 favorites]
I thought the term ["mass incarceration"] was both inaccurate and insulting to a lot of good people in law enforcement who cared deeply about helping people trapped in dan-gerous neighborhoods. It was inaccurate in the sense that there was nothing "mass" about the incarceration: every defendant was charged individually, represented individually by counsel, convicted by a court individually, sen-tenced individually, reviewed on appeal individually, and incarcerated. That added up to a lot of people in jail
Why, yes, it did, Jim. Maybe that's because all of those individual defendants were collectively -- mass, if you will -- victims of an unjust system, and one that you therefore helped perpetuate, good intentions notwithstanding? What did you do about it?
posted by Gelatin at 11:55 AM on April 18, 2018 [40 favorites]
(All right, maybe not all of them, but statistics indicate that the number is unacceptably high.)
posted by Gelatin at 12:03 PM on April 18, 2018
posted by Gelatin at 12:03 PM on April 18, 2018
Most of the Senate races have been super under-polled, so I'm just glad to see some kind of numbers - I think the last TX poll was in December.
Public Policy Polling did in late January and found Cruz with only a 8 point lead.
@ppppolls (1/24/18)
Our new poll for @StopBigMoney finds that Ted Cruz has a 38/49 favorability rating in Texas, and leads Beto O'Rourke just 45-37: http://endcitizensunited.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/TexasResults.pdf
posted by chris24 at 12:12 PM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
Public Policy Polling did in late January and found Cruz with only a 8 point lead.
@ppppolls (1/24/18)
Our new poll for @StopBigMoney finds that Ted Cruz has a 38/49 favorability rating in Texas, and leads Beto O'Rourke just 45-37: http://endcitizensunited.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/TexasResults.pdf
posted by chris24 at 12:12 PM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
Thanks, I'd remembered there was a PPP one, but not exactly when it was. But I believe this is the first polling post-primary.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:16 PM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Chrysostom at 12:16 PM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
So while I don't think there's a direct relation, there is certainly some cross methodology there.
One of the similarities that occurred to me was after watching a "Scientology and the Aftermath" episode in which various church members recount their shock and awe during the moment they realized they'd been flatly lied to for so long.
Trump Train. Lotta people on it. Gonna be . . . interesting. Not the Hannities of the world - the craven, racist bastards that proliferate around money, but the actual modest-living Fox News captives who were told this guy is the guy. I have to think at some point at least a percentage of them are going to go through that moment of jaw-dropping, "holy shit, you mean . . ."
posted by petebest at 12:19 PM on April 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
One of the similarities that occurred to me was after watching a "Scientology and the Aftermath" episode in which various church members recount their shock and awe during the moment they realized they'd been flatly lied to for so long.
Trump Train. Lotta people on it. Gonna be . . . interesting. Not the Hannities of the world - the craven, racist bastards that proliferate around money, but the actual modest-living Fox News captives who were told this guy is the guy. I have to think at some point at least a percentage of them are going to go through that moment of jaw-dropping, "holy shit, you mean . . ."
posted by petebest at 12:19 PM on April 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
phearlez: "Is it unusual when it's not the first time in this administration a candidate was brought for a floor vote after a committee said nay? That happened already, didn't it?"
Erm, I don't remember that happening, but maybe I missed it. It's definitely very unusual for SecState, though - it's never happened since 1925, when the votes were made public.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:20 PM on April 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Erm, I don't remember that happening, but maybe I missed it. It's definitely very unusual for SecState, though - it's never happened since 1925, when the votes were made public.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:20 PM on April 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Politico, Trump campaigner accused of sexual harassment picked as VA information officer. This guy annoyed enough people at Treasury to get sent to the basement and transferred to the VA, where he was accused of conspiring to get Shulkin fired, and is the defendant in a lawsuit by a fellow Trump campaign staffer for harassment. Great choice to promote him to oversee one of the most important IT modernization efforts in the federal government, right?
posted by zachlipton at 12:25 PM on April 18, 2018 [28 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:25 PM on April 18, 2018 [28 favorites]
James Comey is the General George McClellan of our age. Like McClellan, he was the best and the brightest in his department. A man respected for his adherence to best practices and doctrine; known for his ethical standing, and clearly the man to face down any enemy, foreign or domestic. He stood at the pinnacle of American law enforcement, representing the best version of WASP-ish Justice upper crust America had to offer.
And yet, standing at the summit of his career, he fumbled, hedged, obscured and evaded his responsibility to the constitution and the American people. His failure to defend the FBI’s decision to end the investigation of HRC is his Second Bull Run, and his inability to stop a poorly coifed can of Fanta from stealing the election is his Antietam. His self-righteousness blinded him to his inability to act when action was required. Now it is up to Mueller to “borrow” the Justice Department Comey refused to use to protect and defend the USA.
Comey’s Media tour is similar to McClellan’s ‘64 presidential campaign: maintaining himself as the best the country has to offer, and tiptoeing the middle ground by laying the blame for his failures at the feet of the Obama administration, the Clinton campaign, Trump, and tellingly, the American people. He should be resolutely ridiculed for his maudlin apologetics, and put out to pasture, away from the polis, where is probity can’t do any further harm to these USA.
posted by Roger_Mexico at 12:56 PM on April 18, 2018 [43 favorites]
And yet, standing at the summit of his career, he fumbled, hedged, obscured and evaded his responsibility to the constitution and the American people. His failure to defend the FBI’s decision to end the investigation of HRC is his Second Bull Run, and his inability to stop a poorly coifed can of Fanta from stealing the election is his Antietam. His self-righteousness blinded him to his inability to act when action was required. Now it is up to Mueller to “borrow” the Justice Department Comey refused to use to protect and defend the USA.
Comey’s Media tour is similar to McClellan’s ‘64 presidential campaign: maintaining himself as the best the country has to offer, and tiptoeing the middle ground by laying the blame for his failures at the feet of the Obama administration, the Clinton campaign, Trump, and tellingly, the American people. He should be resolutely ridiculed for his maudlin apologetics, and put out to pasture, away from the polis, where is probity can’t do any further harm to these USA.
posted by Roger_Mexico at 12:56 PM on April 18, 2018 [43 favorites]
In my AP US History class there was a multiple choice question about the Anaconda Plan in the Civil War. One of the choices was something like, "b. It was named for George McClellan, who was nicknamed 'the Anaconda'", and it's literally the only thing I remember McClellan or the Anaconda Plan to this day.
posted by runcibleshaw at 1:02 PM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 1:02 PM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
I missed this LA Times article from a week ago about what Mulvaney is doing as Allegedly Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:03 PM on April 18, 2018 [23 favorites]
He has scaled back enforcement efforts. He changed the bureau's mission statement to make the top goal "identifying and addressing outdated, unnecessary or unduly burdensome regulations." And in his prepared testimony for the hearing, Mulvaney said the agency's new priority is "to recognize free markets and consumer choice" and take "a humble approach to enforcing the law".Deputy Director Leandra English is still attempting to wrest the Acting Directorship from Mulvaney in court.
Mulvaney acknowledged that although the bureau had averaged opening one new enforcement action a week under Cordray, he had launched none since taking over.
That triggered astonishment from Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.).
"Are you telling me that every single financial institution in America has suddenly snapped into full compliance with every single consumer financial law since you took over last November?" she said. "I'm deeply disappointed that we have essentially taken the cop off the beat in terms of initiating new actions to help the consumer."
Mulvaney responded that "we are still going after bad actors," noting the bureau still had 100 ongoing probes.
But he reiterated formal recommendations he made last week for Congress to reduce the bureau's authority, which includes funding outside the regular congressional appropriation process and job protection for its director, who can only be fired by the president for cause, rather than at will.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:03 PM on April 18, 2018 [23 favorites]
B was the wrong answer, Gen. Scott came up with the Anaconda Plan.
posted by Sphinx at 1:04 PM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Sphinx at 1:04 PM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
Scott's Anaconda don't want none unless you've gunboats, hon
posted by halation at 1:06 PM on April 18, 2018 [37 favorites]
posted by halation at 1:06 PM on April 18, 2018 [37 favorites]
Public Policy Polling did in late January and found Cruz with only a 8 point lead.
I've been volunteering for Beto. It may still be an uphill battle but we have the ground game, we have a solid GOTV process backed by some very nifty software, we have the energy, most of all we have Beto.
posted by scalefree at 1:08 PM on April 18, 2018 [54 favorites]
I've been volunteering for Beto. It may still be an uphill battle but we have the ground game, we have a solid GOTV process backed by some very nifty software, we have the energy, most of all we have Beto.
posted by scalefree at 1:08 PM on April 18, 2018 [54 favorites]
I want Ted Cruz to be so scared of losing that he has to ask the President to come down and rally for him and hopefully not mention that Cruz's father murdered JFK
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:11 PM on April 18, 2018 [56 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:11 PM on April 18, 2018 [56 favorites]
the Daily News has a tiny bit more detail about the Pittsburgh Police wearing riot gear.
but the question is: does someone in pittsburgh know something we don't?
posted by murphy slaw at 1:14 PM on April 18, 2018 [12 favorites]
but the question is: does someone in pittsburgh know something we don't?
posted by murphy slaw at 1:14 PM on April 18, 2018 [12 favorites]
Sens. Murphy and Merkley introduced a new Medicare buy-in bill today (a "public option" if we still called things that), the "Choose Medicare Act", and Sarah Kliff has a nice little wrap-up of the five major proposals on the table. There are also some notes on the Murphy-Merkley bill from Margot Sanger-Katz, including the uphill battle involved in getting doctors and hospitals to accept Medicare rates from a larger pool of patients.
These bills are fantasy, they're not going anywhere anytime soon, but it's good that Democrats are continuing to move forward and campaign on health care. I came across this chart of Obamacare-related campaign ad spending. After years of Democrats running away from it and Republicans pouring tens of millions into attack ads, Republicans are finally running away from health care as Democrats seize on it as a winning issue.
On the other hand, some polling indicates 2018 voters really don't seem to care all that much, and it depends a lot on how you ask the question and whether people hear potential downsides.
posted by zachlipton at 1:16 PM on April 18, 2018 [19 favorites]
These bills are fantasy, they're not going anywhere anytime soon, but it's good that Democrats are continuing to move forward and campaign on health care. I came across this chart of Obamacare-related campaign ad spending. After years of Democrats running away from it and Republicans pouring tens of millions into attack ads, Republicans are finally running away from health care as Democrats seize on it as a winning issue.
On the other hand, some polling indicates 2018 voters really don't seem to care all that much, and it depends a lot on how you ask the question and whether people hear potential downsides.
posted by zachlipton at 1:16 PM on April 18, 2018 [19 favorites]
So weird, I spent most of the day thinking about George McClellan in the context of Comey and civilian oversight of the military and law enforcement and the whole Comey and McCabe not voting derail. Lincoln reassigned McClellan to a desk in New Jersey to await orders that never arrived after failing to press his advantages after Antietam, so he ran for president. An active duty general in the regular army running against Lincoln gets pretty close to Caesar crossing the Rubicon. McClellan would be a better known villian of American history if half the country wasn’t in open rebellion at the time.
posted by peeedro at 1:27 PM on April 18, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by peeedro at 1:27 PM on April 18, 2018 [13 favorites]
Today I learned: in states such as New York, if someone is prosecuted in Federal court and pardoned by the President, they cannot be prosecuted for the same actions under state law due to double jeopardy.
This seems extremely bad under present circumstances!
The New York Times reports that New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman is trying to remedy this by adding an exception to the double jeopardy law.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:30 PM on April 18, 2018 [32 favorites]
This seems extremely bad under present circumstances!
The New York Times reports that New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman is trying to remedy this by adding an exception to the double jeopardy law.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:30 PM on April 18, 2018 [32 favorites]
McClellan was a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge turd to Lincoln, though. I won't derail the thread to give a list, but JEEBUS CHRIST WHAT AN ASSHOLE. Who frequently refused to do his job or even let Lincoln know what was going on, would refuse to see him, and called him names constantly.
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:30 PM on April 18, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:30 PM on April 18, 2018 [8 favorites]
On the other hand, some polling indicates 2018 voters really don't seem to care all that much, and it depends a lot on how you ask the question and whether people hear potential downsides.
posted by zachlipton at 1:16 PM on April 18 [3 favorites +] [!]
I was struck by this graphic, but I have a question. What is the difference between Medicare buy-in for everyone and Medicare-for-all option?
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:31 PM on April 18, 2018
posted by zachlipton at 1:16 PM on April 18 [3 favorites +] [!]
I was struck by this graphic, but I have a question. What is the difference between Medicare buy-in for everyone and Medicare-for-all option?
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:31 PM on April 18, 2018
What is the difference between Medicare buy-in for everyone and Medicare-for-all option?
All of the proposals are a bit different, and as Sanger-Katz notes, we don't have good terminology to talk about these kinds of differences. Broadly, a Medicare-for-all plan like the Sanders bill are about creating a system where there is a single government-backed health care system for all, to the extent that employers and private insurers would not be allowed to offer competing plans. A Medicare buy-in plan (essentially what we used to call a "public option") would be setting up government-run plans to compete with existing private health insurance, and individuals and employers can compare plans and buy whatever they think is best.
As usual, the devil is in the details of exactly what the plan would cover, how much it would cost, and how much it pays providers. And there are ideological questions about government competing with private businesses, along with the question as to whether such competition is even practical.
posted by zachlipton at 1:42 PM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
All of the proposals are a bit different, and as Sanger-Katz notes, we don't have good terminology to talk about these kinds of differences. Broadly, a Medicare-for-all plan like the Sanders bill are about creating a system where there is a single government-backed health care system for all, to the extent that employers and private insurers would not be allowed to offer competing plans. A Medicare buy-in plan (essentially what we used to call a "public option") would be setting up government-run plans to compete with existing private health insurance, and individuals and employers can compare plans and buy whatever they think is best.
As usual, the devil is in the details of exactly what the plan would cover, how much it would cost, and how much it pays providers. And there are ideological questions about government competing with private businesses, along with the question as to whether such competition is even practical.
posted by zachlipton at 1:42 PM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
Am I wrong in reading that chart as primarily about branding and less about substance? looking at prior Kaiser research it seems like they polled a variety of different names that don't necessarily correspond with substantive policy differences they note, for example, that Bernie's proposal which he called "Medicare for all" isn't technically that because it would create a new medicare-like system for everyone. They also note that many people erroneously believe that, under various scenarios that have been proposed, they would necessarily be able to keep their current non-medicare health care. I believe the phraseology "Medicare buy in" is meant to indicate that there would be a gov't backed option available to anyone who wanted it, where M4A is largely viewed as government provided healthcare exclusive of any private option.
or what, on preview, zachlipton put more concisely.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 1:46 PM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
or what, on preview, zachlipton put more concisely.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 1:46 PM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
How the fuck did Schneiderman not know about the double jeopardy exception?
posted by rhizome at 1:49 PM on April 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 1:49 PM on April 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
What is the difference between Medicare buy-in for everyone and Medicare-for-all option?
1. Single-payer plan (53% favor)
2. Medicare-for-all (59%)
3. Medicare buy-in for everyone (72%)
4. Medicare-for-all option (75%)
I was trying to figure out what the difference between 3 and 4 is, as they sound the same. What you describe for 4 is what I would say 2 is. I agree with your description of 3, but how does it differ from 4?
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:52 PM on April 18, 2018
All of the proposals are a bit different, and as Sanger-Katz notes, we don't have good terminology to talk about these kinds of differences. Broadly, a Medicare-for-all plan like the Sanders bill are about creating a system where there is a single government-backed health care system for all, to the extent that employers and private insurers would not be allowed to offer competing plans. A Medicare buy-in plan (essentially what we used to call a "public option") would be setting up government-run plans to compete with existing private health insurance, and individuals and employers can compare plans and buy whatever they think is best.My bad. I was responding to the graph I linked; it has these four options:
1. Single-payer plan (53% favor)
2. Medicare-for-all (59%)
3. Medicare buy-in for everyone (72%)
4. Medicare-for-all option (75%)
I was trying to figure out what the difference between 3 and 4 is, as they sound the same. What you describe for 4 is what I would say 2 is. I agree with your description of 3, but how does it differ from 4?
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:52 PM on April 18, 2018
I don't see why double jeopardy should be a problem. There seem to be plenty of crimes - just divide 'em up between the feds and the state and start prosecuting!
posted by duoshao at 2:00 PM on April 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by duoshao at 2:00 PM on April 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
I wonder how double jeopardy works with pardons for hypothetical crimes which a person “has committed or may have committed or taken part in.” On the one hand, that covers everything. On the other, maybe that only covers federal crimes, and a state could still prosecute? (The defendant would then fight to remove the jurisdiction to federal court, at which point it would presumably be covered under the pardon.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 2:00 PM on April 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 2:00 PM on April 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Breaking news: A federal judge found Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) in contempt of court, saying he failed to fully follow a 2016court order to make sure voters were fully registered. He is ordered to pay attorney's fees to the ACLU.
lmao well ain't that a shame
posted by soren_lorensen at 2:05 PM on April 18, 2018 [117 favorites]
lmao well ain't that a shame
posted by soren_lorensen at 2:05 PM on April 18, 2018 [117 favorites]
I don't think Schneiderman will get the change he's asking for; the NY Senate is completely dysfunctional with a bunch of Democratic quislings. Real quislings not, like, Manchinesque quislings.
posted by Justinian at 2:05 PM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Justinian at 2:05 PM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
IIRC the prosecution of a crime needs to have advanced to at least a minimal stage before double jeopardy can be triggered by a parallel prosecution. I don't think a jury has to have been empaneled, but there definitely needs to be actual charges and probably the case committed for trial.
posted by Joe in Australia at 2:08 PM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Joe in Australia at 2:08 PM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
I think the poll is more about testing messaging than actual policies. People like the word "option" because it sounds optional, and more options for all sound good. You can drill into some of the numbers here (I don't know where all the numbers in the tweeted graphic come from); the most popular version is when people are asked about a plan "open to anyone who wants it but people who currently have other coverage could keep what they have."
Part of the issue here is that nobody can entirely predict what these plans do. A generous enough Medicare-for-all option wouldn't compete on a level playing field and could theoretically drive all the private insurers out of business, and nobody wants to make a "if you like your plan, you can keep it" promise they can't keep. The exact benefit design of a public plan is what determines whether people would choose it or not, and defining that is hard.
CBO scored a "public plan" in 2013 (using Medicare+5% reimbursement rates and actuarially sound premiums to fully cover costs). The results there were useful but not revolutionary and would not lead to a significant change in the number of uninsured.
posted by zachlipton at 2:08 PM on April 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
Part of the issue here is that nobody can entirely predict what these plans do. A generous enough Medicare-for-all option wouldn't compete on a level playing field and could theoretically drive all the private insurers out of business, and nobody wants to make a "if you like your plan, you can keep it" promise they can't keep. The exact benefit design of a public plan is what determines whether people would choose it or not, and defining that is hard.
CBO scored a "public plan" in 2013 (using Medicare+5% reimbursement rates and actuarially sound premiums to fully cover costs). The results there were useful but not revolutionary and would not lead to a significant change in the number of uninsured.
posted by zachlipton at 2:08 PM on April 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
NYT, Ex-Playboy Model, Let Out of Tabloid Contract, Can Freely Discuss Alleged Trump Affair
posted by zachlipton at 2:17 PM on April 18, 2018 [48 favorites]
The tabloid news company American Media Inc. agreed to let a former Playboy model out of a contract that had kept her from talking freely about an alleged affair with Donald J. Trump, her lawyer said.Seeing speculation they wanted to end this to avoid discovery.
The settlement agreement, reached Wednesday, ends a lawsuit brought by the model, Karen McDougal, and protects the president from being drawn into a legal case involving efforts to buy the silence of women who had stories to tell about him during the 2016 campaign.
posted by zachlipton at 2:17 PM on April 18, 2018 [48 favorites]
Seeing speculation they wanted to end this to avoid discovery.
That is the rather obvious conclusion, yes. Considering what we know about the Cohen raid, though, I would assume there's already an investigation into whether the agreement with McDougal also constituted an illegal campaign contribution. In that case avoiding discovery stems only the public flood, but doesn't do anything to stop any progress towards indictments on the matter.
posted by fedward at 2:36 PM on April 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
That is the rather obvious conclusion, yes. Considering what we know about the Cohen raid, though, I would assume there's already an investigation into whether the agreement with McDougal also constituted an illegal campaign contribution. In that case avoiding discovery stems only the public flood, but doesn't do anything to stop any progress towards indictments on the matter.
posted by fedward at 2:36 PM on April 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
Today's extremely normal Greitens news:
@ZavalaA
BREAKING: Governor Eric Greitens has filed a request for a temporary restraining order against Missouri Attorney General, Josh Hawley. Court records show it was filed in Jefferson City.
Subsequent update:
Governor Eric Greitens' restraining order against MO Attorney General Josh Hawley aims to stop Hawley from investigating him. Also wants a special prosecutor appointed for investigation into The Mission Continues.
posted by Existential Dread at 2:37 PM on April 18, 2018 [35 favorites]
@ZavalaA
BREAKING: Governor Eric Greitens has filed a request for a temporary restraining order against Missouri Attorney General, Josh Hawley. Court records show it was filed in Jefferson City.
Subsequent update:
Governor Eric Greitens' restraining order against MO Attorney General Josh Hawley aims to stop Hawley from investigating him. Also wants a special prosecutor appointed for investigation into The Mission Continues.
posted by Existential Dread at 2:37 PM on April 18, 2018 [35 favorites]
@NYGovCuomo: Today I’m issuing an executive order giving parolees the right to vote. It is unconscionable to deny voting rights to New Yorkers who have re-entered society. We’re also launching an investigation into bail bondsmen who extort the poor at their highest point of pain. This industry must be reformed.
Gosh, Cynthia Nixon just announced her candidacy, and look at how much good she's managed to do already!
posted by zachlipton at 2:41 PM on April 18, 2018 [156 favorites]
Gosh, Cynthia Nixon just announced her candidacy, and look at how much good she's managed to do already!
posted by zachlipton at 2:41 PM on April 18, 2018 [156 favorites]
“The Mission Continues“ is the name of the nonprofit Greitens is accused of improperly using the donor list from, not like, the name of his pre-written autobiography of how he rose to the White House. Although it may also be that.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:42 PM on April 18, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:42 PM on April 18, 2018 [9 favorites]
The Associated Press: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt flew in coach-class seats on at least two trips when taxpayers weren’t footing the bill, despite claims he needed to travel in first class at government expense because of security threats.
Presumably he needed to keep those dollars in his bank account for security reasons
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:48 PM on April 18, 2018 [58 favorites]
Presumably he needed to keep those dollars in his bank account for security reasons
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:48 PM on April 18, 2018 [58 favorites]
The recent court decision declaring the travel ban unconstitutional. They straight up say the ban is unconstitutional because it's racist:
https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/172231.P.pdf (quotes from about page 40)
The Government maintains that the Proclamation’s facial neutrality establishes that it is “not intended to discriminate on the basis of religion.” However...
...Rudy Giuliani, an advisor to President Trump, explained that EO-1’s purpose was to deliver on President Trump’s promise to “ban Muslim immigration to the United States.”
...Only nine days before issuing the Proclamation, President Trump tweeted, “The travel ban into the United States should be far larger, tougher and more specific-but stupidly, that would not be politically correct!” J.A. 832.
...The President endorsed an apocryphal story involving General Pershing and a purported massacre of Muslims with bullets dipped in a pig’s blood, advising people to “[s]tudy what General Pershing . . . did to terrorists when caught. There was no more Radical Islamic Terror for 35 years!” J.A. 806.
...President Trump retweeted three disturbing anti-Muslim videos entitled: “Muslim Destroys a Statue of Virgin Mary!” “Islamist mob pushes teenage boy off roof and beats him to death!” and “Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches!” J.A. 1497–99.
...When asked about the three videos, President Trump’s deputy press secretary Raj Shah responded by saying that the... “the President has addressed these issues with the travel order that he issued earlier this year and the companion proclamation.” J.A. 1502–03.
The Government does not—and, indeed, cannot—dispute that the President made these statements. Instead, it argues that the “statements that occurred after the issuance of EO-2 do not reflect any religious animus” but reflect “the compelling secular goal of protecting national security from an amply-documented present threat.” First Br. 52.
We cannot agree. Rather, an objective observer could conclude that the President’s repeated statements convey the primary purpose of the Proclamation—to exclude Muslims from the United States.
In fact, it is hard to imagine how an objective observer could come to any other conclusion when the President’s own deputy press secretary made this connection express: he explained that President Trump tweets extremist anti-Muslim videos as part of his broader concerns about “security,” which he has “addressed . . . with . . . the proclamation.” J.A. 1502–03.
posted by xammerboy at 2:55 PM on April 18, 2018 [62 favorites]
https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/172231.P.pdf (quotes from about page 40)
The Government maintains that the Proclamation’s facial neutrality establishes that it is “not intended to discriminate on the basis of religion.” However...
...Rudy Giuliani, an advisor to President Trump, explained that EO-1’s purpose was to deliver on President Trump’s promise to “ban Muslim immigration to the United States.”
...Only nine days before issuing the Proclamation, President Trump tweeted, “The travel ban into the United States should be far larger, tougher and more specific-but stupidly, that would not be politically correct!” J.A. 832.
...The President endorsed an apocryphal story involving General Pershing and a purported massacre of Muslims with bullets dipped in a pig’s blood, advising people to “[s]tudy what General Pershing . . . did to terrorists when caught. There was no more Radical Islamic Terror for 35 years!” J.A. 806.
...President Trump retweeted three disturbing anti-Muslim videos entitled: “Muslim Destroys a Statue of Virgin Mary!” “Islamist mob pushes teenage boy off roof and beats him to death!” and “Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches!” J.A. 1497–99.
...When asked about the three videos, President Trump’s deputy press secretary Raj Shah responded by saying that the... “the President has addressed these issues with the travel order that he issued earlier this year and the companion proclamation.” J.A. 1502–03.
The Government does not—and, indeed, cannot—dispute that the President made these statements. Instead, it argues that the “statements that occurred after the issuance of EO-2 do not reflect any religious animus” but reflect “the compelling secular goal of protecting national security from an amply-documented present threat.” First Br. 52.
We cannot agree. Rather, an objective observer could conclude that the President’s repeated statements convey the primary purpose of the Proclamation—to exclude Muslims from the United States.
In fact, it is hard to imagine how an objective observer could come to any other conclusion when the President’s own deputy press secretary made this connection express: he explained that President Trump tweets extremist anti-Muslim videos as part of his broader concerns about “security,” which he has “addressed . . . with . . . the proclamation.” J.A. 1502–03.
posted by xammerboy at 2:55 PM on April 18, 2018 [62 favorites]
Sarah Huckabee Sanders said "the administration does not comment on the CIA director's travel." Hours later, Trump tweeted that "Pompeo met with Kim Jong Un in North Korea last week. Meeting went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed." (Reuters)
(via whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com)
Fine oiled people machine tune.
posted by petebest at 3:01 PM on April 18, 2018 [24 favorites]
(via whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com)
Fine oiled people machine tune.
posted by petebest at 3:01 PM on April 18, 2018 [24 favorites]
Considering what we know about the Cohen raid, though, I would assume there's already an investigation into whether the agreement with McDougal also constituted an illegal campaign contribution.
Well, quite. NYT reported as much last week.
(Just so we’re all clear, American Media Inc. = National Enquirer, with whom Trump is known to share a bed.)
posted by Sys Rq at 3:03 PM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
Well, quite. NYT reported as much last week.
(Just so we’re all clear, American Media Inc. = National Enquirer, with whom Trump is known to share a bed.)
posted by Sys Rq at 3:03 PM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
Sarah Huckabee Sanders said "the administration does not comment on the CIA director's travel." Hours later, Trump tweeted that "Pompeo met with Kim Jong Un in North Korea last week. Meeting went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed."
---
Fine oiled people machine tune.
Guess why!
@MattGertz (MMFA)
If you're wondering why the president suddenly confirmed Mike Pompeo's North Korea trip this morning.
Left, Fox & Friends, 6:24 am
Right, Trump, 6:42 am
SCREENSHOTS
posted by chris24 at 3:05 PM on April 18, 2018 [22 favorites]
---
Fine oiled people machine tune.
Guess why!
@MattGertz (MMFA)
If you're wondering why the president suddenly confirmed Mike Pompeo's North Korea trip this morning.
Left, Fox & Friends, 6:24 am
Right, Trump, 6:42 am
SCREENSHOTS
posted by chris24 at 3:05 PM on April 18, 2018 [22 favorites]
That only raises the question: Did Pompeo really meet with Kim, or does Trump just believe he did because Fox said so?
posted by Sys Rq at 3:09 PM on April 18, 2018 [34 favorites]
posted by Sys Rq at 3:09 PM on April 18, 2018 [34 favorites]
IIRC the prosecution of a crime needs to have advanced to at least a minimal stage before double jeopardy can be triggered by a parallel prosecution. I don't think a jury has to have been empaneled, but there definitely needs to be actual charges and probably the case committed for trial.
Yep, pretty much. To be a bit more specific: under the New York Criminal Procedure Law, certain pretrial actions, like swearing in a jury or taking a guilty plea, act to bar state prosecution for the same crimes absent an exception -- for example, when an appeals court vacates a conviction. The problem for Schneiderman is that no exception exists in New York for when a sitting US president nullifies a federal criminal prosecution through the pardon power. So, Schneiderman is worried that a guilty plea or the swearing in of a federal jury could provide 45 with the power to invoke the NY state statute to bar prosecution for the same crimes. From Schneiderman's letter:
"[I]f a federal defendant pleads guilty to a federal crime, or if a jury is sworn in a federal criminal trial against that defendant, and then the President pardons that individual, this New York statute could be invoked to argue that a subsequent state prosecution is barred. Simply put, a defendant pardoned by the President for a serious federal crime could be freed from all accountability under federal and state criminal law, even though the President has no authority under the U.S. Constitution to pardon state crimes."
posted by holborne at 3:15 PM on April 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
Yep, pretty much. To be a bit more specific: under the New York Criminal Procedure Law, certain pretrial actions, like swearing in a jury or taking a guilty plea, act to bar state prosecution for the same crimes absent an exception -- for example, when an appeals court vacates a conviction. The problem for Schneiderman is that no exception exists in New York for when a sitting US president nullifies a federal criminal prosecution through the pardon power. So, Schneiderman is worried that a guilty plea or the swearing in of a federal jury could provide 45 with the power to invoke the NY state statute to bar prosecution for the same crimes. From Schneiderman's letter:
"[I]f a federal defendant pleads guilty to a federal crime, or if a jury is sworn in a federal criminal trial against that defendant, and then the President pardons that individual, this New York statute could be invoked to argue that a subsequent state prosecution is barred. Simply put, a defendant pardoned by the President for a serious federal crime could be freed from all accountability under federal and state criminal law, even though the President has no authority under the U.S. Constitution to pardon state crimes."
posted by holborne at 3:15 PM on April 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
President Trump of the United States of America and Prime Minister Abe of Japan hold a press conference at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 3:18 PM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 3:18 PM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
Trump just adlibbed "I'll never beat that record," after saying the Bushes had been married for 73 years at the press conference with Abe
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:18 PM on April 18, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:18 PM on April 18, 2018 [18 favorites]
... and the response from the crowd was absolute silence.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 3:19 PM on April 18, 2018 [38 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 3:19 PM on April 18, 2018 [38 favorites]
Okay, now the Eye has well and truly found Pruitt:
Head budget official says office will open probe into Scott Pruitt's spending (Stephanie Ebbs, ABC News)
Head budget official says office will open probe into Scott Pruitt's spending (Stephanie Ebbs, ABC News)
Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Fucking Mulvaney said the office is opening a probe into Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt's spending since he took over the helm of the agency.posted by Johnny Wallflower at 3:23 PM on April 18, 2018 [21 favorites]
Mulvaney said that OMB will look into the violation of federal spending laws on a "secure phone booth" for Pruitt's office at EPA headquarters.
A bunch of important sounding people (including Gillibrand, Feinstein, and Schumer) have penned a Senate Resolution calling for Pruitt to resign.
RESOLUTIONposted by hanov3r at 3:36 PM on April 18, 2018 [56 favorites]
Expressing no confidence in the Administrator of the Envi-ronmental Protection Agency and calling for the immediate resignation of the Administrator.
Sean Hannity continues to uphold Fox News standards (Alexandra Petri, WaPo)
We at Fox News continue to have rigorous standards, and Sean Hannity continues to uphold them.posted by Johnny Wallflower at 3:38 PM on April 18, 2018 [34 favorites]
He has not criticized Donald Trump in thought, word or deed, by anything he has done or anything he has left undone.
He has not failed to love Donald Trump with his whole heart, his whole mind, his whole strength.
He has not held any other gods before Donald Trump.
He has not sacrificed anything — food, drink, integrity — to a deity other than Donald Trump.
He has not failed to denounce Hillary Clinton and all her works.
All his graphics have pointed to Hillary Clinton as the ultimate mastermind of all that is wrong in the country — even graphics of great complexity.
“The travel ban into the United States should be far larger, tougher and more specific-but stupidly, that would not be politically correct!”
Historic, because it's probably the first time a sitting President has used the phrase "politically correct" to mean Constitutional.
posted by Mental Wimp at 3:46 PM on April 18, 2018 [41 favorites]
Historic, because it's probably the first time a sitting President has used the phrase "politically correct" to mean Constitutional.
posted by Mental Wimp at 3:46 PM on April 18, 2018 [41 favorites]
AP: House panel moves to curb food stamps, renew farm subsidies
A bitterly-divided House panel Wednesday approved new work and job training requirements for food stamps as part of a five-year renewal of federal farm and nutrition policy. The GOP-run Agriculture Committee approved the measure strictly along party lines after a contentious, five-hour hearing in which Democrats blasted the legislation, charging it would toss up to 2 million people off of food stamps [...] Agriculture panel chair Michael Conaway said the provisions would offer food stamp beneficiaries “the hope of a job and a skill and a better future for themselves and their families.”
Wow, what deal: millions will get the hope of a job, and all it'll cost them is the hope of food. The Banality of Conaway.
posted by Rust Moranis at 4:04 PM on April 18, 2018 [39 favorites]
A bitterly-divided House panel Wednesday approved new work and job training requirements for food stamps as part of a five-year renewal of federal farm and nutrition policy. The GOP-run Agriculture Committee approved the measure strictly along party lines after a contentious, five-hour hearing in which Democrats blasted the legislation, charging it would toss up to 2 million people off of food stamps [...] Agriculture panel chair Michael Conaway said the provisions would offer food stamp beneficiaries “the hope of a job and a skill and a better future for themselves and their families.”
Wow, what deal: millions will get the hope of a job, and all it'll cost them is the hope of food. The Banality of Conaway.
posted by Rust Moranis at 4:04 PM on April 18, 2018 [39 favorites]
To be fair, if anything defines political correctness it's the Constitution. I can quite see a poster with the title page and "POLITICALLY CORRECT" working well as a meme.
posted by Devonian at 4:06 PM on April 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Devonian at 4:06 PM on April 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
So, um, was Trump supposed to call what happened in February in Syria a fight between US troops and Russian troops? He was trying to explain how tough he's been on Russia, but I'm pretty darn sure that stripping away any pretense of deniability over this incident was part of the playbook. My understanding is that the fig leaf of their mercenary status was the main thing keeping this from escalating.
On preview, here's a clip.
posted by zachlipton at 4:08 PM on April 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
On preview, here's a clip.
posted by zachlipton at 4:08 PM on April 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Real talk: Rasputin's nightly show would be incredible, please don't compare him to Hannity.
posted by Rust Moranis at 4:09 PM on April 18, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 4:09 PM on April 18, 2018 [20 favorites]
No one will ever claim to have pickled Hannity's penis
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 4:12 PM on April 18, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 4:12 PM on April 18, 2018 [15 favorites]
Hannity is literally the Trumpworld safe space.
This seems like the perfection of what Vanity Fair reported in January with “A Safe Space for Trump”:
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:12 PM on April 18, 2018 [52 favorites]
This seems like the perfection of what Vanity Fair reported in January with “A Safe Space for Trump”:
Inside the Feedback Loop Between the President and Fox News—With Roger Ailes gone, the network’s chief de-facto programmer is the president. 'He has the same embattled view as a typical Fox viewer.'[...]Oh, my sweet summer child, yes you are.
According to conversations in recent days with current and former Fox executives, producers, and hosts, Trump looms almost as large in the minds of employees as Ailes did. Fox hosts regularly get calls from Trump about segments he likes—or doesn’t. “When you worked at Fox, you knew that at any moment Roger Ailes was watching. Every day was like a job interview with Ailes. Now it’s the same way for Trump,” says a veteran Fox News contributor. According to sources, Trump doesn’t explicitly dictate talking points the way Ailes did, but over time, the effect can be similar. “What he usually does is he’ll call after a show and say, ‘I really enjoyed that,’” a former Fox anchor told me. “The highest compliment is, ‘I really learned something.’ Then you know he got a new policy idea.” But knowing Trump always could be tuning in means the network is being programmed for an audience of one. “He has the same embattled view as a typical Fox viewer—that ‘the liberal elites hate me; they’re trying to bring me down,’” an executive said.[...]
The hugely successful alliance is mostly transactional—privately, many at the network have a nuanced view of the president. “He’s sort of viewed as this crazy person who calls all the time,” the Fox executive said.[...]
It’s frustrating to some inside Fox that the network is now seen as the propaganda wing of Trump’s White House and lacks a post-Trump programming strategy. “It’s freaky to see him tweeting at Fox & Friends,” one staffer said. “That doesn’t help us. We’re not state television.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:12 PM on April 18, 2018 [52 favorites]
It’s frustrating to some inside Fox that the network is now seen as the propaganda wing of Trump’s White House and lacks a post-Trump programming strategy.
On the other hand, it's encouraging to hear of people inside Fox talk about a post-Trump strategy when we're only 15 months into his presidency/re-election campaign. Shouldn't their post-Trump talk be six years out?
posted by kirkaracha at 4:22 PM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
On the other hand, it's encouraging to hear of people inside Fox talk about a post-Trump strategy when we're only 15 months into his presidency/re-election campaign. Shouldn't their post-Trump talk be six years out?
posted by kirkaracha at 4:22 PM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
WSJ, Cohen Would Turn Against President if Charged, Counselor Warned Trump
posted by zachlipton at 4:39 PM on April 18, 2018 [50 favorites]
One of President Donald Trump’s longtime legal advisers said he warned the president in a phone call Friday that Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer and close friend, would turn against the president and cooperate with federal prosecutors if faced with criminal charges.I really don't understand why Goldberg decided to call up the Journal and tell us this, but here we are.
Mr. Trump made the call seeking advice from Jay Goldberg, who represented Mr. Trump in the 1990s and early 2000s. Mr. Goldberg said he cautioned the president not to trust Mr. Cohen. On a scale of 100 to 1, where 100 is fully protecting the president, Mr. Cohen “isn’t even a 1,” he said he told Mr. Trump
...
“Michael will never stand up [for you]” if charged by the government, Mr. Goldberg said he cautioned the president.
posted by zachlipton at 4:39 PM on April 18, 2018 [50 favorites]
Cohen Would Turn Against President if Charged, Counselor Warned Trump
Why would ANYONE protect Trump if criminal charges were involved? We've seen zero evidence that he protects his allies and those he believes are his underlings.
He protects people who can take action and make changes that benefit him. He doesn't protect people who've benefited him in the past; for him to pardon Cohen, he'd need more than "Cohen didn't rat him out;" he'd need to know what good Cohen is to him in the future.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 4:48 PM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
Why would ANYONE protect Trump if criminal charges were involved? We've seen zero evidence that he protects his allies and those he believes are his underlings.
He protects people who can take action and make changes that benefit him. He doesn't protect people who've benefited him in the past; for him to pardon Cohen, he'd need more than "Cohen didn't rat him out;" he'd need to know what good Cohen is to him in the future.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 4:48 PM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
The most amazing part of this, as Benjy Sarlin notes, is that there's been zero effort to even bother to pretend that there aren't underlying crimes. It's entirely been "will Cohen turn on Trump?" without any acknowledgement that you have to have done something wrong for somebody to be able to turn on you.
Cohen himself gave an interview where he said "I'd rather jump out of a building than turn on Donald Trump." Wouldn't a normal person just focus on how nobody committed any crimes rather than explain in such detail how far they'd go to maintain a coverup? It's all in such plain sight they don't even bother to pretend it doesn't exist.
posted by zachlipton at 4:49 PM on April 18, 2018 [107 favorites]
Cohen himself gave an interview where he said "I'd rather jump out of a building than turn on Donald Trump." Wouldn't a normal person just focus on how nobody committed any crimes rather than explain in such detail how far they'd go to maintain a coverup? It's all in such plain sight they don't even bother to pretend it doesn't exist.
posted by zachlipton at 4:49 PM on April 18, 2018 [107 favorites]
Trump allies press Rosenstein in private meeting in latest sign of tensions (WaPo)
posted by fedward at 4:49 PM on April 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
Two of President Trump’s top legislative allies met with Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein this week to press him for more documents about the conduct of law enforcement officials involved in the Russia probe and the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server, according to three people who were not authorized to speak publicly about the discussion.Meadows claims he's just doing his job, of course.
Rosenstein’s meeting at his office Monday with Reps. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) came days after Meadows, an influential Trump confidant, warned Rosenstein that he could soon face impeachment proceedings or an effort to hold him in contempt of Congress if he did not satisfy GOP demands for documents.
…
Meadows, in a brief interview Wednesday, acknowledged that he met with Rosenstein earlier in the week.
“We keep getting promises that Congress will get the documents it has requested, but there has been little action that has supported those promises,” Meadows said. He called the meeting the culmination of the “dissatisfaction I’ve expressed on a number of occasions with varying degrees of passion.”
A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.
posted by fedward at 4:49 PM on April 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
Politico, Male Democratic senators join push for new harassment rules in Congress
Good news though: babies now allowed on the Senate floor by unanimous consent.
posted by zachlipton at 4:53 PM on April 18, 2018 [73 favorites]
The men of the Senate Democratic Caucus are preparing to publicly join every female senator in both parties in calling for a vote on rewriting Capitol Hill’s workplace harassment rules — without support from a single Republican male.Leave it to Ted Cruz to be terrible even when it comes to pushing for a measure he supports.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) organized the planned appeal to the chamber’s leaders in both parties for a floor debate on modernizing the Hill’s misconduct policy in solidarity with a recent push by all 22 female senators, according to a Democratic source who insisted on anonymity to talk about the effort. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the chief GOP co-author of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s (D-N.Y.) strict harassment overhaul bill, was originally courted to sign on to the Democratic men’s letter but has declined, the source said.
Good news though: babies now allowed on the Senate floor by unanimous consent.
posted by zachlipton at 4:53 PM on April 18, 2018 [73 favorites]
Asha Rangappa: THREAD […] The Attorney General of NY is asking the Governor and legislature to amend its laws to permit a successive state prosecution in the event that the President pardons someone for federal crimes which are also crimes under state law. Why?
Twitter | ThreadReader
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 4:57 PM on April 18, 2018 [13 favorites]
Twitter | ThreadReader
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 4:57 PM on April 18, 2018 [13 favorites]
I know the Bridenstine confirmation is a relative blip in the midst of all this, but the dude's got an MBA and made his name in Congress by attacking climate science. And NASA's Earth Science Directorate is a pretty significant source of funding for climate research and satellite data collection.
posted by Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam at 5:01 PM on April 18, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam at 5:01 PM on April 18, 2018 [20 favorites]
Politico: Kushner’s prison-reform push hits bipartisan resistance
posted by saysthis at 5:07 PM on April 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
Kushner met with Republicans and Democrats to build momentum for prison legislation that could advance to the House floor as soon as next week. But he has a problem in the Senate, where members of both parties are pushing a more sweeping criminal justice package and are loath to scale it back despite entreaties from President Donald Trump’s son-in-law-turned-adviser.If no one swoops in with reports of Kushner's ties to the private prison industry or something, I think...maybe...is this actually stopped clock telling the correct time? Is this actually good news?
[...]
The legislation has a personal significance for Trump’s son-in-law beyond scoring a much-needed political win. Charles Kushner, Jared’s father, served 14 months in federal prison for illegal campaign contributions and witness tampering in 2005 being before released to a halfway house for the rest of his two-year sentence.
[...]
“We still have a long way to go to get it to the point where it could get substantial Democratic support,” Jeffries said. Some outstanding issues include ensuring medium- to high-risk offenders can take part in the training programs, the treatment of female prisoners and the “good time” credits that would allow a prisoner to serve part of a sentence in a halfway house or similar setting.
“If it’s going to move without sentencing reform, it’s got to be meaningful. If it’s not meaningful, what are we doing here?”[...]He added that talks have touched on the addition of a concealed carry provision that would allow federal prosecutors and judges to carry weapons, which would be a nonstarter for Democrats. Jeffries wouldn’t say whether Sessions was behind that push.
[...]
Cornyn cosponsored a broader criminal justice reform effort in the past but has narrowed his sights to a prison-only approach this year, given the Trump administration's resistance to the more expansive bill.
"I know there's some division of opinion in terms of sentencing reform, but we know that's not something the president and the attorney general support," Cornyn said.
posted by saysthis at 5:07 PM on April 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
I should clarify that by "good news" I mean support for actually doing something positive about the prison system, reducing recidivism, helping former prisoners re-integrate, improving treatment of female prisoners...I'm not in any way shape or form for judges carrying guns...
I cynically think Kushner is using this to reduce his own jail time, but I have no evidence of that, so that's why the "stopped clock is right" comment.
posted by saysthis at 5:18 PM on April 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
I cynically think Kushner is using this to reduce his own jail time, but I have no evidence of that, so that's why the "stopped clock is right" comment.
posted by saysthis at 5:18 PM on April 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
I really don't understand why Goldberg decided to call up the Journal and tell us this, but here we are.
Maybe he wants to warn us all that Trump is about to go particularly batshit.
lolno more likely he’s trying to get Cohen whacked
posted by schadenfrau at 5:19 PM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
Maybe he wants to warn us all that Trump is about to go particularly batshit.
lolno more likely he’s trying to get Cohen whacked
posted by schadenfrau at 5:19 PM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
Ex post facto laws are unconstitutional but it isn't clear to me whether New York changing it so that a pardon is an exception to its laws concerning double jeopardy attaching to federal charges (joining a bunch of other exceptions) would count as an ex post facto law if New York doesn't pass it until after Trump issues pardons. A law making it easier to obtain a conviction would generally be considered ex post facto but the legal weeds here are pretty deep and technical and I didnt' even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
If you put a gun to my head I'd guess that New York would have to make this change before Trump issued the pardons for it to apply to Flynn, Manafort, Cohen et al but I'm pretty far out over my skies.
posted by Justinian at 5:30 PM on April 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
If you put a gun to my head I'd guess that New York would have to make this change before Trump issued the pardons for it to apply to Flynn, Manafort, Cohen et al but I'm pretty far out over my skies.
posted by Justinian at 5:30 PM on April 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
Cohen himself gave an interview where he said "I'd rather jump out of a building than turn on Donald Trump." Wouldn't a normal person just focus on how nobody committed any crimes rather than explain in such detail how far they'd go to maintain a coverup?
It runs straight to all those movies where the bad guy flunkie gets caught and says he can't tell the protagonists anything because "You don't know what they'll do to me," doesn't it? That statement doesn't tell me he's loyal to Trump on principle. It's like he wants to tell the mobsters he knows what's good for himself.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 5:35 PM on April 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
It runs straight to all those movies where the bad guy flunkie gets caught and says he can't tell the protagonists anything because "You don't know what they'll do to me," doesn't it? That statement doesn't tell me he's loyal to Trump on principle. It's like he wants to tell the mobsters he knows what's good for himself.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 5:35 PM on April 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
I really don't understand why Goldberg decided to call up the Journal and tell us this, but here we are.
Goldberg probably loathes his former colleague, given the standards of collegiality we've seen at Trump Org and the Trump White House.
The two most important points in the WSJ's article, though, are Goldberg adding to the chorus that (a) Trump is innocent of criminality, no matter how dirty his subordinates and (b) Trump agreeing to an interview with Mueller would be tantamount to entrapment and must be avoided. These are the two central messages that Team Trump is broadcasting everywhere they can, from anonymous leaks in the NYT to talking heads on Fox. It's not exactly a grand strategy, but it's all the defense plan they have.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:37 PM on April 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
Goldberg probably loathes his former colleague, given the standards of collegiality we've seen at Trump Org and the Trump White House.
The two most important points in the WSJ's article, though, are Goldberg adding to the chorus that (a) Trump is innocent of criminality, no matter how dirty his subordinates and (b) Trump agreeing to an interview with Mueller would be tantamount to entrapment and must be avoided. These are the two central messages that Team Trump is broadcasting everywhere they can, from anonymous leaks in the NYT to talking heads on Fox. It's not exactly a grand strategy, but it's all the defense plan they have.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:37 PM on April 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
That's... is that a thing you can do? A restraining order against law enforcement officials? Has Trump considered filing a restraining order against Robert Mueller? What even is this timeline?
posted by wabbittwax at 5:46 PM on April 18, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by wabbittwax at 5:46 PM on April 18, 2018 [23 favorites]
It’s such a telling example of white privilege that these criminals (Greitens, Manafort and Trump) think they can stop prosecutors by suing them. Of course they would never think “common” (poor) or “normal” (Black) criminals would be able to do that, but they’re, you know, special.
posted by msalt at 5:47 PM on April 18, 2018 [29 favorites]
posted by msalt at 5:47 PM on April 18, 2018 [29 favorites]
soren_lorensen: "Breaking news: A federal judge found Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) in contempt of court, saying he failed to fully follow a 2016court order to make sure voters were fully registered. He is ordered to pay attorney's fees to the ACLU."
The judge also says further penalties may be coming.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:52 PM on April 18, 2018 [25 favorites]
The judge also says further penalties may be coming.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:52 PM on April 18, 2018 [25 favorites]
It’s such a telling example of white privilege that these criminals (Greitens, Manafort and Trump) think they can stop prosecutors by suing them. Of course they would never think “common” (poor) or “normal” (Black) criminals would be able to do that, but they’re, you know, special.
I'm friends with several public defenders in Kentucky and Missouri, both of them I talked to over text today told me a) this is insane and b) if it even remotely works they're doing it for every single one of their clients going forward.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:52 PM on April 18, 2018 [58 favorites]
I'm friends with several public defenders in Kentucky and Missouri, both of them I talked to over text today told me a) this is insane and b) if it even remotely works they're doing it for every single one of their clients going forward.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:52 PM on April 18, 2018 [58 favorites]
I am genuinely baffled by that restraining order filing. It seems to say that because Hawley thinks Greitens is guilty, he therefore can't investigate him.
Does this mean that law enforcement should only investigate people they think are innocent, or where guilt or innocence is of no particular concern? That's the sort of thing you do in authoritarian regi... aaaah.
OK, got it.
(Seriously, I know courts can be perverse places, but if that flies I'm booking the next ticket to Mars.)
posted by Devonian at 5:53 PM on April 18, 2018 [21 favorites]
Does this mean that law enforcement should only investigate people they think are innocent, or where guilt or innocence is of no particular concern? That's the sort of thing you do in authoritarian regi... aaaah.
OK, got it.
(Seriously, I know courts can be perverse places, but if that flies I'm booking the next ticket to Mars.)
posted by Devonian at 5:53 PM on April 18, 2018 [21 favorites]
Trump allies press Rosenstein in private meeting in latest sign of tensions
I wish the media would stop using words like "tensions" and "feuds" when they're talking about entirely one-sided assaults on people, institutions, and the rule of law.
posted by Etrigan at 6:01 PM on April 18, 2018 [71 favorites]
I wish the media would stop using words like "tensions" and "feuds" when they're talking about entirely one-sided assaults on people, institutions, and the rule of law.
posted by Etrigan at 6:01 PM on April 18, 2018 [71 favorites]
Justinian: "I don't think Schneiderman will get the change he's asking for; the NY Senate is completely dysfunctional with a bunch of Democratic quislings. Real quislings not, like, Manchinesque quislings."
Several of said quislings are being primaried, so there is hope.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:09 PM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
Several of said quislings are being primaried, so there is hope.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:09 PM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
AZ: Magellan Strategies poll of the GOP primary has Rep McSally in the lead with 36%, with a tight race for second between scumball Arpaio at 26% and whackdoodle Ward at 25%.
A new poll with that whackdoodle Ward in the lead.
@HenryJGomez (Buzzfeed)
New #AZSen poll
Ward - 36%
McSally - 27%
Arpaio - 22%
Undecided - 15%
(302 likely Republican primary voters; 5.64% margin of error)
ABC15/OHPI: Poll: Joe Arpaio trails in GOP race for U.S. Senate seat in Arizona
posted by chris24 at 6:19 PM on April 18, 2018 [9 favorites]
A new poll with that whackdoodle Ward in the lead.
@HenryJGomez (Buzzfeed)
New #AZSen poll
Ward - 36%
McSally - 27%
Arpaio - 22%
Undecided - 15%
(302 likely Republican primary voters; 5.64% margin of error)
ABC15/OHPI: Poll: Joe Arpaio trails in GOP race for U.S. Senate seat in Arizona
posted by chris24 at 6:19 PM on April 18, 2018 [9 favorites]
I am genuinely baffled by that restraining order filing. It seems to say that because Hawley thinks Greitens is guilty, he therefore can't investigate him.
It's straight out of the Trump playbook. The main thesis of his defense is that the FBI is biased against him, so their investigation into his collusion with Russia is illegitimate, never mind the fact that he continues to actively thwart any attempt to sanction Russia. Similarly, the Washington Post and other mainstream news outlets are fake news because they're biased against him, never mind the fact that he literally called them the enemy of the American people in his first month in office.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 6:25 PM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
It's straight out of the Trump playbook. The main thesis of his defense is that the FBI is biased against him, so their investigation into his collusion with Russia is illegitimate, never mind the fact that he continues to actively thwart any attempt to sanction Russia. Similarly, the Washington Post and other mainstream news outlets are fake news because they're biased against him, never mind the fact that he literally called them the enemy of the American people in his first month in office.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 6:25 PM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
Hmmm, that's a pretty strong showing for Ward. I'm a little skeptical, tbh.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:33 PM on April 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 6:33 PM on April 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
It's like a plan to take over the world from Pinky & the Brain, where they're going to do something to deliberately anger every individual on the planet, so then everybody will be biased against them, so a jury can never be empaneled to convict them of the real crime they're going to commit, which they'd have probably gotten away with if they just hadn't called attention to themselves. And then it turns out there are actually twelve people who like rectangular toilet paper rolls, so the plan is foiled.
posted by dirge at 6:53 PM on April 18, 2018 [31 favorites]
posted by dirge at 6:53 PM on April 18, 2018 [31 favorites]
Finally a media story about who participated in Cohen's little cigar-chomping drum circle last friday!
posted by duoshao at 6:57 PM on April 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by duoshao at 6:57 PM on April 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
"Yeah we'll do, uh, we'll do sanctions as soon as they...very much deserve it, we will have, uh, that is a question, uh, there has been nobody tougher on Russia than President Donald Trump."
The comments, made at a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, capped a four-day stretch of confusion over whether the Trump administration would punish Moscow for its alleged role in a recent chemical attack in Syria. Trump began to walk away from the microphone, but returned to answer a shouted question about the sanctions.
(1) Russia has done nothing deserving of sanctions
(2) Nobody has been tougher on Russia than me
(3) OK.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:51 PM on April 18, 2018 [30 favorites]
The comments, made at a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, capped a four-day stretch of confusion over whether the Trump administration would punish Moscow for its alleged role in a recent chemical attack in Syria. Trump began to walk away from the microphone, but returned to answer a shouted question about the sanctions.
(1) Russia has done nothing deserving of sanctions
(2) Nobody has been tougher on Russia than me
(3) OK.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:51 PM on April 18, 2018 [30 favorites]
"...And then it turns out there are actually twelve people who like rectangular toilet paper rolls, so the plan is foiled."
This is the United States of America. Not the circular toilet paper roll states of America, nor the square toilet paper roll states of America.
posted by JoeXIII007 at 8:09 PM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
This is the United States of America. Not the circular toilet paper roll states of America, nor the square toilet paper roll states of America.
posted by JoeXIII007 at 8:09 PM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
(There's a lot of "mentioned earlier" items today - clearly the crack reporting team here is getting too quick for me. So I'm just not even calling it out this time.)
ELECTIONS NEWS
** 2018 Senate:
** 2018 House:
ELECTIONS NEWS
** 2018 Senate:
-- AZ: State Senate GOP made an attempt to sneakily change election law so that there would not need to be a special if McCain leaves office soon, but were found out and foiled.** MS Senate special -- Vox look at the special election to replace Cochran, where Dems have at least a shot.
-- AZ: OH Predictive Insights poll of the GOP primary has Ward with 36%, McSally 27%, Arpaio 22% [MOE: +/- 5.64%]. This is in stark contrast with yesterday's poll showing McSally with a pretty healthy lead. FWIW, the poll also showed Dem nominee Sinema leading any of the three candidates.
-- TX: Quinnipiac poll has Sen Cruz up 47-44 over Dem O'Rourke. This has provoked some comment, but is probably believable, if maybe at the favorable end for Dems.
-- IN: Gravis poll has Dem Sen Donnelly up on two possible GOP opponents. 50-32 on Rokita, 46-36 on Messer [MOE: ±4.8%]. Oddly, they didn't test Donnelly versus the third GOP contender, Braun, even though they have him leading in the primary race.
-- CA: Billionaire activist Tom Steyer has endorsed Kevin de León against Sen Feinstein, and is considering funding him.
** 2018 House:
-- Cook Political moved ratings in seven House races, all towards the Dems, in light of big 1Q fundraising numbers.** Odds & ends:
=> A brief sidebar on fundraising. There is definitely not any kind of 1:1 relationship between fundraising and electoral success - the richest candidate does not always win. That said, these numbers are a positive sign:So, long story short: fundraising numbers are no guarantee, but outraising the GOP is a good thing.
- You need to clear a certain bar to be more than a candidate in name only - you need to do stuff like rent office space, buy yard signs, book at least some ad time, etc. So we're seeing that these candidates - some of which are in pretty tough districts - are at least legit.
- Fundraising numbers also serve as a proxy for estimating voter enthusiasm, and who will turn out to vote. We've seen a fair bit of polling (plus the special elections) indicating high Dem enthusiasm, but this is a confirmation of that.
- Being outraised may also show that the race isn't being taken seriously enough by the other team. Lots of these incumbents haven't been seriously challenged in years, and we may catch some of them asleep at the switch.
-- A federal judge found Kansas SOS Kris Kobach in contempt of court for failing to follow a court order concerning voter registrations. This is Kobach's *second* related contempt. The judge directed Kobach to pay the ACLU's legal fees in the case, and indicated more punishment may be coming.posted by Chrysostom at 8:21 PM on April 18, 2018 [49 favorites]
-- The Greitens scandal in Missouri took a turn for the Kafka-esque, as he sought a restraining order preventing AG Hawley from investigating him. It is amazing how McCaskill manages to make her opponents self-destruct all the time.
-- NY gov Cuomo announced plans to restore voting rights by executive order to parolees. There was later some clarification that this may possibly exclude certain violent felons. This not impact a huge number of people - some 0.3% of adults- but is symbolically important.
-- NY-25 voters are suing gov Cuomo over his failure to schedule a special election to fill the seat of Louise Slaughter, who passed away in March.
-- Maine's legislature has passed a recreational pot bill. Gov LePage to veto, but it looks like there are enough votes to override.
-- CA: Billionaire activist Tom Steyer has endorsed Kevin de León against Sen Feinstein, and is considering funding him.
Ugh, I guess I can't blame de Leon for Steyer's endorsement. But I wish Steyer would go away. Seriously, go away.
posted by Justinian at 8:34 PM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
Ugh, I guess I can't blame de Leon for Steyer's endorsement. But I wish Steyer would go away. Seriously, go away.
posted by Justinian at 8:34 PM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
Steyer's pouring in big money to try to turn out young voters in key races. I'll take it.
My problems with Feinstein are well-registered in this forum, but I still don't think turning a blue-on-blue contest involving some of the most expensive media markets into an incredibly expensive race is a good use of resources compared to fighting for control of the House and Senate.
posted by zachlipton at 8:42 PM on April 18, 2018 [33 favorites]
My problems with Feinstein are well-registered in this forum, but I still don't think turning a blue-on-blue contest involving some of the most expensive media markets into an incredibly expensive race is a good use of resources compared to fighting for control of the House and Senate.
posted by zachlipton at 8:42 PM on April 18, 2018 [33 favorites]
@thedailybeast: "Report: Police investigating “suspicious” death of ex-national security adviser H.R. McMaster’s dad"
yeah, sure, why not
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:50 PM on April 18, 2018 [21 favorites]
yeah, sure, why not
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:50 PM on April 18, 2018 [21 favorites]
Instead of saying Fox News is state-run TV, "we should be staring more closely at the White House and saying ‘Fox-run state.’" -- Nicole Wallace on MSNBC
posted by kirkaracha at 8:59 PM on April 18, 2018 [72 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 8:59 PM on April 18, 2018 [72 favorites]
"Report: Police investigating “suspicious” death of ex-national security adviser H.R. McMaster’s dad"
His dad's name is also H.R. McMaster (Sr.). It's believably idiotic for Trump's thugs to get the names crossed and kill the wrong guy. But more likely, it was nursing home negligence and an attempt to avoid blame by doctoring the paperwork.
posted by msalt at 10:36 PM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
His dad's name is also H.R. McMaster (Sr.). It's believably idiotic for Trump's thugs to get the names crossed and kill the wrong guy. But more likely, it was nursing home negligence and an attempt to avoid blame by doctoring the paperwork.
posted by msalt at 10:36 PM on April 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
BuzzFeed, Ema O'Connor, In Closed-Door UN Meetings, Trump Administration Officials Pushed Abstinence For International Women’s Health Programs
posted by zachlipton at 10:51 PM on April 18, 2018 [104 favorites]
In closed-door meetings at the United Nations in March, Trump administration officials pushed socially conservative views on women’s rights issues — including abstinence-based policies over information about contraception — that were further to the right than those expressed by most other countries present, including Russia and the representative for the Arab states, UN officials who attended the meetings told BuzzFeed News.This is some fucked up shit.
The Trump officials’ approach at the UN meeting makes it clear that the administration intends to extend its views on abortion, contraception, and sexual education beyond US borders to an extent that is unusual even for Republican administrations.
...
According to the delegates, the Trump officials discussed “sexual risk avoidance” programs — a coded term for encouraging teenagers to delay sex until marriage — and told the group that HHS was conducting research to show these tactics helps lower teen pregnancy and STD rates, the delegates said.
Huber also discussed teaching young women sexual “refusal skills,” Torres and two other sources confirmed.
...
In order for the Commission on the Status of Women’s “agreed conclusions” to be released, there must be unanimous consensus from every member state. Notes taken throughout the negotiations and provided to BuzzFeed News show that the US contested the addition of references to “modern contraception,” “emergency contraception,” and “unsafe abortion,” among other similar phrases to the documents. According to the notes and an official involved in the negotiations, the US said that abortions can only be safe for the woman and never for the fetus.
“They were against the whole concept of sexuality education,” the UN official said, adding that the US also opposed the phrase “harm reduction,” which in the context of CSW means “accepting the fact that young people have sex and trying to teach them how to do it safely rather than just abstinence only,” the official explained. The US wanted “no mention of sexuality at all,” the official said.
posted by zachlipton at 10:51 PM on April 18, 2018 [104 favorites]
This is some fucked up shit.
By the yardstick of Republican beliefs (prove me wrong GOPers!), it's actually fairly mild.
...still evil, mind.
posted by aramaic at 10:55 PM on April 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
By the yardstick of Republican beliefs (prove me wrong GOPers!), it's actually fairly mild.
...still evil, mind.
posted by aramaic at 10:55 PM on April 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Justinian: " Ugh, I guess I can't blame de Leon for Steyer's endorsement. But I wish Steyer would go away. Seriously, go away."
What? Why? I only just learned about Steyer recently (via MeFi politics threads) and I was generally impressed. Why do you want him to go away?
posted by kristi at 11:16 PM on April 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
What? Why? I only just learned about Steyer recently (via MeFi politics threads) and I was generally impressed. Why do you want him to go away?
posted by kristi at 11:16 PM on April 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
Huber also discussed teaching young women sexual “refusal skills,” Torres and two other sources confirmed.
Is rage-vomiting a thing? Because I’m about there.
Anyone I can call and scream facts at about this other than my reps?
posted by greermahoney at 11:16 PM on April 18, 2018 [11 favorites]
Is rage-vomiting a thing? Because I’m about there.
Anyone I can call and scream facts at about this other than my reps?
posted by greermahoney at 11:16 PM on April 18, 2018 [11 favorites]
Just scream "PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH, DONALD" every time you see him...
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:19 PM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:19 PM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
Anyone I can call and scream facts at about this other than my reps?
Do you want to feel better, or make an impact?
If the former, then feel free to complain to everyone. That's what I'm doing (and drinking, shhhh!)
If the latter, then your reps. The "other" reps don't care, and would frankly be happier if you would just stop existing. Why can't you be reasonable and polite (*cough* self-proclaimed-Christian), or if not that then just stop existing? Really, why are you so shrill?
It's really the shrillness that's the problem here, you see. If I can just explain that to you, do you have, say, 25 minutes or so? You'll soon see why you're wrong, and anti-Christian, and anti-American. But that's OK too! All you need to do is beg forgiveness in public, and then everyone will see how forgiving I am!
posted by aramaic at 11:24 PM on April 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
Do you want to feel better, or make an impact?
If the former, then feel free to complain to everyone. That's what I'm doing (and drinking, shhhh!)
If the latter, then your reps. The "other" reps don't care, and would frankly be happier if you would just stop existing. Why can't you be reasonable and polite (*cough* self-proclaimed-Christian), or if not that then just stop existing? Really, why are you so shrill?
It's really the shrillness that's the problem here, you see. If I can just explain that to you, do you have, say, 25 minutes or so? You'll soon see why you're wrong, and anti-Christian, and anti-American. But that's OK too! All you need to do is beg forgiveness in public, and then everyone will see how forgiving I am!
posted by aramaic at 11:24 PM on April 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
Minor Loony left performance : I explain what the only ethical consumption under capitalism is.
posted by The Whelk at 11:46 PM on April 18, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 11:46 PM on April 18, 2018 [8 favorites]
Instead of saying Fox News is state-run TV
They actually have that, you know, and it's not at all crazy like fox. So far, anyway.
posted by ctmf at 11:52 PM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
They actually have that, you know, and it's not at all crazy like fox. So far, anyway.
posted by ctmf at 11:52 PM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
[T]he shrillness that's the problem here
Right? And you know who's not shrill at all though? President Trauma, the velvety Minister Hannity, the dulcet Right Reverend Rush, the entire tabernacle-cast of Our Lady of Fox News, and that beloved periclean Rabbi Levin. None of these fine champions and defenders of the rational and polite (ahem white male Christian-ish) Russublican Manifest Destiny for Murca have ever even for an understandably human moment spoken, behaved, nor--heavens!-- given the appearance of having acted shrilly. Why, those who most loudly, prominently, and publicly evangelize and defend our Russublican common-sense values and ideas are the very models of probity, reason, calm, patience, and demure persuasion our forefathers could only dream their descendants might grow up to become.
/hamburger, time for a cleansing RAGEHURL
posted by riverlife at 12:06 AM on April 19, 2018 [16 favorites]
Right? And you know who's not shrill at all though? President Trauma, the velvety Minister Hannity, the dulcet Right Reverend Rush, the entire tabernacle-cast of Our Lady of Fox News, and that beloved periclean Rabbi Levin. None of these fine champions and defenders of the rational and polite (ahem white male Christian-ish) Russublican Manifest Destiny for Murca have ever even for an understandably human moment spoken, behaved, nor--heavens!-- given the appearance of having acted shrilly. Why, those who most loudly, prominently, and publicly evangelize and defend our Russublican common-sense values and ideas are the very models of probity, reason, calm, patience, and demure persuasion our forefathers could only dream their descendants might grow up to become.
/hamburger, time for a cleansing RAGEHURL
posted by riverlife at 12:06 AM on April 19, 2018 [16 favorites]
old the group that HHS was conducting research to show these tactics helps lower teen pregnancy and STD rates
Nothing says high quality research like starting with the conclusion.
posted by jaduncan at 12:40 AM on April 19, 2018 [92 favorites]
Nothing says high quality research like starting with the conclusion.
posted by jaduncan at 12:40 AM on April 19, 2018 [92 favorites]
Talking of state-funded broadcasting, Ofcom - the UK's FCC, more or less - has opened investigations into Russia Today, which has a licence to broadcast in the UK, following its coverage of the Salisbury novichok poisonings.
Russia has said that it'll eject the BBC if the UK touches so much of a hair on RT's head, so with a bit of luck we'll end up back in the days of Radio Moscow and the World Service duking it out on the 49 metre band..
posted by Devonian at 3:29 AM on April 19, 2018 [30 favorites]
Russia has said that it'll eject the BBC if the UK touches so much of a hair on RT's head, so with a bit of luck we'll end up back in the days of Radio Moscow and the World Service duking it out on the 49 metre band..
posted by Devonian at 3:29 AM on April 19, 2018 [30 favorites]
Trump has that same powerful charismatic sleazebag thing that L. Ron Hubbard had, and I think maybe the similarities in their organizations come from those organizations essentially being outgrowths of the men at the center with no other forces in the organizations to limit the effects of that, so the concepts of sociopathic manipulation and narcissism escaped the containment of these men's minds and grew a physical form made of employees and lawyers and real estate and fixers and gaudy decorations.
The key difference is that Trump has none of the imagination that Hubbard has; there's no way he'd ever come up with anything as vividly outlandish as Galactic Overlord Xenu, or body thetans or the clam engram. It's like comparing H. P. Lovecraft to the Traditionalist Workers' Party guy.
posted by acb at 3:41 AM on April 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
The key difference is that Trump has none of the imagination that Hubbard has; there's no way he'd ever come up with anything as vividly outlandish as Galactic Overlord Xenu, or body thetans or the clam engram. It's like comparing H. P. Lovecraft to the Traditionalist Workers' Party guy.
posted by acb at 3:41 AM on April 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
Cynthia Nixon on Colbert last night.
"I'm aware of the dubious nature of my last name, but if I was given the choice, I would rather be the good Nixon than the bad Cuomo."
posted by chris24 at 3:52 AM on April 19, 2018 [98 favorites]
"I'm aware of the dubious nature of my last name, but if I was given the choice, I would rather be the good Nixon than the bad Cuomo."
posted by chris24 at 3:52 AM on April 19, 2018 [98 favorites]
The key difference is that Trump has none of the imagination that Hubbard has
Trump has always reminded me more of current Scientology head David Miscavige, especially in the lack of imagination respect.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 4:08 AM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
Trump has always reminded me more of current Scientology head David Miscavige, especially in the lack of imagination respect.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 4:08 AM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
"so with a bit of luck we'll end up back in the days of Radio Moscow and the World Service duking it out on the 49 metre band.."Cool!
It'll make a nice change from the current CRI vs no-one else, except VOA etc. chattering on the margins…
posted by Pinback at 4:47 AM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
Cohen drops libel suits against BuzzFeed, Fusion GPS (Josh Gerstein, Politico)
Dropping the suits could help Cohen avoid being questioned by lawyers from Fusion GPS or having to turn over evidence related to the case — both steps that could undercut his defense in the criminal probe.posted by pjenks at 5:16 AM on April 19, 2018 [35 favorites]
Trump has always reminded me more of current Scientology head David Miscavige, especially in the lack of imagination respect.
I can't quite believe I'm saying this, but Trump lacks the balls that Miscavige has. I am 100% sure that Miscavige does his own hiring and firing, to pick a random example.
posted by jaduncan at 5:18 AM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
I can't quite believe I'm saying this, but Trump lacks the balls that Miscavige has. I am 100% sure that Miscavige does his own hiring and firing, to pick a random example.
posted by jaduncan at 5:18 AM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
Didn’t Buzzfeed and Fudion GPS countersue? I would guess they’d keep their suits active for the same reason - to get discovery.
posted by msalt at 5:35 AM on April 19, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by msalt at 5:35 AM on April 19, 2018 [7 favorites]
Huber also discussed teaching young women sexual “refusal skills,” Torres and two other sources confirmed.
How do we square that circle with "grab them by the pussy," I wonder.
posted by lydhre at 5:38 AM on April 19, 2018 [17 favorites]
How do we square that circle with "grab them by the pussy," I wonder.
posted by lydhre at 5:38 AM on April 19, 2018 [17 favorites]
Cohen drops libel suits against BuzzFeed, Fusion GPS (Josh Gerstein, Politico)
If he were innocent he'd be vindicated in the criminal investigation and clean up in the libel suit, that's an awfully big win to walk away from if there isn't something nasty waiting there for investigators to find.
posted by jason_steakums at 5:38 AM on April 19, 2018 [26 favorites]
If he were innocent he'd be vindicated in the criminal investigation and clean up in the libel suit, that's an awfully big win to walk away from if there isn't something nasty waiting there for investigators to find.
posted by jason_steakums at 5:38 AM on April 19, 2018 [26 favorites]
Huber also discussed teaching young women sexual “refusal skills,” Torres and two other sources confirmed.
How do we square that circle with "grab them by the pussy," I wonder.
Easy; the mindset is that it if women are raped or assaulted, it's their fault.
posted by Gelatin at 5:42 AM on April 19, 2018 [22 favorites]
How do we square that circle with "grab them by the pussy," I wonder.
Easy; the mindset is that it if women are raped or assaulted, it's their fault.
posted by Gelatin at 5:42 AM on April 19, 2018 [22 favorites]
Could Buzzfeed and Fusion GPS turn around and file for a Declaratory Judgment against Cohen?
(edit jinx msalt)
posted by whuppy at 6:01 AM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
(edit jinx msalt)
posted by whuppy at 6:01 AM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
Didn’t Buzzfeed and Fudion GPS countersue? I would guess they’d keep their suits active for the same reason - to get discovery.
They'd earlier asked Avenatti to preserve all records involving Cohen's negotiations and all documentation involving Daniels's relationship with Trump, Politico reported. This was part of Buzzfeed's blitz of preservation notices that they sent to prominent Trumpland figures such as Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, Corey Lewandowski, Steve Bannon, Kellyanne Conway, Keith Schiller, Jared Kushner, and Donald Jr. None of them would want to be entangled in discovery over Cohen's suit, and some of them could have exerted considerable pressure on Cohen about this.
Cohen could simply made a tactical decision not to fight this particular court battle when Stormy Daniels's is more prominent and potentially disasterous—or a practical one, if he anticipates difficulties paying legal fees in multiple high-profile lawsuits.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:22 AM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
They'd earlier asked Avenatti to preserve all records involving Cohen's negotiations and all documentation involving Daniels's relationship with Trump, Politico reported. This was part of Buzzfeed's blitz of preservation notices that they sent to prominent Trumpland figures such as Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, Corey Lewandowski, Steve Bannon, Kellyanne Conway, Keith Schiller, Jared Kushner, and Donald Jr. None of them would want to be entangled in discovery over Cohen's suit, and some of them could have exerted considerable pressure on Cohen about this.
Cohen could simply made a tactical decision not to fight this particular court battle when Stormy Daniels's is more prominent and potentially disasterous—or a practical one, if he anticipates difficulties paying legal fees in multiple high-profile lawsuits.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:22 AM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
How do we square that circle with "grab them by the pussy," I wonder.
Easy; the mindset is that it if women are raped or assaulted, it's their fault.
Exactly. Recall that "they let you do it."
posted by prefpara at 6:33 AM on April 19, 2018 [13 favorites]
Easy; the mindset is that it if women are raped or assaulted, it's their fault.
Exactly. Recall that "they let you do it."
posted by prefpara at 6:33 AM on April 19, 2018 [13 favorites]
In closed-door meetings at the United Nations in March, Trump administration officials pushed socially conservative views on women’s rights issues — including abstinence-based policies over information about contraception
This is coming right out of Nikki Haley's office as a hard core anti-abortion christer. If you were inclined to feel sorry for her because of her humiliation by Donald Trump on Russian sanctions -- don't.
posted by JackFlash at 6:56 AM on April 19, 2018 [70 favorites]
This is coming right out of Nikki Haley's office as a hard core anti-abortion christer. If you were inclined to feel sorry for her because of her humiliation by Donald Trump on Russian sanctions -- don't.
posted by JackFlash at 6:56 AM on April 19, 2018 [70 favorites]
Huber also discussed teaching young women sexual “refusal skills,” Torres and two other sources confirmed.
How do we square that circle with "grab them by the pussy," I wonder.
"Stand your ground" We need legislation that legalizes the use of lethal force if a woman believes that their life and/or safety are at risk. Just like Police Officers and the US Supreme Court standard for them.
posted by mikelieman at 6:57 AM on April 19, 2018 [35 favorites]
How do we square that circle with "grab them by the pussy," I wonder.
"Stand your ground" We need legislation that legalizes the use of lethal force if a woman believes that their life and/or safety are at risk. Just like Police Officers and the US Supreme Court standard for them.
posted by mikelieman at 6:57 AM on April 19, 2018 [35 favorites]
This is coming right out of Nikki Haley's office as a hard core anti-abortion christer. If you were inclined to feel sorry for her because of her humiliation by Donald Trump on Russian sanctions -- don't.
My first reaction to this was "in terms of lesser of evils she at least seems more sensible/good-governance-focused than Pence, Freedom Caucus, Trumpists, whatever" but then I realized my impression is based on almost zero concrete information.
Can anyone recommend where to look for a fairly objective/non-partisan look at Haley's time as governor?
posted by duoshao at 7:06 AM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
My first reaction to this was "in terms of lesser of evils she at least seems more sensible/good-governance-focused than Pence, Freedom Caucus, Trumpists, whatever" but then I realized my impression is based on almost zero concrete information.
Can anyone recommend where to look for a fairly objective/non-partisan look at Haley's time as governor?
posted by duoshao at 7:06 AM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
"Stand your ground" We need legislation that legalizes the use of lethal force if a woman believes that their life and/or safety are at risk. Just like Police Officers and the US Supreme Court standard for them.
I realize that the above is very likely intended as a "Modest Proposal", but if such a thing existed it would very likely only create a new legal pretense for the killing of minority persons, rather than of Rich White Sex Criminals.
posted by Strange Interlude at 7:25 AM on April 19, 2018 [16 favorites]
I realize that the above is very likely intended as a "Modest Proposal", but if such a thing existed it would very likely only create a new legal pretense for the killing of minority persons, rather than of Rich White Sex Criminals.
posted by Strange Interlude at 7:25 AM on April 19, 2018 [16 favorites]
Can anyone recommend where to look for a fairly objective/non-partisan look at Haley's time as governor?
Be prepared to separate hagiography from reality, since Haley is very good at positioning herself after the fact. For example, the Confederate flag issue.
@JoyAnnReid
With all due respect to Jane Harman, Nikki Haley absolutely did NOT unilaterally decide to take the confederate flag down in South Carolina. She was responding to forces outside herself: racial, political and corporate. MSNBC: The true story of the South Carolina Confederate flag debate
- This heroic myth is very useful to Nikki Haley's future politics (and I see the same coalescing around her by the media that we saw with Marco Rubio), but it IS a myth.
- And it's a myth that steals the heroism of black women like activist @BreeNewsome who fought the flag on the ground and Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, who devised he legislative strategy that finally felled the flag, plus white and black Senators like Vincent Sheheen and Marlon Kimson.
- And let's not forget the foreign corporations who threatened to pull out of South Carolina if the flag didn't come down, and the families of Mother Emanuel Church, whose quiet heroism created the moral conditions for the flag's ultimate surrender.
---
And before all that mentioned by Reid?
Nikki Haley: It’s OK to have the Confederate flag at the statehouse because not “a single CEO” has complained
posted by chris24 at 7:29 AM on April 19, 2018 [74 favorites]
Be prepared to separate hagiography from reality, since Haley is very good at positioning herself after the fact. For example, the Confederate flag issue.
@JoyAnnReid
With all due respect to Jane Harman, Nikki Haley absolutely did NOT unilaterally decide to take the confederate flag down in South Carolina. She was responding to forces outside herself: racial, political and corporate. MSNBC: The true story of the South Carolina Confederate flag debate
- This heroic myth is very useful to Nikki Haley's future politics (and I see the same coalescing around her by the media that we saw with Marco Rubio), but it IS a myth.
- And it's a myth that steals the heroism of black women like activist @BreeNewsome who fought the flag on the ground and Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, who devised he legislative strategy that finally felled the flag, plus white and black Senators like Vincent Sheheen and Marlon Kimson.
- And let's not forget the foreign corporations who threatened to pull out of South Carolina if the flag didn't come down, and the families of Mother Emanuel Church, whose quiet heroism created the moral conditions for the flag's ultimate surrender.
---
And before all that mentioned by Reid?
Nikki Haley: It’s OK to have the Confederate flag at the statehouse because not “a single CEO” has complained
posted by chris24 at 7:29 AM on April 19, 2018 [74 favorites]
Yeah, Haley really is a nasty piece of work: Nikki Haley Makes the Case for Old-School Racism
[Dylann] Roof was a white supremacist who declared war on African Americans, and Haley, along with the majority of the Republican candidates, attempted to characterize his attack as “anti-Christian,” with no racial element whatsoever. It wasn’t until public sentiment became too overwhelming to ignore that she admitted that Roof’s actions were racial and political.posted by zombieflanders at 7:45 AM on April 19, 2018 [48 favorites]
More important, there had been vigils to take down the Confederate flag for years, and Haley not only ignored them but even defended the Confederate flag during her campaign for governor. It wasn’t until nationwide protests and the actions of activists like Bree Newsome that Haley actually did anything symbolic about the Charleston shooting, and that was because her position was politically untenable if she wanted to stay in the running as a potential running mate. And if rewriting recent history wasn’t good enough, she had to ensure that she did some effective pandering to bigots, too.
Earlier in her speech, Haley spoke of “unrest in our cities” as part of Obama’s failures. This was a racial dog whistle so loud, all of Team Jacob would have had to cover their ears. The narrative believed by some in the GOP base is that Obama encouraged riots in Ferguson and Baltimore as part of some twisted supervillain scheme to 1) take guns, 2) declare martial law or 3) get revenge on white America. Take your pick.
So Haley’s snake oil that South Carolina had “hugs, not thugs” is a Republican subtweet that they know how to “handle” black protest and anger and can quell the kind of massive protests that make some white Americans uncomfortable. In one fell swoop, Haley attacked Black Lives Matter and Obama and rewrote her own behavior during Charleston. In a nutshell, what she was offering was a throwback kind of Republican racism—when candidates would say “urban voters,” “inner city” or “gangster rap culture” instead of “black” and the press would give them a pass—as opposed to the openly hostile bigotry of Trump, which might have serious political consequences. Haley’s words may not have been as blunt as Trump’s, but they were every bit as disgusting, shameful, racist and ultimately politically dangerous.
Nikki Haley is the kind of crazy who comes off as “reasonable” to white “moderates.” She’s a Christian fundamentalist WOC who supports white male supremacy and is particularly adept at devising political cover for herself and her evil fucking colleagues.
She worries me. Especially if she gets anti-Trump cred by being an instrumental part of his removal.
My main consolation right now is that Haley’s revisionist self-mythologizing won’t work on a national scale, because too many people are watching. But we should start taking her down now. She is the worst.
posted by schadenfrau at 8:10 AM on April 19, 2018 [43 favorites]
She worries me. Especially if she gets anti-Trump cred by being an instrumental part of his removal.
My main consolation right now is that Haley’s revisionist self-mythologizing won’t work on a national scale, because too many people are watching. But we should start taking her down now. She is the worst.
posted by schadenfrau at 8:10 AM on April 19, 2018 [43 favorites]
My main consolation right now is that Haley’s revisionist self-mythologizing won’t work on a national scale, because too many people are watching. But we should start taking her down now. She is the worst.
I would be delighted to agree, schadenfrau, were it not for all the Paul Ryan hagiographies.
posted by The Gaffer at 8:16 AM on April 19, 2018 [15 favorites]
I would be delighted to agree, schadenfrau, were it not for all the Paul Ryan hagiographies.
posted by The Gaffer at 8:16 AM on April 19, 2018 [15 favorites]
Speaking of people dropping cases, AMI, better known as the national enquirer, has settled their case with the playboy model who says she had a ten month affair with the Orange Menace. They paid her $150k, then buried the story. She was suing to get released from the contract. They case was set to go to discovery, then Cohen got raided, and within 24 hours, AMI agreed to the model's settlement agreement.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 8:27 AM on April 19, 2018 [33 favorites]
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 8:27 AM on April 19, 2018 [33 favorites]
One only need to look at the rest of Trump's appointees to prove that Haley is not, in fact, the worst.
Not that she isn't very, very bad, of course.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:32 AM on April 19, 2018 [10 favorites]
Not that she isn't very, very bad, of course.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:32 AM on April 19, 2018 [10 favorites]
So, nobody knows exactly what Scott Pruitt was doing in Morocco for two days.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:39 AM on April 19, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 8:39 AM on April 19, 2018 [14 favorites]
Texas Governor Abbot (R) is retweeting this Forbes story about Texas' economy doing better than Russia's, and huh. That's an interesting thing for him to crow about.
posted by emjaybee at 8:39 AM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by emjaybee at 8:39 AM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
Both precariously balanced on fossil fuels and authoritarianism. Gotcha.
posted by Celsius1414 at 8:44 AM on April 19, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by Celsius1414 at 8:44 AM on April 19, 2018 [20 favorites]
Texas Governor Abbot (R) is retweeting this Forbes story about Texas' economy doing better than Russia's, and huh. That's an interesting thing for him to crow about.
All this makes me think of is is the fact that several individual american states have a larger GDP than entire European nations and yet we still can't pay our teachers or provide healthcare for everyone. *sigh*
posted by dis_integration at 8:47 AM on April 19, 2018 [67 favorites]
All this makes me think of is is the fact that several individual american states have a larger GDP than entire European nations and yet we still can't pay our teachers or provide healthcare for everyone. *sigh*
posted by dis_integration at 8:47 AM on April 19, 2018 [67 favorites]
Anti-LGBT activists subpoenaed over allegations they helped draft Trump transgender troop ban
Tony Perkins of FRC told supporters: “[LGBT activists] have resorted to one of their favourite avenues to impose their fringe agenda: the court system.posted by lumnar at 8:52 AM on April 19, 2018 [32 favorites]
“They have issued subpoenas, demanding that we produce all communications on the topic between senior leaders at Family Research Council and the administration.
“We’ve had to hire a law firm to represent us in the case, and our lawyers have objected to this demand, asserting our First Amendment religious freedom and speech rights. The LGBT activist groups have now filed a motion seeking a court order compelling us to turn over the privileged documents.
McConnell allegedly planning longer Senate work weeks to keep Dem incumbents off of campaign trail (Washington Examiner, so grain of salt).
posted by Chrysostom at 8:54 AM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Chrysostom at 8:54 AM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
Won't that also keep GOP incumbents off the campaign trail? WTF? Makes no sense.
posted by eclectist at 8:55 AM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by eclectist at 8:55 AM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
If memory serves me correctly, Democrats are defending more seats than Republicans by about a 3-to-1 margin.
posted by Gelatin at 8:57 AM on April 19, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by Gelatin at 8:57 AM on April 19, 2018 [9 favorites]
Won't that also keep GOP incumbents off the campaign trail? WTF? Makes no sense.
26 Ds defending seats, 9 Rs.
EDIT: 24 Ds, 2 Is who caucus with Ds.
posted by chris24 at 8:57 AM on April 19, 2018 [8 favorites]
26 Ds defending seats, 9 Rs.
EDIT: 24 Ds, 2 Is who caucus with Ds.
posted by chris24 at 8:57 AM on April 19, 2018 [8 favorites]
Greitens' motion to dismiss was denied, according to ABC. Felony trial goes forward.
posted by suelac at 9:00 AM on April 19, 2018 [51 favorites]
posted by suelac at 9:00 AM on April 19, 2018 [51 favorites]
So, nobody knows exactly what Scott Pruitt was doing in Morocco for two days.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:39 AM on April 19
Uh, guys, why is Pruitt wearing Cohen's suit?
posted by j9ac9k at 9:05 AM on April 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 8:39 AM on April 19
Uh, guys, why is Pruitt wearing Cohen's suit?
posted by j9ac9k at 9:05 AM on April 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
The troops in California are under the command of Gov. Jerry Brown (D), who last week said he would send up to 400 personnel in a limited role.
Trump says he will not pay for this "charade", and in other news Democrat surprised when football is pulled at last minute.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:05 AM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
Trump says he will not pay for this "charade", and in other news Democrat surprised when football is pulled at last minute.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:05 AM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
Are you sure the framing isn't, "Trump says something, probably he has no reason for thinking he can do that."?
posted by Chrysostom at 9:08 AM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Chrysostom at 9:08 AM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
So, nobody knows exactly what Scott Pruitt was doing in Morocco for two days.
eh, we've all read Naked Lunch
posted by prize bull octorok at 9:10 AM on April 19, 2018 [46 favorites]
eh, we've all read Naked Lunch
posted by prize bull octorok at 9:10 AM on April 19, 2018 [46 favorites]
So there's an issue in New Jersey about the Penneast pipeline, a new pipeline intended to bring fracked gas from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, as I understand it.
I just saw an ad for it on the local News 12 station, using a lot of headlines from reputable sources to basically say "Without the pipeline you'll have to buy gas from Russia or have rolling blackouts." Capped off by a headline that said "Why turn to Putin?" I don't know how true that is, this is just like. A field report I guess. Of real Russophobia in an attempt to divide the spectrum of the left. I wonder if they know there's a lot of disagreement on the Russia, or if their understanding is as simple as "they think Russia evil".
I also don't know how to debunk it at all. It's just completely outside my knowledge base.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 9:11 AM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
I just saw an ad for it on the local News 12 station, using a lot of headlines from reputable sources to basically say "Without the pipeline you'll have to buy gas from Russia or have rolling blackouts." Capped off by a headline that said "Why turn to Putin?" I don't know how true that is, this is just like. A field report I guess. Of real Russophobia in an attempt to divide the spectrum of the left. I wonder if they know there's a lot of disagreement on the Russia, or if their understanding is as simple as "they think Russia evil".
I also don't know how to debunk it at all. It's just completely outside my knowledge base.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 9:11 AM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
One only need to look at the rest of Trump's appointees to prove that Haley is not, in fact, the worst.
I would go as far as saying Nikki Haley is the best of Trump's appointees, though again, we're kind of into "Lovecraftian horror which has devoured the fewest souls" territory there.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 9:22 AM on April 19, 2018 [16 favorites]
I would go as far as saying Nikki Haley is the best of Trump's appointees, though again, we're kind of into "Lovecraftian horror which has devoured the fewest souls" territory there.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 9:22 AM on April 19, 2018 [16 favorites]
I don't assume any good faith in Grassley, who probably just wants to avoid taking blame for the constitutional crisis by forcing the buck to stop at Mitch. In any case it's never bad to see infighting among the old dust-farting Republican congressional core.
Grassley: McConnell doesn't control my committee
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Thursday defended his decision to move legislation protecting special counsel Robert Mueller despite Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) opposition.
"Obviously, the majority leader's views are important to consider, but they do not govern what happens here in the Judiciary Committee," he said during a committee meeting.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:22 AM on April 19, 2018 [18 favorites]
Grassley: McConnell doesn't control my committee
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Thursday defended his decision to move legislation protecting special counsel Robert Mueller despite Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) opposition.
"Obviously, the majority leader's views are important to consider, but they do not govern what happens here in the Judiciary Committee," he said during a committee meeting.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:22 AM on April 19, 2018 [18 favorites]
Trump: I'm going to give you this thing you didn't ask for.
Brown: Um, okay. Since you've given it to me, I'll use it for a purpose I think it will be good for.
Trump: No, you have to use it for the purpose I dictate!
Brown: I'd rather use it for the purpose I prefer.
Trump: Then I won't give you the thing you didn't ask for at all!
Brown: Um, okay.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:23 AM on April 19, 2018 [67 favorites]
Brown: Um, okay. Since you've given it to me, I'll use it for a purpose I think it will be good for.
Trump: No, you have to use it for the purpose I dictate!
Brown: I'd rather use it for the purpose I prefer.
Trump: Then I won't give you the thing you didn't ask for at all!
Brown: Um, okay.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:23 AM on April 19, 2018 [67 favorites]
The Democrats in the Senate need to respond to McConnell in this way:
"Whatever you do to make our election campaigning difficult in 2018, providing we have the majority, we will do in 2020 when 22 Republicans and 11 Democrats will be up for election."
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 9:26 AM on April 19, 2018 [10 favorites]
"Whatever you do to make our election campaigning difficult in 2018, providing we have the majority, we will do in 2020 when 22 Republicans and 11 Democrats will be up for election."
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 9:26 AM on April 19, 2018 [10 favorites]
I just saw an ad for it on the local News 12 station, using a lot of headlines from reputable sources to basically say "Without the pipeline you'll have to buy gas from Russia or have rolling blackouts." Capped off by a headline that said "Why turn to Putin?" I don't know how true that is, this is just like.
Just for trivia’s sake, most of the oil the US uses is produced in the US. We import 19% of our oil, but it’s hard to trace how much we buy from which countries. But it’s not really more reasonable to assume that a) any state’s oil would have to come from Russia instead of OPEC, or b) that any state would have to choose between Russian oil or rolling blackouts any more than we do right now.
And if it did come to that, we have a third option, renewable energy, where we don’t have to depend on OPEC or Russia or even North Dakota for petroleum. So that’s how I would counter that argument.
posted by Autumnheart at 9:28 AM on April 19, 2018 [23 favorites]
Just for trivia’s sake, most of the oil the US uses is produced in the US. We import 19% of our oil, but it’s hard to trace how much we buy from which countries. But it’s not really more reasonable to assume that a) any state’s oil would have to come from Russia instead of OPEC, or b) that any state would have to choose between Russian oil or rolling blackouts any more than we do right now.
And if it did come to that, we have a third option, renewable energy, where we don’t have to depend on OPEC or Russia or even North Dakota for petroleum. So that’s how I would counter that argument.
posted by Autumnheart at 9:28 AM on April 19, 2018 [23 favorites]
Counter an argument with facts? Why I never!
posted by notyou at 9:29 AM on April 19, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by notyou at 9:29 AM on April 19, 2018 [8 favorites]
Countering an easy sound bite with facts is always tough because people stop listening to complex explanations. But “We can depend on renewable energy” might be a good start to encapsulate that issue.
posted by Autumnheart at 9:33 AM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Autumnheart at 9:33 AM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
The Democrats in the Senate need to respond to McConnell in this way:
"Whatever you do to make our election campaigning difficult in 2018, providing we have the majority, we will do in 2020 when 22 Republicans and 11 Democrats will be up for election."
I'm 100% behind the idea that Democrats need to not be in a forgiving mood at all when it comes to making Republicans pay a price for their bad faith, but for McConnell, this arrangement is obviously a risk he's willing to take. McConnell is not constrained by norms when it comes to amassing power, and in fact he's better at it, with more experience, than Trump. If McConnell monkeying with the calendar helps prevent the Democrats from taking the Senate, then that's a win for him, regardless of what consequences may or may not come. Particularly because the Senate is not likely to accomplish much if anything the rest of the year.
posted by Gelatin at 9:41 AM on April 19, 2018 [10 favorites]
"Whatever you do to make our election campaigning difficult in 2018, providing we have the majority, we will do in 2020 when 22 Republicans and 11 Democrats will be up for election."
I'm 100% behind the idea that Democrats need to not be in a forgiving mood at all when it comes to making Republicans pay a price for their bad faith, but for McConnell, this arrangement is obviously a risk he's willing to take. McConnell is not constrained by norms when it comes to amassing power, and in fact he's better at it, with more experience, than Trump. If McConnell monkeying with the calendar helps prevent the Democrats from taking the Senate, then that's a win for him, regardless of what consequences may or may not come. Particularly because the Senate is not likely to accomplish much if anything the rest of the year.
posted by Gelatin at 9:41 AM on April 19, 2018 [10 favorites]
Honestly just stopping the pretense that Republicans ever operate in good faith would be a huge step forwards without stooping to emulate them.
posted by Artw at 9:48 AM on April 19, 2018 [74 favorites]
posted by Artw at 9:48 AM on April 19, 2018 [74 favorites]
I don't assume any good faith in Grassley, who probably just wants to avoid taking blame for the constitutional crisis by forcing the buck to stop at Mitch.
We've been hearing rumblings from Republican senators who are generally tired of McConnell's shit. Grassley may be positioning himself as a replacement as speaker if Republicans take a bath in the 2018 election but still hold a narrow majority.
posted by Uncle Ira at 9:55 AM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
We've been hearing rumblings from Republican senators who are generally tired of McConnell's shit. Grassley may be positioning himself as a replacement as speaker if Republicans take a bath in the 2018 election but still hold a narrow majority.
posted by Uncle Ira at 9:55 AM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
If a serving Governor Greitens can be prosecuted under Missouri law, is there some profound constitutional reason why a serving President Trump can't be prosecuted under Federal law?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:56 AM on April 19, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:56 AM on April 19, 2018 [4 favorites]
The US has gotten a large proportion of its imported oil from Venezuela for many years. If any drives us to Russia, it will be the Trump Administration cutting off Venezuela because they're leftist.
It almost sounds like the ad is talking about natural gas, which Russia does use as leverage against European customers (and which fracking mostly produces), but that's even crazier. Is there a sub-ocean pipeline from Russia, or a massive one over the pole?
posted by msalt at 9:59 AM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
It almost sounds like the ad is talking about natural gas, which Russia does use as leverage against European customers (and which fracking mostly produces), but that's even crazier. Is there a sub-ocean pipeline from Russia, or a massive one over the pole?
posted by msalt at 9:59 AM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
It almost sounds like the ad is talking about natural gas,...
It was:
It was:
So there's an issue in New Jersey about the Penneast pipeline, a new pipeline intended to bring fracked gas from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, as I understand it.posted by Mental Wimp at 10:02 AM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
So, nobody knows exactly what Scott Pruitt was doing in Morocco for two days.
How is that the rest of the administration is like a goddamn revolving door and this grifter is still here? Every time a Scott Pruitt story of increasing absurdity pops up (ie, like, every single day), I cannot beelieeeeeve that he continues to have a job.
posted by marshmallow peep at 10:08 AM on April 19, 2018 [11 favorites]
How is that the rest of the administration is like a goddamn revolving door and this grifter is still here? Every time a Scott Pruitt story of increasing absurdity pops up (ie, like, every single day), I cannot beelieeeeeve that he continues to have a job.
posted by marshmallow peep at 10:08 AM on April 19, 2018 [11 favorites]
NYT, Vivian Lee, A Marriage Used to Prevent Deportation. Not Anymore.
Thirteen years after her husband was ordered deported back to his native Brazil, the official recognition of their marriage would bring him within a few signatures of being able to call himself an American. With legal papers, they could buy a house and get a bank loan. He could board a plane. They could take their son to Disney World.posted by zachlipton at 10:09 AM on April 19, 2018 [52 favorites]
Then the officer reappeared.
“I’ve got some good news and some bad news,” he said. “The good news is, I’m going to approve your application. Clearly, your marriage is real. The bad news is, ICE is here, and they want to speak with you.”
ICE was Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency charged with arresting and deporting unauthorized immigrants — including, for the moment, Fabiano de Oliveira. In a back room of the immigration office in Lawrence, Mass., two agents were waiting with handcuffs. Her husband was apologizing, saying he was sorry for putting her through all of this.
Ms. de Oliveira kissed him goodbye. “I’ll do whatever I can to get you out,” she said.
For decades, marriage to a United States citizen has been a virtual guarantee of legal residency, the main hurdle being proof that the relationship is legitimate. But with the Trump administration in fierce pursuit of unauthorized immigrants across the country, many who were ordered deported years ago are finding that jobs, home and family are no longer a defense — not even for those who have married Americans.
I know enough about natural gas to at least have opinions. There’s a shitton of gas in the northeast, that in the grand scheme should be developed to get off coal while renewables continue to ramp. The northeast urban areas are lacking gas infrastructure, which is why stuff like trucked heating oil and propane continue to be a thing. And yes, at least 2 ships with Russian gas unloaded in the northeast this winter. imho the best way to use these gas resources would be to colocate electric generation into the gas fields, shipping electrons instead of gas in pipelines. Also requires a lot more electric based residential heating, which would make the post-gas bridge to renewables easier. If the pipelines get built, it’ll be that much harder to transition later.
All in, I think the pipelines should get built to get off heating oil and imported gas, but it’s not ideal. When it gets real cold in the northeast the gas prices spike crazy high on shortages. At some level that’s what should be focused on alleviating first. However, im not as concerned as many about the effects of fracking, so the an stronger antifraccing opinion would probably result in a different best course.
posted by H. Roark at 10:18 AM on April 19, 2018 [7 favorites]
All in, I think the pipelines should get built to get off heating oil and imported gas, but it’s not ideal. When it gets real cold in the northeast the gas prices spike crazy high on shortages. At some level that’s what should be focused on alleviating first. However, im not as concerned as many about the effects of fracking, so the an stronger antifraccing opinion would probably result in a different best course.
posted by H. Roark at 10:18 AM on April 19, 2018 [7 favorites]
According to the delegates, the Trump officials discussed “sexual risk avoidance” programs — a coded term for encouraging teenagers to delay sex until marriage — and told the group that HHS was conducting research to show these tactics helps lower teen pregnancy and STD rates, the delegates said.
Huber also discussed teaching young women sexual “refusal skills,” Torres and two other sources confirmed.
No surprise. This was entirely predictable from the moment they were appointed.
Alma Golden is an OB/GYN who is anti-contraception and anti-choice. Valerie Huber is anti-choice and has been pushing abstinence education programs for years.
posted by zarq at 10:19 AM on April 19, 2018 [10 favorites]
Huber also discussed teaching young women sexual “refusal skills,” Torres and two other sources confirmed.
No surprise. This was entirely predictable from the moment they were appointed.
Alma Golden is an OB/GYN who is anti-contraception and anti-choice. Valerie Huber is anti-choice and has been pushing abstinence education programs for years.
posted by zarq at 10:19 AM on April 19, 2018 [10 favorites]
Reuters: Russian news agencies say U.S. told Moscow no new sanctions for now
CNN's Shimon Prokupecz @ShimonPro reports a US source confirming the Russians: "A senior administration official says the Trump admin has informed the Russian government there won’t be an additional round of sanctions. The official said the call was made to the Russian embassy on Sunday."
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:23 AM on April 19, 2018 [11 favorites]
CNN's Shimon Prokupecz @ShimonPro reports a US source confirming the Russians: "A senior administration official says the Trump admin has informed the Russian government there won’t be an additional round of sanctions. The official said the call was made to the Russian embassy on Sunday."
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:23 AM on April 19, 2018 [11 favorites]
Let's just check in on what Trump is saying today... "Human trafficking is worse than its ever been in the history of the world.”
Oh. And here I was thinking Frederick Douglass really was being recognized more and more these days.
He said the same thing last year too.
posted by zachlipton at 10:31 AM on April 19, 2018 [51 favorites]
Oh. And here I was thinking Frederick Douglass really was being recognized more and more these days.
He said the same thing last year too.
posted by zachlipton at 10:31 AM on April 19, 2018 [51 favorites]
So, worse than when it was a legal industry that powered the economies of most of what is now considered the western world?
posted by Nice Guy Mike at 10:34 AM on April 19, 2018 [30 favorites]
posted by Nice Guy Mike at 10:34 AM on April 19, 2018 [30 favorites]
an OB/GYN who is anti-contraception and anti-choice
I don’t know how this happens. It’s like being an astronaut and a flat-earther at the same time.
posted by wabbittwax at 10:35 AM on April 19, 2018 [38 favorites]
I don’t know how this happens. It’s like being an astronaut and a flat-earther at the same time.
posted by wabbittwax at 10:35 AM on April 19, 2018 [38 favorites]
More courts blocking stuff. @o_ema: DC District Court just ordered HHS to continue funding Teen Pregnancy Prevention programs until the end of the grant period that was agreed to under Obama. HHS had previously tried to end their funding early.
This is the five year program created under the Obama administration to use science-based methodology. The Trump administration tried to end it early.
posted by zachlipton at 10:38 AM on April 19, 2018 [36 favorites]
This is the five year program created under the Obama administration to use science-based methodology. The Trump administration tried to end it early.
posted by zachlipton at 10:38 AM on April 19, 2018 [36 favorites]
Correction: Dr. Alma Crumm Gordon is a pediatrician, not an OB/Gyn. Here's an interview with her regarding the role of faith-based organizations as partners of USAID. (pdf)
Also:
posted by zarq at 10:45 AM on April 19, 2018 [14 favorites]
Also:
From 2002 to 2006, Golden ran the Office of Population Affairs, the HHS division responsible for family planning funding for people with low incomes. In 2005, she was forced to revise a government website promoting teen abstinence while characterizing sexual orientation as an “alternative lifestyle.” Her update—”lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender lifestyle”—still characterized sexual orientation and gender identity as a “lifestyle.”
posted by zarq at 10:45 AM on April 19, 2018 [14 favorites]
Is there a sub-ocean pipeline from Russia, or a massive one over the pole?
Tankers. Huge, gigantic LNG tankers. That's how eastern Massachusetts gets most of the natural gas, on which it's heavily reliant, for both home heating and electricity generation, and they're quite a sight to see as they lumber through Boston Harbor, right next to the densely populated neighborhoods of the North End and East Boston and then are slowly navigated up Chelsea Creek. We used to get most of it from Algeria, but in January, a Russian tanker showed up.
posted by adamg at 10:46 AM on April 19, 2018 [11 favorites]
Tankers. Huge, gigantic LNG tankers. That's how eastern Massachusetts gets most of the natural gas, on which it's heavily reliant, for both home heating and electricity generation, and they're quite a sight to see as they lumber through Boston Harbor, right next to the densely populated neighborhoods of the North End and East Boston and then are slowly navigated up Chelsea Creek. We used to get most of it from Algeria, but in January, a Russian tanker showed up.
posted by adamg at 10:46 AM on April 19, 2018 [11 favorites]
And another playmate, Barbara Moore, who played one of the fembots in the Austin Powers movie, has come forward to say she was having an affair with Trump while Marla Maples was pregnant. Her expose includes such gems as "we went at it all the time like [Marla] didn't exist" and "we had sex at Mar a Lago while my friend watched."
I kind of wrestled with posting this, but it interests me because this story broke days ago. I have seen nothing in the news. I don't believe it's been posted here. People should understand that Trump's behavior is serial. This guy likely never had a monogamous relationship in his life, or an honest one. Like Weinstein with starlets, Trump was a non-stop predator of young pageant girls and pin-ups. It's a major part of who he is.
posted by xammerboy at 10:53 AM on April 19, 2018 [61 favorites]
I kind of wrestled with posting this, but it interests me because this story broke days ago. I have seen nothing in the news. I don't believe it's been posted here. People should understand that Trump's behavior is serial. This guy likely never had a monogamous relationship in his life, or an honest one. Like Weinstein with starlets, Trump was a non-stop predator of young pageant girls and pin-ups. It's a major part of who he is.
posted by xammerboy at 10:53 AM on April 19, 2018 [61 favorites]
Oh dear. @abbydphillip: NEWS: The Justice Office of the Inspector General has sent a criminal referral regarding Andrew McCabe to the US attorney office in DC. per @PamelaBrownCNN
Despite the fact that McCabe leaked about Clinton, I'm sure this is going to be used to discredit Comey and the FBI.
posted by zachlipton at 10:54 AM on April 19, 2018 [24 favorites]
Despite the fact that McCabe leaked about Clinton, I'm sure this is going to be used to discredit Comey and the FBI.
posted by zachlipton at 10:54 AM on April 19, 2018 [24 favorites]
H. Roark, that's interesting. I got the impression this natural gas would be going more towards electricity generation anyway. So the ad's implications are, to a first approximation, true; presupposing the need for natural gas, the choice between domestic and foreign natural gas is a real one, and some of it does come from Russia. That doesn't necessarily mean a pipeline is the best answer, but ... a natural gas pipeline I'm guessing probably has the same risks and impact as transmission lines through the same area. It doesn't have the risk of an oil spill.
Besides which it's probably safe to assume the companies involved in Penneast don't want to sell electricity, they don't want to be a public utility. They want to sell gas to the public utilities.
(quick note that this has nothing to do with Massachusetts or New England at all)
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 10:57 AM on April 19, 2018
Besides which it's probably safe to assume the companies involved in Penneast don't want to sell electricity, they don't want to be a public utility. They want to sell gas to the public utilities.
(quick note that this has nothing to do with Massachusetts or New England at all)
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 10:57 AM on April 19, 2018
How is that the rest of the administration is like a goddamn revolving door and this grifter is still here? Every time a Scott Pruitt story of increasing absurdity pops up (ie, like, every single day), I cannot beelieeeeeve that he continues to have a job.
Because nobody has been or will be fired from this administration for incompetence or scandal. The one and only thing that can get Trump to fire anyone is a real or imagined lack of total and complete loyalty to him.
posted by rocket88 at 10:58 AM on April 19, 2018 [8 favorites]
Because nobody has been or will be fired from this administration for incompetence or scandal. The one and only thing that can get Trump to fire anyone is a real or imagined lack of total and complete loyalty to him.
posted by rocket88 at 10:58 AM on April 19, 2018 [8 favorites]
One analysis I saw today was that the increasing difficulty in getting nominees confirmed means it's more likely shitty incumbent nominees won't get turfed out.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:02 AM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Chrysostom at 11:02 AM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
There was Flynn, fired for outright being a criminal, but he complains about that every single day and considers it to have been a mistake.
posted by Artw at 11:02 AM on April 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Artw at 11:02 AM on April 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
Because nobody has been or will be fired from this administration for incompetence or scandal. The one and only thing that can get Trump to fire anyone is a real or imagined lack of total and complete loyalty to him.
Exactly. It's the same reason that Ben Carson is still there.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:03 AM on April 19, 2018 [8 favorites]
Exactly. It's the same reason that Ben Carson is still there.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:03 AM on April 19, 2018 [8 favorites]
There was Flynn, fired for outright being a criminal, but he complains about that every single day and considers it to have been a mistake.
And NSA doesn't require confirmation.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:06 AM on April 19, 2018
And NSA doesn't require confirmation.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:06 AM on April 19, 2018
It doesn't have the risk of an oil spill.
High-pressure natural-gas pipelines have their own risks (one thing to keep in mind is that the stuff that makes natural gas smell is only added near the end points of the distribution networks - you wouldn't smell anything from a leaking high-pressure gas pipeline).
posted by adamg at 11:10 AM on April 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
High-pressure natural-gas pipelines have their own risks (one thing to keep in mind is that the stuff that makes natural gas smell is only added near the end points of the distribution networks - you wouldn't smell anything from a leaking high-pressure gas pipeline).
posted by adamg at 11:10 AM on April 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
The one and only thing that can get Trump to fire anyone is a real or imagined lack of total and complete loyalty to him.
Nope. You can be loyal to the hilt, and beyond...but overshadow him for even one arc-second, and your goose is cooked.
posted by adamgreenfield at 11:11 AM on April 19, 2018 [16 favorites]
Nope. You can be loyal to the hilt, and beyond...but overshadow him for even one arc-second, and your goose is cooked.
posted by adamgreenfield at 11:11 AM on April 19, 2018 [16 favorites]
Overshadowing is disloyalty. If you were loyal, you would make sure you weren't looming over him.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:16 AM on April 19, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:16 AM on April 19, 2018 [16 favorites]
The Hill: Cruz writes Time 100 piece praising Trump
Jess Dweck [via Twitter]:
"At first I was skeptical of Mr. Trump, but now I agree– my dad shot JFK and my wife is a total dog.”
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:38 AM on April 19, 2018 [51 favorites]
Jess Dweck [via Twitter]:
"At first I was skeptical of Mr. Trump, but now I agree– my dad shot JFK and my wife is a total dog.”
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:38 AM on April 19, 2018 [51 favorites]
Lighthearted news from Sen. Duckworth today, because we need it:
I may have to vote today, so Maile’s outfit is prepped. I made sure she has a jacket so she doesn’t violate the Senate floor dress code (which requires blazers). I’m not sure what the policy is on duckling onesies, but I think we’re ready
posted by lydhre at 11:39 AM on April 19, 2018 [93 favorites]
I may have to vote today, so Maile’s outfit is prepped. I made sure she has a jacket so she doesn’t violate the Senate floor dress code (which requires blazers). I’m not sure what the policy is on duckling onesies, but I think we’re ready
posted by lydhre at 11:39 AM on April 19, 2018 [93 favorites]
Ted Cruz wrote up a 2 paragraph bio of Trump for Time. Manages to balance grotesque sycophancy, cruelty, and racist/anti-semitic dogwhistles.
President Trump is a flash-bang grenade thrown into Washington by the forgotten men and women of America. The fact that his first year as Commander in Chief disoriented and distressed members of the media and political establishment is not a bug but a feature. The same cultural safe spaces that blinkered coastal elites to candidate Trump’s popularity have rendered them blind to President Trump’s achievements on behalf of ordinary Americans. [...] President Trump [...] scares the heck out of those who have controlled Washington for decades, but for millions of Americans, their confusion is great fun to watch.
"My wife is ugly and my dad killed JFK, and it's worth agreeing with that if it means most of the country suffers and lives in fear."
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:39 AM on April 19, 2018 [21 favorites]
President Trump is a flash-bang grenade thrown into Washington by the forgotten men and women of America. The fact that his first year as Commander in Chief disoriented and distressed members of the media and political establishment is not a bug but a feature. The same cultural safe spaces that blinkered coastal elites to candidate Trump’s popularity have rendered them blind to President Trump’s achievements on behalf of ordinary Americans. [...] President Trump [...] scares the heck out of those who have controlled Washington for decades, but for millions of Americans, their confusion is great fun to watch.
"My wife is ugly and my dad killed JFK, and it's worth agreeing with that if it means most of the country suffers and lives in fear."
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:39 AM on April 19, 2018 [21 favorites]
The same cultural safe spaces that blinkered coastal elites to candidate Trump’s popularity ...
Personally I was blinkered by the 3 million more votes the other candidate got.
posted by notyou at 11:44 AM on April 19, 2018 [37 favorites]
Personally I was blinkered by the 3 million more votes the other candidate got.
posted by notyou at 11:44 AM on April 19, 2018 [37 favorites]
A Marriage Used to Prevent Deportation. Not Anymore.
That could be trouble for visa fraudster Melania Trump.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:45 AM on April 19, 2018 [25 favorites]
That could be trouble for visa fraudster Melania Trump.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:45 AM on April 19, 2018 [25 favorites]
Vice: Evidence Suggests the GOP Bought at Least 17 Anti-James Comey Domains
GOP = Treason = GOP
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:45 AM on April 19, 2018 [41 favorites]
GOP = Treason = GOP
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:45 AM on April 19, 2018 [41 favorites]
I’m not sure what the policy is on duckling onesies, but I think we’re ready
I wish I could believe that Mitch McConnell wouldn't throw someone with her child out of the chamber over this if it meant the difference between winning or losing a vote.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 11:47 AM on April 19, 2018 [16 favorites]
I wish I could believe that Mitch McConnell wouldn't throw someone with her child out of the chamber over this if it meant the difference between winning or losing a vote.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 11:47 AM on April 19, 2018 [16 favorites]
I’m not sure what the policy is on duckling onesies...
Not sure about the Senate, but apparently they're all the rage in the House of Representatives.
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:57 AM on April 19, 2018 [22 favorites]
Not sure about the Senate, but apparently they're all the rage in the House of Representatives.
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:57 AM on April 19, 2018 [22 favorites]
It turns out it that suing the government arguing that Mueller isn’t allowed to investigate you is a good way to wind up with the government insinuating you may have done bad stuff. Bloomberg, Manafort Suspected of Serving as ‘Back Channel’ to Russia, DOJ Says
posted by zachlipton at 11:58 AM on April 19, 2018 [26 favorites]
Defense attorney Kevin Downing argued anew to U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington that even Mueller’s appointment order permitting him to probe “any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation” wouldn’t cover the political consulting work that Manafort did in Ukraine for a decade.That’s a masterful use of asking a question to lead the reader where you want them to go without actually saying anything. And Bloomberg bit on the hook.
But Justice Department attorney Michael Dreeben said prosecutors were justified in investigating Manafort because he had served as Trump’s campaign chairman.
“He had long-standing ties to Russia-backed politicians,” Dreeben told Jackson. “Did they provide back channels to Russia? Investigators will naturally look at those things.”
posted by zachlipton at 11:58 AM on April 19, 2018 [26 favorites]
The same cultural safe spaces that blinkered coastal elites to candidate Trump’s popularity ...
The 'same coastal elites' protected Trump for decades, keeping him out of jail, in business and on TV.
In time, Trump's 'forgotten men and women of America' will realize that they are seriously worse off than Before Trump. Not today, maybe not in time for the 2018 elections, but well before 2020. The same predatory capitalists who have driven the stock market up are very soon going to take their profits and run. (My advice to anyone with a 401K... get out before they do; a final 10% profit isn't worth the risk)
what Trump is saying today... "Human trafficking is worse than its ever been in the history of the world.”
Time to apply Trump's mirror again. A serious investigation will likely show that he is personally profiting from some of the Human Trafficking. The Wall is primarily for deterring all immigrants except those being herded by employees of TrumpCo.
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:01 PM on April 19, 2018 [12 favorites]
The 'same coastal elites' protected Trump for decades, keeping him out of jail, in business and on TV.
In time, Trump's 'forgotten men and women of America' will realize that they are seriously worse off than Before Trump. Not today, maybe not in time for the 2018 elections, but well before 2020. The same predatory capitalists who have driven the stock market up are very soon going to take their profits and run. (My advice to anyone with a 401K... get out before they do; a final 10% profit isn't worth the risk)
what Trump is saying today... "Human trafficking is worse than its ever been in the history of the world.”
Time to apply Trump's mirror again. A serious investigation will likely show that he is personally profiting from some of the Human Trafficking. The Wall is primarily for deterring all immigrants except those being herded by employees of TrumpCo.
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:01 PM on April 19, 2018 [12 favorites]
TIL: Angry privileged white christian homophobic bigots are, to Republicans like Ted Cruz, the forgotten, ordinary citizens of the USA.
Bullshit like this gets published in Time magazine, just validating the idea that the reason you didn't get to buy a jet-ski last year was because a) you paid too many taxes, or b) that good paying job you just missed out on went to a gay mexican drug runner who brought his kids here to get free healthcare.
yup.
posted by OHenryPacey at 12:03 PM on April 19, 2018 [19 favorites]
Bullshit like this gets published in Time magazine, just validating the idea that the reason you didn't get to buy a jet-ski last year was because a) you paid too many taxes, or b) that good paying job you just missed out on went to a gay mexican drug runner who brought his kids here to get free healthcare.
yup.
posted by OHenryPacey at 12:03 PM on April 19, 2018 [19 favorites]
Meredith Corp. Buys Time Inc. In Koch-Backed Deal
They’ve been dead since November, this is just the rot setting in.
posted by Artw at 12:06 PM on April 19, 2018 [14 favorites]
They’ve been dead since November, this is just the rot setting in.
posted by Artw at 12:06 PM on April 19, 2018 [14 favorites]
Trump judicial nominee once called illegal immigrants 'maggots'
Lifetime appointment.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:14 PM on April 19, 2018 [35 favorites]
Lifetime appointment.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:14 PM on April 19, 2018 [35 favorites]
Bloomberg, Rosenstein Told Trump He’s Not a Target in Mueller Probe, Sources Say
posted by zachlipton at 12:45 PM on April 19, 2018 [16 favorites]
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein told President Donald Trump last week that he isn’t a target of any part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, according to two people familiar with the matter.I will note that Jennifer Jacobs, the lead author on this story, has been following Trump to Florida and was given a question at yesterday's press conference, in case you're wondering where this leak might have come from.
Rosenstein, who brought up the Mueller probe himself, offered the assurance during a meeting with Trump at the White House last Thursday, a development that helped tamp down the president’s desire to remove Rosenstein or Mueller, the people said.
After the meeting, Trump told some of his closest advisers that it’s not the right time to remove either man since he’s not a target of the probe. One person said Trump doesn’t want to take any action that would drag out the investigation.
posted by zachlipton at 12:45 PM on April 19, 2018 [16 favorites]
Senator Tammy Duckworth has arrived and is on the Senate floor with her new baby.
Sen. Orrin Hatch said he had "no problem" with such a rules change. "But what if there are 10 babies on the floor of the Senate?" he asked.
Yeah, what if? The horror.
This guy can't go away soon enough.
posted by JackFlash at 12:46 PM on April 19, 2018 [50 favorites]
Sen. Orrin Hatch said he had "no problem" with such a rules change. "But what if there are 10 babies on the floor of the Senate?" he asked.
Yeah, what if? The horror.
This guy can't go away soon enough.
posted by JackFlash at 12:46 PM on April 19, 2018 [50 favorites]
so this: NEWS: The Justice Office of the Inspector General has sent a criminal referral regarding Andrew McCabe to the US attorney office in DC.
i dunno, it feels awfully politically motivated to me, this sort of thing...
They are within their rights, especially if there's decent evidence, and McCabe is clearly not squeaky clean here, but the process has all been handled in an unusual way that's pretty stinky. Even last week, the IG's final report just coincidentally comes out right when Comey hits the book tour? Not to mention the McCabe element of the whole investigation being cherry-picked and fast-tracked from the get-go. Trump's Mirror would suggest elements of the Justice Dept. are getting a tad partisan-politicized, just in the opposite way from what Trump says.
And when it comes to the pension stuff, I literally don't care if it's Ted Bundy; you don't fuck with any human's rightfully earned deferred compensation.
posted by FelliniBlank at 12:50 PM on April 19, 2018 [10 favorites]
i dunno, it feels awfully politically motivated to me, this sort of thing...
They are within their rights, especially if there's decent evidence, and McCabe is clearly not squeaky clean here, but the process has all been handled in an unusual way that's pretty stinky. Even last week, the IG's final report just coincidentally comes out right when Comey hits the book tour? Not to mention the McCabe element of the whole investigation being cherry-picked and fast-tracked from the get-go. Trump's Mirror would suggest elements of the Justice Dept. are getting a tad partisan-politicized, just in the opposite way from what Trump says.
And when it comes to the pension stuff, I literally don't care if it's Ted Bundy; you don't fuck with any human's rightfully earned deferred compensation.
posted by FelliniBlank at 12:50 PM on April 19, 2018 [10 favorites]
"But what if there are 10 babies on the floor of the Senate?"
Then you have a Republican caucus.
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:51 PM on April 19, 2018 [162 favorites]
Then you have a Republican caucus.
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:51 PM on April 19, 2018 [162 favorites]
It's been 0 minutes since the last Scott Pruitt disaster. Jeff Mason, Reuters, EPA chief's aides, security agents made $45,000 trip to Australia. The $9,000/person business class tickets aren't prohibited since the flight is over 14 hours (though, come on, it is possible with a little planning to get business class tickets that don't cost quite that damn much) but $45K for a five-person "advance" team to scout out a trip Pruitt later cancelled due to Hurricane Harvey is a problem.
posted by zachlipton at 12:51 PM on April 19, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:51 PM on April 19, 2018 [23 favorites]
Trump judicial nominee once called illegal immigrants 'maggots'
Lifetime appointment.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:14 PM on April 19 [14 favorites +] [!]
Don't know if it will help, but I just sent that quote and link to my senators, demanding they ask the nominee to justify calling human beings maggots.
posted by Mental Wimp at 12:53 PM on April 19, 2018 [23 favorites]
Lifetime appointment.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:14 PM on April 19 [14 favorites +] [!]
Don't know if it will help, but I just sent that quote and link to my senators, demanding they ask the nominee to justify calling human beings maggots.
posted by Mental Wimp at 12:53 PM on April 19, 2018 [23 favorites]
No no, he called them "magnets". Referring to social welfare programs. Because that definitely tracks and is no way a sub-sitcom level trope where you say something that sounds like the horrible thing you said even though it makes no sense in context. See also: "weirdy beans at".
posted by runcibleshaw at 12:57 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by runcibleshaw at 12:57 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
The inspector general determined that McCabe was not authorized to disclose the existence of the investigation because it was not within the department's "public interest" exception for disclosing ongoing investigations.
Funny how arbitrary that "public interest exception" seems to be.
posted by JackFlash at 12:58 PM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
Funny how arbitrary that "public interest exception" seems to be.
posted by JackFlash at 12:58 PM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
Bloomberg, Rosenstein Told Trump He’s Not a Target in Mueller Probe, Sources Say
My question - is telling someone they're not under investigation a thing law enforcement can do when someone is under investigation? I seem to recall they expressly are allowed to do this until the formal charge(s) is (are) revealed.
posted by saysthis at 12:59 PM on April 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
My question - is telling someone they're not under investigation a thing law enforcement can do when someone is under investigation? I seem to recall they expressly are allowed to do this until the formal charge(s) is (are) revealed.
posted by saysthis at 12:59 PM on April 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
Didn't we settle this difference between "target" and "Under Investigation"
posted by Twain Device at 1:03 PM on April 19, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by Twain Device at 1:03 PM on April 19, 2018 [10 favorites]
Didn't we just go through a huge deal about targets and subjects within the past Scaramucci or so?
posted by sporkwort at 1:03 PM on April 19, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by sporkwort at 1:03 PM on April 19, 2018 [12 favorites]
My question - is telling someone they're not under investigation a thing law enforcement can do when someone is under investigation? I seem to recall they expressly are allowed to do this until the formal charge(s) is (are) revealed.
Yeah, I thought we went over this "subject" "target" stuff a week or two ago. IIRC, a "target" is a person that definitely has specific charges waiting to be filed. Subjects are less than that, just nearby possibilities.
posted by rhizome at 1:04 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yeah, I thought we went over this "subject" "target" stuff a week or two ago. IIRC, a "target" is a person that definitely has specific charges waiting to be filed. Subjects are less than that, just nearby possibilities.
posted by rhizome at 1:04 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
Rosenstein Told Trump He’s Not a Target in Mueller Probe, Sources Say
My question - is telling someone they're not under investigation a thing law enforcement can do when someone is under investigation?
"Target", as discussed here previously, is a term of art basically meaning "near-certain impending indictment". He can be under investigation without being a target, and since he's a subject of the grand jury investigation, he is, in fact, under investigation, and they've told him so, even if he chooses not to hear it.
AFAICT, Bloomberg's statement here isn't news. Trump not being a subject was put forward last week, and it's a long ways from any sort of assertion of innocence.
posted by jackbishop at 1:05 PM on April 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
My question - is telling someone they're not under investigation a thing law enforcement can do when someone is under investigation?
"Target", as discussed here previously, is a term of art basically meaning "near-certain impending indictment". He can be under investigation without being a target, and since he's a subject of the grand jury investigation, he is, in fact, under investigation, and they've told him so, even if he chooses not to hear it.
AFAICT, Bloomberg's statement here isn't news. Trump not being a subject was put forward last week, and it's a long ways from any sort of assertion of innocence.
posted by jackbishop at 1:05 PM on April 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
I thought we went over this "subject" "target" stuff a week or two ago.
I will go read up on that. Thank you.
posted by saysthis at 1:05 PM on April 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
I will go read up on that. Thank you.
posted by saysthis at 1:05 PM on April 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
After the meeting, Trump told some of his closest advisers that it’s not the right time to remove either man since he’s not a target of the probe.So when Trump does become a target, that's the right time to remove them?
posted by gucci mane at 1:08 PM on April 19, 2018 [13 favorites]
Trump judicial nominee once called illegal immigrants 'maggots'
Update: Trump Judicial Nominee Probably Didn’t Call Undocumented Immigrants “Maggots” (Updated Post)
posted by zachlipton at 1:09 PM on April 19, 2018 [24 favorites]
Update: Trump Judicial Nominee Probably Didn’t Call Undocumented Immigrants “Maggots” (Updated Post)
Andrew Hudson, a spokesman for the Department of Justice, contacted me after this post went up and explained that Truncale actually said “with regard to immigration, we must not continue to have the magnets coming in,” not “with regard to immigration, we must not continue to have the maggots coming in.” According to Hudson, Truncale—who was discussing immigration at a 2012 candidate forum—was “referring to entitlement programs available to illegal aliens that would draw them here and give them a reason to stay.” Hudson also pointed to a different video in which Truncale, in speaking about immigration, clearly uses the word magnetI mean, I still don't want this guy to have a lifetime appointment to the federal bench.
While the audio from the 2012 candidate forum isn’t clear, it appears likely that Hudson is correct and Truncale did say “magnet” rather than “maggot.”
posted by zachlipton at 1:09 PM on April 19, 2018 [24 favorites]
Rudy Giuliani in Talks to Join Trump's Legal Team
They're just talks for now.
posted by monospace at 1:15 PM on April 19, 2018 [4 favorites]
They're just talks for now.
posted by monospace at 1:15 PM on April 19, 2018 [4 favorites]
Oh, Marco:
“My view is that the president deserves wide latitude in their nominations, but the more important the position is, the less latitude they have.” — Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), about Rex Tillerson’s nomination to be Secretary of State on January 11, 2017.posted by Chrysostom at 1:19 PM on April 19, 2018 [79 favorites]
“We give great deference to the president… and the more important the job, the more discretion the president deserves.” — Rubio, about the nomination of Jim Bridentstein to head NASA earlier today.
Rudy Giuliani in Talks to Join Trump's Legal Team
Undoubtedly that’s an attempt to protect Giuliani froom prosecution for October 2016 DOJ leaks by hiding him under the imagined lawyer’s cone of immunity.
posted by msalt at 1:19 PM on April 19, 2018 [11 favorites]
Undoubtedly that’s an attempt to protect Giuliani froom prosecution for October 2016 DOJ leaks by hiding him under the imagined lawyer’s cone of immunity.
posted by msalt at 1:19 PM on April 19, 2018 [11 favorites]
So when Trump does become a target, that's the right time to remove them?
The combination of his predictable, malleable stupidity in totally buying the "I'm just a subject, everything's fine" idea, with the sheer blatant corruption of saying out loud that making him the target of an investigation is a fireable offense has me struggling not to laugh out loud.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:23 PM on April 19, 2018 [8 favorites]
The combination of his predictable, malleable stupidity in totally buying the "I'm just a subject, everything's fine" idea, with the sheer blatant corruption of saying out loud that making him the target of an investigation is a fireable offense has me struggling not to laugh out loud.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:23 PM on April 19, 2018 [8 favorites]
The distinction between "target" and "subject" is meaningful, but you'd have to be a complete idiot to find it reassuring.
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:28 PM on April 19, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:28 PM on April 19, 2018 [8 favorites]
@jeffzeleny: Shadowing Comey: @CNN has learned the Republican campaign to discredit the former FBI director is now turning to lions, including this fury costumed creature who will be tailing Comey on his upcoming book tour. This gives new meaning to the role of tracker....
Please make 2018 stop.
posted by zachlipton at 1:29 PM on April 19, 2018 [22 favorites]
Please make 2018 stop.
posted by zachlipton at 1:29 PM on April 19, 2018 [22 favorites]
The point I'm taking from this news is
I was probably too short with that, I was just trying to be a soft! reminder.
Everytime Trump or whoever says "not a target!" I smirk a little bit. "Well yeah, because you probably aren't going to find out until the indictment is handed down.
posted by rhizome at 1:29 PM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
I was probably too short with that, I was just trying to be a soft! reminder.
Everytime Trump or whoever says "not a target!" I smirk a little bit. "Well yeah, because you probably aren't going to find out until the indictment is handed down.
posted by rhizome at 1:29 PM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
Jeff Zeleny: Shadowing Comey: @CNN has learned the Republican campaign to discredit the former FBI director is now turning to lions, including this fury costumed creature who will be tailing Comey on his upcoming book tour. This gives new meaning to the role of tracker....
The level of discourse here is just off the (bottom) of the chart.
posted by PenDevil at 1:29 PM on April 19, 2018 [4 favorites]
The level of discourse here is just off the (bottom) of the chart.
posted by PenDevil at 1:29 PM on April 19, 2018 [4 favorites]
including this fury costumed creature who will be tailing Comey on his upcoming book tour
LOL, they're so easy. Surround the "lion" challenging them to be king of the jungle. "You think you're so tough, Mr. Lion-costume?"
posted by rhizome at 1:30 PM on April 19, 2018
LOL, they're so easy. Surround the "lion" challenging them to be king of the jungle. "You think you're so tough, Mr. Lion-costume?"
posted by rhizome at 1:30 PM on April 19, 2018
Remember that Comey's impression of Rosenstein is that he's a good guy but a "survivor" and (again per Comey) you don't survive as long as Rosenstein has under various administrations without making some compromises. I think we're now seeing exactly how good of a survivor Rosenstein really is. It's fair to say Comey considered his description of Rosenstein of having to have made compromises to be a bad thing. It's also fair to point out that Comey is now sitting at home reading Reinhold Niebuhr while Rosenstein is Deputy AG and overseeing the Russia probe. So there's that.
posted by Justinian at 1:32 PM on April 19, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 1:32 PM on April 19, 2018 [16 favorites]
A nice thing about the trick Rosenstein used is that it's got to be good for another couple tries at least. (Especially given that the whole country already went over this stuff last week.) Two weeks from now:
TRUMP: What's this about me being a subject of the investigation? Someone on TV said that's almost as much trouble for me as if I were a target! This crosses a line!
ROSENSTEIN: You can relax, Mr President. See, you're not a target, you're just a subject.
TRUMP (pretending to understand): Oh, okay. In that case I'll lay off Mueller for now. But it'll be hell for him if he ever makes me a subject!
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:39 PM on April 19, 2018 [12 favorites]
TRUMP: What's this about me being a subject of the investigation? Someone on TV said that's almost as much trouble for me as if I were a target! This crosses a line!
ROSENSTEIN: You can relax, Mr President. See, you're not a target, you're just a subject.
TRUMP (pretending to understand): Oh, okay. In that case I'll lay off Mueller for now. But it'll be hell for him if he ever makes me a subject!
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:39 PM on April 19, 2018 [12 favorites]
has learned the Republican campaign to discredit the former FBI director is now turning to lions
Oh no this is about merch
They literally can’t stop themselves from grifting
posted by schadenfrau at 1:44 PM on April 19, 2018 [7 favorites]
Oh no this is about merch
They literally can’t stop themselves from grifting
posted by schadenfrau at 1:44 PM on April 19, 2018 [7 favorites]
Rudy Giuliani in Talks to Join Trump's Legal Team
They're just talks for now.
Structuring the massive windfall "compensation" so that it comes from taxpayers and Russia, not Trump himself, without being obvious WOULD take some talking. It's not like Rudy wouldn't do anything for money, or Trump cares what something costs when he's not paying.
posted by ctmf at 1:45 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
They're just talks for now.
Structuring the massive windfall "compensation" so that it comes from taxpayers and Russia, not Trump himself, without being obvious WOULD take some talking. It's not like Rudy wouldn't do anything for money, or Trump cares what something costs when he's not paying.
posted by ctmf at 1:45 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
John Schindler at the Observer erases all nonsuperficial distinctions between RT and Fox News: Russian-language Fox programming in Latvia is tailored to Putin's propaganda standards.
Per the report, which cites internal Fox News regulations: "Translators have to follow Russian subtitling guidelines requiring glossing over or ‘softening content’ concerning accidents, homosexual relationships, ‘anti-Russian propaganda,’ narcotics, extremist activities and suicides. For instance, the translators are instructed to ‘soften’ all negative language about the Russian military and space program, policies of the Russian president and government, while positive texts about same-sex relationships have to be made more generalized so they could be attributed to relationships of any kind." Let’s be perfectly clear here: Fox News is requiring its content being broadcast in a country that is a member of both NATO and the European Union to be edited to be more pleasing to the regime of Vladimir Putin.
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:46 PM on April 19, 2018 [63 favorites]
Per the report, which cites internal Fox News regulations: "Translators have to follow Russian subtitling guidelines requiring glossing over or ‘softening content’ concerning accidents, homosexual relationships, ‘anti-Russian propaganda,’ narcotics, extremist activities and suicides. For instance, the translators are instructed to ‘soften’ all negative language about the Russian military and space program, policies of the Russian president and government, while positive texts about same-sex relationships have to be made more generalized so they could be attributed to relationships of any kind." Let’s be perfectly clear here: Fox News is requiring its content being broadcast in a country that is a member of both NATO and the European Union to be edited to be more pleasing to the regime of Vladimir Putin.
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:46 PM on April 19, 2018 [63 favorites]
@vicenews: BREAKING: Senator Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) changes position and says he will submit a bill aimed at decriminalizing marijuana. See the exclusive interview on VICE News Tonight at 7:30PM on @HBO
It's not exactly going anywhere with this Congress, and yes there's the whole "where the hell have you been?" conversation, along with the whole "so when are we letting people of color out of prison for this stuff?" conversation, but it's still amazing to me how unthinkable this would have been not very long ago. And perfectly timed for voter registration drives tomorrow, I hope.
posted by zachlipton at 1:52 PM on April 19, 2018 [64 favorites]
It's not exactly going anywhere with this Congress, and yes there's the whole "where the hell have you been?" conversation, along with the whole "so when are we letting people of color out of prison for this stuff?" conversation, but it's still amazing to me how unthinkable this would have been not very long ago. And perfectly timed for voter registration drives tomorrow, I hope.
posted by zachlipton at 1:52 PM on April 19, 2018 [64 favorites]
Also in Congress news:
Vox: “Queen of the hill”: the obscure House rule that could force the House to take up immigration bills
posted by saysthis at 2:07 PM on April 19, 2018 [8 favorites]
Vox: “Queen of the hill”: the obscure House rule that could force the House to take up immigration bills
The backers of the “queen of the hill” plan say they have 240 members in support of their procedural gambit — enough, if they wanted, to override Ryan and force the votes to the floor. [...] It would bring four bills, in a series, to the House floor for a vote, and whichever one got the biggest vote margin in favor would pass (it's 3 of the same DACA bills from last time plus a Ryan ringer)And the Schumer marijuana thing, it's kinda like...everyone's almost scrambling to not make the midterms about Trump.
posted by saysthis at 2:07 PM on April 19, 2018 [8 favorites]
It's official. WaPo, Costa/Dawsey, Giuliani says he joins Trump’s legal team to ‘negotiate an end’ to Mueller probe
----
Trump says he will not pay for this "charade", and in other news Democrat surprised when football is pulled at last minute.
Update: the California National Guard says the Pentagon apparently doesn't care about Trump's tweet and will continue to provide funding: "In short, nothing has changed today." So just another example of everyone ignoring what the President says.
posted by zachlipton at 2:07 PM on April 19, 2018 [40 favorites]
Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, a combative former prosecutor and longtime ally of President Trump, told The Washington Post on Thursday that he has joined the president’s legal team dealing with the ongoing special counsel probe.Yeah. Good luck with that, Rudy. I wonder how long lawyers can keep promising Trump they'll end this thing soon before he catches on.
“I’m doing it because I hope we can negotiate an end to this for the good of the country and because I have high regard for the president and for Bob Mueller,” Giuliani said in an interview.
...
Trump is known to be a difficult client who does not listen to his lawyers advice, according to lawyers who are familiar with his conduct.
----
Trump says he will not pay for this "charade", and in other news Democrat surprised when football is pulled at last minute.
Update: the California National Guard says the Pentagon apparently doesn't care about Trump's tweet and will continue to provide funding: "In short, nothing has changed today." So just another example of everyone ignoring what the President says.
posted by zachlipton at 2:07 PM on April 19, 2018 [40 favorites]
@jeffzeleny: Shadowing Comey: @CNN has learned the Republican campaign to discredit the former FBI director is now turning to lions, including this fury costumed creature who will be tailing Comey on his upcoming book tour. This gives new meaning to the role of tracker....
A...lion? What am I missing? I get why union locals deploy inflatable rats in front of businesses they're picketing, but lions are generally perceived as noble, powerful and righteous, if a bit pompous, right? Is that what they're trying to suggest of Comey?
Oh no this is about merch...They literally can’t stop themselves from grifting
Now, I have heard it said that George Lucas made more from licensing action-figure rights to Kenner than he ever did from BO, so maybe they're onto something. What they're onto, I don't know. But it's definitely...something.
posted by adamgreenfield at 2:07 PM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
A...lion? What am I missing? I get why union locals deploy inflatable rats in front of businesses they're picketing, but lions are generally perceived as noble, powerful and righteous, if a bit pompous, right? Is that what they're trying to suggest of Comey?
Oh no this is about merch...They literally can’t stop themselves from grifting
Now, I have heard it said that George Lucas made more from licensing action-figure rights to Kenner than he ever did from BO, so maybe they're onto something. What they're onto, I don't know. But it's definitely...something.
posted by adamgreenfield at 2:07 PM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
Lyin' Comey
Lion Comey
That's all it is.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 2:09 PM on April 19, 2018 [13 favorites]
Lion Comey
That's all it is.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 2:09 PM on April 19, 2018 [13 favorites]
Serious question - do you know of anyone who has created Cynthia Nixon stuff taking off on old Nixon's The One merch like this or this? Because I would be interested.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:13 PM on April 19, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 2:13 PM on April 19, 2018 [8 favorites]
“I’m doing it because I hope we can negotiate an end to this for the good of the country and because I have high regard for the president and for Bob Mueller,” Giuliani said in an interview.
I literally don't understand what this means. How do you negotiate with a Special Counsel employed specifically to conduct an investigation, to make him end that investigation? Do you bribe him? Do you blackmail him? What other possibility is there?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:20 PM on April 19, 2018 [29 favorites]
I literally don't understand what this means. How do you negotiate with a Special Counsel employed specifically to conduct an investigation, to make him end that investigation? Do you bribe him? Do you blackmail him? What other possibility is there?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:20 PM on April 19, 2018 [29 favorites]
saysthis: Vox: “Queen of the hill”: the obscure House rule that could force the House to take up immigration bills
The article doesn't say how it got that nickname, as opposed to the more common "king". Surprisingly feminist, perhaps? Or not. My first guess was the chess queen, then I figured that "king of the hill" probably means some other obscure House procedure, and this was the second such rule to exist, and that's all.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 2:21 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
The article doesn't say how it got that nickname, as opposed to the more common "king". Surprisingly feminist, perhaps? Or not. My first guess was the chess queen, then I figured that "king of the hill" probably means some other obscure House procedure, and this was the second such rule to exist, and that's all.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 2:21 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
Politico: Comey's other target in new book: Rudy Giuliani
posted by saysthis at 2:21 PM on April 19, 2018 [9 favorites]
In “A Higher Loyalty,” Comey repeatedly invokes Giuliani’s craving for publicity during his tenure as New York’s most famous federal prosecutor in the 1980s, before he became mayor, and paints his flaws almost as a biblical allegory about the dangers of excessive pride and ego.Comey and Guiliani used to work together in the NY U.S. Attorney’s Office, so that's a thing.
[...]
In “A Higher Loyalty,” Comey repeatedly invokes Giuliani’s craving for publicity during his tenure as New York’s most famous federal prosecutor in the 1980s, before he became mayor, and paints his flaws almost as a biblical allegory about the dangers of excessive pride and ego.
[...]
Comey acknowledges that he was initially thrilled by the cult of personality surrounding Giuliani. Comey says he considered it his “dream job” when he was hired by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan in 1987.
[...]
In his interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Comey did say he was aware that Giuliani was on TV in 2016 predicting surprise developments from the FBI just before the November election. Giuliani’s comments suggested he was privy to the discovery of more Clinton emails on a laptop belonging to former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), which the FBI got while investigating him on charges of sexting with a minor.
“Yes, I saw that,” Comey said. “It’s part of what I ordered investigated.”
posted by saysthis at 2:21 PM on April 19, 2018 [9 favorites]
InTheYear2017: "The article doesn't say how it got that nickname, as opposed to the more common "king". Surprisingly feminist, perhaps? Or not. My first guess was the chess queen, then I figured that "king of the hill" probably means some other obscure House procedure, and this was the second such rule to exist, and that's all."
Pretty much, yeah.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:23 PM on April 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
Pretty much, yeah.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:23 PM on April 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
@JenniferJJacobs: GIULIANI says he knows how tough Mueller’s job is. “I have great respect for Bob and my job is going to be to try to get him what he needs to wrap it up,” Giuliani says in an interview with @margarettalev.
So the friendly face is all about how cooperative they're going to be so the investigation can end sooner. But Trump also hired Jane and Marty Raskin, lawyers who tout their specialization in pushing back on search warrants. That seems like a clue of where this is actually going, no matter what Rudy says.
posted by zachlipton at 2:25 PM on April 19, 2018 [13 favorites]
So the friendly face is all about how cooperative they're going to be so the investigation can end sooner. But Trump also hired Jane and Marty Raskin, lawyers who tout their specialization in pushing back on search warrants. That seems like a clue of where this is actually going, no matter what Rudy says.
posted by zachlipton at 2:25 PM on April 19, 2018 [13 favorites]
Do you bribe him? Do you blackmail him? What other possibility is there?Well, there's also extortion.
posted by Tabitha Someday at 2:28 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
InTheYear2017: "The article doesn't say how it got that nickname, as opposed to the more common "king". Surprisingly feminist, perhaps? Or not. My first guess was the chess queen, then I figured that "king of the hill" probably means some other obscure House procedure, and this was the second such rule to exist, and that's all."
Pretty much, yeah.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:23 AM on April 20 [1 favorite −] Favorite added! [!]
King - LAST bill in sequence to get majority vote wins
Queen - MOST majority votes of bills in sequence wins
That's how I understand it at least. I have no idea how "king" could even be a thing but I haven't finished reading the link yet (it's LONG).
posted by saysthis at 2:29 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
Pretty much, yeah.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:23 AM on April 20 [1 favorite −] Favorite added! [!]
King - LAST bill in sequence to get majority vote wins
Queen - MOST majority votes of bills in sequence wins
That's how I understand it at least. I have no idea how "king" could even be a thing but I haven't finished reading the link yet (it's LONG).
posted by saysthis at 2:29 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
If "negotiate" means "obstruct," then he's pretty much handed over the crime-fraud exception to privilege right up front. Interesting strategy.
posted by ctmf at 2:31 PM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by ctmf at 2:31 PM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
> One analysis I saw today was that the increasing difficulty in getting nominees confirmed means it's more likely shitty incumbent nominees won't get turfed out
That suggests an uncharacteristic amount of forethought.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:44 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
That suggests an uncharacteristic amount of forethought.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:44 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
WSJ, Kushner Cos. Subpoenaed Over Tenant Records
posted by zachlipton at 2:45 PM on April 19, 2018 [46 favorites]
The real-estate company run by the family of White House adviser Jared Kushner in mid-March received a federal grand-jury subpoena for information related to paperwork the company filed in New York City concerning its rent-regulated tenants, according to people familiar with the matter.Hope your prison reform initiative is moving at lightning speed, Jared.
The subpoena, part of an investigation by prosecutors in the Brooklyn U.S. attorney’s office, came shortly after an Associated Press article about the company having filed documents that said it had zero rent-regulated tenants, when in fact it had hundreds, an omission that relieved them of certain rules governing developers.
posted by zachlipton at 2:45 PM on April 19, 2018 [46 favorites]
Politico: Comey's other target in new book: Rudy Giuliani
The most immediate thought I have about Giuliani joining the team is that there's probably evidence of his being party to whatever conspiracy they're going to all be charged with during the campaign, so I can't wait until another Trump lawyer's office is raided. Seriously, why would you bring someone who is definitely an accessory to your crime on as an attorney? Only Trump would do such a thing.
posted by dis_integration at 2:49 PM on April 19, 2018 [25 favorites]
The most immediate thought I have about Giuliani joining the team is that there's probably evidence of his being party to whatever conspiracy they're going to all be charged with during the campaign, so I can't wait until another Trump lawyer's office is raided. Seriously, why would you bring someone who is definitely an accessory to your crime on as an attorney? Only Trump would do such a thing.
posted by dis_integration at 2:49 PM on April 19, 2018 [25 favorites]
How is Guiliani not conflicted? I mean, I guess if Trump wants to knowingly hire someone who, as a member of his campaign, is a possible witness in the same investigation he's hiring him for. And who, as conduit with the FBI during the campaign, is a possible suspect in said investigation?
posted by chris24 at 2:52 PM on April 19, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 2:52 PM on April 19, 2018 [7 favorites]
Also on all this new North Korea business, Trevor Noah's take seems like...until actual news comes out, apt.
posted by saysthis at 2:53 PM on April 19, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by saysthis at 2:53 PM on April 19, 2018 [4 favorites]
Rudy Giuliani in Drag Smooching Donald Trump
posted by kirkaracha at 3:06 PM on April 19, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 3:06 PM on April 19, 2018 [13 favorites]
> It's been 0 minutes since the last Scott Pruitt disaster.
The way the news with this guy is going, I expect to read stories about him just burning taxpayer money on top of a pile of coal by the middle of next week.
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:23 PM on April 19, 2018 [14 favorites]
The way the news with this guy is going, I expect to read stories about him just burning taxpayer money on top of a pile of coal by the middle of next week.
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:23 PM on April 19, 2018 [14 favorites]
oh jesus, I had a bad feeling when the sulphuric stench of Giuliani entered the room of the news.
"negotiate an end" to the investigation yeah because the big G is known for his diplomatic skills. What Giuliani is is evil and pugnacious.
My first experience with the man was going to jail to protest his welfare policies, which (I shit you not) were promoted by the administration as 'Work Will Set You Free' until somebody pointed out the obvious.
My recollection is that Dinkins had issued DATs for mass protests before, and therefore the mass arrests at our protest was a bit of a surprise. A very bad one for the HIV+ folks who didn't have access to their meds for a prolonged period of time.
But I got to spend some time in The Tombs, so, you know, learning experience.
Anyway, Giuliani is an evil fucker and I bet it is evil keeping him alive shouldn't he be dead by now.
posted by angrycat at 3:30 PM on April 19, 2018 [58 favorites]
"negotiate an end" to the investigation yeah because the big G is known for his diplomatic skills. What Giuliani is is evil and pugnacious.
My first experience with the man was going to jail to protest his welfare policies, which (I shit you not) were promoted by the administration as 'Work Will Set You Free' until somebody pointed out the obvious.
My recollection is that Dinkins had issued DATs for mass protests before, and therefore the mass arrests at our protest was a bit of a surprise. A very bad one for the HIV+ folks who didn't have access to their meds for a prolonged period of time.
But I got to spend some time in The Tombs, so, you know, learning experience.
Anyway, Giuliani is an evil fucker and I bet it is evil keeping him alive shouldn't he be dead by now.
posted by angrycat at 3:30 PM on April 19, 2018 [58 favorites]
A Republican state senator has entered the Illinois governor's race as a third-party candidate (Politico). Rauner eked out a primary win by three percentage points. I'm gonna bake a cake.
posted by salix at 3:43 PM on April 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by salix at 3:43 PM on April 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
Jeff Mason, Reuters, EPA chief's aides, security agents made $45,000 trip to Australia. The $9,000/person business class tickets aren't prohibited since the flight is over 14 hours[...]I’m a federal employee, and I flew to New Zealand for scientific meetings recently. Out of curiosity, I priced a business-class ticket because of the length of the flight. It was irresponsibly expensive, and I didn’t actually consider requesting approval to buy the ticket. Last year, I looked into a business-class ticket to Europe because I was traveling for work and I had a broken shoulder at the time. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, even though I had enough money in my travel budget. Those folks should be ashamed of themselves. Sure, long-distance, Coach-class travel is uncomfortable and tedious, but we also have an ethical obligation to be good stewards of taxpayer resources. Their supervisor should never have approved the tickets. Shameful.
posted by wintermind at 3:48 PM on April 19, 2018 [79 favorites]
Rudy Giuliani has been "speaking to the president for weeks" about joining his legal team, and (in what surely is mere coincidence) his wife filed for divorce two weeks ago today.
posted by salix at 3:52 PM on April 19, 2018 [33 favorites]
posted by salix at 3:52 PM on April 19, 2018 [33 favorites]
we also have an ethical obligation to be good stewards of taxpayer resources
Hell, when I was a consultant doing government work I flew coach to London. Like you, mostly because I felt guilty about the cost, but it likely would have been approved.
posted by suelac at 3:54 PM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
Hell, when I was a consultant doing government work I flew coach to London. Like you, mostly because I felt guilty about the cost, but it likely would have been approved.
posted by suelac at 3:54 PM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
How many of these Trumpster fellas have been divorced recently?
Giulani
Trump Jr
Dan Scavino
Scaramucci (previous to his tour of duty)
Others?
posted by notyou at 3:59 PM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
Giulani
Trump Jr
Dan Scavino
Scaramucci (previous to his tour of duty)
Others?
posted by notyou at 3:59 PM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
Pruitt-watchers may be interested to know that he popped up unexpectedly in Whiting, Indiana today, along with Indiana's governor, to announce an emergency cleanup of 25 homes in a previous unacknowledged contamination area. Details on the cleanup remain sparse. No word on how he traveled to get there.
Local activists recorded the scene. Some members of Pruitt's security detail can be observed.
posted by shenderson at 3:59 PM on April 19, 2018 [12 favorites]
Local activists recorded the scene. Some members of Pruitt's security detail can be observed.
posted by shenderson at 3:59 PM on April 19, 2018 [12 favorites]
Giuliani and Trump both cheated on Wife #1 with Wife #2, then cheated on Wife #2 with Wife #3. And Trump has cheated on Wife #3.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:04 PM on April 19, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 4:04 PM on April 19, 2018 [23 favorites]
NYT, Seeking Foreign Money, G.O.P. Donor Pushed for Trump to Golf With Malaysian Premier
posted by zachlipton at 4:06 PM on April 19, 2018 [33 favorites]
White House aides were worried enough about a visit last year by Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia, under investigation by American prosecutors who say he embezzled $3.5 billion from a state investment fund, that he was denied the customary photo in the Oval Office with President Trump.There are further details on all the graft in the article. This wasn't a casual nudge, but got to the level where Broidy was emailing Kelly to complain that Priebus had promised a golf game, but Broidy knew it wasn't on the Prime Minster's schedule. And again, this guy was a finance chair of the GOP.
But that did not stop a top Republican fund-raiser, Elliott Broidy, from seeking to use his White House ties to press for Mr. Trump to play a golf game with Mr. Najib, who had the authority over negotiations for a lucrative Malaysian contract with Mr. Broidy’s private defense company, according to documents obtained by The New York Times.
...
Mr. Broidy also explored separate plans to force the exit from the United States of a Chinese billionaire and dissident, Guo Wengui, evidently to please Chinese allies in Malaysia while reaping payoffs from both the Chinese and, improbably, the United Arab Emirates. Mr. Broidy proposed working with George Nader, an adviser to the Emiratis who is cooperating in the special counsel investigation.
Mr. Broidy and Mr. Nader met around the inauguration and worked to sway the Trump administration on behalf the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia at a time when Mr. Broidy was seeking contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars from the two countries.
In a statement, Mr. Broidy said, “This whole narrative is a fabrication driven by hackers who want to undermine me.”
posted by zachlipton at 4:06 PM on April 19, 2018 [33 favorites]
> Uh, guys, why is Pruitt wearing Cohen's suit?The Writers, entirely bereft of Fucks, decided to mirror the omnicorruption that is Trump with a Shakesperian play-within-a-play: The
posted by Fiberoptic Zebroid and The Hypnagogic Jerks at 4:13 PM on April 19, 2018 [20 favorites]
Isn't Guliani basically senile at this point? Obviously his presence is never good news, but I can think of more formidable opponents the Russia probe might face.
posted by The Card Cheat at 4:37 PM on April 19, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 4:37 PM on April 19, 2018 [4 favorites]
How many of these Trumpster fellas have been divorced recently?
It's because they're scum bags
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 4:39 PM on April 19, 2018 [4 favorites]
It's because they're scum bags
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 4:39 PM on April 19, 2018 [4 favorites]
Giuliani and Trump both cheated on Wife #1 with Wife #2, then cheated on Wife #2 with Wife #3. And Trump has cheated on Wife #3.
Their associate Newt Gingrich was way ahead of them, with the bonus perfidy that both of his wives were in the hospital with serious diseases (cancer and multiple sclerosis, respectively) when he told them he was cheating with a younger woman and was going to continue. (He asked for a divorce, the first time, and an open marriage the second.)
posted by msalt at 4:47 PM on April 19, 2018 [25 favorites]
Their associate Newt Gingrich was way ahead of them, with the bonus perfidy that both of his wives were in the hospital with serious diseases (cancer and multiple sclerosis, respectively) when he told them he was cheating with a younger woman and was going to continue. (He asked for a divorce, the first time, and an open marriage the second.)
posted by msalt at 4:47 PM on April 19, 2018 [25 favorites]
More on Pruitt:
The meeting was so secretive that only a video from environmental activist Thomas Frank captured Pruitt and Holcomb touring the site.
“We just happened to find him and his people in the alleyway,” Frank said.
There are several Superfund sites in the Whiting and East Chicago area, and new testing began two years ago near Federated Metals to see if there was any contamination at the site.
Pruitt didn’t provide any updates on the cleanup effort, and some EPA employees aren’t happy with the way the visit was handled.
“Scott Pruitt refuses to meet with EPA employees like me, who took their oath very seriously,” environmental scientist Felicia Chase said.
Other employees say that Pruitt also visited the agency’s Chicago office, holding meetings with state directors. He arrived at the meeting by underground tunnel, and reportedly did not meet with regional employees of the agency.
“He has not taken the time to meet with all of the staff to tell us about his policies and what he’s doing,” EPA union leader Michael Mikulka said.
Even with all of the efforts to keep his visit a secret, the extra security in the air and in the building left some employees and environmentalists upset that the administrator didn’t take the time to meet with the public.
So I guess this is related to his job, which is surprising and more effort than anyone would expect, but he's not actually meeting with anyone from the EPA, let alone the public?
posted by Artw at 4:51 PM on April 19, 2018 [12 favorites]
The meeting was so secretive that only a video from environmental activist Thomas Frank captured Pruitt and Holcomb touring the site.
“We just happened to find him and his people in the alleyway,” Frank said.
There are several Superfund sites in the Whiting and East Chicago area, and new testing began two years ago near Federated Metals to see if there was any contamination at the site.
Pruitt didn’t provide any updates on the cleanup effort, and some EPA employees aren’t happy with the way the visit was handled.
“Scott Pruitt refuses to meet with EPA employees like me, who took their oath very seriously,” environmental scientist Felicia Chase said.
Other employees say that Pruitt also visited the agency’s Chicago office, holding meetings with state directors. He arrived at the meeting by underground tunnel, and reportedly did not meet with regional employees of the agency.
“He has not taken the time to meet with all of the staff to tell us about his policies and what he’s doing,” EPA union leader Michael Mikulka said.
Even with all of the efforts to keep his visit a secret, the extra security in the air and in the building left some employees and environmentalists upset that the administrator didn’t take the time to meet with the public.
So I guess this is related to his job, which is surprising and more effort than anyone would expect, but he's not actually meeting with anyone from the EPA, let alone the public?
posted by Artw at 4:51 PM on April 19, 2018 [12 favorites]
I don't think Mr. Noun-Verb-9/11 is going to be all that much help.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:52 PM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 4:52 PM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
My god. Jay Goldberg, Trump's old lawyer who spoke to him recently.
@atrupar [Video]: Goldberg says he's thinks Cohen will talk to prosecutors because he's worried about getting raped in prison. "He's not suited to stand up to the rigors of jail life... Michael doesn't see himself walking down Broadway while people are clamoring, 'you're going to be my wife.'"
That quote omits the worst part, which is "prison has a racial overtone."
He goes on to suggest that Cohen could lie about Trump to avoid a long prison sentence.
Also, they just sent the Comey memos to Congress (the unredacted ones come tomorrow), so be on the lookout for portions to be selectively leaked to give certain apparences.
posted by zachlipton at 4:53 PM on April 19, 2018 [25 favorites]
@atrupar [Video]: Goldberg says he's thinks Cohen will talk to prosecutors because he's worried about getting raped in prison. "He's not suited to stand up to the rigors of jail life... Michael doesn't see himself walking down Broadway while people are clamoring, 'you're going to be my wife.'"
That quote omits the worst part, which is "prison has a racial overtone."
He goes on to suggest that Cohen could lie about Trump to avoid a long prison sentence.
Also, they just sent the Comey memos to Congress (the unredacted ones come tomorrow), so be on the lookout for portions to be selectively leaked to give certain apparences.
posted by zachlipton at 4:53 PM on April 19, 2018 [25 favorites]
Giuliani and Trump both cheated on Wife #1 with Wife #2, then cheated on Wife #2 with Wife #3. And Trump has cheated on Wife #3.
Their associate Newt Gingrich was way ahead of them,
According to Wikipedia, Giulliani married his second cousin on the first go-round, by accident. There was cheating before he found out, but then he found out and that's why they divorced. Is the official story.
posted by saysthis at 4:55 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
Their associate Newt Gingrich was way ahead of them,
According to Wikipedia, Giulliani married his second cousin on the first go-round, by accident. There was cheating before he found out, but then he found out and that's why they divorced. Is the official story.
posted by saysthis at 4:55 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
I saw Jay Goldberg on CNN and he was less than impressive. Better than Cohen, sure, but he seemed a bit past his sell-by date. Okay on his prepared statements but unable to really handle even the smallest of curveballs.
posted by Justinian at 4:55 PM on April 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 4:55 PM on April 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
"He's not suited to stand up to the rigors of jail life... Michael doesn't see himself walking down Broadway while people are clamoring, 'you're going to be my wife.'"
That quote omits the worst part, which is "prison has a racial overtone."
I'm going to have real mixed feelings if Cohen's racism and homophobia end up being the crucial deciding factors in making him spill the regime-collapsing beans.
posted by Rust Moranis at 4:56 PM on April 19, 2018 [21 favorites]
That quote omits the worst part, which is "prison has a racial overtone."
I'm going to have real mixed feelings if Cohen's racism and homophobia end up being the crucial deciding factors in making him spill the regime-collapsing beans.
posted by Rust Moranis at 4:56 PM on April 19, 2018 [21 favorites]
I don't think Mr. Noun-Verb-9/11 is going to be all that much help.
How many of the people on Trump's legal team spend most of their time on legal work? I won't even specify relevant litigation experience, just people who primarily do the work of an attorney. Are any of them? Most of them are his cronies, people he's seen on TV, or obvious hucksters who think they can sleaze their way into a payday from what I can tell (some are all three).
posted by Copronymus at 5:02 PM on April 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
How many of the people on Trump's legal team spend most of their time on legal work? I won't even specify relevant litigation experience, just people who primarily do the work of an attorney. Are any of them? Most of them are his cronies, people he's seen on TV, or obvious hucksters who think they can sleaze their way into a payday from what I can tell (some are all three).
posted by Copronymus at 5:02 PM on April 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
I'm going to have real mixed feelings if Cohen's racism and homophobia end up being the crucial deciding factors in making him spill the regime-collapsing beans.
I would be more than happy if their own racism and homophobia are what takes this regime down. Their delusional hatred of the people they don't think are fully human is what they played on to get into power; I'd love to see those delusions work against them.
I wouldn't want a prosecutor to throw hints at Cohen about "you know what prison life is like..." but as long as he's making decisions based on the echo chamber of Nazi rhetoric inside his own head, I'd like some of those decisions to involve confessions.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 5:07 PM on April 19, 2018 [10 favorites]
I would be more than happy if their own racism and homophobia are what takes this regime down. Their delusional hatred of the people they don't think are fully human is what they played on to get into power; I'd love to see those delusions work against them.
I wouldn't want a prosecutor to throw hints at Cohen about "you know what prison life is like..." but as long as he's making decisions based on the echo chamber of Nazi rhetoric inside his own head, I'd like some of those decisions to involve confessions.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 5:07 PM on April 19, 2018 [10 favorites]
Comey is on Maddow tonight.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 5:11 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 5:11 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
I wouldn't want a prosecutor to throw hints at Cohen about "you know what prison life is like..." but as long as he's making decisions based on the echo chamber of Nazi rhetoric inside his own head, I'd like some of those decisions to involve confessions.
so this has been bugging me for the last week: why isn't cohen acting like trump is going to pardon his ass?
is it just that, as one of the people who worked closely with trump for years prior to the election, he understands exactly how much trump's claims of loyalty are worth?
posted by murphy slaw at 5:15 PM on April 19, 2018 [7 favorites]
so this has been bugging me for the last week: why isn't cohen acting like trump is going to pardon his ass?
is it just that, as one of the people who worked closely with trump for years prior to the election, he understands exactly how much trump's claims of loyalty are worth?
posted by murphy slaw at 5:15 PM on April 19, 2018 [7 favorites]
Isn't Guliani basically senile at this point?
Ca we not do this?
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 5:19 PM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
Ca we not do this?
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 5:19 PM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
so this has been bugging me for the last week: why isn't cohen acting like trump is going to pardon his ass?
I assume there are A TON of state charges in all those files from the raid
posted by Twain Device at 5:22 PM on April 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
I assume there are A TON of state charges in all those files from the raid
posted by Twain Device at 5:22 PM on April 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
why isn't cohen acting like trump is going to pardon his ass?
Trump may be aware that, upon pardoning Cohen, the pardoned man would lose his Fifth Amendment rights and could be compelled to testify against Trump. Or, Cohen could be concerned about the plan by New York State's Attorney General to add an exception to the state's Double Jeopardy law to allow Cohen's actions to be prosecuted in New York regardless of Trump's pardon.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:23 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
Trump may be aware that, upon pardoning Cohen, the pardoned man would lose his Fifth Amendment rights and could be compelled to testify against Trump. Or, Cohen could be concerned about the plan by New York State's Attorney General to add an exception to the state's Double Jeopardy law to allow Cohen's actions to be prosecuted in New York regardless of Trump's pardon.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:23 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
The AP reports it has acquired the Comey memos. So that took about as long as we expected.
posted by Justinian at 5:34 PM on April 19, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 5:34 PM on April 19, 2018 [20 favorites]
Now reveal who leaked them. We all know it, so let's actually name some names, not just give us the "sources familiar with the matter" BS.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 5:42 PM on April 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by J.K. Seazer at 5:42 PM on April 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
I've been trying to stay away from the news the past few days, so I can honestly say I have no good guess as to who leaked the Comey memos. If you think you know, please feel free to share.
posted by nubs at 5:52 PM on April 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by nubs at 5:52 PM on April 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
Comey leaked them himself just like he leaked everything else. Comey and McCabe are the same person.
posted by gucci mane at 5:56 PM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by gucci mane at 5:56 PM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
MO state senator Jamilah Nasheed is requesting additional security at the state capitol because she believes Eric Greitens is a danger to himself and others.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 5:57 PM on April 19, 2018 [37 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 5:57 PM on April 19, 2018 [37 favorites]
AP just published the readacted memos (Congress gets the classified ones tomorrow), so you can read them for yourself
posted by zachlipton at 6:06 PM on April 19, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 6:06 PM on April 19, 2018 [8 favorites]
Ummm.
Also, Maddow is asking Comey basically why the hell Flynn was allowed to be in the job when he was under investigation, and Comey just says "I'm not permitted to answer that." She's trying to work her way through the memos for the first time while conducting an interview, and since I'm trying to work my way through them while listening to her interview, I kinda know how she feels.
posted by zachlipton at 6:22 PM on April 19, 2018 [14 favorites]
The President said "the hookers thing" is nonsense but that Putin had told him "we have some of the most beautiful hookers in the world." (He did not say when Putin had told him this and I don't recall [REDACTED])There's also a weird thing about Trump finding out Flynn didn't tell Trump about a congratulatory phone call from an unnamed (redacted) country that came before Theresa May's after the inauguration and Trump getting upset. And Trump told Comey he was going to sue Christoper Steele.
Also, Maddow is asking Comey basically why the hell Flynn was allowed to be in the job when he was under investigation, and Comey just says "I'm not permitted to answer that." She's trying to work her way through the memos for the first time while conducting an interview, and since I'm trying to work my way through them while listening to her interview, I kinda know how she feels.
posted by zachlipton at 6:22 PM on April 19, 2018 [14 favorites]
WaPo, Trump hires Giuliani, two other attorneys amid mounting legal turmoil over Russia
Also, Comey says Trump says he didn't stay overnight in Moscow, even though we've been told that he did.
It's really seeming like the House GOP screwed this up royally. They wanted to beat up DOJ for not handing the memos over, maybe even impeach Rosenstein, and instead they got public docs that back up everything Comey has said, go even further, and make Trump look horrible.
posted by zachlipton at 6:34 PM on April 19, 2018 [64 favorites]
In recent days, the president has been regularly venting and speculating to aides about his legal status and the expected timeline for the Russia investigation to end, according to associates briefed on the discussions.There's also a passage in the memos (page 8) in which Priebus straight-up asks Comey if there's a FISA warrant for Michael Flynn. Comey tells Priebus the answer (redacted) but also tries to tell him to use the proper procedure to ask such questions through the counsel's office.
Trump also loudly and repeatedly complained to several advisers earlier this week that former FBI director James B. Comey, former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe and former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, among others, should be charged with crimes for misdeeds alleged by Republicans, the associates said.
Although White House officials said Thursday that Trump has not called Justice Department officials or taken any formal action, the persistent grousing has made some advisers anxious, according to two people close to the president. A publicity tour by Comey to promote his book critical of Trump, “A Higher Loyalty,” has attracted particular attention from the president, who has disparaged Comey publicly and privately.
Trump also complained this week about Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, saying the judge had proved too liberal in recent cases, according to administration officials who heard about the complaints. Associates said he was incensed that Gorsuch had voted against the administration on an immigration case and said it renewed his doubts that Gorsuch would be a reliable conservative. One top Trump adviser played down the comments as unhappiness with Gorsuch’s decision rather than with Gorsuch broadly.
Also, Comey says Trump says he didn't stay overnight in Moscow, even though we've been told that he did.
It's really seeming like the House GOP screwed this up royally. They wanted to beat up DOJ for not handing the memos over, maybe even impeach Rosenstein, and instead they got public docs that back up everything Comey has said, go even further, and make Trump look horrible.
posted by zachlipton at 6:34 PM on April 19, 2018 [64 favorites]
Scott Pruitt is currently under 10 separate investigations.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:58 PM on April 19, 2018 [71 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 6:58 PM on April 19, 2018 [71 favorites]
It's really seeming like the House GOP screwed this up royally.
You asked for a miracle Theo, I give you the F̶B̶I̶ GOP.
@kyledcheney (Politico)
Rep. Elijah Cummings: The documents from DOJ "confirms that the memo Director Comey said he shared with a friend to read to press outlets—the memo detailing his meeting with President Trump on February 14, 2017—is clearly marked 'UNCLASSIFIED.'"
posted by chris24 at 7:04 PM on April 19, 2018 [33 favorites]
You asked for a miracle Theo, I give you the F̶B̶I̶ GOP.
@kyledcheney (Politico)
Rep. Elijah Cummings: The documents from DOJ "confirms that the memo Director Comey said he shared with a friend to read to press outlets—the memo detailing his meeting with President Trump on February 14, 2017—is clearly marked 'UNCLASSIFIED.'"
posted by chris24 at 7:04 PM on April 19, 2018 [33 favorites]
So Rachel Maddow was interviewing Comey live while the leaked memos were hitting, and she was asking him questions about bits of them in real time. (It was also nice to see a non-puff-piece interview that was like "Yeah, don't give a shit about your book. Please answer these questions about specific things.")
One thing that's super clear from those memos: Trump was even more obsessed with targeting Andy McCabe than we already knew. So thanks, GOP Congress assholes, for getting that info dumped into the press on the same day the criminal referral of McCabe was reported.
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:05 PM on April 19, 2018 [17 favorites]
One thing that's super clear from those memos: Trump was even more obsessed with targeting Andy McCabe than we already knew. So thanks, GOP Congress assholes, for getting that info dumped into the press on the same day the criminal referral of McCabe was reported.
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:05 PM on April 19, 2018 [17 favorites]
In the interest of trying to make sense of why the hell they did this, here's the Goodlatte/Gowdy/Nunes release on why these memos are actually bad for Comey. They're upset that Comey didn't write memos when he met with Obama or Lynch and claim the memos would be "Defense Exhibit A" in an obstruction case.
I just don't see it.
posted by zachlipton at 7:09 PM on April 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
I just don't see it.
posted by zachlipton at 7:09 PM on April 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
There really is no bigger takeaway from the Comey memos than that the peetape is real.
posted by dis_integration at 7:09 PM on April 19, 2018 [33 favorites]
posted by dis_integration at 7:09 PM on April 19, 2018 [33 favorites]
ELECTIONS NEWS
** 2018 House:
** 2018 House:
-- Enten: The generic ballot has narrowed a bit, but Dems probably shouldn't worry any more than they did before.** 2018 Senate:
-- Politico with more on bad GOP fundraising.
-- OK-01: This seat is now vacant with Bridenstine being confirmed as NASA Administrator, but no special election will be required by OK law.
-- TX-27: Gov Abbott seeking ways to move up a special election for the former Farenthold seat.
-- AZ: Vox look at the race.** Odds & ends:
-- WV: Dems trying to torpedo the two more moderate GOP candidates, in hopes of running against convicted murderer Blankenship.
-- Dem Senate PAC 1Q fundraising nearly double the GOP Senate PAC.
-- NY gov: Sabato takes a look at what path Nixon might have to the nomination. | Plus more Nixon from Vox.posted by Chrysostom at 7:28 PM on April 19, 2018 [26 favorites]
-- IL gov: State Senator launches independent bid, explicitly running as a conservative. If Rauner wasn't already doomed, this pretty much seals it.
-- OH gov: This race is kind of a cluster for both parties.
-- WKU poll of Kentucky has low approval for Trump (45/45), gov Bevin (32/56), and the legislature (25/58) [MOE: +/- 4.2%]. Kentucky House and half of the Senate are up for election this year, gov in 2019.
-- A GOP Delegate in VA may be running for mayor in Virginia Beach. If he won, that would set up a special election for the seat, which is very much a tossup. A Dem victory would move the HOD to 50-50.
-- Illinois legislature has passed legislation to pull the state out of Crosscheck, Kris Kobach's error-riddled voter registration verification system. Not clear what gov Rauner will do.
The other takeaway, after reading through it twice, is more interesting to me. It reveals that Trump, in private, is virtually identical to his public persona. I think that's really what makes him a compelling figure for so many people. Obama, Clinton, Bush, all of them seemed like they were wearing a Presidential Mask, both on the campaign trail and in office. Even Obama, who was the most authentic seeming politician I can remember, seemed to have a secret "real" personality (those photos of him smoking always betrayed it). Trump is just Trump. He's the same damn crazy in every situation. You know what you're getting (a fucking bucketload of madness).
Also, he says several times in the Memo that he's not the kind of guy who has to pay for it. jesus christ Trump you are the precise demographic. In the dictionary under "guys who pay for sex" they have a picture of you, you dingus
posted by dis_integration at 7:30 PM on April 19, 2018 [52 favorites]
Also, he says several times in the Memo that he's not the kind of guy who has to pay for it. jesus christ Trump you are the precise demographic. In the dictionary under "guys who pay for sex" they have a picture of you, you dingus
posted by dis_integration at 7:30 PM on April 19, 2018 [52 favorites]
One new thing from Comey's memos. He says* that Trump had "serious reservations about Mike Flynn's judgment", which he then illustrated with a story about how Flynn wasn't letting him call Putin:
I think that Pete Williams just misinterpreted this on MSNBC (saying that Trump was angry about not calling Teresa May back, I think). The link above goes to Justin Miller's (Daily Beast) twitter, whose interpretation of the redacted story makes much more sense.
* --- written Saturday, January 28, 2017; pages 5-6 of the memo pdf
posted by pjenks at 7:33 PM on April 19, 2018 [14 favorites]
He then went on to explain that he has serious reservations about Mike Flynn's judgment and illustrated with a story from that day in which the President apparently discovered during his toast to Teresa May thatThe strike-outs are redactions with my own guesses at content.Vladimir Putinhad called four days ago. Apparently as the President was toasting PM May, he was explaining that she had been the first to call him after his inauguration and Flynn interrupted to say thatPutinhad called (first, apparently). It was then that the President learned ofPutin'scall and he confronted Flynn about it (not clear whether that was in the moment or after the lunch with PM May). Flynn said the return call was scheduled for Saturday, which prompted a heated reply from the President that six days was not an appropriate period of time to return a call from thePresidentof a country likeRussia("This isn'tNambiawe are talking about.") He said that if he calledJustin Trudeauand didn't get a return call for six days he would be very upset.
I think that Pete Williams just misinterpreted this on MSNBC (saying that Trump was angry about not calling Teresa May back, I think). The link above goes to Justin Miller's (Daily Beast) twitter, whose interpretation of the redacted story makes much more sense.
* --- written Saturday, January 28, 2017; pages 5-6 of the memo pdf
posted by pjenks at 7:33 PM on April 19, 2018 [14 favorites]
Maddow is asking Comey basically why the hell Flynn was allowed to be in the job when he was under investigation, and Comey just says "I'm not permitted to answer that."
Seems pretty clear that Flynn was under a very active investigation including FISA monitoring, and they let him go for a little while to see what communications came in and to get some official actions recorded for crimes that require that, dontcha think? 3 weeks, just long enough to count before forcing him out.
posted by msalt at 7:34 PM on April 19, 2018 [10 favorites]
Seems pretty clear that Flynn was under a very active investigation including FISA monitoring, and they let him go for a little while to see what communications came in and to get some official actions recorded for crimes that require that, dontcha think? 3 weeks, just long enough to count before forcing him out.
posted by msalt at 7:34 PM on April 19, 2018 [10 favorites]
which he then illustrated with a story about how Flynn wasn't letting him call Putin
It's an unnamed country. It might be Russia. It would be a huge deal if it is. But lets not get ahead of ourselves by guessing to the extent we're just assuming we're right please.
posted by zachlipton at 7:38 PM on April 19, 2018 [16 favorites]
It's an unnamed country. It might be Russia. It would be a huge deal if it is. But lets not get ahead of ourselves by guessing to the extent we're just assuming we're right please.
posted by zachlipton at 7:38 PM on April 19, 2018 [16 favorites]
It's an unnamed country. It might be Russia.
Yes, that's true, I should have been more circumspect. According to press reports the calls that were delayed until January 28th were: Putin, Merkel, Holland, Abe.
posted by pjenks at 7:45 PM on April 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
Yes, that's true, I should have been more circumspect. According to press reports the calls that were delayed until January 28th were: Putin, Merkel, Holland, Abe.
posted by pjenks at 7:45 PM on April 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
Trump also told Comey he wanted to jail reporters, have them "make a new friend", in order to scare them.
posted by gucci mane at 7:47 PM on April 19, 2018 [33 favorites]
posted by gucci mane at 7:47 PM on April 19, 2018 [33 favorites]
Sorry, holy crap this is actually good reason to believe it was Putin and Russia that fit in those redactions just based on what we already knew (via Yashar). From the NYT in January 2017:
posted by zachlipton at 7:52 PM on April 19, 2018 [52 favorites]
Mr. Flynn’s penchant for talking too much was on display on Friday in a meeting with Theresa May, the British prime minister, according to two people with direct knowledge of the events.That's not exactly the same story as Comey's toast story, but it's strikingly similar given the game of telephone involved. It seems like the shoe fits.
When Mrs. May said that she understood wanting a dialogue with Mr. Putin but stressed the need to be careful, Mr. Trump asked Mr. Flynn when the two were scheduled to speak.
Mr. Flynn replied it was Saturday — he had delayed it to fit in Mrs. May’s meeting for “protocol” as a United States ally, adding at length that Mr. Putin was impatient to chat.
Mr. Trump, the person said, appeared irritated by the response.
posted by zachlipton at 7:52 PM on April 19, 2018 [52 favorites]
Sorry, holy crap this is actually good reason to believe it was Putin
Nice find! i was searching around for something like that, but to no avail.
posted by pjenks at 8:03 PM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
Nice find! i was searching around for something like that, but to no avail.
posted by pjenks at 8:03 PM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
Trump also told Comey he wanted to jail reporters, have them "make a new friend", in order to scare them.
I hope Trump doesn't make any friends in prison, either in the literal sense or, as meant here, the Michael Cohen sense. If humane and lawful justice does ever come to him, however, it's worth remembering what he wanted to have done to his enemies in that position. It's important not to be a monster.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:03 PM on April 19, 2018 [19 favorites]
I hope Trump doesn't make any friends in prison, either in the literal sense or, as meant here, the Michael Cohen sense. If humane and lawful justice does ever come to him, however, it's worth remembering what he wanted to have done to his enemies in that position. It's important not to be a monster.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:03 PM on April 19, 2018 [19 favorites]
Coach-class travel is uncomfortable and tedious, but we also have an ethical obligation to be good stewards of taxpayer resources. Their supervisor should never have approved the tickets. Shameful.
I know this is a ways back, but as a fellow Fed I somewhat disagree. As a part of a sort-of advance/lead team, I travel very frequently (50%+), almost all international, and coach-only travel policies are pushing me to consider looking for a new job. It's not at all unusual for me to do 2 or 3 back-to-back long-haul international trips in a month with sometime only 2-3 days at home between each to recover, barely enough time to get over the jetlag. I think business class for over 14 hours is fair for those sort of situations - we have to be functional when we arrive and have to sleep at some point. Plus 14 hours is a pretty damn long flight, if I was paying out of pocket I'd fly business too.
Pruitt is a horrible scandal-ridden person, but not in this case (although I'm sure I and my team will suffer for it). Although I'll admit that $9k is a ripoff for business, I'm sure it could be done for half that.
posted by photo guy at 8:07 PM on April 19, 2018 [24 favorites]
I know this is a ways back, but as a fellow Fed I somewhat disagree. As a part of a sort-of advance/lead team, I travel very frequently (50%+), almost all international, and coach-only travel policies are pushing me to consider looking for a new job. It's not at all unusual for me to do 2 or 3 back-to-back long-haul international trips in a month with sometime only 2-3 days at home between each to recover, barely enough time to get over the jetlag. I think business class for over 14 hours is fair for those sort of situations - we have to be functional when we arrive and have to sleep at some point. Plus 14 hours is a pretty damn long flight, if I was paying out of pocket I'd fly business too.
Pruitt is a horrible scandal-ridden person, but not in this case (although I'm sure I and my team will suffer for it). Although I'll admit that $9k is a ripoff for business, I'm sure it could be done for half that.
posted by photo guy at 8:07 PM on April 19, 2018 [24 favorites]
If humane and lawful justice does ever come to him, however, it's worth remembering what he wanted to have done to his enemies in that position.
Sure, right after we provide humane and lawful justice to everyone else who's currently "making friends" in prison. I don't see why the worst of the worst should be first in line for the benefits of justice reform.
posted by Behemoth at 8:15 PM on April 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
Sure, right after we provide humane and lawful justice to everyone else who's currently "making friends" in prison. I don't see why the worst of the worst should be first in line for the benefits of justice reform.
posted by Behemoth at 8:15 PM on April 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
If Trump made a friend in prison it would absolutely be his very first friend.
posted by Artw at 8:23 PM on April 19, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by Artw at 8:23 PM on April 19, 2018 [19 favorites]
@RawStory: Here are the 8 most shocking revelations from the release of the #ComeyMemos
@tedlieu:
retweeted Raw Story
I already thanked House Republicans, but I'm going to do it again. There is so much in the #Comeymemos that @realDonaldTrump would not want released, but you did it anyway! I don't know why you did it, but much thanks.
posted by chris24 at 8:29 PM on April 19, 2018 [58 favorites]
@tedlieu:
retweeted Raw Story
I already thanked House Republicans, but I'm going to do it again. There is so much in the #Comeymemos that @realDonaldTrump would not want released, but you did it anyway! I don't know why you did it, but much thanks.
posted by chris24 at 8:29 PM on April 19, 2018 [58 favorites]
Apropos of nothing, 538 does a deep dive into how the 25th Amendment would work.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:42 PM on April 19, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 8:42 PM on April 19, 2018 [4 favorites]
I really don't understand why these were released. How do they figure it's a good thing? I'm missing something.
posted by Jalliah at 8:45 PM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
While we're on the topic of the 25th Amendment, @realdonaldtrump is either losing it or trying to brazen it out: "James Comey Memos just out and show clearly that there was NO COLLUSION and NO OBSTRUCTION. Also, he leaked classified information. WOW! Will the Witch Hunt continue?"
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:45 PM on April 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:45 PM on April 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
The memos don't seem very shocking, other than a few things mentioned by the President (him talking about jailing journalists to the FBI director is a bit different than him talking about it in a rambling campaign speech IMO). Doesn't most of it add up to what Comey has mentioned before, or am I missing something?
posted by gucci mane at 8:45 PM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by gucci mane at 8:45 PM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
I really don't understand why these were released. How do they figure it's a good thing? I'm missing something.
Probably the same reason Gamergate released their logs where they planned the operation after Zoe Quinn revealed she had them. Whoever did it is so far up their own asshole that they believe that everyone else sees things they same way they do.
posted by Merus at 8:47 PM on April 19, 2018 [40 favorites]
Probably the same reason Gamergate released their logs where they planned the operation after Zoe Quinn revealed she had them. Whoever did it is so far up their own asshole that they believe that everyone else sees things they same way they do.
posted by Merus at 8:47 PM on April 19, 2018 [40 favorites]
-- WKU poll of Kentucky has low approval for Trump (45/45), gov Bevin (32/56), and the legislature (25/58) [MOE: +/- 4.2%]. Kentucky House and half of the Senate are up for election this year, gov in 2019.
I don't know about those Trump approval numbers, McConnell consistently polls as unpopular but hasn't ever been seriously threatened, I feel like Trump is the same, just his base is enough to carry the state again.
But it's hard to overstate how far Bevin has fallen in just the last two weeks with his war on teachers. Republican state senators are publicly calling him out. The House passed a resolution of disapproval. It feels like the whole state has turned on him, hard. And they're not done, Bevin just replaced the entire state board of education and ousted the Comissioner of Education in favor of his hand picked charter school crony. The attacks on teachers and pensions are setting up more tax cuts and a massive diversion of school funds into charter schools.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:53 PM on April 19, 2018 [25 favorites]
I don't know about those Trump approval numbers, McConnell consistently polls as unpopular but hasn't ever been seriously threatened, I feel like Trump is the same, just his base is enough to carry the state again.
But it's hard to overstate how far Bevin has fallen in just the last two weeks with his war on teachers. Republican state senators are publicly calling him out. The House passed a resolution of disapproval. It feels like the whole state has turned on him, hard. And they're not done, Bevin just replaced the entire state board of education and ousted the Comissioner of Education in favor of his hand picked charter school crony. The attacks on teachers and pensions are setting up more tax cuts and a massive diversion of school funds into charter schools.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:53 PM on April 19, 2018 [25 favorites]
this is actually good reason to believe it was Putin and Russia that fit in those redactions
The timeline checks out here too. Comey's memo is dated 1/28/17 and recounts a dinner "last night." In the memo, Comey says Trump said the Theresa May toast story happened "that day" (so it would have been the 27th). The NYT story, published the 29th, says its Flynn/Theresa May story happened "on Friday," which, *consults calendar*, also would have been the 27th.
The stories aren't exactly the same, but it seems unlikely there were two different "Trump gets mad at Flynn with Theresa May present about delaying a foreign leader call" stories from the same day.
posted by zachlipton at 8:57 PM on April 19, 2018 [17 favorites]
The timeline checks out here too. Comey's memo is dated 1/28/17 and recounts a dinner "last night." In the memo, Comey says Trump said the Theresa May toast story happened "that day" (so it would have been the 27th). The NYT story, published the 29th, says its Flynn/Theresa May story happened "on Friday," which, *consults calendar*, also would have been the 27th.
The stories aren't exactly the same, but it seems unlikely there were two different "Trump gets mad at Flynn with Theresa May present about delaying a foreign leader call" stories from the same day.
posted by zachlipton at 8:57 PM on April 19, 2018 [17 favorites]
The bit that I'm interested in is on page 7, the conversation with Priebus. They seem to be talking about the dossier in the fifth paragraph. If I had to guess, the first sentence is Priebus asking "How the golden showers ended up in the report?". I'd love to know what the last redacted word(s) are in that paragraph, because it seems like Comey is saying the intelligence community had high confidence in Steele and the material in the dossier:
posted by peeedro at 9:10 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
He pressed again and said the material wasI can think of a few things that fit, but I think I'm falling into a trap of wishful thinking.n't true.I explained that the primary source[REDACTED] much of it was consistent with and corroborative of other intelligence, and the incoming president needed to know the rest of it was out there.
posted by peeedro at 9:10 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
I miss the days when memos and reports were done on IBM Selectric typewriters.
Monospace fonts are so much easier to un-redact.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:16 PM on April 19, 2018 [17 favorites]
Monospace fonts are so much easier to un-redact.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:16 PM on April 19, 2018 [17 favorites]
Senator Tammy Duckworth has arrived and is on the Senate floor with her new baby.
Sen. Orrin Hatch said he had "no problem" with such a rules change. "But what if there are 10 babies on the floor of the Senate?" he asked.
And one big baby asking about them?
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:24 PM on April 19, 2018 [13 favorites]
Sen. Orrin Hatch said he had "no problem" with such a rules change. "But what if there are 10 babies on the floor of the Senate?" he asked.
And one big baby asking about them?
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:24 PM on April 19, 2018 [13 favorites]
WSJ reports it was, in fact, Putin in the redactions who Trump freaked out at Flynn over not returning his call right away. That means Putin was the first to call Trump after the inauguration, Flynn interrupted Trump to remind him of this, and Trump got all furious he didn't call Putin back sooner. And then told this story to the FBI Director as a reason not to trust Flynn: "the guy has serious judgment issues."
This all took place on January 27th. It's instructive to look at what happened before then:
December: The Flynn/Kislyak conversations and the lying about them
January 22: Flynn is sworn in
January 24: Flynn is interviewed by the FBI and lies about his calls with Kislyak
January 26, 27: Sally Yates has two meetings with Don McGahn to warn him that Flynn was now susceptible to blackmail by Russia
And then the same day as that second meeting when his administration is informed of this, Trump asks Comey for his loyalty, then starts telling Comey that Flynn has judgement issues because Trump kept Putin waiting too long for a chat.
And after all this, it's about two weeks later that Trump tells Comey he hoped "you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go."
It's also weird that Trump keeps lying about not spending the night in Moscow (Schiller testified he did, and other reports describe how he arrived, spent the night, and recorded his bit for Emin Agalarov's music video early the next morning)
posted by zachlipton at 9:32 PM on April 19, 2018 [49 favorites]
This all took place on January 27th. It's instructive to look at what happened before then:
December: The Flynn/Kislyak conversations and the lying about them
January 22: Flynn is sworn in
January 24: Flynn is interviewed by the FBI and lies about his calls with Kislyak
January 26, 27: Sally Yates has two meetings with Don McGahn to warn him that Flynn was now susceptible to blackmail by Russia
And then the same day as that second meeting when his administration is informed of this, Trump asks Comey for his loyalty, then starts telling Comey that Flynn has judgement issues because Trump kept Putin waiting too long for a chat.
And after all this, it's about two weeks later that Trump tells Comey he hoped "you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go."
It's also weird that Trump keeps lying about not spending the night in Moscow (Schiller testified he did, and other reports describe how he arrived, spent the night, and recorded his bit for Emin Agalarov's music video early the next morning)
posted by zachlipton at 9:32 PM on April 19, 2018 [49 favorites]
The Chicago Tribune headline is the best: "Senate allows babies in chamber despite concerns from older, male senators".
posted by Horkus at 9:33 PM on April 19, 2018 [58 favorites]
posted by Horkus at 9:33 PM on April 19, 2018 [58 favorites]
New Yorker: In Rural Tennessee, a Big ICE Raid Makes Some Conservative Voters Rethink Trump’s Immigration Agenda
posted by Chrysostom at 9:40 PM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 9:40 PM on April 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
He said he thinks he would have won the health care vote but for the [Russia] cloud. he then went on at great length, explaining that he has nothing to do with Russia (has a letter from the largest law firm in DC saying he has gotten no income from Russia). was not involved with hookers in Russia (can you imagine me. hookers? [sic] I have a beautiful wife. and [sic] it has been very painful). is [sic] bringing a personal lawsuit against Christopher Steele.
He is what-you-see-is-what-you-get, a Russian mafia money-launderer, tax-frauding, assaulting intimidating, sue-everyone idiot from 1983. "I have a letter from a lawyer! I'll sue!"
We're going to have to demo the WH and start again, he's set us back 100 years already just by being an arrogant mobbed-up fraud.
posted by petebest at 9:46 PM on April 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
He is what-you-see-is-what-you-get, a Russian mafia money-launderer, tax-frauding, assaulting intimidating, sue-everyone idiot from 1983. "I have a letter from a lawyer! I'll sue!"
We're going to have to demo the WH and start again, he's set us back 100 years already just by being an arrogant mobbed-up fraud.
posted by petebest at 9:46 PM on April 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
"But what if there are 10 babies on the floor of the Senate?" he asked.
Yeah, right, like enough women of childbearing age are gonna get elected for this to become an issue in his lifetime.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:50 PM on April 19, 2018 [19 favorites]
Yeah, right, like enough women of childbearing age are gonna get elected for this to become an issue in his lifetime.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:50 PM on April 19, 2018 [19 favorites]
no real shockers in there, but a very strong sense of "dumbest timeline confirmed".
also, my desire to know what the hell was in the lacquered box that putin gifted to trump during the miss universe trip is growing by the goddamn second.
posted by murphy slaw at 10:01 PM on April 19, 2018 [17 favorites]
also, my desire to know what the hell was in the lacquered box that putin gifted to trump during the miss universe trip is growing by the goddamn second.
posted by murphy slaw at 10:01 PM on April 19, 2018 [17 favorites]
Arizona teachers voted this evening to strike, beginning next week. Gov. Ducey had announced a plan to raise salaries by 20% by 2020, which in itself is a good goal. However, he burned his credibility with the education community after last year’s prop 123. That raided the principal in the state trust fund to boost education spending. However, raises have been scant at best, and schools aren’t seeing anywhere near the funding they were promised. Educators begrudgingly went along with 123, with the consensus that they had to take whatever they could get. Now, after they got far less than promised, they aren’t in a mood to compromise. A 20% raise is one of their demands. But they want to know how it will be paid for and there doesn’t seem to be a clear plan. They want education funding restored to 2008 levels. They want ALL staff to get raises, from the janitors on up. They also demand no more tax cuts until Arizona per-student spending matches the national averages. (Arizona’s taxes have been cut, cut, cut for the last two decades.)
Keep an eye on this. Education is going to be a huge issue in Arizona this election, maybe the biggest. This could affect every statewide race, including the Senate race.
posted by azpenguin at 10:08 PM on April 19, 2018 [72 favorites]
Keep an eye on this. Education is going to be a huge issue in Arizona this election, maybe the biggest. This could affect every statewide race, including the Senate race.
posted by azpenguin at 10:08 PM on April 19, 2018 [72 favorites]
> People should understand that Trump's behavior is serial.
I have to say this is the very first thing I thought when I heard the Gov. Greitens had invited his hairdresser over to his house, and then as the VERY first move, blindfolded her and duck taped her to the exercise equipment.
This clearly isn't Greitens' first time around the bases. This is an modus operandi--one he's used on several women, at least. If not 10 or 20. You might guess that several of them were more or less consenting, but also that several were more or less coerced.
Regardless, this isn't a one-off situation. It's serial behavior and there are clearly (many?) more shoes to drop. This was obvious from Day One of the accusations.
People don't just pull behavior like that out of their arse one day at random. It's practiced, learned, and honed over time. And used repeatedly.
posted by flug at 10:19 PM on April 19, 2018 [57 favorites]
I have to say this is the very first thing I thought when I heard the Gov. Greitens had invited his hairdresser over to his house, and then as the VERY first move, blindfolded her and duck taped her to the exercise equipment.
This clearly isn't Greitens' first time around the bases. This is an modus operandi--one he's used on several women, at least. If not 10 or 20. You might guess that several of them were more or less consenting, but also that several were more or less coerced.
Regardless, this isn't a one-off situation. It's serial behavior and there are clearly (many?) more shoes to drop. This was obvious from Day One of the accusations.
People don't just pull behavior like that out of their arse one day at random. It's practiced, learned, and honed over time. And used repeatedly.
posted by flug at 10:19 PM on April 19, 2018 [57 favorites]
Trump Can Win in 2020. But History Tells Us It Won’t Be Easy.
There are, of course, four crucial variables we cannot possibly know this far away from the 2020 election: the possibility of a disabling scandal like the one that swept away Richard Nixon’s presidency less than two years after he carried 49 states; the performance of the economy (crucial to many reelections); the possibility of intra-party opposition (Johnson ’68, Ford ’76, Carter ’80, and Bush ’92 were all incumbent candidacies damaged badly by primary opposition); and the identity of the Democratic nominee.posted by kirkaracha at 11:14 PM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
...
Anyone would be foolish to write off Trump’s reelection prospects entirely. But even with the advantages of incumbency, he’s going to have to do a lot better than he has so far to stay in the White House beyond 2021. And the sense that this strange man is never more than an inch from the political precipice is not entirely the product of his critics’ wishful thinking.
what the hell was in the lacquered box that putin gifted to trump
I thought we'd established that that was Marsellus Wallace's soul? Or wait, no, that's what's powering the Saudi Orb I think. Wasn't it a slice of cold Moscow meatloaf?
posted by riverlife at 11:29 PM on April 19, 2018 [7 favorites]
I thought we'd established that that was Marsellus Wallace's soul? Or wait, no, that's what's powering the Saudi Orb I think. Wasn't it a slice of cold Moscow meatloaf?
posted by riverlife at 11:29 PM on April 19, 2018 [7 favorites]
It's an apparatus for trapping lions in the Scottish Highlands.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:31 PM on April 19, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 11:31 PM on April 19, 2018 [11 favorites]
What worries me most about Trump's reelection prospects is the possibility of a third-party candidate dividing the anti-Trump vote. The example of Paul LePage getting reelected by plurality in Maine with sub-40% approval ratings is an instructive one...
posted by janewman at 11:33 PM on April 19, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by janewman at 11:33 PM on April 19, 2018 [7 favorites]
There are, of course, four crucial variables we cannot possibly know this far away from the 2020 election:
Does not include the fifth crucial variable: repeated electoral interference via active measures by hostile external dictatorship, again aided and abetted by nascent American fascism, now without even the feeble and feckless safeguards that failed us the last time.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:59 PM on April 19, 2018 [33 favorites]
Does not include the fifth crucial variable: repeated electoral interference via active measures by hostile external dictatorship, again aided and abetted by nascent American fascism, now without even the feeble and feckless safeguards that failed us the last time.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:59 PM on April 19, 2018 [33 favorites]
Russia has just made a naval delivery to their port at Tartus, Syria, under remarkable conditions of secrecy, including literal smokescreens to hide it from satellites. It is widely speculated that this was the receipt of the S-300 anti-aircraft system that Russia earlier sold to Iran. This is really bad news, because it will basically let Iran interdict flight throughout the region and prevent, e.g. any repetition of the recent attacks on Syrian chemical weapons bases (US/allies) or Iranian drone and missile silos (Israel). It's very nearly an existential threat to Israel, in particular, which will probably go all-out to destroy it despite the huge problems it would cause with their relationship with Russia.
Interesting times.
posted by Joe in Australia at 12:40 AM on April 20, 2018 [21 favorites]
Interesting times.
posted by Joe in Australia at 12:40 AM on April 20, 2018 [21 favorites]
Let’s be perfectly clear here: Fox News is requiring its content being broadcast in a country that is a member of both NATO and the European Union to be edited to be more pleasing to the regime of Vladimir Putin.
I wonder whether this is being motivated by a geopolitical realism (the Baltics are separated from Moscow by a flat plain; there's no way that Russia will abide them being part of NATO if it can do anything about it) or by Murdoch & Co. seeing hard-nosed conservative kindred spirits in the Kremlin and seeing if they can do for Russia's once and future Baltic oblast what they did for British independence from the EU.
posted by acb at 2:58 AM on April 20, 2018
I wonder whether this is being motivated by a geopolitical realism (the Baltics are separated from Moscow by a flat plain; there's no way that Russia will abide them being part of NATO if it can do anything about it) or by Murdoch & Co. seeing hard-nosed conservative kindred spirits in the Kremlin and seeing if they can do for Russia's once and future Baltic oblast what they did for British independence from the EU.
posted by acb at 2:58 AM on April 20, 2018
So, uh, it looks like Trump is angling for a Nobel Peace Prize.
posted by Literaryhero at 3:04 AM on April 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Literaryhero at 3:04 AM on April 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
The S-300 is a capable conventional SAM system but not a ballistic missile interceptor (a capability of the revised S-400). These systems were in Syria during the recent raids, so it's probably not accurate to say one ship's worth of equipment will "let Iran... prevent... any repetition of the recent attacks..." or poses "very nearly an existential threat to Israel" (which has repeatedly demonstrated it's good at SEAD, down to developing its own advanced counterweapons).
posted by snuffleupagus at 3:29 AM on April 20, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 3:29 AM on April 20, 2018 [11 favorites]
Because there's no rest for the wicked, Trump's up early and tweeting this morning, touching on such diverse subjects as his agreeing to deliver the commencement address to "our GREAT Naval Academy" next month, OPEC manipulating oil prices ("Very High! No good and will not be accepted!"), and Nancy Pelosi "going absolutely crazy" over the tax cut bill ("Republicans are working on making them permanent and more cuts!").
But in case his febrile state of mind wasn't obvious if you read between the lines of those messages, "So General Michael Flynn’s life can be totally destroyed while Shadey James Comey can Leak and Lie and make lots of money from a third rate book (that should never have been written). Is that really the way life in America is supposed to work? I don’t think so!"
His roundtable with RNC supporters this evening at Mar-a-Lago is going to be bananas.
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:23 AM on April 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
But in case his febrile state of mind wasn't obvious if you read between the lines of those messages, "So General Michael Flynn’s life can be totally destroyed while Shadey James Comey can Leak and Lie and make lots of money from a third rate book (that should never have been written). Is that really the way life in America is supposed to work? I don’t think so!"
His roundtable with RNC supporters this evening at Mar-a-Lago is going to be bananas.
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:23 AM on April 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
Nothing tells you Trump's losing the Comey situation better than him continuing to change his insult nickname. Lyin', Slippery, Shady.
posted by chris24 at 4:26 AM on April 20, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 4:26 AM on April 20, 2018 [19 favorites]
> Let’s be perfectly clear here: Fox News is requiring its content being broadcast in a country that is a member of both NATO and the European Union to be edited to be more pleasing to the regime of Vladimir Putin.
I wonder whether this is being motivated by a geopolitical realism (the Baltics are separated from Moscow by a flat plain; there's no way that Russia will abide them being part of NATO if it can do anything about it) or by Murdoch & Co. seeing hard-nosed conservative kindred spirits in the Kremlin and seeing if they can do for Russia's once and future Baltic oblast what they did for British independence from the EU.
Maybe it's just that Fox News is grifters who protect the powerful from the weak?
Also money.
I'm a bit groggy and not up to clicking through this mess of links on Fox-Russia stuff, but there might be something to it:
https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/8dhpna/report_says_fox_news_allows_putin_regime_to_edit/dxn9tao/
I wonder whether this is being motivated by a geopolitical realism (the Baltics are separated from Moscow by a flat plain; there's no way that Russia will abide them being part of NATO if it can do anything about it) or by Murdoch & Co. seeing hard-nosed conservative kindred spirits in the Kremlin and seeing if they can do for Russia's once and future Baltic oblast what they did for British independence from the EU.
Maybe it's just that Fox News is grifters who protect the powerful from the weak?
Also money.
I'm a bit groggy and not up to clicking through this mess of links on Fox-Russia stuff, but there might be something to it:
https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/8dhpna/report_says_fox_news_allows_putin_regime_to_edit/dxn9tao/
Rupert Murdoch and Wendi Deng appear to connect Roman Abramovich and Li Ka-Shing to the Trumps and Silicon Valley:posted by sebastienbailard at 4:32 AM on April 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
Murdoch/Deng and Russian Oligarch Roman Abramovich
Jonathan Greenberg, WaPo (opinion) Trump lied to me about his wealth to get onto the Forbes 400. Here are the tapes.
In May 1984, an official from the Trump Organization called to tell me how rich Donald J. Trump was. I was reporting for the Forbes 400, the magazine’s annual ranking of America’s richest people, for the third year. In the previous edition, we’d valued Trump’s holdings at $200 million, only one-fifth of what he claimed to own in our interviews. This time, his aide urged me on the phone, I needed to understand just how loaded Trump really was.posted by OnceUponATime at 4:38 AM on April 20, 2018 [91 favorites]
The official was John Barron — a name we now know as an alter ego of Trump himself.
...
But it took decades to unwind the elaborate farce Trump had built to project an image as one of the richest people in America. Nearly every assertion supporting that claim was untrue. Trump wasn’t just poorer than he said he was. Over time I have learned that he should not have been on the first three Forbes 400 lists at all. In our first-ever list, in 1982, we included him at $100 million, but Trump was actually worth roughly $5 million — a paltry sum by the standards of his super-monied peers — as a spate of government reports and books showed only much later.
Iran’s feud with the US is set to get worse after Tehran announced yesterday that it will start reporting foreign currency amounts in euros rather than US dollars, as part of the country’s effort to reduce its reliance on the American currency due to political tension with Washington.
posted by adamvasco at 4:54 AM on April 20, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by adamvasco at 4:54 AM on April 20, 2018 [11 favorites]
It's also weird that Trump keeps lying about not spending the night in Moscow (Schiller testified he did, and other reports describe how he arrived, spent the night, and recorded his bit for Emin Agalarov's music video early the next morning)
If memory serves me correctly, the purported "pee tape" has Russian prostitutes urinating on a hotel bed. If Trump didn't spend the night, he can claim he never had a hotel room that day (Narrator: He did).
posted by Gelatin at 4:55 AM on April 20, 2018
If memory serves me correctly, the purported "pee tape" has Russian prostitutes urinating on a hotel bed. If Trump didn't spend the night, he can claim he never had a hotel room that day (Narrator: He did).
posted by Gelatin at 4:55 AM on April 20, 2018
we included him at $100 million, but Trump was actually worth roughly $5 million
I think it could be better described as Forbes (and other mainstream press) giving him $95 million. He had to be on the list, he was/is the Very Model of American Capitalism ... rotten to the core and a fully owned subsidiary of Organized Crime.
posted by oneswellfoop at 4:55 AM on April 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
I think it could be better described as Forbes (and other mainstream press) giving him $95 million. He had to be on the list, he was/is the Very Model of American Capitalism ... rotten to the core and a fully owned subsidiary of Organized Crime.
posted by oneswellfoop at 4:55 AM on April 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
What worries me most about Trump's reelection prospects is the possibility of a third-party candidate dividing the anti-Trump vote.
Steve Bannon is probably already talking to Lyndon LaRouche about becoming the new standard bearer for Trumpism in 2020, so at least that will split the vote in the Barr wing of Trump's base.
posted by duoshao at 5:04 AM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Steve Bannon is probably already talking to Lyndon LaRouche about becoming the new standard bearer for Trumpism in 2020, so at least that will split the vote in the Barr wing of Trump's base.
posted by duoshao at 5:04 AM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
John Schindler at the Observer erases all nonsuperficial distinctions between RT and Fox News: Russian-language Fox programming in Latvia is tailored to Putin's propaganda standards.
Please don't spread this story; it's based on a misunderstanding. The source article for that story has been updated to make it clear that the Fox programming in question is lifestyle channels: Fox Life, Fox Crime, and the National Geographic Channel - not Fox News. Also, the guidelines in question were withdrawn before they were put into practice.
(And it's probably best to refer to stories from observer.com (a fairly small online-only publication) as coming from The New York Observer or observer.com rather than The Observer which is the Guardian's Sunday stablemate and a fairly influential newspaper.)
posted by Busy Old Fool at 5:17 AM on April 20, 2018 [41 favorites]
Please don't spread this story; it's based on a misunderstanding. The source article for that story has been updated to make it clear that the Fox programming in question is lifestyle channels: Fox Life, Fox Crime, and the National Geographic Channel - not Fox News. Also, the guidelines in question were withdrawn before they were put into practice.
(And it's probably best to refer to stories from observer.com (a fairly small online-only publication) as coming from The New York Observer or observer.com rather than The Observer which is the Guardian's Sunday stablemate and a fairly influential newspaper.)
posted by Busy Old Fool at 5:17 AM on April 20, 2018 [41 favorites]
Steve Bannon is probably already talking to Lyndon LaRouche
Is Bo Gritz still alive?
posted by box at 5:36 AM on April 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
Is Bo Gritz still alive?
posted by box at 5:36 AM on April 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
Nothing tells you Trump's losing the Comey situation better than him continuing to change his insult nickname. Lyin', Slippery, Shady.
I guess the GOP better hire out a banana peel and a tree to accompany the lion on tour. For clarity's sake.
posted by kimdog at 5:37 AM on April 20, 2018 [16 favorites]
I guess the GOP better hire out a banana peel and a tree to accompany the lion on tour. For clarity's sake.
posted by kimdog at 5:37 AM on April 20, 2018 [16 favorites]
Also, he says several times in the Memo that he's not the kind of guy who has to pay for it. jesus christ Trump you are the precise demographic. In the dictionary under "guys who pay for sex" they have a picture of you, you dingus
There's also evidence from his affair with Karen McDougal that he's familiar enough with paying for sex as to consider it an expected post-coital transaction, and those that don't charge are special:
With his main alibi being the equivalent of "of course I didn't rob the bank, do I look like the type of guy to wear a balaclava containing man-made fibres?", it seems likely there's at very least a pee tape (as his supporters would probably like him more for indirectly defiling Obama).
posted by Buntix at 5:37 AM on April 20, 2018 [15 favorites]
There's also evidence from his affair with Karen McDougal that he's familiar enough with paying for sex as to consider it an expected post-coital transaction, and those that don't charge are special:
McDougal said their first sexual encounter was at his bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel and that afterwards he offered her money, which she rejected.
“After we had been intimate, he tried to pay me, and I actually didn’t know how to take that,” she said, according to an excerpt of the interview released before the broadcast. “I looked at him and said, ‘That’s not me. I’m not that kind of girl.’ And he said, ‘Oh,’ and he said, ‘You’re really special’.”
With his main alibi being the equivalent of "of course I didn't rob the bank, do I look like the type of guy to wear a balaclava containing man-made fibres?", it seems likely there's at very least a pee tape (as his supporters would probably like him more for indirectly defiling Obama).
posted by Buntix at 5:37 AM on April 20, 2018 [15 favorites]
flug: ...when I heard the Gov. Greitens had invited his hairdresser over to his house, and then as the VERY first move, blindfolded her and duck taped her to the exercise equipment.
Wait, wait, WAIT.
Greitens was a Navy SEAL, and had no hair by reg for several years. What's he doing with a hairdresser?! Buzz-cut your damn head over the sink like the rest of us, and leave the stylists for attorneys and record company executives.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:46 AM on April 20, 2018 [11 favorites]
Wait, wait, WAIT.
Greitens was a Navy SEAL, and had no hair by reg for several years. What's he doing with a hairdresser?! Buzz-cut your damn head over the sink like the rest of us, and leave the stylists for attorneys and record company executives.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:46 AM on April 20, 2018 [11 favorites]
It's also weird that Trump keeps lying about not spending the night in Moscow (Schiller testified he did, and other reports describe how he arrived, spent the night, and recorded his bit for Emin Agalarov's music video early the next morning)
It's not weird because he actually believes it. Selective memory/selective amnesia is part of the narcissist's M.O. Details that don't fit his worldview just don't exist to him, and no amount of evidence will convince him to accept that his take is illogical.
posted by camyram at 5:47 AM on April 20, 2018 [13 favorites]
It's not weird because he actually believes it. Selective memory/selective amnesia is part of the narcissist's M.O. Details that don't fit his worldview just don't exist to him, and no amount of evidence will convince him to accept that his take is illogical.
posted by camyram at 5:47 AM on April 20, 2018 [13 favorites]
I was watching Lawrence O'Donnell last night and he had David Frum on -- I know, I know, but he made a very interesting point: Trump's story of Putin calling him and bragging that "we have some of the most beautiful hookers in the world" appears to be a false memory based on a 2017 press conference where Putin said the pee tape isn't real, but if Trump had patronized prostitutes while in Russia, those prostitutes would have been world-class. More evidence that, as Frum put it, the president of the United States lives in a fantasy world.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 5:56 AM on April 20, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 5:56 AM on April 20, 2018 [15 favorites]
Also, he didn't make this point that I saw (I may have tuned out halfway through to watch a new retrospective on the Philadelphia Eagles' championship season) but Trump taking a press conference he'd have watched on TV and turning it in his mind into a personal conversation really underscores his pathology with television, and how dangerous it is to have the TV via Fox News and Fox & Friends in particular actually start talking to him.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 6:03 AM on April 20, 2018 [29 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 6:03 AM on April 20, 2018 [29 favorites]
Senator Manchin votes to strip black Americans of protection against discriminatory pricing from auto dealers.
He was the only Democrat to vote in favor of the bill, thus granting it that precious "bipartisan" label.
In addition the passage of the bill is expected to embolden Senate Republicans to have similar votes in the future striking down regulations that have been extant for years under a rule that was supposed to give them oversight of regulation within 60 days of the regulation being passed.
The Big Tent seems to have some problems.
posted by sotonohito at 6:22 AM on April 20, 2018 [41 favorites]
He was the only Democrat to vote in favor of the bill, thus granting it that precious "bipartisan" label.
In addition the passage of the bill is expected to embolden Senate Republicans to have similar votes in the future striking down regulations that have been extant for years under a rule that was supposed to give them oversight of regulation within 60 days of the regulation being passed.
The Big Tent seems to have some problems.
posted by sotonohito at 6:22 AM on April 20, 2018 [41 favorites]
Why were Republicans eager for these memos to be released? Because they believed the memos would prove Comey leaked classsified information. Instead, they prove that the memos were unclassified.
posted by chrchr at 6:35 AM on April 20, 2018 [37 favorites]
posted by chrchr at 6:35 AM on April 20, 2018 [37 favorites]
Today I called my Iowa US Senator Joni Ernst (Republican) to thank her for questioning EPA Director Scott Pruitt's use of taxpayer money:
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:45 AM on April 20, 2018 [44 favorites]
“He needs to watch his expenditures. It’s important that we protect our American taxpayers.”I said that since Scott Pruitt was under ten separate ethics inquiries, I would ask her to go further and call for Director Pruitt to resign or be fired, for being manifestly corrupt. I would also ask her to call on Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to resign or be fired, for being manifestly corrupt. I would also ask her to call on Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to resign or be fired, for being manifestly corrupt. And I would also ask her to call on Housing Secretary Ben Carson to resign or be fired, for being manifestly corrupt. I said I this would do an excellent job of fulfilling the Senator's mission to "Go to Washington and Make 'Em Squeal!". I was thanked and my message will be passed along
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:45 AM on April 20, 2018 [44 favorites]
they believed the memos would prove Comey leaked classsified information
Gotta love when FOX being a propaganda outlet lying to make Trump appear correct comes back to bite Rs in the ass.
Gotta love when FOX being a propaganda outlet lying to make Trump appear correct comes back to bite Rs in the ass.
It seems as though they were basing this entirely on a bit of contradictory—and likely inaccurate—Fox News reporting. And it seems that this contradictory, likely inaccurate reporting was done by Fox News to help validate this Donald Trump tweet, which was sent two days after Comey’s Senate testimony:posted by chris24 at 6:48 AM on April 20, 2018 [34 favorites]@realDonaldTrump: James Comey leaked CLASSIFIED INFORMATION to the media. That is so illegal!Finally, it seems that the memos released prove the exact opposite: the apparently leaked documents were never and still aren’t classified.
It's wild that apparently reading the memos before deciding to leak them was never a possibility for Nunes et al.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 6:51 AM on April 20, 2018 [79 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 6:51 AM on April 20, 2018 [79 favorites]
The conservative news machine won’t draw any distinction between the memos released yesterday, some of which are classified, and the unclassified memos which Comey shared with his associates. This still serves their purposes.
posted by Room 101 at 6:53 AM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Room 101 at 6:53 AM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
Can Comey sue for defamation?
posted by PenDevil at 6:56 AM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by PenDevil at 6:56 AM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
These corrupt numbskulls cannot fathom that someone acted legally, and without obfuscation. I may disagree with a lot of what Comey did during the election, but I never thought he attempted a grift or con. Nunes, Trump, most of the GOP, they can't imagine that someone acted within the law. It seems these days that if you kick over ANY rock of someone in Trump's orbit, you uncover some new cavalcade of illegality.
I think the leakers assumed (incorrectly) that there just HAD to be something nefarious in the Comey memos. Congrats, you played yourself.
posted by Twain Device at 6:56 AM on April 20, 2018 [10 favorites]
I think the leakers assumed (incorrectly) that there just HAD to be something nefarious in the Comey memos. Congrats, you played yourself.
posted by Twain Device at 6:56 AM on April 20, 2018 [10 favorites]
I was watching Lawrence O'Donnell last night and he had David Frum on -- I know, I know, but he made a very interesting point: Trump's story of Putin calling him and bragging that "we have some of the most beautiful hookers in the world" appears to be a false memory based on a 2017 press conference where Putin said the pee tape isn't real, but if Trump had patronized prostitutes while in Russia, those prostitutes would have been world-class. More evidence that, as Frum put it, the president of the United States lives in a fantasy world.
Reminds me of Ronald Reagan, who spent World War II in Hollywood, claiming he'd been present for the liberation of the Nazi death camps.
posted by Pope Guilty at 6:58 AM on April 20, 2018 [31 favorites]
Reminds me of Ronald Reagan, who spent World War II in Hollywood, claiming he'd been present for the liberation of the Nazi death camps.
posted by Pope Guilty at 6:58 AM on April 20, 2018 [31 favorites]
It really would be so à propos if this whole sordid Trump episode ended like a Tarantino movie, with all the major players in a circle pointing guns lawsuits at each other.
posted by wabbittwax at 6:59 AM on April 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by wabbittwax at 6:59 AM on April 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
Most Americans couldn't even tell you what an email server is. I'm fairly sure that Donald Trump couldn't. And I'm not talking technical specs or deep knowledge of networking, I'm talking "Tell me how email gets from the person who sent it to your eyeballs, in 50 words or less" level of understanding. It didn't stop millions from passing judgement on it. All people need to be told is, "This thing is bad, this person is bad, just like you thought all along."
Anyway, not sure if anyone here saw the excerpt from Ronan Farrow*'s new book:
Inside Rex Tillerson’s Ouster
The last days of his brief and chaotic tenure as Secretary of State.
I think I'm going to have to read the book because I still don't understand a damn thing about what Tillerson was thinking, or why such a demonstrably competent (if evil) man was so shit at this job.
*Ronan Farrow and Jon Lovett: great liberal power couple or greatest liberal power couple?
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:08 AM on April 20, 2018 [24 favorites]
Anyway, not sure if anyone here saw the excerpt from Ronan Farrow*'s new book:
Inside Rex Tillerson’s Ouster
The last days of his brief and chaotic tenure as Secretary of State.
I think I'm going to have to read the book because I still don't understand a damn thing about what Tillerson was thinking, or why such a demonstrably competent (if evil) man was so shit at this job.
*Ronan Farrow and Jon Lovett: great liberal power couple or greatest liberal power couple?
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:08 AM on April 20, 2018 [24 favorites]
It didn't stop millions from passing judgement on it. All people need to be told is, "This thing is bad, this person is bad, just like you thought all along."
Conservatives have been demonizing people and institutions like this for decades, including broad and essential categories like "liberal" and "the media." I doubt your average tribal conservative could accurately tell you what a liberal believes or why it's supposed to be bad; they're simply The Other and therefore inherently bad.
posted by Gelatin at 7:20 AM on April 20, 2018 [14 favorites]
Conservatives have been demonizing people and institutions like this for decades, including broad and essential categories like "liberal" and "the media." I doubt your average tribal conservative could accurately tell you what a liberal believes or why it's supposed to be bad; they're simply The Other and therefore inherently bad.
posted by Gelatin at 7:20 AM on April 20, 2018 [14 favorites]
Razor-thin Senate majority, bloody primary fights hamstring GOP, by Michael Scherer, Sean Sullivan and Josh Dawsey for the Washington Post (h/t Splinter)
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is scrambling to reassert control over a Republican Party hamstrung by a razor-thin governing majority and riven by increasingly bloody primary fights.posted by ZeusHumms at 7:31 AM on April 20, 2018 [10 favorites]
Votes in the Senate on even straightforward measures, such as Thursday’s on the next NASA administrator, have become a struggle, as individual GOP members leverage the absence of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to pursue other aims.
McConnell had to pull aside rogue senators over their occasional defiance twice in the last two days. He warned one — Bob Corker — in a private conversation that his comments risked hurting the party’s ability to hold its majority in November’s midterm elections.
Outside Washington, McConnell’s allies have launched major ad campaigns against two Republican Senate candidates they see as potential liabilities in the general election — former coal baron Don Blankenship in West Virginia and Mississippi state Sen. Chris McDaniel.
Other races, in Indiana and Montana, are quickly becoming costly slugfests, distracting the party from its central mission of dislodging vulnerable Democratic incumbents.
It's wild that apparently reading the memos before deciding to leak them was never a possibility for Nunes et al.
Adam Schiff was on NPR this morning talking about this and said he had seen them months ago - it seems almost certain Nunes would have had simultaneous access as well.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 7:32 AM on April 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
Adam Schiff was on NPR this morning talking about this and said he had seen them months ago - it seems almost certain Nunes would have had simultaneous access as well.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 7:32 AM on April 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
>> It's wild that apparently reading the memos before deciding to leak them was never a possibility for Nunes et al.
> Adam Schiff was on NPR this morning talking about this and said he had seen them months ago - it seems almost certain Nunes would have had simultaneous access as well.
Getting high on their own supply really seems to be a thing for this Republican caucus. They are so far up their own asses that - in the far mists of the pre-Trump era I read somewhere (probably here, where else?) about Republican true believers, talk radio, code words, shibboleths, and in-group signifiers. So just saying "Benghazi" as a shorthand to refer to hours of Sean Hannity rants, or what have you. And that meant that it was no longer possible to have a rational political argument with them: like Humpty Dumpty, they are using "pizza" to mean a very different set of things.
I suspect that the Republicans saw what they wanted to see in those memos, and are puzzled now that the rest of the country can't see what is so obvious to them.
> "but his memos..."
Yes, exactly.
And as an aside:
> what the hell was in the lacquered box that putin gifted to trump
I thought this was of course an earlier iteration of the pee tape (or equivalent) - some recorded material whose blackmail potential was so obvious that no words needed to be exchanged. He's been a Russian agent ever since - and mortally terrified of doing anything that might upset Putin - like not return his call for 6 days, or expel more diplomats than the required minimum.
posted by RedOrGreen at 7:48 AM on April 20, 2018 [19 favorites]
> Adam Schiff was on NPR this morning talking about this and said he had seen them months ago - it seems almost certain Nunes would have had simultaneous access as well.
Getting high on their own supply really seems to be a thing for this Republican caucus. They are so far up their own asses that - in the far mists of the pre-Trump era I read somewhere (probably here, where else?) about Republican true believers, talk radio, code words, shibboleths, and in-group signifiers. So just saying "Benghazi" as a shorthand to refer to hours of Sean Hannity rants, or what have you. And that meant that it was no longer possible to have a rational political argument with them: like Humpty Dumpty, they are using "pizza" to mean a very different set of things.
I suspect that the Republicans saw what they wanted to see in those memos, and are puzzled now that the rest of the country can't see what is so obvious to them.
> "but his memos..."
Yes, exactly.
And as an aside:
> what the hell was in the lacquered box that putin gifted to trump
I thought this was of course an earlier iteration of the pee tape (or equivalent) - some recorded material whose blackmail potential was so obvious that no words needed to be exchanged. He's been a Russian agent ever since - and mortally terrified of doing anything that might upset Putin - like not return his call for 6 days, or expel more diplomats than the required minimum.
posted by RedOrGreen at 7:48 AM on April 20, 2018 [19 favorites]
Well... one way to get discovery if Mueller gets fired. Going all in.
WaPo: Democratic Party files lawsuit alleging Russia, the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks conspired to disrupt the 2016 campaign
WaPo: Democratic Party files lawsuit alleging Russia, the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks conspired to disrupt the 2016 campaign
The Democratic National Committee filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit Friday against the Russian government, the Trump campaign and the WikiLeaks organization alleging a far-reaching conspiracy to disrupt the 2016 campaign and tilt the election to Donald Trump.posted by chris24 at 8:03 AM on April 20, 2018 [112 favorites]
The complaint, filed in federal district court in Manhattan, alleges that top Trump campaign officials conspired with the Russian government and its military spy agency to hurt Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and help Trump by hacking the computer networks of the Democratic Party and disseminating stolen material found there.
“During the 2016 presidential campaign, Russia launched an all-out assault on our democracy, and it found a willing and active partner in Donald Trump’s campaign,” DNC Chairman Tom Perez said in a statement.
“This constituted an act of unprecedented treachery: the campaign of a nominee for President of the United States in league with a hostile foreign power to bolster its own chance to win the presidency,” he said.
The case asserts that the Russian hacking campaign — combined with Trump associates’ contacts with Russia and the campaign’s public cheerleading of the hacks — amounted to an illegal conspiracy to interfere in the election that caused serious damage to the Democratic Party.
Well. THIS seems like a major development, probably:
President Donald Trump sharply questioned Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director Christopher Wray during a White House meeting on January 22 about why two senior FBI officials — Peter Strzok and Lisa Page — were still in their jobs despite allegations made by allies of the president that they had been disloyal to him and had unfairly targeted him and his administration, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 8:07 AM on April 20, 2018 [84 favorites]
The president also pressed his attorney general and FBI director to work more aggressively to uncover derogatory information within the FBI’s files to turn over to congressional Republicans working to discredit the two FBI officials, according to the same sources.
The very next day, Trump met Sessions again, this time without Wray present, and even more aggressively advocated that Strzok and Page be fired, the sources said.
Trump’s efforts to discredit Strzok and Page came after Trump was advised last summer by his then-criminal defense attorney John Dowd that Page was a likely witness against him in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether Trump obstructed justice, according to two senior administration officials. That Trump knew that Page might be a potential witness against him has not been previously reported or publicly known.
Finally something ballsy. It also makes me wonder quite how much the various minority committee members have seen that still hasn't been publicly discussed.
posted by jaduncan at 8:07 AM on April 20, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by jaduncan at 8:07 AM on April 20, 2018 [14 favorites]
I suspect that the Republicans saw what they wanted to see in those memos, and are puzzled now that the rest of the country can't see what is so obvious to them.
I sometimes worry that I might be doing the same thing but from the anti-Trump side. I mean I don't think so, what with all of the evidence that is piling up with Cohen, but it's something I keep in mind as a possibility.
posted by duoshao at 8:11 AM on April 20, 2018 [18 favorites]
I sometimes worry that I might be doing the same thing but from the anti-Trump side. I mean I don't think so, what with all of the evidence that is piling up with Cohen, but it's something I keep in mind as a possibility.
posted by duoshao at 8:11 AM on April 20, 2018 [18 favorites]
"Sir, an FBI agent is part of an investigation claiming you obstructed justice!"
"Fire him!"
"But Sir, is that not obstructing the investigation into whether you obstructed the investigation..."
"#MAGA!" [skateboards away]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:14 AM on April 20, 2018 [24 favorites]
"Fire him!"
"But Sir, is that not obstructing the investigation into whether you obstructed the investigation..."
"#MAGA!" [skateboards away]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:14 AM on April 20, 2018 [24 favorites]
He's been a Russian agent ever since - and mortally terrified of doing anything that might upset Putin - like not return his call for 6 days, or expel more diplomats than the required minimum.
Last week Seth Meyers was joking about the pee tape (around 1:40 here) and he played a segment of an interview Trump gave to Fox and Friends two days before the inauguration where he sorta denies the pee tape allegations. What Trump says is that there's not going to be a tape coming out because it would be embarrassing to him for that to happen, which seems like not so much a denial of the tape but a message to his blackmailers that he intends to cooperate so they don't release the tape.
posted by peeedro at 8:19 AM on April 20, 2018 [30 favorites]
Last week Seth Meyers was joking about the pee tape (around 1:40 here) and he played a segment of an interview Trump gave to Fox and Friends two days before the inauguration where he sorta denies the pee tape allegations. What Trump says is that there's not going to be a tape coming out because it would be embarrassing to him for that to happen, which seems like not so much a denial of the tape but a message to his blackmailers that he intends to cooperate so they don't release the tape.
posted by peeedro at 8:19 AM on April 20, 2018 [30 favorites]
So just saying "Benghazi" as a shorthand to refer to hours of Sean Hannity rants, or what have you. And that meant that it was no longer possible to have a rational political argument with them: like Humpty Dumpty, they are using "pizza" to mean a very different set of things.
The Orwellian term you're looking for is "duckspeak".
posted by vibrotronica at 8:21 AM on April 20, 2018 [24 favorites]
The Orwellian term you're looking for is "duckspeak".
posted by vibrotronica at 8:21 AM on April 20, 2018 [24 favorites]
I think a) the pee tape is real (I want to believe) and b) the pee tape being released is not what Trump is afraid of. A video of him commanding beautiful woman to perform a humiliating act that defiles the memory of Barack Obama? It would make his base love him even more.
I think it's much more likely that once upon a time he was lucid enough to remember the financial crimes that Russia knows allll about and that put him into Appease Putin At All Costs footing, but thereafter he just sank into his narcissistic prion-disease-or-whatever-fueled fantasy life where Putin is his Bestest Friend Evar and that's why he has to do all these fantastic things for my nice friend Vlad (yes I know Vlad is not the diminutive form of Vladimir, but Donald Trump definitely does not know that).
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:31 AM on April 20, 2018 [13 favorites]
I think it's much more likely that once upon a time he was lucid enough to remember the financial crimes that Russia knows allll about and that put him into Appease Putin At All Costs footing, but thereafter he just sank into his narcissistic prion-disease-or-whatever-fueled fantasy life where Putin is his Bestest Friend Evar and that's why he has to do all these fantastic things for my nice friend Vlad (yes I know Vlad is not the diminutive form of Vladimir, but Donald Trump definitely does not know that).
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:31 AM on April 20, 2018 [13 favorites]
Greitens was a Navy SEAL, and had no hair by reg for several years. What's he doing with a hairdresser?! Buzz-cut your damn head over the sink like the rest of us, and leave the stylists for attorneys and record company executives.
Well, she isn't some rando hairdresser he picked up at Great Clips. She's done work for other members of the MO govt.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 8:40 AM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
Well, she isn't some rando hairdresser he picked up at Great Clips. She's done work for other members of the MO govt.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 8:40 AM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
It's official. WaPo, Costa/Dawsey, Giuliani says he joins Trump’s legal team to ‘negotiate an end’ to Mueller probe
Interestingly, the New York Times's article on this, Giuliani to Lend Legal Firepower As Trump’s Team Adds Lawyers, by Maggie Habberman was updated with a co-byline for MIchael Schmidt after its initial posting and included the following leak from within Trumpland:
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:44 AM on April 20, 2018 [18 favorites]
Interestingly, the New York Times's article on this, Giuliani to Lend Legal Firepower As Trump’s Team Adds Lawyers, by Maggie Habberman was updated with a co-byline for MIchael Schmidt after its initial posting and included the following leak from within Trumpland:
Mr. Trump negotiated the discussions to have Mr. Giuliani join his team with Mr. Giuliani directly, a person close to the process said. Mr. Trump had repeatedly offered Mr. Giuliani the job of attorney general during the transition, but Mr. Giuliani turned it down because he wanted to be secretary of state.[...]It's also worth remembering that Greenberg Traurig and Giulinai represented Reza Zarrab, the Iranian sanctions–busting gold trader connected to money-laundering in Erdoğan's Turkish establishment, who eventually turned state's witness—and possibly supplied the Mueller investigation evidence against Michael Flynn.
Some close to the president believe he could try to replace Mr. Sessions with Mr. Giuliani in the coming months, although Mr. Giuliani would face an extremely difficult confirmation hearing in the Senate. When Mr. Giuliani sought the secretary of state job, Trump advisers, including the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, raised concerns about his business dealings and paid speeches to a shadowy Iranian opposition group that until 2012 was on the State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations.
Mr. Giuliani will be taking a leave of absence from his law firm, Greenberg Traurig, while he works for Mr. Trump. Three people close to the former mayor said that Greenberg Traurig lawyers were distressed that Mr. Giuliani was taking on the new role. Many at the firm were already uncomfortable with Mr. Giuliani’s work for the Trump campaign, his outspoken opinions and his role in helping to write the president’s first travel ban that affected mostly Muslim countries.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:44 AM on April 20, 2018 [18 favorites]
Any focus on the hairdresser (read: VICTIM) herself is a) the usual victim-"just asking questions"-sexism, and b) super creepy.
posted by Dashy at 8:45 AM on April 20, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by Dashy at 8:45 AM on April 20, 2018 [20 favorites]
Any focus on the hairdresser (read: VICTIM) herself is a) the usual victim-"just asking questions"-sexism, and b) super creepy.
That's true. Making light of this serious situation is inappropriate. Not at all my intent to blame her, but inappropriate.
posted by wenestvedt at 8:52 AM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
That's true. Making light of this serious situation is inappropriate. Not at all my intent to blame her, but inappropriate.
posted by wenestvedt at 8:52 AM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Lonny Left Update: Yes, I’m Running As A Socialist, why more candidates are embracing the term (NYT)
posted by The Whelk at 9:03 AM on April 20, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 9:03 AM on April 20, 2018 [17 favorites]
For anyone still wondering why Jay Goldberg would call Trump to tell him that Cohen will flip on him, then immediately call a reporter to tell them the same thing, then go on a cable news to say it again...
It appears to be because he’s senile. (SLTwitter video.) And racist. Very, very racist. With a side helping of that weird toxic masculinity mix of misogyny and homophobia. All in like...two sentences.
Sort of impressive, really, though not as impressive as Erin Burnett’s ability to not flip the fuck out on live television.
posted by schadenfrau at 9:12 AM on April 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
It appears to be because he’s senile. (SLTwitter video.) And racist. Very, very racist. With a side helping of that weird toxic masculinity mix of misogyny and homophobia. All in like...two sentences.
Sort of impressive, really, though not as impressive as Erin Burnett’s ability to not flip the fuck out on live television.
posted by schadenfrau at 9:12 AM on April 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
When talking about Trump and Goldberg we really have to specify who "He is senile and racist" refers to. I think it's Goldberg in this case.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:14 AM on April 20, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:14 AM on April 20, 2018 [20 favorites]
It's wild that apparently reading the memos before deciding to leak them was never a possibility for Nunes et al.
Is it still running up the score if the points are coming from own goals? #askingForARepublican
posted by kirkaracha at 9:14 AM on April 20, 2018 [6 favorites]
Is it still running up the score if the points are coming from own goals? #askingForARepublican
posted by kirkaracha at 9:14 AM on April 20, 2018 [6 favorites]
Officials Confirm That Trump Bombed Syria to Validate His Tweets
posted by Artw at 9:17 AM on April 20, 2018 [48 favorites]
posted by Artw at 9:17 AM on April 20, 2018 [48 favorites]
President Donald Trump sharply questioned Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director Christopher Wray during a White House meeting on January 22 about why two senior FBI officials — Peter Strzok and Lisa Page — were still in their jobs despite allegations made by allies of the president that they had been disloyal to him and had unfairly targeted him and his administration, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
If memory serves me correctly, in the previous thread we noted that Sarah Huckabee Sanders criticized, I believe, Andrew McCabe as having violated his sacred duty to the President.
FBI agents owe no loyalty and no sacred duty to the President. They do to the law. Republican officials are openly stating the presidency is a monarchy, not a government subject to the rule of law. Whatever you want to call that view, and I can think of some choice words, it isn't "conservative."
posted by Gelatin at 9:18 AM on April 20, 2018 [43 favorites]
If memory serves me correctly, in the previous thread we noted that Sarah Huckabee Sanders criticized, I believe, Andrew McCabe as having violated his sacred duty to the President.
FBI agents owe no loyalty and no sacred duty to the President. They do to the law. Republican officials are openly stating the presidency is a monarchy, not a government subject to the rule of law. Whatever you want to call that view, and I can think of some choice words, it isn't "conservative."
posted by Gelatin at 9:18 AM on April 20, 2018 [43 favorites]
The House Republicans may have released Comey's memos because they thought four unclassified pages was actually four classified documents.
Since the start of the year—but particularly since the start of the book tour—Republicans have suggested that the memos Comey had leaked were actually classified documents and that he had perjured himself about this in Senate testimony. This was the only actual substantive “lie” that White House press secretary Sarah Sanders was able to point to last week when she was asked to justify the Republican campaign calling him a liar. “Even the media has reported that officials have determined that Comey leaked four memos—at least four that we know about—with classified information,” Sanders said.posted by kirkaracha at 9:31 AM on April 20, 2018 [17 favorites]
...
...[Daniel] Richman explicitly said none of the memos he received were classified and that they remained unclassified? And notice how that portion was in quotes. Now, notice how the part about Richman receiving “four memos” was not in quotes, but rather Fox News’ description of what it says the organization was told?
Now: In the documents released on Thursday, there were two memos with the header “UNCLASSIFIED // FOUOU” on them, both of which overlap with what had been reported in the New York Times and in Comey’s testimony. The number of pages in those two unclassified documents: four...I reached out to Richman on Thursday to ask him if those four unclassified pages were what he had received—and all that he had received—from Comey, but had not heard a response as of publication time.
The Six Big Wall Street Banks Kept $3.6 BILLION in Three Months Thanks to GOP Tax Giveaway ("Big Banks Saved $3.6B in Taxes Last Quarter Under New Law", Ken Sweet, AP)
America's Teachers still forced to buy pencils and paper out of their own pockets so the kids can learn to write.
GOP! SO RIGHT! Take a bow, Mitch.
posted by petebest at 10:03 AM on April 20, 2018 [59 favorites]
America's Teachers still forced to buy pencils and paper out of their own pockets so the kids can learn to write.
GOP! SO RIGHT! Take a bow, Mitch.
posted by petebest at 10:03 AM on April 20, 2018 [59 favorites]
Wall Street Journal: Justice Department Watchdog Probes Comey Memos Over Classified Information
At least two of the memos that former FBI Director James Comey gave to a friend outside of the government contained information that officials now consider classified, according to people familiar with the matter, prompting a review by the Justice Department’s internal watchdog.
posted by duoshao at 10:06 AM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
At least two of the memos that former FBI Director James Comey gave to a friend outside of the government contained information that officials now consider classified, according to people familiar with the matter, prompting a review by the Justice Department’s internal watchdog.
posted by duoshao at 10:06 AM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Mod note: Y'all U2 has literally nothing to do with anything in here, please skip it.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:06 AM on April 20, 2018 [29 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:06 AM on April 20, 2018 [29 favorites]
At least two of the memos that former FBI Director James Comey gave to a friend outside of the government contained information that officials now consider classified, according to people familiar with the matter, prompting a review by the Justice Department’s internal watchdog.
Of course, the salient issue is whether the information was classified then.
posted by Gelatin at 10:08 AM on April 20, 2018 [12 favorites]
Of course, the salient issue is whether the information was classified then.
posted by Gelatin at 10:08 AM on April 20, 2018 [12 favorites]
FWIW we don't actually know that the Republicans are responsible for providing the redacted memos to the AP (unless I've just missed it). Republicans may have wanted the memos because of a misunderstanding, or because they thought they could make the usual hay in the press with partial disclosures. Since the full release of them (even in redacted form) doesn't support any of their usual arguments I'm not sure I would go pinning the blame on Republicans for not having read them before releasing them.
It could be that an opportunistic Democrat leaked them in order to prevent the usual sort of partial leak loaded with innuendo and unfounded accusations (which, TBH, I'd have done if I were a Democrat in possession of unclassified memos that don't say what Republican partisans want them to say). Control of the narrative is valuable even if all you're doing with that control is preventing the other side from weaponizing it. Getting out in front of Nunes et al. is a pretty good way to stop the narrative before it starts. Now even if Nunes wants to try to do his usual calculated leak all he has to work with is filling in the gaps where the DOJ redacted names, and that's unlikely to help his cause much.
posted by fedward at 10:08 AM on April 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
It could be that an opportunistic Democrat leaked them in order to prevent the usual sort of partial leak loaded with innuendo and unfounded accusations (which, TBH, I'd have done if I were a Democrat in possession of unclassified memos that don't say what Republican partisans want them to say). Control of the narrative is valuable even if all you're doing with that control is preventing the other side from weaponizing it. Getting out in front of Nunes et al. is a pretty good way to stop the narrative before it starts. Now even if Nunes wants to try to do his usual calculated leak all he has to work with is filling in the gaps where the DOJ redacted names, and that's unlikely to help his cause much.
posted by fedward at 10:08 AM on April 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
Sometimes I think that:
1. Trump knew the Russia investigation was hotting up, so Putin volunteered to bomb some people so that Trump could talk tough against Russia and bomb some other people, thus throwing Mueller off the trail. Trump knows not to mess with sanctions against Russia, though.
2. As the noose further tightens around Trump, he will completely and shamelessly reverse platforms in order to sow chaos and cultivate non-GOP allies. Open borders, nationalized health care, melt guns down and throw them in the sea, mandatory abortions for everyone. If he did something like this it would take everyone a while to recalibrate, and given how forgetful most people are... This is the incident I'm really waiting for. What if Trump all of the sudden agreed to give the far left everything they always wanted? I'm betting a sizable number would take it.
Trump could do something like this and insist that he's making a Deep Point About Something, and be hailed as a moral hero, all while avoiding jail because everyone would be too disoriented to do anything.
3. The GOP will let Trump go down over (bad choice of words *eye beach eye bleach*) Stormy Daniels et al to avoid having evidence of their complicity with Russia come to light. Once he's impeached or neutered or whatever over that, problem solved, no need to continue with the Mueller thing.
4. Putin will invade the Baltics this summer.
posted by staggering termagant at 10:10 AM on April 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
1. Trump knew the Russia investigation was hotting up, so Putin volunteered to bomb some people so that Trump could talk tough against Russia and bomb some other people, thus throwing Mueller off the trail. Trump knows not to mess with sanctions against Russia, though.
2. As the noose further tightens around Trump, he will completely and shamelessly reverse platforms in order to sow chaos and cultivate non-GOP allies. Open borders, nationalized health care, melt guns down and throw them in the sea, mandatory abortions for everyone. If he did something like this it would take everyone a while to recalibrate, and given how forgetful most people are... This is the incident I'm really waiting for. What if Trump all of the sudden agreed to give the far left everything they always wanted? I'm betting a sizable number would take it.
Trump could do something like this and insist that he's making a Deep Point About Something, and be hailed as a moral hero, all while avoiding jail because everyone would be too disoriented to do anything.
3. The GOP will let Trump go down over (bad choice of words *eye beach eye bleach*) Stormy Daniels et al to avoid having evidence of their complicity with Russia come to light. Once he's impeached or neutered or whatever over that, problem solved, no need to continue with the Mueller thing.
4. Putin will invade the Baltics this summer.
posted by staggering termagant at 10:10 AM on April 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
At least two of the memos that former FBI Director James Comey gave to a friend outside of the government contained information that officials now consider classified,
Meanwhile, the President can tweet state secrets and war plans and that’s just hunky fucking dory.
posted by valkane at 10:12 AM on April 20, 2018 [33 favorites]
Meanwhile, the President can tweet state secrets and war plans and that’s just hunky fucking dory.
posted by valkane at 10:12 AM on April 20, 2018 [33 favorites]
Trump could do something like this and insist that he's making a Deep Point About Something, and be hailed as a moral hero
I wouldn't go that far. Pelosi and Schumer have done a good job of signaling that they're willing to work with Trump to enact Democratic priorities without hailing him as any kind of paragon.
posted by Gelatin at 10:12 AM on April 20, 2018 [10 favorites]
I wouldn't go that far. Pelosi and Schumer have done a good job of signaling that they're willing to work with Trump to enact Democratic priorities without hailing him as any kind of paragon.
posted by Gelatin at 10:12 AM on April 20, 2018 [10 favorites]
Is the collusion story as it can be proved, without Trump's participation, any better or worse than with it? Everyone in Trump's campaign was colluding Russia to fix the election except for Trump? This simply makes him a dumb unknowing puppet, trusted by no one, and so out of the loop he didn't have a clue as to his own operation's goals and functions. And then you still need to explain why he wets his pants when he hears that Putin called a couple days ago and no one told him.
posted by xammerboy at 10:13 AM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by xammerboy at 10:13 AM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
Meanwhile, the President can tweet state secrets and war plans and that’s just hunky fucking dory.
Don't forget burning an Israeli intelligence source by bragging to the Russians.
The sheer mass, volume, and number of Trump's multiple malfeasences boggles the mind.
posted by Gelatin at 10:14 AM on April 20, 2018 [30 favorites]
Don't forget burning an Israeli intelligence source by bragging to the Russians.
The sheer mass, volume, and number of Trump's multiple malfeasences boggles the mind.
posted by Gelatin at 10:14 AM on April 20, 2018 [30 favorites]
All of that is assuming Trump can be trusted to act in a given direction, that there is any actual concept of strategy however corrupt in his brain. These are not facts that have been shown to be in evidence to date. Trump is a man of urges & satisfying them in the moment is what motivates him. Anything over the horizon of the now is just beyond him.
posted by scalefree at 10:15 AM on April 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 10:15 AM on April 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
The Six Big Wall Street Banks Kept $3.6 BILLION
Trumps proposed budget for the National Park Service was 2.6 billion (and way short of what's needed)
MAGA
posted by OHenryPacey at 10:19 AM on April 20, 2018 [19 favorites]
Trumps proposed budget for the National Park Service was 2.6 billion (and way short of what's needed)
MAGA
posted by OHenryPacey at 10:19 AM on April 20, 2018 [19 favorites]
What if Trump all of the sudden agreed to give the far left everything they always wanted? I'm betting a sizable number would take it.
A. This is never going to happen.
B. If it did happen, it would not save Trump, it would damn him in a much more immediate way than anything up to this point has. Historically, anyone with any real power who openly advocates for far left ideas in the US tends to get deeply vilified and persecuted.
C. If somehow this did happen, hell yeah I would take it. Because my commitment to my ideals and the real-world effects I'd like to see are far more important to me than my resentment for any one political figure.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 10:22 AM on April 20, 2018 [16 favorites]
A. This is never going to happen.
B. If it did happen, it would not save Trump, it would damn him in a much more immediate way than anything up to this point has. Historically, anyone with any real power who openly advocates for far left ideas in the US tends to get deeply vilified and persecuted.
C. If somehow this did happen, hell yeah I would take it. Because my commitment to my ideals and the real-world effects I'd like to see are far more important to me than my resentment for any one political figure.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 10:22 AM on April 20, 2018 [16 favorites]
Officials Confirm That Trump Bombed Syria to Validate His Tweets
posted by Artw at 9:17 AM on April 20 [10 favorites +] [!]
So, this action can't be in any possible way pounded into a shape that fits under the AUMFs, because it is an attack against a sovereign nation actually fighting their own internal "terrorists/freedom fighters". So, high crime or misdemeanor? You be the judge. In any event, shouldn't Congress be calling for his eminently impeachable head?
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:22 AM on April 20, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Artw at 9:17 AM on April 20 [10 favorites +] [!]
So, this action can't be in any possible way pounded into a shape that fits under the AUMFs, because it is an attack against a sovereign nation actually fighting their own internal "terrorists/freedom fighters". So, high crime or misdemeanor? You be the judge. In any event, shouldn't Congress be calling for his eminently impeachable head?
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:22 AM on April 20, 2018 [12 favorites]
I wouldn’t be surprised if someone in the Trump Administration retroactively classified part of Comey’s memos, or claimed certain info in the was secret all along. They tried this crap with Hillary’s emails too, though the “secret” turned out to be “US drones attacked somebody.”
The problem for Trump is that any “secret” here will be about Trump being a traitor. Is that really where Republicans want to direct public attention?
posted by msalt at 10:24 AM on April 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
The problem for Trump is that any “secret” here will be about Trump being a traitor. Is that really where Republicans want to direct public attention?
posted by msalt at 10:24 AM on April 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
And then you still need to explain why he wets his pants when he hears that Putin called a couple days ago and no one told him.
Not that Trump deserves fair treatment, but nonetheless... imagine that you're the head of state and you find out that the head of state for any other major world power called days ago and you weren't told about it.
Or, as someone suggested earlier in the thread (sorry, can't find it now), the more likely scenario is Trump did know about it but forgot until Flynn mentioned it. So he was having an "oh shit" moment. Imagine your reaction upon realizing that you have forgotten to call back the head of state for another major world power.
posted by duoshao at 10:27 AM on April 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
Not that Trump deserves fair treatment, but nonetheless... imagine that you're the head of state and you find out that the head of state for any other major world power called days ago and you weren't told about it.
Or, as someone suggested earlier in the thread (sorry, can't find it now), the more likely scenario is Trump did know about it but forgot until Flynn mentioned it. So he was having an "oh shit" moment. Imagine your reaction upon realizing that you have forgotten to call back the head of state for another major world power.
posted by duoshao at 10:27 AM on April 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
Talking Points Memo:
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:28 AM on April 20, 2018 [13 favorites]
Retiring Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) lavished praise on the leading Democrat in the race to replace him, earning him a slap on the wrist by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Washington Post reported Thursday evening.Corker you silly fool, the Republican Party is where it's at! Don't try to foist your Caring-About-Governance bullshit on us when we're just about ready to bring about the Promised Land of low regulation and high money for white Manhattan residents
Corker reportedly called former Gov. Phil Bredesen, his close friend, a “a very good mayor, a very good governor, a very good business person,” on Wednesday, raising the ire of leading Republican contender Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and her Washington supporters.
Per the Post, McConnell reprimanded Corker on the Senate floor, telling him that his comments were “unhelpful” and reminding him that Republicans were in their current position because Corker chose to retire. Bredesen only joined the race when Corker opted out.
President Donald Trump reportedly joined the chorus, calling Blackburn personally to assure her that he does not share Corker’s sentiments.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:28 AM on April 20, 2018 [13 favorites]
At least two of the memos that former FBI Director James Comey gave to a friend outside of the government contained information that officials now consider classified....
Extremely careless, Jim.
posted by orange ball at 10:28 AM on April 20, 2018 [35 favorites]
Extremely careless, Jim.
posted by orange ball at 10:28 AM on April 20, 2018 [35 favorites]
What if Trump all of the sudden agreed to give the far left everything they always wanted? I'm betting a sizable number would take it.
Sure. Get it passed, then impeach him.
posted by Skorgu at 10:29 AM on April 20, 2018 [6 favorites]
Sure. Get it passed, then impeach him.
posted by Skorgu at 10:29 AM on April 20, 2018 [6 favorites]
Turns out, anything the president says about hookers is super duper confidential, eyes only, double-secret-probation executive privilege intelligence. So, you know, shhh.
posted by valkane at 10:29 AM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by valkane at 10:29 AM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
The President said "the hookers thing" is nonsense but that Putin had told him "we have some of the most beautiful hookers in the world." (He did not say when Putin had told him this and I don't recall [REDACTED])
It just might be possible that, for a change, Trump has embarrassed Putin:
CNN's Jim Sciutto @jimsciutto reports: "Yes, this is a genuine official comment from the Kremlin: Putin did not tell Trump Russia has the most beautiful hookers in the world, says Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. 'President Putin could not say such things and did not say it to President Trump,' Peskov said."
Ron Howard Narrator: Putin could.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:30 AM on April 20, 2018 [29 favorites]
It just might be possible that, for a change, Trump has embarrassed Putin:
CNN's Jim Sciutto @jimsciutto reports: "Yes, this is a genuine official comment from the Kremlin: Putin did not tell Trump Russia has the most beautiful hookers in the world, says Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. 'President Putin could not say such things and did not say it to President Trump,' Peskov said."
Ron Howard Narrator: Putin could.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:30 AM on April 20, 2018 [29 favorites]
Open borders, nationalized health care, melt guns down and throw them in the sea, mandatory abortions for everyone. If he did something like this it would take everyone a while to recalibrate, and given how forgetful most people are... This is the incident I'm really waiting for. What if Trump all of the sudden agreed to give the far left everything they always wanted? I'm betting a sizable number would take it.
Except he sucks at everything. I kind of hope he does try, only to shear away more of the ideological baggage people use to resist those ideas. If Trump has contributed anything, it's laying bare how tainted and corrupt the right wing and their excuses are. The mayhem has the left politically engaged again. If he wants to engage sincere actors on the right, if he wants to get them angry too, the kind of people who are sick of the Fox News/disinformation hellscape, I have no objection. If turning the Kochs and Hannity all they touch into toxic slime for getting a traitor to the cause elected can happen, by all means, do it brah.
So, this action can't be in any possible way pounded into a shape that fits under the AUMFs, because it is an attack against a sovereign nation actually fighting their own internal "terrorists/freedom fighters". So, high crime or misdemeanor? You be the judge. In any event, shouldn't Congress be calling for his eminently impeachable head?
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:22 AM on April 21 [1 favorite +] [!]
At the very least, we should be calling for it. And true, we are, but why not louder?
posted by saysthis at 10:30 AM on April 20, 2018
Except he sucks at everything. I kind of hope he does try, only to shear away more of the ideological baggage people use to resist those ideas. If Trump has contributed anything, it's laying bare how tainted and corrupt the right wing and their excuses are. The mayhem has the left politically engaged again. If he wants to engage sincere actors on the right, if he wants to get them angry too, the kind of people who are sick of the Fox News/disinformation hellscape, I have no objection. If turning the Kochs and Hannity all they touch into toxic slime for getting a traitor to the cause elected can happen, by all means, do it brah.
So, this action can't be in any possible way pounded into a shape that fits under the AUMFs, because it is an attack against a sovereign nation actually fighting their own internal "terrorists/freedom fighters". So, high crime or misdemeanor? You be the judge. In any event, shouldn't Congress be calling for his eminently impeachable head?
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:22 AM on April 21 [1 favorite +] [!]
At the very least, we should be calling for it. And true, we are, but why not louder?
posted by saysthis at 10:30 AM on April 20, 2018
WaPo: Democratic Party files lawsuit alleging Russia, the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks conspired to disrupt the 2016 campaign...
posted by chris24 at 8:03 AM on April 20 [62 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
About fuckin' time. They're still not accusing the GOP or asking for the ultimate relief: invalidating the election.
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:39 AM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 8:03 AM on April 20 [62 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
About fuckin' time. They're still not accusing the GOP or asking for the ultimate relief: invalidating the election.
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:39 AM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
"Indiana's ban on "selective abortions," which was signed into law in 2016 by then-Gov. Mike Pence, is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled on Thursday.
The law banned women from having abortions based on the gender, race or disability of the fetus.
The law imposes an "undue burden" on a woman's right to get an abortion, said the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago."
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:54 AM on April 20, 2018 [75 favorites]
The law banned women from having abortions based on the gender, race or disability of the fetus.
The law imposes an "undue burden" on a woman's right to get an abortion, said the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago."
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:54 AM on April 20, 2018 [75 favorites]
RE: Tweet linked above about Greitens' hairdresser also cutting hair for some other Missouri politicians:
#1. In reality, the state rep's family she cut hair for is the state rep in whose district Greitens lived at the time. So there is literally no coincidence here whatsoever--aside from the coincidence that two people who live in the same neighborhood happen to go to the same hair salon once in a while.
#2. The false "hairdresser to Missouri political stars" business was nothing but an excuse to post the hairdresser's name (so far kept anonymous by all reputable press & official reports) and photo (again, not widely distributed yet) while also casting aspersions on her because she was at the capitol with a "liberal" group plus she cuts the hair of a Democratic state rep. Ergo her accusations must be politically motivated, etc.
In short, disregard.
posted by flug at 11:24 AM on April 20, 2018 [27 favorites]
#1. In reality, the state rep's family she cut hair for is the state rep in whose district Greitens lived at the time. So there is literally no coincidence here whatsoever--aside from the coincidence that two people who live in the same neighborhood happen to go to the same hair salon once in a while.
#2. The false "hairdresser to Missouri political stars" business was nothing but an excuse to post the hairdresser's name (so far kept anonymous by all reputable press & official reports) and photo (again, not widely distributed yet) while also casting aspersions on her because she was at the capitol with a "liberal" group plus she cuts the hair of a Democratic state rep. Ergo her accusations must be politically motivated, etc.
In short, disregard.
posted by flug at 11:24 AM on April 20, 2018 [27 favorites]
Greitens is essentially already caught dead to rights, right? I'd wonder if any news not about that is designed to soften the case against him.
posted by rhizome at 11:27 AM on April 20, 2018
posted by rhizome at 11:27 AM on April 20, 2018
That was a lovely little quiet time when we all got stuff done while Twitter was down and the news stopped.
The Intercept, Trump Fundraiser Offered Russian Gas Company Plan to Get Sanctions Lifted for $26 Million
posted by zachlipton at 11:27 AM on April 20, 2018 [45 favorites]
The Intercept, Trump Fundraiser Offered Russian Gas Company Plan to Get Sanctions Lifted for $26 Million
Shortly after President Donald Trump was inaugurated last year, top Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy offered Russian gas giant Novatek a $26 million lobbying plan aimed at removing the company from a U.S. sanctions list, according to documents obtained by The Intercept.Bloomberg reported a more vague version of this last month. So this is yet another person connected to Trump, Cohen, and the RNC (and presumably someone susceptible to blackmail given Cohen's legal work for him) who sought to undermine Russian sanctions as soon as Trump took office.
Broidy is a Trump associate who was deputy finance chair of the Republican National Committee until he resigned last week amid reports that he had agreed to pay $1.6 million to a former Playboy model with whom he had an affair. But in February 2017, when he laid out his lobbying proposal for Novatek, he was acting as a well-connected businessman and longtime Republican donor in a bid to help the Russian company avoid sanctions imposed by the Obama administration. The 2014 sanctions were aimed at punishing Russia for annexing Crimea and supporting pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine.
posted by zachlipton at 11:27 AM on April 20, 2018 [45 favorites]
Not that Trump deserves fair treatment, but nonetheless... imagine that you're the head of state and you find out that the head of state for any other major world power called days ago and you weren't told about it.
Or, as someone suggested earlier in the thread (sorry, can't find it now), the more likely scenario is Trump did know about it but forgot until Flynn mentioned it. So he was having an "oh shit" moment. Imagine your reaction upon realizing that you have forgotten to call back the head of state for another major world power.
I worked in the temp pool at Universal for a couple summers during college and somehow wound up as the fill in #2 admin for Universal Pictures President of Distribution for a couple of weeks, even though I was grossly unqualified. She was way, way at the top of the org chart (two admins!) and I didn't know how to work the intercom. The phones were super important and they never stopped ringing. There was a pecking order on who got buzzed through, who got logged for a call back, who got a call back from the #1 admin, instead, etc. Mostly my boss's calls were logged, as pretty much only the Bronfman's were higher on the pyramid. We tracked every call in a crazy computerized log, and also in one of those notebooks with the carbon and the little sheets of perforated paper and then she'd buzz out for one of us to dial the call, then connect to her in her office or her cell phone or wherever. The #1 admin handled all that -- unless she was on break or at lunch. Then it was me. It was terrifying. Please nobody call please nobody call please nobody call. Just like in Little League -- please don't throw a strike please don't hit it here please don't make the second out.
Usually nobody called, until one afternoon Sumner Redstone did. First I put him on hold and tried to connect with the boss on her cell, but the instructions were unclear and I was blind with fear, so of course I couldn't make it happen. I picked up with Redstone and explained I was having some connection problems, but I would have it fixed in a second. "Take your time," he said, slow and quiet. I tried again, but having no more luck the second time, I picked up with Redstone again and explained that my boss was unreachable at the moment could I please take a message.
"No message. Just tell her I called."
Which I did, when she returned from lunch. "You took a message from WHO?!"
"He didn't really leave a message. Shall I dial him?"
"I'll do it myself," and off she went into her office.
So, maybe I guess I know how Trump might feel when an inept staffer screws up the telephone protocol.
posted by notyou at 11:32 AM on April 20, 2018 [38 favorites]
Or, as someone suggested earlier in the thread (sorry, can't find it now), the more likely scenario is Trump did know about it but forgot until Flynn mentioned it. So he was having an "oh shit" moment. Imagine your reaction upon realizing that you have forgotten to call back the head of state for another major world power.
I worked in the temp pool at Universal for a couple summers during college and somehow wound up as the fill in #2 admin for Universal Pictures President of Distribution for a couple of weeks, even though I was grossly unqualified. She was way, way at the top of the org chart (two admins!) and I didn't know how to work the intercom. The phones were super important and they never stopped ringing. There was a pecking order on who got buzzed through, who got logged for a call back, who got a call back from the #1 admin, instead, etc. Mostly my boss's calls were logged, as pretty much only the Bronfman's were higher on the pyramid. We tracked every call in a crazy computerized log, and also in one of those notebooks with the carbon and the little sheets of perforated paper and then she'd buzz out for one of us to dial the call, then connect to her in her office or her cell phone or wherever. The #1 admin handled all that -- unless she was on break or at lunch. Then it was me. It was terrifying. Please nobody call please nobody call please nobody call. Just like in Little League -- please don't throw a strike please don't hit it here please don't make the second out.
Usually nobody called, until one afternoon Sumner Redstone did. First I put him on hold and tried to connect with the boss on her cell, but the instructions were unclear and I was blind with fear, so of course I couldn't make it happen. I picked up with Redstone and explained I was having some connection problems, but I would have it fixed in a second. "Take your time," he said, slow and quiet. I tried again, but having no more luck the second time, I picked up with Redstone again and explained that my boss was unreachable at the moment could I please take a message.
"No message. Just tell her I called."
Which I did, when she returned from lunch. "You took a message from WHO?!"
"He didn't really leave a message. Shall I dial him?"
"I'll do it myself," and off she went into her office.
So, maybe I guess I know how Trump might feel when an inept staffer screws up the telephone protocol.
posted by notyou at 11:32 AM on April 20, 2018 [38 favorites]
Ned Price [via Twitter]:
It seems apparent from reliable sources that Mike Pompeo did NOT serve in the first Gulf War, but nearly half of his public bios--including his Wikipedia page--and contemporary write-ups claim he did. Is this something he's been content to leave uncorrected?
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:36 AM on April 20, 2018 [50 favorites]
It seems apparent from reliable sources that Mike Pompeo did NOT serve in the first Gulf War, but nearly half of his public bios--including his Wikipedia page--and contemporary write-ups claim he did. Is this something he's been content to leave uncorrected?
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:36 AM on April 20, 2018 [50 favorites]
#1. In reality, the state rep's family she cut hair for is the state rep in whose district Greitens lived at the time. So there is literally no coincidence here whatsoever--aside from the coincidence that two people who live in the same neighborhood happen to go to the same hair salon once in a while.
I bet she cuts the hair of ALL the guys! /s Really, in what universe is "don't rape your hairdresser or beat her up" rocket science?
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 11:39 AM on April 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
I bet she cuts the hair of ALL the guys! /s Really, in what universe is "don't rape your hairdresser or beat her up" rocket science?
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 11:39 AM on April 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
Erm, how reliable, exactly? Don't get Rathergated here.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 11:39 AM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 11:39 AM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
In any other administration that would sink Pompeo but this is Trump so who knows?
posted by scalefree at 11:39 AM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 11:39 AM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
Well now Pompeo's Wikipedia page has a little asterisk in his infobox explaining his "service is disputed by the CIA," so there's that.
posted by reductiondesign at 11:41 AM on April 20, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by reductiondesign at 11:41 AM on April 20, 2018 [14 favorites]
Erm, how reliable, exactly? Don't get Rathergated here.
Well...
The CIA Says Mike Pompeo Didn't Fight in the Gulf War
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:42 AM on April 20, 2018 [29 favorites]
Well...
The CIA Says Mike Pompeo Didn't Fight in the Gulf War
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:42 AM on April 20, 2018 [29 favorites]
Erm, how reliable, exactly?
Would you believe the CIA?
posted by Etrigan at 11:43 AM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Would you believe the CIA?
posted by Etrigan at 11:43 AM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
The sepulchres are whiteder than ever.
Vox: Poll: White evangelical support for Trump is at an all-time high
The poll, conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute in March, found that a full 75 percent of white evangelicals surveyed had a positive opinion of Donald Trump, compared to just 22 percent holding an unfavorable view. Among white evangelical men, that number is even higher — 81 percent — while 71 percent of white evangelical women also view Trump favorably. [...] According to the poll, 69 percent of white evangelicals would prefer Trump, rather than another Republican candidate, as the 2020 presidential nominee.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:48 AM on April 20, 2018 [28 favorites]
Vox: Poll: White evangelical support for Trump is at an all-time high
The poll, conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute in March, found that a full 75 percent of white evangelicals surveyed had a positive opinion of Donald Trump, compared to just 22 percent holding an unfavorable view. Among white evangelical men, that number is even higher — 81 percent — while 71 percent of white evangelical women also view Trump favorably. [...] According to the poll, 69 percent of white evangelicals would prefer Trump, rather than another Republican candidate, as the 2020 presidential nominee.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:48 AM on April 20, 2018 [28 favorites]
AP, Big banks saved $3.6B in taxes last quarter under new law. That's just six banks in one quarter.
@darth: ENJOY THOSE COSTCO MEMBERSHIPS BIG BANKS
At $120 for a Business Executive membership (come on, you think Goldman Sachs is going to slum it with an ordinary card?), that's 30 million Costco memberships in one quarter alone. Stick that in a campaign ad and air it everywhere.
posted by zachlipton at 11:48 AM on April 20, 2018 [16 favorites]
@darth: ENJOY THOSE COSTCO MEMBERSHIPS BIG BANKS
At $120 for a Business Executive membership (come on, you think Goldman Sachs is going to slum it with an ordinary card?), that's 30 million Costco memberships in one quarter alone. Stick that in a campaign ad and air it everywhere.
posted by zachlipton at 11:48 AM on April 20, 2018 [16 favorites]
> Greitens is essentially already caught dead to rights, right? I'd wonder if any news not about that is designed to soften the case against him.
Well, to Greitens' & his supporters' credit, I haven't yet seen the sort of mass orchestrated vilify-the-messenger weaponize-every-ounce-of-personal-information type media attack here that the national Rs seem to roll out against "enemies" on roughly a weekly basis nowadays.
So, there is one possibly good thing that we can still say about Missouri politics?
posted by flug at 11:51 AM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
Well, to Greitens' & his supporters' credit, I haven't yet seen the sort of mass orchestrated vilify-the-messenger weaponize-every-ounce-of-personal-information type media attack here that the national Rs seem to roll out against "enemies" on roughly a weekly basis nowadays.
So, there is one possibly good thing that we can still say about Missouri politics?
posted by flug at 11:51 AM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
Despite that, the main (indeed, only) defense he has is that she's lying and this is a False Rape Accusation(TM).
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:53 AM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:53 AM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
Either Pompeo never reads his press (unlikely), doesn't get the difference between "serving in" & "serving during" (absurd) or he inflated his record. In a just universe we don't inhabit this would torpedo his nomination.
posted by scalefree at 11:53 AM on April 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 11:53 AM on April 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
It's foolish to expect any consistency from Trump over Pompeo's exaggerated claims, but he did attack Sen Blumenthal for being a "phony Vietnam con artist" over a similar situation of incorrect media reports left uncorrected.
posted by peeedro at 11:57 AM on April 20, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by peeedro at 11:57 AM on April 20, 2018 [15 favorites]
Trump is not Congress. They choose not to exercise their agency very often but they are capable of it. I will hope this is one of those cases.
posted by scalefree at 12:08 PM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 12:08 PM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
Pompeo's exaggerated claims
Unless I've missed it, it does not appear that Pompeo is the one making false claims about his military service record. This looks like a mistake that a bunch of media outlets, a wikipedia editor and Congresscritters have made.
Has he ever claimed he served in the Gulf War?
posted by zarq at 12:09 PM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Unless I've missed it, it does not appear that Pompeo is the one making false claims about his military service record. This looks like a mistake that a bunch of media outlets, a wikipedia editor and Congresscritters have made.
Has he ever claimed he served in the Gulf War?
posted by zarq at 12:09 PM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Surely at some point the difference between "I never said I served in the gulf war" and "I never corrected the dozens of public assertions I had served" is meaningless, right?
hahahah as I write this it occurs to me there are two points at which the difference ceases to matter, and theyre on opposite poles. it wont matter because even if he HAD lied it wont matter, and it should matter because even if he didn't say so he should have clarified where others did . . .
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 12:11 PM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
hahahah as I write this it occurs to me there are two points at which the difference ceases to matter, and theyre on opposite poles. it wont matter because even if he HAD lied it wont matter, and it should matter because even if he didn't say so he should have clarified where others did . . .
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 12:11 PM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
Unless I've missed it, it does not appear that Pompeo is the one making false claims about his military service record.
I can't say I've tracked all of his public statements, but I'm sure if a record of anything like this exists it will show up by the end of the weekend.
posted by rhizome at 12:14 PM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
I can't say I've tracked all of his public statements, but I'm sure if a record of anything like this exists it will show up by the end of the weekend.
posted by rhizome at 12:14 PM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
> Greitens is essentially already caught dead to rights, right? I'd wonder if any news not about that is designed to soften the case against him.
Well, to Greitens' & his supporters' credit, I haven't yet seen the sort of mass orchestrated vilify-the-messenger weaponize-every-ounce-of-personal-information type media attack here that the national Rs seem to roll out against "enemies" on roughly a weekly basis nowadays.
So, there is one possibly good thing that we can still say about Missouri politics?
posted by flug at 3:51 AM on April 21 [1 favorite +] [!]
It's foolish to expect any consistency from Trump over Pompeo's exaggerated claims, but he did attack Sen Blumenthal for being a "phony Vietnam con artist" over a similar situation of incorrect media reports left uncorrected.
posted by peeedro at 3:57 AM on April 21 [5 favorites +] [!]
Something something about liberal media bias (right wing for reporting it at all)/"weak" liberal response (left for not responding in kind). I want a Congress that will block this man. I can't have it and I don't even know who to blame. Fuck you, Mike Pompeo. Also, may Greitens die in prison (unless we pony get prison reform, in which case may he serve 10 years in an IKEA-padded cell and then never get laid or let out of Missouri again, which I think would totally be punishment enough for that particular ego deficiency)
posted by saysthis at 12:15 PM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Well, to Greitens' & his supporters' credit, I haven't yet seen the sort of mass orchestrated vilify-the-messenger weaponize-every-ounce-of-personal-information type media attack here that the national Rs seem to roll out against "enemies" on roughly a weekly basis nowadays.
So, there is one possibly good thing that we can still say about Missouri politics?
posted by flug at 3:51 AM on April 21 [1 favorite +] [!]
It's foolish to expect any consistency from Trump over Pompeo's exaggerated claims, but he did attack Sen Blumenthal for being a "phony Vietnam con artist" over a similar situation of incorrect media reports left uncorrected.
posted by peeedro at 3:57 AM on April 21 [5 favorites +] [!]
Something something about liberal media bias (right wing for reporting it at all)/"weak" liberal response (left for not responding in kind). I want a Congress that will block this man. I can't have it and I don't even know who to blame. Fuck you, Mike Pompeo. Also, may Greitens die in prison (unless we pony get prison reform, in which case may he serve 10 years in an IKEA-padded cell and then never get laid or let out of Missouri again, which I think would totally be punishment enough for that particular ego deficiency)
posted by saysthis at 12:15 PM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Has he ever claimed he served in the Gulf War?
At the very least he allowed the false claim to stand when made by highly ranked sources largely in his support or defense. He had to know the claim was being made. He had an obligation to correct the record & he didn't. A sin of omission is still a sin.
posted by scalefree at 12:15 PM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
At the very least he allowed the false claim to stand when made by highly ranked sources largely in his support or defense. He had to know the claim was being made. He had an obligation to correct the record & he didn't. A sin of omission is still a sin.
posted by scalefree at 12:15 PM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
Either that or he religiously avoids reading or hearing anything said about him ever. Which is nonsense.
posted by scalefree at 12:17 PM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by scalefree at 12:17 PM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
@bradheath (USA Today)
Some context on Andrew McCabe: DOJ's Inspector General refers a handful of false-statements cases to federal prosecutors every year. About 70% of the referrals are declined. Very few have led to convictions.
LIST
posted by chris24 at 12:22 PM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
Some context on Andrew McCabe: DOJ's Inspector General refers a handful of false-statements cases to federal prosecutors every year. About 70% of the referrals are declined. Very few have led to convictions.
LIST
posted by chris24 at 12:22 PM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
Pompeo (allegedly) graduated from the United States Military Academy, whose Honor Code states, "A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do." Emphasis added, because that part was added later specifically to address "Well, it wasn't me who lied, I was just standing there not correcting it..." situations.
posted by Etrigan at 12:23 PM on April 20, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by Etrigan at 12:23 PM on April 20, 2018 [26 favorites]
The claim appeared in:
The Washington Post
The New Yorker
The LA Times
Wired
The Wall Street Journal
A letter of support by Trey Gowdy
A speech on the Senate floor by Marco Rubio
Oh & WikiPedia
I'm sure that list will grow. Even if the original error wasn't his, of course he knew.
posted by scalefree at 12:25 PM on April 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
The Washington Post
The New Yorker
The LA Times
Wired
The Wall Street Journal
A letter of support by Trey Gowdy
A speech on the Senate floor by Marco Rubio
Oh & WikiPedia
I'm sure that list will grow. Even if the original error wasn't his, of course he knew.
posted by scalefree at 12:25 PM on April 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
He had to know the claim was being made. He had an obligation to correct the record & he didn't. A sin of omission is still a sin.
Does anyone doubt that if Wikipedia had mentioned, "he was known for throwing orgy parties while attending college," that he'd've just let the record stand and not bothered to correct it? Does anyone think that if news articles mentioned, "he spent six months in prison for wire fraud," he wouldn't have issued statements and possibly filed lawsuits to get that info removed?
He knew the info was out there and he was happy to see it, and likely went out of his way not to contradict it.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:25 PM on April 20, 2018 [12 favorites]
Does anyone doubt that if Wikipedia had mentioned, "he was known for throwing orgy parties while attending college," that he'd've just let the record stand and not bothered to correct it? Does anyone think that if news articles mentioned, "he spent six months in prison for wire fraud," he wouldn't have issued statements and possibly filed lawsuits to get that info removed?
He knew the info was out there and he was happy to see it, and likely went out of his way not to contradict it.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:25 PM on April 20, 2018 [12 favorites]
At the very least he allowed the false claim to stand when made by highly ranked sources largely in his support or defense. He had to know the claim was being made. He had an obligation to correct the record & he didn't. A sin of omission is still a sin.
Serving during the Gulf War but not being deployed there just seems like a really stupid thing to have to clarify. He served in the military during the War. He didn't serve in that theater. Most of his bios online, including those that he'd have to personally approve (like the CIA one), don't mention the Gulf War specifically, but note that he served with the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry in the 4th Infantry Division.
The guy is a thorough Trump supporter who would probably not challenge any orders he was given. No matter how unethical or inhumane. He's dangerous for a lot of reasons. Worrying about whether he tried to issue corrections to newspapers seems like a really fucking stupid hill to climb.
posted by zarq at 12:28 PM on April 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
Serving during the Gulf War but not being deployed there just seems like a really stupid thing to have to clarify. He served in the military during the War. He didn't serve in that theater. Most of his bios online, including those that he'd have to personally approve (like the CIA one), don't mention the Gulf War specifically, but note that he served with the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry in the 4th Infantry Division.
The guy is a thorough Trump supporter who would probably not challenge any orders he was given. No matter how unethical or inhumane. He's dangerous for a lot of reasons. Worrying about whether he tried to issue corrections to newspapers seems like a really fucking stupid hill to climb.
posted by zarq at 12:28 PM on April 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
Pompeo (allegedly) graduated from the United States Military Academy, whose Honor Code states, "A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do."
Considering the guy's political record, it is laughable to think he ever took it seriously.
posted by zarq at 12:30 PM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
Considering the guy's political record, it is laughable to think he ever took it seriously.
posted by zarq at 12:30 PM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
The guy is a thorough Trump supporter who would probably not challenge any orders he was given. No matter how unethical or inhumane. He's dangerous for a lot of reasons. Worrying about whether he tried to issue corrections to newspapers seems like a really fucking stupid hill to climb.
If the only way you can successfully block the nomination of a really dangerous man is through his allowing an exaggerated record to stand instead of arguing how dangerous he is, would you take it?
posted by scalefree at 12:34 PM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
If the only way you can successfully block the nomination of a really dangerous man is through his allowing an exaggerated record to stand instead of arguing how dangerous he is, would you take it?
posted by scalefree at 12:34 PM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
Can we not beanplate Pompeo's military record? It feels of a kind with purple Band-Aids and Swiftboats, if not of the same degree. There's so many legitimate reasons to shitcan the guy, we don't need to do this.
posted by Fezboy! at 12:37 PM on April 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Fezboy! at 12:37 PM on April 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
Can we not beanplate Pompeo's military record?
Can we not beanplate Al Capone's tax returns?
posted by JackFlash at 12:43 PM on April 20, 2018 [16 favorites]
Can we not beanplate Al Capone's tax returns?
posted by JackFlash at 12:43 PM on April 20, 2018 [16 favorites]
Mod note: I don't think the question of Pompeo's conspicuous omission re: his military record is off the table or anything, but I also don't think there's a ton more to say about it right now, so how about we move on until there's something more substantial to discuss there instead of jockeying pointlessly in here over how much we should in theory care.
posted by cortex (staff) at 12:49 PM on April 20, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 12:49 PM on April 20, 2018 [20 favorites]
Michael Cohen's Motion to Stay The Stormy Daniels Case Deferred, Cohen's Situation Pronounced Ominous (Popehat)
Holy crap, this stuff is just plain awesome, the game playing and crap is just plain fascinating. Great read.
posted by Bovine Love at 12:49 PM on April 20, 2018 [44 favorites]
Holy crap, this stuff is just plain awesome, the game playing and crap is just plain fascinating. Great read.
posted by Bovine Love at 12:49 PM on April 20, 2018 [44 favorites]
New Gonzales Senate ratings out, three moves, all towards Dems:
PA (Casey): Lean Dem => Likely Dem
TX (Cruz): Solid GOP => Likely GOP
TN (open): Likely GOP => Lean GOP
posted by Chrysostom at 12:52 PM on April 20, 2018 [23 favorites]
PA (Casey): Lean Dem => Likely Dem
TX (Cruz): Solid GOP => Likely GOP
TN (open): Likely GOP => Lean GOP
posted by Chrysostom at 12:52 PM on April 20, 2018 [23 favorites]
Speaking of ominous Cohen situations:
Newsweek: Michael Cohen tried to apologize to Melania Trump for Stormy Daniels payment
Cohen—who is under a federal investigation related to such payments and documents who many now suspect may flip on the president—approached and tried to say sorry to the first lady earlier this year at a GOP fundraiser held at the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort, The New York Times reported Friday.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:54 PM on April 20, 2018 [18 favorites]
Newsweek: Michael Cohen tried to apologize to Melania Trump for Stormy Daniels payment
Cohen—who is under a federal investigation related to such payments and documents who many now suspect may flip on the president—approached and tried to say sorry to the first lady earlier this year at a GOP fundraiser held at the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort, The New York Times reported Friday.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:54 PM on April 20, 2018 [18 favorites]
Erik Wemple, Responding to James Comey, New York Times’s Baquet says key Russia-Trump story was ‘NOT inaccurate’, in which we take a dive into that classic NYT story: "Investigating Donald Trump, F.B.I. Sees No Clear Link to Russia."
posted by zachlipton at 1:00 PM on April 20, 2018 [25 favorites]
Remnick: In fact, didn’t the FBI already know about George Papadopoulos’s involvement with the Russians? The intelligence agencies knew that the Russians were engaged in efforts to meet with members of the Trump campaign and do damage to the Clinton campaign. CIA Director [John] Brennan at that point strongly believed the Russians were supporting the Trump candidacy in many ways. Why would the FBI push that story on the New York Times a week before the election?”When asked for comment, the Times tries to pull a sly rhetorical trick:
Comey: Yeah, that’s a hard one to answer. I don’t know who the FBI is in this context. The FBI didn’t, at least to my knowledge, push any such story. By that point, we had concluded that there was an ongoing effort, that it had three goals: To dirty up the American democracy, to hurt Hillary Clinton and to help elect Donald Trump. And so, I don’t know who was talking to the New York Times, but that’s my reaction to it.
Remnick: You’re saying the Times’s FBI sources, on that story a week before the election, were wrong.
Comey: I don’t want to react to all of that because I’m being careful to abide my earlier rule where I’m not going to talk about details of the investigation. But at least with respect to the bit about what the goals of the Russian effort were, it’s just wrong. And that’s the challenge of an organization of 38,000 people. I don’t know who the FBI is in this context.
Asked to comment on whether the newspaper is prepared to revisit the article in light of Comey’s comments, New York Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet emailed the Erik Wemple Blog: “I think the headline was off but if you read the story I think it was NOT inaccurate based on what we knew at the time. Sort of like the Hillary Clinton story that turned out to be right.”Of course, what we want from a newspaper is for their reporting to be accurate based on what is happening in the world, not merely accuracy based on what their particular sources are telling them.
posted by zachlipton at 1:00 PM on April 20, 2018 [25 favorites]
Pruitt Follies: One of embattled EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's most trusted advisers sought to retroactively change her resignation date a day after the House oversight committee requested to interview her as part of its investigation.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:03 PM on April 20, 2018 [31 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 1:03 PM on April 20, 2018 [31 favorites]
Someone needs to write the obvious Onion story about how Prague is getting overrun with traitors coming in to meet their handlers and sell out their countries, and residents are starting to long for the days they only had to deal with American backpackers and British punters.
posted by ocschwar at 1:09 PM on April 20, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by ocschwar at 1:09 PM on April 20, 2018 [10 favorites]
Of course, what we want from a newspaper is for their reporting to be accurate based on what is happening in the world, not merely accuracy based on what their particular sources are telling them.
Jay Rosen's been banging this drum for a long time; it's a lot easier to just report "X said Y; Z disagrees" than it is to actually evaluate if Y is true.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 1:11 PM on April 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
Jay Rosen's been banging this drum for a long time; it's a lot easier to just report "X said Y; Z disagrees" than it is to actually evaluate if Y is true.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 1:11 PM on April 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
I always appreciate Ken White's articles at Popehat, even when I'm not happy with his messages. And in this case, I'm glad to see him reviewing the legal shenanigans; we get plenty of coverage of the interpersonal drama but very few mainstream publications bother to tell us how the courtroom activities stack up against normal ones.
It's likely the president will declare he doesn't have to hand over any evidence, at which point, the judge is likely to say, well fine, then Ms Daniels' version is obviously the correct one, since nothing contradicts it. I expect some interesting scrabbling on the part of Trump's lawyers.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:12 PM on April 20, 2018 [30 favorites]
Judge Otero asked tough questions of both sides, often asking questions which — in isolation — sounded like he was deciding one way or the other, only to point in a different direction a moment later. He was well prepared and skeptical of both sides, a model of what you want an independent judiciary to be. Both Blakely and Avenatti was well-prepared and effective advocates. Trump's lawyers looked concerned very competently.Ruling: Cohen has a week to take the Fifth, or the trial is likely to proceed, requiring disclosure from both him and the president.
It's likely the president will declare he doesn't have to hand over any evidence, at which point, the judge is likely to say, well fine, then Ms Daniels' version is obviously the correct one, since nothing contradicts it. I expect some interesting scrabbling on the part of Trump's lawyers.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:12 PM on April 20, 2018 [30 favorites]
Jay Rosen's been banging this drum for a long time; it's a lot easier to just report "X said Y; Z disagrees" than it is to actually evaluate if Y is true.
It's the difference between "balanced" journalism and objective journalism, and the profession suffers from abandoning the latter for the former.
posted by Gelatin at 1:13 PM on April 20, 2018 [23 favorites]
It's the difference between "balanced" journalism and objective journalism, and the profession suffers from abandoning the latter for the former.
posted by Gelatin at 1:13 PM on April 20, 2018 [23 favorites]
Sort of like the Hillary Clinton story
My head is hitting the desk today frequently, but the Paper Of Record's response to falsely reporting that there were no Russians, no dirt, nothing: BOTH SIDES!!! BUT HER EMAILZZ!!!! -- is sending me home to drink.
posted by Dashy at 1:13 PM on April 20, 2018 [18 favorites]
My head is hitting the desk today frequently, but the Paper Of Record's response to falsely reporting that there were no Russians, no dirt, nothing: BOTH SIDES!!! BUT HER EMAILZZ!!!! -- is sending me home to drink.
posted by Dashy at 1:13 PM on April 20, 2018 [18 favorites]
Sort of like the Hillary Clinton story
I think he's trying to compare it to the 2015 story Inquiry Sought in Hillary Clinton’s Use of Email (note the two corrections at the bottom and the editor's note). Comey would later say in his book that the original story was more accurate because the FBI really was conducting a criminal investigation into Clinton's email practices. The Times gloated about this when the book came out.
So Baquet seems to trying to argue that they got played in various ways and it all balances out or something, instead of acknowledging they botched a major story just days before the election.
posted by zachlipton at 1:22 PM on April 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
I think he's trying to compare it to the 2015 story Inquiry Sought in Hillary Clinton’s Use of Email (note the two corrections at the bottom and the editor's note). Comey would later say in his book that the original story was more accurate because the FBI really was conducting a criminal investigation into Clinton's email practices. The Times gloated about this when the book came out.
So Baquet seems to trying to argue that they got played in various ways and it all balances out or something, instead of acknowledging they botched a major story just days before the election.
posted by zachlipton at 1:22 PM on April 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
Bloomberg: Michael Cohen’s Other Woe: Mounting Unpaid Taxes on New York Cabs
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:31 PM on April 20, 2018 [46 favorites]
Taxicab companies owned by Michael Cohen or family members just got hit with nearly $80,000 in new claims for unpaid taxes, according to records filed in New York.Nothing is going Michael Cohen's way, and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
The bills show the declining fortunes of some companies linked to Cohen, the longtime personal lawyer to President Donald Trump.[...]
New York state filed tax liens in Manhattan this week against five companies owned by Cohen and members of his family, including Mad Dog Cab Corp., Martha Cab Corp., LAF Hacking Corp. and NY Funky Taxi Corp. The Cohens own medallions for 32 taxis in New York City through 16 companies. Most of those companies are now encumbered by liens: State tax authorities are seeking about $174,000 in all in taxes from Cohen family taxi companies, including the latest claims.[...]
In recent years, the taxi business has come under severe financial pressure as customers are lured to ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft. New York-issued taxi medallions, which are required to pick up anyone hailing a ride, changed hands for as much as $1.3 million each less than a half-decade ago. Their prices have since plunged to about $200,000.
The Cohens’ 32 medallions were last refinanced around market highs in 2014 and the loans are due in 2019, Bloomberg reported last week.
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:31 PM on April 20, 2018 [46 favorites]
Brent H. Blakely Attorney, the lawyer representing Cohen at Michael Cohen's Motion to Stay The Stormy Daniels Case Deferred, Cohen's Situation Pronounced Ominous (Popehat)
Dear Google,
I have recently heard of figures involved in Washington things. I was curious about who these figures are, and more importantly, what in their past might indicate future behaviors and successes, given recent developments and fake gingers in the White House.
Dear Saysthis,
After graduating from Pepperdine. Blakely clerked under Henry Politz, the less-than-infamous-at-least-on-Wikipedia, the judge of whom, according to the first lawyer to defend Gilbert Gauthe, a rather rapey Catholic priest, F. Ray Mouton Jr., said and had reported of the case
This statement on behalf of Google which is actually on behalf of the commenter in no way implies Cohen's lawyer is shady as fuck except for its presence in this thread.
posted by saysthis at 1:35 PM on April 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
Dear Google,
I have recently heard of figures involved in Washington things. I was curious about who these figures are, and more importantly, what in their past might indicate future behaviors and successes, given recent developments and fake gingers in the White House.
Dear Saysthis,
After graduating from Pepperdine. Blakely clerked under Henry Politz, the less-than-infamous-at-least-on-Wikipedia, the judge of whom, according to the first lawyer to defend Gilbert Gauthe, a rather rapey Catholic priest, F. Ray Mouton Jr., said and had reported of the case
Politz was the Chief Judge for the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal, one level below the US Surpreme Court. "I resigned as Gauthe’s counsel for two reasons," continues Mouton. "He had violated our agreement, and the very idea of this prominient judge reaching out to help him gave me a very uneasy feeling, ethically and morally."He has represented such clients as Paris Hilton, Luxottica against Oakley (prior to Luxottica buying Oakley to reinforce its monopoly over, like, most of the eyeglass market), and seems to be single-handedly responsible for the disappearance of knockoff UGGS (have knockoff UGGS disappeared?).
Following Mouton’s departure, and in the years that followed, Judge Henry Politz - a family friend of Gauthe’s - ensured the convicted priest was well looked after in prison. The paedophile was given his own ‘office’, off-limits to the guards, and his pick of teenage inmates to staff it. According to Mouton, the warden "had a large photo on the wall of him being sworn in by the judge." Even more strangely, Gauthe was spotted on several occasions accompanying Judge Politz to society functions in Louisiana. How or why the judge decided to publicly sponsor him has never been explained.
After he was eventually released, Gauthe was again arrested on sexual-abuse charges. Once the priest was back behind bars, however, Mouton was horrified to learn that he had a rock-hard defence strategy: the plea bargain he’d cut with Mouton’s help in 1985. In that, the state of Louisiana had agreed that Gauthe couldn’t be convicted of certain crimes that pre-dated the 1985 charges. The new allegations he faced after his release from prison in 1995 fell into this category, meaning Gauthe was being held illegally.
This statement on behalf of Google which is actually on behalf of the commenter in no way implies Cohen's lawyer is shady as fuck except for its presence in this thread.
posted by saysthis at 1:35 PM on April 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
Vox has more on the Page/Strzok situation (wait, Vox is breaking news now? That's unusual), Murray Waas, Exclusive: Trump pressed Sessions to fire 2 FBI officials who sent anti-Trump text messages
The article goes on to note that the FBI now has more agents working full-time to review documents for the GOP House investigations of the FBI than it has working for Mueller's investigation.
posted by zachlipton at 1:45 PM on April 20, 2018 [20 favorites]
President Donald Trump sharply questioned Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director Christopher Wray during a White House meeting on January 22 about why two senior FBI officials — Peter Strzok and Lisa Page — were still in their jobs despite allegations made by allies of the president that they had been disloyal to him and had unfairly targeted him and his administration, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.I'll just put this over here with the rest of the obstruction.
The president also pressed his attorney general and FBI director to work more aggressively to uncover derogatory information within the FBI’s files to turn over to congressional Republicans working to discredit the two FBI officials, according to the same sources.
The very next day, Trump met Sessions again, this time without Wray present, and even more aggressively advocated that Strzok and Page be fired, the sources said.
The article goes on to note that the FBI now has more agents working full-time to review documents for the GOP House investigations of the FBI than it has working for Mueller's investigation.
posted by zachlipton at 1:45 PM on April 20, 2018 [20 favorites]
Regarding today's lawsuit from the Democrats, one result I'm hoping for is that (if it goes forward) the trial's events serve as a much-needed Skulduggery Recap to the American people. Even if nothing new is discovered, just being reminded of the full yarn-and-thumbtack chain of events could do some good for the voters.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:48 PM on April 20, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:48 PM on April 20, 2018 [16 favorites]
Never go full yarn-and-thumbtack.
posted by rhizome at 2:08 PM on April 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 2:08 PM on April 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
TPM: Roger Stone: Trump ‘Goes Out Of His Way’ To Treat Cohen Like ‘Garbage’
Gotta wonder what Stone's angle is on this.
posted by duoshao at 2:17 PM on April 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
Gotta wonder what Stone's angle is on this.
posted by duoshao at 2:17 PM on April 20, 2018 [8 favorites]
Same as Putin's.
posted by notsnot at 2:21 PM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by notsnot at 2:21 PM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
Given what is happening to Comey (and before him Clinton) I'm not sure the current way classification works is sustainable. Lots of people would have said it's bullshit already and everything is over-classified but that's not what I mean. Right now as far as I can tell it is illegal to "leak" or provide classified material even if it wasn't yet marked classified which... yeah. That was obviously problematic before but given what we're seeing out of the WH and DOJ now it's a real danger.
It can quite quickly and easily be weaponized. Political opponent releases something? Retroactively classify it! BAM they've commited a federal crime and one which can be proven trivially. Did they release this info? Yes? Is it now classified? Yes? To the pokey!
That would never happen you say? It's exactly what Clinton did, and it's exactly what is now being done with Comey. Nothing in his memos was classified when he sent them but later two of them were deemed to contain "confidential" information, which is the lowest level of classified. So now he has leaked classified information and is being investigated.
Show me the man and I will show you the crime.
posted by Justinian at 2:22 PM on April 20, 2018 [50 favorites]
It can quite quickly and easily be weaponized. Political opponent releases something? Retroactively classify it! BAM they've commited a federal crime and one which can be proven trivially. Did they release this info? Yes? Is it now classified? Yes? To the pokey!
That would never happen you say? It's exactly what Clinton did, and it's exactly what is now being done with Comey. Nothing in his memos was classified when he sent them but later two of them were deemed to contain "confidential" information, which is the lowest level of classified. So now he has leaked classified information and is being investigated.
Show me the man and I will show you the crime.
posted by Justinian at 2:22 PM on April 20, 2018 [50 favorites]
What if Trump all of the sudden agreed to give the far left everything they always wanted? I'm betting a sizable number would take it.
A. This is never going to happen.
B. If it did happen, it would not save Trump, it would damn him in a much more immediate way than anything up to this point has. Historically, anyone with any real power who openly advocates for far left ideas in the US tends to get deeply vilified and persecuted.
C. If somehow this did happen, hell yeah I would take it. Because my commitment to my ideals and the real-world effects I'd like to see are far more important to me than my resentment for any one political figure.
You're right this would never happen but for the wrong reasons.
Trump does not have the authority to give anything much to Democrats. That power lies almost entirely with the House and Senate.
posted by srboisvert at 2:23 PM on April 20, 2018 [6 favorites]
Gotta wonder what Stone's angle is on this.
Stone got uninvited from a keynote at a Florida GOP dinner this weekend, so I'm guessing it's "fuck 'em all"?
posted by JoeZydeco at 2:24 PM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
Stone got uninvited from a keynote at a Florida GOP dinner this weekend, so I'm guessing it's "fuck 'em all"?
posted by JoeZydeco at 2:24 PM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
Vox: Poll: White evangelical support for Trump is at an all-time high
The poll, conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute in March, found that a full 75 percent of white evangelicals surveyed had a positive opinion of Donald Trump, compared to just 22 percent holding an unfavorable view. Among white evangelical men, that number is even higher — 81 percent — while 71 percent of white evangelical women also view Trump favorably. [...] According to the poll, 69 percent of white evangelicals would prefer Trump, rather than another Republican candidate, as the 2020 presidential nominee.
Some of this is probably explained by the less crazy people bailing on Evangelism.
posted by srboisvert at 2:29 PM on April 20, 2018 [21 favorites]
The poll, conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute in March, found that a full 75 percent of white evangelicals surveyed had a positive opinion of Donald Trump, compared to just 22 percent holding an unfavorable view. Among white evangelical men, that number is even higher — 81 percent — while 71 percent of white evangelical women also view Trump favorably. [...] According to the poll, 69 percent of white evangelicals would prefer Trump, rather than another Republican candidate, as the 2020 presidential nominee.
Some of this is probably explained by the less crazy people bailing on Evangelism.
posted by srboisvert at 2:29 PM on April 20, 2018 [21 favorites]
It's exactly what Clinton did, and it's exactly what is now being done with Comey. Nothing in his memos was classified when he sent them but later two of them were deemed to contain "confidential" information,
Comey himself decided those memos contained no classified information; I can see some validity in allowing reclassification of materials originally labeled by someone who got fired.
...However, I think that charging someone with "release of classified info" in cases like these seems like an ex post facto law; the contents weren't illegal to release when they made them public. If they're charging Comey with this, shouldn't they be charging every media company who released them to the public? After all, they're the ones who published classified material.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 2:31 PM on April 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
Comey himself decided those memos contained no classified information; I can see some validity in allowing reclassification of materials originally labeled by someone who got fired.
...However, I think that charging someone with "release of classified info" in cases like these seems like an ex post facto law; the contents weren't illegal to release when they made them public. If they're charging Comey with this, shouldn't they be charging every media company who released them to the public? After all, they're the ones who published classified material.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 2:31 PM on April 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
Evangelicals are going to be the "suddenly" in the "How did Trump lose the election/get impeached? Gradually, then suddenly." joke.
posted by rhizome at 2:32 PM on April 20, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 2:32 PM on April 20, 2018 [6 favorites]
Some of this is probably explained by the less crazy people bailing on Evangelism.
That's obviously possible but I'd have to see the data to believe it. The more likely explanation to me is that evangelicals are doubling down on being terrible. They've come too far to do anything except keep going. Like once you eat your first person it's hard to go back to being a vegetarian.
posted by Justinian at 2:33 PM on April 20, 2018 [36 favorites]
That's obviously possible but I'd have to see the data to believe it. The more likely explanation to me is that evangelicals are doubling down on being terrible. They've come too far to do anything except keep going. Like once you eat your first person it's hard to go back to being a vegetarian.
posted by Justinian at 2:33 PM on April 20, 2018 [36 favorites]
Percentage IDing as evangelical has been in slow decline for years, but I doubt there's been any huge move post-2016 election.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:37 PM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 2:37 PM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
Evangelicals made their choice between "don't vote for obvious Antichrist" and "get mug of liberal tears" and they're sticking with it.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:37 PM on April 20, 2018 [61 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:37 PM on April 20, 2018 [61 favorites]
Some of this is probably explained by the less crazy people bailing on Evangelism.
Exactly. It's becoming acutely embarrassing for many younger people to identify as evangelical.
Amid Evangelical decline, growing split between young Christians and church elders
Exactly. It's becoming acutely embarrassing for many younger people to identify as evangelical.
Amid Evangelical decline, growing split between young Christians and church elders
The number of white evangelical Protestants fell from about 23 percent of the US population in 2006 to 17 percent in 2016, and only 11 percent are under 30, according to a survey of more than 100,000 Americans.posted by monospace at 2:46 PM on April 20, 2018 [20 favorites]
> Some of this is probably explained by the less crazy people bailing on Evangelism.
That's obviously possible but I'd have to see the data to believe it.
Evangelical Identity in an Age of Trump
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 2:51 PM on April 20, 2018 [26 favorites]
That's obviously possible but I'd have to see the data to believe it.
Evangelical Identity in an Age of Trump
After the candidacy of Roy Moore, the trickle of those questioning evangelical identity has become a steady stream. It began with Peter Wehner’s concern that the evangelicals now aboard the Trump train have come to embody what once were liberal caricatures. For this reason, Wehner says, he can no longer self-identify as an evangelical, though he admits that his beliefs still fit the movement. .... Keller concludes that churches that retain an evangelical confessional identity may need to find a different name.Maybe We Don’t Want to Be Evangelicals Anymore
We are the Evangelical Free Church of America, and so this drift in commitment to a definition should concern us. A lot. Our name is coming to mean something our founders did not intend and something we may not recognize. We have defined what we mean by evangelical in our Statement of Faith, but it looks as if that definition only helps inside our tribe. I propose that both inside and outside our tribe, we need to do some clarifying.Should We Give Up On Evangelicalism? (Podcast and transcript)
A couple years ago, I wrote a piece in The Washington Post that said that I find myself not using the word “evangelical” very often anymore and instead using “Gospel Christian” when people ask me about my religious affiliation and who I am. And the reason for that is because often now, when people in the larger world use the word “evangelical,” what they’re doing is talking about mostly simply a political category.There are signs that some devout Christians are moving away from the label "evangelical" because of politics. Not a large number, but every one that does, further skews "white evangelical voters" in favor of the president.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 2:51 PM on April 20, 2018 [26 favorites]
Trump does not have the authority to give anything much to Democrats. That power lies almost entirely with the House and Senate.
The best he could do is... undo all the terrible shit he's done by sweeping away Obama's executive orders. Does anyone think that seems remotely likely to happen? Even if he genuinely wanted to help leftists I can't imagine him doing anything that would make him seem sympathetic to Obama who he has always loathed.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 2:55 PM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
The best he could do is... undo all the terrible shit he's done by sweeping away Obama's executive orders. Does anyone think that seems remotely likely to happen? Even if he genuinely wanted to help leftists I can't imagine him doing anything that would make him seem sympathetic to Obama who he has always loathed.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 2:55 PM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
I have to say, out of all the trump fan fiction we've come up with in these threads over the last year-and-a-half (impeachment, imprisonment, self-exile to Russia, etc.) the scenario that goes "trump enacts leftist agenda in order to throw the feds off his scent" is hands-down the most far-fetched.
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:07 PM on April 20, 2018 [55 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:07 PM on April 20, 2018 [55 favorites]
> Jay Rosen's been banging this drum for a long time; it's a lot easier to just report "X said Y; Z disagrees" than it is to actually evaluate if Y is true.
It's the difference between "balanced" journalism and objective journalism, and the profession suffers from abandoning the latter for the former.
There's a Pulitzer (or at least a dissertation) in it for anyone who wants to analyze changes in how often the word "Says" appears in news headlines over the years, especially based on the outlet and/or modality.
posted by Johann Georg Faust at 3:11 PM on April 20, 2018 [14 favorites]
It's the difference between "balanced" journalism and objective journalism, and the profession suffers from abandoning the latter for the former.
There's a Pulitzer (or at least a dissertation) in it for anyone who wants to analyze changes in how often the word "Says" appears in news headlines over the years, especially based on the outlet and/or modality.
posted by Johann Georg Faust at 3:11 PM on April 20, 2018 [14 favorites]
WaPo, Sessions told White House that Rosenstein’s firing could prompt his departure, too
posted by zachlipton at 3:36 PM on April 20, 2018 [18 favorites]
Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently told the White House he might have to leave his job if President Trump fired his deputy, Rod J. Rosenstein, who oversees the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to people familiar with the exchange.I thought the whole point of this is that Trump wants Sessions gone too, because he's furious that Sessions recused himself and wants to put someone else who didn't in the job.
Sessions made his position known in a phone call to White House counsel Donald McGahn last weekend, as Trump’s fury at Rosenstein peaked after the deputy attorney general approved the FBI’s raid April 9 on the president’s personal attorney Michael Cohen.
posted by zachlipton at 3:36 PM on April 20, 2018 [18 favorites]
Jay Rosen's been banging this drum for a long time; it's a lot easier to just report "X said Y; Z disagrees" than it is to actually evaluate if Y is true.
I believe people in that line of work are called stenographers not journalists.
posted by scalefree at 3:38 PM on April 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
I believe people in that line of work are called stenographers not journalists.
posted by scalefree at 3:38 PM on April 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
I thought the whole point of this is that Trump wants Sessions gone too, because he's furious that Sessions recused himself and wants to put someone else who didn't in the job.
I think Trump wants to fire Sessions on his own terms and is looking for a reason because even he realizes that Sessions quitting is bad optics.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 3:40 PM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
I think Trump wants to fire Sessions on his own terms and is looking for a reason because even he realizes that Sessions quitting is bad optics.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 3:40 PM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Nearly every metric of intolerance in the U.S. has surged over the past 18 months, from reported anti-Semitism and Islamophobia to violent hate crimes based on skin color, nationality or sexual orientation.
They spewed hate. Then they punctuated it with the president’s name.
posted by adamvasco at 3:40 PM on April 20, 2018 [59 favorites]
They spewed hate. Then they punctuated it with the president’s name.
posted by adamvasco at 3:40 PM on April 20, 2018 [59 favorites]
Trump has just tweeted a complaint about "Wendy Wasserman Schultz." I'm just going to assume he was a fan of the late, great playwright Wendy Wasserstein and briefly got confused, because I need things to make sense. Unfortunately, none of the rest of the tweet makes any sense either, like at all. It's batshit, even by Trump tweet standards.
And Eric Greitens has just been charged with felony computer tampering over his campaign's use of his veterans charity’s donor list. The "computer tampering" statute over there seems to be poorly named; the article calls it "essentially electronic theft."
posted by zachlipton at 3:41 PM on April 20, 2018 [26 favorites]
And Eric Greitens has just been charged with felony computer tampering over his campaign's use of his veterans charity’s donor list. The "computer tampering" statute over there seems to be poorly named; the article calls it "essentially electronic theft."
posted by zachlipton at 3:41 PM on April 20, 2018 [26 favorites]
WaPo, Sessions told White House that Rosenstein’s firing could prompt his departure, too
Sorry, one more pullquote:
posted by zachlipton at 3:45 PM on April 20, 2018 [10 favorites]
Sorry, one more pullquote:
But Sessions has had little ability to do anything about it, given his own shaky standing with Trump for recusing himself from the Russia investigation, this official said. Trump has, at times, referred to Sessions as “Mr. Magoo” and Rosenstein as “Mr. Peepers,” a character from a 1950s sitcom, according to people with whom the president has spoken.We knew about Mr. Magoo, but I believe Mr. Peepers is new?
posted by zachlipton at 3:45 PM on April 20, 2018 [10 favorites]
Deep Throat's "the truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand" has been getting a lot of play during these Stupid Watergate days, but his "these are men with switchblade mentalities who run the world as if it were Dodge City" also works.
posted by kirkaracha at 3:51 PM on April 20, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 3:51 PM on April 20, 2018 [12 favorites]
If he wanted Sessions gone, he'd fire him.
It’s also an open question if Trump can shuffle someone already approved into the AG role under the Vacancies Act if he fired someone to create the vacancy (as opposed to Sessions just resigning). The answer I’ve seen is probably he can, but it would definitely be litigated.
posted by stopgap at 4:01 PM on April 20, 2018
It’s also an open question if Trump can shuffle someone already approved into the AG role under the Vacancies Act if he fired someone to create the vacancy (as opposed to Sessions just resigning). The answer I’ve seen is probably he can, but it would definitely be litigated.
posted by stopgap at 4:01 PM on April 20, 2018
Some of this is probably explained by the less crazy people bailing on Evangelism.
I suspect an equal if not larger effect is that they're bought & happy. For years they've been used by Republicans as reliable vote fodder, a vast pool of people they can tap into who'll support them because they talk the talk but never quite get around to delivering on those words. Along comes Trump throwing favors their way like Santa Claus on Christmas morning. Jerusalem & abortion come immediately to mind. As long as the presents keep coming I don't think they'll be too inclined to scrutinize the giver.
posted by scalefree at 4:05 PM on April 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
I suspect an equal if not larger effect is that they're bought & happy. For years they've been used by Republicans as reliable vote fodder, a vast pool of people they can tap into who'll support them because they talk the talk but never quite get around to delivering on those words. Along comes Trump throwing favors their way like Santa Claus on Christmas morning. Jerusalem & abortion come immediately to mind. As long as the presents keep coming I don't think they'll be too inclined to scrutinize the giver.
posted by scalefree at 4:05 PM on April 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
I hope by the time he fires Sessions that Mitch McConnell has done something in the interim to piss off Trump and then gets spite nominated for AG.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 4:07 PM on April 20, 2018
posted by fluttering hellfire at 4:07 PM on April 20, 2018
Beyond being an incontrovertible sign of the epoch his fading mind is moored in, I have to admit the “Mr. Peepers” characterization is, uh, accurate.
posted by adamgreenfield at 4:08 PM on April 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by adamgreenfield at 4:08 PM on April 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
The Wendy Wasserman Schultz tweet has fallen down the memory hole, but we should all take a page from trump's new law-talking-guy and Never Forget!
posted by Atom Eyes at 4:35 PM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 4:35 PM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's 4/20, there be an epidemic of forgetfulness today.
posted by peeedro at 4:50 PM on April 20, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by peeedro at 4:50 PM on April 20, 2018 [6 favorites]
so given that sessions has publicly palled around with the amazing russian invisible man sergei kislyak and is thus implicated up to his boyish apple-cheeks, is this a sign that he’s flipped and is cooperating with mueller?
posted by murphy slaw at 4:56 PM on April 20, 2018
posted by murphy slaw at 4:56 PM on April 20, 2018
Who's the Pakistani mystery man Trump refers to in his Tweet? Muhammad Zia ul Haq? The Moor Mystery Man from Pakistan? Who? Who?
posted by kirkaracha at 4:59 PM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 4:59 PM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
I believe it's Imran Awan (who is a US Citizen, even if Trump wants to make him sound more foreign)
posted by zachlipton at 5:02 PM on April 20, 2018
posted by zachlipton at 5:02 PM on April 20, 2018
AP, Haley’s pushback draws fans, rattles White House
posted by zachlipton at 5:04 PM on April 20, 2018 [13 favorites]
One West Wing aide joked recently that the only question was if Haley’s name would appear on a ballot in 2020 or 2024.The best people, he promised, the best people.
And on Tuesday, her office mistakenly blasted an email containing a series of press clippings that mention Haley — a message meant for the ambassador herself — to a number of journalists. Among the headlines highlighted, one cited MSNBC “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough and read, “Scarborough: Nikki Haley would beat Donald Trump if she ran in 2020 GOP primary.”
posted by zachlipton at 5:04 PM on April 20, 2018 [13 favorites]
"mistakenly"
posted by rhizome at 5:15 PM on April 20, 2018 [31 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 5:15 PM on April 20, 2018 [31 favorites]
WaPo, Stormy Daniels’s former lawyer said to be cooperating with federal probe of Michael Cohen
posted by zachlipton at 5:53 PM on April 20, 2018 [30 favorites]
Keith Davidson, the former attorney for two women who were paid to keep quiet about their alleged affairs with Donald Trump, has been contacted by federal authorities investigating Trump attorney Michael Cohen and is cooperating with them, a spokesman for Davidson confirmed.Davidson is shady as hell and ought to have his own legal and/or state bar problems to worry about as a result of all this.
Davidson was asked to provide “certain limited electronic information” for the probe led by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, spokesman David Wedge said. “He has done so and will continue to cooperate to the fullest extent possible under the law,” Wedge said in a statement Friday.
posted by zachlipton at 5:53 PM on April 20, 2018 [30 favorites]
Coons is a No on Pompeo, which means he will not get recommended out of Foreign Relations Committee.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:00 PM on April 20, 2018 [57 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 6:00 PM on April 20, 2018 [57 favorites]
It is too bad I have been silenced (Alexandra Petri, WaPo)
I regret to say: I have been silenced.posted by Johnny Wallflower at 6:48 PM on April 20, 2018 [50 favorites]
I expressed an opinion, and people criticized that opinion. And since that day, my voice has never been heard again. I am entombed where none can hear my jangling bells, for doing nothing more than walking down the street, saying that women who get abortions ought to be hanged.
The mob has borne me aloft (metaphorically, of course) with their torches and — in their infantile gulosity — devoured everything I worked to build. My voice is trapped in a seashell in the grip of a NARAL-affiliated sea-witch, and I swim haplessly through the world, bipedal but voiceless. No. Voiceless is not the word I want. Sponsorless. Except for my ability to type and publish this now, the world has excommunicated me and barred me from public spheres, where I cannot exist in safety. I am like a mime (I once saw a mime on the streets of Chicago; I think this image speaks for itself). […]
It takes courage to pen, for money, an opinion that half the country shares. But I feel that I must speak. I must let America see what she has become. I call her “she” because I feel she owes me her silence and acquiescence; she is something to be talked about, not to; she is a rhetorical device; she is a puzzle to be discussed and solved before she returns to the room.
It was not quite an infernal journey that I began when I first sallied into the small intestine of America, towards the sphinctered cloister of the Discourse, but (lasciate ogni speranza!) I did venture into such fetid depths, to be blown away with a great thunderclap — not, like the poet-sage, to purgatory, but expelled into the Land of Nod, where partisan heads whose last perishing thoughts shriveled and withered in the sirocco belch of noxious tweets now nod their acquiescence to the false Minos, Aeacus, and Rhadamanthus of Virtue Signaling. The rapacity of these cretins knows no bounds, and I must regret that I have been transformed, by their perverse animadversions, into an albatross to be hung around the wattled, sun-bleached necks of the nation’s institutions.
What an absolute child. Trump shuns Democrats and media at first state dinner.
posted by scalefree at 7:09 PM on April 20, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 7:09 PM on April 20, 2018 [23 favorites]
I remember when I was about 8 my older brother & I hung signs on our bedroom doors banning each other from our rooms. We grew up & got over it. Trump never did.
posted by scalefree at 7:14 PM on April 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 7:14 PM on April 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
I missed this bit first time through:
posted by scalefree at 7:19 PM on April 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
With Trump at his Mar-a-Lago retreat in Florida this week, some aides were concerned that he might extend invitations to friends and admirers he happened to see there, according to a person familiar with discussions.They know him so well.
posted by scalefree at 7:19 PM on April 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
I know we're not supposed to be one-linering this stuff but holy fuck Alexandra Petri 'sirocco belch of noxious tweets'; she is a word boss.
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 7:22 PM on April 20, 2018 [28 favorites]
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 7:22 PM on April 20, 2018 [28 favorites]
TPM: Roger Stone: Trump ‘Goes Out Of His Way’ To Treat Cohen Like ‘Garbage’
Gotta wonder what Stone's angle is on this.
Former federal prosecutor and Nation commentator Elizabeth de la Vega @Delavegalaw advances a convincing theory: "Be aware, folks, this 'Trump was SO mean to Cohen' and, per dirty trickster Stone, 'Trump treated Cohen like garbage' theme is designed to HELP Trump. Why? If/when Cohen flips, a % of the public will already be primed to believe Cohen would MAKE UP evidence to get back at Trump."
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:22 PM on April 20, 2018 [31 favorites]
Gotta wonder what Stone's angle is on this.
Former federal prosecutor and Nation commentator Elizabeth de la Vega @Delavegalaw advances a convincing theory: "Be aware, folks, this 'Trump was SO mean to Cohen' and, per dirty trickster Stone, 'Trump treated Cohen like garbage' theme is designed to HELP Trump. Why? If/when Cohen flips, a % of the public will already be primed to believe Cohen would MAKE UP evidence to get back at Trump."
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:22 PM on April 20, 2018 [31 favorites]
From the state dinner link: Instead of bringing in an outside event-planning firm, as many White Houses have done for major events, Trump’s first formal diplomatic dinner is being planned by first lady Melania Trump’s office.
I wonder if the namecards will be spelled correctly.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:02 PM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
I wonder if the namecards will be spelled correctly.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:02 PM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump: James Comey illegally leaked classified documents to the press in order to generate a Special Council? Therefore, the Special Council was established based on an illegal act? Really, does everybody know what that means?
The President of the United States does not know how to spell "counsel."
posted by zachlipton at 8:16 PM on April 20, 2018 [45 favorites]
The President of the United States does not know how to spell "counsel."
posted by zachlipton at 8:16 PM on April 20, 2018 [45 favorites]
The President of the United States does not know how to spell "counsel.
The President of the United States is also floating a trial balloon to see if that might be a good reason (as opposed to a real reason) to fire the special counsel.
posted by holborne at 8:35 PM on April 20, 2018 [13 favorites]
The President of the United States is also floating a trial balloon to see if that might be a good reason (as opposed to a real reason) to fire the special counsel.
posted by holborne at 8:35 PM on April 20, 2018 [13 favorites]
The Intercept (ft. Glenn Greenwald): The DNC’S Lawsuit Against WikiLeaks Poses a Serious Threat to Press Freedom.
Presented without commentary.
posted by Justinian at 8:39 PM on April 20, 2018 [26 favorites]
Presented without commentary.
posted by Justinian at 8:39 PM on April 20, 2018 [26 favorites]
Go home Glenn; you’re hopelessly compromised.
posted by notyou at 8:42 PM on April 20, 2018 [82 favorites]
posted by notyou at 8:42 PM on April 20, 2018 [82 favorites]
The very stable genius has the best words and one of the great memories of all time.
Daniel Dale:
The president’s day on Twitter:
Morning: Shadey James Comey
Afternoon: Wendy Wasserman Schultz
Night: Special Council
posted by chris24 at 8:56 PM on April 20, 2018 [15 favorites]
Daniel Dale:
The president’s day on Twitter:
Morning: Shadey James Comey
Afternoon: Wendy Wasserman Schultz
Night: Special Council
posted by chris24 at 8:56 PM on April 20, 2018 [15 favorites]
The President of the United States is also floating a trial balloon to see if that might be a good reason (as opposed to a real reason) to fire the special counsel.
Addled as he is, there's no way Trump came up with that bogus rationale on his own. I'm taking odds that he either saw it from Hannity this evening or heard it from one of his cronies at today's RNC supporter dinner. In either case, he's decompensating live on Twitter.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:08 PM on April 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
Addled as he is, there's no way Trump came up with that bogus rationale on his own. I'm taking odds that he either saw it from Hannity this evening or heard it from one of his cronies at today's RNC supporter dinner. In either case, he's decompensating live on Twitter.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:08 PM on April 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
You'd think the good people at the Intercept would have a look at the sort of MAGAnauts infesting their comments section and reconsider which side they were on
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 9:27 PM on April 20, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 9:27 PM on April 20, 2018 [14 favorites]
Comey Memos: Clear Proof Trump Repeatedly Lied About His Trip To Moscow
The President repeatedly and demonstrably lied about his November 2013 trip to Moscow. This is the visit in which the ‘pee tape’ was purportedly recorded. There’s no evidence in the memos that that tape exists or that the President spent the night with prostitutes. But again, he clearly and repeatedly lies about the trip itself, specifically how long he was there.posted by kirkaracha at 10:01 PM on April 20, 2018 [24 favorites]
The Intercept (ft. Glenn Greenwald): The DNC’S Lawsuit Against WikiLeaks Poses a Serious Threat to Press Freedom.
And the side you're so desperate to carry water for, Mr Greenwald, poses an existential threat to the republic, so forgive me if I say: You can Fuck. Right. Off. Call me crazy, but on a scale of threats, the DNC lawsuit ranks somewhat lower for me than the current risk to the continued existence of the rule of law.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 10:34 PM on April 20, 2018 [25 favorites]
And the side you're so desperate to carry water for, Mr Greenwald, poses an existential threat to the republic, so forgive me if I say: You can Fuck. Right. Off. Call me crazy, but on a scale of threats, the DNC lawsuit ranks somewhat lower for me than the current risk to the continued existence of the rule of law.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 10:34 PM on April 20, 2018 [25 favorites]
What an absolute child. Trump shuns Democrats and media at first state dinner.
"I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be President for all of Americans, and this is so important to me."
"The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans."
Fuck. You.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:05 PM on April 20, 2018 [19 favorites]
"I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be President for all of Americans, and this is so important to me."
"The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans."
Fuck. You.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:05 PM on April 20, 2018 [19 favorites]
The most shocking thing about James Comey’s book is how much it sucks
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:28 PM on April 20, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:28 PM on April 20, 2018 [13 favorites]
This is the visit in which the ‘pee tape’ was purportedly recorded.
isn't it possible that the pee tape, if it exists, is nothing more than a couple women pissing on a bed while off-camera, donald trump makes comments? and of course, it'll be claimed that it really isn't him, but a mimic
maybe that's why it hasn't, um, leaked yet - it's really not going to be much of anything
posted by pyramid termite at 3:29 AM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
isn't it possible that the pee tape, if it exists, is nothing more than a couple women pissing on a bed while off-camera, donald trump makes comments? and of course, it'll be claimed that it really isn't him, but a mimic
maybe that's why it hasn't, um, leaked yet - it's really not going to be much of anything
posted by pyramid termite at 3:29 AM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
Yeah, I think the pee tape is a big distraction. It'll get everybody talking and making jokes if it turns up, but Trump's base won't care, and Congress won't pursue it as some impeachable character defect. I'd much rather the focus be on money laundering, bank fraud, obstruction of justice, sexual assault, conspiracy, or something else that can be prosecuted as a crime. Dude doesn't deserve to get off with late-night TV jokes, he needs to be in prison.
posted by Rykey at 4:28 AM on April 21, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by Rykey at 4:28 AM on April 21, 2018 [15 favorites]
If I'm understanding correctly, Greenwald's argument here basically assumes WikiLeaks is like any other "journalistic" organization, even though in reality it obviously has far less integrity than even, say, the Intercept. So it's like saying that prosecuting Manafort is a threat to legitimate businesses everywhere. If a reporter breaks into people's houses, commits fraud, and makes deals with repressive governments for "the story", they don't get to hide behind the title of "reporter" like Futurama characters yelling "whale biologist!"
Meanwhile, I'm actually not that bothered by Trump shunning Democrats at the state dinner, because bipartisanship isn't a virtue in itself. 'd want Republicans to be shunned by a hypothetical Democratic president right now, and I hope we can see such treatment in kind in the future.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:34 AM on April 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
Meanwhile, I'm actually not that bothered by Trump shunning Democrats at the state dinner, because bipartisanship isn't a virtue in itself. 'd want Republicans to be shunned by a hypothetical Democratic president right now, and I hope we can see such treatment in kind in the future.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:34 AM on April 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
It was more or less my understanding of the thing that if there is a "pee tape" that yeah, it's a couple of women urinating on a bed while Trump makes comments. (Although the nature of those comments might itself be hugely embarrassing for Trump if they consist of overt racism, since the supposed story is that he hired prostitutes to piss on a bed that the Obamas slept in?) For something relatively innocuous (as such things go) Trump seems to be terrified of it coming out for whatever reason.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 4:36 AM on April 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 4:36 AM on April 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
Perhaps there is wanking going on? (Sorry for the mental image.)
posted by GrammarMoses at 4:40 AM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by GrammarMoses at 4:40 AM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
The pee tape as an object is not that important. The pee tape as confirmation of the Dossier and compromat on Trump is important. That it's a very salacious artifact sure to whip up a media frenzy means that everyone will hear about the Dossier's confirmation and Trump's compromat. And sure, his most of his nutjob 35% won't care, but again, at some point he and Rs need more than that. So I'm all for the pee tape.
posted by chris24 at 4:43 AM on April 21, 2018 [40 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 4:43 AM on April 21, 2018 [40 favorites]
Something I wrote up when this was being discussed earlier but never got around to posting…
soren_lorensen: I think a) the pee tape is real (I want to believe) and b) the pee tape being released is not what Trump is afraid of. A video of him commanding beautiful woman to perform a humiliating act that defiles the memory of Barack Obama? It would make his base love him even more.
I think it's true that deplorables would be energized, more than deflated, by verification of The Infamous Shower. But I'm not convinced that, by itself, would be enough for its revelation to not bother Trump. For one thing, he doesn't have any instinct for what does and doesn't sell, politically. He's the one who dismissed "due process" on gun rights, for example. Even he might not realize how deep in the sewer the alt-right's minds are.
Moreover, he's not actually motivated to please the base in the first place. It just looks that way because his behavior aligns so frequently with base-pleasing -- he's just naturally boorish, bigoted, and repetitive, and the base eats it up. He does rallies for deplorables because that's where the narcissistic supply is... but his true desire remains for the Manhattan elite to love him.
Heck, even just Obama (and no one else) knowing the tape was definitely real would probably mortify Trump. The point of the "event" was private pique, not public revenge. Think "teenager worried that his least favorite person will discover his diary" -- you wouldn't ask him "Wait, if you really hate so-and-so, and you've even said mean things about them in public, why do you care if they see what you wrote?" because that's not how most humans work. Some things we just want private, damn it.
Also, at a specific/personal level, he does care (believe it or not) about the reactions of his wife. He explicitly told Comey that he was worried Melania might think there was a one percent chance it was true (which is exactly what upgraded my evaluation from "eh, plausible" to "whoa, much more likely real than not"). I'm guessing that was also his primary reason for wanting the silence of Stormy Daniels, which otherwise seems peculiar when he's the only politician in the country who would (in theory) be largely undamaged by that kind of scandal, even as an October surprise.
In general, it's hard to discern Trump's motivations because he's often so terrible at acting to fulfill them (and they start contradicting themselves when you unpack them), so inferring causes from effects is especially tricky. Likewise, his behavior is almost never a "distraction", except in the sense that he's benefitted (throughout his life) from the lucky-for-him fact that his primal urges often result in distraction.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:56 AM on April 21, 2018 [18 favorites]
soren_lorensen: I think a) the pee tape is real (I want to believe) and b) the pee tape being released is not what Trump is afraid of. A video of him commanding beautiful woman to perform a humiliating act that defiles the memory of Barack Obama? It would make his base love him even more.
I think it's true that deplorables would be energized, more than deflated, by verification of The Infamous Shower. But I'm not convinced that, by itself, would be enough for its revelation to not bother Trump. For one thing, he doesn't have any instinct for what does and doesn't sell, politically. He's the one who dismissed "due process" on gun rights, for example. Even he might not realize how deep in the sewer the alt-right's minds are.
Moreover, he's not actually motivated to please the base in the first place. It just looks that way because his behavior aligns so frequently with base-pleasing -- he's just naturally boorish, bigoted, and repetitive, and the base eats it up. He does rallies for deplorables because that's where the narcissistic supply is... but his true desire remains for the Manhattan elite to love him.
Heck, even just Obama (and no one else) knowing the tape was definitely real would probably mortify Trump. The point of the "event" was private pique, not public revenge. Think "teenager worried that his least favorite person will discover his diary" -- you wouldn't ask him "Wait, if you really hate so-and-so, and you've even said mean things about them in public, why do you care if they see what you wrote?" because that's not how most humans work. Some things we just want private, damn it.
Also, at a specific/personal level, he does care (believe it or not) about the reactions of his wife. He explicitly told Comey that he was worried Melania might think there was a one percent chance it was true (which is exactly what upgraded my evaluation from "eh, plausible" to "whoa, much more likely real than not"). I'm guessing that was also his primary reason for wanting the silence of Stormy Daniels, which otherwise seems peculiar when he's the only politician in the country who would (in theory) be largely undamaged by that kind of scandal, even as an October surprise.
In general, it's hard to discern Trump's motivations because he's often so terrible at acting to fulfill them (and they start contradicting themselves when you unpack them), so inferring causes from effects is especially tricky. Likewise, his behavior is almost never a "distraction", except in the sense that he's benefitted (throughout his life) from the lucky-for-him fact that his primal urges often result in distraction.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:56 AM on April 21, 2018 [18 favorites]
From the state dinner link: Instead of bringing in an outside event-planning firm, as many White Houses have done for major events, Trump’s first formal diplomatic dinner is being planned by first lady Melania Trump’s office.
I wonder if they got refusals so they had to go this route? Weren’t there designers who refused to dress her?
posted by winna at 5:26 AM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
I wonder if they got refusals so they had to go this route? Weren’t there designers who refused to dress her?
posted by winna at 5:26 AM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
@realDonaldTrump
The New York Times and a third rate reporter named Maggie Habberman, known as a Crooked H flunkie who I don’t speak to and have nothing to do with, are going out of their way to destroy Michael Cohen and his relationship with me in the hope that he will “flip.” They use.... ....non-existent “sources” and a drunk/drugged up loser who hates Michael, a fine person with a wonderful family. Michael is a businessman for his own account/lawyer who I have always liked & respected. Most people will flip if the Government lets them out of trouble, even if.... ....it means lying or making up stories. Sorry, I don’t see Michael doing that despite the horrible Witch Hunt and the dishonest media!
---
1) Correctly threaded and all three tweets posted immediately rather than the normal 10 painful minutes between linked tweets. So probably not typed by him, but Scavino.
2) It's Haberman, not Habberman.
3) For someone he doesn't talk to, he's sure done a lot of sit-down interviews with Haberman.
4) Hard to flip on an innocent person.
5) Roger Stone was the one talking about how Trump abused Cohen. So I guess he's the drunk/drugged up loser? (The NYT article: Michael Cohen Has Said He Would Take a Bullet for Trump. Maybe Not Anymore
6) Mueller adds to his obstruction notebook.
posted by chris24 at 5:35 AM on April 21, 2018 [39 favorites]
The New York Times and a third rate reporter named Maggie Habberman, known as a Crooked H flunkie who I don’t speak to and have nothing to do with, are going out of their way to destroy Michael Cohen and his relationship with me in the hope that he will “flip.” They use.... ....non-existent “sources” and a drunk/drugged up loser who hates Michael, a fine person with a wonderful family. Michael is a businessman for his own account/lawyer who I have always liked & respected. Most people will flip if the Government lets them out of trouble, even if.... ....it means lying or making up stories. Sorry, I don’t see Michael doing that despite the horrible Witch Hunt and the dishonest media!
---
1) Correctly threaded and all three tweets posted immediately rather than the normal 10 painful minutes between linked tweets. So probably not typed by him, but Scavino.
2) It's Haberman, not Habberman.
3) For someone he doesn't talk to, he's sure done a lot of sit-down interviews with Haberman.
4) Hard to flip on an innocent person.
5) Roger Stone was the one talking about how Trump abused Cohen. So I guess he's the drunk/drugged up loser? (The NYT article: Michael Cohen Has Said He Would Take a Bullet for Trump. Maybe Not Anymore
6) Mueller adds to his obstruction notebook.
posted by chris24 at 5:35 AM on April 21, 2018 [39 favorites]
The pee tape as confirmation of the Dossier and compromat on Trump is important.
Sometimes it gets dismissed amidst the jokes, so I think it's important to emphasize:
That Dossier? The one the New York Times had access to prior to the election, the one they refused to report on because they claimed they "couldn't confirm" it?
There's every reason to believe it's true.
Which means the media did us all a disservice by not reporting on it.
posted by steady-state strawberry at 5:36 AM on April 21, 2018 [33 favorites]
Sometimes it gets dismissed amidst the jokes, so I think it's important to emphasize:
That Dossier? The one the New York Times had access to prior to the election, the one they refused to report on because they claimed they "couldn't confirm" it?
There's every reason to believe it's true.
Which means the media did us all a disservice by not reporting on it.
posted by steady-state strawberry at 5:36 AM on April 21, 2018 [33 favorites]
5) Roger Stone was the one talking about how Trump abused Cohen.
And Nunberg talked about how Cohen now might have leverage on Trump, So even though it was mostly Roger saying how badly Trump treated Cohen, it's probably Nunberg who Trump's talking about as the drunk/drugged up loser. Because Trump's really pissed about someone saying someone has leverage over him, not that someone said bad things about Cohen.
and to add to the list.
7. The "non-existent sources" are on-the-record Stone, Nunberg and biographers.
posted by chris24 at 5:49 AM on April 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
And Nunberg talked about how Cohen now might have leverage on Trump, So even though it was mostly Roger saying how badly Trump treated Cohen, it's probably Nunberg who Trump's talking about as the drunk/drugged up loser. Because Trump's really pissed about someone saying someone has leverage over him, not that someone said bad things about Cohen.
and to add to the list.
7. The "non-existent sources" are on-the-record Stone, Nunberg and biographers.
posted by chris24 at 5:49 AM on April 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
The New York Times and a third rate reporter named Maggie Habberman, known as a Crooked H flunkie who I don’t speak to and have nothing to do with, are going out of their way to destroy Michael Cohen and his relationship with me in the hope that he will “flip.” They use.... ....non-existent “sources” and a drunk/drugged up loser who hates Michael, a fine person with a wonderful family.
This is the goddam worst two-man con unfolding on Twitter. Stone plants the story that Cohen's been abused by Trump enough to flip on him just to get revenge while Trump plays the part of the paternal boss who defends his employee against these scurrilous charges (and who will be so very disappointed when/if he flips). Stone relishes these pantomime public feuds as part of his trickster shtick, but it's all for show.
There's also Trump's carrot-stick tactic of his journalistic relationship with Haberman—he will provide her with special direct access but will also complain about any critical coverage. It's like watching an abuser keep someone under their thumb with their unpredictable switching between attentiveness and anger.
At least Haberman's learned to push back on Twitter—"One B, sir (or Dan?). Here’s the story that seems to have touched a nerve. "
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:01 AM on April 21, 2018 [31 favorites]
This is the goddam worst two-man con unfolding on Twitter. Stone plants the story that Cohen's been abused by Trump enough to flip on him just to get revenge while Trump plays the part of the paternal boss who defends his employee against these scurrilous charges (and who will be so very disappointed when/if he flips). Stone relishes these pantomime public feuds as part of his trickster shtick, but it's all for show.
There's also Trump's carrot-stick tactic of his journalistic relationship with Haberman—he will provide her with special direct access but will also complain about any critical coverage. It's like watching an abuser keep someone under their thumb with their unpredictable switching between attentiveness and anger.
At least Haberman's learned to push back on Twitter—"One B, sir (or Dan?). Here’s the story that seems to have touched a nerve. "
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:01 AM on April 21, 2018 [31 favorites]
I mean.
I’m with Doctor Zed — this is a Roger Stone ratfucking in real time.
But what’s incredible to me is that they don’t seem to think that Roger Stone, for example, might be under surveillance? Like they had to communicate to coordinate this. What are the odds that Mueller doesn’t have evidence of more shit now?
posted by schadenfrau at 6:23 AM on April 21, 2018 [15 favorites]
I’m with Doctor Zed — this is a Roger Stone ratfucking in real time.
But what’s incredible to me is that they don’t seem to think that Roger Stone, for example, might be under surveillance? Like they had to communicate to coordinate this. What are the odds that Mueller doesn’t have evidence of more shit now?
posted by schadenfrau at 6:23 AM on April 21, 2018 [15 favorites]
There's every reason to believe it's true.
At the end of the day it's a collection of rumors he heard from allies inside the Russian government. As with any collection of rumors, it's most likely partially true and partially not. Steele himself says he believes it's about 70%-90% accurate.
Philip Bump at WaPa has gone through it page by page and evaluated each claim* in light of what has come out since the election.
* Though Bump says "At the meeting, Sechin offered Page and Trump a 19 percent stake in Rosneft " and the claim the dossier actually makes is that "that he offered PAGE associates the brokerage of up to a 19 per cent (privatised) stake in Rosnett in return." It's my understanding that this means he was likely offering Page a few percent brokerage fee on the sale (see the editor's note at the bottom of this article), not offering to give Page that much equity, which would be an unreasonably large reward for what Page might actually have been doing. I'm actually so annoyed by this that I sent a message through WaPo's "contact form" asking them to correct it, but they didn't :-/
posted by OnceUponATime at 7:14 AM on April 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
At the end of the day it's a collection of rumors he heard from allies inside the Russian government. As with any collection of rumors, it's most likely partially true and partially not. Steele himself says he believes it's about 70%-90% accurate.
Philip Bump at WaPa has gone through it page by page and evaluated each claim* in light of what has come out since the election.
* Though Bump says "At the meeting, Sechin offered Page and Trump a 19 percent stake in Rosneft " and the claim the dossier actually makes is that "that he offered PAGE associates the brokerage of up to a 19 per cent (privatised) stake in Rosnett in return." It's my understanding that this means he was likely offering Page a few percent brokerage fee on the sale (see the editor's note at the bottom of this article), not offering to give Page that much equity, which would be an unreasonably large reward for what Page might actually have been doing. I'm actually so annoyed by this that I sent a message through WaPo's "contact form" asking them to correct it, but they didn't :-/
posted by OnceUponATime at 7:14 AM on April 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
Correctly threaded and all three tweets posted immediately rather than the normal 10 painful minutes between linked tweets. So probably not typed by him, but Scavino.
Take this with a very large grain of salt, since I'm still getting my head around this classification model and the associated tools, and it's still only about 87% accurate right now...but it seems to think that those tweets are all in the neighborhood of 97% not-Trump.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 7:34 AM on April 21, 2018 [20 favorites]
Take this with a very large grain of salt, since I'm still getting my head around this classification model and the associated tools, and it's still only about 87% accurate right now...but it seems to think that those tweets are all in the neighborhood of 97% not-Trump.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 7:34 AM on April 21, 2018 [20 favorites]
97% not-Trump
Considering Haberman's reply tweet implied she thought Scavino wrote it, the correct threading and the quick posting, sounds like your algorithm is working well on this one.
posted by chris24 at 7:58 AM on April 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
Considering Haberman's reply tweet implied she thought Scavino wrote it, the correct threading and the quick posting, sounds like your algorithm is working well on this one.
posted by chris24 at 7:58 AM on April 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
I saw on TV this morning that Trump isn't going to Barbara Bush's funeral. Sending the wife instead.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:06 AM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:06 AM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
That's been protocol forever, though.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 8:15 AM on April 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 8:15 AM on April 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
@AndrewKirell (DailyBeast)
Normal for prez to skip ex-first lady funeral, as Trump just announced he's doing. But, gee, these people sure have gone silent compared to 2016
Normal for prez to skip ex-first lady funeral, as Trump just announced he's doing. But, gee, these people sure have gone silent compared to 2016
@toddstarnes: Obama to skip Nancy Reagan’s funeral so he can speak at #SXSW. What a sad, sad man...posted by chris24 at 8:20 AM on April 21, 2018 [68 favorites]
@Heritage_Action: Rather than attend the funeral of Nancy Reagan, President Obama is attending the music festival SXSW.
@instapundit: OH, HAI SHOCKED FACE: Obama picks SXSW over Nancy Reagan’s funeral.
@MicheleBachmann: Self-centered, classless Obama misses another funeral of a high profile conservative. President Obama Will Not Attend Nancy Reagan's Funeral
@rudepundit
From 2016, @newtgingrich on President Obama not attending Nancy Reagan's funeral, despite the fact that presidents generally don't attend the funerals of First ladies. Today, as Trump golfs during Barbara Bush's funeral? Silence.
From 2016, @newtgingrich on President Obama not attending Nancy Reagan's funeral, despite the fact that presidents generally don't attend the funerals of First ladies. Today, as Trump golfs during Barbara Bush's funeral? Silence.
"He is sending his contempt for the Reagan presidency, his hostility to the Reagan ideology, and he is once again proving that he has never been president of all of the American people. He is president of his faction," Gingrich said, adding that he would be attending Reagan's service on Friday in California with his wife, Callista. "He does not do any of the ceremonial duties that the president of the American people would do, and it’s why he is the most destructive and most divisive president, I think, since James Buchanan in the 1850s.”posted by chris24 at 8:25 AM on April 21, 2018 [40 favorites]
Looks like the "Habberman" tweet has been deleted. A very clever move on their part -- now no one will ever know what it said.
posted by neroli at 8:33 AM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by neroli at 8:33 AM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
Looks like the "Habberman" tweet has been deleted. A very clever move on their part -- now no one will ever know what it said.
Retweeted with correct spelling.
posted by chris24 at 8:38 AM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Retweeted with correct spelling.
posted by chris24 at 8:38 AM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Today's antifa / alt-right standoff:
Newnan looks to be ground zero for planned neo-Nazi march Saturday
Hundreds attend prayer rally, chalk art event
[video clip from last night]
Newnan, Normalization, and Neo-Nazis
A local Georgia TV station says they'll put up live coverage in the afternoon.
posted by XMLicious at 8:53 AM on April 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
Newnan looks to be ground zero for planned neo-Nazi march Saturday
Hundreds attend prayer rally, chalk art event
[video clip from last night]
Newnan, Normalization, and Neo-Nazis
A local Georgia TV station says they'll put up live coverage in the afternoon.
posted by XMLicious at 8:53 AM on April 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
Something I wrote up when this was being discussed earlier but never got around to posting…
You get him too. You're inside his head. I'm sorry.
I think it's true that deplorables would be energized, more than deflated, by verification of The Infamous Shower.
Some of both I think. There'll be those grossed out by it & bail on him, leaving the rest more concentrated in their fervor by the ritual of degradation against the hated Obama.
I'll skip the rest except to say your read on him matches mine. His narcissism's served him remarkably well without really intending to. He's an accidental success story.
posted by scalefree at 9:04 AM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
You get him too. You're inside his head. I'm sorry.
I think it's true that deplorables would be energized, more than deflated, by verification of The Infamous Shower.
Some of both I think. There'll be those grossed out by it & bail on him, leaving the rest more concentrated in their fervor by the ritual of degradation against the hated Obama.
I'll skip the rest except to say your read on him matches mine. His narcissism's served him remarkably well without really intending to. He's an accidental success story.
posted by scalefree at 9:04 AM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
He's an accidental success story.
This will never happen, but it would be lovely if believers in "meritocracy" took a good long look at everyone in this administration and thought a bit about their beliefs. Trumpers are all walking advertisements for the strongest force in the human universe, luck.
posted by maxwelton at 9:30 AM on April 21, 2018 [22 favorites]
This will never happen, but it would be lovely if believers in "meritocracy" took a good long look at everyone in this administration and thought a bit about their beliefs. Trumpers are all walking advertisements for the strongest force in the human universe, luck.
posted by maxwelton at 9:30 AM on April 21, 2018 [22 favorites]
accidental success story
I think his success is mostly due to threat that everyone thinks they can use him, from Putin to evangelicals to Democrats who believe that a real politician would be harder to run against or more effective at passing horrible legislation. People who want to launder money. People who want to promote a brand or an event. Everyone is like "This moron is someone I can totally manipulate to my advantage" and so everyone goes along with putting him in positions of power.
posted by OnceUponATime at 9:35 AM on April 21, 2018 [19 favorites]
I think his success is mostly due to threat that everyone thinks they can use him, from Putin to evangelicals to Democrats who believe that a real politician would be harder to run against or more effective at passing horrible legislation. People who want to launder money. People who want to promote a brand or an event. Everyone is like "This moron is someone I can totally manipulate to my advantage" and so everyone goes along with putting him in positions of power.
posted by OnceUponATime at 9:35 AM on April 21, 2018 [19 favorites]
"due to threat that" was supposed to be "due to the fact that"
posted by OnceUponATime at 9:50 AM on April 21, 2018
posted by OnceUponATime at 9:50 AM on April 21, 2018
Everyone is like "This moron is someone I can totally manipulate to my advantage" and so everyone goes along with putting him in positions of power.
OK some of that. But 70 years worth of it, letting him amass a sizable fortune (however inflated from the true number)? Much easier to just rip him off if that was the case. I think he's more of a malicious Chauncey Gardner, his narcissism mistaken for strategy.
posted by scalefree at 10:08 AM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
OK some of that. But 70 years worth of it, letting him amass a sizable fortune (however inflated from the true number)? Much easier to just rip him off if that was the case. I think he's more of a malicious Chauncey Gardner, his narcissism mistaken for strategy.
posted by scalefree at 10:08 AM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
A veteran defense lawyer explains how the feds could flip Michael Cohen (Adam Pasick, Quartz
So then how would SDNY loop back and connect Cohen’s cooperation to the special counsel investigation?posted by Johnny Wallflower at 10:12 AM on April 21, 2018 [56 favorites]
Let’s say SDNY have Cohen at their mercy: “Look dude, do you want to do 10 plus years, or six months? Be financially crippled, or pay $150,000? Those are your options.” When you come in—remember the movie Goonies, when they grab Chunk and hold his hand over the blender, “Tell us everything”? That’s what it is when you go in and cooperate. You just—blergh, spew everything and let them sort out what they want. Everything you tell, you get credit for.
He can roll over on his neighbor, his accountant, his mistress, anyone that is committing or has committed a federal crime. But of course, what they really want is Trump.
Sometimes there is an intermediate step—an attorney proffer. If Cohen’s lawyer comes in and says, “he can give you X, what are we looking at?” The prosecutor says, “if he can give us X, I think we’re looking at a plea to one count of false statements and—no promises on the sentence, wink wink—and then we’ll see where we are.” […]
Now the real genius part, after Cohen comes in and gives it all up.
The SDNY prosecutors say “oh, this is so interesting! This sounds like something that’s within the mandate of Bob Mueller! So crazy! We should call someone on Bob Mueller’s team and tell them we have something they should hear!”
Mueller then has a perfect response to anyone who accuses him of violating his mandate, “Hey, I got a call out of the blue from the SDNY about that case referral I gave them. This Republican Trump appointee called me and said ‘I’ve got a guy in my office who’s profferring, you should hear what he’s got to say.’”
What could anyone on Fo
x News or in Congress say—that he should hang up the phone?
So this is a diabolical move by Mueller?
Basically, Bob Mueller is playing three-dimensional chess, and Trump is playing tiddlywinks. Mueller is pummeling the shit out of him, and every lawyer on the planet can see it.
...the ritual of degradation against the hated Obama
It could be there's a lot of racist verbiage be as Pseudonymous Cognomen suggested above, especially if in the throws of some sort of white power dominance wank as per GrammarMoses.
There's certainly at least the (incredibly believable) allegation (from multiple sources) that he's very free with racial/abusive epithets when not technically on camera:
After all there's already plenty of evidence of his corruption and general inhumanity out there.
Also, rather importantly, it could be one of the few things that implicates him directly. That he can't plausibly deny by throwing one of his henchpeeps under the автобус.
Willing to bet if video exists he's going to be front and centre: you don't set up kompromat and then just film the sex-workers/intelligence operatives. This could explain why it seems (from the Comey memos) to have been the element from the dossier that had him most spooked and confabulating/dissembling ** . It would be interesting to see/compare how he's reacted when faced with genuinely false accusations.
Admittedly it's also fun from a crazed red-string theory, crime-procedural angle. I mean: why was Schiller so specific about only spending a 'long time' outside Trump's bedroom door, not the whole night. What sort of bodyguarding is that anyway? A gap in protection is no protection at all and they have phones if Trump needed him. Why did Trump claim there's only 1% chance of it being true, surely he would know 100% unless Putin actually had him roofied? (and that's just one corner of one wall...)
* Found an interesting article earlier (that if google is to be believed hasn't shown up here yet) from the Dunning of the Dunning-Kruger framework: "The Psychological Quirk That Explains Why You Love Donald Trump" [Politico, May 2016, #blowingowntrumpetbutwell]. Particularly in regards to the potential importance of misinformation in increasing pro-active support of the favoured political tribe/cause.
** also whatever that term is where when people lie they make up loads of surrounding nonsense to explain why it can't have happened - even if actually a non-sequitur such as his claiming not to have stayed the night. That would in no way preclude the petulant proxy xenophobic bedwetting because it's not like he'd of been sleeping in that room anyway.
posted by Buntix at 10:39 AM on April 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
It could be there's a lot of racist verbiage be as Pseudonymous Cognomen suggested above, especially if in the throws of some sort of white power dominance wank as per GrammarMoses.
There's certainly at least the (incredibly believable) allegation (from multiple sources) that he's very free with racial/abusive epithets when not technically on camera:
It was him sitting in that chair saying the N-word, saying the C-word, calling his son a retard, just being so mean to his own children.That would play to his true believers, but could be a big enough (i.e. Fox can't just ignore it completely), and bad enough story to bake off the support of those who are merely uninformed or misinformed*. As such, even though geopolitically it's a mostly irrelevant sideshow compared to threads like the Rosneft shares, or Cohen in Prague; well, most people aren't going to hear about the latters, or know enough of the context to understand why they're important.
After all there's already plenty of evidence of his corruption and general inhumanity out there.
Also, rather importantly, it could be one of the few things that implicates him directly. That he can't plausibly deny by throwing one of his henchpeeps under the автобус.
Willing to bet if video exists he's going to be front and centre: you don't set up kompromat and then just film the sex-workers/intelligence operatives. This could explain why it seems (from the Comey memos) to have been the element from the dossier that had him most spooked and confabulating/dissembling ** . It would be interesting to see/compare how he's reacted when faced with genuinely false accusations.
Admittedly it's also fun from a crazed red-string theory, crime-procedural angle. I mean: why was Schiller so specific about only spending a 'long time' outside Trump's bedroom door, not the whole night. What sort of bodyguarding is that anyway? A gap in protection is no protection at all and they have phones if Trump needed him. Why did Trump claim there's only 1% chance of it being true, surely he would know 100% unless Putin actually had him roofied? (and that's just one corner of one wall...)
* Found an interesting article earlier (that if google is to be believed hasn't shown up here yet) from the Dunning of the Dunning-Kruger framework: "The Psychological Quirk That Explains Why You Love Donald Trump" [Politico, May 2016, #blowingowntrumpetbutwell]. Particularly in regards to the potential importance of misinformation in increasing pro-active support of the favoured political tribe/cause.
** also whatever that term is where when people lie they make up loads of surrounding nonsense to explain why it can't have happened - even if actually a non-sequitur such as his claiming not to have stayed the night. That would in no way preclude the petulant proxy xenophobic bedwetting because it's not like he'd of been sleeping in that room anyway.
posted by Buntix at 10:39 AM on April 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
It has been 0 days since the last Pruitt scandal.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 10:56 AM on April 21, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by C'est la D.C. at 10:56 AM on April 21, 2018 [15 favorites]
Putin's a spy. He's hyper-aware of when a target can be compromised. Having a conversation almost daring Putin to prove that Russian hookers are as beautiful Playboy models is simply letting Putin know what poison you want.
And it would be easy. "Please, just let us in for a second. Nothing will happen, we just want to say hi. We just want to give you a quick show, because you are the ultimate judge of beautiful women. Please, don't get us in trouble. We are huge admirers of yours. Putin would never say it, but he would be so upset if you won't at least let us in. "
These are people trained to compromise spies with steel resolve. They could make it very, very hard to say no to at least letting them in. It would be very, very easy once in for them to make the situation into as much of a circus as they wanted. I think an average person looking merely to get out of the situation without being impolite would be a cakewalk to pushover, and Trump would have been even easier.
posted by xammerboy at 11:25 AM on April 21, 2018 [28 favorites]
And it would be easy. "Please, just let us in for a second. Nothing will happen, we just want to say hi. We just want to give you a quick show, because you are the ultimate judge of beautiful women. Please, don't get us in trouble. We are huge admirers of yours. Putin would never say it, but he would be so upset if you won't at least let us in. "
These are people trained to compromise spies with steel resolve. They could make it very, very hard to say no to at least letting them in. It would be very, very easy once in for them to make the situation into as much of a circus as they wanted. I think an average person looking merely to get out of the situation without being impolite would be a cakewalk to pushover, and Trump would have been even easier.
posted by xammerboy at 11:25 AM on April 21, 2018 [28 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump: James Comey illegally leaked classified documents to the press in order to generate a Special Council? Therefore, the Special Council was established based on an illegal act? Really, does everybody know what that means?
I don’t think there’s much chance of this maneuver working, but make no mistake: this trial balloon isn’t about firing Mueller. It’s about shutting down the entire special counsel investivation on the theory that it was “based on an illegal act.” Fruit of the poison tree and all.
posted by msalt at 12:06 PM on April 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
I don’t think there’s much chance of this maneuver working, but make no mistake: this trial balloon isn’t about firing Mueller. It’s about shutting down the entire special counsel investivation on the theory that it was “based on an illegal act.” Fruit of the poison tree and all.
posted by msalt at 12:06 PM on April 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
this trial balloon isn’t about firing Mueller. It’s about shutting down the entire special counsel investivation
Which is why Rudy's in the news this week, because he knows where (some of) the knobs are for these kinds of investigations. They're casting about for anybody who knows how to short-circuit this whole thing, because naturally, once it gets shut down the whole thing will become just a distant memory and everybody will just start paying attention to the next thing. /s
posted by rhizome at 12:11 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
Which is why Rudy's in the news this week, because he knows where (some of) the knobs are for these kinds of investigations. They're casting about for anybody who knows how to short-circuit this whole thing, because naturally, once it gets shut down the whole thing will become just a distant memory and everybody will just start paying attention to the next thing. /s
posted by rhizome at 12:11 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump
Sylvester Stallone called me with the story of heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson. His trials and tribulations were great, his life complex and controversial. Others have looked at this over the years, most thought it would be done, but yes, I am considering a Full Pardon!
If only celebrity meatheads could convince the president to pardon living black people.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:14 PM on April 21, 2018 [31 favorites]
Sylvester Stallone called me with the story of heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson. His trials and tribulations were great, his life complex and controversial. Others have looked at this over the years, most thought it would be done, but yes, I am considering a Full Pardon!
If only celebrity meatheads could convince the president to pardon living black people.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:14 PM on April 21, 2018 [31 favorites]
Vox, Wells Fargo just got fined $1 billion. Republicans cut its taxes by $3.7 billion [this year].
Sigh.
posted by saysthis at 12:19 PM on April 21, 2018 [40 favorites]
Sigh.
posted by saysthis at 12:19 PM on April 21, 2018 [40 favorites]
The Democratic Party in Virginia's Congressional 5th District has opted to hold a convention this year to select our candidate, rather than a primary. The last four localities in the district are holding caucuses to select their delegates today. Interest in the election has been high this year. Our local Dem Party sent out a notice this morning: "please CARPOOL, WALK, GET DROPPED OFF if humanly possible...There is likely to be a line to get in. Please print and fill out your sign-in declaration form...to speed up the process."
Leslie Cockburn is by far the favored candidate to win the nomination. She's a reporter and documentary film-maker who's worked for PBS Frontline and 60 Minutes. She's been running a very solid campaign and is obviously very serious about winning the general in November, in a district where Democrats all too often just run placeholder candidates. She's got 72 delegates in the caucuses so far and needs 126 votes to carry the convention on the first round in a three-way race.
Trump carried the district by 11% in 2016, but a Democrat won the race here in 2008, in another wave election. Her campaign makes me pretty optimistic that we can do this again, and hopefully hold the seat this time.
Some campaign videos: Healthcare, Stopping a natural gas pipeline through rural VA.
I like that her campaign videos aren't ads and stump speeches, but show her listening to people in the district about specific issues and asking questions. There's more of these. I think she's going to win, and there's something we could learn from her style of campaigning.
posted by nangar at 12:24 PM on April 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
Leslie Cockburn is by far the favored candidate to win the nomination. She's a reporter and documentary film-maker who's worked for PBS Frontline and 60 Minutes. She's been running a very solid campaign and is obviously very serious about winning the general in November, in a district where Democrats all too often just run placeholder candidates. She's got 72 delegates in the caucuses so far and needs 126 votes to carry the convention on the first round in a three-way race.
Trump carried the district by 11% in 2016, but a Democrat won the race here in 2008, in another wave election. Her campaign makes me pretty optimistic that we can do this again, and hopefully hold the seat this time.
Some campaign videos: Healthcare, Stopping a natural gas pipeline through rural VA.
I like that her campaign videos aren't ads and stump speeches, but show her listening to people in the district about specific issues and asking questions. There's more of these. I think she's going to win, and there's something we could learn from her style of campaigning.
posted by nangar at 12:24 PM on April 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
Which is why Rudy's in the news this week, because he knows where (some of) the knobs are for these kinds of investigations. They're casting about for anybody who knows how to short-circuit this whole thing
Bringing in the hyper-partisan and legally entangled Giuliani is a move of desperation as much as anything, per yet another unnamed "source close to Trump", Axios reports:
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:27 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
Bringing in the hyper-partisan and legally entangled Giuliani is a move of desperation as much as anything, per yet another unnamed "source close to Trump", Axios reports:
"The way it's been characterized by senior administration officials is that the president is frustrated and casting about. That's typical of him. He's done it before. He's upset, and the way he thinks more will happen is if new people are brought onto the scene. [...] This is all Trump trying to move the ball and he thinks by having substitutions and additional players he'll do that. ... What he really needs is what he's not getting. He needs a lead lawyer who has the backing and resources of a large firm."The source talks about recruiting Dubya-era Special Counsel Emmet Flood—who advised Clinton during his impeachment—but this may be wishful thinking, as he's apparently among the many white-collar lawyers who have turned down Trump lately.
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:27 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
I'm very inclined to suspect that Sly didn't tell Donald the racial aspect of Jack Johnson's arrest/trial/imprisonment at all, instead saying was this famous, important boxer who was prosecuted just for having a girlfriend.
Regardless, a lot of Internet commenters, including Maggie Habbbberman, have inferred that the tweet is meant to remind certain people that Donald has the power to pardon them. Certainly possible (even he can understand that tactic).
posted by InTheYear2017 at 12:33 PM on April 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
Regardless, a lot of Internet commenters, including Maggie Habbbberman, have inferred that the tweet is meant to remind certain people that Donald has the power to pardon them. Certainly possible (even he can understand that tactic).
posted by InTheYear2017 at 12:33 PM on April 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
Mueller P Tape, just $7.99 on Amazon ($14 for a 2-pack).
SLTwitter, sorry. h/t @KenVogel.
posted by pjenks at 12:38 PM on April 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
SLTwitter, sorry. h/t @KenVogel.
posted by pjenks at 12:38 PM on April 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump
James Comey’s Memos are Classified, I did not Declassify them. They belong to our Government! Therefore, he broke the law! Additionally, he totally made up many of the things he said I said, and he is already a proven liar and leaker. Where are Memos on Clinton, Lynch & others?
It's just memorem ipsum at this point.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:44 PM on April 21, 2018 [15 favorites]
James Comey’s Memos are Classified, I did not Declassify them. They belong to our Government! Therefore, he broke the law! Additionally, he totally made up many of the things he said I said, and he is already a proven liar and leaker. Where are Memos on Clinton, Lynch & others?
It's just memorem ipsum at this point.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:44 PM on April 21, 2018 [15 favorites]
If you think Trump's ranting on Twitter now, wait until he sees Melania sharing a laugh with Obama today at Barbara Bush's service. (Honestly, that may be the first time during Trump's time in office that I've seen her smiling.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:48 PM on April 21, 2018 [60 favorites]
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:48 PM on April 21, 2018 [60 favorites]
Someone doesn't understand (at all) that the government works for the people.
posted by xammerboy at 12:53 PM on April 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by xammerboy at 12:53 PM on April 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
nangar: Leslie Cockburn is by far the favored candidate to win the nomination. She's a reporter and documentary film-maker who's worked for PBS Frontline and 60 Minutes.
Just as an aside, she's also the mother of actor/filmmaker/activist Olivia Wilde, who made that heartbreaking documentary about ebola in Liberia, Body Team 12.
posted by bluecore at 12:53 PM on April 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
Just as an aside, she's also the mother of actor/filmmaker/activist Olivia Wilde, who made that heartbreaking documentary about ebola in Liberia, Body Team 12.
posted by bluecore at 12:53 PM on April 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
Someone doesn't understand (at all) that the government works for the people.
Or that he's not the only classification authority.
posted by chris24 at 12:55 PM on April 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
Or that he's not the only classification authority.
posted by chris24 at 12:55 PM on April 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
NYT, Robert Pear, Trump Plan Would Cut Back Health Care Protections for Transgender People
posted by zachlipton at 1:18 PM on April 21, 2018 [37 favorites]
The Trump administration says it plans to roll back a rule issued by President Barack Obama that prevents doctors, hospitals and health insurance companies from discriminating against transgender people.Fuuuuuuuuccccccckkkkkkkk. This is in response to the Texas court ruling from states trying to overturn the non-discrimination rule, though surely they've wanted to do this for a long time. I do know that some states have health care non-discrimination rules of their own, and the recent court wins over Trump's trans military ban as well as the momentous Michigan case finding anti-transgender discrimination to violate the Civil Rights Act, give me some hope for a fruitful battle over this one.
Advocates said the change could jeopardize the significant gains that transgender people have seen in access to medical care, including gender reassignment procedures — treatments for which many insurers denied coverage in the past.
posted by zachlipton at 1:18 PM on April 21, 2018 [37 favorites]
Trump, dumb though he may be, is stating the entirety of the extremely shallow argument that Comey "broke the law" with his memos. He's not missing any nuance that I'm aware of. The notion is that any official-ish memos that Comey wrote during his tenure were federal government property and classified automatically. It's as simple as it is bogus. (Among the many facts it ignores are what chris24 said: other people can declassify things, and heck, there's probably a good argument that Comey himself is such a person.)
The poisoned-tree angle is, of course, exactly what they tried with the Nunes memo. And it manages a fractal wrongness similar to the multiple falsehoods of "spying on Carter Page was based solely on the politically-funded, fake Steele dossier". Like, even if Comey's memos were somehow tainted, they were far from Rosenstein's only cause of starting an investigation — especially since the investigation was not originally about obstruction of justice! The original purpose was to look into Russian interference and possible coordination with the Trump campaign. Comey reporting that Trump pressured him on Flynn and such is relevant, but also a separate matter. (Trump firing Comey was the spark; it, not memos, created the need for the investigation to be outside the FBI.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:19 PM on April 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
The poisoned-tree angle is, of course, exactly what they tried with the Nunes memo. And it manages a fractal wrongness similar to the multiple falsehoods of "spying on Carter Page was based solely on the politically-funded, fake Steele dossier". Like, even if Comey's memos were somehow tainted, they were far from Rosenstein's only cause of starting an investigation — especially since the investigation was not originally about obstruction of justice! The original purpose was to look into Russian interference and possible coordination with the Trump campaign. Comey reporting that Trump pressured him on Flynn and such is relevant, but also a separate matter. (Trump firing Comey was the spark; it, not memos, created the need for the investigation to be outside the FBI.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:19 PM on April 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump: The Washington Post said I refer to Jeff Sessions as “Mr. Magoo” and Rod Rosenstein as “Mr. Peepers.” This is “according to people with whom the president has spoken.” There are no such people and don’t know these characters...just more Fake & Disgusting News to create ill will!
Yes, let's just share the exact nicknames on Twitter, where they can be repeated for maximum public humiliation of the federal employees you're trying to torture out of their jobs, rather than the 13th paragraph of a Washington Post article that passed by without a ton of fanfare.
posted by zachlipton at 1:21 PM on April 21, 2018 [39 favorites]
Yes, let's just share the exact nicknames on Twitter, where they can be repeated for maximum public humiliation of the federal employees you're trying to torture out of their jobs, rather than the 13th paragraph of a Washington Post article that passed by without a ton of fanfare.
posted by zachlipton at 1:21 PM on April 21, 2018 [39 favorites]
other people can declassify things, and heck, there's probably a good argument that Comey himself is such a person
@BradMossEsq
Retweeted Donald J. Trump (James Comey’s Memos are Classified, I did not Declassify them. They belong to our Government! Therefore, he broke the law!)
Wrong.
The Director of the FBI is an Original Classification Authority. He rendered the classification determinations at the inception of the Memoranda. He even redacted a part of one memo so it could be declassified.
So long as he did all of this before May 9th, he is fine.
posted by chris24 at 1:21 PM on April 21, 2018 [54 favorites]
@BradMossEsq
Retweeted Donald J. Trump (James Comey’s Memos are Classified, I did not Declassify them. They belong to our Government! Therefore, he broke the law!)
Wrong.
The Director of the FBI is an Original Classification Authority. He rendered the classification determinations at the inception of the Memoranda. He even redacted a part of one memo so it could be declassified.
So long as he did all of this before May 9th, he is fine.
posted by chris24 at 1:21 PM on April 21, 2018 [54 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump: The Washington Post said I refer to Jeff Sessions as “Mr. Magoo” and Rod Rosenstein as “Mr. Peepers.” This is “according to people with whom the president has spoken.” There are no such people and don’t know these characters...just more Fake & Disgusting News to create ill will!
And as always, a reminder. The most powerful man in the world is using one of the most powerful distribution media to transmit playground insults that would get him sent to the naughty step in any kindergarten.
Do not adjust your sets: they are not out of tune.
Do not adjust your beliefs: they are not suddenly wrong.
The world is broken.
There may be a horrible delay before normal service is resumed.
posted by Buntix at 2:01 PM on April 21, 2018 [41 favorites]
And as always, a reminder. The most powerful man in the world is using one of the most powerful distribution media to transmit playground insults that would get him sent to the naughty step in any kindergarten.
Do not adjust your sets: they are not out of tune.
Do not adjust your beliefs: they are not suddenly wrong.
The world is broken.
There may be a horrible delay before normal service is resumed.
posted by Buntix at 2:01 PM on April 21, 2018 [41 favorites]
If I were a congressperson I would be tempted to tweet "It has been reported that I refer to Donald Trump as 'far stupider and more ridiculous than a headless chicken' and 'an incestuous lying asshole whose net worth is completely exaggerated' but these reports are false!"
There's a reason I'm not a congressperson.
posted by Justinian at 2:05 PM on April 21, 2018 [74 favorites]
There's a reason I'm not a congressperson.
posted by Justinian at 2:05 PM on April 21, 2018 [74 favorites]
The unredacted portions of the memos we got are absolutely in the public interest and the only thing they're harming by being out there is Donald Trump's attempted cover-up, so his tweet reads like a straightforward admission that he would have abused his power and kept them needlessly classified solely to cover up his own wrongdoing. Which, of course, but you don't say that part out loud!
posted by jason_steakums at 2:12 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 2:12 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
but you don't say that part out loud!
Making subtext text is his entire MO. Should put it on a red hat.
posted by chris24 at 2:15 PM on April 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
Making subtext text is his entire MO. Should put it on a red hat.
posted by chris24 at 2:15 PM on April 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
If I were a congressperson I would be tempted to tweet "It has been reported that I refer to Donald Trump as 'far stupider and more ridiculous than a headless chicken' and 'an incestuous lying asshole whose net worth is completely exaggerated' but these reports are false!"
There's a reason I'm not a congressperson.
posted by Justinian at 6:05 AM on April 22 [1 favorite +] [!]
Maybe, but I think this is exactly what certain Congresspersons on the left need to do. I know, they go low we go high, but also, David Hogg & Stormy/Avenatti. When they go low, we should dunk + wound their sponsors + go high all at the same time. And I know, we're trying, but not enough of our Congresspeople get what the effective protesters understand. Ted Lieu is one that does, and there are others, but... Trump bullies like this because this is the thing that gets under his skin, it's his base's Achilles heel, and it's how to hammer right-wing perfidy into the country's and world's collective memory for decades to come. Bait Trump into Twitter flamewar every time he opens his dumb mouth, dunk on him, shame & boycott his sponsors until they drop him, point out better alternatives until he takes the bait, and then laugh at him again for acting like it was his idea.
posted by saysthis at 2:28 PM on April 21, 2018 [19 favorites]
There's a reason I'm not a congressperson.
posted by Justinian at 6:05 AM on April 22 [1 favorite +] [!]
Maybe, but I think this is exactly what certain Congresspersons on the left need to do. I know, they go low we go high, but also, David Hogg & Stormy/Avenatti. When they go low, we should dunk + wound their sponsors + go high all at the same time. And I know, we're trying, but not enough of our Congresspeople get what the effective protesters understand. Ted Lieu is one that does, and there are others, but... Trump bullies like this because this is the thing that gets under his skin, it's his base's Achilles heel, and it's how to hammer right-wing perfidy into the country's and world's collective memory for decades to come. Bait Trump into Twitter flamewar every time he opens his dumb mouth, dunk on him, shame & boycott his sponsors until they drop him, point out better alternatives until he takes the bait, and then laugh at him again for acting like it was his idea.
posted by saysthis at 2:28 PM on April 21, 2018 [19 favorites]
@realDonaldShart: The Washington Post said I refer to Jeff Sessions as “Mr. Magoo” and Rod Rosenstein as “Mr. Peepers.” This is “according to people with whom the president has spoken.” There are no such people and don’t know these characters...just more Fake & Disgusting News to create ill will!
I knew who Mr. Magoo was but I had to Google Mr. Peepers. Seems like a very dated reference that only someone growing up in the 50s would know. So I would rate this rumor as most likely true.
posted by nikitabot at 2:32 PM on April 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
I knew who Mr. Magoo was but I had to Google Mr. Peepers. Seems like a very dated reference that only someone growing up in the 50s would know. So I would rate this rumor as most likely true.
posted by nikitabot at 2:32 PM on April 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
" the many white-collar lawyers who have turned down Trump lately."
(White shoe -- all lawyers are white-collar, fancy lawyers are white shoe.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 3:14 PM on April 21, 2018 [15 favorites]
(White shoe -- all lawyers are white-collar, fancy lawyers are white shoe.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 3:14 PM on April 21, 2018 [15 favorites]
The Nazi rally in Newnan went down pretty quietly it seems, with only a couple of dozen open white supremacists in attendance (although, from the eager glee with which the militarized police threatened peaceful counterprotestors with assault weapons before tackling them, or the way they took direct orders from the white supremacists, one might suspect the full count is a little bit higher). Police are saying no property damage and only 10 arrests. I'm sure you'll be shocked to hear exactly who it was that was arrested.
JJ MacNab has a Twitter list of reporters who were live at the event, so a lot of coverage from several different sources: https://twitter.com/jjmacnab/lists/nazi-rally-in-georgia
posted by IAmUnaware at 3:25 PM on April 21, 2018 [35 favorites]
JJ MacNab has a Twitter list of reporters who were live at the event, so a lot of coverage from several different sources: https://twitter.com/jjmacnab/lists/nazi-rally-in-georgia
posted by IAmUnaware at 3:25 PM on April 21, 2018 [35 favorites]
Also, of course, because it's America, items not allowed inside the protest area:
https://twitter.com/letsgomathias/status/987678817182461952
The list includes coolers, bicycles, balloons, and liquids of any kind including water. Loaded guns are fine though.
posted by IAmUnaware at 3:33 PM on April 21, 2018 [30 favorites]
https://twitter.com/letsgomathias/status/987678817182461952
The list includes coolers, bicycles, balloons, and liquids of any kind including water. Loaded guns are fine though.
posted by IAmUnaware at 3:33 PM on April 21, 2018 [30 favorites]
I know, they go low we go high, but also, David Hogg & Stormy/Avenatti. When they go low, we should dunk + wound their sponsors + go high all at the same time.
Also, do what every basketball team does -- have one of your minor players pick a fight with their big star, hoping that both get thrown out of the game. If Ted Lieu or Jeff Merkley gets a little carried away and embarrasses themselves, you haven't lost much. But if they can bait Trump into blurting something out...
In politics, there's the added bonus of, this is a legitimate part of the game and a good way for an up-and-comer to build their career.
posted by msalt at 3:49 PM on April 21, 2018 [22 favorites]
Also, do what every basketball team does -- have one of your minor players pick a fight with their big star, hoping that both get thrown out of the game. If Ted Lieu or Jeff Merkley gets a little carried away and embarrasses themselves, you haven't lost much. But if they can bait Trump into blurting something out...
In politics, there's the added bonus of, this is a legitimate part of the game and a good way for an up-and-comer to build their career.
posted by msalt at 3:49 PM on April 21, 2018 [22 favorites]
(White shoe -- all lawyers are white-collar, fancy lawyers are white shoe.)
(Sorry, I was thinking white collar–crime lawyers, not least because we all know that money laundering and business fraud charges are going to come up before this is over. Of course, for a prominent case like this, at Trump's level, the pool of qualified attorneys comes from high-powered white shoe firms—and they don't want to risk their institutional reputation by taking on a nightmare client like him. Every time Trump goes on a Twitter tirade—like the one he's still in the middle of today—he alienates the lawyerly talent that might be able to save him. It's like seeing his rejection by the Manhattan social establishment reflected in the D.C. legal world.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:56 PM on April 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
(Sorry, I was thinking white collar–crime lawyers, not least because we all know that money laundering and business fraud charges are going to come up before this is over. Of course, for a prominent case like this, at Trump's level, the pool of qualified attorneys comes from high-powered white shoe firms—and they don't want to risk their institutional reputation by taking on a nightmare client like him. Every time Trump goes on a Twitter tirade—like the one he's still in the middle of today—he alienates the lawyerly talent that might be able to save him. It's like seeing his rejection by the Manhattan social establishment reflected in the D.C. legal world.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:56 PM on April 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
Something tells me that a Nazi with a water bottle would be treated with a lot more leniency than a counter-protester with a gun, regardless of the written rules (while the inverse would be permitted supposedly because of those rules). A 1930s Peruvian president once said "For my friends, everything. For my enemies, the law." That was one of the principles at work in the Starbucks incident and various defenses of what happened, and it's just so predictable.
Even now, after Heather Heyer and other murders by the "very fine people", so many Americans mentally treat real-life white supremacists as pure fodder for philosophical debates about rights (as if the creeps only exist in legal textbooks) while at the same time magnifying antifa into a nightmarish public safety threat. Even non-conservatives do it, constantly, perhaps because of the "unthinkability" of genuine Naziism or whatever. That, and the infinite good faith granted to white/male/conservative sorts.
"Look, people know damn well that Hitler was horrible, so his followers are powerless, and there's no need to take their Constitutionally-granted guns away. Whoa, check out this picture of a protester holding a brick! A brick, how barbaric can you get? Those people are the true fascists, they're going to doom us all."
posted by InTheYear2017 at 3:57 PM on April 21, 2018 [48 favorites]
Even now, after Heather Heyer and other murders by the "very fine people", so many Americans mentally treat real-life white supremacists as pure fodder for philosophical debates about rights (as if the creeps only exist in legal textbooks) while at the same time magnifying antifa into a nightmarish public safety threat. Even non-conservatives do it, constantly, perhaps because of the "unthinkability" of genuine Naziism or whatever. That, and the infinite good faith granted to white/male/conservative sorts.
"Look, people know damn well that Hitler was horrible, so his followers are powerless, and there's no need to take their Constitutionally-granted guns away. Whoa, check out this picture of a protester holding a brick! A brick, how barbaric can you get? Those people are the true fascists, they're going to doom us all."
posted by InTheYear2017 at 3:57 PM on April 21, 2018 [48 favorites]
Why is Trump worried about the "P tape"? Why not look at what the man himself does and says, regardless of what the base thinks? Asks Comey to investigate even when that is obviously stupid, and confides in Comey that he is very worried about Melania's reaction. He pays Stormy Daniels and other women at least hundreds of thousands if not millions in hush money. All while he has clearly experienced that his base including the evangelicals don't care at all about his "locker room talk".
So he cares that Melania cares. We don't really need to speculate about the nature of their relationship, (although who doesn't?), to see that this is the core of the issue. For Trump, a divorce initiated by Melania citing adultery would be a catastrophe. It would cost him a fortune. Maybe close to all he actually owns.
It would be humiliating. Earlier he has been the one who found a newer model and left first Ivana and then Marla, he is used to be in control of the narrative. He would be even more alone in the White House than he already is. It's clear that he originally imagined Ivanka would take on a lot of first lady tasks, but she always seems to be skiing when things are rough around him. Hope is gone.
And he is at a point in life, and a specific situation in life where he can't just go to a party at a nightclub organized by one of his friends and find a new 40 year younger spouse. Both the secret service and the Mueller investigation keeps him at a distance from his old seedy friends.
A "beautiful wife" is right at the top of his self-defined criteria for success, along with big house, fame, and private plane. Donald Trump without a beautiful wife is just a dirty old man, deep in debt and famous for being vile. She redeems him, in his own mind, and in his audiences' minds.
posted by mumimor at 4:11 PM on April 21, 2018 [52 favorites]
So he cares that Melania cares. We don't really need to speculate about the nature of their relationship, (although who doesn't?), to see that this is the core of the issue. For Trump, a divorce initiated by Melania citing adultery would be a catastrophe. It would cost him a fortune. Maybe close to all he actually owns.
It would be humiliating. Earlier he has been the one who found a newer model and left first Ivana and then Marla, he is used to be in control of the narrative. He would be even more alone in the White House than he already is. It's clear that he originally imagined Ivanka would take on a lot of first lady tasks, but she always seems to be skiing when things are rough around him. Hope is gone.
And he is at a point in life, and a specific situation in life where he can't just go to a party at a nightclub organized by one of his friends and find a new 40 year younger spouse. Both the secret service and the Mueller investigation keeps him at a distance from his old seedy friends.
A "beautiful wife" is right at the top of his self-defined criteria for success, along with big house, fame, and private plane. Donald Trump without a beautiful wife is just a dirty old man, deep in debt and famous for being vile. She redeems him, in his own mind, and in his audiences' minds.
posted by mumimor at 4:11 PM on April 21, 2018 [52 favorites]
The Nazi rally in Newnan went down pretty quietly it seems, with only a couple of dozen open white supremacists in attendance
From the perspective of drones flying overhead and taking video footage broadcast in news livestreams, the group of them looked especially tiny next to all of the giant chalk hearts drawn on the pavement around the area last night. That's a great strategy.
In the linked article of a recent FPP about a man falsely implicated in a murder by DNA evidence:
...in 2013, Obama created a 40-member National Commission on Forensic Science, filled it with people who saw forensics from radically different perspectives—prosecutors, defense attorneys, academics, lab analysts, and scientists—and made a rule that all actions must be approved by a supermajority. [...] In April 2017, his department announced it would not renew the commission's charter. It never met again.posted by XMLicious at 4:38 PM on April 21, 2018 [13 favorites]
Then, in August, President Trump signed the Rapid DNA Act of 2017, allowing law enforcement to use new technology that produces DNA results in just 90 minutes. The bill had bipartisan support and received little press. But privacy advocates worry it may usher in an era of widespread "stop and spit" policing, in which law enforcement asks anyone they stop for a DNA sample. This is already occurring in towns in Florida, Connecticut, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, according to reporting by ProPublica. If law enforcement deems there is probable cause, they can compel someone to provide DNA; otherwise, it is voluntary.
If stop-and-spit becomes more widely used and police databases swell, it could have a disproportionate impact on African Americans and Latinos, who are more often searched, ticketed, and arrested by police. In most states, a felony arrest is enough to add someone in perpetuity to the state database. Just this month, the California Supreme Court declined to overturn a provision requiring all people arrested or charged for a felony to give up their DNA; in Oklahoma, the DNA of any undocumented immigrant arrested on suspicion of any crime is added to a database. Those whose DNA appears in a database face a greater risk of being implicated in a crime they didn't commit.
The Intercept (ft. Glenn Greenwald): The DNC’S Lawsuit Against WikiLeaks Poses a Serious Threat to Press Freedom.
Presented without commentary
This is a question I didn’t expect to find myself asking, but is Glenn Greenwald a Russian operative?
posted by Horace Rumpole at 5:17 PM on April 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
Presented without commentary
This is a question I didn’t expect to find myself asking, but is Glenn Greenwald a Russian operative?
posted by Horace Rumpole at 5:17 PM on April 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
That's been rumored.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 5:26 PM on April 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 5:26 PM on April 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
I think he’s in the Useful Idiot asset class. Vanity and ego make him easy to manipulate. And now that he’s so far down the crazy road, that same vanity and ego won’t allow him to admit he might have been wrong, so he just recommits over and over.
posted by schadenfrau at 5:39 PM on April 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by schadenfrau at 5:39 PM on April 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
This is a question I didn’t expect to find myself asking, but is Glenn Greenwald a Russian operative?
It's more plausible that he's what the Soviets used to call a "useful idiot"; one of that class of leftist Americans for whom the USA is the Most Evil Country, and accusations of wrongdoing against countries like Russia or the erstwhile Soviet Union are "imperialist warmongering"--which is probably partly why so many putatively "left" American commentators got gigs with RT and also probably played a part in the early support for Assange/Wikileaks by many on the left.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 5:40 PM on April 21, 2018 [23 favorites]
It's more plausible that he's what the Soviets used to call a "useful idiot"; one of that class of leftist Americans for whom the USA is the Most Evil Country, and accusations of wrongdoing against countries like Russia or the erstwhile Soviet Union are "imperialist warmongering"--which is probably partly why so many putatively "left" American commentators got gigs with RT and also probably played a part in the early support for Assange/Wikileaks by many on the left.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 5:40 PM on April 21, 2018 [23 favorites]
For Trump, a divorce initiated by Melania citing adultery would be a catastrophe. It would cost him a fortune. Maybe close to all he actually owns.
If Trump actually signed a prenup with Melania that doesn't allow him 100% $$ penalty-free adultery, he is an exponentially bigger fucking idiot than we all think he is.
It would be tantamount to promising to give her all his money if he eats ketchup.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:30 PM on April 21, 2018 [18 favorites]
If Trump actually signed a prenup with Melania that doesn't allow him 100% $$ penalty-free adultery, he is an exponentially bigger fucking idiot than we all think he is.
It would be tantamount to promising to give her all his money if he eats ketchup.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:30 PM on April 21, 2018 [18 favorites]
Wow. Before it gets deleted (if it does), take a look at @realDonaldTrump. He recently retweeted the generally-conservative reporter David Martosko (who I guess he knows personally because he was once considered for press secretary, according to Wikipedia).
After expressing surprise that Republicans have no coherent counter to the obvious implication of Trump repeatedly asking Comey about "the Russian hookers stuff" — namely that he's guilty — Martosko quote-tweeted himself to add "The same can be said of the 'collusion' stuff". That's what Trump retweeted (which means the original bit about hookers is also easily visible). I'm not sure if it was a slipped finger or he just misread the whole gist… like he assumed Martosko's quotes around "collusion" indicated mockery of the very idea, when I'm pretty sure it's not.
So yeah. Literally signal-boosting someone discussing the puzzling ways that he and his party keep signal-boosting damning info. It's an Escher painting of guilty incompetence.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 7:05 PM on April 21, 2018 [35 favorites]
After expressing surprise that Republicans have no coherent counter to the obvious implication of Trump repeatedly asking Comey about "the Russian hookers stuff" — namely that he's guilty — Martosko quote-tweeted himself to add "The same can be said of the 'collusion' stuff". That's what Trump retweeted (which means the original bit about hookers is also easily visible). I'm not sure if it was a slipped finger or he just misread the whole gist… like he assumed Martosko's quotes around "collusion" indicated mockery of the very idea, when I'm pretty sure it's not.
So yeah. Literally signal-boosting someone discussing the puzzling ways that he and his party keep signal-boosting damning info. It's an Escher painting of guilty incompetence.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 7:05 PM on April 21, 2018 [35 favorites]
Disappointing to see these accusations against Greenwald. Say what you will about the man, but he has been consistent in his views over the years -- you all have just changed your mind about him just because he's no longer on your side, unlike in the Obama years.
posted by crazy with stars at 7:16 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by crazy with stars at 7:16 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
Seems like Martosko has deleted his tweet?
posted by Horace Rumpole at 7:18 PM on April 21, 2018
posted by Horace Rumpole at 7:18 PM on April 21, 2018
So there was a thing & now it turns out it wasn't a thing. Unless it was. Who knows?
After rare gunfire in Saudi capital, officials say they shot down a toy drone.
After rare gunfire in Saudi capital, officials say they shot down a toy drone.
ISTANBUL — After residents in Saudi Arabia’s capital reported hearing rare bursts of gunfire on Saturday evening, followed by videos of heavy shooting that circulated on the Internet, the Saudi government said it had an explanation: Someone had flown a recreational drone, without authorization, and security forces had shot it down.posted by scalefree at 7:21 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
A government statement said that guards at a checkpoint in Riyadh, the capital, observed the drone shortly before 8 p.m., in the Al-Khozama neighborhood, where a palace belonging to King Salman, the Saudi monarch, is located. The security forces “dealt with it according to their orders,” the statement said.
Mod note: We are not having a Greenwald go-round.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 7:28 PM on April 21, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 7:28 PM on April 21, 2018 [23 favorites]
Horace Rumpole: Seems like Martosko has deleted his tweet?
I can still see it fine, it's this one.
A Politico article that gives a good summary of just who the guy is, or at least was as of Feburary last year: The Mystery of David Martosko: How an unconventional tabloid reporter became a Donald Trump favorite—then fell out of favor.
During the campaign, he was basically a Trump sycophant, but he's not anymore, and now he says the sort of things about Trump that most reporters do (for instance, defending Maggie Haberman in a tweet rebuking Trump's attack on her). The chicken-and-egg question is whether that's in response to his losing what was once very close access, or whether his knew style is why the access was lost. Regardless, perhaps Trump has failed to fully update his internal emotional response to Martosko, and he's reading anything he would say through rose lenses.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 7:33 PM on April 21, 2018
I can still see it fine, it's this one.
A Politico article that gives a good summary of just who the guy is, or at least was as of Feburary last year: The Mystery of David Martosko: How an unconventional tabloid reporter became a Donald Trump favorite—then fell out of favor.
During the campaign, he was basically a Trump sycophant, but he's not anymore, and now he says the sort of things about Trump that most reporters do (for instance, defending Maggie Haberman in a tweet rebuking Trump's attack on her). The chicken-and-egg question is whether that's in response to his losing what was once very close access, or whether his knew style is why the access was lost. Regardless, perhaps Trump has failed to fully update his internal emotional response to Martosko, and he's reading anything he would say through rose lenses.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 7:33 PM on April 21, 2018
The weirdest timeline: CNN reports the Utah Republican convention didn't give Mitt Romney the coronation he wanted, so he's going to have to run for the Senate in June against a guy named Kennedy - just like he did in 1994 in Massachusetts. Only this is Utah we're talking about, so he probably won't declare himself the bestest pal the gays could ever hope for.
posted by adamg at 7:40 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by adamg at 7:40 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
So the ball has been advanced a few yards on Pompeo & Iraq. We now know how the story got started if not who started it or why. It was Wikipedia, an anonymous edit to Pompeo's entry in 2016.
A lie about Mike Pompeo’s Gulf War service started with an anonymous Wikipedia edit
A lie about Mike Pompeo’s Gulf War service started with an anonymous Wikipedia edit
But from Dec. 1, 2016 until the error was corrected on April 20, 2018, Pompeo’s Wikipedia entry also said he served with that division “in the Gulf War.” The article was viewed 886,777 times during 2017, Wikipedia says.posted by scalefree at 8:01 PM on April 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
Pompeo’s bogus Gulf War service appears to have been added to his Wikipedia profile by an IP address usually assigned to the Richmond, Virginia area. The changes included the same sentence about his military unit as Pompeo’s biography from the CIA and his Congressional years, but added a new sentence: “He served his last tour in the Gulf War.”
A LexisNexis database search of news publications and broadcast transcripts shows no mention of Pompeo serving in the Gulf until a Washington Post article on Dec. 7, 2016—six days after the information was added to Pompeo’s Wikipedia entry. In the weeks following, the error was repeated by The Globe and Mail, on Dec. 13, then Rubio in the Senate on Jan. 23, and then by multiple news outlets.
The user who made the changes on Wikipedia made them from a mobile phone, the site’s history shows. Because phone IPs can change as users move between locations, it’s impossible to know if the user had made other edits previously or since. Only one other Wikipedia edit has come from the same IP address, a change to the entry for US Army Sargent Gary Gordon, who died in the “Black Hawk Down” accident in Somalia in 1993. The change, adding “Persian Gulf War” to Gordon’s list of battles (a fact also reflected on Gordon’s headstone), was made minutes after the changes to Pompeo’s entry:
So the Martosko tweets read:
"I'm astonished at the lack of Republican messaging today about one thing in particular: The memos confirm Trump asked Comey to investigate and lay to rest the Russian hookers stuff, which is something you don't do if you're guilty."
and
"The same can be said of the "collusion" stuff."
which sound like something Trump would like, and retweet. Of course, it IS something you'd do if you're guilty, if you believe you can talk/intimidate/threaten everyone into doing whatever you want.
posted by Kelrichen at 8:02 PM on April 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
"I'm astonished at the lack of Republican messaging today about one thing in particular: The memos confirm Trump asked Comey to investigate and lay to rest the Russian hookers stuff, which is something you don't do if you're guilty."
and
"The same can be said of the "collusion" stuff."
which sound like something Trump would like, and retweet. Of course, it IS something you'd do if you're guilty, if you believe you can talk/intimidate/threaten everyone into doing whatever you want.
posted by Kelrichen at 8:02 PM on April 21, 2018 [11 favorites]
adamg: "The weirdest timeline: CNN reports the Utah Republican convention didn't give Mitt Romney the coronation he wanted, so he's going to have to run for the Senate in June against a guy named Kennedy - just like he did in 1994 in Massachusetts. Only this is Utah we're talking about, so he probably won't declare himself the bestest pal the gays could ever hope for."
It's not that weird - the people who go to the Utah party convention are super conservative activists, and Romney wasn't really expected to win their support. He's still very, very likely to win the nomination in the primary.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:45 PM on April 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's not that weird - the people who go to the Utah party convention are super conservative activists, and Romney wasn't really expected to win their support. He's still very, very likely to win the nomination in the primary.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:45 PM on April 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
Oh, sorry, the part I thought was weird is that we have another Romney-vs-Kennedy Senate race.
posted by adamg at 8:54 PM on April 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by adamg at 8:54 PM on April 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
OK, update to my earlier comment: It's official. VA's 5th Congressional District Democratic caucuses have given Leslie Cockburn enough enough delegates to win the nominating convention by a simple majority on the first round (even with two counties still not reporting). I'm feeling good about this.
One thing thing that happened here is that she beat Huffstetler, the top campaign fundraiser in this race, easily. He came in last out of the three candidates.
I have some questions about this: Are there donors out there who'll throw money at a weak Democratic candidate who doesn't seem serious about winning, just to head off a challenge from a strong, media-savvy Democrat who poses a real threat to the incumbent? Were there donors from outside the district who thought the guy with a Georgia drawl could win over rural white southerners? There are some problems with this: The rural southeastern part of this district has a black majority. (That's where I grew up.) Huffstetler's accent isn't very similar to clipped Virginia Piedmont Southern. The economic problems of Southside VA – the collapse of the tobacco industry and the shift to timber and tree farming as a major industry, which doesn't employ nearly as many people on a regular basis – is pretty specific this part of the state. Just posing next to a pickup truck and speaking with a Georgia drawl isn't going to convince people that you 'understand rural America', not our part of rural America anyway.
Anyway, we nominated the candidate who poses a very real threat to the Freedom Caucus incumbent. I look forward to working for her and voting for her in the future. We want to win.
posted by nangar at 12:51 AM on April 22, 2018 [38 favorites]
One thing thing that happened here is that she beat Huffstetler, the top campaign fundraiser in this race, easily. He came in last out of the three candidates.
I have some questions about this: Are there donors out there who'll throw money at a weak Democratic candidate who doesn't seem serious about winning, just to head off a challenge from a strong, media-savvy Democrat who poses a real threat to the incumbent? Were there donors from outside the district who thought the guy with a Georgia drawl could win over rural white southerners? There are some problems with this: The rural southeastern part of this district has a black majority. (That's where I grew up.) Huffstetler's accent isn't very similar to clipped Virginia Piedmont Southern. The economic problems of Southside VA – the collapse of the tobacco industry and the shift to timber and tree farming as a major industry, which doesn't employ nearly as many people on a regular basis – is pretty specific this part of the state. Just posing next to a pickup truck and speaking with a Georgia drawl isn't going to convince people that you 'understand rural America', not our part of rural America anyway.
Anyway, we nominated the candidate who poses a very real threat to the Freedom Caucus incumbent. I look forward to working for her and voting for her in the future. We want to win.
posted by nangar at 12:51 AM on April 22, 2018 [38 favorites]
WHOOPS. Yep, I totally misread that Martosko tweet! I thought this was like a repeat of the time Trump accidentally retweeted a dude calling him a moron. But no, this time I, not Donald, was the one with a mixed-up impression of things. Because Donald's constant early-2017 pestering of Comey seemed like suspicious behavior to me (as it did to Comey) I sort of mentally swapped in a "not" in parsing the meaning.
Basically, David's intended impression was that Donald is a man who invites investigation. (Or at least, he thinks Republicans could sell the idea that he is.) I think putting it that way makes the cause of my confusion even clearer.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:58 AM on April 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
Basically, David's intended impression was that Donald is a man who invites investigation. (Or at least, he thinks Republicans could sell the idea that he is.) I think putting it that way makes the cause of my confusion even clearer.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:58 AM on April 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
Are there donors out there who'll throw money at a weak Democratic candidate who doesn't seem serious about winning, just to head off a challenge from a strong, media-savvy Democrat who poses a real threat to the incumbent? Were there donors from outside the district who thought the guy with a Georgia drawl could win over rural white southerners?
Certainly, "All people supporting primary candidates I don't support are either antiprogressives intentionally throwing the race to the Republican or simple buffoons who don't know anything about anything" is one hypothesis that might turn out to be true. A simpler one, though, might be "Some well-enough-informed people disagree with me about who would be the most effective candidate for a given race."
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:01 AM on April 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Certainly, "All people supporting primary candidates I don't support are either antiprogressives intentionally throwing the race to the Republican or simple buffoons who don't know anything about anything" is one hypothesis that might turn out to be true. A simpler one, though, might be "Some well-enough-informed people disagree with me about who would be the most effective candidate for a given race."
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:01 AM on April 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Sorry, that's crankier than I mean to be. I blame lack of caffeine. Really, other people can meet Huffstetler or see his campaign materials and be really excited to support him, and be just as eager to win as you are, and otherwise be just like you except supporting someone else.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:09 AM on April 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:09 AM on April 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
I admit that Leslie Cockburn seems like a weird fit for that district: she seems pretty susceptible to a "limousine radical from D.C. pontificating about equality from the fancy weekend house that she bought with inherited wealth" narrative. But I'm very much not from the district, and she may not play that way there.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:01 AM on April 22, 2018
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:01 AM on April 22, 2018
I didn't mean to imply that people who voted for Huffstetler were clueless or anti-progressive. He got 43 delegates. Obviously some Democrats in the district genuinely liked him. I was puzzled by the discrepancy between votes and donations. If both reflect who Democrats in the district like, they should at least sort of line up. They don't in this case.
I can see Huffstetler matching out of state donors' idea of what an authentic rural Southern Democrat looks and sounds like, without understanding that this slice of Virginia is not very much like Georgia. In the end, a majority of Democratic activists in the 5th District voted for the white woman from California who ran a stronger campaign and spent a lot of time getting to know voters in the district and trying understand issues they're concerned about.
I think Huffstetler's pickup truck ad may have attracted donations from out of state Democrats, while not convincing many Democrats in the district to vote for him. (The latter part is certainly true. The first part is just a guess on my part.)
posted by nangar at 7:47 AM on April 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
I can see Huffstetler matching out of state donors' idea of what an authentic rural Southern Democrat looks and sounds like, without understanding that this slice of Virginia is not very much like Georgia. In the end, a majority of Democratic activists in the 5th District voted for the white woman from California who ran a stronger campaign and spent a lot of time getting to know voters in the district and trying understand issues they're concerned about.
I think Huffstetler's pickup truck ad may have attracted donations from out of state Democrats, while not convincing many Democrats in the district to vote for him. (The latter part is certainly true. The first part is just a guess on my part.)
posted by nangar at 7:47 AM on April 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump
“I can die happy now with Trump Job performance,” stated Mary Matalin. “A great overall President, stunning!” Thank you Mary.
To paraphrase the old joke: "I want to die happy, like a Republican commentator; not screaming like all the passengers in their car."
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:55 AM on April 22, 2018 [47 favorites]
“I can die happy now with Trump Job performance,” stated Mary Matalin. “A great overall President, stunning!” Thank you Mary.
To paraphrase the old joke: "I want to die happy, like a Republican commentator; not screaming like all the passengers in their car."
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:55 AM on April 22, 2018 [47 favorites]
I was puzzled by the discrepancy between votes and donations
People who donate are people with enough money, people who participate in conventions and pre-convention caucuses are people with enough time.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 8:10 AM on April 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
People who donate are people with enough money, people who participate in conventions and pre-convention caucuses are people with enough time.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 8:10 AM on April 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
There's a lovely photo from the funeral of both Bushes, Clintons, Obamas, Nancy Pelosi & Melania, all with wide smiles. Apparently it's only on FB; I searched TinEye & Google Images, no joy. I'm not sure if it's publicly visible, apologies if it's not. Anyway, here it is.
posted by scalefree at 8:34 AM on April 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 8:34 AM on April 22, 2018 [16 favorites]
That is not Nancy Pelosi, I believe it is W's wife, ffs, I can't recall her name now. Edited to add "Laura". Evidently my Synapses aren't awake yet.
posted by W Grant at 8:39 AM on April 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by W Grant at 8:39 AM on April 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
Laura Bush
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 8:41 AM on April 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 8:41 AM on April 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
" I was puzzled by the discrepancy between votes and donations. If both reflect who Democrats in the district like, they should at least sort of line up. They don't in this case."
A smart state politics blog/publication probably knows. Since they know all the local players, they can generally identify if a PAC that usually supports Republicans is supporting a Democrat, and they usually have a good idea whether it's shenanigans or genuine agreement on some issue.
Best guess would be that he had access to a handful of deep-pocketed donors whose vision for the state/district, while probably sincere, differs from that of most voters in the district. For example, Illinois has about four deep-pocketed GOP donors who are very Tea Party-leaning, who consistently turn their picks into the highest-fundraising candidates in the race -- but their overwhelming-cash candidates lose the primaries about half the time because they're WAY more conservative than Illinois Republicans on average, and they perform poorly in general elections. But the big-money cash will always go to those outlier candidates because that's who the donors are.
Sometimes you also see this kind of split in primaries when one candidate is known to a lot of political insiders (has worked in government for several years, or been active in a local issue that brings them into contact with lots of politicians) and gets a lot of endorsements/funds from PACs, unions, CoCs, etc., simply because they know him and think he'll do a good job (and a lot of primary endorsements/donations are still a matter of relationships), but in the end he doesn't excite the voters.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:02 AM on April 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
A smart state politics blog/publication probably knows. Since they know all the local players, they can generally identify if a PAC that usually supports Republicans is supporting a Democrat, and they usually have a good idea whether it's shenanigans or genuine agreement on some issue.
Best guess would be that he had access to a handful of deep-pocketed donors whose vision for the state/district, while probably sincere, differs from that of most voters in the district. For example, Illinois has about four deep-pocketed GOP donors who are very Tea Party-leaning, who consistently turn their picks into the highest-fundraising candidates in the race -- but their overwhelming-cash candidates lose the primaries about half the time because they're WAY more conservative than Illinois Republicans on average, and they perform poorly in general elections. But the big-money cash will always go to those outlier candidates because that's who the donors are.
Sometimes you also see this kind of split in primaries when one candidate is known to a lot of political insiders (has worked in government for several years, or been active in a local issue that brings them into contact with lots of politicians) and gets a lot of endorsements/funds from PACs, unions, CoCs, etc., simply because they know him and think he'll do a good job (and a lot of primary endorsements/donations are still a matter of relationships), but in the end he doesn't excite the voters.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:02 AM on April 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
The framing of that picture is so fascinating. The prominence of Barack. Sticking Bill in the back. Melania being so distant from it all and Michelle choosing to stand closer to Melania than Barack. Hillary and Barack definitely knowing the optics of the situation. Melania's smiling but she's got the anxiety fist.
I know she's said terrible things, but I still feel bad for Melania. You don't know if she had to say to them to appease her toddler husband. She's living proof that money doesn't buy happiness.
posted by Ruki at 9:09 AM on April 22, 2018 [14 favorites]
I know she's said terrible things, but I still feel bad for Melania. You don't know if she had to say to them to appease her toddler husband. She's living proof that money doesn't buy happiness.
posted by Ruki at 9:09 AM on April 22, 2018 [14 favorites]
I know she's said terrible things, but I still feel bad for Melania.
Spare that sympathy for Barron, the only blameless Trump. Melania's in the inner circle of collaborative responsibility and feeling bad for her is the first step toward rehabilitation. Which should never ever come.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:19 AM on April 22, 2018 [35 favorites]
Spare that sympathy for Barron, the only blameless Trump. Melania's in the inner circle of collaborative responsibility and feeling bad for her is the first step toward rehabilitation. Which should never ever come.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:19 AM on April 22, 2018 [35 favorites]
I know she's said terrible things, but I still feel bad for Melania. You don't know if she had to say to them to appease her toddler husband. She's living proof that money doesn't buy happiness.
She knew what the job was when she took it. Still, I have to appreciate that when he dies and she gets paid the likelihood is high she’ll just fuck off to some distant location and spend the rest of her life using the money to make her weird-ass goth tableaux.
posted by Artw at 9:24 AM on April 22, 2018 [20 favorites]
She knew what the job was when she took it. Still, I have to appreciate that when he dies and she gets paid the likelihood is high she’ll just fuck off to some distant location and spend the rest of her life using the money to make her weird-ass goth tableaux.
posted by Artw at 9:24 AM on April 22, 2018 [20 favorites]
Spare that sympathy for Barron
andPeggy Tiffany
posted by Flannery Culp at 9:25 AM on April 22, 2018 [20 favorites]
and
posted by Flannery Culp at 9:25 AM on April 22, 2018 [20 favorites]
She knew what the job was when she took it.
I don't like her either, but that isn't entirely true. The job that she took was supposed to be far more low key than first lady.
posted by bootlegpop at 9:27 AM on April 22, 2018 [18 favorites]
I don't like her either, but that isn't entirely true. The job that she took was supposed to be far more low key than first lady.
posted by bootlegpop at 9:27 AM on April 22, 2018 [18 favorites]
and Tiffany
Nah, not Tiffany. She knows better but doesn't speak out. Sure, that'd mean forfeiting her share of the loot, but you think she wouldn't get book deals et cetera out of being the "my dad is an insane dictator whose incompetence is the only thing keeping you alive" Trump? I for one am not forgetting her silence.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:31 AM on April 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
Nah, not Tiffany. She knows better but doesn't speak out. Sure, that'd mean forfeiting her share of the loot, but you think she wouldn't get book deals et cetera out of being the "my dad is an insane dictator whose incompetence is the only thing keeping you alive" Trump? I for one am not forgetting her silence.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:31 AM on April 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
This will never happen, but it would be lovely if believers in "meritocracy" took a good long look at everyone in this administration and thought a bit about their beliefs.
I think I see the problem there.
posted by Gelatin at 9:31 AM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
I think I see the problem there.
posted by Gelatin at 9:31 AM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
Fair point. It would be nice to see one of the adult children take a stand rather than lying low and washing her hands of the whole mess.
posted by Flannery Culp at 9:33 AM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Flannery Culp at 9:33 AM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
A few links offered without comment:
Politico: GOP split as banks take on gun industry - Some Republicans, enraged at moves by Citigroup and Bank of America to distance themselves from some retailers and gun manufacturers, have called on government agencies to cancel contracts with the banks and defer deregulation proposals that would benefit them. But other Republicans want to keep their hands off, saying lenders are free to decide who they do business with.posted by saysthis at 9:47 AM on April 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
Politico: French president to call for American ‘militarism’ - French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday he will call for continued U.S. military intervention in Syria before a joint session of Congress this week.
Guardian: Curtis Sittenfeld: ‘I have declined to write fiction about Melania Trump double digits of times’ - Best known for her fictionalised memoir of Laura Bush, the US author talks about inspiration, her debut short story collection, and Stormy Daniels [...]
There are a few reasons. First, I cannot imagine at this point voluntarily writing about the Trump administration because it has claimed so much of my mental energy, so much of my life, that to allow it to take up my writing time too feels like I would be giving up something very precious. I don’t want to think about Trump more than I already am. Another reason is that I don’t like purely being satirical or savaging people. I really like writing about characters in a balanced, complicated way and I don’t think I could do that with Melania Trump. I don’t admire her. I don’t see her as one-dimensional, but neither do I see her as someone whose consciousness I yearn to explore.
> I admit that Leslie Cockburn seems like a weird fit for that district
I think her successful primary campaign underlines that the rural South isn't what pundits think it is, and appealing to racists is emphatically not what Democrats need to do win there. If she beats Garrett in November – which seems very doable, though it won't be a cakewalk – that will really drive that home (and I'll be here in November to crow about it).
To win she needs to get Democrats to turn out and be enthusiastic about her candidacy, not cater to Republicans. In the 5th District, that means appealing to rural black Democrats in the southeast and white liberals around Charlottesville and the northern part of the district. From what I've seen, it looks like she's already doing that.
posted by nangar at 9:58 AM on April 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
I think her successful primary campaign underlines that the rural South isn't what pundits think it is, and appealing to racists is emphatically not what Democrats need to do win there. If she beats Garrett in November – which seems very doable, though it won't be a cakewalk – that will really drive that home (and I'll be here in November to crow about it).
To win she needs to get Democrats to turn out and be enthusiastic about her candidacy, not cater to Republicans. In the 5th District, that means appealing to rural black Democrats in the southeast and white liberals around Charlottesville and the northern part of the district. From what I've seen, it looks like she's already doing that.
posted by nangar at 9:58 AM on April 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
Good points, Eyebrows. Huffstetler probably has a lot of contacts in the Charlottesville business community. But that doesn't translate to votes in Southside or even very many locally, without also campaigning effectively.
I know somebody who'll probably know who Huffstetler's backers were, if they're local. I should ask him when I get a chance.
(Anyway, I'll try to stop baby-sitting the thread. I think I've said enough about Virginia's 5th District for now.)
posted by nangar at 10:00 AM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
I know somebody who'll probably know who Huffstetler's backers were, if they're local. I should ask him when I get a chance.
(Anyway, I'll try to stop baby-sitting the thread. I think I've said enough about Virginia's 5th District for now.)
posted by nangar at 10:00 AM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
We visited this zoo yesterday where they have a plague of vultures. The vultures descend into the bald eagles' pen during feeding time. They circle the bald eagles, who seem to be looking at them with great scorn, and then eventually the vultures make off with the rat entrails or whatever the eagle is careless enough to leave within rich. Then the vultures make off with it but don't seem to be eating right away; our theory was that they were waiting for the entrails to reach the right level of ripeness.
I should've taken a picture of this scene that I could annotate with something clever about the state of democracy, but honestly I was sort of busy suppressing the instinct because our politically conservative relative is visiting.
posted by angrycat at 10:10 AM on April 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
I should've taken a picture of this scene that I could annotate with something clever about the state of democracy, but honestly I was sort of busy suppressing the instinct because our politically conservative relative is visiting.
posted by angrycat at 10:10 AM on April 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
Spare that sympathy for Barron, the only blameless Trump. Melania's in the inner circle of collaborative responsibility and feeling bad for her is the first step toward rehabilitation. Which should never ever come.
As more and more details about their marriage come out, coupled with what his previous wives have said, such as Ivana's rape allegation, how much power does she really have? Less than Ivanka, certainly. I'm not going to join her fan club, but having been in an abusive relationship myself, I do feel a sense of solidarity with her. And speaking of Barron, you have to admit that she's done her best to shield him from everything.
posted by Ruki at 10:19 AM on April 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
As more and more details about their marriage come out, coupled with what his previous wives have said, such as Ivana's rape allegation, how much power does she really have? Less than Ivanka, certainly. I'm not going to join her fan club, but having been in an abusive relationship myself, I do feel a sense of solidarity with her. And speaking of Barron, you have to admit that she's done her best to shield him from everything.
posted by Ruki at 10:19 AM on April 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
I'd say we know very little at all about the women in the Trump family, and to put any onus of responsibility on them regarding this grotesque, appalling toddler man is not for us to judge.
posted by Glinn at 10:22 AM on April 22, 2018 [35 favorites]
posted by Glinn at 10:22 AM on April 22, 2018 [35 favorites]
far more low key than first lady.
Timeline Of Donald And Melania Trump's Relationship
Timeline Of Donald And Melania Trump's Relationship
Donald and Melania met for the first time at a party during New York Fashion week in 1998.posted by OnceUponATime at 10:32 AM on April 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
...
In 1999, Donald finalizes his divorce from Maples.
...
That same year, during a memorable phone-in to Howard Stern's radio show, Trump would call Melania "First Lady material."
...
In January 2000, the pair break up.
Trump, who at the time was running for president and seeking the nomination of the Reform Party, tells the New York Times, "Melania is an amazing woman, a terrific woman, a great woman, and she will be missed."
Soon enough, they get back together, and Melania supports his possible future run for president.
Tiffany was not raised in Donald’s house.
posted by Melismata at 10:38 AM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 10:38 AM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
Given... just about everything about this family...I would be extremely surprised if Tiffany were to inherit anything from Trump, and also very surprised if she expects to. (Surely the other kids would do anything in their power to cut her out of it.) As far as I can tell she's a private citizen, and like all of us I think she deserves the right to limit contact and interaction with her (obviously) narcissistic, abusive, predatory father.
posted by the turtle's teeth at 10:44 AM on April 22, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by the turtle's teeth at 10:44 AM on April 22, 2018 [19 favorites]
Maybe we can drop the speculation about the members of the Trump family who have tried to stay out of the spotlight unless there's some actual news to discuss.
posted by schmod at 10:51 AM on April 22, 2018 [62 favorites]
posted by schmod at 10:51 AM on April 22, 2018 [62 favorites]
Fuck the Trumps. While families are being destroyed by summary deportations and travel bans, while others struggle to cope with dwindling resources for special-needs kids or chronic medical conditions, not a single tear should be shed for this collection of grasping grifters straight out of a bad knockoff of a 1980s-era primetime soap opera.
Fuck. The. Trumps.
posted by hangashore at 11:04 AM on April 22, 2018 [51 favorites]
Fuck. The. Trumps.
posted by hangashore at 11:04 AM on April 22, 2018 [51 favorites]
The freedom of the press is a pretty big part of the "rule of law"
Wikileaks is not "the press", certainly not in its current incarnation as a GRU cut-out run by a cornered agent spreading online disinformation and agit-prop—for which Greenwald's publication continues to provide covering fire. When the DNC makes threats to the press on the scale of Trump's, then we can consider joining Greenwald in fretting over their danger to the First Amendment.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:32 AM on April 22, 2018 [44 favorites]
Wikileaks is not "the press", certainly not in its current incarnation as a GRU cut-out run by a cornered agent spreading online disinformation and agit-prop—for which Greenwald's publication continues to provide covering fire. When the DNC makes threats to the press on the scale of Trump's, then we can consider joining Greenwald in fretting over their danger to the First Amendment.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:32 AM on April 22, 2018 [44 favorites]
Glenn Greenwald is Juliann Assange Round 2: This Time for Bigger Chumps.
He absolutely does not give a shit about freedom of the press, he just cares about defending Russia and oligarchs.
Do you think those guys allow “freedom of the press”?
posted by Artw at 11:35 AM on April 22, 2018 [15 favorites]
He absolutely does not give a shit about freedom of the press, he just cares about defending Russia and oligarchs.
Do you think those guys allow “freedom of the press”?
posted by Artw at 11:35 AM on April 22, 2018 [15 favorites]
Do you think those guys allow “freedom of the press”?
Molding your ethics around the actions of your enemies is a losing proposition.
posted by rhizome at 11:50 AM on April 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
Molding your ethics around the actions of your enemies is a losing proposition.
posted by rhizome at 11:50 AM on April 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
Hmm. Trumpers are chumps who swallow any old bullshit so long as it flatters th and have highly developed blind spots as regards obvious bad actors.
Follow those thoughts and yours through to the end as regards Assange and Greenwald.
posted by Artw at 11:57 AM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
Follow those thoughts and yours through to the end as regards Assange and Greenwald.
posted by Artw at 11:57 AM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
Trump's weekend Twitter ranting has turned to North Korea (apropos of whatever cable news he's been watching): "Funny how all of the Pundits that couldn’t come close to making a deal on North Korea are now all over the place telling me how to make a deal!"
According to Axios's unnamed insider sources, Trump believes his meeting with Kim Jong-un is “a duel of personalities[,] a test of wills and of a contest of one man and another”, and Trump “thinks, ‘Just get me in the room with the guy and I’ll figure it out.’”
And this morning, he tweeted (or crowed): "Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd of Fake News NBC just stated that we have given up so much in our negotiations with North Korea, and they have given up nothing. Wow, we haven’t given up anything & they have agreed to denuclearization (so great for World), site closure, & no more testing!"
Trump White House aides have anonymously told the Washington Post, however, they're privately skeptical of North Korea’s plans to freeze nuclear testing.
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:20 PM on April 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
According to Axios's unnamed insider sources, Trump believes his meeting with Kim Jong-un is “a duel of personalities[,] a test of wills and of a contest of one man and another”, and Trump “thinks, ‘Just get me in the room with the guy and I’ll figure it out.’”
And this morning, he tweeted (or crowed): "Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd of Fake News NBC just stated that we have given up so much in our negotiations with North Korea, and they have given up nothing. Wow, we haven’t given up anything & they have agreed to denuclearization (so great for World), site closure, & no more testing!"
Trump White House aides have anonymously told the Washington Post, however, they're privately skeptical of North Korea’s plans to freeze nuclear testing.
The Trump White House is reacting skeptically in private to North Korea’s announcement of plans to freeze nuclear weapons testing, warning that dictator Kim Jong Un could be setting a trap and promising not to back off a hard-line stance ahead of a potential leaders’ summit.Naturally, they "spoke on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss private talks", because it doesn't sound like they're getting through to their boss.
President Trump called Pyongyang’s move “progress” and “good news” in a pair of tweets after the news broke Friday evening. Behind the scenes, however, his aides cautioned Saturday that Kim’s statement that the North would halt testing and shutter one nuclear facility was more notable for what he left out: a direct pledge to work toward nuclear disarmament.
Although some foreign policy analysts were heartened that Kim appeared eager to set a positive tone for his summit with Trump, which could come in late May or early June, Trump aides were less enthused. In their view, Kim’s moves aimed to offer relatively modest pledges — which could be quickly reversed — to create the “illusion” that he is “reasonable” and willing to compromise.
That, the Trump aides said, would make it more politically difficult for the United States to reject the North’s demands.
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:20 PM on April 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
Politico, Dan Diamond, Trump challenges Native Americans’ historical standing
The Trump administration says Native Americans might need to get a job if they want to keep their health care — a policy that tribal leaders say will threaten access to care and reverse centuries-old protections.posted by zachlipton at 12:22 PM on April 22, 2018 [63 favorites]
Tribal leaders want an exemption from new Medicaid work rules being introduced in several states, and they say there are precedents for health care exceptions. Native Americans don’t have to pay penalties for not having health coverage under Obamacare’s individual mandate, for instance.
But the Trump administration contends the tribes are a race rather than separate governments, and exempting them from Medicaid work rules — which have been approved in three states and are being sought by at least 10 others — would be illegal preferential treatment. “HHS believes that such an exemption would raise constitutional and federal civil rights law concerns,” according to a review by administration lawyers.
...
“The United States has a legal responsibility to provide health care to Native Americans,” said Mary Smith, who was acting head of the Indian Health Service during the Obama administration and is a member of the Cherokee Nation. “It’s the largest prepaid health system in the world — they’ve paid through land and massacres — and now you’re going to take away health care and add a work requirement?”
Well, there goes my health care.
posted by elsietheeel at 12:30 PM on April 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by elsietheeel at 12:30 PM on April 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
Politico, Dan Diamond, Trump challenges Native Americans’ historical standing.... the Trump administration contends the tribes are a race rather than separate governments
And what kind of implications would this have for other Native issues? I thought that as flawed as our whole system was in actual practice, Native sovereignty was a done deal - when my employer works with tribal bodies, we are contracting with governments, not just groups or associations. This is part of the whole set of attacks on Native people, probably with the underlying goal of seizing tribal lands and entirely ending tribal government. You certainly see that they're hitting Native rights pretty hard in other ways.
Nazis, fucking Nazis. The online white-boy ones are fucking amateurs compared to the ones we've got in office.
posted by Frowner at 12:40 PM on April 22, 2018 [73 favorites]
This is part of the whole set of attacks on Native people, probably with the underlying goal of seizing tribal lands and entirely ending tribal government.
Institutions and minorities are the two things that fascism seeks most to destroy. Sovereign and protected ethnic entities are therefore a very high priority for liquidation.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:45 PM on April 22, 2018 [28 favorites]
Institutions and minorities are the two things that fascism seeks most to destroy. Sovereign and protected ethnic entities are therefore a very high priority for liquidation.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:45 PM on April 22, 2018 [28 favorites]
So far what the administration expects NK to agree to is no more than what the Clinton administration got from them.
There's no reason to think this time will require any less of a payoff to get something similar. And since this time their weapons tech has advanced we can expect the price to be higher.
Republicans criticized Clinton for buying NK off. If Trump wants to go back to the Clinton approach that's fine, but nobody should think that he's achieving something that couldn't have been achieved at any time in the past 16 years if the past two admins had wanted to do it that way.
posted by duoshao at 12:52 PM on April 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
There's no reason to think this time will require any less of a payoff to get something similar. And since this time their weapons tech has advanced we can expect the price to be higher.
Republicans criticized Clinton for buying NK off. If Trump wants to go back to the Clinton approach that's fine, but nobody should think that he's achieving something that couldn't have been achieved at any time in the past 16 years if the past two admins had wanted to do it that way.
posted by duoshao at 12:52 PM on April 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
Scott Lemeiux @ LGM: THEATER CRITICISM COVERAGE OF POLITICS TURNS PEOPLE’S MINDS INTO MUSH
To state the obvious, the idea that 2016 was the “most winnable election” in modern history is absolutely insane. No matter how bad a candidate you think Trump was, 2008 was very, very obviously a more “winnable” election, and the argument that it was more winnable than 2012 isn’t a lot more plausible. (Even if we assume arguendo that Romney was a substantially better candidate than Trump — plausible, but given the anachronistic means by which the United States chooses a president not actually a slam-dunk — it’s very far from clear that this difference outweighs the value of being a peacetime incumbent.) And, of course “modern history” at a minimum includes 1984, and very possibly 1972 and 1964 as well. So, in other words, to say that 2016 was the most “winnable” election in modern history means that Clinton with better choices not only could have done better than Obama in 2008, she apparently could have won all 50 states in the Electoral College and taken the popular vote by more than 20%. This is astoundingly stupid. Even structurally, 2016 was not an especially favorable context for the Democratic nominee no matter how bad you think Trump is, and that’s before we get into stuff like “the director of the FBI making repeated prejudicial statements about the Democratic nominee while saying nothing about the investigation into the Republican nominee” and “the media mostly treating the Democratic nominee as the presumptive president and the Republican candidate as a joke.”posted by chris24 at 1:04 PM on April 22, 2018 [26 favorites]
In the variety of people who share the meme, we can see the various reasons why people repeating something that is obviously, ludicrously false makes sense to them:
- A lot of political commentary comes from people who, like Favreau, were campaign operatives, who for obvious reasons want to inflate their own importance. (It’s not limited to any profession; it’s the same reason that, say, Ruth Bader Ginsburg claims that Roe would have faced less opposition if it had been decided on equal protection grounds. It’s obviously wrong when you think about it, but within the norms of the profession it can seem rational.) One thing Favreau is saying when he says that “2016 was the most winnable election in modern history” is “we won in 2008 not because we were in a race with no incumbent president and incredibly favorable conditions for the out party” but because of the sheer brilliance of the candidate and their decision-making. But, actually, any Democratic nominee wins in 2008. Probably Clinton doesn’t carry Indiana and maybe she doesn’t carry North Carolina, but she wins.
- The same thing is true of beat reporters like Chozick; one implication of the Halperinesque idea that elections are determined solely or almost solely by candidate quality is that horse race/theater critic coverage is immensely important. And since reporters are more likely to get political analysis from the operatives or other reporters they talk to than from political science or history, it creates a feedback loop in which the importance of candidate quality/tactics is greatly exaggerated and the importance of structural factors greatly understated.
- And Linker reminds us that theater critic analysis is useful for pundits with an axe to grind, and in the particular case of Clinton the derangement tends to be particularly pronounced. So while transparently silly the “most winnable” meme is useful to Linker because it allows him to claim that Clinton and her supporters have no legitimate grievances and nobody else needs to be held accountable, when of course Clinton does have perfectly legitimate grievances and there are a lot of people who made bad judgements and need to be held accountable. As Sargent says, Comey is openly admitting that he put his thumb on the scale because he assumed that Clinton would win. This is bad behavior! (And, incidentally, it’s another reason why high levels of confidence in the outcome of counterfactuals are misplaced. Rubio or Cruz might have been “better” candidates in some abstract sense, but Clinton wouldn’t have been treated as the president-elect by the media or the FBI in those scenarios, and we have no idea how that would have played out. The question of whether Trump is a “bad” candidate is actually very complicated given the Electoral College and the media environment.)
Scott Lemeiux @ LGM: THEATER CRITICISM COVERAGE OF POLITICS TURNS PEOPLE’S MINDS INTO MUSH
@NateSilver538
Agree with this. The background conditions in 2016 (no incumbent, average economy, Democrats in power for 8 years, high partisanship) weren't particularly favorable to Clinton; instead, most "fundamentals" models from political scientists saw the race as a toss-up.
- The partisanship part is important. Trump got 88% of the GOP vote despite his many heresies against Republican orthodoxy. He deserves credit for understanding GOP voters. However, I tend to doubt he would have won in an era like the 1950s where partisanship was at a lower ebb.
- Also, the notion that 2016 was the "most winnable election ever" for Clinton leaves out the rather important fact that no woman had ever been elected president before.
posted by chris24 at 1:06 PM on April 22, 2018 [21 favorites]
@NateSilver538
Agree with this. The background conditions in 2016 (no incumbent, average economy, Democrats in power for 8 years, high partisanship) weren't particularly favorable to Clinton; instead, most "fundamentals" models from political scientists saw the race as a toss-up.
- The partisanship part is important. Trump got 88% of the GOP vote despite his many heresies against Republican orthodoxy. He deserves credit for understanding GOP voters. However, I tend to doubt he would have won in an era like the 1950s where partisanship was at a lower ebb.
- Also, the notion that 2016 was the "most winnable election ever" for Clinton leaves out the rather important fact that no woman had ever been elected president before.
posted by chris24 at 1:06 PM on April 22, 2018 [21 favorites]
North Korea wants one thing from Donald Trump. You may be surprised at what it is.
posted by scalefree at 1:10 PM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 1:10 PM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
Milo Y is at the same pub the NYC DSA ClC is at post meeting. They run him out, don’t let him back in, and then sing solidarity forever.
posted by The Whelk at 1:12 PM on April 22, 2018 [66 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 1:12 PM on April 22, 2018 [66 favorites]
Trump Plan Would Cut Back Health Care Protections for Transgender People
posted by lumnar at 1:25 PM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by lumnar at 1:25 PM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
NK... back then, as a wee lad, with Bill Clinton, I thought, "Hey, they compromised, yay!"
Now, I'm not so sure. There's a long thing in this very thread about how I feel about Syria and taking scalps and how you don't do that. You make it count in the right way or you don't do that, and Jim Jeffries nailed it (he often doesn't, he's Jim Jeffries, but this bit was...yep. Don't bomb 'em until you take the refugees).
Now, I mean, I feel like I'm agreeing with Trump's loud assertions that someone should have done something before, and on top of that is the cognitive dissonance that Trump is, wtf, right? I mean, stopped clock theory, it doesn't change that he's a Grade A Asshole, but in this one thing, maybe going down to the bombastic and ridiculous and not-often-serious quasi-official state media tit for tat worked? It's nukes, it's the actual worst country on earth, it's the if-you're-gonna-bully-anybody-that's-the-one, if we're the world police there's the flashing red POLICE HERE light...and then China and South Korea and Japan I hate that China is authoritarian but I love that South Korea is democratic and I love that Japan has no official army or nukes...
How do you square that? I am honestly confounded as to what to feel right now. I don't know. In hindsight it makes sense, Nixon and Mao, who else would do that? They had nukes too.
I just...I hope it works. And I hope we impeach Trump anyway. And I hope NK starts getting all the food and commerce it needs to turn legitimate. It's time for the crimes against humanity to stop. It's time for the contest to be between well-fed authoritarians and well-fed rapacious capitalists, and for us to have it out through trade and bellicose press leaders instead of nukes. If Trump can pull this off, he's still a shithead, but I'll grant that it took a shithead to sit down with a murderous shithead, and I'll grant that sometimes it takes all kinds. I hope I'm right, because if I'm wrong, nukes, millions could die.
Wait I got it. "Sheer audacity shouldn't ever be a governing philosophy."
Trump Plan Would Cut Back Health Care Protections for Transgender People
posted by lumnar at 5:25 AM on April 23 [1 favorite +] [!]
See? This norm-breaking attention-addict son of a Lovecraftian monster. GET OUT! (props if you de-nuke NK but ALL THE OTHER THINGS)
posted by saysthis at 1:33 PM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
Now, I'm not so sure. There's a long thing in this very thread about how I feel about Syria and taking scalps and how you don't do that. You make it count in the right way or you don't do that, and Jim Jeffries nailed it (he often doesn't, he's Jim Jeffries, but this bit was...yep. Don't bomb 'em until you take the refugees).
Now, I mean, I feel like I'm agreeing with Trump's loud assertions that someone should have done something before, and on top of that is the cognitive dissonance that Trump is, wtf, right? I mean, stopped clock theory, it doesn't change that he's a Grade A Asshole, but in this one thing, maybe going down to the bombastic and ridiculous and not-often-serious quasi-official state media tit for tat worked? It's nukes, it's the actual worst country on earth, it's the if-you're-gonna-bully-anybody-that's-the-one, if we're the world police there's the flashing red POLICE HERE light...and then China and South Korea and Japan I hate that China is authoritarian but I love that South Korea is democratic and I love that Japan has no official army or nukes...
How do you square that? I am honestly confounded as to what to feel right now. I don't know. In hindsight it makes sense, Nixon and Mao, who else would do that? They had nukes too.
I just...I hope it works. And I hope we impeach Trump anyway. And I hope NK starts getting all the food and commerce it needs to turn legitimate. It's time for the crimes against humanity to stop. It's time for the contest to be between well-fed authoritarians and well-fed rapacious capitalists, and for us to have it out through trade and bellicose press leaders instead of nukes. If Trump can pull this off, he's still a shithead, but I'll grant that it took a shithead to sit down with a murderous shithead, and I'll grant that sometimes it takes all kinds. I hope I'm right, because if I'm wrong, nukes, millions could die.
Wait I got it. "Sheer audacity shouldn't ever be a governing philosophy."
Trump Plan Would Cut Back Health Care Protections for Transgender People
posted by lumnar at 5:25 AM on April 23 [1 favorite +] [!]
See? This norm-breaking attention-addict son of a Lovecraftian monster. GET OUT! (props if you de-nuke NK but ALL THE OTHER THINGS)
posted by saysthis at 1:33 PM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
If they're [Wikileaks] not the press, they're speakers in the classic First Amendment sense. It kind of doesn't matter if they're "press" or not; they have a meaningful First Amendment defense against charges of "economic espionage."
And that is why you have trials. If Wikileaks participated, planned or conspired in the theft of documents in any way, then they would be guilty of a crime. There is no First Amendment loophole for theft. I can assure you that if Chuck Todd hacked into the DNC, retrieved documents and printed them, he would go directly to jail.
A trial is necessary to establish whether Wikileaks is merely a passive conduit or an active participant in the theft. Nobody knows for sure at this point.
posted by JackFlash at 1:40 PM on April 22, 2018 [30 favorites]
And that is why you have trials. If Wikileaks participated, planned or conspired in the theft of documents in any way, then they would be guilty of a crime. There is no First Amendment loophole for theft. I can assure you that if Chuck Todd hacked into the DNC, retrieved documents and printed them, he would go directly to jail.
A trial is necessary to establish whether Wikileaks is merely a passive conduit or an active participant in the theft. Nobody knows for sure at this point.
posted by JackFlash at 1:40 PM on April 22, 2018 [30 favorites]
Nor is the First Amendment a meaningful defense against espionage, if such is proven.
posted by Behemoth at 1:41 PM on April 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by Behemoth at 1:41 PM on April 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
The entity filing the suit has ZERO governmental authority; the DNC is totally out of power in the Executive, Legislative AND Judicial branches. And private lawsuits are really irrelevant to the First Amendment. That is why Glenn Greenwald is being ignorant, stupid and/or intentionally distracting from any of the real issues involved.
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:44 PM on April 22, 2018 [24 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:44 PM on April 22, 2018 [24 favorites]
Metafilter: ignorant, stupid and/or intentionally distracting from any of the real issues.
posted by Justinian at 1:46 PM on April 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 1:46 PM on April 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
But in this one thing, maybe going down to the bombastic and ridiculous and not-often-serious quasi-official state media tit for tat worked?
I think those things actually didn't work.
All it took was the willingness to (1) discuss an exchange of something in return for disarming and without a bunch of prerequisites and (2) give Kim his photo op. In other words, getting NK to the table has never been the problem, it's always been a question of how much we're willing to give them. We've just finally decided we're willing to give it to them.
I don't disagree that paying them off might be the right thing to do. I just disagree with the idea that any of Trump's theatrics contributed anything. I also don't believe that much has changed on the NK side -- the big changes have been in the US policy.
posted by duoshao at 1:49 PM on April 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
I think those things actually didn't work.
All it took was the willingness to (1) discuss an exchange of something in return for disarming and without a bunch of prerequisites and (2) give Kim his photo op. In other words, getting NK to the table has never been the problem, it's always been a question of how much we're willing to give them. We've just finally decided we're willing to give it to them.
I don't disagree that paying them off might be the right thing to do. I just disagree with the idea that any of Trump's theatrics contributed anything. I also don't believe that much has changed on the NK side -- the big changes have been in the US policy.
posted by duoshao at 1:49 PM on April 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
I mean, stopped clock theory, it doesn't change that he's a Grade A Asshole, but in this one thing, maybe going down to the bombastic and ridiculous and not-often-serious quasi-official state media tit for tat worked?
You would have loved Nixon's Madman Theory.
posted by kirkaracha at 1:54 PM on April 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
You would have loved Nixon's Madman Theory.
I call it the Madman Theory, Bob. I want the North Vietnamese to believe I've reached the point where I might do anything to stop the war. We'll just slip the word to them that, "for God's sake, you know Nixon is obsessed about communism. We can't restrain him when he's angry—and he has his hand on the nuclear button" and Ho Chi Minh himself will be in Paris in two days begging for peace.I mean, c'mon:
I call it the Madman Theory, Bolton. I want the North Koreans to believe I've reached the point where I might do anything to stop the war. We'll just slip the word to them that, "for God's sake, you know Trump is obsessed about other sociopathic bullies with overbearing fathers and horrible haircuts. We can't restrain him when he's angry—and he has his hand on the nuclear button" and Kim Jung Un himself will be in Paris in two days begging for peace."History repeats.. first as tragedy, then as farce."
posted by kirkaracha at 1:54 PM on April 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
So... your argument is that nobody can sue anyone ever?
posted by Artw at 2:01 PM on April 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by Artw at 2:01 PM on April 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
WikiLeaks is being sued for publishing information that may have been obtained via theft.
Where did you get this idea? Wikileaks is being sued as a participant in a conspiracy. Conspiracy is not protected by the First Amendment. Whether or not Wikileaks was part of a conspiracy is what a trial will establish.
posted by JackFlash at 2:01 PM on April 22, 2018 [30 favorites]
Where did you get this idea? Wikileaks is being sued as a participant in a conspiracy. Conspiracy is not protected by the First Amendment. Whether or not Wikileaks was part of a conspiracy is what a trial will establish.
posted by JackFlash at 2:01 PM on April 22, 2018 [30 favorites]
In other words, getting NK to the table has never been the problem, it's always been a question of how much we're willing to give them. We've just finally decided we're willing to give it to them.
Right! Trump's "strategy" in no way worked. (Or perhaps more accurately we can't say whether it worked yet though I'm dubious). Because North Korea would have met unilaterally with any of the past couple of Presidents. This meeting is not a concession by NK, it is a concession by the United States. That's what Trump doesn't get. Simply agreeing to meet with NK without preconditions is already a concession and one previous presidents weren't willing to make, though Obama flirted with it. The conservative pushback when Obama flirted with it, well, you can see how much of that was principled and how much was "we hate the black guy" given they are not pushing back on Trump.
So, yeah no, there is no evidence Trump's bluster has worked. It didn't lead to this sit down; NK has been hoping for such a meeting for decades.
What scares me is that Trump doesn't recognize that he is making a concession before the meeting has even started. He actually thinks he forced NK into this meeting. This... does not bode well.
posted by Justinian at 2:03 PM on April 22, 2018 [27 favorites]
Right! Trump's "strategy" in no way worked. (Or perhaps more accurately we can't say whether it worked yet though I'm dubious). Because North Korea would have met unilaterally with any of the past couple of Presidents. This meeting is not a concession by NK, it is a concession by the United States. That's what Trump doesn't get. Simply agreeing to meet with NK without preconditions is already a concession and one previous presidents weren't willing to make, though Obama flirted with it. The conservative pushback when Obama flirted with it, well, you can see how much of that was principled and how much was "we hate the black guy" given they are not pushing back on Trump.
So, yeah no, there is no evidence Trump's bluster has worked. It didn't lead to this sit down; NK has been hoping for such a meeting for decades.
What scares me is that Trump doesn't recognize that he is making a concession before the meeting has even started. He actually thinks he forced NK into this meeting. This... does not bode well.
posted by Justinian at 2:03 PM on April 22, 2018 [27 favorites]
Trump wants a photo-op as much as Kim does, and I suspect that the NK leadership is looking at their current offensive military capabilities and the potential cost of adding more and thinking "this is enough... how can we cut it off here and still look good?" And he's looking over at the author of "The Art of the D'oh" and seeing someone as power-hungry as he is and a lot dumber.
Yes, SLAPP suits are real and allowed all over the place, and it's actually good news that somebody is using that method for GOOD. And there is no way the DNC can prevail unless it can prove a CONSPIRACY among Russia, Wikileaks and the Trump Campaign (ALL THREE). That is the opposite of a 'First Amendment Issue'.
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:04 PM on April 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
Yes, SLAPP suits are real and allowed all over the place, and it's actually good news that somebody is using that method for GOOD. And there is no way the DNC can prevail unless it can prove a CONSPIRACY among Russia, Wikileaks and the Trump Campaign (ALL THREE). That is the opposite of a 'First Amendment Issue'.
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:04 PM on April 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
Yes, SLAPP suits are real and allowed all over the place, and it's actually good news that somebody is using that method for GOOD. And there is no way the DNC can prevail unless it can prove a CONSPIRACY among Russia, Wikileaks and the Trump Campaign (ALL THREE). That is the opposite of a 'First Amendment Issue'.
Furthermore, if the DNC can prove that, Wikileaks will have earned the hammering they would be getting.
posted by NoxAeternum at 2:07 PM on April 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
Furthermore, if the DNC can prove that, Wikileaks will have earned the hammering they would be getting.
posted by NoxAeternum at 2:07 PM on April 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
Can I just say that the First Amendment subthread here is extremely hard to follow, which is annoying because these issues are kinda important. Maybe people can cite to the section(s) of the complaint relevant to their arguments? The RICO count starts on page 42 (para 154).
posted by shenderson at 2:09 PM on April 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by shenderson at 2:09 PM on April 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
The DNC lawsuit complaint is available to view in its entirety.
Wikileaks, as well as Assange as an individual, is named as a defendant for the following counts: II (RICO, that is, racketeering), III (RICO conspiracy), IV (wiretapping), VII (misappropriation of trade secrets), VIII (Washington, D.C. uniform trade secrets act), XI (conspiracy to commit trespass to chattels), and XII (Virginia computer crimes act).
Publication of any materials doesn't seem to be on the list.
posted by biogeo at 2:09 PM on April 22, 2018 [54 favorites]
Wikileaks, as well as Assange as an individual, is named as a defendant for the following counts: II (RICO, that is, racketeering), III (RICO conspiracy), IV (wiretapping), VII (misappropriation of trade secrets), VIII (Washington, D.C. uniform trade secrets act), XI (conspiracy to commit trespass to chattels), and XII (Virginia computer crimes act).
Publication of any materials doesn't seem to be on the list.
posted by biogeo at 2:09 PM on April 22, 2018 [54 favorites]
The thing is I know about madman theory and the fact that it's mostly US policy that changed. It's like, of course it is. A hardened murderous dictator whose grandfather and father were those too wouldn't just stop being one. They have so much more invested in the whole thing. We're the variable ones. But this was our variable that got them to stop (and did it really? how do we know they stopped and what do we do with Trump in the white house if it didn't? ffs!)?
Running this through my internal moral processing, I just...I feel like it's simply that Trump, like Nixon, enjoys inflicting pain, and we've mostly been, at the international level, a people who don't, except through military channels. The US is not a country that enjoys weird Putin-style gotchas internationally. We'd rather help ("help" for various definitions). We need to know we're not horrible. Nixon at least wasn't after the "gotcha" with China, that was pure ego. Trump just wants the gotcha. He wants that every time. Same as NK leadership, same as Putin. Trump wants an American gotcha. We've never had a president immature enough to want it so blatantly in my lifetime...or I think really ever in the 20th century.
America's collective horror at Trump is the only thing that gives me hope some days. I'm terrified we won't retain it if NK works. I hope we keep it. "Gotcha, suckaz" is not a governing philosophy. I feel like this is where we are as a country right now.
posted by saysthis at 2:20 PM on April 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
Running this through my internal moral processing, I just...I feel like it's simply that Trump, like Nixon, enjoys inflicting pain, and we've mostly been, at the international level, a people who don't, except through military channels. The US is not a country that enjoys weird Putin-style gotchas internationally. We'd rather help ("help" for various definitions). We need to know we're not horrible. Nixon at least wasn't after the "gotcha" with China, that was pure ego. Trump just wants the gotcha. He wants that every time. Same as NK leadership, same as Putin. Trump wants an American gotcha. We've never had a president immature enough to want it so blatantly in my lifetime...or I think really ever in the 20th century.
America's collective horror at Trump is the only thing that gives me hope some days. I'm terrified we won't retain it if NK works. I hope we keep it. "Gotcha, suckaz" is not a governing philosophy. I feel like this is where we are as a country right now.
posted by saysthis at 2:20 PM on April 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
Mod note: Y'all, this lazy Sunday wikileaks arglebargling is going on at tedious length, let's just go outside and enjoy the sunshine and/or horrible weather, location permitting, and give it a rest.
posted by cortex (staff) at 2:22 PM on April 22, 2018 [66 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 2:22 PM on April 22, 2018 [66 favorites]
I feel like it's simply that Trump, like Nixon, enjoys inflicting pain, and we've mostly been, at the international level, a people who don't, except through military channels.
We backed military dictatorships in South Korea for decades, and they sure seemed to like inflicting pain.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:28 PM on April 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
We backed military dictatorships in South Korea for decades, and they sure seemed to like inflicting pain.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:28 PM on April 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
America's collective horror at Trump is the only thing that gives me hope some days. I'm terrified we won't retain it if NK works. I hope we keep it.
While I don't think this is a Sly Chess Move, I do wonder if Trump and/or his handlers (such as they are at this point) want something, anything, to boost his popularity, which peaked in February at 41% and has been scraping along at the 40% mark for over a month now. Even George W. Bush started out more popular before 9/11. I think it possible that a "Nixon in China" move might be an attempt (futile, I hope) to stave off disaster and stymie the Blue Wave 2018 or turn it into a blue puddle.
As I said, I doubt this will work except among people disposed to support Trump in the first place.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 2:29 PM on April 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
While I don't think this is a Sly Chess Move, I do wonder if Trump and/or his handlers (such as they are at this point) want something, anything, to boost his popularity, which peaked in February at 41% and has been scraping along at the 40% mark for over a month now. Even George W. Bush started out more popular before 9/11. I think it possible that a "Nixon in China" move might be an attempt (futile, I hope) to stave off disaster and stymie the Blue Wave 2018 or turn it into a blue puddle.
As I said, I doubt this will work except among people disposed to support Trump in the first place.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 2:29 PM on April 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
I feel like it's simply that Trump, like Nixon, enjoys inflicting pain, and we've mostly been, at the international level, a people who don't, except through military channels.
We backed military dictatorships in South Korea for decades, and they sure seemed to like inflicting pain.
posted by kirkaracha at 6:28 AM on April 23 [+] [!]
But it wasn't officially us. Arm's distance was a thing. It wasn't us directly. Nixon respected that, as did all the other presidents. They kept up the decorum. It's a very valid argument to say that was wrong of us. But it's also right to say most of us didn't want our tax dollars directly going to murderous rampages by our own army, and I think that was a thing guarded by, in part, a collective understanding that "gotcha" ain't a great move, it's one that leads to war/genocide.
I think it possible that a "Nixon in China" move might be an attempt (futile, I hope) to stave off disaster and stymie the Blue Wave 2018 or turn it into a blue puddle.
I don't think he's that smart. Can't attribute n-dimensional chess to this president. He wants Trey Parker America Fuck Yeah moments and I think that's it. I'd love someone to show me I'm wrong but I think that's what drives him.
FWIW, I also have what I need out of this thread, which was a space to reflect on this. They're playing with fire and human lives and I, personally, outside of the human cost of war in general, think I got it, and I'm done with my derail.
Dear god I hope it works, Trump. And if this is your legacy, peace unto you, but you're still a monster, and that doesn't excuse the fact that you can engage another monster. Get out of my government.
posted by saysthis at 2:42 PM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
We backed military dictatorships in South Korea for decades, and they sure seemed to like inflicting pain.
posted by kirkaracha at 6:28 AM on April 23 [+] [!]
But it wasn't officially us. Arm's distance was a thing. It wasn't us directly. Nixon respected that, as did all the other presidents. They kept up the decorum. It's a very valid argument to say that was wrong of us. But it's also right to say most of us didn't want our tax dollars directly going to murderous rampages by our own army, and I think that was a thing guarded by, in part, a collective understanding that "gotcha" ain't a great move, it's one that leads to war/genocide.
I think it possible that a "Nixon in China" move might be an attempt (futile, I hope) to stave off disaster and stymie the Blue Wave 2018 or turn it into a blue puddle.
I don't think he's that smart. Can't attribute n-dimensional chess to this president. He wants Trey Parker America Fuck Yeah moments and I think that's it. I'd love someone to show me I'm wrong but I think that's what drives him.
FWIW, I also have what I need out of this thread, which was a space to reflect on this. They're playing with fire and human lives and I, personally, outside of the human cost of war in general, think I got it, and I'm done with my derail.
Dear god I hope it works, Trump. And if this is your legacy, peace unto you, but you're still a monster, and that doesn't excuse the fact that you can engage another monster. Get out of my government.
posted by saysthis at 2:42 PM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
Nixon at least wasn't after the "gotcha" with China, that was pure ego. Trump just wants the gotcha. He wants that every time. Same as NK leadership, same as Putin. Trump wants an American gotcha. We've never had a president immature enough to want it so blatantly in my lifetime...or I think really ever in the 20th century.
That's an interesting perspective and it's definitely persuasive at the micro, personal level: I can't imagine any other President revelling in his ability to humiliate others at every opportunity. That's not to say that they haven't, just that I find it hard to imagine.
But on a macro, international level, the US has definitely sought to humiliate both its opponents and its nominal allies. I'm not well-read in US history, but consider the way it supported independence movements throughout the Caribbean and Americas, and then attempted to either literally or practically take those countries over. The US still "owns" some of them, like Guam and Puerto Rico, and it continues to impose humiliating terms on others. That's not to say that the US has always and in every instance been a bad actor, but its self-interested need for dominance and exploitation thereof is not a million miles removed from Trump's strategic degradation of potential rivals.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:43 PM on April 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
That's an interesting perspective and it's definitely persuasive at the micro, personal level: I can't imagine any other President revelling in his ability to humiliate others at every opportunity. That's not to say that they haven't, just that I find it hard to imagine.
But on a macro, international level, the US has definitely sought to humiliate both its opponents and its nominal allies. I'm not well-read in US history, but consider the way it supported independence movements throughout the Caribbean and Americas, and then attempted to either literally or practically take those countries over. The US still "owns" some of them, like Guam and Puerto Rico, and it continues to impose humiliating terms on others. That's not to say that the US has always and in every instance been a bad actor, but its self-interested need for dominance and exploitation thereof is not a million miles removed from Trump's strategic degradation of potential rivals.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:43 PM on April 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
While I don't think this is a Sly Chess Move, I do wonder if Trump and/or his handlers (such as they are at this point) want something, anything, to boost his popularity, which peaked in February at 41% and has been scraping along at the 40% mark for over a month now. Even George W. Bush started out more popular before 9/11. I think it possible that a "Nixon in China" move might be an attempt (futile, I hope) to stave off disaster and stymie the Blue Wave 2018 or turn it into a blue puddle.
What both Un & Trump want most is a photo op. Each feels posing with the other will legitimize themselves.
posted by scalefree at 3:46 PM on April 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
What both Un & Trump want most is a photo op. Each feels posing with the other will legitimize themselves.
posted by scalefree at 3:46 PM on April 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
Basically, no, you can almost never (perhaps literally never) sue anyone for publishing true information.
You can sue someone for publication of private facts, depending on state law. And you can use technically "true information" in a way that gives rise to a claim of false light.
posted by snuffleupagus at 3:50 PM on April 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
You can sue someone for publication of private facts, depending on state law. And you can use technically "true information" in a way that gives rise to a claim of false light.
posted by snuffleupagus at 3:50 PM on April 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
Does anybody know what the Orange Idiot's talking about here? This new House investigation against Hillary, Comey etc.? Has that even produced anything yet?
@RealDonaldTrump So funny, the Democrats have sued the Republicans for Winning. Now he R’s counter and force them to turn over a treasure trove of material, including Servers and Emails!
posted by scalefree at 3:52 PM on April 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
@RealDonaldTrump So funny, the Democrats have sued the Republicans for Winning. Now he R’s counter and force them to turn over a treasure trove of material, including Servers and Emails!
posted by scalefree at 3:52 PM on April 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
Oh ho ho! The other shoe drops & it's a doozy.
Michael Cohen case shines light on Sean Hannity's property empire.
Michael Cohen case shines light on Sean Hannity's property empire.
When Sean Hannity was named in court this week as a client of Donald Trump’s embattled legal fixer Michael Cohen, the Fox News host insisted their discussions had been limited to the subject of buying property.posted by scalefree at 3:59 PM on April 22, 2018 [89 favorites]
“I’ve said many times on my radio show: I hate the stock market, I prefer real estate. Michael knows real estate,” Hannity said on television, a few hours after the dramatic hearing in Manhattan, where Cohen is under criminal investigation.
Will Sean Hannity's ties to Michael Cohen be his undoing? Hannity’s chosen investment strategy is confirmed by thousands of pages of public records reviewed by the Guardian, which detail a real estate portfolio of remarkable scale that has not previously been reported.
The records link Hannity to a group of shell companies that spent at least $90m on more than 870 homes in seven states over the past decade. The properties range from luxurious mansions to rentals for low-income families. Hannity is the hidden owner behind some of the shell companies and his attorney did not dispute that he owns all of them.
Dozens of the properties were bought at a discount in 2013, after banks foreclosed on their previous owners for defaulting on mortgages. Before and after then, Hannity sharply criticised Barack Obama for the US foreclosure rate. In January 2016, Hannity said there were “millions more Americans suffering under this president” partly because of foreclosures.
Hannity, 56, also amassed part of his property collection with support from the US Department for Housing and Urban Development (Hud), a fact he did not disclose when praising Ben Carson, the Hud secretary, on his television show last year.
Now can they fire him?
posted by scalefree at 4:05 PM on April 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 4:05 PM on April 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
I did not know "sleepy eyes" was an anti-Semitic slur.
I did not know "sleepy eyes" was an anti-Semitic slur.posted by monospace at 4:08 PM on April 22, 2018 [119 favorites]
When I was told such here on Twitter, I went and looked it up.
It is. And it's much worse than that. 1/
The term's origin comes from a list of criteria used by Nazis to determine who might be a jew. This list includes traits such as a widow's peak, dark curly hair, attached earlobes, weak or pointed chins, thick lips, head shape, and thick eyelids with "sleepy, wary eyes." 2/
That list naturally found it's way to various neo-Nazi, White Supremacist, and other anti-Semitic groups after WWII. "How to spot a jew" is a common search phrase on Google, and the results are hundreds of variations on this list of Nazi-originated criteria. 3/
Chuck Todd is Jewish, a fact that Trump most certainly knows.
It is unlikely in the extreme that Trump would pick "sleepy eyes Chuck Todd" as an insult at random and without malice aforethought. 4/
While Trump himself may or may not know the origin of the insult and who commonly uses that insult today, it's obvious he surrounds himself with people who use this term openly in the halls of government and business. 5/
The President of the United States calling a Jewish person "sleepy eyes" isn't funny or clever or harmless.
If Trump DOESN'T honestly know that he's engaged in an anti-Semitic slur, that doesn't make it better, it makes it WORSE. 6/
Because this tells you, Citizen, who he surrounds himself with and how utterly shameless they are in their hate and bigotry.
More than anything, this is yet another indicator of just how dangerous and unqualified Trump is to be leader of our nation.
7/7
Does anybody know what the Orange Idiot's talking about here? This new House investigation against Hillary, Comey etc.? Has that even produced anything yet?
@RealDonaldTrump So funny, the Democrats have sued the Republicans for Winning. Now he R’s counter and force them to turn over a treasure trove of material, including Servers and Emails!
Discovery in the lawsuit.
posted by chris24 at 4:12 PM on April 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
@RealDonaldTrump So funny, the Democrats have sued the Republicans for Winning. Now he R’s counter and force them to turn over a treasure trove of material, including Servers and Emails!
Discovery in the lawsuit.
posted by chris24 at 4:12 PM on April 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
Metafilter: lazy Sunday arglebargling going on at tedious length.
Meanwhile, for your moment of schadenfreude: New Jersey Globe reports Morris GOP Nearly Broke—High costs of Trump club, Fox News speaker created money-losing fundraiser
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:19 PM on April 22, 2018 [36 favorites]
Meanwhile, for your moment of schadenfreude: New Jersey Globe reports Morris GOP Nearly Broke—High costs of Trump club, Fox News speaker created money-losing fundraiser
Morris County Republicans lost money on their winter fundraiser at Trump National Golf Club and have a paltry $13,956 in their warchest, according to a report filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.And capping off this incompetent grift, "At the February fundraiser, Republicans teased potential donors with the idea that President Trump would attend as a surprise guest – even asking for social security numbers in advance, something that would suggest a presidential appearance."
The money-losing event and the low cash-on-hand heading into a potentially competitive general election is expected to be an issue in the June election for Morris County Republican Chairman. One of the candidates, Ronald DeFilippis, is the Finance Chairman for the county GOP. He faces Rob Zwigard in a race that has already turned nasty.
The county GOP organization raised $58,335 at an event that cost them more than $64,000. They spent $24,487 at Trump National and paid Fox News personality Greg Gutfeld $30,000 to speak. Republicans repaid a $10,000 loan from State Sen. from State Sen. Joseph Pennacchio (R-Montville), but still owe $10,000 to DeFilippis, who loaned the money to help make a down payment on Gutfeld’s appearance.
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:19 PM on April 22, 2018 [36 favorites]
Now can they fire him?
For buying low and selling high? They're gonna need a bit more than being a shrewd business man, to get rid of Sean Hannity.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 5:58 PM on April 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
For buying low and selling high? They're gonna need a bit more than being a shrewd business man, to get rid of Sean Hannity.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 5:58 PM on April 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
I find it hard to believe there will be a lot new in the discovery on the DNC side.
Sorry to rewind a bit (I took Cortex's advice and went to see the As take down the Red Sox), but I find this interesting:
But the Trump administration contends the tribes are a race rather than separate governments
For a variety of reasons I find the administration's position w/rt the Tribes concerning. They are being opposed by a number of Tribes in various ways, most obviously the coalition of tribes who, in league with the Native American Rights Fund, are suing over the Bears Ears Monument reversal. But they are also being opposed by the Tohono O'odham, who refuse to let the administration build a fence that would sever their reservation into 2 parcels. Plus the DAPL issue, among others.
So there are reasons for the administration to be pissy about Tribal rights (including of course racism) but I suspect the biggest one underlying all of this is that Trump has always seen the Tribes as competition in the casino business. He hates that Tribes like the Mashantucket Pequot have been able to be hugely successful at gambling, and he has failed catastrophically. So, every time he hears about the Tribes he gets a sour taste in his mouth about their successes and wants to hurt them.
Still, as others above have pointed out, tribal sovereignty is a settled issue in federal law, and it's hard to believe that can change. OTOH, until a year ago I thought birthright citizenship was a settled issue. Shows how much I know.
posted by suelac at 6:03 PM on April 22, 2018 [57 favorites]
Sorry to rewind a bit (I took Cortex's advice and went to see the As take down the Red Sox), but I find this interesting:
But the Trump administration contends the tribes are a race rather than separate governments
For a variety of reasons I find the administration's position w/rt the Tribes concerning. They are being opposed by a number of Tribes in various ways, most obviously the coalition of tribes who, in league with the Native American Rights Fund, are suing over the Bears Ears Monument reversal. But they are also being opposed by the Tohono O'odham, who refuse to let the administration build a fence that would sever their reservation into 2 parcels. Plus the DAPL issue, among others.
So there are reasons for the administration to be pissy about Tribal rights (including of course racism) but I suspect the biggest one underlying all of this is that Trump has always seen the Tribes as competition in the casino business. He hates that Tribes like the Mashantucket Pequot have been able to be hugely successful at gambling, and he has failed catastrophically. So, every time he hears about the Tribes he gets a sour taste in his mouth about their successes and wants to hurt them.
Still, as others above have pointed out, tribal sovereignty is a settled issue in federal law, and it's hard to believe that can change. OTOH, until a year ago I thought birthright citizenship was a settled issue. Shows how much I know.
posted by suelac at 6:03 PM on April 22, 2018 [57 favorites]
Another exception to the rule that publishing true information is not actionable is when the information is a trade secret. This is relevant here because that's what the DNC has alleged (DNC Complaint at 46).
I am of the personal opinion that trade secret laws -- unless much more tightly hemmed in than the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) -- are a terrible idea from both a policy and a constitutional standpoint, in part for this exact reason. But bad laws are still the law, and it would take a pretty visionary court to strike them down in our age of ceaseless bipartisan shrieking about "intellectual property theft."
Overall, the DNC lawsuit relies heavily on a rogues' gallery of atrocious laws that should not exist -- from the DTSA and UTSA to the CFAA and DMCA. But that has the nice effect here that any resolution of the legal issues is likely to be beneficial in some way -- a resolution to the DNC's advantage will slow the race toward fascism, and a resolution to the DNC's disadvantage will limit these corporate landgrabs on the information commons.
(Of course, it remains to be seen whether the case will get to the substantive legal issues at all. But one can hope.)
posted by shenderson at 6:17 PM on April 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
I am of the personal opinion that trade secret laws -- unless much more tightly hemmed in than the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) -- are a terrible idea from both a policy and a constitutional standpoint, in part for this exact reason. But bad laws are still the law, and it would take a pretty visionary court to strike them down in our age of ceaseless bipartisan shrieking about "intellectual property theft."
Overall, the DNC lawsuit relies heavily on a rogues' gallery of atrocious laws that should not exist -- from the DTSA and UTSA to the CFAA and DMCA. But that has the nice effect here that any resolution of the legal issues is likely to be beneficial in some way -- a resolution to the DNC's advantage will slow the race toward fascism, and a resolution to the DNC's disadvantage will limit these corporate landgrabs on the information commons.
(Of course, it remains to be seen whether the case will get to the substantive legal issues at all. But one can hope.)
posted by shenderson at 6:17 PM on April 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
They're gonna need a bit more than being a shrewd business man, to get rid of Sean Hannity.
Well, Trump's Special Lawyer is involved in this particular Real Estate empire, so can I interest you in a side of Money Laundering?
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 6:25 PM on April 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
Well, Trump's Special Lawyer is involved in this particular Real Estate empire, so can I interest you in a side of Money Laundering?
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 6:25 PM on April 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
Michael Cohen case shines light on Sean Hannity's property empire.
I don't find the dollar amount of Hannity's real estate empire particularly "remarkable." The guy makes over $30m per year.
It is suspicious that he used shell companies and worked with Cohen though. Hopefully he was laundering money or evading taxes.
posted by diogenes at 6:33 PM on April 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
I don't find the dollar amount of Hannity's real estate empire particularly "remarkable." The guy makes over $30m per year.
It is suspicious that he used shell companies and worked with Cohen though. Hopefully he was laundering money or evading taxes.
posted by diogenes at 6:33 PM on April 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
The buried lede appears to be he is secretly co-owner of a company he regularly promotes, as well as whatever he’s up to with Ben Carson.
posted by Artw at 6:43 PM on April 22, 2018 [43 favorites]
posted by Artw at 6:43 PM on April 22, 2018 [43 favorites]
I think the Guardian Hannity story is, by itself, unremarkable - he's a very rich man investing in real estate, and that sounds like the sort of portfolio and the sort of methods such people accrue and employ.
What it is, though, is a starting gun. It's a good bit of digging, and a very useful set of data, and others will be able to connect the parts in short order to other information that reveals the really shady stuff. And that's how journalism works at its best - you don't keep it all to yourself until you get the big story; you dig, you publish, you move the story on.
posted by Devonian at 6:44 PM on April 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
What it is, though, is a starting gun. It's a good bit of digging, and a very useful set of data, and others will be able to connect the parts in short order to other information that reveals the really shady stuff. And that's how journalism works at its best - you don't keep it all to yourself until you get the big story; you dig, you publish, you move the story on.
posted by Devonian at 6:44 PM on April 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
Re, dnc lawsuit, sorry traveling and on mobile, so I'll fill in links later, but, after Watergate, the dnc sued the republican party, iirc, for a million dollars,which was a sizeable sum in 1970s money, and won because they were able to prove that the Plumbers were funded by rnc money.
My point is that this case is not frivolous, there is precedent, and discovery is going to be amazing.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 6:49 PM on April 22, 2018 [59 favorites]
My point is that this case is not frivolous, there is precedent, and discovery is going to be amazing.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 6:49 PM on April 22, 2018 [59 favorites]
The buried lede appears to be he is secretly co-owner of a company he regularly promotes, as well as whatever he’s up to with Ben Carson.
Plus regularly attacking Obama for a program he was taking advantage of & profiting from.
posted by scalefree at 6:49 PM on April 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
Plus regularly attacking Obama for a program he was taking advantage of & profiting from.
posted by scalefree at 6:49 PM on April 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
I know, Obama was in the Beforetimes & history only started in Nov. 2016. But still it should count against him.
posted by scalefree at 6:52 PM on April 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by scalefree at 6:52 PM on April 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
In fairness, if it benefited him it probably counts as a sign that it actually was bad.
posted by Artw at 6:55 PM on April 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Artw at 6:55 PM on April 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
ELECTIONS NEWS
** 2018 Senate:
** MS Senate special -- Mason-Dixon poll of possible runoff matchups has incumbent Hyde-Smith up 46-34 on Dem Espy [MOE: +/- 4%]. However, Espy would edge McDaniel 42-40. Possible hitch here that the poll included party labels, which the actual election does not.
** 2018 House:
Big day Tuesday: the AZ-08 special election, plus two New York Senate seats and nine New York Assembly seats (NY roundup here).
posted by Chrysostom at 7:23 PM on April 22, 2018 [36 favorites]
** 2018 Senate:
-- AZ: State Senate Republicans, who earlier looked to be backing off an effort to change election law to avoid a possible 2018 special election for McCain's seat, now are apparently moving ahead with it. They need some Dem votes to pass it, though, which is considered unlikely.** AZ-08 special: TPM piece on state of the race. | Interestingly, GOPer Lesko appears to have stopped campaigning early, with no events Sun-Tue.
-- UT: Mitt Romney failed to win the approval of the GOP convention. This was not unexpected - the convention is hard-core right - and he's still considered very likely to win the actual primary.
-- MO: Remington poll has McCaskill up 48-44 on Hawley [MOE: +/- 2.5%] lagging far behind McCaskill's, despite Trump assistance.
** MS Senate special -- Mason-Dixon poll of possible runoff matchups has incumbent Hyde-Smith up 46-34 on Dem Espy [MOE: +/- 4%]. However, Espy would edge McDaniel 42-40. Possible hitch here that the poll included party labels, which the actual election does not.
** 2018 House:
-- Latest Cook piece on the state of the race has 56 vulnerable GOP seats versus six Dem seats.** Odds & ends:
-- Some hard-core nerdery at the Crosstab, as Morris tries a different model, and comes out with basically the same outcome as his other one (~60% chance of Dem House control).
-- GOP increasingly selecting inexperienced candidates as House nominees (Dem numbers are basically unchanged from the past).
-- Dems have candidates in every Colorado state-wide and legislative race.====
-- NYT piece on this week's special elections in the state Senate.
-- Women are running in PA, but getting frustrated by the state's old boys network.
-- Voter registration by 18-year olds in Arizona in 2018 is already double what it was for all of 2017.
Big day Tuesday: the AZ-08 special election, plus two New York Senate seats and nine New York Assembly seats (NY roundup here).
posted by Chrysostom at 7:23 PM on April 22, 2018 [36 favorites]
UT: Mitt Romney failed to win the approval of the GOP convention. This was not unexpected - the convention is hard-core right - and he's still considered very likely to win the actual primary.
Mitt can't take this primary for granted. Previous Utah senator Bob Bennett was a stalwart right winger and grandson of an LDS president and he still came in third against two Tea Party candidates, ending his career. I look forward to seeing Romney bowing and scraping to Trump for votes in this primary.
posted by JackFlash at 7:43 PM on April 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Mitt can't take this primary for granted. Previous Utah senator Bob Bennett was a stalwart right winger and grandson of an LDS president and he still came in third against two Tea Party candidates, ending his career. I look forward to seeing Romney bowing and scraping to Trump for votes in this primary.
posted by JackFlash at 7:43 PM on April 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
the dnc sued the republican party, iirc, for a million dollars,which was a sizeable sum in 1970s money
Yeah, uh, like 5 million dollars.
Big for you and me but a pittance in the grand scheme of things, even in the 1970s.
posted by Justinian at 8:00 PM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
Yeah, uh, like 5 million dollars.
Big for you and me but a pittance in the grand scheme of things, even in the 1970s.
posted by Justinian at 8:00 PM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
You ever wonder what happened to characters from season 1?
@HAGOODMANAUTHOR
Vote #Trump2020 and vote #GOP in 2018. Makes sure the #BlueWave stays in the toilet, along with turds like #Clinton. By the way, she might run again from jail, because indictments on the horizon. #McCabe going to sing like #CelineDion. #Comey still has #Memos left in SCIF 😂😂😂
posted by chris24 at 8:06 PM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
@HAGOODMANAUTHOR
Vote #Trump2020 and vote #GOP in 2018. Makes sure the #BlueWave stays in the toilet, along with turds like #Clinton. By the way, she might run again from jail, because indictments on the horizon. #McCabe going to sing like #CelineDion. #Comey still has #Memos left in SCIF 😂😂😂
posted by chris24 at 8:06 PM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
Oh HA, the guy with Milo Y as he got drummed out the Chruchill by the NYC DSA was Chadwick Moore, the alt right gay who recently got thrown out of the venerable Brooklyn gay bar The Metropolitan.
Make Nazis Afraid Again.
posted by The Whelk at 8:10 PM on April 22, 2018 [39 favorites]
Make Nazis Afraid Again.
posted by The Whelk at 8:10 PM on April 22, 2018 [39 favorites]
Yeah & Trump's a strategic genius who has them all right where he wants them & also a humanitarian secretly freeing all the world's child sex slaves.
posted by scalefree at 8:11 PM on April 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 8:11 PM on April 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Forbes: The GOP-controlled House and Senate Budget Committees are flatly refusing to comply with the law (and fulfill their only real statutory responsibility) by not even trying to do a budget for the fiscal year that starts this October 1.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:18 PM on April 22, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 8:18 PM on April 22, 2018 [19 favorites]
Sen. Enzi, chair of the Senate budget committee, keeps bringing up the idea of eliminating his own committee because the budget process is so screwed up. Why? Just GOP fiscal responsibility:
@JaneDueker: Nick Ayers, chief of staff for @VP Mike Pence is connected to the web of Greitens corruption and was paid by both the Greitens campaign and the #DarkMoney A New Missouri PAC.
@JeffSmithMO
And he was also paid by Freedom Frontier, the c(4) that funded LG PAC, which was supposed to be independent from the Greitens campaign, from which Ayers was also paid. #DrainTheSwamp
Bonus news tidbit (I did a bad job of following cortex's advice to go outside): Jake Tapper would like to say that he isn't trying to become a meme or make special faces when people say absurd things; that's just how his face looks.
posted by zachlipton at 8:34 PM on April 22, 2018 [23 favorites]
Passing a budget that balances within the 10-year budget window has been an article of faith for the GOP since Ryan chaired the House Budget Committee from 2011 to 2015.Also, Greitens' crap is falling everywhere, including on Mike Pence's chief of staff:
But deficits are growing so quickly that it’s become almost impossible to put together a budget that balances within a decade without resorting to drastic spending cuts or tax increases that lawmakers don’t want to vote for.
@JaneDueker: Nick Ayers, chief of staff for @VP Mike Pence is connected to the web of Greitens corruption and was paid by both the Greitens campaign and the #DarkMoney A New Missouri PAC.
@JeffSmithMO
And he was also paid by Freedom Frontier, the c(4) that funded LG PAC, which was supposed to be independent from the Greitens campaign, from which Ayers was also paid. #DrainTheSwamp
Bonus news tidbit (I did a bad job of following cortex's advice to go outside): Jake Tapper would like to say that he isn't trying to become a meme or make special faces when people say absurd things; that's just how his face looks.
posted by zachlipton at 8:34 PM on April 22, 2018 [23 favorites]
On North Korea, it's important to remember that North Korea's "freeze" on nuclear testing means literally nothing. There is a freeze after every test, which ends months or years later when you do your next test. Kim Jong Un must be laughing his ass off that Trump thinks he got a concession, and eagerly looking forward to matching wits with the dotty old blowhard.
posted by msalt at 8:34 PM on April 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by msalt at 8:34 PM on April 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
This is a pretty remarkable editing job by CNN of Trump repeating Fox News talking points.
posted by zachlipton at 8:37 PM on April 22, 2018 [30 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 8:37 PM on April 22, 2018 [30 favorites]
I did not know "sleepy eyes" was an anti-Semitic slur.
For the record, I had never heard this before. I only found one example using Google Books (which quoted a post on alt.politics.nationalism.white) and very few examples on Google generally, even on Stormfront. I did, however, find many examples of "sleepy eyes" (or "sleepy-eyed", etc.) used in conjunction with "Jews" in innocent and sympathetic accounts, to describe people who were actually sleepy.
Genuine old-timey Nazi propaganda does allege that Jews' eyelids are "thicker" and "fleshy", which would be a plausible origin for this idea, but it's certainly not a common slur or one that I would expect people to think of. I think it's like the depiction of Ferengi on Star Trek: a caricature that ends up resembling other caricatures, and therefore seems to echo racism.
The real isssue is that the US President throws slurs around. By their nature, a not-inconsiderable number of his denigrating catchphrases will coincide with ones that have been used by racists at some time. That doesn't mean Trump's use of an uncommon slur was motivated by racism or that he picked up the phrase from racists; it just means he's a horrible person.
posted by Joe in Australia at 9:16 PM on April 22, 2018 [26 favorites]
For the record, I had never heard this before. I only found one example using Google Books (which quoted a post on alt.politics.nationalism.white) and very few examples on Google generally, even on Stormfront. I did, however, find many examples of "sleepy eyes" (or "sleepy-eyed", etc.) used in conjunction with "Jews" in innocent and sympathetic accounts, to describe people who were actually sleepy.
Genuine old-timey Nazi propaganda does allege that Jews' eyelids are "thicker" and "fleshy", which would be a plausible origin for this idea, but it's certainly not a common slur or one that I would expect people to think of. I think it's like the depiction of Ferengi on Star Trek: a caricature that ends up resembling other caricatures, and therefore seems to echo racism.
The real isssue is that the US President throws slurs around. By their nature, a not-inconsiderable number of his denigrating catchphrases will coincide with ones that have been used by racists at some time. That doesn't mean Trump's use of an uncommon slur was motivated by racism or that he picked up the phrase from racists; it just means he's a horrible person.
posted by Joe in Australia at 9:16 PM on April 22, 2018 [26 favorites]
Sites like Stormfront are chock full of it if you have a strong stomach. Here's one contemporaneous reference though. White Rose eTheses Online vol. 2 (PDF)
Page 55: "A girl clerk quoted by M- OA: TC Antisemitism Box 1 File B. John G. Brandon delighted in descriptions of Aldgate Jews. Practically all his war novels contained unfavourable descriptions, perhaps the worst being in Mr. Pennington Sees Red (London, 1942), 11-12. Isadore Lazarus is described as "Semitic - short, extremely fat.... He wore five large diamond rings divided amongst his. ten fingers .... His hair was very black and very thick.... It fairly exuded grease of some unpleasing variety". He had sleepy eyes and a lower lip that was "rather like an over-ripe plum". "posted by scalefree at 9:34 PM on April 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
That doesn't mean Trump's use of an uncommon slur was motivated by racism or that he picked up the phrase from racists;
Let’s face it, he hangs out with White supremicists near exclusively, it IS pretty likely he’s picked up some weird ass antique slur from them.
These fuckers love their little shoutouts and codewords, after all.
posted by Artw at 9:36 PM on April 22, 2018 [26 favorites]
Let’s face it, he hangs out with White supremicists near exclusively, it IS pretty likely he’s picked up some weird ass antique slur from them.
These fuckers love their little shoutouts and codewords, after all.
posted by Artw at 9:36 PM on April 22, 2018 [26 favorites]
A twist in the latest mass shooting nobody could have seen coming: Waffle House shooter was part of rightwing extremist movement: report
posted by Artw at 9:50 PM on April 22, 2018 [55 favorites]
posted by Artw at 9:50 PM on April 22, 2018 [55 favorites]
In 1927, a be-robed Fred Trump was arrested at a KKK march. So it might not have been an antique slur when his son picked it up.
posted by Iris Gambol at 9:54 PM on April 22, 2018 [29 favorites]
posted by Iris Gambol at 9:54 PM on April 22, 2018 [29 favorites]
A twist in the latest mass shooting nobody could have seen coming: Waffle House shooter was part of rightwing extremist movement: report
He was caught on White House grounds with a weapon, his guns were confiscated but returned to his father who promptly gave them back to him.
posted by scalefree at 9:59 PM on April 22, 2018 [32 favorites]
He was caught on White House grounds with a weapon, his guns were confiscated but returned to his father who promptly gave them back to him.
posted by scalefree at 9:59 PM on April 22, 2018 [32 favorites]
Periodic reminder that Trump kept a book of Hitler's speeches by his bed.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:20 PM on April 22, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 10:20 PM on April 22, 2018 [23 favorites]
The framing of that picture is so fascinating.
And I believe, with the possible exception of Melania, that it's known that none of them voted for Trump.
Given their absence, I hope Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter are doing well.
posted by carmicha at 2:17 AM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
And I believe, with the possible exception of Melania, that it's known that none of them voted for Trump.
Given their absence, I hope Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter are doing well.
posted by carmicha at 2:17 AM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
There's a lovely photo from the funeral of both Bushes, Clintons, Obamas, Nancy Pelosi & Melania, all with wide smiles.
Jonathan Freedland speculates about why everybody was having such a great time in that picture "despite" the absence of you know who. All Hillary voters perhaps? I'd be delighted if I ever imagined former rivals having such a good time at my funeral.
posted by rongorongo at 2:36 AM on April 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
Jonathan Freedland speculates about why everybody was having such a great time in that picture "despite" the absence of you know who. All Hillary voters perhaps? I'd be delighted if I ever imagined former rivals having such a good time at my funeral.
posted by rongorongo at 2:36 AM on April 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
Given their absence, I hope Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter are doing well.
"The only living members missing are Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, who were travelling"
posted by thelonius at 3:53 AM on April 23, 2018 [15 favorites]
"The only living members missing are Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, who were travelling"
posted by thelonius at 3:53 AM on April 23, 2018 [15 favorites]
his guns were confiscated but returned to his father who promptly gave them back to him
Which, depending on the timing of the return of those guns, may be a felony. The police report from the incident shows Jeffery Reinking agreeing to not return the guns to Travis ( cite, page 22 ), and that Travis's Illinois FOID card (required for firearms ownership) was revoked. As an Illinois resident, he was prohibited from possessing those guns. However, the Secret Service report for the White House incident mentioned a Colorado drivers license as ID, and one of the more recent CNN stories suggests he was recently living in Nashville... so... it might have been legal (if greviously unwise) to return them.
Father needs to lawyer the hell up yesterday. If criminal charges aren't coming, civil ones certainly are.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 5:47 AM on April 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
Which, depending on the timing of the return of those guns, may be a felony. The police report from the incident shows Jeffery Reinking agreeing to not return the guns to Travis ( cite, page 22 ), and that Travis's Illinois FOID card (required for firearms ownership) was revoked. As an Illinois resident, he was prohibited from possessing those guns. However, the Secret Service report for the White House incident mentioned a Colorado drivers license as ID, and one of the more recent CNN stories suggests he was recently living in Nashville... so... it might have been legal (if greviously unwise) to return them.
Father needs to lawyer the hell up yesterday. If criminal charges aren't coming, civil ones certainly are.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 5:47 AM on April 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
From the article linked by Artw: At the White House, Reinking had declared himself a “sovereign citizen” who is not required to follow the nation’s laws.
Until just now I hadn't stopped to consider the surprising-but-not-really-surprising extent of overlap between "sovereign citizen" mindset and the "law and order" one. On the surface those are totally contradictory attitudes (and I assume that becomes particularly clear when once considers attitudes towards, and of, actual police). In practice, of course, they are a classic manifestation of racial double standards -- sovereign citizenship for me, law and order for thee.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 5:48 AM on April 23, 2018 [35 favorites]
Until just now I hadn't stopped to consider the surprising-but-not-really-surprising extent of overlap between "sovereign citizen" mindset and the "law and order" one. On the surface those are totally contradictory attitudes (and I assume that becomes particularly clear when once considers attitudes towards, and of, actual police). In practice, of course, they are a classic manifestation of racial double standards -- sovereign citizenship for me, law and order for thee.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 5:48 AM on April 23, 2018 [35 favorites]
sovereign citizenship for me, law and order for thee.
The difference is that the sov. cit. BELIEVES that he's found the loophole in the law, so it's all totally fine.
See also: Pretty much every legal fallacy that these nitwits come up with. From Manafort's "You can't investigate me" filings to this stuff..
posted by mikelieman at 6:02 AM on April 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
The difference is that the sov. cit. BELIEVES that he's found the loophole in the law, so it's all totally fine.
See also: Pretty much every legal fallacy that these nitwits come up with. From Manafort's "You can't investigate me" filings to this stuff..
posted by mikelieman at 6:02 AM on April 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
History of Hannity in the context of other right wing bloviators.
Sean Hannity isn’t a leader. He’s just a fan of powerful Republicans. (Nicole Hemmer (@pastpunditry) in WaPo)
Sean Hannity isn’t a leader. He’s just a fan of powerful Republicans. (Nicole Hemmer (@pastpunditry) in WaPo)
There is no policy issue on which Hannity has emerged as influential. The one area where he stands out is in his fervor for proclaiming Trump’s greatness and pushing conspiracy theories about the White House’s adversaries. That’s not as small-bore as it may seem: Hannity plays an important role in Trump World. All political leaders need outside sources to bolster their claims — it’s one reason authoritarian systems have state-run media. Even a philosophy as free-floating and fact-light as Trumpism benefits from outside evidence, and Hannity serves as a fairly mainstream source that the president can cite to bolster his outlandish claims. And so it’s Limbaugh, not Hannity, who’s bordering on irrelevance these days.posted by kingless at 6:12 AM on April 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
sovereign citizenship for me, law and order for thee.
One popular sovcit theory is that black people are "fourteenth amendment citizens", whose citizenship was granted by the amendment, and are therefore irrevocably subject to the law, while white people can be sovereign citizens.
posted by Pope Guilty at 6:18 AM on April 23, 2018 [53 favorites]
One popular sovcit theory is that black people are "fourteenth amendment citizens", whose citizenship was granted by the amendment, and are therefore irrevocably subject to the law, while white people can be sovereign citizens.
posted by Pope Guilty at 6:18 AM on April 23, 2018 [53 favorites]
Fox staffers are shocked—shocked!—that Hannity was using his show to promote his own business interests, they (anonymously) tell Vanity Fair:
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:33 AM on April 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
“What the fuck? This is the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever seen,” one staffer told me. “This is bad,” another Fox staffer said. “It violates every rule of journalism.”[...]For additional fun, Hannity may be caught up in the souring relations between Trump and Rupert Murdoch, who recently (according to anonymous sources) called Trump to complain about his proposed trade tariffs and had to call the White House himself to be invited to the upcoming state dinner with Macron.
According to employees I spoke to, a range of theories swirled through the newsroom. Did Hannity have a woman problem like Cohen clients Trump and Elliott Broidy, the former Republican fund-raiser who paid $1.6 million to a former Playboy model who had an abortion amid an affair with Broidy? “Everyone’s first impression was the same: you only hire Cohen for one reason,” one staffer said. Another staffer speculated Hannity hired Cohen to help him fight left-wing groups that were orchestrating an advertiser boycott after Hannity fanned the Seth Rich conspiracy last year. “Hannity was paranoid and hiring lawyers,” the staffer said. Still another theory posited that Cohen perhaps brokered a meeting between Hannity and Julian Assange last year.[...]
The choice not to discipline Hannity frustrated some staffers. “Who makes decisions about this crap?” one told me. Fox News president of programming Suzanne Scott oversees Hannity’s show, and perhaps was reluctant to confront the network’s biggest star. Hannity’s closeness with Trump has given him immense power at the network, and he’s not afraid to show it. When he visited Mar-a-Lago earlier this month, Hannity bragged to a guest: “I’m the only thing holding this network together.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:33 AM on April 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
IMagine working for Fox and not understanding that being criminally involved with Donald Trump is actually an active plus for your viewership.
posted by Artw at 6:48 AM on April 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Artw at 6:48 AM on April 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
Pope Guilty: One popular sovcit theory is that black people are "fourteenth amendment citizens", whose citizenship was granted by the amendment, and are therefore irrevocably subject to the law, while white people can be sovereign citizens.
I had no idea it was that explicit. I just figure they'd special-plead their way out of accepting any African-Americans who tried partaking of the same legal nonsense. The truth is always more disgusting.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:51 AM on April 23, 2018 [18 favorites]
I had no idea it was that explicit. I just figure they'd special-plead their way out of accepting any African-Americans who tried partaking of the same legal nonsense. The truth is always more disgusting.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:51 AM on April 23, 2018 [18 favorites]
The difference is that the sov. cit. BELIEVES that he's found the loophole in the law, so it's all totally fine.
So why do they want to drown in a bathtub that to which they are not subject? That seems weirdly...obsessed?
posted by wenestvedt at 7:01 AM on April 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
So why do they want to drown in a bathtub that to which they are not subject? That seems weirdly...obsessed?
posted by wenestvedt at 7:01 AM on April 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Fox staffers are shocked—shocked!—that Hannity was using his show to promote his own business interests, they (anonymously) tell Vanity Fair
Isn't this the exact same grift that Glenn Beck was on with his cash4gold shit? Yes, yes it was.
posted by dis_integration at 7:09 AM on April 23, 2018 [21 favorites]
Isn't this the exact same grift that Glenn Beck was on with his cash4gold shit? Yes, yes it was.
posted by dis_integration at 7:09 AM on April 23, 2018 [21 favorites]
I just figure they'd special-plead their way out of accepting any African-Americans who tried partaking of the same legal nonsense.
The 'moorish' version of the sovereign citizen movement is explicitly a black ideology.
posted by Busy Old Fool at 7:12 AM on April 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
The 'moorish' version of the sovereign citizen movement is explicitly a black ideology.
posted by Busy Old Fool at 7:12 AM on April 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
Pope Guilty: One popular sovcit theory is that black people are "fourteenth amendment citizens", whose citizenship was granted by the amendment, and are therefore irrevocably subject to the law, while white people can be sovereign citizens.
I had no idea it was that explicit. I just figure they'd special-plead their way out of accepting any African-Americans who tried partaking of the same legal nonsense. The truth is always more disgusting.
It's worth noting that there are black sovereign citizens. That's not to say that the racist white ones accept them! But the sovereign citizen idea seems to have some appeal beyond strictly racist boundaries.
posted by BungaDunga at 7:12 AM on April 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
I had no idea it was that explicit. I just figure they'd special-plead their way out of accepting any African-Americans who tried partaking of the same legal nonsense. The truth is always more disgusting.
It's worth noting that there are black sovereign citizens. That's not to say that the racist white ones accept them! But the sovereign citizen idea seems to have some appeal beyond strictly racist boundaries.
posted by BungaDunga at 7:12 AM on April 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
The sovereign citizen movement is pretty well-covered here, and I don't think we're going to gain a whole lot from dissecting the motives of a group of people who believe that they're above the law (or how such an ethos would be appealing to terrorists and serial killers).
I think it's worth noting that the movement has now attracted actual terrorists. If there's any news concretely tying the movement to the Administration (or a good explainer on the topic), I also think that's worthy of discussion. Otherwise, we've already given these guys way too much airtime, and I'm pretty sure that 100% of us here are in agreement that the movement is nonsensical.
posted by schmod at 7:14 AM on April 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
I think it's worth noting that the movement has now attracted actual terrorists. If there's any news concretely tying the movement to the Administration (or a good explainer on the topic), I also think that's worthy of discussion. Otherwise, we've already given these guys way too much airtime, and I'm pretty sure that 100% of us here are in agreement that the movement is nonsensical.
posted by schmod at 7:14 AM on April 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
The 'moorish' version of the sovereign citizen movement is explicitly a black ideology.
Is this the same Moorish Science Temple that Peter Lamborn Wilson/Hakim Bey, who coined the term “temporary autonomous zone” and went on at length about pirates having sexyfuntimes with young boys, was involved in? I'm fairly sure he was white.
posted by acb at 7:21 AM on April 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Is this the same Moorish Science Temple that Peter Lamborn Wilson/Hakim Bey, who coined the term “temporary autonomous zone” and went on at length about pirates having sexyfuntimes with young boys, was involved in? I'm fairly sure he was white.
posted by acb at 7:21 AM on April 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Here's some of the Waffle House shooter's history with local police -- honestly I think the story here is that police weren't aggressive about ensuring he didn't have firearms after his FOID card was revoked, and despite the fact that he was clearly extremely mentally ill and was repeatedly picked up by police for dangerous/threatening/weird incidents, nothing was done to ensure he got treatment, and his family didn't take seriously that he needed to be kept away from guns.
There's some local gossip and scuttlebutt, but it sounds like he didn't want treatment, authorities didn't force him since he was employed (at his family's business), and his family are the sort of Christians who tend to view mental illness issues as personal struggles that need more prayer, not illnesses that need treatment.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:22 AM on April 23, 2018 [37 favorites]
There's some local gossip and scuttlebutt, but it sounds like he didn't want treatment, authorities didn't force him since he was employed (at his family's business), and his family are the sort of Christians who tend to view mental illness issues as personal struggles that need more prayer, not illnesses that need treatment.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:22 AM on April 23, 2018 [37 favorites]
Periodic reminder that Trump kept a book of Hitler's speeches by his bed.
It boggles the mind that he had the patience to finish a book.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:27 AM on April 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
It boggles the mind that he had the patience to finish a book.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:27 AM on April 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
It's high time that confiscated guns are removed from circulation entirely: melt them all down. I don't want to hear whining about how they could be heirlooms, or they're investments, or any other happy horseshit that the enablers of gun violence keep on bringing up.
Domestic violence conviction? All your toys melted the fuck down. Harassing marginalized groups? Melted the fuck down. Accidentally shot your neighbor's infant because you weren't a "responsible" gun owner? Melted the fuck down. Your kid found your unsecured gun and shot themselves or someone else with it? Melted the fuck down.
Gun owners that pull any of that shit need to know that they won't just get their guns back, either directly or from friends or family, after being contrite and pretending to be good boys and girls for the bare minimum amount of time. They're no longer "responsible gun owners" and should be treated as such by the law, including being marked in federal and state databases as a known danger to themselves and others. If they can somehow prove that responsibility, they can try to buy another one, but they'll be on that list.
posted by zombieflanders at 7:30 AM on April 23, 2018 [99 favorites]
Domestic violence conviction? All your toys melted the fuck down. Harassing marginalized groups? Melted the fuck down. Accidentally shot your neighbor's infant because you weren't a "responsible" gun owner? Melted the fuck down. Your kid found your unsecured gun and shot themselves or someone else with it? Melted the fuck down.
Gun owners that pull any of that shit need to know that they won't just get their guns back, either directly or from friends or family, after being contrite and pretending to be good boys and girls for the bare minimum amount of time. They're no longer "responsible gun owners" and should be treated as such by the law, including being marked in federal and state databases as a known danger to themselves and others. If they can somehow prove that responsibility, they can try to buy another one, but they'll be on that list.
posted by zombieflanders at 7:30 AM on April 23, 2018 [99 favorites]
There's some local gossip and scuttlebutt, but it sounds like he didn't want treatment, authorities didn't force him since he was employed (at his family's business), and his family are the sort of Christians who tend to view mental illness issues as personal struggles that need more prayer, not illnesses that need treatment.
This is my periodic recommendation of Pete Earley's CRAZY (which is describing our mental health system, not the people who need support) and its deep dive into the system. It's a good, mostly even-handed look at how we went from a nation of forced institutionalization to one where people with questionable capacity to make good decisions are left uncared for until such time as they run up against the criminal justice system.
I don't know what this person's family story is, but sometimes what may look to us like people shrugging their shoulders and leaving someone in the wind is the only option for folks without the resources and ability to commit someone who doesn't want care. You can read the free first chapter of Earley's book talking about dealing with this with regards to his own son. The level of competency required to refuse care doesn't even require being able to hold down a job.
The book isn't uplifting or a fun read but it's a good way to understand the state of things. It's also a good reminder that a lot of the problems that face us as a society evade easy answers, require constant vigilance, and that nothing insures failure like a lack of will to actually address a problem.
posted by phearlez at 7:38 AM on April 23, 2018 [18 favorites]
This is my periodic recommendation of Pete Earley's CRAZY (which is describing our mental health system, not the people who need support) and its deep dive into the system. It's a good, mostly even-handed look at how we went from a nation of forced institutionalization to one where people with questionable capacity to make good decisions are left uncared for until such time as they run up against the criminal justice system.
I don't know what this person's family story is, but sometimes what may look to us like people shrugging their shoulders and leaving someone in the wind is the only option for folks without the resources and ability to commit someone who doesn't want care. You can read the free first chapter of Earley's book talking about dealing with this with regards to his own son. The level of competency required to refuse care doesn't even require being able to hold down a job.
The book isn't uplifting or a fun read but it's a good way to understand the state of things. It's also a good reminder that a lot of the problems that face us as a society evade easy answers, require constant vigilance, and that nothing insures failure like a lack of will to actually address a problem.
posted by phearlez at 7:38 AM on April 23, 2018 [18 favorites]
The Hardest Job in the World - John Dickerson, The Atlantic
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:49 AM on April 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
[clickbait] "What if the problem isn’t the president—it’s the presidency?" [/clickbait]The role has grown incredibly complex, contradictory and difficult. Over the decades, the culture around the president has evolved in parallel to help manage all this. On the other hand, there hasn't ben a president like Trump before.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:49 AM on April 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Politico: Russian lawyer who met with top Trump campaign officials says Mueller hasn't contacted her
The Russian attorney said Mueller’s team, which is investigating Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and allegations that individuals tied to Trump colluded in those efforts, has not contacted her. If it does not, she said, it would be an indication that the special counsel’s office “is not working to discover the truth.”
Sounds like the Russians are running interference against the special counsel, too--not just Trump. But you'd think they'd have to talk to Veselnitskaya at some point. (Periodic reminder we have no idea what's really going on inside the investigation?)
posted by cudzoo at 7:55 AM on April 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
The Russian attorney said Mueller’s team, which is investigating Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and allegations that individuals tied to Trump colluded in those efforts, has not contacted her. If it does not, she said, it would be an indication that the special counsel’s office “is not working to discover the truth.”
Sounds like the Russians are running interference against the special counsel, too--not just Trump. But you'd think they'd have to talk to Veselnitskaya at some point. (Periodic reminder we have no idea what's really going on inside the investigation?)
posted by cudzoo at 7:55 AM on April 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
Point: Pulitzer-winning reporter David Cay Johnston: “The evidence suggests Trump is a traitor”—Investigative reporter who has covered Trump for 30 years dares to imagine impeachment — and President Nancy Pelosi (Salon)
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:21 AM on April 23, 2018 [34 favorites]
Here is what Mueller is going to find. Mueller has the Trump tax returns. [...] As for the Russians, it is beyond dispute at this point that the Trump campaign was actively involved in a conspiracy.[...] Mueller is going to report on tax fraud, he's going to report on the Russians and he is going to show that the Trump campaign was knowingly being helped by the Russians.[...]Counter-point: America Abhors Impeachment, Charles M. Blow (New York Times):
Where exactly Mueller will go beyond that, I don't know. His mission is the Russians and the Russians are tied in with the tax returns. But remember this: The job of a prosecutor is not to bring the perfect case, it's not to bring the case that should be brought for political reasons. It's to bring the easiest, most solid case that wins. Mueller will do that. There is nothing that prevents indicting a sitting president, but it is an untested issue. Mueller is going to have to decide whether to indict him or to go to Congress.
If the overwhelming conclusion of the Mueller report is that the Russians put Trump in the White House, then you face a second terrible problem: What do you do about Mike Pence who is also the beneficiary of Russian interference?
If the Congress impeaches and removes Trump and Pence, it will only be because the Democrats control Congress. So unless something else changes, we get President Nancy Pelosi. You can just imagine the people who will be in the streets screaming coup d’état if she's president. I think the only way to address that is for her, or whoever is speaker, to announce they will be a caretaker president who is not going to do anything extreme.
There is no good ending to the story. America will survive this, we'll get past it, but whenever Trump leaves, there's no good ending. If Trump is removed by impeachment or by the voters, whether in a Republican primary or a general election, I know what he will do. He's already told us what he will do by his actions. Trump will spend the rest of his days fomenting violence and revolution in this country.
Folks, have a seat and get some tea. I have something to tell you that you may not want to hear: Everyone still hoping for Donald Trump’s removal from office is hoping against the odds.[...](Since Blow's op-ed ran, he's been fielding responses on Twitter to people who are reacting precisely how he predicted they would when confronted with bad news/straight talk.)
It is possible that Trump could be impeached if the Democrats take the House of Representatives (odds are that they will) but a conviction in the Senate (where odds are the Republicans will retain a majority, however slim) is all but impossible.[...]
It is quite possible that trying to impeach and remove Trump could have the opposite effect than the one desired: It could boost rather than diminish his popularity and an acquittal by the Senate would leave an even more popular president in office. The very thought of a possible impeachment is already being used to inject some needed enthusiasm into the Republican base ahead of the midterms.
Liberals have a tremendous opportunity this election cycle to fundamentally transform the topography of the political landscape and send a strong and powerful signal to Washington that the Resistance is a formidable force. But that only works if success is not restricted to and defined by Trump’s removal.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:21 AM on April 23, 2018 [34 favorites]
But you'd think they'd have to talk to Veselnitskaya at some point. (Periodic reminder we have no idea what's really going on inside the investigation?)
Not contacting any particular person of interest also doesn’t mean they aren’t secretly monitoring what they’re doing and saying.
posted by Celsius1414 at 8:29 AM on April 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
Not contacting any particular person of interest also doesn’t mean they aren’t secretly monitoring what they’re doing and saying.
posted by Celsius1414 at 8:29 AM on April 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
Everyone knows President Trump is guilty. Similarly, everyone knew President Clinton was guilty.
In the case of Clinton, the crimes which everyone knew he was guilty of were related to covering up consensual sexual activity. The electorate felt that removing a competent President from office over such morally abstract crimes would be a very bad idea. The Senate acted accordingly.
Trump is not competent and is, without doubt, widely despised except among the Republican base. If and when he is impeached, the question of whether the Senate treats him the same way they treated President Clinton will depend not only on the number of more-moderate-less-extreme Republicans required to reach a two-thirds majority, but on the severity of the moral disgust associated with the specific crimes which Trump will be charged with.
Obstruction of justice is not a crime which has a much of an intrinsic moral value to the general population. The valuation of its severity derives from the valuation of the action which is being covered up, ranging from consensual sex in the case of Clinton, to something perhaps akin to treason in the case of Trump.
To achieve a realistic chance of a Senate conviction, Mueller will have to spell out repugnant crimes which cause Trump supporters to start saying, "I always knew the guy was a snake". He plans to issue an initial report this summer limited to the Obstruction of Justice inquiry. It's a challenge to picture how such a limited report could achieve the required result.
If charges of any kind are brought, there will be a lot of pressure on Democrats to impeach. But impeaching without a realistic chance of conviction could be a serious mistake. It may be wiser to wait for further charges.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:35 AM on April 23, 2018 [25 favorites]
In the case of Clinton, the crimes which everyone knew he was guilty of were related to covering up consensual sexual activity. The electorate felt that removing a competent President from office over such morally abstract crimes would be a very bad idea. The Senate acted accordingly.
Trump is not competent and is, without doubt, widely despised except among the Republican base. If and when he is impeached, the question of whether the Senate treats him the same way they treated President Clinton will depend not only on the number of more-moderate-less-extreme Republicans required to reach a two-thirds majority, but on the severity of the moral disgust associated with the specific crimes which Trump will be charged with.
Obstruction of justice is not a crime which has a much of an intrinsic moral value to the general population. The valuation of its severity derives from the valuation of the action which is being covered up, ranging from consensual sex in the case of Clinton, to something perhaps akin to treason in the case of Trump.
To achieve a realistic chance of a Senate conviction, Mueller will have to spell out repugnant crimes which cause Trump supporters to start saying, "I always knew the guy was a snake". He plans to issue an initial report this summer limited to the Obstruction of Justice inquiry. It's a challenge to picture how such a limited report could achieve the required result.
If charges of any kind are brought, there will be a lot of pressure on Democrats to impeach. But impeaching without a realistic chance of conviction could be a serious mistake. It may be wiser to wait for further charges.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:35 AM on April 23, 2018 [25 favorites]
Neo-Nazis Burned a Swastika After Their Rally in Georgia
The rally at Greenville Street Park in Newnan was organized by the white supremacist National Socialist Movement. The New York Times reported that it was made up of roughly two-dozen people, making it much smaller than the deadly “Unite the Right” white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia last August. One woman died after a car ran through a crowd of counter-protesters at that rally.posted by monospace at 8:41 AM on April 23, 2018 [18 favorites]
The neo-Nazi rally on Saturday was met with about 100 counter-protesters, according to the Times, including members from the anti-fascist group antifa, and a large police presence of roughly 700 law enforcement officers. About 10 counter-protestors were arrested, according to reports. Local authorities said some were charged for refusing to removed their masks – in violation of a 1950 state law initially aimed at stopping the Ku Klux Klan.
Manchin joins Heitkamp in voting for Pompeo as the next Secretary of State.
posted by zombieflanders at 8:50 AM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 8:50 AM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
With each passing day, I wonder more why the crux of Richard Nixon's undoing was the recorded proof that he obstructed justice... when he could have just dug in his heels, said "I was just fighting back!", etc. I guess the three-word answer is "no Fox News", but still.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:53 AM on April 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:53 AM on April 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
I wonder more why the crux of Richard Nixon's undoing was the recorded proof that he obstructed justice...
His allies in Congress just got sick and tired of defending Nixon's lies, then having to backtrack when they were proven wrong. Today's congressional Republicans won't have that problem, since they were never grounded in reality to begin with.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 9:00 AM on April 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
His allies in Congress just got sick and tired of defending Nixon's lies, then having to backtrack when they were proven wrong. Today's congressional Republicans won't have that problem, since they were never grounded in reality to begin with.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 9:00 AM on April 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
Nixon resigned. Congress had nothing to do with it.
posted by beerperson at 9:02 AM on April 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by beerperson at 9:02 AM on April 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Worth noting, IIRC Nixon resigned only when assured by Ford that he would be pardoned.
posted by Melismata at 9:02 AM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 9:02 AM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Nixon didn't get hundreds of daily (hourly, sometimes) affirmations of "you go, dude!" from voters who didn't directly work for him. He didn't have any way of finding out what magic buzzwords would exonerate him in the eyes of his base.
So, yeah, no Fox news. And no Twitter.
(Also, I suspect Nixon actually had an interest in improving life in America as he promoted his own goals. He had been elected before, and no matter how dishonest he had been, he'd been pitching "vote for me and I will make things better for you" for a long time, and it's hard to keep repeating something without starting to believe it at least a little. So the message, "you are hurting the voters!" actually had some impact on him; it has none at all on Trump.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:03 AM on April 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
So, yeah, no Fox news. And no Twitter.
(Also, I suspect Nixon actually had an interest in improving life in America as he promoted his own goals. He had been elected before, and no matter how dishonest he had been, he'd been pitching "vote for me and I will make things better for you" for a long time, and it's hard to keep repeating something without starting to believe it at least a little. So the message, "you are hurting the voters!" actually had some impact on him; it has none at all on Trump.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:03 AM on April 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
Sounds like the Russians are running interference against the special counsel, too--not just Trump. But you'd think they'd have to talk to Veselnitskaya at some point.
I strongly suspect Mueller's team already knows everything they need to know about her. She'd probably be more disruptive to the investigation than anything else. They know she'd be the least reliable witness in the whole mess, because she's gotta be a more competent liar than any of the Trump crew.
I wouldn't be surprised if they know she's an actual, literal GRU officer and they don't want to tip their hand about knowing that or something. (I am, of course, speculating like anyone else, but I can't imagine her lack of an interview is an oversight.)
posted by scaryblackdeath at 9:05 AM on April 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
I strongly suspect Mueller's team already knows everything they need to know about her. She'd probably be more disruptive to the investigation than anything else. They know she'd be the least reliable witness in the whole mess, because she's gotta be a more competent liar than any of the Trump crew.
I wouldn't be surprised if they know she's an actual, literal GRU officer and they don't want to tip their hand about knowing that or something. (I am, of course, speculating like anyone else, but I can't imagine her lack of an interview is an oversight.)
posted by scaryblackdeath at 9:05 AM on April 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
Worth noting, IIRC Nixon resigned only when assured by Ford that he would be pardoned.
Citation needed.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 9:08 AM on April 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Citation needed.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 9:08 AM on April 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Trump is not competent and is, without doubt, widely despised except among the Republican base. If and when he is impeached, the question of whether the Senate treats him the same way they treated President Clinton will depend not only on the number of more-moderate-less-extreme Republicans required to reach a two-thirds majority, but on the severity of the moral disgust associated with the specific crimes which Trump will be charged with.
OTOH, a lot of the currently sitting Republicans are complicit, and stand to fall if Trump falls; as such, there are a lot of people with an existential interest in holding their noses and defending Trump to the hilt, no matter how much personal disgust they may feel. It's a case of hang together or hang separately.
posted by acb at 9:08 AM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
OTOH, a lot of the currently sitting Republicans are complicit, and stand to fall if Trump falls; as such, there are a lot of people with an existential interest in holding their noses and defending Trump to the hilt, no matter how much personal disgust they may feel. It's a case of hang together or hang separately.
posted by acb at 9:08 AM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Nixon resigned. Congress had nothing to do with it.
Nixon resigned after congressional GOP leaders told him that he could no longer count on the Republican Party's support against impeachment.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:09 AM on April 23, 2018 [20 favorites]
Nixon resigned after congressional GOP leaders told him that he could no longer count on the Republican Party's support against impeachment.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:09 AM on April 23, 2018 [20 favorites]
Citation needed.
The Wikipedia article about the pardon.
posted by Melismata at 9:14 AM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
The Wikipedia article about the pardon.
posted by Melismata at 9:14 AM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
I was there when the whole Nixon thing happened (a teenager watching TV and reading newspapers). My take is that he jumped before he was pushed. And before he jumped, being the cunning political mind that he was, he secured a comparatively benign landing area for himself. And yeah, there was a lot of rage in nation at how easy his retirement was -- talk about getting away with murder.
Congress had nothing to do with it.
Congress had a lot to do with it in that the push was coming. The temptation now is to view Trump as too stupid, too self-aggrandizing, too vain to cut himself an similarly pragmatic deal. Or maybe that's why he's going to North Korea next month -- a country without an extradition treaty. They do have a golf course.
posted by philip-random at 9:30 AM on April 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
Congress had nothing to do with it.
Congress had a lot to do with it in that the push was coming. The temptation now is to view Trump as too stupid, too self-aggrandizing, too vain to cut himself an similarly pragmatic deal. Or maybe that's why he's going to North Korea next month -- a country without an extradition treaty. They do have a golf course.
posted by philip-random at 9:30 AM on April 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
NYT reporters are taking on all comers on twitter again defending their EMAILS coverage
If you’re still subscribed to the NYT, take a good look what your dollars are supporting.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:35 AM on April 23, 2018 [28 favorites]
If you’re still subscribed to the NYT, take a good look what your dollars are supporting.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:35 AM on April 23, 2018 [28 favorites]
philip-random's aside got me to daydreaming about NK holding DJT for ransom. A ransom of the red states' chief, if you will.
posted by GrammarMoses at 9:47 AM on April 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by GrammarMoses at 9:47 AM on April 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
Thanks to all for the good answers to my query. This point from ErisLordFreedom is one I'd never considered before: He didn't have any way of finding out what magic buzzwords would exonerate him in the eyes of his base.
Yeah, the bully pulpit runs in both directions. Trump's one-time remark that certain people should have guns taken away and "due process later" was a rare example of screwing up the messaging; usually he and his cronies are decent at following the followers. (Although as I said earlier, a lot of his "outrageousness" is a temperament he and the base share for the same historical reasons, rather than a calculated political act.)
The emperor can remain naked if he's in a position to see which people act his he's not, and can hear the precise way they describe his clothing, leading to more spot-on behavior ("Whoops, I'm tripping over this enormous necktie!").
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:56 AM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Yeah, the bully pulpit runs in both directions. Trump's one-time remark that certain people should have guns taken away and "due process later" was a rare example of screwing up the messaging; usually he and his cronies are decent at following the followers. (Although as I said earlier, a lot of his "outrageousness" is a temperament he and the base share for the same historical reasons, rather than a calculated political act.)
The emperor can remain naked if he's in a position to see which people act his he's not, and can hear the precise way they describe his clothing, leading to more spot-on behavior ("Whoops, I'm tripping over this enormous necktie!").
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:56 AM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
What Republicans and Democrats Can Learn from “The Myth of Millionaire Tax Flight” [Tax Policy Center, reviewing this book by Cristobal Young]
While everyone seems aware of a handful of high-profile millionaires decamping to low-tax states for tax reasons, in truth few move in response to state tax rates. Young examined tax data from every millionaire in the United States over thirteen years. He found that, even over that long time horizon, only 0.3% of all millionaires, on net, moved to a lower tax state. A larger share—about 2.5 percent-- move from one state to another each year, but most do not migrate for tax reasons. [...]posted by melissasaurus at 9:57 AM on April 23, 2018 [55 favorites]
While blue states are changing tax policy [SALT deduction workarounds] in response to what is largely a myth, red states seem blind to the very real consequences of their tax and spending policies. There, years of tax cuts (often tilted toward higher-income households), along with balanced budget requirements, have created funding crises in their education systems. Red state budgets tend to be very regressive – giving benefits to the already well off at the expense of others, especially the poor. But as Young points out, “cutting funding for education to finance tax cuts for the wealthy is a classic intergenerational transfer from the young to the old.” As such, the policies ignore who really is mobile across state lines: young people, who are leaving red states in droves: "The most mobile people in the country are young college graduates – who have annual cross-state migration rates four times as high as millionaires (12 percent versus 2.5 percent)."
I'm just getting to today's Daily 202 from WaPo and got to this bit:
Trump's first wife Ivana gave a candid interview to the New York Post's Page Six to promote her book "Raising Trump,” which comes out in paperback May 1.
posted by phearlez at 10:07 AM on April 23, 2018 [80 favorites]
Trump's first wife Ivana gave a candid interview to the New York Post's Page Six to promote her book "Raising Trump,” which comes out in paperback May 1.
On her son Don Jr.’s divorce from Vanessa Trump: “Donald Jr. is a good-looking guy. He is successful. He is not going to have a problem to find a girl. Maybe Vanessa might have a little problem because she has five kids . . . Who is going to date and marry the woman who has five children? Especially since she is young [40] and she might want to have more. … It’s a long time ago now, so I think Vanessa knew it all along … But I honestly don’t know that many men who can keep their zippers up.”How are these people so horrible and so loud about it? It's just stunning.
posted by phearlez at 10:07 AM on April 23, 2018 [80 favorites]
Everyone knows President Trump is guilty. Similarly, everyone knew President Clinton was guilty. In the case of Clinton, the crimes which everyone knew he was guilty of were related to covering up consensual sexual activity.
Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky was not a crime. Saying publicly "I did not have sex with that woman" was not a crime. Lying (or fudging) about it in his deposition on the Paula Jones case was a crime but it was obviously an extremely thin reason for removing a president.
The highly partisan Whitewater investigation had gone on for many well-funded, subpoena-backed years and found literally nothing except this one affair. Then he was clearly put in a very embarrassing spot and dared to deny it, which he did.
The backlash against Republicans came from this, not from his partisan supporters. It was the fact that MULTIPLE Republican speakers of the House involved in this effort had to resign due to their own affairs, and the aspect of "after all that, lying about an affair is all that you found?" that turned independents and some Republicans against the effort. None of that has any parallel in Trump's situation.
posted by msalt at 10:25 AM on April 23, 2018 [53 favorites]
Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky was not a crime. Saying publicly "I did not have sex with that woman" was not a crime. Lying (or fudging) about it in his deposition on the Paula Jones case was a crime but it was obviously an extremely thin reason for removing a president.
The highly partisan Whitewater investigation had gone on for many well-funded, subpoena-backed years and found literally nothing except this one affair. Then he was clearly put in a very embarrassing spot and dared to deny it, which he did.
The backlash against Republicans came from this, not from his partisan supporters. It was the fact that MULTIPLE Republican speakers of the House involved in this effort had to resign due to their own affairs, and the aspect of "after all that, lying about an affair is all that you found?" that turned independents and some Republicans against the effort. None of that has any parallel in Trump's situation.
posted by msalt at 10:25 AM on April 23, 2018 [53 favorites]
While it's hardly the most severe aspect of Trump's treason and criminality, I wouldn't be at all surprised if at some point he's given an opportunity to lie under oath about one of his consensual affairs, too.
And I doubt Mueller is green enough to ask him if there is a sexual relationship in reference to an event that occurred in the past.
posted by Gelatin at 10:30 AM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
And I doubt Mueller is green enough to ask him if there is a sexual relationship in reference to an event that occurred in the past.
posted by Gelatin at 10:30 AM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Nixon was going down as soon as the White House tape recordings came out. Everyone could hear him order break-ins (Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist as well as the actual Whitewater), discuss enemies' lists and taking bribes, demanding lists of Jews in the government, etc. etc.
It was unmistakable evidence of horrific, clearly criminal behavior, AND his secretary had erased 17 minutes of it, leading everyone to wonder (to this day) what part was so much worse even than what we heard.
Congress was clearly going to impeach and prosecutors were clearly going to convict. He ran away only when all was lost, and if you hear the echoes of everyone's anger about his pardon, that is why.
posted by msalt at 10:32 AM on April 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
It was unmistakable evidence of horrific, clearly criminal behavior, AND his secretary had erased 17 minutes of it, leading everyone to wonder (to this day) what part was so much worse even than what we heard.
Congress was clearly going to impeach and prosecutors were clearly going to convict. He ran away only when all was lost, and if you hear the echoes of everyone's anger about his pardon, that is why.
posted by msalt at 10:32 AM on April 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
Donald Trump did not attend Barbara Bush's funeral. But Barbara Bush's favorite pizza-shop owner did.
When 'Fuzzy' Hajjar, a Syrian immigrant, was asked whether he would ever remove her favorite pizza, the 'Barbara Bush Pizza' (chicken, mushroom, spinach, artichoke, and garlic), from his menu, he said 'never.'
Barbara Bush had pretty good taste in pizza toppings.
posted by box at 10:38 AM on April 23, 2018 [56 favorites]
When 'Fuzzy' Hajjar, a Syrian immigrant, was asked whether he would ever remove her favorite pizza, the 'Barbara Bush Pizza' (chicken, mushroom, spinach, artichoke, and garlic), from his menu, he said 'never.'
Barbara Bush had pretty good taste in pizza toppings.
posted by box at 10:38 AM on April 23, 2018 [56 favorites]
AND his secretary had erased 17 minutes of it, leading everyone to wonder (to this day) what part was so much worse even than what we heard.
I'm betting it had something to do with Nixon colluding with a foreign government to disrupt a presidential campaign.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 10:38 AM on April 23, 2018 [34 favorites]
I'm betting it had something to do with Nixon colluding with a foreign government to disrupt a presidential campaign.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 10:38 AM on April 23, 2018 [34 favorites]
And I doubt Mueller is green enough to ask him if there is a sexual relationship in reference to an event that occurred in the past.
Clinton gets mocked for saying "It depends upon what the meaning of the word 'is' is" but he was 100% right. They fucked up by phrasing the question that way and he could've just truthfully answered no. But he was too much of a smartass to keep his mouth shut.
He was also a lawyer talking to lawyers in court. Precise definitions are important in that context.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:43 AM on April 23, 2018 [16 favorites]
Clinton gets mocked for saying "It depends upon what the meaning of the word 'is' is" but he was 100% right. They fucked up by phrasing the question that way and he could've just truthfully answered no. But he was too much of a smartass to keep his mouth shut.
He was also a lawyer talking to lawyers in court. Precise definitions are important in that context.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:43 AM on April 23, 2018 [16 favorites]
But you'd think they'd have to talk to Veselnitskaya at some point.
We have only her word that they haven't. Nothing about what we know of her and her activities suggests to me that she is a paragon of honesty and forthrightness, and there are plenty of reasons she might want us to believe certain things about Mueller's investigation (and not believe certain others).
posted by nickmark at 10:53 AM on April 23, 2018 [15 favorites]
We have only her word that they haven't. Nothing about what we know of her and her activities suggests to me that she is a paragon of honesty and forthrightness, and there are plenty of reasons she might want us to believe certain things about Mueller's investigation (and not believe certain others).
posted by nickmark at 10:53 AM on April 23, 2018 [15 favorites]
Or maybe that's why he's going to North Korea next month -- a country without an extradition treaty.
Wait, is the meeting going to actually happen in NK? That seems...problematic. Kim Jong Un murdered his uncle by strapping him to the end of an anti-aircraft gun. What's keeping him from gassing whatever compound the US delegation is with Sarin in or just nuking the general area? Shouldn't they be meeting in Oslo or something?
posted by sideshow at 11:06 AM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Wait, is the meeting going to actually happen in NK? That seems...problematic. Kim Jong Un murdered his uncle by strapping him to the end of an anti-aircraft gun. What's keeping him from gassing whatever compound the US delegation is with Sarin in or just nuking the general area? Shouldn't they be meeting in Oslo or something?
posted by sideshow at 11:06 AM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
A twist in the latest mass shooting nobody could have seen coming: Waffle House shooter was part of rightwing extremist movement: report
posted by Artw at 9:50 PM on April 22 [47 favorites −] [!]
From the article:
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:19 AM on April 23, 2018 [65 favorites]
posted by Artw at 9:50 PM on April 22 [47 favorites −] [!]
From the article:
Reinking’s massacre was stopped when hero James Shaw Jr. took a bullet to get the gun off him and throw it away. Shaw has said he’s not a hero—that he was just trying to save his own life and ended up saving others in the process.There's an honest man. Props for bravery and honesty.
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:19 AM on April 23, 2018 [65 favorites]
Is anyone seriously discussing any venue besides Panmunjon?
posted by ocschwar at 11:19 AM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by ocschwar at 11:19 AM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
McMaster and Commander:
When Trump assumed office, N.S.C. staffers initially generated memos for him that resembled those produced for his predecessors: multi-page explications of policy and strategy. But “an edict came down,” a former staffer told me: “ ‘Thin it out.’ ” The staff dutifully trimmed the memos to a single page. “But then word comes back: ‘This is still too much.’ ” A senior Trump aide explained to the staffers that the President is “a visual person,” and asked them to express points “pictorially.”posted by kirkaracha at 11:20 AM on April 23, 2018 [104 favorites]
“By the time I left, we had these cards,” the former staffer said. They are long and narrow, made of heavy stock, and emblazoned with the words “the white house” at the top. Trump receives a thick briefing book every night, but nobody harbors the illusion that he reads it. Current and former officials told me that filling out a card is the best way to raise an issue with him in writing. Everything that needs to be conveyed to the President must be boiled down, the former staffer said, to “two or three points, with the syntactical complexity of ‘See Jane run.’ ”
...
Staffers were concerned that Trump might nevertheless salute Putin on his sham victory. When briefers prepared a card for the call, one of the bullet points said, in capital letters: “do not congratulate.”
Trump also received a five-minute oral briefing from his national-security adviser, Lieutenant General Herbert Raymond McMaster, who goes by H.R. Before McMaster delivered the briefing, one of his aides said to him, “The President is going to congratulate him no matter what you say.”
“I know,” McMaster replied.
Politico: U.S. eases sanctions on aluminum firm tied to Russian oligarch
The Treasury Department Monday eased sanctions on Russian aluminum producer Rusal and said it would consider lifting them altogether if the company severs ties with Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch with close ties to President Vladimir Putin.
Super great strategy.
WH: Here is some money, you get even more money if you fire the oligarch that owns you.
Oligarch: Thank you for the money.
Putin: Good job, everybody.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:30 AM on April 23, 2018 [30 favorites]
The Treasury Department Monday eased sanctions on Russian aluminum producer Rusal and said it would consider lifting them altogether if the company severs ties with Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch with close ties to President Vladimir Putin.
Super great strategy.
WH: Here is some money, you get even more money if you fire the oligarch that owns you.
Oligarch: Thank you for the money.
Putin: Good job, everybody.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:30 AM on April 23, 2018 [30 favorites]
However, US officials have floated several possible venues over the past month, including:
One factor deciding a summit location is Kim's state aircraft, ‘Air Force Un’: As North Korea’s leader steps onto international stage, a question over his ability to fly (WaPo):
One factor deciding a summit location is Kim's state aircraft, ‘Air Force Un’: As North Korea’s leader steps onto international stage, a question over his ability to fly (WaPo):
[A]s he prepares for a possible summit with Trump next month, it’s not clear that Kim possesses another piece of crucial hardware for the aspiring global negotiator — an airplane that could reliably fly him across the Pacific Ocean or to Europe without stopping.posted by peeedro at 11:49 AM on April 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
“We used to make fun of what they have — it’s old stuff,” said Sue Mi Terry, who served as a senior CIA analyst on Korean issues during the George W. Bush administration. “We would joke about their old Soviet planes.”
Most public speculation over the undecided summit location has focused on the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, where South Korean President Moon Jae-in will meet Kim this month. Others have pointed to nearby China or Russia. But some analysts have suggested Trump would favor a grander setting in the United States or another country outside the region — such as Singapore, Switzerland or Sweden, which acts as the “protecting power” for the United States in Pyongyang.
That has raised a question about how Kim, who made his first trip since coming to power outside North Korea to Beijing in an armored train last month, would get there.
“In terms of his traveling anywhere, it would not be a problem — the South Koreans or the Swedes would give him a ride,” said Victor Cha, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who served as senior Asia director at the National Security Council under Bush. “But it would be embarrassing.”
If Kim took his own plane, stopping to refuel on the way to any summit could also prove embarrassing by highlighting the limits of the aircraft — and where to stop would be complicated, as well, given the number of countries that have put sanctions on North Korea.
Shaw has said he’s not a hero—that he was just trying to save his own life and ended up saving others in the process.
It's an absolute disgrace that this shooting isn't spurring a national conversation along the likes of Charleston (which like this one was perpetrated by an angry white man and targeted PoC) and Parkland. Like Newtown and many others, there are enormous problems regarding the interstate enforcement of gun laws and the willingness of gun owners both individually (i.e. those who gave him back his guns) and collectively as a "gun culture" to enable the shooting to happen. The guy was stopped by a good guy without a gun (who was also a PoC), in large part because he didn't have multiple clips or a large magazine. And of course--probably because of all these facts--there has nothing but silence from conservatives (both elected and not), gun owners, and 2A groups.
That silence is deafening, and once the excuses and dissembling and shitty defenses of gun culture begins anew, I feel like the pushback against it should go beyond what it has so far, and that those doing the excusing and defending need to be tied to the problem itself, whether they realize it or not. Once again, in any other country this would be a major sea change around the conversation and regulation of guns, but thanks to that gun culture it's just another weekend in the US.
posted by zombieflanders at 11:54 AM on April 23, 2018 [64 favorites]
It's an absolute disgrace that this shooting isn't spurring a national conversation along the likes of Charleston (which like this one was perpetrated by an angry white man and targeted PoC) and Parkland. Like Newtown and many others, there are enormous problems regarding the interstate enforcement of gun laws and the willingness of gun owners both individually (i.e. those who gave him back his guns) and collectively as a "gun culture" to enable the shooting to happen. The guy was stopped by a good guy without a gun (who was also a PoC), in large part because he didn't have multiple clips or a large magazine. And of course--probably because of all these facts--there has nothing but silence from conservatives (both elected and not), gun owners, and 2A groups.
That silence is deafening, and once the excuses and dissembling and shitty defenses of gun culture begins anew, I feel like the pushback against it should go beyond what it has so far, and that those doing the excusing and defending need to be tied to the problem itself, whether they realize it or not. Once again, in any other country this would be a major sea change around the conversation and regulation of guns, but thanks to that gun culture it's just another weekend in the US.
posted by zombieflanders at 11:54 AM on April 23, 2018 [64 favorites]
Oh god, they're planning another Infrastructure Week. I don't know how we're supposed to handle another one of those news cycles.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 12:01 PM on April 23, 2018 [40 favorites]
posted by scaryblackdeath at 12:01 PM on April 23, 2018 [40 favorites]
Oh god, they're planning another Infrastructure Week
Wonder what scandal/round of departures is coming?
posted by Twain Device at 12:05 PM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Wonder what scandal/round of departures is coming?
posted by Twain Device at 12:05 PM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
...it’s not clear that Kim possesses another piece of crucial hardware for the aspiring global negotiator — an airplane that could reliably fly him across the Pacific Ocean or to Europe without stopping.
Snarky one-liner: maybe he could just ride his intercontinental ballistic missile.
More substantively, are we really concerned about being attacked by a country that can't build or buy a plane to fly to North America? Seriously? Is this what we're all het up about? What a bunch of scared little mice we are.
posted by Mental Wimp at 12:05 PM on April 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
Snarky one-liner: maybe he could just ride his intercontinental ballistic missile.
More substantively, are we really concerned about being attacked by a country that can't build or buy a plane to fly to North America? Seriously? Is this what we're all het up about? What a bunch of scared little mice we are.
posted by Mental Wimp at 12:05 PM on April 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
It was day 217 of Infrastructure Week when Air Force Un crashed into the Pacific.
posted by erisfree at 12:08 PM on April 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by erisfree at 12:08 PM on April 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
Bloomberg, Flight Records Illuminate Mystery of Trump's Moscow Nights. Trump spent 45 hours and 43 minutes on the ground in Moscow in 2013, despite his repeated claims he never spent the night.
This is yet another case of Trump's compulsive lying making things worse for himself. Absent the pee tape dropping, there's no news here, just a dossier and Trump's denials. But his habit of making up defenses that aren't even necessary (it would be perfectly normal to want to show up at the major event you're organizing at least the day before) means there's a whole new round of pee tape stories because he can't keep his own story straight.
posted by zachlipton at 12:08 PM on April 23, 2018 [62 favorites]
This is yet another case of Trump's compulsive lying making things worse for himself. Absent the pee tape dropping, there's no news here, just a dossier and Trump's denials. But his habit of making up defenses that aren't even necessary (it would be perfectly normal to want to show up at the major event you're organizing at least the day before) means there's a whole new round of pee tape stories because he can't keep his own story straight.
posted by zachlipton at 12:08 PM on April 23, 2018 [62 favorites]
I don't know what this person's family story is, but sometimes what may look to us like people shrugging their shoulders and leaving someone in the wind is the only option for folks without the resources and ability to commit someone who doesn't want care. You can read the free first chapter of Earley's book talking about dealing with this with regards to his own son. The level of competency required to refuse care doesn't even require being able to hold down a job.
The father gave his son back his weapons. And he took those and shot four people with them. I don't know what the rest of the family felt about it, but at least one of these people is directly responsible for that. It's one thing not to know how to deal with a mentally ill family member; it's another to arm them. That's shrugging your shoulders and then some.
I would just like it if we stopped trying to find excuses for these people and the people who enable them.
posted by lesbiassparrow at 12:20 PM on April 23, 2018 [72 favorites]
The father gave his son back his weapons. And he took those and shot four people with them. I don't know what the rest of the family felt about it, but at least one of these people is directly responsible for that. It's one thing not to know how to deal with a mentally ill family member; it's another to arm them. That's shrugging your shoulders and then some.
I would just like it if we stopped trying to find excuses for these people and the people who enable them.
posted by lesbiassparrow at 12:20 PM on April 23, 2018 [72 favorites]
Reinking’s massacre was stopped when hero James Shaw Jr. took a bullet to get the gun off him and throw it away. Shaw has said he’s not a hero—that he was just trying to save his own life and ended up saving others in the process.
Black guy wrestles an assault rifle away from a white dude. He's lucky to be alive that police did not show up in the middle of the struggle.
posted by JackFlash at 12:24 PM on April 23, 2018 [73 favorites]
Black guy wrestles an assault rifle away from a white dude. He's lucky to be alive that police did not show up in the middle of the struggle.
posted by JackFlash at 12:24 PM on April 23, 2018 [73 favorites]
Can there be a separate Waffle House thread?
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 12:24 PM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 12:24 PM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Can there be a separate Waffle House thread?
With the comments scattered here about the hero who smothered the weapon, I think we've got it covered.
posted by azpenguin at 12:26 PM on April 23, 2018 [43 favorites]
With the comments scattered here about the hero who smothered the weapon, I think we've got it covered.
posted by azpenguin at 12:26 PM on April 23, 2018 [43 favorites]
Oh god, they're planning another Infrastructure Week.
They're calling it the "6th Annual Infrastructure Week", instead of "The 6th Infrastructure Week This Year"
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:27 PM on April 23, 2018 [18 favorites]
They're calling it the "6th Annual Infrastructure Week", instead of "The 6th Infrastructure Week This Year"
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:27 PM on April 23, 2018 [18 favorites]
Someone's been spending time in legislative archives: White House reportedly exploring wartime rule to help coal, nuclear -- President has used Defense Production Act's powers before for space industry. (Megan Geuss for Ars Technica, April 21, 2018)
When that didn't work, Perry pivoted on that study and tried to require that power plants keep 90 days of fuel on hand, in an attempt to undermine natural gas plants. SPOILER: this also failed -- when Hurricane Harvey flooded out coal piles in Houston, causing at least two coal-burning units in the area to have to switch to burning natural gas.
Now Perry has alternate plans: pretend that the low, low costs of natural gas are an emergency to coal and nuclear plants, or if that fails to pass, pretend that coal is vital for the defense of the country against ... more affordable energy and clean air?
posted by filthy light thief at 12:27 PM on April 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
According to reports from Bloomberg and E&E News, the Trump Administration has been exploring another way to help coal and nuclear generators: the Defense Production Act of 1950.Geuss also digs through archives, noting that this is now the 3rd time the Trump administration has tried to justify bail-outs for (naturally) failing industries -- Energy Secretary Rick Perry requested that a study be done on "baseload energy," talking around the theory that renewables had undermined coal power plants. SPOILER: the culprit was cheap natural gas.
The Act was passed under President Truman. Motivated by the Korean War, it allows the president broad authority to boost US industries that are considered a priority for national security. On Thursday, E&E News cited sources that said "an interagency process is underway" at the White House to examine possible application of the act to the energy industry. The goal would be to give some form of preference to coal and nuclear plants that are struggling to compete with cheap natural gas.
When that didn't work, Perry pivoted on that study and tried to require that power plants keep 90 days of fuel on hand, in an attempt to undermine natural gas plants. SPOILER: this also failed -- when Hurricane Harvey flooded out coal piles in Houston, causing at least two coal-burning units in the area to have to switch to burning natural gas.
Now Perry has alternate plans: pretend that the low, low costs of natural gas are an emergency to coal and nuclear plants, or if that fails to pass, pretend that coal is vital for the defense of the country against ... more affordable energy and clean air?
posted by filthy light thief at 12:27 PM on April 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
They're calling it the "6th Annual Infrastructure Week", instead of "The 6th Infrastructure Week This Year"
Crazy to think that he's only been president for 6 years.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:29 PM on April 23, 2018 [60 favorites]
Crazy to think that he's only been president for 6 years.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:29 PM on April 23, 2018 [60 favorites]
Infrastructure Week = Battlestar Galactica episode "33."
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 12:34 PM on April 23, 2018 [36 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 12:34 PM on April 23, 2018 [36 favorites]
One last thing about Waffle House: Waffle House Hero Is Raising Money for Attack’s Victims (Olivia Messer, Daily Beast)
James Shaw Jr., who grabbed the scalding barrel of an AR-15 to take it away from a gunman in Nashville who massacred four people and shot two others at a Waffle House on Sunday, has already raised more than $16,000 for the victims of the rampage. […]posted by Johnny Wallflower at 12:38 PM on April 23, 2018 [50 favorites]
Shaw, who has been hailed as a hero by witnesses and authorities alike, created a GoFundMe account for those injured in the shooting, in which a nearly naked Reinking allegedly started shooting at a Waffle House at about 3:30 a.m. Sunday.
“Please take the time to donate as all of the proceeds will be given to the families,” Shaw, 29, wrote on the page. “Thank you again for your generosity and blessings!”
Now Perry has alternate plans: pretend that the low, low costs of natural gas are an emergency to coal and nuclear plants, or if that fails to pass, pretend that coal is vital for the defense of the country against ... more affordable energy and clean air?
The ostensible reason is that coal and nuclear keep us from a risk of major blackout.
Given that we already have abandoned Puerto Rico to precisely that: a major prolonged blackout, and that Puerto Rico is, um coal power, this is particularly obscene.,
What is more obscene is that neither coal nor nuclear are actually good for keeping the grid reliable. They're good for keeping power CHEAP (or at least they were until recently), but they're actually terrible for reliability.
Nuclear plants (the ones we have right now, that is) were built to make power too cheap to meter. THey need 24 hours notice to change output levels AT ALL. They only thing they can do on short notice is an emergency shutdown, and it takes days, sometimes weeks, for a nuke to back online after one of those. In the last polar blast in New England, the one nuke in the region had to scramble down because of a downed transmission line. So much for reliability there.
Coal plants require hours of notice to change their power levels up or down. Their one saving grace is that unlike natural gas, coal plants are not competing with non-electric consumers to buy the fuel, so in a major cold wave that's not an issue like it was in New England.
Except, that is, they have other problems:
A coal plant may keep weeks of fuel onsite in storage, but they usually don't. So any train derailment can knock them offline. If the weather is too wet, the coal is prone to slding, which makes coal pile management dangerous and forces curtailment. (Two coal plants went offline during Hurricane Harvey in Texas. Also, a nuke plant was forced offline, because they cannot operate when personnel are made to evacuate.) And if it's too cold, the coal piles are too frozen to manage properly with earth moving equipment, and so they have to curtail power production.
Finally, we already have a mechanism for keeping the lights on. It's called a capacity market, where generator owners are paid not to produce power but to standby and start producing on short notice. Most of the nation is part of one of several capacity markets. To get paid, you have to own a generator and be able to prove that it's on standby. Nothing stopping coal plants from participating in the capacity market (and even with concerns on global warming, it's worth noticing that the environmental impact from a coal plant that's on standby is far lower than from one that's in use). But since the capacity markets don't discriminate on fuel source, coal once again is failing to compete.
posted by ocschwar at 1:10 PM on April 23, 2018 [59 favorites]
The ostensible reason is that coal and nuclear keep us from a risk of major blackout.
Given that we already have abandoned Puerto Rico to precisely that: a major prolonged blackout, and that Puerto Rico is, um coal power, this is particularly obscene.,
What is more obscene is that neither coal nor nuclear are actually good for keeping the grid reliable. They're good for keeping power CHEAP (or at least they were until recently), but they're actually terrible for reliability.
Nuclear plants (the ones we have right now, that is) were built to make power too cheap to meter. THey need 24 hours notice to change output levels AT ALL. They only thing they can do on short notice is an emergency shutdown, and it takes days, sometimes weeks, for a nuke to back online after one of those. In the last polar blast in New England, the one nuke in the region had to scramble down because of a downed transmission line. So much for reliability there.
Coal plants require hours of notice to change their power levels up or down. Their one saving grace is that unlike natural gas, coal plants are not competing with non-electric consumers to buy the fuel, so in a major cold wave that's not an issue like it was in New England.
Except, that is, they have other problems:
A coal plant may keep weeks of fuel onsite in storage, but they usually don't. So any train derailment can knock them offline. If the weather is too wet, the coal is prone to slding, which makes coal pile management dangerous and forces curtailment. (Two coal plants went offline during Hurricane Harvey in Texas. Also, a nuke plant was forced offline, because they cannot operate when personnel are made to evacuate.) And if it's too cold, the coal piles are too frozen to manage properly with earth moving equipment, and so they have to curtail power production.
Finally, we already have a mechanism for keeping the lights on. It's called a capacity market, where generator owners are paid not to produce power but to standby and start producing on short notice. Most of the nation is part of one of several capacity markets. To get paid, you have to own a generator and be able to prove that it's on standby. Nothing stopping coal plants from participating in the capacity market (and even with concerns on global warming, it's worth noticing that the environmental impact from a coal plant that's on standby is far lower than from one that's in use). But since the capacity markets don't discriminate on fuel source, coal once again is failing to compete.
posted by ocschwar at 1:10 PM on April 23, 2018 [59 favorites]
InTheYear2017In practice, of course, they are a classic manifestation of racial double standards -- sovereign citizenship for me, law and order for thee.
In addition to the already discussed undiluted racism found in many SovCit groups, it's worth noting that this is nothing more than a reflection of the singular driving principle behind conservatism: that there should be an in group that is protected by the law but not bound by it, and an out group that is bound by the law but not protected by it.
Sovereign Citizens are just another brand of hard core right wing conservatives and as such tend to be a lot less adept at concealing the ugly core of their ideology than the more socially acceptable conservatives are. But they're all driven by the same essential goal. We could sum it up in a single word: aristocracy.
We see this in how they use and abuse the law, and their own Moon Law weirdness. Note that none of them argue for a lawless nation, their argument is that the law binds others but not them. They correctly realize that the law is the tool of the elites, where they go wrong is that they believe they've found the cheat codes to become one of the elites. But none of them want the law to be gone. They want the law to protect them, and to bind others. It isn't even hypocrisy, it's just plain old fashioned aristocracy.
lesbiassparrow It's one thing not to know how to deal with a mentally ill family member; it's another to arm them. That's shrugging your shoulders and then some.
I'd be very surprised if it was shrugging his shoulders, it's something much deeper than that.
There are people who genuinely believe that the right to be armed is an inalienable human right and to deprive a person of weapons is similar to imprisoning them, or censoring them, or subjecting them to cruel and unusual punishments.
I think that far from shrugging his shoulders the father believed he had a moral duty to re-arm his son and that his son's prior disarmament had been the most evil of government overreach.
The people on the NRA end of the gun debate spectrum really do seriously view their guns as extensions, or validations, of themselves. To be unarmed is, to them, to be diminished an an essential and cruel fashion.
This is one reason why the gun debate in America is so heated. Many (I hope most) Americans see guns as a sort of dangerous hobby. But to the people way over on the NRA end of things the ownership and carrying of guns is a critical and essential part of their personhood.
posted by sotonohito at 1:15 PM on April 23, 2018 [35 favorites]
In addition to the already discussed undiluted racism found in many SovCit groups, it's worth noting that this is nothing more than a reflection of the singular driving principle behind conservatism: that there should be an in group that is protected by the law but not bound by it, and an out group that is bound by the law but not protected by it.
Sovereign Citizens are just another brand of hard core right wing conservatives and as such tend to be a lot less adept at concealing the ugly core of their ideology than the more socially acceptable conservatives are. But they're all driven by the same essential goal. We could sum it up in a single word: aristocracy.
We see this in how they use and abuse the law, and their own Moon Law weirdness. Note that none of them argue for a lawless nation, their argument is that the law binds others but not them. They correctly realize that the law is the tool of the elites, where they go wrong is that they believe they've found the cheat codes to become one of the elites. But none of them want the law to be gone. They want the law to protect them, and to bind others. It isn't even hypocrisy, it's just plain old fashioned aristocracy.
lesbiassparrow It's one thing not to know how to deal with a mentally ill family member; it's another to arm them. That's shrugging your shoulders and then some.
I'd be very surprised if it was shrugging his shoulders, it's something much deeper than that.
There are people who genuinely believe that the right to be armed is an inalienable human right and to deprive a person of weapons is similar to imprisoning them, or censoring them, or subjecting them to cruel and unusual punishments.
I think that far from shrugging his shoulders the father believed he had a moral duty to re-arm his son and that his son's prior disarmament had been the most evil of government overreach.
The people on the NRA end of the gun debate spectrum really do seriously view their guns as extensions, or validations, of themselves. To be unarmed is, to them, to be diminished an an essential and cruel fashion.
This is one reason why the gun debate in America is so heated. Many (I hope most) Americans see guns as a sort of dangerous hobby. But to the people way over on the NRA end of things the ownership and carrying of guns is a critical and essential part of their personhood.
posted by sotonohito at 1:15 PM on April 23, 2018 [35 favorites]
Trump spent 45 hours and 43 minutes on the ground in Moscow in 2013, despite his repeated claims he never spent the night.
"I didn't spend the night. I spent two nights."
posted by kirkaracha at 1:37 PM on April 23, 2018 [21 favorites]
"I didn't spend the night. I spent two nights."
posted by kirkaracha at 1:37 PM on April 23, 2018 [21 favorites]
Worth noting, IIRC Nixon resigned only when assured by Ford that he would be pardoned.
Trump doesn't even have the option of taking a similar exit, because he's probably guilty of substantial crimes against State laws that his successor would be unable to pardon. It's pretty amazing that the Republicans found a candidate that was worse than Nixon; more amazing that they got him elected.
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:45 PM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Trump doesn't even have the option of taking a similar exit, because he's probably guilty of substantial crimes against State laws that his successor would be unable to pardon. It's pretty amazing that the Republicans found a candidate that was worse than Nixon; more amazing that they got him elected.
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:45 PM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Travis Reinking has been caught. After (suspected of) killing four people yesterday, he was arrested "without incident" and is in custody.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:47 PM on April 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:47 PM on April 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
It's pretty amazing that the Republicans found a candidate that was worse than Nixon; more amazing that they got him elected.
It isn't amazing at all. Republicans have long showed that they themselves don't believe they can get elected, or their policies enacted, unless they cheat.
Democrats can afford to be small-d democratic, because they believe their policies benefit the greatest number of people. Republicans constantly give away the game that they don't believe that at all (See Rick Perry's policy-in-search-of-a-justification shenanigans upthread for a solid example).
posted by Gelatin at 1:53 PM on April 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
It isn't amazing at all. Republicans have long showed that they themselves don't believe they can get elected, or their policies enacted, unless they cheat.
Democrats can afford to be small-d democratic, because they believe their policies benefit the greatest number of people. Republicans constantly give away the game that they don't believe that at all (See Rick Perry's policy-in-search-of-a-justification shenanigans upthread for a solid example).
posted by Gelatin at 1:53 PM on April 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
Geuss also digs through archives, noting that this is now the 3rd time the Trump administration has tried to justify bail-outs for (naturally) failing industries
It's a standard conservative refrain that the government shouldn't pick winners and losers. I wonder where those voices are when Rick Perry is talking?
posted by duoshao at 1:57 PM on April 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
It's a standard conservative refrain that the government shouldn't pick winners and losers. I wonder where those voices are when Rick Perry is talking?
posted by duoshao at 1:57 PM on April 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
Rand Paul just caved on opposition to Pompeo. What a joke.
posted by zachlipton at 2:07 PM on April 23, 2018 [50 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 2:07 PM on April 23, 2018 [50 favorites]
One of these times Rand Paul's going to have to stay uncaved all the way through a vote otherwise he may risk sullying his reputation as a maverick.
posted by notyou at 2:24 PM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by notyou at 2:24 PM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Eh, it never really seemed to hurt McCain.
posted by biogeo at 2:30 PM on April 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by biogeo at 2:30 PM on April 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
Trump's obsession with telephones is one of the strangest things about him. Here he is showing off his phones to Macron, who looks like he's seen telephones before. And CNN tells us Trump ramps up personal cell phone use, calling lawmakers and assorted hangers-on outside of Kelly's watchful eye: "One source said Lewandowski recently bragged to friends that he now enjoys "unfettered" access to the President."
Trump and Macron shoveling dirt around an oak tree while their wives watch isn't about phones, but it's a funny picture.
posted by zachlipton at 2:44 PM on April 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
Trump and Macron shoveling dirt around an oak tree while their wives watch isn't about phones, but it's a funny picture.
posted by zachlipton at 2:44 PM on April 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
It's a standard conservative refrain that the government shouldn't pick winners and losers. I wonder where those voices are when Rick Perry is talking?
Not long ago, I was in the audience at a panel discussion on the Trump administration's first year of environmental policies, and one of the speakers was a PR guy for the coal industry. During his talk, he insisted that while "if it were really a level playing field, coal could compete" with natural gas, solar, etc., the Obama administration had just been so biased against the industry that they need targeted subsidies and other Perry-esque concessions in order to get back to that level playing field status.
This was delivered entirely without irony. That section of my notes is labeled "Coal-Firmative Action."
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:47 PM on April 23, 2018 [35 favorites]
Not long ago, I was in the audience at a panel discussion on the Trump administration's first year of environmental policies, and one of the speakers was a PR guy for the coal industry. During his talk, he insisted that while "if it were really a level playing field, coal could compete" with natural gas, solar, etc., the Obama administration had just been so biased against the industry that they need targeted subsidies and other Perry-esque concessions in order to get back to that level playing field status.
This was delivered entirely without irony. That section of my notes is labeled "Coal-Firmative Action."
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:47 PM on April 23, 2018 [35 favorites]
And CNN tells us Trump ramps up personal cell phone use, calling lawmakers and assorted hangers-on outside of Kelly's watchful eye
Did the Secret Service at least upgrade him from the ancient and probably compromised Samsung Galaxy 3 he was using on the campaign trail?
posted by PenDevil at 2:55 PM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Did the Secret Service at least upgrade him from the ancient and probably compromised Samsung Galaxy 3 he was using on the campaign trail?
posted by PenDevil at 2:55 PM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
That oak tree photo is so surreal. Everyone genuinely looks photoshopped in, especially Melania.
posted by Cheerwell Maker at 2:55 PM on April 23, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by Cheerwell Maker at 2:55 PM on April 23, 2018 [21 favorites]
Bloomberg, Flight Records Illuminate Mystery of Trump's Moscow Nights. Trump spent 45 hours and 43 minutes on the ground in Moscow in 2013, despite his repeated claims he never spent the night. This is yet another case of Trump's compulsive lying making things worse for himself. Absent the pee tape dropping, there's no news here, just a dossier and Trump's denials.
I think Trump just gave away the game here. That article notes that Trump flew out on the night of the pageant (Saturday) without spending the night, though he arrived early Friday so that he clearly spent Friday night at the hotel.
Clearly that's what Trump is thinking of. And what that tells us is that the pee incident happened Saturday night -- Trump recalls not staying over the night it happened, and is offering up the bullshit excuse that "I didn't even sleep there that night," which of course proves nothing. Meanwhile, he's forgetting that he DID stay the night before.
posted by msalt at 3:05 PM on April 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
I think Trump just gave away the game here. That article notes that Trump flew out on the night of the pageant (Saturday) without spending the night, though he arrived early Friday so that he clearly spent Friday night at the hotel.
Clearly that's what Trump is thinking of. And what that tells us is that the pee incident happened Saturday night -- Trump recalls not staying over the night it happened, and is offering up the bullshit excuse that "I didn't even sleep there that night," which of course proves nothing. Meanwhile, he's forgetting that he DID stay the night before.
posted by msalt at 3:05 PM on April 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
Now that the Waffle House shooter's been captured I think I speak for all of us when I ask the most important question going forward - when do they give him back his guns?
posted by scalefree at 3:06 PM on April 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 3:06 PM on April 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
[NYT] — Nearly three months after they won their first Super Bowl title, the Eagles have not announced details of a White House visit, raising questions about whether many members of the team, which has one of the most liberal owners in the N.F.L. and several prominent players who have said they oppose President Trump’s policies, want to be seen shaking hands with the president.
Kenneth P. Voge [via Twitter]:
SECRET RECORDING from @NFL owners meeting: "Many of us have no interest in supporting President TRUMP,” @Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said, describing Trump's presidency as "*&%$# disastrous,” then adding: “Don’t quote me.”
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:09 PM on April 23, 2018 [46 favorites]
Kenneth P. Voge [via Twitter]:
SECRET RECORDING from @NFL owners meeting: "Many of us have no interest in supporting President TRUMP,” @Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said, describing Trump's presidency as "*&%$# disastrous,” then adding: “Don’t quote me.”
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:09 PM on April 23, 2018 [46 favorites]
John Pavlovitz: "A White Shooter, A Black Hero, and White Presidential Silence."
This week is a microcosm of Trump’s America:
Contempt for people brown skin, by white people specifically emboldened.
White privilege expressed in violent rage, with a weapon far too easily procured.
A refusal to hold white, homegrown criminals accountable for the terrors they inflict—and to name them as terrorism.
A purposeful Right silence in the face of people whose lives dispense with their preferred false narrative about people of color and the dangers in the world.
[...]
It reminds us that people like James Shaw Jr are precisely what is making America great, and that we are called at all times to be prepared to stand up to the monsters when they appear—whether wielding weapons or legislation or bully pulpits.
It reminds us that white people rarely get painted as the villains here, even when they easily earn such titles—and that people of color have rarely received a hero’s welcome, even when clearly being heroic.
posted by TwoStride at 3:16 PM on April 23, 2018 [58 favorites]
This week is a microcosm of Trump’s America:
Contempt for people brown skin, by white people specifically emboldened.
White privilege expressed in violent rage, with a weapon far too easily procured.
A refusal to hold white, homegrown criminals accountable for the terrors they inflict—and to name them as terrorism.
A purposeful Right silence in the face of people whose lives dispense with their preferred false narrative about people of color and the dangers in the world.
[...]
It reminds us that people like James Shaw Jr are precisely what is making America great, and that we are called at all times to be prepared to stand up to the monsters when they appear—whether wielding weapons or legislation or bully pulpits.
It reminds us that white people rarely get painted as the villains here, even when they easily earn such titles—and that people of color have rarely received a hero’s welcome, even when clearly being heroic.
posted by TwoStride at 3:16 PM on April 23, 2018 [58 favorites]
Oh good grief. The Senate Foreign Relations committee is voting on Pompeo (which is kind of meaningless, since the vote will reach the floor regardless, but a failure to get a favorable vote out of committee would be unprecedented). Paul already flipped, but Isakson is absent, speaking at a memorial service, and not due in town until late tonight, resulting in a 10-10 deadlock.
Sen. Coons (D-DE) just flipped his vote to present to allow Pompeo's nomination to reach the floor with a favorable recommendation (essentially letting Isakson vote by proxy, which can't actually be allowed for some arcane rules reason).
It's hard to say this really matters, since the alternative was waiting until 11:30 tonight and proceeding with Isakson then, but if we're going to take meaningless symbolic stands, maybe we could try actually sticking to them even it requires staying up late?
posted by zachlipton at 3:21 PM on April 23, 2018 [38 favorites]
Sen. Coons (D-DE) just flipped his vote to present to allow Pompeo's nomination to reach the floor with a favorable recommendation (essentially letting Isakson vote by proxy, which can't actually be allowed for some arcane rules reason).
It's hard to say this really matters, since the alternative was waiting until 11:30 tonight and proceeding with Isakson then, but if we're going to take meaningless symbolic stands, maybe we could try actually sticking to them even it requires staying up late?
posted by zachlipton at 3:21 PM on April 23, 2018 [38 favorites]
Trump's obsession with telephones is one of the strangest things about him.
You know it came up in the Comey memo too? On page 10,
posted by peeedro at 3:33 PM on April 23, 2018 [24 favorites]
You know it came up in the Comey memo too? On page 10,
He then reviewed in some detail the leaks of his calls with the leaders of Mexico and Australia, including how the calls had gone, how he assume the calls he made on “this beautiful phone [touching the gray phone on the desk]” were confidential, how it couldn’t have come from the Mexicans or Australians, how the transcripts actually include things he doesn’t remember saying [“and they say I have one of the worlds greatest memories”], and that it makes us look terrible to have these things leaking.Donald Trump, phone petter.
posted by peeedro at 3:33 PM on April 23, 2018 [24 favorites]
the vote will reach the floor regardless
Why is that? I thought candidates could be killed in committee.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 3:34 PM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Why is that? I thought candidates could be killed in committee.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 3:34 PM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Sen. Coons (D-DE) just flipped his vote to present to allow Pompeo's nomination to reach the floor with a favorable recommendation (essentially letting Isakson vote by proxy, which can't actually be allowed for some arcane rules reason).
Democrats:
"They can say we're spineless, and they can say we're godless, and they can say we're not real Americans, but gosh darnit—they can never say we're not polite!"
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:35 PM on April 23, 2018 [20 favorites]
Democrats:
"They can say we're spineless, and they can say we're godless, and they can say we're not real Americans, but gosh darnit—they can never say we're not polite!"
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:35 PM on April 23, 2018 [20 favorites]
The phones are just one more thing that proves he's living in the 70's being nostalgic for the 50's . Nothing special.
posted by mumimor at 3:40 PM on April 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by mumimor at 3:40 PM on April 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
Why is that? I thought candidates could be killed in committee.
They can, but that was never in the cards here. Someone, if not multiple Senators, would have caved on blocking the nomination entirely. Nominees can be reported out of committee with an unfavorable recommendation or just no recommendation at all. In this case, there's some kind of rules issue by which a proxy vote can't be the one to actually make a difference and push a nominee over the top, so Isakson's proxy yea vote was only allowed to count after Coons voted present (making the final vote 11-9-1).
In conclusion, senatorial courtesy sucks.
posted by zachlipton at 3:45 PM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
They can, but that was never in the cards here. Someone, if not multiple Senators, would have caved on blocking the nomination entirely. Nominees can be reported out of committee with an unfavorable recommendation or just no recommendation at all. In this case, there's some kind of rules issue by which a proxy vote can't be the one to actually make a difference and push a nominee over the top, so Isakson's proxy yea vote was only allowed to count after Coons voted present (making the final vote 11-9-1).
In conclusion, senatorial courtesy sucks.
posted by zachlipton at 3:45 PM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Trump's obsession with telephones is one of the strangest things about him.
Maybe it's something he picked up from Roy Cohn.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 3:46 PM on April 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
Maybe it's something he picked up from Roy Cohn.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 3:46 PM on April 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
Former President George H. W. Bush contracted "an infection that spread to his blood" and is in intensive care. His office's statement says he is "responding to treatments and appears to be recovering."
posted by zachlipton at 3:55 PM on April 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 3:55 PM on April 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
A couple points:
1) Fuzzy's Pizza is awesome. It was right around the corner from my high school and I went there a lot. Delicious pizza.
2) About the mental health system and it's inability to prevent every tragedy... So I was the person for my county who had the task of handling all the psychiatric crises and deciding whether people needed to be hospitalized. And the thing is that the law is strict. The law is strict for Very Good Reasons. In the past we just locked up everyone with a mental illness. We realized that was a bad thing.
It's not illegal to be mentally ill. The government (which is what we're talking about here, via the courts) can't declare someone mentally ill and then deprive them of liberty. We can't take freedom, property, and other rights of citizenship away from people BECAUSE OF THEIR HEALTH STATUS.
That's a Good Thing. What it means on the ground is that only people who are an IMMEDIATE threat to themselves or others can be involuntarily committed. And there has to be some kind of documentation of the threat. And even then, the average hospital stay is a week or less. Because it costs at least $300/day for the state to have someone in a hospital and after a few days most people have calmed down enough to tell a judge "no, I'm not going to hurt anyone." At which point the law is clear, absent actual criminal charges or very, very strong evidence from their doctors that the person is a serious threat.
I mean, what we're talking about here is whether the mental health system can accurately predict FUTURE criminal behavior and act effectively to prevent it. And it boils down to the fact that no one can predict what a person might or might not do in the future. When I made a call, I was guessing. I tried to err on the side of caution, but if you do that too much you end up putting a lot of people in hospitals against their will needlessly, and you can talk to disability advocates about how they feel about that. Sometimes I was just wrong, and people died.
But when we talk about the difficulty of preventing tragedies from a mental health perspective, let's be clear what we're talking about. It's locking people up because they MIGHT in the future commit a crime. I'm pretty sure there's been a plethora of distopian sci-fi novels about how that can go wrong.
posted by threeturtles at 4:00 PM on April 23, 2018 [61 favorites]
1) Fuzzy's Pizza is awesome. It was right around the corner from my high school and I went there a lot. Delicious pizza.
2) About the mental health system and it's inability to prevent every tragedy... So I was the person for my county who had the task of handling all the psychiatric crises and deciding whether people needed to be hospitalized. And the thing is that the law is strict. The law is strict for Very Good Reasons. In the past we just locked up everyone with a mental illness. We realized that was a bad thing.
It's not illegal to be mentally ill. The government (which is what we're talking about here, via the courts) can't declare someone mentally ill and then deprive them of liberty. We can't take freedom, property, and other rights of citizenship away from people BECAUSE OF THEIR HEALTH STATUS.
That's a Good Thing. What it means on the ground is that only people who are an IMMEDIATE threat to themselves or others can be involuntarily committed. And there has to be some kind of documentation of the threat. And even then, the average hospital stay is a week or less. Because it costs at least $300/day for the state to have someone in a hospital and after a few days most people have calmed down enough to tell a judge "no, I'm not going to hurt anyone." At which point the law is clear, absent actual criminal charges or very, very strong evidence from their doctors that the person is a serious threat.
I mean, what we're talking about here is whether the mental health system can accurately predict FUTURE criminal behavior and act effectively to prevent it. And it boils down to the fact that no one can predict what a person might or might not do in the future. When I made a call, I was guessing. I tried to err on the side of caution, but if you do that too much you end up putting a lot of people in hospitals against their will needlessly, and you can talk to disability advocates about how they feel about that. Sometimes I was just wrong, and people died.
But when we talk about the difficulty of preventing tragedies from a mental health perspective, let's be clear what we're talking about. It's locking people up because they MIGHT in the future commit a crime. I'm pretty sure there's been a plethora of distopian sci-fi novels about how that can go wrong.
posted by threeturtles at 4:00 PM on April 23, 2018 [61 favorites]
Currently, I suspect the reason the mental health system can't prevent mass shootings is less because we don't (and shouldn't) lock people up because of their health status, and more because white men are assumed to be mentally sound and welcome to do whatever they like, no matter how depraved or violent their words and not-yet-hitting-people actions are. (And by "people," of course, I mean "other men and children not related to them;" white men who confine their hitting to women and their own offspring are still considered to be safe for society at large.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 4:20 PM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 4:20 PM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Locking people up versus tossing them on the streets shouldn't be the only options, though. How about optional free public housing in well-maintained apartments, a groceries budget with delivery if necessary, and well-funded social workers with sufficient time to devote to their manageable caseload? How about a jobs program to allow those with serious mental health trouble to do meaningful work of their own choosing in an environment with a better understanding and tolerance of mental health issues? It would be very expensive, but much, much less expensive than the current system of treating people in ERs and shuffling them through the prison system.
posted by biogeo at 4:22 PM on April 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by biogeo at 4:22 PM on April 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
Mod note: Let's not dig in more deeply on the mental illness/etc stuff in here; if people want to have that discussion it should get its own thread.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 4:24 PM on April 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 4:24 PM on April 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
Barf.
Manu Raju [via Twitter]: Speaking to reporters, Bob Corker choked up multiple times when describing Coons’ decision to vote “present” - allowing the nomination to advance to the floor even though GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson missed the vote because he was at a funeral.
posted by Atom Eyes at 4:26 PM on April 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Manu Raju [via Twitter]: Speaking to reporters, Bob Corker choked up multiple times when describing Coons’ decision to vote “present” - allowing the nomination to advance to the floor even though GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson missed the vote because he was at a funeral.
posted by Atom Eyes at 4:26 PM on April 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Coons's action was meaningless, though. Corker was talking about holding the vote open until Isakson could get back and vote. And even if that were somehow prevented, McConnell had said he would move forward, regardless of the committee's recommendation.
Basically, I take it as Coons saying, "Paul caved, so this is pointless, and I'd like to get home before midnight."
posted by Chrysostom at 4:44 PM on April 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
Basically, I take it as Coons saying, "Paul caved, so this is pointless, and I'd like to get home before midnight."
posted by Chrysostom at 4:44 PM on April 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
I’m sure Corker was really choking back laughter at what a sucker Coons is. I understand that older members of the Senate vaguely remember a time when collegiality was a real thing that helped the body function (or they tell themselves they do). I don’t really understand why some members continue to operate as though Senate norms still exist. McConnell has driven a stake through the heart of that idea forever. Maybe it’s a yearning for a time when the Senate mattered, even though I don’t believe that the title “the world’s greatest deliberative body” was ever earned. Maybe it’s the hope that treating others well will pay off in time. I just don’t know.
posted by wintermind at 4:47 PM on April 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by wintermind at 4:47 PM on April 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
The current representative from the CO 5th, Doug Lamborn, may fail to be on the primary ballot due to issues with signature gathering. CO5 is generally safe R, but if this decision holds, things could get more interesting.
posted by tau_ceti at 4:48 PM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by tau_ceti at 4:48 PM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Remember that case in a previous thread where a black woman got sentenced to 5 years in prison for casting a provisional ballot while unaware that she was ineligible to vote?
Cf: A case in the same county, in which Russ Casey, a white male judge, intentionally committed election fraud by faking signatures in order to get on the ballot. Guess his sentence: probation.
White Judge Sentenced to Probation for Election Fraud in Same County Where Black Woman Received 5 Years, Michael Harriot, The Root
Tarrant County judge pleads guilty, resigns after using fake signatures to get on ballot, Anna M. Tinsley, Star Telegram
Justice of the peace pleads guilty to tampering in connection with faked petition signatures, Debra Cassens Weiss, ABA Journal
The articles also mention:
-the judge tried to get his challengers thrown off the ballot for not having enough signatures
-another comparison case, in which Rosa Maria Ortega, a green card holder, was sentenced to 8 years for voting illegally
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 4:57 PM on April 23, 2018 [86 favorites]
Cf: A case in the same county, in which Russ Casey, a white male judge, intentionally committed election fraud by faking signatures in order to get on the ballot. Guess his sentence: probation.
White Judge Sentenced to Probation for Election Fraud in Same County Where Black Woman Received 5 Years, Michael Harriot, The Root
Tarrant County judge pleads guilty, resigns after using fake signatures to get on ballot, Anna M. Tinsley, Star Telegram
Justice of the peace pleads guilty to tampering in connection with faked petition signatures, Debra Cassens Weiss, ABA Journal
The articles also mention:
-the judge tried to get his challengers thrown off the ballot for not having enough signatures
-another comparison case, in which Rosa Maria Ortega, a green card holder, was sentenced to 8 years for voting illegally
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 4:57 PM on April 23, 2018 [86 favorites]
Since people are discussing the Nixon impeachment, it might be worth noting that some of the proposed articles of impeachment were NOT passed by Rodino's committee. I was surprised/saddened,watching the proceedings, that the illegal bombing of Cambodia failed to be impeachable. I think there is a general sense that the President has a lot of leeway on matters of war. Another failed article had to do with Nixon finagling his taxes. Congress seemed uninterested in exploring a President's personal finances, which might be relevant in the future. Nixon was cited for obstruction of justice, refusing to honor subpoenas and so on from Congress, and for abuse of power, including using Internal Revenue Service against individuals (though the committee probably were also thinking of Project Gemstone.)
posted by CCBC at 5:00 PM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by CCBC at 5:00 PM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Donald Trump, phone petter.
I'm gonna guess it's about his voyeurism, using the phone switchboards at his hotels to listen in on powerful & famous guests. Sort of fetishistic reliving those experiences. It's unlikely but not out of the realm of possibility he had his personal security guy Keith Schiller do some rewiring at the White House too. He's a very weird guy, did you know?
posted by scalefree at 5:02 PM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
I'm gonna guess it's about his voyeurism, using the phone switchboards at his hotels to listen in on powerful & famous guests. Sort of fetishistic reliving those experiences. It's unlikely but not out of the realm of possibility he had his personal security guy Keith Schiller do some rewiring at the White House too. He's a very weird guy, did you know?
posted by scalefree at 5:02 PM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Where are the Macrons sleeping? In the White House?
posted by scalefree at 5:06 PM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 5:06 PM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Trump's obsession with telephones is one of the strangest things about him. Here he is showing off his phones to Macron, who looks like he's seen telephones before
Holy hell, is this an official Whitehouse photo? That's just embarasing; there's like ten different things wrong with that picture. I've seen drunken selfies taken at 3AM that are better composed than that.
posted by octothorpe at 5:06 PM on April 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
Holy hell, is this an official Whitehouse photo? That's just embarasing; there's like ten different things wrong with that picture. I've seen drunken selfies taken at 3AM that are better composed than that.
posted by octothorpe at 5:06 PM on April 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
[Ohio governor] Kasich signs executive order to improve state's gun background check system, Brett Samuels, The Hill
Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) signed an executive order on Monday aimed at improving state compliance with the national gun background check system.posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 5:08 PM on April 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Kasich signed an order calling on three government agencies to reconvene and study how well state courts and law enforcement are reporting data to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). [...]
The executive order gives the agencies authority to speak with law enforcement and court clerks to gather data on NICS reporting practices and flaws.
The committee will then report back to determine whether the system is being updated in a timely and accurate manner.
CNN, Scramble for answers as Ronny Jackson allegations threaten to upend nomination
Holy hell, is this an official Whitehouse photo?
I doubt it. Looks more like Jennifer Epstein (Bloomberg) took a quick cell phone picture of a TV monitor displaying the still.
posted by zachlipton at 5:10 PM on April 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee are raising concerns about allegations involving Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the department of Veterans Affairs and are reviewing them to determine if they are substantial enough to upend his nomination.Nobody is saying what the allegations are, but this could be another one in the "everyone who gets close to Trump gets destroyed in one way or another" column.
Committee members have been told about allegations related to improper conduct in various stages of his career, two sources said.
The sources say the committee is in talks to delay Wednesday's confirmation hearing as they try to figure out the allegations.
Holy hell, is this an official Whitehouse photo?
I doubt it. Looks more like Jennifer Epstein (Bloomberg) took a quick cell phone picture of a TV monitor displaying the still.
posted by zachlipton at 5:10 PM on April 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
update on TX election litigation:
Judge dismisses Dallas Republicans' lawsuit to kick Democrats off the November ballot, Emma Platoff, Texas Tribune
Judge dismisses Dallas Republicans' lawsuit to kick Democrats off the November ballot, Emma Platoff, Texas Tribune
A Dallas judge has dismissed a case that aimed to kick more than 80 area Democrats off the November ballot, putting an end to a dispute that could have upended the midterm elections in one of the state’s Democratic strongholds.posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 5:14 PM on April 23, 2018 [30 favorites]
The Dallas County Republican Party sued in January, alleging that Carol Donovan, the Democrats’ county chair, did not sign the candidates’ ballot applications before submitting them, as required by law. But State District Judge Eric Moyé ruled Monday that Dallas County Republican Party Chairwoman Missy Shorey did not have standing to bring the lawsuit, handing Donovan and the Democrats a win.
Democrats dismissed the lawsuit as a partisan attack, saying Republicans aimed to win in court because they knew they could not win at the ballot box. And some criticized the lawsuit — whose Democratic targets were largely minorities — as an attempt to disenfranchise voters of color.
Nobody is saying what the allegations are
Is there any reasonable interpretation besides "sexually harassed women"?
posted by Justinian at 5:46 PM on April 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
Is there any reasonable interpretation besides "sexually harassed women"?
posted by Justinian at 5:46 PM on April 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
God, I keep forgetting who we are dealing with. For all I know he could be a secret nazi or something. I thought we were in normal times for a second, withdrawn.
posted by Justinian at 5:51 PM on April 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 5:51 PM on April 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
"Secret Nazi" is why he got the nomination in the first place.
posted by rhizome at 5:56 PM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 5:56 PM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
The Post cites "fresh concerns arose about his management of the White House medical office," which is still pretty vague.
There are so many people who have done screwed up things that never would have come to light had Trump not nominated them for jobs they're unqualified for.
posted by zachlipton at 5:58 PM on April 23, 2018 [18 favorites]
There are so many people who have done screwed up things that never would have come to light had Trump not nominated them for jobs they're unqualified for.
posted by zachlipton at 5:58 PM on April 23, 2018 [18 favorites]
I am shocked that a physician who guaranteed his patient would remain healthy for years into the indeterminate future would fail to uphold professional ethical standards
posted by saturday_morning at 6:10 PM on April 23, 2018 [52 favorites]
posted by saturday_morning at 6:10 PM on April 23, 2018 [52 favorites]
"Secret Nazi" is why he got the nomination in the first place.
Pretty unlikely, since Obama promoted him.
posted by msalt at 6:14 PM on April 23, 2018
Pretty unlikely, since Obama promoted him.
posted by msalt at 6:14 PM on April 23, 2018
If Ronny Jackson is forced to withdraw from consideration due to a scandal horrendous enough to dissuade the Republican party, will they yank his new admiralty from him too?
I've tried to figure out why they promoted him to admiral, but it's beyond me. Was it so they could pay him more in accordance with military regulation, is it customary to promote the surgeon general if they're active duty, or is it run-of-the-mill Trump bullshit?
posted by Room 101 at 6:15 PM on April 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
I've tried to figure out why they promoted him to admiral, but it's beyond me. Was it so they could pay him more in accordance with military regulation, is it customary to promote the surgeon general if they're active duty, or is it run-of-the-mill Trump bullshit?
posted by Room 101 at 6:15 PM on April 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Rear admiral, I should have said.
posted by Room 101 at 6:17 PM on April 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Room 101 at 6:17 PM on April 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Pretty unlikely, since Obama promoted him.
Whoops, my mistake! "Not a secret Nazi," then.
posted by rhizome at 6:24 PM on April 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Whoops, my mistake! "Not a secret Nazi," then.
posted by rhizome at 6:24 PM on April 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
I once toured a couple of nuclear submarines thanks to a friend of my uncle's who was a Captain in the Navy -- he got the rank by being a dentist (and not, so far as I can tell, a high-profile one). The step from there to rear admiral is only a rank or two. I think Room 101's speculation about pay scales is reasonable.
(Gary Busey, his brother, and girlfriend were the other people on the tour, thanks to some high-ranking officer he had met at a party. He was pretty nonplussed that we had no clue who he was).
posted by janewman at 6:27 PM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
(Gary Busey, his brother, and girlfriend were the other people on the tour, thanks to some high-ranking officer he had met at a party. He was pretty nonplussed that we had no clue who he was).
posted by janewman at 6:27 PM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
The focus on his issue being with overseeing the med office sounds like a dire compliance issue. Maybe PHI was being sold.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 6:32 PM on April 23, 2018
posted by fluttering hellfire at 6:32 PM on April 23, 2018
@steve_dorsey (CBS): Just In: 2 sources confirm to @nancycordes and @edokeefe Sen Vet Affairs Comm is reviewing allegations against Ronny Jackson which include a hostile work environment, excessive drinking on the job and improperly dispensing meds.
posted by pjenks at 6:42 PM on April 23, 2018 [33 favorites]
posted by pjenks at 6:42 PM on April 23, 2018 [33 favorites]
Excessive? What would be the acceptable level?
posted by fluttering hellfire at 6:45 PM on April 23, 2018 [57 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 6:45 PM on April 23, 2018 [57 favorites]
I worry that this calls Trump's critic-silencing triumph on the dementia screen into question.
posted by gerryblog at 6:52 PM on April 23, 2018 [25 favorites]
posted by gerryblog at 6:52 PM on April 23, 2018 [25 favorites]
Does this mean we no longer have to take that absurd hour-long Medical Deification of Donald Trump's corporeal being seriously? Marvelous! Let's get a proper doctor in there to do another physical. Perhaps a psychologist.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:54 PM on April 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:54 PM on April 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
Flashback:
In a radio interview on Friday, Scaramucci said he was with the president on Air Force One and had "a little bit of a sore throat," when he suddenly found himself being taken to the back of the plane to receive a penicillin shot. "He’s a little bit of a germaphobe. He doesn’t like people that don’t feel well sitting around him. So he called the medic in," Scaramucci told host Len Berman on New York's 710 WOR show Len Berman in the Morning.posted by zachlipton at 6:59 PM on April 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
"Most Americans probably don’t know this, but there’s a full hospital ward on Air Force One...They took me back to the hospital bay, and next thing you know they’re pulling down my pants and they’re giving me a shot of penicillin," he said.
The Mooch said he found the incident funny. "It also tells you about life and our humanity....There I am, traveling on the most famous plane in the world, with the most powerful person on the planet, and my pants are down and I’m taking a shot of penicillin like I was in the second grade."
The frightening thing is that there was at least a chance Jackson, while very much unqualified and apparently problematic for other reasons, would maybe resist privatization of the VA. I fear a replacement nominee could be even more terrible.
posted by zachlipton at 7:08 PM on April 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by zachlipton at 7:08 PM on April 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Penicillin for a little bit of a sore throat is terrible medicine. (I teach pharmacology to med students)
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:13 PM on April 23, 2018 [94 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:13 PM on April 23, 2018 [94 favorites]
I'm...having a hard time with that Scaramucci story. As a physician, and as a human. From a medical perspective it is so deeply wrong, past the point of "not even wrong," into some transcendental new plane of wrongness
Like:
-Sore throats -- especially the contagious ones, and especially among adults -- are mostly viral
-Antibiotics do not treat viruses
-Even if it was strep throat, you're not going to catch it from sharing a plane with someone
-Even if you were going to catch it, one dose of penicillin is not going to make a difference in terms of contagiousness in the next few hours while you're sharing a plane
-Even if penicillin would make a difference in the next few hours, why the fuck did it have to be an intramuscular injection and not a fucking pill
-Even if you had to do it IM, couldn't you give Scaramucci the dignity (I know, I know) of giving it in the deltoid, considering that otherwise you're asking a man to bare his ass on fucking Air Force One
and most of all:
-Nobody was willing to make any of the above points to Trump, least of all the fucking doctor
Leaving a few very much non-mutually exclusive explanations:
-He is pathologically, reality-disregardingly germophobic
-His physicians are enablers
-He enjoys the power trip of forcing a grown man to undergo a painful, demeaning, completely unnecessary experience in order to satisfy his reality-disregarding predilections
Actually I take it back, they're not just not mutually exclusive, they're downright symbiotic. Dignity wraith meets snake oil: a chimaera for the modern era.
posted by saturday_morning at 7:23 PM on April 23, 2018 [128 favorites]
Like:
-Sore throats -- especially the contagious ones, and especially among adults -- are mostly viral
-Antibiotics do not treat viruses
-Even if it was strep throat, you're not going to catch it from sharing a plane with someone
-Even if you were going to catch it, one dose of penicillin is not going to make a difference in terms of contagiousness in the next few hours while you're sharing a plane
-Even if penicillin would make a difference in the next few hours, why the fuck did it have to be an intramuscular injection and not a fucking pill
-Even if you had to do it IM, couldn't you give Scaramucci the dignity (I know, I know) of giving it in the deltoid, considering that otherwise you're asking a man to bare his ass on fucking Air Force One
and most of all:
-Nobody was willing to make any of the above points to Trump, least of all the fucking doctor
Leaving a few very much non-mutually exclusive explanations:
-He is pathologically, reality-disregardingly germophobic
-His physicians are enablers
-He enjoys the power trip of forcing a grown man to undergo a painful, demeaning, completely unnecessary experience in order to satisfy his reality-disregarding predilections
Actually I take it back, they're not just not mutually exclusive, they're downright symbiotic. Dignity wraith meets snake oil: a chimaera for the modern era.
posted by saturday_morning at 7:23 PM on April 23, 2018 [128 favorites]
Alternative take: Scaramucci is making that story up. It sounds exactly like the kind of thing a stupid person would make up to embellish a "Yeah, they got a doctor on the plane and everything" story.
posted by Rykey at 7:35 PM on April 23, 2018 [62 favorites]
posted by Rykey at 7:35 PM on April 23, 2018 [62 favorites]
But then what do I do with my rage
posted by saturday_morning at 7:37 PM on April 23, 2018 [94 favorites]
posted by saturday_morning at 7:37 PM on April 23, 2018 [94 favorites]
There was another interview where Scaramucci described it as an injection of both "penicillin and cortisone." It's also possible he has no clue what he was injected with. There's a long Hollywood history of random-ass B12 shots (yes, apply the xkcd hyphen rule) that's also popped up in politics, and it's possible something like that was going on here.
Either way, it never particularly struck me as an example of evidence-based medicine when Scaramucci started telling the story. And on a related note, why does Scaramucci keep running around telling this story as if it's endearing rather than humiliating? 11 days on the job, and one was spent being ordered to drop his pants.
posted by zachlipton at 7:37 PM on April 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
Either way, it never particularly struck me as an example of evidence-based medicine when Scaramucci started telling the story. And on a related note, why does Scaramucci keep running around telling this story as if it's endearing rather than humiliating? 11 days on the job, and one was spent being ordered to drop his pants.
posted by zachlipton at 7:37 PM on April 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
Alternative take: Scaramucci is making that story up. It sounds exactly like the kind of thing a stupid person would make up to embellish a "Yeah, they got a doctor on the plane and everything" story.
Alternative Alternative take: Scaramucci was given a sugar pill, because the doctor on the plane is not an idiot but has to placate the Germaphobe-in-Chief; and the Mooch, being the Mooch, has turned it into getting an injection in the butt.
posted by nubs at 7:53 PM on April 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
Alternative Alternative take: Scaramucci was given a sugar pill, because the doctor on the plane is not an idiot but has to placate the Germaphobe-in-Chief; and the Mooch, being the Mooch, has turned it into getting an injection in the butt.
posted by nubs at 7:53 PM on April 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
Mod note: A few deleted; enough with the one-liners about Scaramucci's thing. If nothing's actually going on right now, the thread can be quiet and folks can go check out other recent posts
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:15 PM on April 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:15 PM on April 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
@PhilipinDC: The French Presidency has this in its readout of the Trump - Macron dinner at Mount Vernon: "they spoke about the US economy, President Trump's polls and preparations for the US midterm elections." Yes, his polls.
Someone in Macron's office knew what they were doing there.
posted by zachlipton at 9:14 PM on April 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
Someone in Macron's office knew what they were doing there.
posted by zachlipton at 9:14 PM on April 23, 2018 [17 favorites]
ELECTIONS NEWS
** AZ-08 special:
** 2018 House -- CO-05: The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that incumbent Doug Lamborn cannot appear on the primary ballot due to issues with his nominating signatures. This is pretty stunning - I can only think of one prior incumbent who couldn't get enough signatures to get on the ballot. Lamborn is challenging in federal court, and may have a decent shot, based on precedent. This may all be moot in the end - Lamborn was considered pretty vulnerable to a primary challenge, and the seat is rated Solid R.
** 2018 Senate:
Reminder that we have 11 New York special elections tomorrow (polls close at 9 ET) plus AZ-08 (polls close at 10 ET, and then I think there's some kind of one hour embargo on results, so this is going to be a late one).
posted by Chrysostom at 9:16 PM on April 23, 2018 [34 favorites]
** AZ-08 special:
-- Emerson poll has GOPer Lesko up 49-43 on Dem Tipirneni (no link, because they put the poll in a freaking podcast). Much snide commentary from poll types, as Emerson changed their methodology from the poll they had out just a few days ago.-- TX-27 special -- Texas AG Paxton has issued an opinion that gov Abbott has the ability to call a special election to fill the Farenthold vacancy. Not clear yet when that will be, but Abbott has made it clear it will be as soon as possible.
-- 538 race summary.
-- 140k voters in Maricopa County haven't received ID cards. This won't prevent them from voting, but may result in people *thinking* they can't. Before you ask, the responsible official is a Democrat.
-- Bottom line on this one is the Dems aren't likely to win. Given the partisan balance of the district and generic ballot/special elections trends, a good night for Tipirneni is probably a high single digit loss. If she gets it down under five points, that's a really good sign for Dems.
** 2018 House -- CO-05: The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that incumbent Doug Lamborn cannot appear on the primary ballot due to issues with his nominating signatures. This is pretty stunning - I can only think of one prior incumbent who couldn't get enough signatures to get on the ballot. Lamborn is challenging in federal court, and may have a decent shot, based on precedent. This may all be moot in the end - Lamborn was considered pretty vulnerable to a primary challenge, and the seat is rated Solid R.
** 2018 Senate:
-- WV: National Research poll of the GOP primary finds AG Morrisey edging Rep Jenkins 24-20, with convicted murderer Blankenship at 12. [no MOE listed]** Odds & ends:
-- GOP Senators holding their fire on in-state Dem colleagues.
-- Vox on tomorrow's NY state Senate special elections. With the IDC members back on board, Dems will retake control if they win both elections...and if rogue Dem senator Simcha Felder stops caucusing with the GOP. Although even then, an arcane Senate rule may throw a wrench into plans.====
-- Speaking of the IDC, their primary challengers have put out a joint agenda.
-- GA gov: MoJo profile of candidate Stacey Abrams, who has GA Dems talking upset.
Reminder that we have 11 New York special elections tomorrow (polls close at 9 ET) plus AZ-08 (polls close at 10 ET, and then I think there's some kind of one hour embargo on results, so this is going to be a late one).
posted by Chrysostom at 9:16 PM on April 23, 2018 [34 favorites]
Bloomberg: White House officials are cautioning Republican lawmakers and other conservative allies to temper their defense of Scott Pruitt, according to two people familiar with the discussions, in a sign that administration support for the embattled EPA chief may be waning.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:19 PM on April 23, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 9:19 PM on April 23, 2018 [27 favorites]
The frightening thing is that there was at least a chance Jackson, while very much unqualified and apparently problematic for other reasons, would maybe resist privatization of the VA. I fear a replacement nominee could be even more terrible
Disruption and dysfunction give me more hope than trusting in a Trump nominee's morality.
posted by benzenedream at 9:34 PM on April 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
Disruption and dysfunction give me more hope than trusting in a Trump nominee's morality.
posted by benzenedream at 9:34 PM on April 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
Today I read in The Guardian the column by Zoe Williams, whom I love very much. I'd like to share it with you if only for the following short passage:
posted by runcifex at 11:25 PM on April 23, 2018 [24 favorites]
What would solidarity look like in this situation? Would you tell your neighbour that their vote mattered and that if returning officers had been turned overnight into border guards, you’d be watching? What would you do with what you saw? [...] Unhelpfully, I have no answers: locked in an itch-scratch-itch cycle of protest and disillusionment, my mind goes inexorably to demonstrations and placards and, once there, is foxed. I know marching doesn’t do much, yet imaginative alternatives never suggest themselves. But one fortification of solidarity is to know that it doesn’t start, let alone end, with the limits of one’s own creativity. As the people closest to an injustice will fight it the longest, so their answers will be the most developed. The important thing for all of us is to stay on side. Don’t wander off. The wandering-off years are over.I cannot do what my body tells me that I want to be doing with you. I already live in a prison country. I'll do instead what my whole being tells me that can do.
posted by runcifex at 11:25 PM on April 23, 2018 [24 favorites]
For those that don't know, a man deliberately drove a van onto the sidewalk in Toronto yesterday, killing 10 and injuring 16. The right (both Canadian and US) spent the next several hours painting him as a Middle Eastern terrorist, but NBC News is now reporting that Canadian officials have said it was not international terrorism, and that he idolized Elliot Rodger and may have participated in the incel movement.
posted by zombieflanders at 4:08 AM on April 24, 2018 [39 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 4:08 AM on April 24, 2018 [39 favorites]
New Mueller filing in the Manafort case last night that has some interesting things in it.
@bradheath (USA Today reporter)
Mueller's office has confirmed in a new court filing that the FBI raid of ex-Trump aide Paul Manafort's home sought records off the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting. SCREENSHOT
- The warrant for Manafort's place swept pretty broadly: SCREENSHOT
- Mueller's office defends the FBI's search of Paul Manafort's iPod (though "the government will not be introducing any evidence obtained from those devices at the trial"). SCREENSHOT
- Filing also includes a list of materials Mueller's office has turned over to Manafort's lawyers, including a July 2014 interview of his co-defendant, Rick Gates. SCREENSHOT
- Here's the other relevant bit: Mueller's office says all of the categories of information listed in the warrant, including info on the Trump Tower meeting, "must relate to the criminal offenses listed alongside those categories." SCREENSHOT
- This raises a couple obvious questions: Which offense did Mueller's office say would justify a search for records on the Trump Tower meeting? And what was the showing of probable cause? (The warrant and affidavit establishing these things remain sealed.) SCREENSHOT
---
@Tom_Winter (NBC legal reporter)
NEW: In discovery letters filed tonight in federal court, prosecutors say that Paul Manafort and Rick Gates had previously given statements to law enforcement prior to the Trump campaign. For Manafort in March of '13 and July of '14. For Gates, in July of '14.
---
@nycsouthpaw
Manafort's employee, in addition to having a key and being the lessor on the lease, signed a consent form authorizing the storage unit search. SCREENSHOT
- Someone at the special counsel's office had a little fun with their redactions, showing us there are likely three categories of still-secret criminal allegations re Manafort. SCREENSHOT
- The Special Counsel points out in its reply briefs tonight that the warrants for Manafort's storage locker and residence were sought by FBI agents supervised by the EDVA US Attorney's office, not under the supervision of the Special Counsel itself. SCREENSHOT
@chrislhayes
What do you think the significance of that is?
@nycsouthpaw
For purposes of the litigation, it rebuts their argument that the searches stand or fall with their motion to dismiss. More broadly, it shows that Mueller's team has been working hand in glove with local US Attorney's offices since the week after he was appointed.
posted by chris24 at 4:09 AM on April 24, 2018 [45 favorites]
@bradheath (USA Today reporter)
Mueller's office has confirmed in a new court filing that the FBI raid of ex-Trump aide Paul Manafort's home sought records off the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting. SCREENSHOT
- The warrant for Manafort's place swept pretty broadly: SCREENSHOT
- Mueller's office defends the FBI's search of Paul Manafort's iPod (though "the government will not be introducing any evidence obtained from those devices at the trial"). SCREENSHOT
- Filing also includes a list of materials Mueller's office has turned over to Manafort's lawyers, including a July 2014 interview of his co-defendant, Rick Gates. SCREENSHOT
- Here's the other relevant bit: Mueller's office says all of the categories of information listed in the warrant, including info on the Trump Tower meeting, "must relate to the criminal offenses listed alongside those categories." SCREENSHOT
- This raises a couple obvious questions: Which offense did Mueller's office say would justify a search for records on the Trump Tower meeting? And what was the showing of probable cause? (The warrant and affidavit establishing these things remain sealed.) SCREENSHOT
---
@Tom_Winter (NBC legal reporter)
NEW: In discovery letters filed tonight in federal court, prosecutors say that Paul Manafort and Rick Gates had previously given statements to law enforcement prior to the Trump campaign. For Manafort in March of '13 and July of '14. For Gates, in July of '14.
---
@nycsouthpaw
Manafort's employee, in addition to having a key and being the lessor on the lease, signed a consent form authorizing the storage unit search. SCREENSHOT
- Someone at the special counsel's office had a little fun with their redactions, showing us there are likely three categories of still-secret criminal allegations re Manafort. SCREENSHOT
- The Special Counsel points out in its reply briefs tonight that the warrants for Manafort's storage locker and residence were sought by FBI agents supervised by the EDVA US Attorney's office, not under the supervision of the Special Counsel itself. SCREENSHOT
@chrislhayes
What do you think the significance of that is?
@nycsouthpaw
For purposes of the litigation, it rebuts their argument that the searches stand or fall with their motion to dismiss. More broadly, it shows that Mueller's team has been working hand in glove with local US Attorney's offices since the week after he was appointed.
posted by chris24 at 4:09 AM on April 24, 2018 [45 favorites]
What were the 2013 interviews with Manafort and Gates about? Any ideas?
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:18 AM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:18 AM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
Philip Crowther (France24 WH reporter)
The French Presidency has this in its readout of the Trump - Macron dinner at Mount Vernon: "they spoke about the US economy, President Trump's polls and preparations for the US midterm elections." Yes, his polls.
--
RE: the 2013/14 Manafort & Gates interviews. I've not seen anything definite regarding subject matter, but given their business model, financial irregularities and foreign agent registration (lack thereof) come to mind.
posted by chris24 at 4:36 AM on April 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
The French Presidency has this in its readout of the Trump - Macron dinner at Mount Vernon: "they spoke about the US economy, President Trump's polls and preparations for the US midterm elections." Yes, his polls.
--
RE: the 2013/14 Manafort & Gates interviews. I've not seen anything definite regarding subject matter, but given their business model, financial irregularities and foreign agent registration (lack thereof) come to mind.
posted by chris24 at 4:36 AM on April 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
New Mueller filing in the Manafort case last night that has some interesting things in it.
He's just toying with them like a cat playing with a mouse he caught. I love it.
posted by scalefree at 4:56 AM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
He's just toying with them like a cat playing with a mouse he caught. I love it.
posted by scalefree at 4:56 AM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
Bloomberg: White House officials are cautioning Republican lawmakers and other conservative allies to temper their defense of Scott Pruitt, according to two people familiar with the discussions, in a sign that administration support for the embattled EPA chief may be waning.
It's really creepy that there's the White House & there's Trump & a lot of the time they don't have the same message or opinions. Just deeply weird & unsettling.
posted by scalefree at 5:06 AM on April 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
It's really creepy that there's the White House & there's Trump & a lot of the time they don't have the same message or opinions. Just deeply weird & unsettling.
posted by scalefree at 5:06 AM on April 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
MetaFilter: But then what do I do with my rage
posted by Mayor West at 5:29 AM on April 24, 2018 [41 favorites]
posted by Mayor West at 5:29 AM on April 24, 2018 [41 favorites]
He's just toying with them like a cat playing with a mouse he caught. I love it.
I love that his team is clearly competent, but I really don't like the idea that he is toying with them. We all know that real harm is happening to people every second this administration stays in power. I hope he is moving as fast as possible.
posted by lazaruslong at 5:32 AM on April 24, 2018 [18 favorites]
I love that his team is clearly competent, but I really don't like the idea that he is toying with them. We all know that real harm is happening to people every second this administration stays in power. I hope he is moving as fast as possible.
posted by lazaruslong at 5:32 AM on April 24, 2018 [18 favorites]
I love that his team is clearly competent, but I really don't like the idea that he is toying with them. We all know that real harm is happening to people every second this administration stays in power. I hope he is moving as fast as possible.
A few thoughts:
1) They're not just competent. They are a team of experts who have prepared their entire ( considerable in their own ) careers for this investigation.
2) It's ( once again ) Manafort who is playing games. Without his groundless motion, the prosecution wouldn't have had to waste time on this response to his motion.
3) I don't see it as 'playing cat and mouse', but like a cat, the prosecution is clearly showing their unrestrained contempt for Manafort.
Despair is a sin. It is unsettling that we do not hear as much from Mueller's team that we would like to. It isn't that kind of story to dominate the news cycle, until it is. And filings like this give me hope, since they're obviously doing all the right things to move forward.
posted by mikelieman at 5:48 AM on April 24, 2018 [31 favorites]
A few thoughts:
1) They're not just competent. They are a team of experts who have prepared their entire ( considerable in their own ) careers for this investigation.
2) It's ( once again ) Manafort who is playing games. Without his groundless motion, the prosecution wouldn't have had to waste time on this response to his motion.
3) I don't see it as 'playing cat and mouse', but like a cat, the prosecution is clearly showing their unrestrained contempt for Manafort.
Despair is a sin. It is unsettling that we do not hear as much from Mueller's team that we would like to. It isn't that kind of story to dominate the news cycle, until it is. And filings like this give me hope, since they're obviously doing all the right things to move forward.
posted by mikelieman at 5:48 AM on April 24, 2018 [31 favorites]
Mueller's not messing around. 538: The Russia Investigation Is Moving Really Freaking Fast (It's also fascinating to watch his team quietly check every desperate legal move that Manafort & co. try to introduce into the proceedings.
Meanwhile, in Sean Hannity news, the Guardian reports that his real estate venture was linked to a fraudulent property dealer. "Shell company tied to the Fox News host bought homes through Jeff Brock, who was charged in 2016 with fraud and conspiracy for his role in a scheme to rig auctions on foreclosed properties". Brock was released from prison last June and, as part of his plea bargain, is cooperating with the Feds on related investigations.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:57 AM on April 24, 2018 [51 favorites]
Meanwhile, in Sean Hannity news, the Guardian reports that his real estate venture was linked to a fraudulent property dealer. "Shell company tied to the Fox News host bought homes through Jeff Brock, who was charged in 2016 with fraud and conspiracy for his role in a scheme to rig auctions on foreclosed properties". Brock was released from prison last June and, as part of his plea bargain, is cooperating with the Feds on related investigations.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:57 AM on April 24, 2018 [51 favorites]
3) I don't see it as 'playing cat and mouse', but like a cat, the prosecution is clearly showing their unrestrained contempt for Manafort.
I am, gratefully, unfamiliar with being the subject of criminal legal proceedings, but I'd imagine that filings like these put pressure on Manafort, and deliberately so. If the special counsel's office outmaneuvers his defenses so thoroughly and easily in the pretrial motion state, it signals that Manafort doesn't have a hope at trial, and would do well to cut a deal sooner rather than later.
(About the iPod, if memory serves me correctly, at least one of my iPods was capable of storing data like a jump drive. I'm impressed by their thoroughness that they thought to look, even if they apparently didn't find anything more incriminating than, say, Nickleback songs.)
posted by Gelatin at 5:57 AM on April 24, 2018 [12 favorites]
I am, gratefully, unfamiliar with being the subject of criminal legal proceedings, but I'd imagine that filings like these put pressure on Manafort, and deliberately so. If the special counsel's office outmaneuvers his defenses so thoroughly and easily in the pretrial motion state, it signals that Manafort doesn't have a hope at trial, and would do well to cut a deal sooner rather than later.
(About the iPod, if memory serves me correctly, at least one of my iPods was capable of storing data like a jump drive. I'm impressed by their thoroughness that they thought to look, even if they apparently didn't find anything more incriminating than, say, Nickleback songs.)
posted by Gelatin at 5:57 AM on April 24, 2018 [12 favorites]
For those that don't know, a man deliberately drove a van onto the sidewalk in Toronto yesterday, killing 10 and injuring 16. The right (both Canadian and US) spent the next several hours painting him as a Middle Eastern terrorist, but NBC News is now reporting that Canadian officials have said it was not international terrorism, and that he idolized Elliot Rodger and may have participated in the incel movement.
FWIW articles in this morning's Tornoto papers (at least not that I could find) do not contain any of the Eliot Rodger/incel stuff and I saw rumblings on Twitter last night that this info was yet another 4chan hoax, as they are wont to do.
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:04 AM on April 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
FWIW articles in this morning's Tornoto papers (at least not that I could find) do not contain any of the Eliot Rodger/incel stuff and I saw rumblings on Twitter last night that this info was yet another 4chan hoax, as they are wont to do.
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:04 AM on April 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
As an observer from outside, I see the Mueller investigation as a trial of a nation's ability to stand in front of the mirror of justice, and of its allegiance to the rule of law. Not in all countries can such an investigation be even imagined. No matter who you are and what are your political leanings, it should be understood that it is this ability that renders politics possible. Otherwise, you don't get bad politics; you suffer the absence of politics.
It is in this light that I see the accusation of "political bias" disingenuous, and the lies of their proponents laid bare. The American Authoritarians are not politicians; they're anti-politicians, as are authoritarians everywhere else. Fortunately in your particular country, the institutions of law already have had a head start. It's not all, but it's something to be reckoned with.
posted by runcifex at 6:23 AM on April 24, 2018 [40 favorites]
It is in this light that I see the accusation of "political bias" disingenuous, and the lies of their proponents laid bare. The American Authoritarians are not politicians; they're anti-politicians, as are authoritarians everywhere else. Fortunately in your particular country, the institutions of law already have had a head start. It's not all, but it's something to be reckoned with.
posted by runcifex at 6:23 AM on April 24, 2018 [40 favorites]
I saw rumblings on Twitter last night that this info was yet another 4chan hoax, as they are wont to do.
The Elliott Rodgers stuff is being mentioned by the CBC but afaik it's just a single Facebook post and CBC says there's no decisive evidence that it's not a hoax. The suspect will be in court in about half an hour; presumably more will be known then, since an officer managed to arrest him without shooting him, despite being directly threatened. (more of this from cops, pls, and not just for white suspects!)
posted by halation at 6:32 AM on April 24, 2018 [10 favorites]
The Elliott Rodgers stuff is being mentioned by the CBC but afaik it's just a single Facebook post and CBC says there's no decisive evidence that it's not a hoax. The suspect will be in court in about half an hour; presumably more will be known then, since an officer managed to arrest him without shooting him, despite being directly threatened. (more of this from cops, pls, and not just for white suspects!)
posted by halation at 6:32 AM on April 24, 2018 [10 favorites]
To echo Chrysostom's comment above, a win would be insane. Anything close to single digits would be very good.
Dave Wasserman (Cook, 538)
Happy #AZ08 Election Day! Reminder to people hyping this as a coin flip: Rs have a 17% voter reg advantage & lead by 21% (!) among the 154k who mailed in ballots so far (likely 3/4 of total vote). A case where actual voter data > polls.
- A GOP loss in #AZ08 would be genuinely shocking. That said, a good showing for Hiral Tipirneni (D) might be 43%+. That'd be consistent w/ Dems on track to take back House or win a statewide AZ race.
posted by chris24 at 6:42 AM on April 24, 2018 [12 favorites]
Dave Wasserman (Cook, 538)
Happy #AZ08 Election Day! Reminder to people hyping this as a coin flip: Rs have a 17% voter reg advantage & lead by 21% (!) among the 154k who mailed in ballots so far (likely 3/4 of total vote). A case where actual voter data > polls.
- A GOP loss in #AZ08 would be genuinely shocking. That said, a good showing for Hiral Tipirneni (D) might be 43%+. That'd be consistent w/ Dems on track to take back House or win a statewide AZ race.
posted by chris24 at 6:42 AM on April 24, 2018 [12 favorites]
Doktor Zed: Mueller's not messing around. 538: The Russia Investigation Is Moving Really Freaking Fast
I remembered reading that article when it came out, by my internal estimate, sometime in October. It's actually from February. The indictment against 13 Russian state actors was only two months ago. The investigation is moving fast, it's just that time itself is moving even faster.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:54 AM on April 24, 2018 [35 favorites]
I remembered reading that article when it came out, by my internal estimate, sometime in October. It's actually from February. The indictment against 13 Russian state actors was only two months ago. The investigation is moving fast, it's just that time itself is moving even faster.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:54 AM on April 24, 2018 [35 favorites]
Aleksandr Kogan appeared in front of the UK Parliament and appears to be going with a 'no harm, no foul, because my work was totally meaningless and useless and definitely couldn't even help target ads, let alone sway an election' defence. He's claiming that Alexander Nix straight-up lied in his appearance, and that Christopher Wylie is "duplicitous" and "not the most reputable person in the world." He also claimed that Russian interests definitely absolutely couldn't have accessed his data when he went over to work with colleagues in St Petersburg (and besides it's the US with a "long history" of "interfering in foreign elections," not Russia. He is "dubious about (the US's and the UK's) moral scruples." Full write-up here.
In other news, Kanye West is taking a break from live-tweeting our generation's Phänomenologie des Geistes in order to help Make America Great Again. (And somehow Scott Adams is involved, because of course he is, thank you 2018.)
posted by halation at 7:08 AM on April 24, 2018 [9 favorites]
In other news, Kanye West is taking a break from live-tweeting our generation's Phänomenologie des Geistes in order to help Make America Great Again. (And somehow Scott Adams is involved, because of course he is, thank you 2018.)
posted by halation at 7:08 AM on April 24, 2018 [9 favorites]
In other news, Kanye West is taking a break from live-tweeting our generation's Phänomenologie des Geistes in order to help Make America Great Again.
Pop music has long been about spouting contradictory aphorisms in order to hit as many target markets/moods as possible - makes sense for it to take on new significance in age of populist politicians
posted by acb at 7:11 AM on April 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
Pop music has long been about spouting contradictory aphorisms in order to hit as many target markets/moods as possible - makes sense for it to take on new significance in age of populist politicians
posted by acb at 7:11 AM on April 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
Kanye has been legit having a manic ep. And of course the alt-right are right there to exploit him.
posted by Horkus at 7:19 AM on April 24, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by Horkus at 7:19 AM on April 24, 2018 [26 favorites]
(About the iPod, if memory serves me correctly, at least one of my iPods was capable of storing data like a jump drive. I'm impressed by their thoroughness that they thought to look, even if they apparently didn't find anything more incriminating than, say, Nickleback songs.)
Q: can i use ipod for data storage like a harddrive?
A: if you format your pod for windows, it will work on either a pc or a mac as an external drive on either system without the need for any other software. it works for me. just another option.
posted by scalefree at 7:23 AM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
Q: can i use ipod for data storage like a harddrive?
A: if you format your pod for windows, it will work on either a pc or a mac as an external drive on either system without the need for any other software. it works for me. just another option.
posted by scalefree at 7:23 AM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish: ... the Obama administration had just been so biased against the industry that they need targeted subsidies and other Perry-esque concessions in order to get back to that level playing field status.
This was delivered entirely without irony. That section of my notes is labeled "Coal-Firmative Action."
Were horse-carriage makers this outraged at the advancement of society with the advent of horseless carriages? Did buggy whip makers demand government funding to make their industry viable again? Or to make this about coal, did steam engine makers demand that their coal-fired machines get special government assistance to compete against newer, more efficient (i.e. cheaper to run) electric and diesel-electric engines?
I understand that coal mine owners now hold something that is devalued. To which I say: welcome to the club, now you can reminisce about the good old days with residents of dying steel towns, rural communities, and others who didn't leave or change with the times. But devalued real estate, including coal mines, are like the bottle imp - it's hard to sell something of diminishing value, so someone's stuck holding the bottle.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:24 AM on April 24, 2018 [14 favorites]
This was delivered entirely without irony. That section of my notes is labeled "Coal-Firmative Action."
Were horse-carriage makers this outraged at the advancement of society with the advent of horseless carriages? Did buggy whip makers demand government funding to make their industry viable again? Or to make this about coal, did steam engine makers demand that their coal-fired machines get special government assistance to compete against newer, more efficient (i.e. cheaper to run) electric and diesel-electric engines?
I understand that coal mine owners now hold something that is devalued. To which I say: welcome to the club, now you can reminisce about the good old days with residents of dying steel towns, rural communities, and others who didn't leave or change with the times. But devalued real estate, including coal mines, are like the bottle imp - it's hard to sell something of diminishing value, so someone's stuck holding the bottle.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:24 AM on April 24, 2018 [14 favorites]
Washington Post: NRA supporters are blowing up Yeti coolers. Yeti says it’s all a big mistake.
It's the Hannity Keurig Massacre all over again, now with added militarization.
Some are simply executed, others are stuffed with explosives and then shot with a big gun so they go kablooey take that libs.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:35 AM on April 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
It's the Hannity Keurig Massacre all over again, now with added militarization.
Some are simply executed, others are stuffed with explosives and then shot with a big gun so they go kablooey take that libs.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:35 AM on April 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
Arizona Senate Blocked From Keeping McCain’s Seat Off Ballot If He Resigns
Republicans who control the Arizona Senate were prevented from ensuring that ailing Sen. John McCain’s seat isn’t on the November ballot if he leaves office.posted by mikepop at 7:37 AM on April 24, 2018 [18 favorites]
Minority Democrats voted as a block on Monday against the measure, preventing an emergency clause from being tacked onto legislation changing how members of Congress who die or resign are replaced.
Mod note: A few comments deleted. We have a whole thread about that coal/museum article - please take that discussion over there, thanks!
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:43 AM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:43 AM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
@Ken Klippenstein [The Daily Beast]:
Watchdog group tells me it has received "flood" of complaints from CIA personnel about Pompeo pushing religion in the workplace, at times discussing the Rapture.
posted by bluecore at 7:47 AM on April 24, 2018 [62 favorites]
Watchdog group tells me it has received "flood" of complaints from CIA personnel about Pompeo pushing religion in the workplace, at times discussing the Rapture.
posted by bluecore at 7:47 AM on April 24, 2018 [62 favorites]
> It'd make economic sense to pay the coal miners who cannot be found other work a lifetime stipend
I had been watching the two year Finland basic income experiment with interest, but now the Finnish government (for no good reason that I can find in the coverage) have decided to end it and are considering a system similar to the cruel, expensive and unworkable Universal Credit fiasco in the UK.
It's typical - and very depressing - that fact based efforts at policy making are shot down on the whim of politicians
posted by Myeral at 7:47 AM on April 24, 2018 [15 favorites]
I had been watching the two year Finland basic income experiment with interest, but now the Finnish government (for no good reason that I can find in the coverage) have decided to end it and are considering a system similar to the cruel, expensive and unworkable Universal Credit fiasco in the UK.
It's typical - and very depressing - that fact based efforts at policy making are shot down on the whim of politicians
posted by Myeral at 7:47 AM on April 24, 2018 [15 favorites]
Watchdog group tells me it has received "flood" of complaints from CIA personnel about Pompeo pushing religion in the workplace, at times discussing the Rapture.
Good to know that the dude who gives Trump information which could potentially set off a nuclear holocaust is actually secretly hoping for it to happen.
posted by PenDevil at 7:50 AM on April 24, 2018 [47 favorites]
Good to know that the dude who gives Trump information which could potentially set off a nuclear holocaust is actually secretly hoping for it to happen.
posted by PenDevil at 7:50 AM on April 24, 2018 [47 favorites]
Reading between the lines, and into the choice of words: On his first day, NASA’s new administrator sets an inclusive tone -- "The comments were sincere and inspiring to all who attended!" (Eric Berger for Ars Technica)
It boils down to two points:
posted by filthy light thief at 7:52 AM on April 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
It boils down to two points:
For example, just before administering the oath, Pence talked about the role of NASA's administrator to lead the more than 18,000 scientists, engineers, astronauts, lawyers, contract officers, analysts, and security personnel. "Jim Bridenstine understands the words of NASA’s vision to reach for new heights and reveal the unknown for the benefit of mankind," Pence said.Emphasis original; and
Moments later, after the oath, Bridenstine said that he did indeed understand the importance of the NASA vision and would work to uphold it. "I will do my best to serve our storied agency to the utmost of my abilities as we reach for new heights and reveal the unknown for the benefit of humankind," he said.
Over and over again, Trump and Pence have vowed to make America great again in space. However, immediately after becoming administrator, Bridenstine said to Pence, "Thank you for those exceptionally kind remarks. Thank you, also, to you and the president, and for what you are doing to ensure that the United States of America remains the preeminent space-bearing nation in the world."If nothing else, Berger is a better moderate politician, in terms of public performance, than Pence. Too early to sing Jim's praises -- even though he trashed Marco Rubio in the 2016 presidential campaigns, he has tempered his recent public statements.
NASA doesn't need to be made great again, Bridenstine appeared to be saying to his 18,000 new employees. You are already great.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:52 AM on April 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
This article on Politico gave me hope.
How Mueller Can Protect the Investigation—Even if He Is Fired
The TL:DR is Mueller can file, may have already filed sealed indictment(s) against Trump and they can only be dismissed by a judge, not the Attorney General or Assistant Attorney General.
I hope this is true and that Mueller has already filed such a sealed indictment.
posted by Gadgetenvy at 8:04 AM on April 24, 2018 [19 favorites]
How Mueller Can Protect the Investigation—Even if He Is Fired
The TL:DR is Mueller can file, may have already filed sealed indictment(s) against Trump and they can only be dismissed by a judge, not the Attorney General or Assistant Attorney General.
I hope this is true and that Mueller has already filed such a sealed indictment.
posted by Gadgetenvy at 8:04 AM on April 24, 2018 [19 favorites]
The TL:DR is Mueller can file, may have already filed sealed indictment(s) against Trump and they can only be dismissed by a judge, not the Attorney General or Assistant Attorney General.
I hope this is true and that Mueller has already filed such a sealed indictment.
If memory serves me correctly, sealed indictments have indeed been filed in the court thru which Manafort and Gates were indicted. We don't know if Mueller filed these indictments, or indeed who did or what they're about. But then, neither would the Trump Administration. So perhaps one reason Trump has twice been talked out of firing Mueller is the fact that sealed indictments might exist, and if so, only having Mueller on the job serves as a means to control them.
posted by Gelatin at 8:27 AM on April 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
I hope this is true and that Mueller has already filed such a sealed indictment.
If memory serves me correctly, sealed indictments have indeed been filed in the court thru which Manafort and Gates were indicted. We don't know if Mueller filed these indictments, or indeed who did or what they're about. But then, neither would the Trump Administration. So perhaps one reason Trump has twice been talked out of firing Mueller is the fact that sealed indictments might exist, and if so, only having Mueller on the job serves as a means to control them.
posted by Gelatin at 8:27 AM on April 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
It'd make economic sense to pay the coal miners who cannot be found other work a lifetime stipend
Navajo Generating Station, a large coal fired power plant at the northern edge of Arizona, is slated to close next year unless a buyer can be found. It’s closing because it just can’t compete with natural gas. This is a huge win for the environment, as NGS is one of the dirtiest plants out there, and would be facing expensive upgrades of it stays open. However, there’s going to be some massive collateral damage. NGS and the coal mine at Black Mesa which supplies the fuel for it are major economic drivers for the Navajo and Hopi Nations. It supplies, if I remember right, over a quarter of Navajo government revenues and three quarters of Hopi revenue. It also supplies hundreds of jobs, and they’re good paying jobs, the type you’re unlikely to find in an area like this. This is going to be a nuke for the Hopi economy in particular.
The administration really, really wants to keep this plant open, especially considering how indispensable this plant was once considered. Keeping the plant open would also keep a lot of Utah politicians and rural residents happy because they have dreams of coal mining in the heart of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (I still recognize the “old” borders until a judge rules otherwise.) A major coal plant in the middle of the state recently announced it will be converting to gas, and a couple of generators have shut down at the Four Corners power plant, so having NGS shut down as well would be a major blow to the hopes of the coal mining companies and backers. So far, Peabody Energy, who operates the Black Mesa mine, has not been able to find a buyer, and the Navajo Nation is proceeding with the expectation that the plant will close.
One proposal that was floated last year was for the federal government to provide subsidies to bring the cost of running the plant in line with that of a gas plant. Economists’ reaction to this? You might as well give the money directly to the Navajo and Hopi, because it will make much more of a difference there instead of propping up an old plant that almost no one wants anymore. But I guess that would be wrong, as opposed to putting the money directly into the pockets of the shareholders of the companies involved.
(The Black Mesa mine has a long and controversial history itself. What I find devastating to the arguments made to prop up coal is this - if that coal is so valuable, why doesn’t Peabody have anyone else who wants to buy it if the plant is gone?)
posted by azpenguin at 8:28 AM on April 24, 2018 [35 favorites]
Navajo Generating Station, a large coal fired power plant at the northern edge of Arizona, is slated to close next year unless a buyer can be found. It’s closing because it just can’t compete with natural gas. This is a huge win for the environment, as NGS is one of the dirtiest plants out there, and would be facing expensive upgrades of it stays open. However, there’s going to be some massive collateral damage. NGS and the coal mine at Black Mesa which supplies the fuel for it are major economic drivers for the Navajo and Hopi Nations. It supplies, if I remember right, over a quarter of Navajo government revenues and three quarters of Hopi revenue. It also supplies hundreds of jobs, and they’re good paying jobs, the type you’re unlikely to find in an area like this. This is going to be a nuke for the Hopi economy in particular.
The administration really, really wants to keep this plant open, especially considering how indispensable this plant was once considered. Keeping the plant open would also keep a lot of Utah politicians and rural residents happy because they have dreams of coal mining in the heart of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (I still recognize the “old” borders until a judge rules otherwise.) A major coal plant in the middle of the state recently announced it will be converting to gas, and a couple of generators have shut down at the Four Corners power plant, so having NGS shut down as well would be a major blow to the hopes of the coal mining companies and backers. So far, Peabody Energy, who operates the Black Mesa mine, has not been able to find a buyer, and the Navajo Nation is proceeding with the expectation that the plant will close.
One proposal that was floated last year was for the federal government to provide subsidies to bring the cost of running the plant in line with that of a gas plant. Economists’ reaction to this? You might as well give the money directly to the Navajo and Hopi, because it will make much more of a difference there instead of propping up an old plant that almost no one wants anymore. But I guess that would be wrong, as opposed to putting the money directly into the pockets of the shareholders of the companies involved.
(The Black Mesa mine has a long and controversial history itself. What I find devastating to the arguments made to prop up coal is this - if that coal is so valuable, why doesn’t Peabody have anyone else who wants to buy it if the plant is gone?)
posted by azpenguin at 8:28 AM on April 24, 2018 [35 favorites]
Thank you, also, to you and the president, and for what you are doing to ensure that the United States of America remains the preeminent space-bearing nation in the world."
space-bearing nation ??
posted by JackFlash at 8:33 AM on April 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
space-bearing nation ??
posted by JackFlash at 8:33 AM on April 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
space-bearing nation ??
Doubtless a transcription error from spacefaring.
posted by Gelatin at 8:35 AM on April 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
Doubtless a transcription error from spacefaring.
posted by Gelatin at 8:35 AM on April 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
Will Sommer:
CBC says that Facebook confirmed this post from the Toronto rampage suspect — heavy with references to being involuntarily celibate, 4Chan and "Chads and Stacys" — is realquoting Catherine MdDonald:
We’ve just obtained this Facebook post from the accused Alek Minassian, suspected in the #yongeandfinch mass casualty. Posted early this afternoon. FYI Incel=involuntarily celibate. Elliot Rodger killed 6 ppl at UCSB in 2014 before killing himself @globalnewstoposted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:38 AM on April 24, 2018 [13 favorites]
screenshot
Nobody on Earth is spacefaring yet; we're at best at the tooling-about-in-spaceships stage, the equivalent of rowing our canoes a short distance off shore.
posted by acb at 8:41 AM on April 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by acb at 8:41 AM on April 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
A few psychological tidbits to demoralize your Tuesday.
Collective narcissism predicted growth of conspiracy thinking during 2016 election, study finds
According to new research published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, collective narcissism uniquely predicted a strengthening of conspiracy thinking in America. [...] Americans who agreed with statements like “The United States deserves special treatment” in July were even more likely to agree with statements like “Much of our lives are being controlled by plots hatched in secret places” in November.
“Political campaigns, especially those that use conspiracy beliefs as a tool to mobilize their electorate, are likely to mobilize collective narcissists. We found that American collective narcissism was linked to the conspiratorial mind-set and this relationship strengthened during the 2016 presidential campaign in the U.S,” Golec de Zavala told PsyPost. "In another study, we found that collective narcissism was the strongest, after partisanship, predictor of voting for President Trump.”
Both parties, in my opinion, hold responsibility for making American exceptionalism the norm in political speech. While conspiratorial thinking has long been overwhelmingly concentrated in the right wing, the overall ubiquity of rhetoric of US specialness created an environment in which (if this study is accurate) the Paranoid Style was allowed to run rampant. And here we are.
USA Today: Poll: Non-voters' dislike of Donald Trump isn't likely to make them vote in 2018
In a nationwide survey of 800 infrequent or unregistered voters, 56% of poll respondents said they felt the country was on the wrong track and nearly 55% rated Trump unfavorably. Yet 83% of those polled said they are “not very likely” or “not at all likely” to vote in 2018. [...] Nearly 63% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: “I don’t pay much attention to politics because nothing ever gets done – it’s a bunch of empty promises.” And 68% agreed or strongly agreed with this sentiment: “I don’t pay much attention to politics because it is so corrupt.”
Apathy and learned helplessness. Hatred of the big guy alone will not bring new people to the polls.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:42 AM on April 24, 2018 [48 favorites]
Collective narcissism predicted growth of conspiracy thinking during 2016 election, study finds
According to new research published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, collective narcissism uniquely predicted a strengthening of conspiracy thinking in America. [...] Americans who agreed with statements like “The United States deserves special treatment” in July were even more likely to agree with statements like “Much of our lives are being controlled by plots hatched in secret places” in November.
“Political campaigns, especially those that use conspiracy beliefs as a tool to mobilize their electorate, are likely to mobilize collective narcissists. We found that American collective narcissism was linked to the conspiratorial mind-set and this relationship strengthened during the 2016 presidential campaign in the U.S,” Golec de Zavala told PsyPost. "In another study, we found that collective narcissism was the strongest, after partisanship, predictor of voting for President Trump.”
Both parties, in my opinion, hold responsibility for making American exceptionalism the norm in political speech. While conspiratorial thinking has long been overwhelmingly concentrated in the right wing, the overall ubiquity of rhetoric of US specialness created an environment in which (if this study is accurate) the Paranoid Style was allowed to run rampant. And here we are.
USA Today: Poll: Non-voters' dislike of Donald Trump isn't likely to make them vote in 2018
In a nationwide survey of 800 infrequent or unregistered voters, 56% of poll respondents said they felt the country was on the wrong track and nearly 55% rated Trump unfavorably. Yet 83% of those polled said they are “not very likely” or “not at all likely” to vote in 2018. [...] Nearly 63% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: “I don’t pay much attention to politics because nothing ever gets done – it’s a bunch of empty promises.” And 68% agreed or strongly agreed with this sentiment: “I don’t pay much attention to politics because it is so corrupt.”
Apathy and learned helplessness. Hatred of the big guy alone will not bring new people to the polls.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:42 AM on April 24, 2018 [48 favorites]
Steve Schale on Florida politics and the upcoming elections.
posted by wittgenstein at 9:06 AM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by wittgenstein at 9:06 AM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
Nearly 63% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: “I don’t pay much attention to politics because nothing ever gets done – it’s a bunch of empty promises.” And 68% agreed or strongly agreed with this sentiment: “I don’t pay much attention to politics because it is so corrupt.”
There's a horrible cynicism/apathy spiral at work here. Cynicism - "they're all so corrupt!" "What use is it voting? It doesn't make a difference!" Apathy: "All politicians are corrupt, and voting makes no difference, so why bother? I think I'll stay home and melt into the couch." And then, of course, not voting means that wealthy donors rush in to fill the gap and we get horrible authoritarians (on the right) or "glass of warm milk" empty suits (on the "left").
There's a really good interview with Melissa Harris-Perry in which she notes:
Harris-Perry noted that this enthusiasm fell off in 2016. And my question is, how can we make Democrats in general turn out like this? How to break the cynicism/apathy spiral? It really sucks that it took Trump to get participation up to where it is now. If only Democrats voted like this and participated like this in every year, we'd have a far different country.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 9:14 AM on April 24, 2018 [17 favorites]
There's a horrible cynicism/apathy spiral at work here. Cynicism - "they're all so corrupt!" "What use is it voting? It doesn't make a difference!" Apathy: "All politicians are corrupt, and voting makes no difference, so why bother? I think I'll stay home and melt into the couch." And then, of course, not voting means that wealthy donors rush in to fill the gap and we get horrible authoritarians (on the right) or "glass of warm milk" empty suits (on the "left").
There's a really good interview with Melissa Harris-Perry in which she notes:
In 2008 and 2012 African American women’s voter turnout exceeded that of all other race and gender categories. Black women were voting at rates seen only in countries where it is mandatory to vote. Obama only won because Black women voters were engaging in an unsustainably high level of participation, fueled by their enthusiasm for his candidacy.
Harris-Perry noted that this enthusiasm fell off in 2016. And my question is, how can we make Democrats in general turn out like this? How to break the cynicism/apathy spiral? It really sucks that it took Trump to get participation up to where it is now. If only Democrats voted like this and participated like this in every year, we'd have a far different country.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 9:14 AM on April 24, 2018 [17 favorites]
Gadgetenvy: may have already filed sealed indictment(s) against Trump and they can only be dismissed by a judge
Gelatin: If memory serves me correctly, sealed indictments have indeed been filed in the court thru which Manafort and Gates were indicted.
Yup -- Mueller Not Done? Federal Court Docket Shows Four More Sealed Indictments (Emily Zanotti
for Daily Wire, October 31, 2017)
posted by filthy light thief at 9:14 AM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
Gelatin: If memory serves me correctly, sealed indictments have indeed been filed in the court thru which Manafort and Gates were indicted.
Yup -- Mueller Not Done? Federal Court Docket Shows Four More Sealed Indictments (Emily Zanotti
for Daily Wire, October 31, 2017)
Eagle-eyed court watchers on Twitter noticed, late Monday, that there are four sealed cases listed on the U.S. District Court's docket in Washington, D.C., located on the docket between George Papadopoulos's sealed plea bargain (#182) and Paul Manafort's sealed indictment (#201).There are other sites that look a bit sketchy that claim "Mueller has dozens of sealed indictments against suspects in the Trump Russia scandal," but I won't link to them to avoid giving them Google juice.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:14 AM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
I have a few friends and family members up here in Ontario who fall into this "both sides suck, it doesn't matter who you vote for" camp; it's juvenile and self-reinforcing, and if Doug Ford gets elected Premier it'll be part of the reason why.
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:23 AM on April 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:23 AM on April 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
I wonder what turnout would look like if the typical electoral system could measure both approval and disapproval, like how some social media sites rank items. People who really dislike a candidate, but don't want to be so uncool as to support anyone, could just vote against him, and the candidate with the most likes-minus-dislikes wins.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:30 AM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:30 AM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
Scott Pruitt Before the E.P.A.: Fancy Homes, a Shell Company and Friends With Money (Steve Eder and Hiroko Tabuchi for New York Times, April 21, 2018)
tl;dr: Pruitt has been dirty for a long time.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:30 AM on April 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
tl;dr: Pruitt has been dirty for a long time.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:30 AM on April 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
Rosie M. Banks And my question is, how can we make Democrats in general turn out like this? How to break the cynicism/apathy spiral?
I think a strong push for leftist and progressive positions would help.
Universal Single Payer polls surprisingly well, especially given how the Democratic establishment has opposed it.
Universal Basic Income polls well.
Gun control polls well.
An actual left wing Democrat who talks seriously about leftist proposals and acknowledges the difficulty in getting them passed would probably help bridge some of the enthusiasm gap.
If the choice is between Nazis on the Republican side and more of the same bland centrist pap on the Democratic side, you're not going to get a very many people excited about voting for the Democrat. You should, because Nazis are fucking scary, but you don't.
When one side is saying "you're poor because the people you hate are taking all the money!" and the other side says "well, actually we're mostly ok don't worry everything is fine, stay the course" then that side is not going to do well.
How do you counter right wing populism? With full throated leftism, that's how. They say tax cuts for the rich will solve everything? We meet that with "trickle down has never worked, we support a Universal Basic Income to stimulate the economy and make the middle class grow!" Etc.
posted by sotonohito at 9:36 AM on April 24, 2018 [46 favorites]
I think a strong push for leftist and progressive positions would help.
Universal Single Payer polls surprisingly well, especially given how the Democratic establishment has opposed it.
Universal Basic Income polls well.
Gun control polls well.
An actual left wing Democrat who talks seriously about leftist proposals and acknowledges the difficulty in getting them passed would probably help bridge some of the enthusiasm gap.
If the choice is between Nazis on the Republican side and more of the same bland centrist pap on the Democratic side, you're not going to get a very many people excited about voting for the Democrat. You should, because Nazis are fucking scary, but you don't.
When one side is saying "you're poor because the people you hate are taking all the money!" and the other side says "well, actually we're mostly ok don't worry everything is fine, stay the course" then that side is not going to do well.
How do you counter right wing populism? With full throated leftism, that's how. They say tax cuts for the rich will solve everything? We meet that with "trickle down has never worked, we support a Universal Basic Income to stimulate the economy and make the middle class grow!" Etc.
posted by sotonohito at 9:36 AM on April 24, 2018 [46 favorites]
[in Ontario] "both sides suck, it doesn't matter who you vote for"
This is especially frustrating in an election where, while it is true that the two traditional main parties both suck, there is a really great third party that is polling better than the current government and still can't seem to get any traction in the media, which frames everything as a two-way Liberal-Conservative race.
You can imagine how much this helps with voter apathy.
All this to say, a Westminster-style system (or any electoral reform, really) isn't an antidote for lazy journalism.
posted by saturday_morning at 9:38 AM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
This is especially frustrating in an election where, while it is true that the two traditional main parties both suck, there is a really great third party that is polling better than the current government and still can't seem to get any traction in the media, which frames everything as a two-way Liberal-Conservative race.
You can imagine how much this helps with voter apathy.
All this to say, a Westminster-style system (or any electoral reform, really) isn't an antidote for lazy journalism.
posted by saturday_morning at 9:38 AM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
I wonder what turnout would look like if the typical electoral system could measure both approval and disapproval
This is called "net approval" voting. The theoretical problem with it is that in small races, dark horses can win.
Say you have candidates A, B, and KKK. A and B are the "mainstream" candidates. A voters give A their pluses and cover B with minuses; B voters approve of B and try to cover A with minuses. The more popular of A and B has a positive total, but because of the minuses they received from the other mainstream candidate's voters, they're not positive by a lot. Neither A voters nor B voters realize that they need to disapprove of candidate KKK (they haven't really heard of him; no opinion, really), who ends up getting enough pluses from their own dedicated racist voters.
Now, if people get scared of this scenario, they'll approve of their own candidate(s) and disapprove of all others; this is equivalent to regular old approval voting.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 9:42 AM on April 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
This is called "net approval" voting. The theoretical problem with it is that in small races, dark horses can win.
Say you have candidates A, B, and KKK. A and B are the "mainstream" candidates. A voters give A their pluses and cover B with minuses; B voters approve of B and try to cover A with minuses. The more popular of A and B has a positive total, but because of the minuses they received from the other mainstream candidate's voters, they're not positive by a lot. Neither A voters nor B voters realize that they need to disapprove of candidate KKK (they haven't really heard of him; no opinion, really), who ends up getting enough pluses from their own dedicated racist voters.
Now, if people get scared of this scenario, they'll approve of their own candidate(s) and disapprove of all others; this is equivalent to regular old approval voting.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 9:42 AM on April 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
"Church of the Donald," Politico:
posted by GrammarMoses at 9:42 AM on April 24, 2018 [10 favorites]
A generation ago...Christian TV was largely the province of preachers, musicians, faith healers and a series of televangelism scandals. Politicians were leery of getting too close. To establishment evangelicals, not to mention the rest of America, Christian TV was hokey at best, and disreputable at worst.This is not exactly breaking news, but it is additional confirmation of some stuff we've talked about here. I never thought I'd be nostalgic for Jimmy Swaggart and Oral Roberts, but... welcome to 2018, I guess.
But in the past two years, largely out of view of the coastal media and the Washington establishment, a transformation has taken place. As Christian networks have become more comfortable with politics, the Trump administration has turned them into a new pipeline for its message.
posted by GrammarMoses at 9:42 AM on April 24, 2018 [10 favorites]
Gadgetenvy: may have already filed sealed indictment(s) against Trump and they can only be dismissed by a judge
If Mueller had a sealed indictment against Trump I assume that would mean that Trump is a "target" rather than a "subject".
Which is not to say that there won't be sealed indictments later...
posted by duoshao at 9:46 AM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
If Mueller had a sealed indictment against Trump I assume that would mean that Trump is a "target" rather than a "subject".
Which is not to say that there won't be sealed indictments later...
posted by duoshao at 9:46 AM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
Mod note: Couple comments deleted. Debating the merits of Hillary and Bernie: just say no, got milk, friends don't let friends... all these jokes are anachronistic, if we're in 2018.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 9:50 AM on April 24, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 9:50 AM on April 24, 2018 [20 favorites]
NYT: Trump Voters Driven by Fear of Losing Status, Not Economic Anxiety, Study Finds.
The study was published in PNAS, so it's the real deal.
tl;dr racism.
posted by Justinian at 9:56 AM on April 24, 2018 [83 favorites]
The study was published in PNAS, so it's the real deal.
tl;dr racism.
posted by Justinian at 9:56 AM on April 24, 2018 [83 favorites]
Was “economic anxiety” ever anything other than a euphemism for loss of dominant social position, and/or fear that those now on top, freed from their restraints, might treat one as one treated them?
posted by acb at 9:59 AM on April 24, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by acb at 9:59 AM on April 24, 2018 [19 favorites]
NYT: Trump Voters Driven by Fear of Losing Status, Not Economic Anxiety, Study Finds.
Yep. Traditional american racism. Several other surveys in the past two years have screamed this message as well.
Pacific Standard from April
"As the norms governing political rhetoric appear to have largely been shattered in 2016, the latter strategy is at least as plausible as the former," they add. "That may have significant consequences for the stability of American democracy."
So the portrait of working-class Trump supporters seen on the popular reboot of Roseanne—economically strapped, fearful about their future, but surprisingly tolerant—appears to be something of a fantasy.
Sure, a lack of well-paying working-class jobs drove support for Trump. But resentment over the changing racial make-up of the nation, and unease with the shifting role of women, played a much bigger role in his victory."
posted by rc3spencer at 10:00 AM on April 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
Yep. Traditional american racism. Several other surveys in the past two years have screamed this message as well.
Pacific Standard from April
"As the norms governing political rhetoric appear to have largely been shattered in 2016, the latter strategy is at least as plausible as the former," they add. "That may have significant consequences for the stability of American democracy."
So the portrait of working-class Trump supporters seen on the popular reboot of Roseanne—economically strapped, fearful about their future, but surprisingly tolerant—appears to be something of a fantasy.
Sure, a lack of well-paying working-class jobs drove support for Trump. But resentment over the changing racial make-up of the nation, and unease with the shifting role of women, played a much bigger role in his victory."
posted by rc3spencer at 10:00 AM on April 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
Was “economic anxiety” ever anything other than a euphemism for loss of dominant social position, and/or fear that those now on top, freed from their restraints, might treat one as one treated them?No, but an awful lot of commentators, from all points on the political spectrum, have insisted on pretending that it is.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 10:01 AM on April 24, 2018 [17 favorites]
GOP candidates are now mimicking Trump’s authoritarianism. That’s ominous.
posted by Artw at 10:03 AM on April 24, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by Artw at 10:03 AM on April 24, 2018 [17 favorites]
Fear of losing status, you say? To whom, exactly?
posted by Gelatin at 10:03 AM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Gelatin at 10:03 AM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
NYT: Trump Voters Driven by Fear of Losing Status, Not Economic Anxiety, Study Finds.
PNAS: Status threat, not economic hardship, explains the 2016 presidential vote - Diana C. Mutz
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1718155115
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:09 AM on April 24, 2018 [13 favorites]
PNAS: Status threat, not economic hardship, explains the 2016 presidential vote - Diana C. Mutz
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1718155115
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:09 AM on April 24, 2018 [13 favorites]
GOP candidates are now mimicking Trump’s authoritarianism.
Newt Gingrich, Mitch McConnell, and Dick Cheney helped push a system in which a 50%+1 majority meant that no compromise was necessary or even desired.
For that matter, George W. Bush joked that he'd like to be dictator.
Using the power of the state to interfere with elections run thru the Republican gerrymandering and voter suppression efforts all the way to Watergate, which was only one of the many ways Nixon cheated.
None of these are the behavior of a party confident that it has the support of a majority of the population. Authoritarianism is natural and indeed desirable for a party whose agenda ("transfer the other half of america's wealth to the rich") is so unpopular they rarely admit it.
posted by Gelatin at 10:09 AM on April 24, 2018 [37 favorites]
Newt Gingrich, Mitch McConnell, and Dick Cheney helped push a system in which a 50%+1 majority meant that no compromise was necessary or even desired.
For that matter, George W. Bush joked that he'd like to be dictator.
Using the power of the state to interfere with elections run thru the Republican gerrymandering and voter suppression efforts all the way to Watergate, which was only one of the many ways Nixon cheated.
None of these are the behavior of a party confident that it has the support of a majority of the population. Authoritarianism is natural and indeed desirable for a party whose agenda ("transfer the other half of america's wealth to the rich") is so unpopular they rarely admit it.
posted by Gelatin at 10:09 AM on April 24, 2018 [37 favorites]
“Political campaigns, especially those that use conspiracy beliefs as a tool to mobilize their electorate, are likely to mobilize collective narcissists. We found that American collective narcissism was linked to the conspiratorial mind-set and this relationship strengthened during the 2016 presidential campaign in the U.S,” Golec de Zavala told PsyPost. "In another study, we found that collective narcissism was the strongest, after partisanship, predictor of voting for President Trump.”
It's funny until we're exceptional because we're I-mean-did-you-see-the-size-of-our-economy-dude and hi-you-can't-will-away-superpower-status.
Wapo: Supreme Court says corporations can’t be sued under centuries-old law for overseas human rights abuses
You stand for something you choose or you stand for letting foreign disputes get fought out in our courts and government and public opinion despite your personal lack of involvement. The "secret places" are right in front of you and they're not even trying to hide.
Seriously narcissism even fucks up narcissism.
(I'm not arguing the merits of this case, but I do know I'd like the American people to stand for something that's not "meh, sucks for you, foreigners!". Party-line vote here. Predictable and completely at odds with the nuclear interventionism and war doctrine we preach overseas. Way to make us look like assholes again, Republicans.)
posted by saysthis at 10:09 AM on April 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
It's funny until we're exceptional because we're I-mean-did-you-see-the-size-of-our-economy-dude and hi-you-can't-will-away-superpower-status.
Wapo: Supreme Court says corporations can’t be sued under centuries-old law for overseas human rights abuses
You stand for something you choose or you stand for letting foreign disputes get fought out in our courts and government and public opinion despite your personal lack of involvement. The "secret places" are right in front of you and they're not even trying to hide.
Seriously narcissism even fucks up narcissism.
(I'm not arguing the merits of this case, but I do know I'd like the American people to stand for something that's not "meh, sucks for you, foreigners!". Party-line vote here. Predictable and completely at odds with the nuclear interventionism and war doctrine we preach overseas. Way to make us look like assholes again, Republicans.)
posted by saysthis at 10:09 AM on April 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
This article from the Social Science Quarterly is about the Tea Party, but I think it's relevant because the Tea Party is what gave rise to Trumpism. The racism in the Tea Party/Trumpism is part and parcel of what Havercroft and Murphy call misarchism:
The central claim of this article is that a crucial ideological factor explaining support for the Tea Party is what Friedrich Nietzsche called “misarchism” in reference to the political philosophy of Herbert Spencer. As we explain in detail below, distinct from both libertarianism and social conservatism, misarchism refers to an aversion to government combined with support for the state and traditional morality.posted by Rosie M. Banks at 10:15 AM on April 24, 2018 [21 favorites]
...we define misarchism as an ideological constellation that combines three general attitudes. It combines attitudes that are (1) anti‐government, (2) pro‐state, and (3) moralistic. Anti‐government attitudes are those that reflect opposition to using government policy to improve the condition and behavior of individuals and society in general. Misarchists will oppose wealth redistribution and any programs that aim at assisting individuals in need. They will also oppose government attempts to regulate individual behavior. Pro‐state attitudes reflect support for the state using its monopoly on violence to maintain order and confront perceived threats to society. Moralistic attitudes are those that see the cultivation of individual morality rather than government regulation as the best way to promote a good society.
> Rosie M. Banks And my question is, how can we make Democrats in general turn out like this? How to break the cynicism/apathy spiral?
Fear is a terrible motivator, and fear of a dictator is literally the worst motivator — you tell people they must oppose a dictator because he's a violent murderer and instead of opposing him they keep their heads down and say nothing and vote for no one, because even voting might draw the dictator's attention. That's what decent people do when told to oppose a dictator because he's fearsome; bad people hear you say that a dictator is a terrible fearsome bad dude and they think "that's awesome!" and turn out to support him.
To my eye the second-best way to motivate people — to get them to come to a protest, to volunteer at an afterschool center, to door-knock for a cause, to vote against a dictator — is a promise that it's satisfying to do these things. I was going to say "fun," but "satisfying" is maybe the better word, since it encompasses fun but isn't limited to fun. If you show people that doing the thing makes them feel good, for whatever value of good — it makes them feel like they're having fun, it makes them feel fulfilled, it makes them feel pleasantly rebellious, it makes them feel connected, it makes them feel anything other than fear or dread or hatred — they'll want to do the thing.
The best way to motivate people to do a thing is to make them think that everyone else is already doing the thing. Show them happy people doing the thing, scads of happy people, throngs of happy people, hordes of happy people, and they'll want to join in. We like doing the thing that everyone else is doing, especially when everyone else looks like they're enjoying it. Think every cola ad. The tactics that sell cola sell political platforms as well.
If you watch like any documentary about ACT UP, you'll notice quickly that everyone involved — people from a community that the monstrous Reagan administration was waging active no-foolin' war against, a community wherein people were dying every single day — everyone involved seemed so fucking happy despite it all, because they were involved, and they were fighting back, and frankly because the scene they were in was the scene to be in, the place you want to go if you wanted to make friends or get laid or even just network.
That's how you make an activist cadre. That's also how you win votes.
There's another thing underlying this in the long term, of course. You have to actually keep your promises, else those happy people will feel betrayed and go away, and your scene dies, and you're left with either nothing or astroturf. So, yeah, there's got to be solid underlying program. Whatever parts of the left program seem most pressing have to be put front and center, and once you get a toehold on power you've got to make them actually happen. The 15 Now movement is probably a model to follow.
This is all going to be damned difficult for the Democrats, since they're institutionally controlled by people who are more or less conservatives, and conservatives fear and loathe the idea of big groups of happy people finding satisfaction in politics.
Fortunately, American political parties are relatively easy to hijack.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 10:16 AM on April 24, 2018 [52 favorites]
Fear is a terrible motivator, and fear of a dictator is literally the worst motivator — you tell people they must oppose a dictator because he's a violent murderer and instead of opposing him they keep their heads down and say nothing and vote for no one, because even voting might draw the dictator's attention. That's what decent people do when told to oppose a dictator because he's fearsome; bad people hear you say that a dictator is a terrible fearsome bad dude and they think "that's awesome!" and turn out to support him.
To my eye the second-best way to motivate people — to get them to come to a protest, to volunteer at an afterschool center, to door-knock for a cause, to vote against a dictator — is a promise that it's satisfying to do these things. I was going to say "fun," but "satisfying" is maybe the better word, since it encompasses fun but isn't limited to fun. If you show people that doing the thing makes them feel good, for whatever value of good — it makes them feel like they're having fun, it makes them feel fulfilled, it makes them feel pleasantly rebellious, it makes them feel connected, it makes them feel anything other than fear or dread or hatred — they'll want to do the thing.
The best way to motivate people to do a thing is to make them think that everyone else is already doing the thing. Show them happy people doing the thing, scads of happy people, throngs of happy people, hordes of happy people, and they'll want to join in. We like doing the thing that everyone else is doing, especially when everyone else looks like they're enjoying it. Think every cola ad. The tactics that sell cola sell political platforms as well.
If you watch like any documentary about ACT UP, you'll notice quickly that everyone involved — people from a community that the monstrous Reagan administration was waging active no-foolin' war against, a community wherein people were dying every single day — everyone involved seemed so fucking happy despite it all, because they were involved, and they were fighting back, and frankly because the scene they were in was the scene to be in, the place you want to go if you wanted to make friends or get laid or even just network.
That's how you make an activist cadre. That's also how you win votes.
There's another thing underlying this in the long term, of course. You have to actually keep your promises, else those happy people will feel betrayed and go away, and your scene dies, and you're left with either nothing or astroturf. So, yeah, there's got to be solid underlying program. Whatever parts of the left program seem most pressing have to be put front and center, and once you get a toehold on power you've got to make them actually happen. The 15 Now movement is probably a model to follow.
This is all going to be damned difficult for the Democrats, since they're institutionally controlled by people who are more or less conservatives, and conservatives fear and loathe the idea of big groups of happy people finding satisfaction in politics.
Fortunately, American political parties are relatively easy to hijack.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 10:16 AM on April 24, 2018 [52 favorites]
Bloomberg: Sessions Declines to Recuse Himself From Probe Into Trump Lawyer
posted by duoshao at 10:19 AM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by duoshao at 10:19 AM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
GOP candidates are now mimicking Trump’s authoritarianism. That’s ominous.
posted by Artw at 2:03 AM on April 25 [5 favorites +] [!]
There's no mention of this issue without mentioning this amazing Mefi post a few days ago. It's an incredible story, don't read the comments first, listen to the whole thing and just let the narrative hit you.
Then apply it to all you know about the Republicans since Trump (hell, since Limbaugh, since William F. Buckley Jr). Of course they're mimicking Trump's authoritarianism. The endgame is not pretty at all. You don't get to a place of echoing authoritarianism unless you have a certain starting point.
posted by saysthis at 10:19 AM on April 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Artw at 2:03 AM on April 25 [5 favorites +] [!]
There's no mention of this issue without mentioning this amazing Mefi post a few days ago. It's an incredible story, don't read the comments first, listen to the whole thing and just let the narrative hit you.
Then apply it to all you know about the Republicans since Trump (hell, since Limbaugh, since William F. Buckley Jr). Of course they're mimicking Trump's authoritarianism. The endgame is not pretty at all. You don't get to a place of echoing authoritarianism unless you have a certain starting point.
posted by saysthis at 10:19 AM on April 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
Apathy and learned helplessness. Hatred of the big guy alone will not bring new people to the polls.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:42 AM on April 24 [11 favorites +] [!]
This was an attitude that the research by Facebook showed could be cultivated by manipulating the News Feed. I have zero doubt that Cambridge Analytica used that method and that many of those expressing the attitude were affected by such trolling.
As an aside, I attended a wedding of the daughter of my wife's best friend. The friend's youngest brother attended. He is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who has struck it big a couple of times, first in software and then in communications. He's of the 0.01%. He and I were discussing politics (he brought them up because I had made some snarky comments to my brother-in-law the night before). He railed about income and wealth inequity (very similar take to Hanauer's [previously]). He said he makes shitloads of money because the whole system is set up to funnel money to people like him and he takes advantage of it, claiming he has to or someone else will (ummm, okay?). He despairs that our political system is so broken that it cannot fix the problem even if the majority want it fixed. I mentioned the whole Cambridge Analytica/Trump/Russia/Putin mess, and he shook his head, saying Trump is a distraction. The real problem is Peter Thiel and some lesser players. He said Cambridge Analytica is the tip of the iceberg, and that Palantir Technologies is the bigger threat. He claims that they are developing and deploying technology more sophisticated than CA's, using it to interfere with not only elections but everything from banking and the financial and global markers to the policy formulation and support across the world. When I read about Peter Thiel dismissing democracy as incompatible with "freedom," it sent a little chill through me. These bastards want to formalize the new feudalism and they are developing the technology to implement it.
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:21 AM on April 24, 2018 [57 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:42 AM on April 24 [11 favorites +] [!]
This was an attitude that the research by Facebook showed could be cultivated by manipulating the News Feed. I have zero doubt that Cambridge Analytica used that method and that many of those expressing the attitude were affected by such trolling.
As an aside, I attended a wedding of the daughter of my wife's best friend. The friend's youngest brother attended. He is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who has struck it big a couple of times, first in software and then in communications. He's of the 0.01%. He and I were discussing politics (he brought them up because I had made some snarky comments to my brother-in-law the night before). He railed about income and wealth inequity (very similar take to Hanauer's [previously]). He said he makes shitloads of money because the whole system is set up to funnel money to people like him and he takes advantage of it, claiming he has to or someone else will (ummm, okay?). He despairs that our political system is so broken that it cannot fix the problem even if the majority want it fixed. I mentioned the whole Cambridge Analytica/Trump/Russia/Putin mess, and he shook his head, saying Trump is a distraction. The real problem is Peter Thiel and some lesser players. He said Cambridge Analytica is the tip of the iceberg, and that Palantir Technologies is the bigger threat. He claims that they are developing and deploying technology more sophisticated than CA's, using it to interfere with not only elections but everything from banking and the financial and global markers to the policy formulation and support across the world. When I read about Peter Thiel dismissing democracy as incompatible with "freedom," it sent a little chill through me. These bastards want to formalize the new feudalism and they are developing the technology to implement it.
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:21 AM on April 24, 2018 [57 favorites]
No, but an awful lot of commentators, from all points on the political spectrum, have insisted on pretending that it is.
It's almost like These 15 Billionaires Own America's News Companies (Forbes via archive.org)
I'm not suggesting these companies are micro-managed down to the pundit level by their owners; I'm suggesting they don't have to be.
posted by petebest at 10:22 AM on April 24, 2018 [10 favorites]
It's almost like These 15 Billionaires Own America's News Companies (Forbes via archive.org)
I'm not suggesting these companies are micro-managed down to the pundit level by their owners; I'm suggesting they don't have to be.
posted by petebest at 10:22 AM on April 24, 2018 [10 favorites]
Fear is a terrible motivator, and fear of a dictator is literally the worst motivator — you tell people they must oppose a dictator because he's a violent murderer and instead of opposing him they keep their heads down and say nothing and vote for no one.
Here's an ad for the electoral campaign that got Pinochet (source of the alt-right "helicopter rides for commies" meme) out of office. Not saying it would work here or that these specific ads are what did the trick, but you don't see "vote to stop the death squads" in them.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:24 AM on April 24, 2018 [13 favorites]
Here's an ad for the electoral campaign that got Pinochet (source of the alt-right "helicopter rides for commies" meme) out of office. Not saying it would work here or that these specific ads are what did the trick, but you don't see "vote to stop the death squads" in them.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:24 AM on April 24, 2018 [13 favorites]
James West [via Twitter]: Someone had to do the Trump-Macron dandruff Veep closing credits thing...
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:25 AM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:25 AM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
Palantir Technologies is the bigger threat. He claims that they are developing and deploying technology more sophisticated than CA's, using it to interfere with not only elections but everything from banking and the financial and global markers to the policy formulation and support across the world.
Yes, we should all fear wanna-be vampire and 1st Amendment enemy Thiel.
Bloomberg on Thiel, Palantir, our surveillance state entrepeneur startup du jour.
A choice and actually less shocking pull quote: "The platform is supplemented with what sociologist Sarah Brayne calls the secondary surveillance network: the web of who is related to, friends with, or sleeping with whom. One woman in the system, for example, who wasn’t suspected of committing any crime, was identified as having multiple boyfriends within the same network of associates, says Brayne, who spent two and a half years embedded with the LAPD while researching her dissertation on big-data policing at Princeton University and who’s now an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “Anybody who logs into the system can see all these intimate ties,” she says. To widen the scope of possible connections, she adds, the LAPD has also explored purchasing private data, including social media, foreclosure, and toll road information, camera feeds from hospitals, parking lots, and universities, and delivery information from Papa John’s International Inc. and Pizza Hut LLC."
posted by rc3spencer at 10:28 AM on April 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
Yes, we should all fear wanna-be vampire and 1st Amendment enemy Thiel.
Bloomberg on Thiel, Palantir, our surveillance state entrepeneur startup du jour.
A choice and actually less shocking pull quote: "The platform is supplemented with what sociologist Sarah Brayne calls the secondary surveillance network: the web of who is related to, friends with, or sleeping with whom. One woman in the system, for example, who wasn’t suspected of committing any crime, was identified as having multiple boyfriends within the same network of associates, says Brayne, who spent two and a half years embedded with the LAPD while researching her dissertation on big-data policing at Princeton University and who’s now an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “Anybody who logs into the system can see all these intimate ties,” she says. To widen the scope of possible connections, she adds, the LAPD has also explored purchasing private data, including social media, foreclosure, and toll road information, camera feeds from hospitals, parking lots, and universities, and delivery information from Papa John’s International Inc. and Pizza Hut LLC."
posted by rc3spencer at 10:28 AM on April 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
Here's an ad for the electoral campaign that got Pinochet (source of the alt-right "helicopter rides for commies" meme) out of office.
So we basically want to go with the agency that did the Dr.Pepper commercials?
posted by thelonius at 10:29 AM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
So we basically want to go with the agency that did the Dr.Pepper commercials?
posted by thelonius at 10:29 AM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
When I read about Peter Thiel dismissing democracy as incompatible with "freedom," it sent a little chill through me.
So I guess it would be naive to hope his interest in commodifying psychedelic drugs might be for the greater good.
posted by philip-random at 10:30 AM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
So I guess it would be naive to hope his interest in commodifying psychedelic drugs might be for the greater good.
posted by philip-random at 10:30 AM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
James West [via Twitter]: Someone had to do the Trump-Macron dandruff Veep closing credits thing...
posted by kirkaracha at 10:35 AM on April 24, 2018 [25 favorites]
What a wonderful display of the ways that human beings actually touch each other. How sweet, how caring, how peculiar. I love the way that Emmanuel Macron gazes at Trump gratefully. What must it be like to be in Macron's (possibly flaky) headlights. The look of devotion is almost too pure.I Can't Stop Staring at This Photo of Trump Walking Macron Like a Puppy
...
The "leader" of the "free" world grabbed hold of the French president's hand and led him through the colonnades like he was a tiny little brother whom he was tasked with keeping out of traffic and I have so many questions. Thank you for calling on me; my questions include: Why? For what reason? Who will pay for my eye bleaching? And what time is the next flight to Mars?
posted by kirkaracha at 10:35 AM on April 24, 2018 [25 favorites]
Then apply it to all you know about the Republicans since Trump (hell, since Limbaugh, since William F. Buckley Jr). Of course they're mimicking Trump's authoritarianism. The endgame is not pretty at all. You don't get to a place of echoing authoritarianism unless you have a certain starting point.
The flip side, though, is that -- just as overt racism was diluted into the dogwhistles famously acknowledged by Lee Atwater towards the end of his life -- while authoritarianism has long been part of the Republican appeal and playbook, it hasn't been something that conservatives were, by and large, willing to admit in public. (Recall that Jonah Goldberg wrote a silly little book barely a decade ago trying to claim that liberals were the real fascists.) And now, Trumpism means that Republicans willy-nilly are forced to say the quiet parts loud.
But look at how opposed they are. Look at how poorly Republicans have performed at the ballot box during recent actual -- not hypothetical -- elections. Look at how afraid Republicans obviously are of a coming Democratic wave, to the point that Speaker Ryan refused to run for re-election. And once Democrats gain the gavels of even one House of Congress, it's all over for Trump's agenda, and the ability of Congressional Republicans to obstruct justice on his behalf.
Yes, Republican authoritarianism is frightening, but it isn't derived from a position of strength. Like the bullying behavior that has been a Republican hallmark since Limbaugh, since Reagan, since Agnew, it's an admission of weakness, and we shouldn't be impressed.
posted by Gelatin at 10:42 AM on April 24, 2018 [18 favorites]
The flip side, though, is that -- just as overt racism was diluted into the dogwhistles famously acknowledged by Lee Atwater towards the end of his life -- while authoritarianism has long been part of the Republican appeal and playbook, it hasn't been something that conservatives were, by and large, willing to admit in public. (Recall that Jonah Goldberg wrote a silly little book barely a decade ago trying to claim that liberals were the real fascists.) And now, Trumpism means that Republicans willy-nilly are forced to say the quiet parts loud.
But look at how opposed they are. Look at how poorly Republicans have performed at the ballot box during recent actual -- not hypothetical -- elections. Look at how afraid Republicans obviously are of a coming Democratic wave, to the point that Speaker Ryan refused to run for re-election. And once Democrats gain the gavels of even one House of Congress, it's all over for Trump's agenda, and the ability of Congressional Republicans to obstruct justice on his behalf.
Yes, Republican authoritarianism is frightening, but it isn't derived from a position of strength. Like the bullying behavior that has been a Republican hallmark since Limbaugh, since Reagan, since Agnew, it's an admission of weakness, and we shouldn't be impressed.
posted by Gelatin at 10:42 AM on April 24, 2018 [18 favorites]
So Trump tried to do a powerplay and brush some "dandruff" off Macron's shoulder. Suprised Macron didn't turn to the Press Corp and do his best Paulie Walnuts impersonation - "Look at dis guy, just bustin' mah bawls".
posted by PenDevil at 10:42 AM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by PenDevil at 10:42 AM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
NY Times: ‘They Were Never Going to Let Me Be President’ - Covering Hillary Clinton’s campaign from before it started to the very last moment., Amy Chozick
Editors and reporters huddled to discuss how to handle the emails. Everyone agreed that since the emails were already out there — and of importance to voters — it was The Times’s job to “confirm” and “contextualize” them. I didn’t argue that it appeared the emails were stolen by a hostile foreign government that had staged an attack on our electoral system. I didn’t push to hold off on publishing them until we could have a less harried discussion. I didn’t raise the possibility that we’d become puppets in Vladimir Putin’s master plan. I chose the byline.Lawyers, Guns and Money: “IT’S OVER”: HOW THE WIKILEAKS EMAILS WERE HANDLED, Scott Lemieux
In December, after the election, my colleagues in Washington wrote a Pulitzer-winning article about how the Russians had pulled off the perfect hack. I was on the F train on my way to the newsroom when I read it. I had no new assignment yet and still existed in a kind of postelection fog that took months to lift. I must’ve read this line 15 times: “Every major publication, including The Times, published multiple stories citing the D.N.C. and Podesta emails posted by WikiLeaks, becoming a de facto instrument of Russian intelligence.”
The Bernie Bros and Mr. Trump’s Twitter trolls had called me a donkey-faced whore and a Hillary shill, but nothing hurt worse than my own colleagues calling me a de facto instrument of Russian intelligence. The worst part was, they were right.
This detail from Amy Chozick’s story is just confirming something we could already have inferred, but I think it’s important to have it on the record:Chozick has written a memoir, Chasing Hillary, (NYT Review)A few weeks before Election Day, I was stuck in my cubicle poring over John Podesta’s emails. I wanted to be on the road. “I just feel like the election isn’t happening in my cubicle,” I said. “But it’s over,” an editor replied, reminding me that the Times’s Upshot election model gave Mrs. Clinton a 93 percent chance of winning. The ominous “they” who would keep the glass ceiling intact didn’t look that powerful then.There are two related points here that are important. First, as we knew, is that the decision was made to cover Clinton as the president-elect, as editors misread the polling data through the lens of conventional wisdom and played a role in creating a self-defeating prophecy. The second detail is that poring over the trivia in John Podesta’s inbox wasn’t Chozick’s choice, and also meant that she wasn’t on the road covering what Clinton was saying. Presumably, the fact that one side had a bunch of hacked emails strategically released and the other side didn’t contributed to the latter candidate getting more policy coverage although the former candidate was offering a lot more policy detail. It’s also worth noting that the stories generated from the hacked emails are the kind of stories that generally appear in campaign postmortem books like Chozick’s, not stories in the weeks before the election. You might find Clinton’s strategies for beating Joe Biden in the primaries and Chelsea Clinton’s thoughts on the campaign more or less interesting, but it’s not exactly critical information for the voters in October. They’re the kind of stories you’d more likely run about a president or recently defeated candidate than during the end of a campaign, and were it not for Wikileaks (as Chozick suggests) they wouldn’t mostly wouldn’t have been reported at the time.
In her funny and insightful memoir, “Chasing Hillary,” the journalist Amy Chozick grapples with this question while also providing a much-needed exploration of Hillary Clinton’s antagonistic relationship with the press. Unlike “Shattered,” by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, which provided an inside look at Clinton’s dysfunctional campaign, or “What Happened,” which was a personal reckoning from the candidate herself, “Chasing Hillary” doesn’t attempt to assess why Clinton lost the election. Instead, it’s a first-person account of Chozick’s failed 10-year quest to see the “real” Hillary, a quixotic mission that is as revealing in defeat as it would have been in victory.Washington Post review
The author believes that her own coverage of Clinton was “neutral to positive, with plenty of wet kisses thrown in,” even declaring once that “part of a campaign reporter’s job is allowing yourself to be used.” Yet Chozick acknowledges the Clinton camp’s enduring suspicion of the Times, dating to its Whitewater coverage in the 1990s. In the case of the emails story, she has some sympathy for Clinton. “Ever since that first news conference, there was an insatiable appetite for email-related stories. I can’t explain it exactly except to compare it to a fever that spread through every newsroom and made us all salivate over the tiniest morsels. . . I never agreed with Hillary that her email server was a nonstory, especially after the FBI opened its investigation, but I would regret — and even resent — that it became the only story.”posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:45 AM on April 24, 2018 [26 favorites]
These bastards want to formalize the new feudalism
...while claiming as part of their inspiration Mieses' treatise that it's government regulation of unfettered capitalism that will lead to serfdom.
posted by Gelatin at 10:45 AM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
...while claiming as part of their inspiration Mieses' treatise that it's government regulation of unfettered capitalism that will lead to serfdom.
posted by Gelatin at 10:45 AM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
From the Gaurdian:
Unfit for office? How the 25th amendment could remove Trump – video explainer
posted by philip-random at 10:46 AM on April 24, 2018
Unfit for office? How the 25th amendment could remove Trump – video explainer
posted by philip-random at 10:46 AM on April 24, 2018
I never agreed with Hillary that her email server was a nonstory,
If a year later you still can't explain the "fever" that overtook you then yes, it was a nonstory.
posted by asteria at 10:52 AM on April 24, 2018 [57 favorites]
If a year later you still can't explain the "fever" that overtook you then yes, it was a nonstory.
posted by asteria at 10:52 AM on April 24, 2018 [57 favorites]
I never agreed with Hillary that her email server was a nonstory
Considering Chozick and the Times never made Powell or Rice using private email a story, and haven't made the near constant revelations of Trump & Co. email abuses and information lapses a story, I don't really give a shit what she thinks. We know the truth.
posted by chris24 at 10:59 AM on April 24, 2018 [90 favorites]
Considering Chozick and the Times never made Powell or Rice using private email a story, and haven't made the near constant revelations of Trump & Co. email abuses and information lapses a story, I don't really give a shit what she thinks. We know the truth.
posted by chris24 at 10:59 AM on April 24, 2018 [90 favorites]
Mieses' treatise that it's government regulation of unfettered capitalism that will lead to serfdom.
The Road to Serfdom was written by Friedrich Hayak, not Mises, but the book is peddled on the Mises Institute web site. Mises himself never had anything to do with the Mises Institute, dying a decade before its founding.
posted by JackFlash at 11:07 AM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
The Road to Serfdom was written by Friedrich Hayak, not Mises, but the book is peddled on the Mises Institute web site. Mises himself never had anything to do with the Mises Institute, dying a decade before its founding.
posted by JackFlash at 11:07 AM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
The Road to Serfdom was written by Friedrich Hayak, not Mises, but the book is peddled on the Mises Institute web site. Mises himself never had anything to do with the Mises Institute, dying a decade before its founding.
I stand corrected. Serves me right for not Googling before posting. The point that experience suggests The Road to Serfdom is all wet still stands, however.
posted by Gelatin at 11:12 AM on April 24, 2018
I stand corrected. Serves me right for not Googling before posting. The point that experience suggests The Road to Serfdom is all wet still stands, however.
posted by Gelatin at 11:12 AM on April 24, 2018
So I guess it would be naive to hope [Peter Thiel’s] interest in commodifying psychedelic drugs might be for the greater good.
Don’t eat the brown shirt acid. Repeat, do not eat the brown shirt acid.
posted by msalt at 11:13 AM on April 24, 2018 [43 favorites]
Don’t eat the brown shirt acid. Repeat, do not eat the brown shirt acid.
posted by msalt at 11:13 AM on April 24, 2018 [43 favorites]
> Trump is a "target" rather than a "subject".
Keep in mind that law enforcement & prosecutors don't have to tell the truth about who is a target of their investigation, or a subject, or whatever. Especially not to the target him/herself.
Amusing/horrifying story here about how city police reeled in our local nutjob/murderer by making a media announcement that the leading suspect in a killing--who was the lead, and in fact only, suspect for very, very good reason--was actually "not a suspect" and never had been.
The police continued to gather evidence and tighten the noose bit by bit, while the murderer continued to compromise himself in various super-incriminating ways because he thought he'd gotten off scot-free.
Why did they take this approach? "The investigators knew [the perpetrator] is only capable of thinking in short bursts, and not very far ahead. In fact, he usually acts before he thinks . . . "
So maybe some parallels with the Mueller/Trump situation?
Maybe, maybe not--we'll see.
posted by flug at 11:15 AM on April 24, 2018 [40 favorites]
Keep in mind that law enforcement & prosecutors don't have to tell the truth about who is a target of their investigation, or a subject, or whatever. Especially not to the target him/herself.
Amusing/horrifying story here about how city police reeled in our local nutjob/murderer by making a media announcement that the leading suspect in a killing--who was the lead, and in fact only, suspect for very, very good reason--was actually "not a suspect" and never had been.
The police continued to gather evidence and tighten the noose bit by bit, while the murderer continued to compromise himself in various super-incriminating ways because he thought he'd gotten off scot-free.
Why did they take this approach? "The investigators knew [the perpetrator] is only capable of thinking in short bursts, and not very far ahead. In fact, he usually acts before he thinks . . . "
So maybe some parallels with the Mueller/Trump situation?
Maybe, maybe not--we'll see.
posted by flug at 11:15 AM on April 24, 2018 [40 favorites]
The Road to Serfdom was written by Friedrich Hayak, not Mises, but the book is peddled on the Mises Institute web site.
The fun thing about The Road to Serfdom is the weird mix of what it supports and opposes. It's vehemently against socialism, by which it means governmental control of the economy. It also explicitly supports the government providing a minimum income to everyone and explicitly supports the government giving everyone a basket of insurances.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 11:30 AM on April 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
The fun thing about The Road to Serfdom is the weird mix of what it supports and opposes. It's vehemently against socialism, by which it means governmental control of the economy. It also explicitly supports the government providing a minimum income to everyone and explicitly supports the government giving everyone a basket of insurances.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 11:30 AM on April 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
Because god forbid white men should be uncomfortable.
WaPost > "President Trump said Tuesday that he is standing behind Ronny L. Jackson to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, but suggested his embattled nominee should drop out because of what Trump characterized as “ugly allegations” that have surfaced.
“I don’t want to put a man through a process like this,” Trump said when asked about Jackson’s nomination during a joint news conference at the White House with French President Emmanuel Macron. “It’s too ugly, and it’s too disgusting.”
Trump said a decision about whether to proceed would be left to Jackson.
“I said to Dr. Jackson, what do you need it for?” Trump said. “To be abused by a bunch of politicians? ... If I was him … I wouldn’t do it.”
posted by rc3spencer at 11:31 AM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
WaPost > "President Trump said Tuesday that he is standing behind Ronny L. Jackson to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, but suggested his embattled nominee should drop out because of what Trump characterized as “ugly allegations” that have surfaced.
“I don’t want to put a man through a process like this,” Trump said when asked about Jackson’s nomination during a joint news conference at the White House with French President Emmanuel Macron. “It’s too ugly, and it’s too disgusting.”
Trump said a decision about whether to proceed would be left to Jackson.
“I said to Dr. Jackson, what do you need it for?” Trump said. “To be abused by a bunch of politicians? ... If I was him … I wouldn’t do it.”
posted by rc3spencer at 11:31 AM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
“I said to Dr. Jackson, what do you need it for?” Trump said. “To be abused by a bunch of politicians? ... If I was him … I wouldn’t do it.”
Trump sounds like a guy who has an idea of what it's like to have your problematic background raked over because you were up for an important position of public trust you're entirely unqualified for with no vetting.
He sounds completely miserable.
posted by zachlipton at 11:37 AM on April 24, 2018 [31 favorites]
Trump sounds like a guy who has an idea of what it's like to have your problematic background raked over because you were up for an important position of public trust you're entirely unqualified for with no vetting.
He sounds completely miserable.
posted by zachlipton at 11:37 AM on April 24, 2018 [31 favorites]
“I don’t want to put a man through a process like this,” Trump said when asked about Jackson’s nomination during a joint news conference at the White House with French President Emmanuel Macron. “It’s too ugly, and it’s too disgusting.”
Pretty well narrows down who he wants to put through "ugly, disgusting processes," doesn't it.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:39 AM on April 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
Pretty well narrows down who he wants to put through "ugly, disgusting processes," doesn't it.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:39 AM on April 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
“I said to Dr. Jackson, what do you need it for?” Trump said. “To be abused by a bunch of politicians? ... If I was him … I wouldn’t do it.”
Then why'd you recommend him for the job, you goof?
“To be abused by a bunch of politicians? ... If I was him … I wouldn’t do it.”
Ahh, so you're saying there's reason for hope after November 2018? 'Cause if current polling holds, you're in for a lot of abuse from a bunch of politicians.
posted by notyou at 11:39 AM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
Then why'd you recommend him for the job, you goof?
“To be abused by a bunch of politicians? ... If I was him … I wouldn’t do it.”
Ahh, so you're saying there's reason for hope after November 2018? 'Cause if current polling holds, you're in for a lot of abuse from a bunch of politicians.
posted by notyou at 11:39 AM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
KC Star, Kobach's court filing in voting case includes note: 'PROBABLY NOT WORTH ARGUING'
posted by zachlipton at 11:40 AM on April 24, 2018 [59 favorites]
Kansas Secretary State Kris Kobach appears to have filed an incomplete legal document with a federal court, including a note that one of his arguments is probably not worth arguing.Ok, sure, filing a draft by mistake is just funny, but this is the same legal genius that insisted on representing the state himself and who has been held in contempt because his "mistakes" keep denying people the right to vote.
In a post-trial filing in a lawsuit against Kobach’s office, one of his proposed legal conclusions for the judge to consider is that the plaintiffs in the case lack standing. This is followed by a question mark and note in all capital letters that this is “PROBABLY NOT WORTH ARGUING.”
The next bullet point is blank.
posted by zachlipton at 11:40 AM on April 24, 2018 [59 favorites]
The fun thing about The Road to Serfdom is the weird mix of what it supports and opposes. ... It also explicitly supports the government providing a minimum income to everyone and explicitly supports the government giving everyone a basket of insurances.
It's almost like Hayek recognizes that the unfettered free market won't actually provide for the basic needs ofserfs workers, after all.
posted by Gelatin at 11:41 AM on April 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
It's almost like Hayek recognizes that the unfettered free market won't actually provide for the basic needs of
posted by Gelatin at 11:41 AM on April 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
If I was him … I wouldn’t do it.
Someone realized he doesn't want to lose Dr. Feelgood with the magic pills.
posted by chris24 at 11:44 AM on April 24, 2018 [14 favorites]
Someone realized he doesn't want to lose Dr. Feelgood with the magic pills.
posted by chris24 at 11:44 AM on April 24, 2018 [14 favorites]
I never agreed with Hillary that her email server was a nonstory
Glad to see I wasn't the only one for whom this line jumped off the page and peed in our cornflakes.
Depending on the definition of "nonstory", I'd wonder what, then, *was* the story that occupied the NYT since March 2015. She set up an email server for work State Dept emails. That's it. No thing. Just that.
Everything else was literally made up: what if? When did she? How would they? What if, though?
Its as non as a story can be and still shunt us into this timeline.
posted by petebest at 11:45 AM on April 24, 2018 [35 favorites]
Glad to see I wasn't the only one for whom this line jumped off the page and peed in our cornflakes.
Depending on the definition of "nonstory", I'd wonder what, then, *was* the story that occupied the NYT since March 2015. She set up an email server for work State Dept emails. That's it. No thing. Just that.
Everything else was literally made up: what if? When did she? How would they? What if, though?
Its as non as a story can be and still shunt us into this timeline.
posted by petebest at 11:45 AM on April 24, 2018 [35 favorites]
Another section of the filing says "It has been illegal in Kansas to register to vote for years," which feels less like a drafting error than a Freudian slip.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:45 AM on April 24, 2018 [34 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:45 AM on April 24, 2018 [34 favorites]
If I was him … I wouldn’t do it.
I read it as shifting agency to Dr. Jackson. It's not Donny who is putting this guy through the wringer, it's Dr. Jackson, who chose to stay in even after Donny gave him good advice to get out. Donny's blameless -- it's the guy's own fault.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:48 AM on April 24, 2018 [12 favorites]
I read it as shifting agency to Dr. Jackson. It's not Donny who is putting this guy through the wringer, it's Dr. Jackson, who chose to stay in even after Donny gave him good advice to get out. Donny's blameless -- it's the guy's own fault.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:48 AM on April 24, 2018 [12 favorites]
I never agreed with Hillary that her email server was a nonstory
My challenge to Chozick and basically every journalist everywhere is the same as it was during the election: Explain in 25 words or less exactly what the "story" is supposed to be. She set up an email server? So what?
And no dodges about how it "raises questions." If you have a suspicion, spell it out -- because dollars to donuts the investigation already proves it false.
posted by Gelatin at 11:49 AM on April 24, 2018 [38 favorites]
My challenge to Chozick and basically every journalist everywhere is the same as it was during the election: Explain in 25 words or less exactly what the "story" is supposed to be. She set up an email server? So what?
And no dodges about how it "raises questions." If you have a suspicion, spell it out -- because dollars to donuts the investigation already proves it false.
posted by Gelatin at 11:49 AM on April 24, 2018 [38 favorites]
@ChadPergram: Schumer: "I’m going to oppose the nomination of Pompeo. I met with him several times when he was CIA Director." Schumer on if Pompeo would walk back his criticisms about Muslims: "He demurred. I am voting no for those reasons"
(From earlier this month), NYT, Pompeo and Bolton Appointments Raise Alarm Over Ties to Anti-Islam Groups
Islamophobia gets you the highest positions in our government, and nobody even makes a little show of renouncing it.
posted by zachlipton at 11:56 AM on April 24, 2018 [27 favorites]
(From earlier this month), NYT, Pompeo and Bolton Appointments Raise Alarm Over Ties to Anti-Islam Groups
Islamophobia gets you the highest positions in our government, and nobody even makes a little show of renouncing it.
posted by zachlipton at 11:56 AM on April 24, 2018 [27 favorites]
Black women voters were engaging in an unsustainably high level of participation, fueled by their enthusiasm for his candidacy.
...Harris-Perry noted that this enthusiasm fell off in 2016. And my question is, how can we make Democrats in general turn out like this?
Run whoever this demographic is most enthusiastic about, and let the rest of us fall in line behind them? (Fingers crossed for Kamala Harris)
posted by robotdevil at 11:57 AM on April 24, 2018 [17 favorites]
...Harris-Perry noted that this enthusiasm fell off in 2016. And my question is, how can we make Democrats in general turn out like this?
Run whoever this demographic is most enthusiastic about, and let the rest of us fall in line behind them? (Fingers crossed for Kamala Harris)
posted by robotdevil at 11:57 AM on April 24, 2018 [17 favorites]
Chozick is the one person at the NYT that has showed even a minimal level of self-introspection, and it's wholly inadequate. For instance, she doesnt mention how the NYT bought in on the emails story to begin with from Steve Bannon's Clinton Cash smear job. Haberman, Confessore and more importantly, the entire editorial staff and executive leadership, think they did nothing wrong and lash out daily at anyone who suggests that the NYT handled the 2016 election with anything less than model journalistic integrity. But that was never true, they were out to sink Clinton from day 1, they just thought they would be doing it as she was President, not before.
The NYT is a failed institution, full stop.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:00 PM on April 24, 2018 [43 favorites]
The NYT is a failed institution, full stop.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:00 PM on April 24, 2018 [43 favorites]
She set up an email server? So what?
The question is, as it had always been, whether or not the server enabled the sharing of classified documents by unsecure means. She was warned against using it. The server didn't initially have a TLS certificate. One was put in place in 2009. She continued to use her blackberry professionally, despite being warned by the bureau of diplomatic security that it was not a secure device and that her communications could be hacked. None of this is in dispute. It's been reported again and again by the media. The FBI investigation did in fact eventually show that a very small number of classified documents had been sent via email through the server.
I supported and voted for Clinton. Did I personally think this is a big deal at the time? No. But presumably all of us here are intelligent enough to admit that concerns raised about data security are worth paying attention to in hindsight. The DNC was hacked by Russians and that data was given to Wikileaks. Knowing what we know now, we can look back and see how such situations should be handled differently moving forward.
We can do this without making hay over what now appears to be a relative non-story, or some idiot journalist's raising it as a perennial bogeyman.
posted by zarq at 12:06 PM on April 24, 2018 [14 favorites]
The question is, as it had always been, whether or not the server enabled the sharing of classified documents by unsecure means. She was warned against using it. The server didn't initially have a TLS certificate. One was put in place in 2009. She continued to use her blackberry professionally, despite being warned by the bureau of diplomatic security that it was not a secure device and that her communications could be hacked. None of this is in dispute. It's been reported again and again by the media. The FBI investigation did in fact eventually show that a very small number of classified documents had been sent via email through the server.
I supported and voted for Clinton. Did I personally think this is a big deal at the time? No. But presumably all of us here are intelligent enough to admit that concerns raised about data security are worth paying attention to in hindsight. The DNC was hacked by Russians and that data was given to Wikileaks. Knowing what we know now, we can look back and see how such situations should be handled differently moving forward.
We can do this without making hay over what now appears to be a relative non-story, or some idiot journalist's raising it as a perennial bogeyman.
posted by zarq at 12:06 PM on April 24, 2018 [14 favorites]
Justinian: NYT: Trump Voters Driven by Fear of Losing Status, Not Economic Anxiety, Study Finds.
The study was published in PNAS, so it's the real deal.
tl;dr racism.
Gelatin: Fear of losing status, you say? To whom, exactly?
To their imagined monsters. I imagine these are the same people who feel so insecure about something that they pay money to modify their trucks to "roll coal," to rebel and provoke, and then feel that those noxious plumes of smoke aren't enough and buy "Mind if I Smoke?" or "F#ck your Prius" bumper stickers to adhere above their exhaust pipes.
Mind you, their provocation works, so there's some payoff there. Ask this Prius driver how he knows. (Now I want to carry around a sharpie and cross out "Prius" and write "Clean Air" ... because WTF? Are you really than angry at fuel efficient cars? And don't get me started on people who throw their drinks at bicyclists, or swerve towards people running on the road.
In short, people are really good at finding or inventing reasons to lash out at the world and the other people who live in it with them, while ignoring the fact that we're all living on the same little planet together.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:10 PM on April 24, 2018 [13 favorites]
The study was published in PNAS, so it's the real deal.
tl;dr racism.
Gelatin: Fear of losing status, you say? To whom, exactly?
To their imagined monsters. I imagine these are the same people who feel so insecure about something that they pay money to modify their trucks to "roll coal," to rebel and provoke, and then feel that those noxious plumes of smoke aren't enough and buy "Mind if I Smoke?" or "F#ck your Prius" bumper stickers to adhere above their exhaust pipes.
Mind you, their provocation works, so there's some payoff there. Ask this Prius driver how he knows. (Now I want to carry around a sharpie and cross out "Prius" and write "Clean Air" ... because WTF? Are you really than angry at fuel efficient cars? And don't get me started on people who throw their drinks at bicyclists, or swerve towards people running on the road.
In short, people are really good at finding or inventing reasons to lash out at the world and the other people who live in it with them, while ignoring the fact that we're all living on the same little planet together.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:10 PM on April 24, 2018 [13 favorites]
We can do this without making hay over what now appears to be a relative non-story, or some idiot journalist's raising it as a perennial bogeyman.
We can agree that Clinton's email setup was Not Great and simultaneously recognize that the vast majority of breathless reporting was less about putting that fact into perspective than implying it simply had to be the revelation of a Great Huge Scandal that, I maintain, it never could quite explain what the problem was supposed to be.
With Watergate and Iran-Contra, investigation found and prosecuted actual crimes. With Whitewater and butteremails, painstaking investigations by entities not at all inclined to cut the Clintons any slack couldn't come up with an actual crime, so they settled -- as reporters do with their "raises questions" phrasing -- for inference and implication. Chozick's half-hearted introspection is scarcely adequate to justify the mountain she and others made out of this molehill.
posted by Gelatin at 12:20 PM on April 24, 2018 [49 favorites]
We can agree that Clinton's email setup was Not Great and simultaneously recognize that the vast majority of breathless reporting was less about putting that fact into perspective than implying it simply had to be the revelation of a Great Huge Scandal that, I maintain, it never could quite explain what the problem was supposed to be.
With Watergate and Iran-Contra, investigation found and prosecuted actual crimes. With Whitewater and butteremails, painstaking investigations by entities not at all inclined to cut the Clintons any slack couldn't come up with an actual crime, so they settled -- as reporters do with their "raises questions" phrasing -- for inference and implication. Chozick's half-hearted introspection is scarcely adequate to justify the mountain she and others made out of this molehill.
posted by Gelatin at 12:20 PM on April 24, 2018 [49 favorites]
zarq: But presumably all of us here are intelligent enough to admit that concerns raised about data security are worth paying attention to in hindsight. The DNC was hacked by Russians and that data was given to Wikileaks. Knowing what we know now, we can look back and see how such situations should be handled differently moving forward.
Given that those are both not the private Clinton server (a major distinction which the media did a rather poor job of making) hindsight is precisely what tells us that her action (or inaction) was possibly the more secure option available, if only because fewer phishable people had keys to the kingdom.
(It's still obviously a sub-par approach for government data, but doing things by the book would also be sub-par -- it's not like government servers haven't been hacked multiple times. It would be nice if the whole thing had prompted a movement to reform/upgrade government technology, but of course it didn't.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 12:27 PM on April 24, 2018 [13 favorites]
Given that those are both not the private Clinton server (a major distinction which the media did a rather poor job of making) hindsight is precisely what tells us that her action (or inaction) was possibly the more secure option available, if only because fewer phishable people had keys to the kingdom.
(It's still obviously a sub-par approach for government data, but doing things by the book would also be sub-par -- it's not like government servers haven't been hacked multiple times. It would be nice if the whole thing had prompted a movement to reform/upgrade government technology, but of course it didn't.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 12:27 PM on April 24, 2018 [13 favorites]
We can agree that Clinton's email setup was
if I might interject with a counterpoint, [UNINTELLIGBLE, CEASELESS SCREAMING]
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:28 PM on April 24, 2018 [179 favorites]
if I might interject with a counterpoint, [UNINTELLIGBLE, CEASELESS SCREAMING]
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:28 PM on April 24, 2018 [179 favorites]
It was also ridiculous to continue to pursue the “question” about whether the improper use of an email server was an indication of impropriety elsewhere, even huge, democracy-risking impropriety, after not one but two investigations had settled that question already.
And it was also irresponsible to such an extreme that we can barely comprehend it right now, to pursue the question about Hillary’s emails when evidence of actual impropriety, conspiracy and criminal activity was handed to them about her opponent and they decided to not even investigate it, much less keep raising “the question” or speculate about what it meant about her opponent’s scope of impropriety.
They still won’t get off her emails even when Trump acts with enormous impropriety literally daily.
posted by Autumnheart at 12:33 PM on April 24, 2018 [29 favorites]
And it was also irresponsible to such an extreme that we can barely comprehend it right now, to pursue the question about Hillary’s emails when evidence of actual impropriety, conspiracy and criminal activity was handed to them about her opponent and they decided to not even investigate it, much less keep raising “the question” or speculate about what it meant about her opponent’s scope of impropriety.
They still won’t get off her emails even when Trump acts with enormous impropriety literally daily.
posted by Autumnheart at 12:33 PM on April 24, 2018 [29 favorites]
I think it would be pretty great if *this thread* could get off of the subject of her emails.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:38 PM on April 24, 2018 [114 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 12:38 PM on April 24, 2018 [114 favorites]
A recent You Are Not So Smart podcast was about how humans in general will tend to rationalize painful and unwanted changes to the status quo. It's well worth listening to, but one important takeaway is that in the lead up to a change happening people will often resist vocally and be hyper aware of the pain they believe the change will inflict on them. After a change has happened and the status quo has shifted people tend to rationalize it as not being so bad after all.
One experiment they cited was about a public smoking ban in Vancouver, a few weeks before ban was implemented they asked smokers how often in the past year they remembered smoking at various venues where smoking would soon be banned. A few weeks after the ban was in place they asked the smokers the same question. And they post ban they remembered smoking in bars, restaurants, parks, and other now forbidden places less often than they remembered smoking in those places pre-ban. They literally changed their memories to remember smoking less often in places they now couldn't smoke.
It's a coping mechanism, a way for us to convince ourselves that a bad outcome isn't really quite so bad.
The obvious connection is to Trump's presidency, thus all the warnings to keep the change in the forefront of our minds, not to allow it to normalize.
But there's another side.
For all that I had (and still have) a bitter and resentful disagreement with the particulars of President Obama's announcement that he'd re-evolved on same sex marriage and now (again) supported it, the undeniable fact is that despite my own griping about how he said it, his announcement produced a massive shift in American thinking. Support for same sex marriage skyrocketed practically overnight, and I think much the same mental coping mechanism is in play there.
People, now convinced that same sex marriage was inevitable, adapted their thinking and altered their memories. I'd bet many of the people who changed their minds from opposing same sex marriage to supporting it would tell you in all honesty that they had always supported same sex marriage.
I think this is relevant for two reasons: first, we've got to keep trying to fight our own brains and maintain our shock and outrage at the fact of Trump's presidency rather than letting our brains retcon our thinking and convince us it isn't so bad.
But more important, it ties in with the question of how do we get more people voting Democratic. The answer is, we take the bold steps. Just as (despite my griping) Obama's re-support of same sex marriage was (in a way) bold.
When big name politicians are up on national TV talking about universal basic income, or universal single payer healthcare, or student loan forgiveness, or what have you, it triggers that same status quo adjustment mechanism. The previously unthinkable, the previously opposed, quickly becomes accepted.
How do we get the apathetic voters voting for Democrats? By having the Democrats out there, taking bold, tip of the spear, type positions. No one will vote for Harvey Milquetoast. But as Trump proves, a lot of people will vote for people saying big bold things, even if those big bold things are a total mishmash of incoherent inanities and racist tirades. And those big bold statements will change the status quo. Trump all but singlehandedly made racism vastly more socially acceptable in the USA simply by speaking in nakedly racist terms. Trump has made people more willing to accept white nationalism, simply by putting out the idea of America as a white Christian ethnostate.
Democratic politicians can, and must, do the same, but for good causes.
If even the hedged, on the one hand on the other hand, style speech that not only had no fire at all but actively praised states banning same sex marriage that Obama gave can cause such a sudden, radical, shift in American thinking on same sex marriage, just imagine what a President, or Presidential candidate giving real fire in the belly type speeches about Democratic causes can do!
posted by sotonohito at 12:40 PM on April 24, 2018 [43 favorites]
One experiment they cited was about a public smoking ban in Vancouver, a few weeks before ban was implemented they asked smokers how often in the past year they remembered smoking at various venues where smoking would soon be banned. A few weeks after the ban was in place they asked the smokers the same question. And they post ban they remembered smoking in bars, restaurants, parks, and other now forbidden places less often than they remembered smoking in those places pre-ban. They literally changed their memories to remember smoking less often in places they now couldn't smoke.
It's a coping mechanism, a way for us to convince ourselves that a bad outcome isn't really quite so bad.
The obvious connection is to Trump's presidency, thus all the warnings to keep the change in the forefront of our minds, not to allow it to normalize.
But there's another side.
For all that I had (and still have) a bitter and resentful disagreement with the particulars of President Obama's announcement that he'd re-evolved on same sex marriage and now (again) supported it, the undeniable fact is that despite my own griping about how he said it, his announcement produced a massive shift in American thinking. Support for same sex marriage skyrocketed practically overnight, and I think much the same mental coping mechanism is in play there.
People, now convinced that same sex marriage was inevitable, adapted their thinking and altered their memories. I'd bet many of the people who changed their minds from opposing same sex marriage to supporting it would tell you in all honesty that they had always supported same sex marriage.
I think this is relevant for two reasons: first, we've got to keep trying to fight our own brains and maintain our shock and outrage at the fact of Trump's presidency rather than letting our brains retcon our thinking and convince us it isn't so bad.
But more important, it ties in with the question of how do we get more people voting Democratic. The answer is, we take the bold steps. Just as (despite my griping) Obama's re-support of same sex marriage was (in a way) bold.
When big name politicians are up on national TV talking about universal basic income, or universal single payer healthcare, or student loan forgiveness, or what have you, it triggers that same status quo adjustment mechanism. The previously unthinkable, the previously opposed, quickly becomes accepted.
How do we get the apathetic voters voting for Democrats? By having the Democrats out there, taking bold, tip of the spear, type positions. No one will vote for Harvey Milquetoast. But as Trump proves, a lot of people will vote for people saying big bold things, even if those big bold things are a total mishmash of incoherent inanities and racist tirades. And those big bold statements will change the status quo. Trump all but singlehandedly made racism vastly more socially acceptable in the USA simply by speaking in nakedly racist terms. Trump has made people more willing to accept white nationalism, simply by putting out the idea of America as a white Christian ethnostate.
Democratic politicians can, and must, do the same, but for good causes.
If even the hedged, on the one hand on the other hand, style speech that not only had no fire at all but actively praised states banning same sex marriage that Obama gave can cause such a sudden, radical, shift in American thinking on same sex marriage, just imagine what a President, or Presidential candidate giving real fire in the belly type speeches about Democratic causes can do!
posted by sotonohito at 12:40 PM on April 24, 2018 [43 favorites]
Mod note: Let's call it good on the 100 millionth go-round of but her emails, new book notwithstanding. O emails, her emails.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 12:44 PM on April 24, 2018 [32 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 12:44 PM on April 24, 2018 [32 favorites]
When big name politicians are up on national TV talking about universal basic income, or universal single payer healthcare, or student loan forgiveness, or what have you, it triggers that same status quo adjustment mechanism. The previously unthinkable, the previously opposed, quickly becomes accepted.
In other words, move the Overton window.
What occurs to me is that Republicans seem to move the Overton window negatively -- I can't think offhand about an actual new idea from Republicans; they keep going back to their playlist of less taxes, fewer regulations on corporations, more regulations on personal behavior, unlimited military spending, and a generally hostile attitude toward the poor. There's nothing new to propose, so what they do is demonize, to the point that any spending on the poor at all is called "socialist."
Democrats must also do the same, insisting, for example, that tax cuts for the rich don't do anything but make the rich more wealthy and powerful, and at the expense of the middle class.
posted by Gelatin at 12:52 PM on April 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
In other words, move the Overton window.
What occurs to me is that Republicans seem to move the Overton window negatively -- I can't think offhand about an actual new idea from Republicans; they keep going back to their playlist of less taxes, fewer regulations on corporations, more regulations on personal behavior, unlimited military spending, and a generally hostile attitude toward the poor. There's nothing new to propose, so what they do is demonize, to the point that any spending on the poor at all is called "socialist."
Democrats must also do the same, insisting, for example, that tax cuts for the rich don't do anything but make the rich more wealthy and powerful, and at the expense of the middle class.
posted by Gelatin at 12:52 PM on April 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
Oh my. Poll: Dem leads Republican by 5 points in likely match-up for Mississippi governor
A new Mason-Dixon poll found that 44 percent of people said they would support Democratic Attorney General Jim Hoods, compared to just 39 percent who said they would support GOP Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:59 PM on April 24, 2018 [36 favorites]
A new Mason-Dixon poll found that 44 percent of people said they would support Democratic Attorney General Jim Hoods, compared to just 39 percent who said they would support GOP Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:59 PM on April 24, 2018 [36 favorites]
Gelatin, we pretty much agree about all that. (Obeying the mod note here, but thought it more polite to respond briefly, at least.) :)
posted by zarq at 12:59 PM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by zarq at 12:59 PM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
Dem leads Republican by 5 points in likely match-up for Mississippi governor
I'm starting to think Howard Dean wished on a monkey's paw that he'd get a chance to prove his 50 state strategy.
posted by cmfletcher at 1:05 PM on April 24, 2018 [49 favorites]
I'm starting to think Howard Dean wished on a monkey's paw that he'd get a chance to prove his 50 state strategy.
posted by cmfletcher at 1:05 PM on April 24, 2018 [49 favorites]
Rust Moranis: "Oh my. Poll: Dem leads Republican by 5 points in likely match-up for Mississippi governor"
Note that this election is not until 2019.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:08 PM on April 24, 2018 [14 favorites]
Note that this election is not until 2019.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:08 PM on April 24, 2018 [14 favorites]
Daily Beast, Lachlan/Swin, Trump White House Offered to Help Prep Scott Pruitt for Hearings. EPA Told the White House to ‘Get Lost’
On a related note, Pruitt unveils controversial ‘transparency’ rule Tuesday limiting what research EPA can use. The new rule would allow the EPA to only consider research studies where the raw data is available to the public. While that sounds like a step forward for transparency, that's a standard that goes beyond what peer-reviewed journals require and would prohibit the EPA from considering major studies showing the health effects of pollution, as such studies involve confidential health information:
posted by zachlipton at 1:27 PM on April 24, 2018 [31 favorites]
Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt faces a make-or-break moment on Thursday, when he’s slated for a pair of congressional hearings, but he’ll be heading to the Hill without the full backing of the Trump White House.Popcorn futures showing steady gains ahead of Thursday's hearings.
Two sources familiar with Pruitt’s preparation for the hearing say that the EPA has turned down an offer from the White House to help prepare the administrator for what is sure to be a bruising few hours of questions about the ethics and government spending controversies that have dogged him of late.
One of the sources, a White House official, characterized the EPA’s response to the West Wing as “get lost.”
On a related note, Pruitt unveils controversial ‘transparency’ rule Tuesday limiting what research EPA can use. The new rule would allow the EPA to only consider research studies where the raw data is available to the public. While that sounds like a step forward for transparency, that's a standard that goes beyond what peer-reviewed journals require and would prohibit the EPA from considering major studies showing the health effects of pollution, as such studies involve confidential health information:
Some researchers collect personal data from subjects but pledge to keep it confidential — as was the case in a major 1993 study by Harvard University that established the link between fine-particle air pollution and premature deaths, as well as more recent research that tapped a Medicare database available to any scientific group guaranteeing confidentiality of the personal information. That practice would not be allowed under the new rule.Pruitt has also banned scientists who received EPA-grants for their research from serving on EPA scientific advisory panels, while allowing industry-funded scientists.
In an interview Tuesday, former EPA administrator Gina McCarthy said that requiring the kind of disclosure Pruitt envisions would have disqualified the federal government from tapping groundbreaking research, such as studies linking exposure to lead gasoline to neurological damage. Scientists will have trouble recruiting study participants if the rule is enacted, she predicted, even if they pledge to redact private information before handing it over to the government.
posted by zachlipton at 1:27 PM on April 24, 2018 [31 favorites]
AP: BREAKING: Watchdog report says VA nominee Ronny Jackson, in power struggle with rival doctor, exhibited 'unprofessional behaviors'
BREAKING: 2012 inspector general report suggested removing VA nominee Ronny Jackson and rival from White House roles after finding 'severe and pervasive lack of trust in the leadership'
Story to come.
We've seen a lot of bad vetting from the White House, but to not think anybody would notice an IG report suggesting your nominee should be removed from his existing job is just amazing. Or Trump was told and just didn't care.
posted by zachlipton at 1:37 PM on April 24, 2018 [27 favorites]
BREAKING: 2012 inspector general report suggested removing VA nominee Ronny Jackson and rival from White House roles after finding 'severe and pervasive lack of trust in the leadership'
Story to come.
We've seen a lot of bad vetting from the White House, but to not think anybody would notice an IG report suggesting your nominee should be removed from his existing job is just amazing. Or Trump was told and just didn't care.
posted by zachlipton at 1:37 PM on April 24, 2018 [27 favorites]
So what theyre going to say is that Obama tolerated him for 4 years after that OIG report came out, so why would anyone criticize trump for trying to promote the guy. . . right?
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 1:42 PM on April 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 1:42 PM on April 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
So Trump nominated Jackson as reward for fudging the numbers so Trump wouldn't be classed as obese and inadvertently just ruined his career.
posted by PenDevil at 1:43 PM on April 24, 2018 [55 favorites]
posted by PenDevil at 1:43 PM on April 24, 2018 [55 favorites]
Supreme Court wrestles with Texas gerrymandering case- affects two House seats and 9 state-level seats.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 1:49 PM on April 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 1:49 PM on April 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
The AP story says that in 2012, Jackson and the then-White House physician, Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman, were in a power struggle for the job and they both behaved unprofessionally. "The report says staff members described the working environment as 'being caught between parents going through a bitter divorce.'"
Obviously it matters what the unprofessional behavior was, but the White House should have known this was out there.
And this doesn't help. @lachlan: Slow-mo of Ronny Jackson's reaction when asked today whether there was an IG report on allegations against him. "No there is not," he said
posted by zachlipton at 1:52 PM on April 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
Obviously it matters what the unprofessional behavior was, but the White House should have known this was out there.
And this doesn't help. @lachlan: Slow-mo of Ronny Jackson's reaction when asked today whether there was an IG report on allegations against him. "No there is not," he said
posted by zachlipton at 1:52 PM on April 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
I'm pretty sure unprofessional behavior in workplace power struggles is exactly what Trump looks for in employees.
posted by jason_steakums at 1:59 PM on April 24, 2018 [33 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 1:59 PM on April 24, 2018 [33 favorites]
PenDevil: So Trump nominated Jackson as reward for fudging the numbers so Trump wouldn't be classed as obese and inadvertently just ruined his career.
At the time of the nomination, most people reasonably assumed it was because he knows the man personally, and granting him this position is the sort of child's "when I'm president, I'll..." notion he sometimes engages in ("my best friend would be the Secretary of Coolness and I'd play my favorite games all day and make fun of everyone and they couldn't talk back").
But Alexandra Erin points out that we now have reason to believe the whole thing wasn't Trump's idea, because he never backs down from his own ideas, and he's now being lukewarm and saying Jackson could resign if he wants. This in turn makes her suspect a quid pro quo, but not just with Trump alone. My personal grand unifying hypothesis would be someone having said "If you keep the president happy, we'll recommend to him that he nominate you", or similar.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:59 PM on April 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
At the time of the nomination, most people reasonably assumed it was because he knows the man personally, and granting him this position is the sort of child's "when I'm president, I'll..." notion he sometimes engages in ("my best friend would be the Secretary of Coolness and I'd play my favorite games all day and make fun of everyone and they couldn't talk back").
But Alexandra Erin points out that we now have reason to believe the whole thing wasn't Trump's idea, because he never backs down from his own ideas, and he's now being lukewarm and saying Jackson could resign if he wants. This in turn makes her suspect a quid pro quo, but not just with Trump alone. My personal grand unifying hypothesis would be someone having said "If you keep the president happy, we'll recommend to him that he nominate you", or similar.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:59 PM on April 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
Time is a flat circle, and Pat Fitzgerald is now Jim Comey's lawyer.
posted by Freon at 2:09 PM on April 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by Freon at 2:09 PM on April 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
NBC's Kasie Hunt on Twitter: [Senator] TESTER: Johnson was "repeatedly drunk" while on duty when his job "was to take care of the most powerful man in the world"
There are several more tweets about "Johnson" but I think she means Jackson.
posted by maudlin at 2:18 PM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
There are several more tweets about "Johnson" but I think she means Jackson.
posted by maudlin at 2:18 PM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
zachlipton: Pruitt unveils controversial ‘transparency’ rule Tuesday limiting what research EPA can use
...
[such as] a major 1993 study by Harvard University that established the link between fine-particle air pollution and premature deaths
This isn't only controversial, it is potentially game-changing for some industry regulations. From my limited view of the world (transportation planning), here's a set of performance measures that states and major metro areas are gearing up to address, under the header of the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program. Here's which states and which major metropolitan areas might have (had?) to address the impacts from fine particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5 -- this gets confusing because the language also refers to PM3, or Performance Measure 3).
In short, many states and cities have been looking at how to improve air quality, in part related to particulate matter, and maybe now they won't have to?
posted by filthy light thief at 2:37 PM on April 24, 2018 [10 favorites]
...
[such as] a major 1993 study by Harvard University that established the link between fine-particle air pollution and premature deaths
This isn't only controversial, it is potentially game-changing for some industry regulations. From my limited view of the world (transportation planning), here's a set of performance measures that states and major metro areas are gearing up to address, under the header of the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program. Here's which states and which major metropolitan areas might have (had?) to address the impacts from fine particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5 -- this gets confusing because the language also refers to PM3, or Performance Measure 3).
In short, many states and cities have been looking at how to improve air quality, in part related to particulate matter, and maybe now they won't have to?
posted by filthy light thief at 2:37 PM on April 24, 2018 [10 favorites]
TESTER: [Jackson] was "repeatedly drunk" while on duty when his job "was to take care of the most powerful man in the world"
was he drunk while on duty proclaiming to the White House press corps that the most powerful man in the world would live to 200 if he ate vegetables
posted by saturday_morning at 2:38 PM on April 24, 2018 [42 favorites]
was he drunk while on duty proclaiming to the White House press corps that the most powerful man in the world would live to 200 if he ate vegetables
posted by saturday_morning at 2:38 PM on April 24, 2018 [42 favorites]
Comey and Fitzgerald have been close friends for more than three decades, going back to their time working together in the Southern District of New York’s U.S. Attorney’s Office starting in the late 1980s, and knew each other even before then.
Southern District of New York’s U.S. Attorney’s Office in the 1980's. Is the new "In a world . . . "
It seems like most awful things currently en vogue come into, or out of, there, around then. Hey, Arkansas was a thing too, I'm just saying are these men (no women?) in some kind of tontine?
posted by petebest at 2:43 PM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
Southern District of New York’s U.S. Attorney’s Office in the 1980's. Is the new "In a world . . . "
It seems like most awful things currently en vogue come into, or out of, there, around then. Hey, Arkansas was a thing too, I'm just saying are these men (no women?) in some kind of tontine?
posted by petebest at 2:43 PM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
Miss Universe 2013 Host Thomas Roberts Confirms: Trump Stayed Overnight in Moscow
Thomas Roberts, host of that year’s Miss Universe pageant, confirmed to The Daily Beast on Tuesday that Trump was in Moscow for one full night and at least part of another.posted by chris24 at 2:47 PM on April 24, 2018 [64 favorites]
“The first time I met Donald Trump it was in Moscow on November 8th, 2013,” the former NBC anchor said. “I taped a sit-down interview with Trump the next day on November 9th. That was also the date for the Miss Universe broadcast.”
Roberts continued: “During the after-party for the Miss Universe event, Mr. Trump offered to fly me and my husband back to New York. He said he would be leaving directly from the party. We were unable to accept the invitation. That was the early morning hours of November 10th.” [...]
Asked whether he has been interviewed by Mueller‘s team, Roberts told The Daily Beast: “No comment.”
White Judge Sentenced to Probation for Election Fraud in Same County Where Black Woman Received 5 Years
Right now, there is a black woman sitting in prison, reading about a Texas judge who was found guilty of the same crime she committed. She probably noticed that the judge was sentenced to five years’ probation in the same county that sentenced her to five years in jail. More than likely, she also noticed that she is black and the judge who was found guilty of turning in fake signatures to secure a spot in the Republican primary is white.posted by Atom Eyes at 3:10 PM on April 24, 2018 [58 favorites]
We've seen a lot of bad vetting from the White House...
I think the Steele dossier claim is that the bad vetting took place in a Moscow hotel room.
posted by Killick at 3:13 PM on April 24, 2018 [32 favorites]
I think the Steele dossier claim is that the bad vetting took place in a Moscow hotel room.
posted by Killick at 3:13 PM on April 24, 2018 [32 favorites]
A question: The EPA must have a mandate, right? All government agencies must (he says, maybe naively).
Are the agencies not required to carry out their mandate, and wouldn't it be illegal to try and enact policy which is counter to that mandate? Help me out, here.
I'm having a hard time imagining exactly what kind of fucked up set of laws must be in place that allow things like "consumer protection bureaus" to fuck consumers, and "environmental protection agencies" to screw the environment.
If there really isn't anything other than "that's what they're supposed to do, but, tee hee, who knows?" that is another set of "norms" which needs to be turned into actual law.
Fuck "norms". I want the damn things stamped out of government entirely. I am sick and fucking tired of them.
When you enter into a contract, you don't want vague language, you want goddamn concrete, actionable, black-and-white-as-possible points. If you move into a homeowner's association, you WANT "trash cans must be hidden out of sight of pedestrians using sidewalks except for trash day" and not "homeowners must keep unsightly items hidden". The latter is so vague it allows the Trumps of world free-play to define every word the way they want.
The executive should NOT be able, at a whim, to change what an agency's mandate is.
ARGLEBARGLE PILLS GIVE ME PILLS ANYTHING ARGGH
posted by maxwelton at 3:15 PM on April 24, 2018 [33 favorites]
Are the agencies not required to carry out their mandate, and wouldn't it be illegal to try and enact policy which is counter to that mandate? Help me out, here.
I'm having a hard time imagining exactly what kind of fucked up set of laws must be in place that allow things like "consumer protection bureaus" to fuck consumers, and "environmental protection agencies" to screw the environment.
If there really isn't anything other than "that's what they're supposed to do, but, tee hee, who knows?" that is another set of "norms" which needs to be turned into actual law.
Fuck "norms". I want the damn things stamped out of government entirely. I am sick and fucking tired of them.
When you enter into a contract, you don't want vague language, you want goddamn concrete, actionable, black-and-white-as-possible points. If you move into a homeowner's association, you WANT "trash cans must be hidden out of sight of pedestrians using sidewalks except for trash day" and not "homeowners must keep unsightly items hidden". The latter is so vague it allows the Trumps of world free-play to define every word the way they want.
The executive should NOT be able, at a whim, to change what an agency's mandate is.
ARGLEBARGLE PILLS GIVE ME PILLS ANYTHING ARGGH
posted by maxwelton at 3:15 PM on April 24, 2018 [33 favorites]
The EPA doesn't really have a statutory mandate like say, the FTC. It administers a whole big mishmash of environmental laws that mainly cover things like Environmental Impact Statements, a whole range of standards testing and setting, conservation, and land use, and enforcement of those things by lawsuits or fines. Pretty much everything it does relies at some level on collecting and assessing underlying data, and that leaves a wide range of manipulation where a Republican administration can change the rules to exclude some types of studies and rig a result that's contrary to the "spirit" of the agency.
Also, like consumer protection agencies, personnel is policy. It takes active steps to actually do enforcement. Swapping a Pruitt or Mulvaney for a Richard Cordray, well, you effectively killed an entire agency just by putting an enemy of good government in charge of it.
Our institutions are fragile.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:29 PM on April 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
Also, like consumer protection agencies, personnel is policy. It takes active steps to actually do enforcement. Swapping a Pruitt or Mulvaney for a Richard Cordray, well, you effectively killed an entire agency just by putting an enemy of good government in charge of it.
Our institutions are fragile.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:29 PM on April 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
Josh Dawsey (WaPo)
Ronny Jackson had a "good meeting" with Trump a few minutes ago, per an admin official. Trump is sticking with the embattled secretary, official says, and wants him to fight.
Jennifer Jacobs (Bloomberg)
Dr. Ronny Jackson, Trump’s nominee to lead the Veterans Affairs Dept, is NOT withdrawing, I’m told. Jackson plans to pursue confirmation despite senators opening a review into allegations of improper behavior and management lapses.
---
This will end well.
In his favor, only one person has gotten a vote for Cabinet and been voted down in the last 60 years. Sen. John Tower for Secretary of Defense. For rumors of being a drunk.
posted by chris24 at 3:29 PM on April 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
Ronny Jackson had a "good meeting" with Trump a few minutes ago, per an admin official. Trump is sticking with the embattled secretary, official says, and wants him to fight.
Jennifer Jacobs (Bloomberg)
Dr. Ronny Jackson, Trump’s nominee to lead the Veterans Affairs Dept, is NOT withdrawing, I’m told. Jackson plans to pursue confirmation despite senators opening a review into allegations of improper behavior and management lapses.
---
This will end well.
In his favor, only one person has gotten a vote for Cabinet and been voted down in the last 60 years. Sen. John Tower for Secretary of Defense. For rumors of being a drunk.
posted by chris24 at 3:29 PM on April 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
White Judge Sentenced to Probation for Election Fraud in Same County Where Black Woman Received 5 Years
Right now, there is a black woman sitting in prison, reading about a Texas judge who was found guilty of the same crime she committed.
Article says
What. The. Fuck. And 45 wants to pardon Jack Johnson, and already pardoned Arpaio?
Right. So. Pardons for punching white people with testicles. brb learning to box.
posted by saysthis at 3:37 PM on April 24, 2018 [42 favorites]
Right now, there is a black woman sitting in prison, reading about a Texas judge who was found guilty of the same crime she committed.
Article says
On Monday, Tarrant County, Texas, Justice of the Peace Russ Casey pleaded guilty to tampering with a government record after an investigation found that many signatures on his ballot petition were false, even though Casey signed a form attesting that he’d witnessed the signatures, according to the Star-Telegram.So the outcome for the white man for what is in name the "same crime" is probation for election tampering, frankly, while for the black woman and Hispanic woman it's jail for voting by mistake.
In a Donald Trump-like display of testicular boldness, the Republican Casey was so desperate to keep his job, which paid $125,911.76 a year, he filed a lawsuit to keep his fellow GOP challengers off the ballot, claiming that they didn’t have enough signatures.
If Casey’s sentence seems appropriate, consider that 43-year old Crystal Mason was sentenced to five years in jail in March after she illegally cast a provisional ballot in the November 2016 election.
Mason lost her right to vote after she was convicted of filing fraudulent tax returns in 2011. Unaware of her felony disenfranchisement, Mason said that she was urged to vote by her mother and said that she would never have voted if she had known that doing so was illegal.
If Mason’s sentence seems harsh, consider the case of Rosa Maria Ortega. Ortega, who was born in Mexico, has a green card but was convicted of voting in the 2012 election and the 2014 Republican primary runoff. She was sentenced to eight years in prison on two counts of voter fraud.
What. The. Fuck. And 45 wants to pardon Jack Johnson, and already pardoned Arpaio?
Right. So. Pardons for punching white people with testicles. brb learning to box.
posted by saysthis at 3:37 PM on April 24, 2018 [42 favorites]
I'm having a hard time imagining exactly what kind of fucked up set of laws must be in place that allow things like "consumer protection bureaus" to fuck consumers, and "environmental protection agencies" to screw the environment.
I dunno, seems legit.
posted by kirkaracha at 3:37 PM on April 24, 2018 [13 favorites]
I dunno, seems legit.
They were the homes of the four Ministries between which the entire apparatus of government was divided. The Ministry of Truth, which concerned itself with news, entertainment, education, and the fine arts. The Ministry of Peace, which concerned itself with war. The Ministry of Love, which maintained law and order. And the Ministry of Plenty, which was responsible for economic affairs.WAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.
posted by kirkaracha at 3:37 PM on April 24, 2018 [13 favorites]
I was reading The New Yorker story McMaster and Commander (clever double entendre BTW) linked by kirkaracha above and this bit gave me pause:
Is there any historical precedent for having a do-over, just pretending this era never happened? I think posterity (assuming there is one) would be happier for it.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:39 PM on April 24, 2018 [28 favorites]
A senior Trump aide explained to the staffers that the President is “a visual person,” and asked them to express points “pictorially.”I presume these cards are kept as official records. They're still going to be around generations from now; Trump's pictorial flipbooks indexed and catalogued next to the lengthy briefing papers of his predecessors. I was feeling reflexively ashamed, and then I imagined the future Donald J Trump Presidential Library, filled with copies of The Art of the Deal, maps showing which counties voted for him, and an odd, defiant, copy of Adolf Hitler's collected speeches.
“By the time I left, we had these cards,” the former staffer said. They are long and narrow, made of heavy stock, and emblazoned with the words “THE WHITE HOUSE” at the top.
Is there any historical precedent for having a do-over, just pretending this era never happened? I think posterity (assuming there is one) would be happier for it.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:39 PM on April 24, 2018 [28 favorites]
Key question on Ronny Johnson: could a Democratic Senator subpoenA his prescription logs? I fear the committee chairman (Republican) can scotch that.
posted by msalt at 3:43 PM on April 24, 2018
posted by msalt at 3:43 PM on April 24, 2018
Is there any historical precedent for having a do-over, just pretending this era never happened? I think posterity (assuming there is one) would be happier for it.
No. We are living in the very past that posterity must remember lest they be doomed to repeat it.
Edited to add "be doomed to," which I thought I'd typed.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:45 PM on April 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
No. We are living in the very past that posterity must remember lest they be doomed to repeat it.
Edited to add "be doomed to," which I thought I'd typed.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:45 PM on April 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
And just like Bush Jr., in 15 years "everyone" will have known that Trump was a traitor and a liar.
posted by benzenedream at 4:07 PM on April 24, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by benzenedream at 4:07 PM on April 24, 2018 [12 favorites]
And just like Bush Jr., in 15 years "everyone" will have known that Trump was a traitor and a liar.
And then vote for someone even worse promising that tax cuts will fix everything, but only if we're EVEN MORE racist. Republican ideology can never fail, only be failed.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:31 PM on April 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
And then vote for someone even worse promising that tax cuts will fix everything, but only if we're EVEN MORE racist. Republican ideology can never fail, only be failed.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:31 PM on April 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
At this point it seems likely that the source of the rumors/allegations against the nominee is Admiral Jackson's erstwhile nemesis in the White House medical office, Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman.
"Hello, Kuhlman."
posted by notyou at 4:34 PM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
"Hello, Kuhlman."
posted by notyou at 4:34 PM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
Not looking forward to centrist Twitter's rehabilitation of donald trump amidst the horrors of the scandal-ridden Kid Rock administration.
posted by Atom Eyes at 4:35 PM on April 24, 2018 [47 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 4:35 PM on April 24, 2018 [47 favorites]
chris24: In his favor, only one person has gotten a vote for Cabinet and been voted down in the last 60 years. Sen. John Tower for Secretary of Defense.
I had no idea it was that consistent. Going by general conversation, Pompeo's confirmation is up in the air — but apparently his not being confirmed would very unprecedented (unless there are aspects of the definition of "cabinet member" that I'm missing).
Now I'm both angrier at the Senate in general for all the rubber-stamping, and very slightly more forgiving of individual confirmations. Also, how in the world did Obama's nominees not break that record? Why would cabinet nominations, rather than judicial seats or whatever, be the one line even Republicans wouldn't cross?
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:38 PM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
I had no idea it was that consistent. Going by general conversation, Pompeo's confirmation is up in the air — but apparently his not being confirmed would very unprecedented (unless there are aspects of the definition of "cabinet member" that I'm missing).
Now I'm both angrier at the Senate in general for all the rubber-stamping, and very slightly more forgiving of individual confirmations. Also, how in the world did Obama's nominees not break that record? Why would cabinet nominations, rather than judicial seats or whatever, be the one line even Republicans wouldn't cross?
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:38 PM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
The fun thing about The Road to Serfdom is the weird mix of what it supports and opposes. It's vehemently against socialism, by which it means governmental control of the economy. It also explicitly supports the government providing a minimum income to everyone and explicitly supports the government giving everyone a basket of insurances.
Hayek also argued against the ability of a single or a few people to be able manage an economy. Yet currently 50% of the world's wealth is held by a few men and some of Hayek's biggest fans feel that they don't have enough.
Basically conservatives take the parts of a philosophy/argument that suits them and ignore the rest.
posted by srboisvert at 4:40 PM on April 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
Hayek also argued against the ability of a single or a few people to be able manage an economy. Yet currently 50% of the world's wealth is held by a few men and some of Hayek's biggest fans feel that they don't have enough.
Basically conservatives take the parts of a philosophy/argument that suits them and ignore the rest.
posted by srboisvert at 4:40 PM on April 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
cafeteria capitalism
posted by Atom Eyes at 4:42 PM on April 24, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 4:42 PM on April 24, 2018 [10 favorites]
And 45 wants to pardon Jack Johnson
Is it a coincidence that when they seek to pardon a black person the one they come up with is dead? Or is it that old racist joke about the only good black person?
posted by srboisvert at 4:47 PM on April 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
Is it a coincidence that when they seek to pardon a black person the one they come up with is dead? Or is it that old racist joke about the only good black person?
posted by srboisvert at 4:47 PM on April 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
Many of Obama’s nominees were simply never brought up for a vote.
posted by rockindata at 4:53 PM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by rockindata at 4:53 PM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
Is it a coincidence that when they seek to pardon a black person the one they come up with is dead?
Two questions: Does Trump know who Jack Johnson is, including the color of his skin, and does Trump know that Johnson has been dead for 70+ years?
posted by nathan_teske at 4:53 PM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
Two questions: Does Trump know who Jack Johnson is, including the color of his skin, and does Trump know that Johnson has been dead for 70+ years?
posted by nathan_teske at 4:53 PM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
Mod note: Once again, folks, if there's not substantive stuff to talk about, please don't banter in this thread. The engines can't handle it!
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 5:05 PM on April 24, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 5:05 PM on April 24, 2018 [13 favorites]
My hunch is that the Jack Johnson thing is meant to undercut the current movement against sexual assault and harassment by calling attention to a time when laws ostensibly meant to protect women were actually used to persecute an innocent man. Johnson was prosecuted under the Mann Act, which made it illegal to take a woman across state lines for illicit purposes. The law was supposed to prevent sex trafficking, but the woman Johnson was traveling with was his girlfriend, who would later become his wife. She was also white, and it's hard to convey how incendiary it was for a black man to date and marry a white woman in 1912. So Jack Johnson supports the idea that Me Too is really all a witch-hunt designed to take down men who aren't doing anything wrong.
It's really gross for Trump to invoke this history, given his penchant for playing on exactly the same racialized fear of black masculinity, but there's a lot that's gross about Trump. And there's no way he came up with this on his own.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 5:20 PM on April 24, 2018 [19 favorites]
It's really gross for Trump to invoke this history, given his penchant for playing on exactly the same racialized fear of black masculinity, but there's a lot that's gross about Trump. And there's no way he came up with this on his own.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 5:20 PM on April 24, 2018 [19 favorites]
chris24: "In his favor, only one person has gotten a vote for Cabinet and been voted down in the last 60 years. Sen. John Tower for Secretary of Defense. For rumors of being a drunk."
I think Lewis Strauss as Secretary of Commerce in 1959, too?
InTheYear2017: "Also, how in the world did Obama's nominees not break that record? Why would cabinet nominations, rather than judicial seats or whatever, be the one line even Republicans wouldn't cross?"
Nominees have gotten withdrawn. You might remember Tom Daschle with Obama or Bernard Kerik with W. And there are often names being floated that get torpedoed prior to a formal nomination.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:40 PM on April 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
I think Lewis Strauss as Secretary of Commerce in 1959, too?
InTheYear2017: "Also, how in the world did Obama's nominees not break that record? Why would cabinet nominations, rather than judicial seats or whatever, be the one line even Republicans wouldn't cross?"
Nominees have gotten withdrawn. You might remember Tom Daschle with Obama or Bernard Kerik with W. And there are often names being floated that get torpedoed prior to a formal nomination.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:40 PM on April 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
Hey, just as a note - I normally give the impact of outcome on special election results. Since we have many New York specials tonight, I'll just do it at the end of the night.
FYI, the Assembly is in Democratic hands regardless. The Senate will now definitively stay GOP-controlled, since turncoat Dem rep Simcha Felder has said he will continue to caucus with the GOP regardless of the results tonight.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:45 PM on April 24, 2018 [13 favorites]
FYI, the Assembly is in Democratic hands regardless. The Senate will now definitively stay GOP-controlled, since turncoat Dem rep Simcha Felder has said he will continue to caucus with the GOP regardless of the results tonight.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:45 PM on April 24, 2018 [13 favorites]
@arbitraryandcapricious:
Johnson was prosecuted under the Mann Act, which made it illegal to take a woman across state lines for illicit purposes. The law was supposed to prevent sex trafficking, but the woman Johnson was traveling with was his girlfriend, who would later become his wife. She was also white, and it's hard to convey how incendiary it was for a black man to date and marry a white woman in 1912. So Jack Johnson supports the idea that Me Too is really all a witch-hunt designed to take down men who aren't doing anything wrong.
It is entirely possible that Trump overheard someone say, "Not even Obama would pardon him," and made the decision on the spot. Per Wikipedia, at least one bush was requested to pardon him, as well. (I am curious if saysthis was shocked about the pardon because they think Jack Johnson was bad or because he was black.")
Semi-related, Galveston does have a statue of Jack Johnson. You will never guess where it is and you will never guess the majority of people who will never see it. /s
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 5:47 PM on April 24, 2018
Johnson was prosecuted under the Mann Act, which made it illegal to take a woman across state lines for illicit purposes. The law was supposed to prevent sex trafficking, but the woman Johnson was traveling with was his girlfriend, who would later become his wife. She was also white, and it's hard to convey how incendiary it was for a black man to date and marry a white woman in 1912. So Jack Johnson supports the idea that Me Too is really all a witch-hunt designed to take down men who aren't doing anything wrong.
It is entirely possible that Trump overheard someone say, "Not even Obama would pardon him," and made the decision on the spot. Per Wikipedia, at least one bush was requested to pardon him, as well. (I am curious if saysthis was shocked about the pardon because they think Jack Johnson was bad or because he was black.")
Semi-related, Galveston does have a statue of Jack Johnson. You will never guess where it is and you will never guess the majority of people who will never see it. /s
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 5:47 PM on April 24, 2018
My god. NYT, (yes, it's Glenn Thrush, sorry, I don't like this any more than anyone else), Mulvaney’s Advice to Bankers: Up Campaign Donations to Diminish Consumer Watchdog
He wants banks to make more campaign contributions to lobby Congress to diminish the power of his agency. He's also screwing up the agency in various ways, such as insisting everyone call it by a stupider name:
Mick Mulvaney, the interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, told banking industry executives and lobbyists on Tuesday that they should increase their campaign donations to influence lawmakers, revealing that he would meet only with lobbyists who contributed to his campaign when he served in the House.The extent to which we just don't even pretend anymore is still astonishing.
“We had a hierarchy in my office in Congress,” Mr. Mulvaney, a former Republican lawmaker from South Carolina, told 1,300 bankers and lobbyists at an American Bankers Association conference in Washington. “If you’re a lobbyist who never gave us money, I didn’t talk to you. If you’re a lobbyist who gave us money, I might talk to you.”
He wants banks to make more campaign contributions to lobby Congress to diminish the power of his agency. He's also screwing up the agency in various ways, such as insisting everyone call it by a stupider name:
Such moves include shutting off public access to the bureau’s online database of consumer complaints, which the agency had used to help guide its investigations and enforcement actions.posted by zachlipton at 5:50 PM on April 24, 2018 [76 favorites]
“I don’t see anything in here that says I have to run a Yelp for financial services sponsored by the federal government,” he said, suggesting the posting of suspected misdeeds by lenders was comparable to bad reviews on the popular online review site.
Mr. Mulvaney also said he would begin calling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by its official statutory name, the more obscure Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. Administration officials said the rebranding was an attempt to diminish the agency’s public profile.
Mr. Mulvaney’s political appointees at the agency have asked The Associated Press, which sets the style standard for many publications and broadcasters, to change how it refers to the bureau.
“I’m trying to get in the habit of now saying the ‘B.C.F.P.’ It’s really, really hard to do that when you’ve said the C.F.P.B. for so long,” Mr. Mulvaney told the bankers.
Future of the civil service watch: Justices worry about politicizing administrative law judges
Transcript of Lucia v. Securities and Exchange Commission [SCOTUS blog]
The Court seems to want to step around it, but ruling ALJ appointments unconstitutional would cause unimaginable chaos with Social Security Disability adjudication, by far the largest employer of ALJs in the federal government and currently dealing with continuing unprecedented backlogs.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:56 PM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
Transcript of Lucia v. Securities and Exchange Commission [SCOTUS blog]
The Court seems to want to step around it, but ruling ALJ appointments unconstitutional would cause unimaginable chaos with Social Security Disability adjudication, by far the largest employer of ALJs in the federal government and currently dealing with continuing unprecedented backlogs.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:56 PM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
I think Lewis Strauss as Secretary of Commerce in 1959, too?
Yes, I assume that's the one Kevin Kruse refers to as 30 years before Tower in his tweet. Tower was 29 years ago, not 30, so should be 59 years. That's what I get for trusting a historian to do math.
posted by chris24 at 5:57 PM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yes, I assume that's the one Kevin Kruse refers to as 30 years before Tower in his tweet. Tower was 29 years ago, not 30, so should be 59 years. That's what I get for trusting a historian to do math.
posted by chris24 at 5:57 PM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
ELECTION RESULT
Dem HOLD in New York Assembly 39, where Ari Espinal ran unopposed.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:08 PM on April 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
Dem HOLD in New York Assembly 39, where Ari Espinal ran unopposed.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:08 PM on April 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
It was sounding to me like Jackson was being accused of shoveling out, like, benzos and amphetamines (downers and uppers) but from this WaPo story it looks like a couple of colleagues think he overprescribed Ambien and Provigil. And, hey, overprescription is bad. But I'm not even sure I believe Provigil should be prescription in the first place.
I think Jackson is wholly unqualified for VA secretary (and if some of the other allegations are true he's also unqualified to be physician to the President) but to be perfectly honest I would be shocked if senior people at the WH weren't taking something like Provigil. So the pill stuff I'm underwhelmed by so far.
posted by Justinian at 6:15 PM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
I think Jackson is wholly unqualified for VA secretary (and if some of the other allegations are true he's also unqualified to be physician to the President) but to be perfectly honest I would be shocked if senior people at the WH weren't taking something like Provigil. So the pill stuff I'm underwhelmed by so far.
posted by Justinian at 6:15 PM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
Trump's pick for US ambassador to Australia to be sent to South Korea
This is a bit embarrassing for Australia, given that our government gives itself big ups for being such a loyal ally of the USA. Malcolm Turnbull, our PM, gave the then-incoming ambassador a fulsome welcome when his appointment was originally announced. Good on ya Malcolm, well done.
Just a reminder that this is not normal.
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:15 PM on April 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
This is a bit embarrassing for Australia, given that our government gives itself big ups for being such a loyal ally of the USA. Malcolm Turnbull, our PM, gave the then-incoming ambassador a fulsome welcome when his appointment was originally announced. Good on ya Malcolm, well done.
Just a reminder that this is not normal.
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:15 PM on April 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
I'm additionally concerned that if any of the accusations against Jackson turn out to be overblown it will be used as an excuse to push him through despite being utterly unqualified.
posted by Justinian at 6:16 PM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 6:16 PM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
Pruitt has also banned scientists who received EPA-grants for their research from serving on EPA scientific advisory panels, while allowing industry-funded scientists.
posted by zachlipton at 1:27 PM on April 24 [23 favorites +] [!]
My first reaction was to assume bad faith, but my heart sank further the longer I thought about this. A plausible argument could be made that Pruitt made this rule in good faith.
The right has been shoveling this bullshit that government funded scientists are biased because they are funded by the government, an evil institution that needs to be dismantled, but industry scientists are free of that bias and so can give untainted analysis. I've seen this argument over and over again about climate scientists evilly finding evidence of global warming just so they can keep the millions in grants that fund there huge university salaries, ranging upward toward six-digits in some cases.
Obviously this thread of argument was originally disingenuous, but they've been pushing it so long that dimmer folk like Pruitt may actually believe it and so he may truly believe he's protecting the agency. It just might be the up-is-down/black-is-white world he inhabits fully.
posted by Mental Wimp at 6:27 PM on April 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 1:27 PM on April 24 [23 favorites +] [!]
My first reaction was to assume bad faith, but my heart sank further the longer I thought about this. A plausible argument could be made that Pruitt made this rule in good faith.
The right has been shoveling this bullshit that government funded scientists are biased because they are funded by the government, an evil institution that needs to be dismantled, but industry scientists are free of that bias and so can give untainted analysis. I've seen this argument over and over again about climate scientists evilly finding evidence of global warming just so they can keep the millions in grants that fund there huge university salaries, ranging upward toward six-digits in some cases.
Obviously this thread of argument was originally disingenuous, but they've been pushing it so long that dimmer folk like Pruitt may actually believe it and so he may truly believe he's protecting the agency. It just might be the up-is-down/black-is-white world he inhabits fully.
posted by Mental Wimp at 6:27 PM on April 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
And the coup de grace.
VA nominee drunkenly banged on female employee's door during overseas trip, sources say
VA nominee drunkenly banged on female employee's door during overseas trip, sources say
During an overseas trip in 2015, Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, the White House physician, was intoxicated and banged on the hotel room door of a female employee, according to four sources familiar with the allegation.posted by chris24 at 6:33 PM on April 24, 2018 [38 favorites]
The incident became so noisy, one source familiar with the allegation told CNN, that the Secret Service stopped him out of concern that he would wake then-President Barack Obama.
Two sources who previously worked in the White House Medical Unit described the same incident, with one former staffer telling CNN that it was "definitely inappropriate, in the middle of the night," and that it made the woman uncomfortable.
At the time, the incident was reported up the chain of command, and it is one of multiple drunken episodes involving Jackson on overseas trips, according to a source familiar.
You all are way overthinking the Jack Johnson thing. Sylvester Stallone told Trump to do it and made a quick, glib pitch. End of story. You think he’s going to research it or something? Riiiiggghht.
posted by msalt at 6:35 PM on April 24, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by msalt at 6:35 PM on April 24, 2018 [21 favorites]
Obviously this thread of argument was originally disingenuous, but they've been pushing it so long that dimmer folk like Pruitt may actually believe it and so he may truly believe he's protecting the agency.
I don't believe this for a moment. Scott Pruitt hates the EPA and has spent his career trying to destroy it. He has no interest in protecting the agency. This is exactly what it looks like: a transparent attempt to subvert a regulatory body into another tool for industry fat cats to further line their pockets.
posted by biogeo at 6:35 PM on April 24, 2018 [21 favorites]
I don't believe this for a moment. Scott Pruitt hates the EPA and has spent his career trying to destroy it. He has no interest in protecting the agency. This is exactly what it looks like: a transparent attempt to subvert a regulatory body into another tool for industry fat cats to further line their pockets.
posted by biogeo at 6:35 PM on April 24, 2018 [21 favorites]
Dr. Rear Adm. Jackson is sounding more and more like Trump's kind of guy.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:38 PM on April 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:38 PM on April 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
Breaking from NYT: U.S. Must Resume DACA and Accept New Applications, Federal Judge Rules
posted by un petit cadeau at 6:38 PM on April 24, 2018 [78 favorites]
posted by un petit cadeau at 6:38 PM on April 24, 2018 [78 favorites]
NY update - Dems performing as expected, just holding off to report stuff until final numbers are posted.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:51 PM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 6:51 PM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
Guys, guys; Disgraced Attorney to Predisent Donald J. Trump, Michael Cohen is still alive and sometimes can't sleep because he's worried about his legal bills ("Cohen Watch
“HE WANTS TO FIGHT THIS”: MICHAEL COHEN, AMID BEWILDERING STORMY CHAOS, IS STILL HOLDING OUT HOPE FOR SURVIVAL", Emily Jane Fox, VanityFair)
I know, it sounds really awful, listen,
. . . nearly two weeks after a dozen federal agents knocked on Cohen’s hotel-room door at the Regency, on Park Avenue, where he and his family have been living after a water leak last year in their apartment.
A water leak last year? I mean can you imagine the mildew situation there by now? Ugh.
“Hey, man,” a sanitation worker called out to Michael Cohen on Sunday, as Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and his wife walked north on the Upper East Side, passing by the annual Greek Independence Day Parade. “Hang in there, man. We’re with you.”
I went on interest in the story and left with a profound wonder at wtf is up with VanityFair. Truly, The Hokey Pokey of journalism.?
posted by petebest at 6:59 PM on April 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
“HE WANTS TO FIGHT THIS”: MICHAEL COHEN, AMID BEWILDERING STORMY CHAOS, IS STILL HOLDING OUT HOPE FOR SURVIVAL", Emily Jane Fox, VanityFair)
I know, it sounds really awful, listen,
. . . nearly two weeks after a dozen federal agents knocked on Cohen’s hotel-room door at the Regency, on Park Avenue, where he and his family have been living after a water leak last year in their apartment.
A water leak last year? I mean can you imagine the mildew situation there by now? Ugh.
“Hey, man,” a sanitation worker called out to Michael Cohen on Sunday, as Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and his wife walked north on the Upper East Side, passing by the annual Greek Independence Day Parade. “Hang in there, man. We’re with you.”
I went on interest in the story and left with a profound wonder at wtf is up with VanityFair. Truly, The Hokey Pokey of journalism.?
posted by petebest at 6:59 PM on April 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
ELECTION RESULT
Dem GAIN in New York Assembly 10:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 11 points.
vs 2016 AD-10 result margin: Dem improvement of about 36 points.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:09 PM on April 24, 2018 [37 favorites]
Dem GAIN in New York Assembly 10:
Stern [D] 59.1%Margin changes compared to previous races:
Smitelli [R] 40.8%
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 11 points.
vs 2016 AD-10 result margin: Dem improvement of about 36 points.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:09 PM on April 24, 2018 [37 favorites]
ELECTION RESULT
GOP HOLD in New York Assembly 5:
Smith [R] 63.1%
Slinkosky [D] 36.8%
Margin changes compared to previous races:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem underperformance of about 2 points.
vs 2016 AD-05 result margin: Dem improvement of about 2 points.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:25 PM on April 24, 2018 [15 favorites]
GOP HOLD in New York Assembly 5:
Smith [R] 63.1%
Slinkosky [D] 36.8%
Margin changes compared to previous races:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem underperformance of about 2 points.
vs 2016 AD-05 result margin: Dem improvement of about 2 points.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:25 PM on April 24, 2018 [15 favorites]
The Senate will now definitively stay GOP-controlled, since turncoat Dem rep Simcha Felder has said he will continue to caucus with the GOP regardless of the results tonight.
Does this doom AG Spidermans push for changing the NY double jeopardy laws to counter potential Trump pardons?
posted by Justinian at 7:37 PM on April 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
Does this doom AG Spidermans push for changing the NY double jeopardy laws to counter potential Trump pardons?
posted by Justinian at 7:37 PM on April 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
AG Spidermans
Keeping this in case it gets edited
posted by saturday_morning at 7:45 PM on April 24, 2018 [40 favorites]
Keeping this in case it gets edited
posted by saturday_morning at 7:45 PM on April 24, 2018 [40 favorites]
You presume it was an error!
posted by Justinian at 7:46 PM on April 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 7:46 PM on April 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
Some of these Assembly races are super tight, SOME counties could count a little quicker.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:48 PM on April 24, 2018
posted by Chrysostom at 7:48 PM on April 24, 2018
A round up of Illinois stories on the Waffle House shooter, Why was Travis Reinking allowed to keep his guns?
The blog is THE Illinois politics blog, and hella more gun-rights-friendly than I am, so it's notable to me how strongly it comes out against Reinking having guns. With the amount of attention his father giving him back his guns is getting, I think it will be tough for the Tazewell state's attorney NOT to charge the father (if the fact pattern fits the crime) -- the SA is quite conservative, but I think he's competent, and I think he's media aware.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:54 PM on April 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
The blog is THE Illinois politics blog, and hella more gun-rights-friendly than I am, so it's notable to me how strongly it comes out against Reinking having guns. With the amount of attention his father giving him back his guns is getting, I think it will be tough for the Tazewell state's attorney NOT to charge the father (if the fact pattern fits the crime) -- the SA is quite conservative, but I think he's competent, and I think he's media aware.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:54 PM on April 24, 2018 [11 favorites]
GOP HOLD in New York Assembly 17:
Mikulin [R] 63.3%
Malin [D] 35.9%
Margin changes compared to previous races:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem underperformance of about 9 points.
vs 2016 AD-17 result margin: Dem underperformance of about 2 points.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:57 PM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
Mikulin [R] 63.3%
Malin [D] 35.9%
Margin changes compared to previous races:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem underperformance of about 9 points.
vs 2016 AD-17 result margin: Dem underperformance of about 2 points.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:57 PM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
GOP GAIN* in New York Assembly 142:
Bohen [R] 52.3%
Burke [D] 47.5%
Margin changes compared to previous races:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 1 point.
vs 2016 AD-142 result margin: N/A - race was uncontested D since at least 2012
=> Important note: GOP candidate Bohen is actually a registered Democrat and has pledged to caucus with Assembly Dems.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:02 PM on April 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
Bohen [R] 52.3%
Burke [D] 47.5%
Margin changes compared to previous races:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 1 point.
vs 2016 AD-142 result margin: N/A - race was uncontested D since at least 2012
=> Important note: GOP candidate Bohen is actually a registered Democrat and has pledged to caucus with Assembly Dems.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:02 PM on April 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
What is going on in NY, with Democrats caucusing with Republicans, and "Republicans" who are really Democrats? Can't we all just call ourselves what we are?
posted by Weeping_angel at 8:05 PM on April 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by Weeping_angel at 8:05 PM on April 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
The early ballot results in AZ-08 is Lesko (R) + 5.8! We're finally getting results in.
posted by Justinian at 8:09 PM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Justinian at 8:09 PM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
What is going on in NY, with Democrats caucusing with Republicans, and "Republicans" who are really Democrats? Can't we all just call ourselves what we are?
posted by Weeping_angel at 12:05 PM on April 25 [1 favorite +] [!]
Exactly, is there an explainer somewhere? I'm going a little crazy trying to figure out what this all means for NY. Most states where weirdness happens seem to throw an (I) in front of people who don't do party-line votes. WYD NY IDK FFS.
posted by saysthis at 8:11 PM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Weeping_angel at 12:05 PM on April 25 [1 favorite +] [!]
Exactly, is there an explainer somewhere? I'm going a little crazy trying to figure out what this all means for NY. Most states where weirdness happens seem to throw an (I) in front of people who don't do party-line votes. WYD NY IDK FFS.
posted by saysthis at 8:11 PM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
For AZ-08, the estimate is that the early vote is around 75-80% of the total vote. However, there are about 20k early ballots delivered today that won't be counted until tomorrow morning. It's a hell of a lot closer than expected.
Or to put it another way, @JMilesColeman: IOW, if a Republican is only winning #AZ08 by 5%, they're on track to lose Maricopa County by 13%, and the state by about the same
posted by zachlipton at 8:13 PM on April 24, 2018 [24 favorites]
Or to put it another way, @JMilesColeman: IOW, if a Republican is only winning #AZ08 by 5%, they're on track to lose Maricopa County by 13%, and the state by about the same
posted by zachlipton at 8:13 PM on April 24, 2018 [24 favorites]
Early vote was some 3/4 of the total in AZ-08, so that's probably not surmountable for Tipirneni. At the same time, that's a terrible result for the GOP/Lesko, given the partisan makeup of the district.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:13 PM on April 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 8:13 PM on April 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
Note that, based on the registration of the early voters, this means that there was likely substantial crossover to Tipirneni by GOP-registered voters. We saw similar in the Conor Lamb win, but there was "ancestral Dem" there, so this is more of a surprise.
If this holds, this is real bad news for the AZ GOP and more widely.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:15 PM on April 24, 2018 [22 favorites]
If this holds, this is real bad news for the AZ GOP and more widely.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:15 PM on April 24, 2018 [22 favorites]
Some perspective on how shocking a close result is in AZ08. (This tweet is from this morning trying to rein in hopes of a D win.)
@JMilesColeman:
Some results for #AZ08 to keep in mind for tonight. 1) Trump carried it by 21% but ran under Romney. 2) In the #AZSen race, McCain carried by a larger 28%. 3) Joe Arpaio lost but still carried AZ-08 by 5%. 4) In the '18 primary, Rs combined for 66% of the votes. #AZPoll
posted by chris24 at 8:18 PM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
@JMilesColeman:
Some results for #AZ08 to keep in mind for tonight. 1) Trump carried it by 21% but ran under Romney. 2) In the #AZSen race, McCain carried by a larger 28%. 3) Joe Arpaio lost but still carried AZ-08 by 5%. 4) In the '18 primary, Rs combined for 66% of the votes. #AZPoll
posted by chris24 at 8:18 PM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
GOP HOLD in New York Assembly 102:
Tague [R] 45.9%
O'Connor [D] 44.3%
Margin changes compared to previous races:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 21 points.
vs 2012 AD-102 result margin: Dem improvement of about 30 points. (race was unopposed in 2014 & 2016)
posted by Chrysostom at 8:18 PM on April 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
Tague [R] 45.9%
O'Connor [D] 44.3%
Margin changes compared to previous races:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 21 points.
vs 2012 AD-102 result margin: Dem improvement of about 30 points. (race was unopposed in 2014 & 2016)
posted by Chrysostom at 8:18 PM on April 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
GOP HOLD in New York Assembly 107:
Ashby [R] 50.8%
Doran [D] 49.0%
Margin changes compared to previous races:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 2 points.
vs 2014 AD-107 result margin: Dem improvement of about 31 points. (race was unopposed in 2016)
posted by Chrysostom at 8:21 PM on April 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
Ashby [R] 50.8%
Doran [D] 49.0%
Margin changes compared to previous races:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 2 points.
vs 2014 AD-107 result margin: Dem improvement of about 31 points. (race was unopposed in 2016)
posted by Chrysostom at 8:21 PM on April 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
@CNN: Democratic Sen. Jon Tester says embattled Veterans Affairs nominee Ronny Jackson was known for handing out prescriptions "like candy," adding that "in the White House they call him the candy man"
Honestly, overseas trips are grueling, and while walking down the aisle of AF1 handing out pills may not be the finest image of the professional practice of medicine or the dispensing of controlled substances, the doctor giving out Ambien and Provigil to busy people on planes who need to go to sleep and wake up to get to work in a foreign country is a bad reason, assuming reasonable doses and such, to screw up his nomination. It sounds like there are plenty of good reasons (the drunken door banging thing, the whole not being remotely qualified for the job thing, etc...) why this nomination is problematic that I'm pretty irritated Tester is going for this one unless there's a more specific problem to be found here.
posted by zachlipton at 8:22 PM on April 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
Honestly, overseas trips are grueling, and while walking down the aisle of AF1 handing out pills may not be the finest image of the professional practice of medicine or the dispensing of controlled substances, the doctor giving out Ambien and Provigil to busy people on planes who need to go to sleep and wake up to get to work in a foreign country is a bad reason, assuming reasonable doses and such, to screw up his nomination. It sounds like there are plenty of good reasons (the drunken door banging thing, the whole not being remotely qualified for the job thing, etc...) why this nomination is problematic that I'm pretty irritated Tester is going for this one unless there's a more specific problem to be found here.
posted by zachlipton at 8:22 PM on April 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
The first NY flip Chrysostom posted? A Long Island seat that's been R for 40 years.
@JimmyVielkind:
With all precincts reporting, Steve Stern (D) has bested Janet Smitelli (R) for a Suffolk County #nyassembly seat. Has been in GOP hands since 1978.
posted by chris24 at 8:23 PM on April 24, 2018 [37 favorites]
@JimmyVielkind:
With all precincts reporting, Steve Stern (D) has bested Janet Smitelli (R) for a Suffolk County #nyassembly seat. Has been in GOP hands since 1978.
posted by chris24 at 8:23 PM on April 24, 2018 [37 favorites]
Keep in mind that Maricopa County where AZ-08 sits is a large percentage of the total population Arizona. And that there is a governor's race, and at least one Senate race coming up.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:29 PM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 8:29 PM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
Wasserman: In a special with relatively unremarkable candidates in an R+13 seat, Dems appear to have hit at least 47%. Only 92 of the House GOP's 240 seats have a @CookPolitical PVI score more Republican than #AZ08.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:33 PM on April 24, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 8:33 PM on April 24, 2018 [14 favorites]
From Nate Cohn: It probably won't get covered this way, but this is arguably the worst special congressional election result yet for the GOP
(The district is essentially tailor made for Republicans and there are no excuses like the GOPer being a pedophile or a literal demon from hell or whatever).
posted by Justinian at 8:34 PM on April 24, 2018 [35 favorites]
(The district is essentially tailor made for Republicans and there are no excuses like the GOPer being a pedophile or a literal demon from hell or whatever).
posted by Justinian at 8:34 PM on April 24, 2018 [35 favorites]
Harry Enten (538)
There's just no excuse for the GOP here. Early/mail voting is so easy to do in AZ and GOP voted plenty here. Lesko raised/spent plenty. She wasn't scandal plagued. I mean the special election signal is obvious. It's actually *worse* for the GOP than 2006.
Dave Wasserman (Cook):
The average Dem overperformance vs. Cook PVI in the 7 special elections so far: 9%. Tipirneni currently overperforming by 10%, and could be more when E-Day ballots are counted. #AZ08
posted by chris24 at 8:56 PM on April 24, 2018 [9 favorites]
There's just no excuse for the GOP here. Early/mail voting is so easy to do in AZ and GOP voted plenty here. Lesko raised/spent plenty. She wasn't scandal plagued. I mean the special election signal is obvious. It's actually *worse* for the GOP than 2006.
Dave Wasserman (Cook):
The average Dem overperformance vs. Cook PVI in the 7 special elections so far: 9%. Tipirneni currently overperforming by 10%, and could be more when E-Day ballots are counted. #AZ08
posted by chris24 at 8:56 PM on April 24, 2018 [9 favorites]
Dem HOLD in New York Assembly 80:
Fernandez [D] 81.2%
Defrancis [R] 18.0%
Margin changes compared to previous races:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem underperformance of about 3 points.
vs 2016 AD-80 result margin: Dem underperformance of about 10 points.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:03 PM on April 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
Fernandez [D] 81.2%
Defrancis [R] 18.0%
Margin changes compared to previous races:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem underperformance of about 3 points.
vs 2016 AD-80 result margin: Dem underperformance of about 10 points.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:03 PM on April 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
Still waiting on a couple of scattered precincts in NY for margin comparisons, but if you're curious of outcomes:
AD-74: Dem HOLD
SD-32: Dem HOLD
SD-37: Dem HOLD
posted by Chrysostom at 9:26 PM on April 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
AD-74: Dem HOLD
SD-32: Dem HOLD
SD-37: Dem HOLD
posted by Chrysostom at 9:26 PM on April 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
Tirperneni got 55% of the first batch of same day votes counted but she would need 63% of all same day votes to prevail. Still, that means Lesko's margin of victory will be even sadder than the early vote margin.
posted by Justinian at 9:44 PM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 9:44 PM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
About half of the remaining precincts just came in (which may not be half of the remaining vote since small precincts might count faster) and Tirperneni shaved off a couple more tenths of a percent. The final result looks like it may come in under 5% which would be great!
Seems unlikely anything crazy will happen with the last couple thousand votes so that's a wrap. See you next election; same bat time same bat channel.
posted by Justinian at 10:07 PM on April 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
Seems unlikely anything crazy will happen with the last couple thousand votes so that's a wrap. See you next election; same bat time same bat channel.
posted by Justinian at 10:07 PM on April 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
That's half of the remaining election day votes, I believe? There's still early votes that got delivered Tuesday, those will be counted sometime Wednesday.
But basically, the cake is baked, it's just down to margin.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:08 PM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
But basically, the cake is baked, it's just down to margin.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:08 PM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
Yeah, it was half the remaining precincts reporting their election day results which came in. Basically the precincts reported jumped from 13% to 60% and Tirperneni closed by 0.2%. So yeah, baked. I do think it might crack the under-5% margin mark.
posted by Justinian at 10:14 PM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 10:14 PM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
Remember in AZ-08 the breakdown of the early vote, and how much more of the percentage of early votes were GOP?
The GOP winning this race by six points is going to have the national party and Gov. Ducey shitting twinkies. A lot of votes that were normally automatic republican votes went to Tiperneni. The environment is Arizona is pretty feisty right now, as well. The West Virginia teacher strikes set off a powder keg, and beginning Thursday, Arizona teachers are walking off the job. Ducey pushes through an education proposition in 2015, prop 123, that raided the state trust land fund to increase funding for schools. Educators reluctantly went along with it and agreed to drop their suit against the state concerning funding shortages, with a general vibe of “we have to take what we can get.” Ducey sold them a bill of goods and they got extremely small raises, and there’s little to show for 123. Now Ducey is saying he’s going to raise teacher salaries by 20% by 2020. A 20% raise is one of the teachers’ demands. However, he can’t show a coherent plan to pay for it. The teachers are also demanding that ALL school workers get a raise as well, and they are demanding no new tax cuts until education funding is restored to 2008 levels. They have other demands on funding and class sizes as well. Ducey is basically telling them, “Hey, trust me” and their response is “oh, fuck no. You had your chance and you stiffed us. Time to put up.” Support among the public is very strong. This has the potential to completely upend the statewide elections this year and even an outside chance at the Dems taking a chamber of the legislature - they came very close a few years ago to getting the Senate. Now a deep red district ends up within 5-6 points with a political newcomer.
Buckle up, folks. Arizona is ready to rumble.
posted by azpenguin at 10:15 PM on April 24, 2018 [65 favorites]
The GOP winning this race by six points is going to have the national party and Gov. Ducey shitting twinkies. A lot of votes that were normally automatic republican votes went to Tiperneni. The environment is Arizona is pretty feisty right now, as well. The West Virginia teacher strikes set off a powder keg, and beginning Thursday, Arizona teachers are walking off the job. Ducey pushes through an education proposition in 2015, prop 123, that raided the state trust land fund to increase funding for schools. Educators reluctantly went along with it and agreed to drop their suit against the state concerning funding shortages, with a general vibe of “we have to take what we can get.” Ducey sold them a bill of goods and they got extremely small raises, and there’s little to show for 123. Now Ducey is saying he’s going to raise teacher salaries by 20% by 2020. A 20% raise is one of the teachers’ demands. However, he can’t show a coherent plan to pay for it. The teachers are also demanding that ALL school workers get a raise as well, and they are demanding no new tax cuts until education funding is restored to 2008 levels. They have other demands on funding and class sizes as well. Ducey is basically telling them, “Hey, trust me” and their response is “oh, fuck no. You had your chance and you stiffed us. Time to put up.” Support among the public is very strong. This has the potential to completely upend the statewide elections this year and even an outside chance at the Dems taking a chamber of the legislature - they came very close a few years ago to getting the Senate. Now a deep red district ends up within 5-6 points with a political newcomer.
Buckle up, folks. Arizona is ready to rumble.
posted by azpenguin at 10:15 PM on April 24, 2018 [65 favorites]
I've been kind of shaking with rage over this, so I thought I'd share it here (I already did send a complaint email, yes). NYT, Mark Landler, A National Security Aide’s Departing Wish: Cooking for the State Dinner
It's a puff piece about Michael Anton, departing NSC aide who got to fulfill his wish of putting on his chef’s whites to help prep shrimp canapés for the state dinner. The article mentions his essay "The Flight 93 Election," but doesn't dive into its contents, instead casting him as a "sensation" with praise from his colleagues. Reading it, you would never know that Anton is a notorious Islamophobe. The article does not mention Anton's belief that "Islam and the modern West are incompatible," that diversity is "a source of weakness, tension and disunion," that the children of immigrants are "ringers to form a permanent electoral majority," or his refusal to comment on white nationalism, among other examples of his beliefs. Instead of exploring what it means for a country to have such a person working for the NSC, Landler glosses all over all that to highlight his ability to mince garlic.
Another reporter summed up the situation beautifully, discussing the need for more diversity among foreign policy and political reporters: "forgetting to explore how the person you’re profiling may have certain beliefs that are terrifying to certain groups of people is … quite the oversight." Anton isn't a nice guy in chef's whites; he's someone who actively rejects the existence of millions of Americans, some of whom just had to read that article. It's disgusting.
posted by zachlipton at 10:27 PM on April 24, 2018 [91 favorites]
It's a puff piece about Michael Anton, departing NSC aide who got to fulfill his wish of putting on his chef’s whites to help prep shrimp canapés for the state dinner. The article mentions his essay "The Flight 93 Election," but doesn't dive into its contents, instead casting him as a "sensation" with praise from his colleagues. Reading it, you would never know that Anton is a notorious Islamophobe. The article does not mention Anton's belief that "Islam and the modern West are incompatible," that diversity is "a source of weakness, tension and disunion," that the children of immigrants are "ringers to form a permanent electoral majority," or his refusal to comment on white nationalism, among other examples of his beliefs. Instead of exploring what it means for a country to have such a person working for the NSC, Landler glosses all over all that to highlight his ability to mince garlic.
Another reporter summed up the situation beautifully, discussing the need for more diversity among foreign policy and political reporters: "forgetting to explore how the person you’re profiling may have certain beliefs that are terrifying to certain groups of people is … quite the oversight." Anton isn't a nice guy in chef's whites; he's someone who actively rejects the existence of millions of Americans, some of whom just had to read that article. It's disgusting.
posted by zachlipton at 10:27 PM on April 24, 2018 [91 favorites]
I also love the fact that the GOP had to do like 3 times the spending of the Democrat in a flaming red district to get that 5-point win. Every seat they do manage to hold in November? they are going to have to pour money into like piss from a boot.
posted by FelliniBlank at 10:30 PM on April 24, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 10:30 PM on April 24, 2018 [20 favorites]
Key question on Ronny Johnson: could a Democratic Senator subpoenA his prescription logs? I fear the committee chairman (Republican) can scotch that.
I see what you did there.
posted by scalefree at 12:02 AM on April 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
I see what you did there.
posted by scalefree at 12:02 AM on April 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
Democrats fear Grassley’s amendment to special counsel bill will let GOP tip off Trump about Mueller’s probe, Karoun Demirjian, WaPo
Democrats are warning that the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman’s proposed changes to a bill to protect special counsels from undue firing would give the GOP the ability to tip off President Trump about developments in Robert S. Mueller III’s probe of him — the latest flash point on the legislation’s rocky road to a committee vote, expected Thursday.posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 1:00 AM on April 25, 2018 [10 favorites]
Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) has been circulating a draft of his amendment, which he plans to offer Thursday as a stand-in for the special-counsel protection bill that Sens. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.) unveiled two weeks ago after months of negotiations.
Grassley characterized the amendment as an improvement to the legislation, which has raised constitutional separation-of-powers concerns because it potentially subjects the president’s decision to fire a special counsel to a review by a panel of three federal judges. The amendment adds reporting requirements to Congress that Grassley believes would equip lawmakers to act to protect a special counsel — potentially by even starting impeachment proceedings — if the courts strike down the constitutionally controversial parts of the legislation.
But Democrats see a potential Trojan horse in those reporting requirements, which require special counsels such as Mueller to inform the House and Senate Judiciary Committee leaders “if there is any change made to the specific nature or scope of the investigation of the Special Counsel,” within 30 days of making that change.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), the panel’s ranking Democrat, told reporters Tuesday that if the amendment is adopted as written in the draft, she would oppose the special counsel bill, her office confirmed. [...]
It is not clear whether the amendment will change before Grassley is expected to present it to the Judiciary Committee for its consideration. The authors of the special counsel bill are discussing the details of the proposed amendment with Grassley’s staff in the hope of working out a compromise.
The bill probably will need a strongly bipartisan endorsement from the Judiciary Committee if it is to stand a chance of being considered on the Senate floor; Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) last week told Fox News he would refuse to bring it to a vote.
[AZ election]
So I know the election already happened, but anyone have info about possible impact on turnout of this?
140,000 Maricopa County voters haven’t received registration cards, Rebekah L. Sanders, The Republic / azcentral.com [article updated 4/21/18]
So I know the election already happened, but anyone have info about possible impact on turnout of this?
140,000 Maricopa County voters haven’t received registration cards, Rebekah L. Sanders, The Republic / azcentral.com [article updated 4/21/18]
Roughly 140,000 Maricopa County voters have not received ID cards, potentially leaving eligible voters in Tuesday's special congressional election unaware that they can cast a ballot.posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 1:16 AM on April 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
County election officials said they haven't sent cards out since December, blaming a printing delay. [...]
The voter ID card backlog does not prevent any registered voter from participating.
Voter registrations are activated no matter when ID cards are sent out. And there are other ways for voters to provide identification on Election Day.
But some voters may not believe they are registered if they haven't received an official card[...]
About 60,000 cards have been sent. About 140,000 remain, Chief Deputy Recorder Keely Varvel said.
Local media here in New Zealand are reporting the visit to Washington by President Macron of France as a "bromance". Clearly Macron is attempting to influence President Trump with flattery and a great deal of sucker-uppery, especially in regard to the nuclear deal with Iran. Godspeed Macron on his epic journey. We wish him well. He will need all the luck he can get, as dealing with sociopaths like Trump never ends well for the sane and sensible. But god loves a trier so full marks to Macron fo taking one for the team.
posted by vac2003 at 1:28 AM on April 25, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by vac2003 at 1:28 AM on April 25, 2018 [13 favorites]
...while claiming as part of their inspiration (Hayek's) treatise that it's government regulation of unfettered capitalism that will lead to serfdom.
The Road to Serfdom is the To Serve Man of political science.
posted by acb at 3:11 AM on April 25, 2018 [19 favorites]
The Road to Serfdom is the To Serve Man of political science.
posted by acb at 3:11 AM on April 25, 2018 [19 favorites]
@NateSilver538:
Looks like turnout in AZ-8 will be about ~60% of presidential-year (2016) turnout. That's fairly high; a bit higher than in AZ-8 in 2014. Nationwide, midterms typically feature turnout of ~60-70% of presidential-year numbers. So this result comes under midterm-type conditions.
- @NateSilver538: Put another way, the theory that Democratic over-performance in these special elections is only a result of low turnout is BS. They're performing about equally well in high- and low-turnout specials.
---
Dave Wasserman (Cook):
There are 147 GOP-held House seats less Republican than #AZ08. It's time to start rethinking how many of those are truly safe in November.
posted by chris24 at 3:30 AM on April 25, 2018 [19 favorites]
Looks like turnout in AZ-8 will be about ~60% of presidential-year (2016) turnout. That's fairly high; a bit higher than in AZ-8 in 2014. Nationwide, midterms typically feature turnout of ~60-70% of presidential-year numbers. So this result comes under midterm-type conditions.
- @NateSilver538: Put another way, the theory that Democratic over-performance in these special elections is only a result of low turnout is BS. They're performing about equally well in high- and low-turnout specials.
---
Dave Wasserman (Cook):
There are 147 GOP-held House seats less Republican than #AZ08. It's time to start rethinking how many of those are truly safe in November.
posted by chris24 at 3:30 AM on April 25, 2018 [19 favorites]
Bingo
The founder of Palantir is extremely well connected. Here’s how his life might appear in the company’s model.
et
Social control is achieved through the use of weapons of mass deception. Global “social control” is possible for the first time in the history of the world. Social control capabilities are nested in global satellite imagery, swarms of civilian and military aerial drones, public camera surveillance systems in our “smarter cities,” commercial infrastructure, iPhone tracking protocols, fitness trackers and other wearable devices, the internet, artificial intelligence fleeced by private sector companies, DNA, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, credit reports, online personal health records, stealing or manipulating personal identities, nanobot technologies, and all the associated digital personal financial contrivances which exist today. Prime candidates who are capable of, or who could develop the capability to achieve, social control are: domestic governments, foreign governments, large companies, terrorist organizations and drug cartels.
posted by infini at 3:33 AM on April 25, 2018 [16 favorites]
The founder of Palantir is extremely well connected. Here’s how his life might appear in the company’s model.
et
Social control is achieved through the use of weapons of mass deception. Global “social control” is possible for the first time in the history of the world. Social control capabilities are nested in global satellite imagery, swarms of civilian and military aerial drones, public camera surveillance systems in our “smarter cities,” commercial infrastructure, iPhone tracking protocols, fitness trackers and other wearable devices, the internet, artificial intelligence fleeced by private sector companies, DNA, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, credit reports, online personal health records, stealing or manipulating personal identities, nanobot technologies, and all the associated digital personal financial contrivances which exist today. Prime candidates who are capable of, or who could develop the capability to achieve, social control are: domestic governments, foreign governments, large companies, terrorist organizations and drug cartels.
posted by infini at 3:33 AM on April 25, 2018 [16 favorites]
Here's a bit of a giggle: The Trump-Macron minibreak makes for some fantastique photographs, by Hannah Jane Parkinson/The Guardian
Actually, she is saying exactly what I thought when I saw the pictures. They are crazy. I wonder if Macron will survive this, politically?
posted by mumimor at 3:46 AM on April 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
Actually, she is saying exactly what I thought when I saw the pictures. They are crazy. I wonder if Macron will survive this, politically?
posted by mumimor at 3:46 AM on April 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
Sessions Declines to Recuse Himself From Probe Into Trump Lawyer
I'm honestly not sure if this is a bad thing. Wouldn't Trump just fire Sessions if he recused himself, and appoint someone worse?
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:55 AM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'm honestly not sure if this is a bad thing. Wouldn't Trump just fire Sessions if he recused himself, and appoint someone worse?
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:55 AM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Dave Wasserman (Cook)
To win the House, Dems need an average overperformance of 4% vs. @CookPolitical PVI. Here's their overperformance in the past 8 specials:
#KS04: 12%
#MTAL: 8%
#GA06: 6%
#SC05: 7%
#UT03: 6%
#ALSEN: 15%
#PA18: 11%
#AZ08: 11%
If you discard #ALSEN as a special case, Dems' House overperformances have been remarkably consistent: all in the 6%-12% range. What's the PVI of the next special in #OH12 on 8/7? R+7. A big problem for Rs.
posted by chris24 at 4:12 AM on April 25, 2018 [10 favorites]
To win the House, Dems need an average overperformance of 4% vs. @CookPolitical PVI. Here's their overperformance in the past 8 specials:
#KS04: 12%
#MTAL: 8%
#GA06: 6%
#SC05: 7%
#UT03: 6%
#ALSEN: 15%
#PA18: 11%
#AZ08: 11%
If you discard #ALSEN as a special case, Dems' House overperformances have been remarkably consistent: all in the 6%-12% range. What's the PVI of the next special in #OH12 on 8/7? R+7. A big problem for Rs.
posted by chris24 at 4:12 AM on April 25, 2018 [10 favorites]
Today's episode of things Republican Senate candidates say...
In a highly unusual move, a super PAC linked to Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky senator and Republican leader, began saturating the West Virginia airwaves last week with an ad attacking Mr. Blankenship for poisoning local drinking water from his former coal mines. The nearly $745,000 campaign of TV and digital ads is meant to boost the chances of two conventional Republicans in the race, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Representative Evan Jenkins. A Fox News poll conducted last week found a fluid race, with Mr. Blankenship trailing his rivals but about one in four voters undecided.posted by chris24 at 4:29 AM on April 25, 2018 [32 favorites]
On Monday, responding to the attack ads, Mr. Blankenship brought up Mr. McConnell’s marriage to Elaine Chao, the secretary of transportation, and questioned whether the majority leader faced a conflict of interest in foreign relations. Ms. Chao’s father is “a wealthy Chinaperson,” Mr. Blankenship said, speaking on a West Virginia radio show, adding, “And there’s a lot of connections to some of the brass, if you will, in China.”
“I read in books that people think he’s soft on China,” he said of Mr. McConnell.
Legal Marijuana Is Incredibly Popular With Marginal Voters
Full legalization and retroactive expungement should be a key part of every Democratic candidates platform, there’s no excuse.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:53 AM on April 25, 2018 [83 favorites]
Full legalization and retroactive expungement should be a key part of every Democratic candidates platform, there’s no excuse.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:53 AM on April 25, 2018 [83 favorites]
Ms. Chao’s father is “a wealthy Chinaperson,” Mr. Blankenship said
Is he... is he trying to avoid gendered language? Because things are so stupid that I could believe it.
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:00 AM on April 25, 2018 [34 favorites]
Is he... is he trying to avoid gendered language? Because things are so stupid that I could believe it.
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:00 AM on April 25, 2018 [34 favorites]
Hey, the empty promise was even emptier than thought.
WSJ: A large part of North Korea’s underground nuclear test facility is unusable due to the collapse of a cavity inside the mountain after the latest test-detonation occurred, according to Chinese seismologists involved in a soon-to-be-published study.posted by chris24 at 5:00 AM on April 25, 2018 [15 favorites]
The experts, led by researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China, warned that another blast in the same spot and with similar yield to the one on Sept. 3 could cause “environmental catastrophe.”
Another study, led by Chinese seismologists and published this month, also concluded that a secondary tremor shortly after the blast was caused by the cavity’s collapse, but made no judgment on whether the Punggye-ri test site could still be used.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced on Saturday that he was suspending nuclear and missile tests and closing the Punggye-ri facility, where all six of his country’s nuclear tests took place. His announcement was welcomed by the U.S., South Korea and China as a positive step in the run-up to an inter-Korean summit on Friday and a planned meeting between Mr. Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump by June.
U.S. officials and North Korea watchers, however, are debating how meaningful Mr. Kim’s moves are. Some see them as major concessions and others, arguing that Punggye-ri is unusable, call them empty gestures designed to gain leverage with Washington and Seoul while remaining determined to retain his nuclear weapons.
Is he... is he trying to avoid gendered language? Because things are so stupid that I could believe it.
Yeah, my thought is he was going to say Chinaman but figured that might be seen as sexist, but had no issue with the racism.
posted by chris24 at 5:02 AM on April 25, 2018 [26 favorites]
Yeah, my thought is he was going to say Chinaman but figured that might be seen as sexist, but had no issue with the racism.
posted by chris24 at 5:02 AM on April 25, 2018 [26 favorites]
Public Policy Polling
Our telephone exit poll in AZ-8 found that once again, health care was a big part of the reason for the Democratic over performance. 58% said it was a very important issue to their vote and they voted Tipirneni 62-37. Even with Lesko's narrow overall win, voters said they agreed more with Tipirneni on health care 45-43...and that grows to 57-27 with independents.
AZ-8 provides more evidence of the limited appetite for repealing the Affordable Care Act at this point. Even in heavily GOP district just 41% think best path forward is repeal, 54% say keep ACA and make fixes as necessary. By a 7 point spread voters said Debbie Lesko's support for the Republican health care agenda made them less likely to vote for her- 40% less likely, only 33% more likely.
Tipirneni won big with independents, and the numbers on health care with them are striking. Only 26% support ACA repeal, 69% say keep it and make necessary fixes. Less likely to vote for Lesko by 35 points because of her support for GOP health care agenda.
POLL DETAILS
posted by chris24 at 5:20 AM on April 25, 2018 [14 favorites]
Our telephone exit poll in AZ-8 found that once again, health care was a big part of the reason for the Democratic over performance. 58% said it was a very important issue to their vote and they voted Tipirneni 62-37. Even with Lesko's narrow overall win, voters said they agreed more with Tipirneni on health care 45-43...and that grows to 57-27 with independents.
AZ-8 provides more evidence of the limited appetite for repealing the Affordable Care Act at this point. Even in heavily GOP district just 41% think best path forward is repeal, 54% say keep ACA and make fixes as necessary. By a 7 point spread voters said Debbie Lesko's support for the Republican health care agenda made them less likely to vote for her- 40% less likely, only 33% more likely.
Tipirneni won big with independents, and the numbers on health care with them are striking. Only 26% support ACA repeal, 69% say keep it and make necessary fixes. Less likely to vote for Lesko by 35 points because of her support for GOP health care agenda.
POLL DETAILS
posted by chris24 at 5:20 AM on April 25, 2018 [14 favorites]
I want to know WTF Bolton and Giuliani are up to. It's like somebody let loose a couple of alien facehuggers in a locked and dark room and all we can hear are skittering noises.
I've been sort of freaking out since some journo on Twitter posted a picture of Bolton captioned that Bolton was talking on the phone with somebody about being on the same page as Rudy, and I swear to fucking God where it's like those Godzilla movies where things were bad enough and then Mothra comes along, and rather than fighting each other they gang up to burn Tokyo down to the ground.
posted by angrycat at 5:25 AM on April 25, 2018 [45 favorites]
I've been sort of freaking out since some journo on Twitter posted a picture of Bolton captioned that Bolton was talking on the phone with somebody about being on the same page as Rudy, and I swear to fucking God where it's like those Godzilla movies where things were bad enough and then Mothra comes along, and rather than fighting each other they gang up to burn Tokyo down to the ground.
posted by angrycat at 5:25 AM on April 25, 2018 [45 favorites]
On Monday, responding to the attack ads, Mr. Blankenship brought up Mr. McConnell’s marriage to Elaine Chao, the secretary of transportation, and questioned whether the majority leader faced a conflict of interest in foreign relations. Ms. Chao’s father is “a wealthy Chinaperson,” Mr. Blankenship said, speaking on a West Virginia radio show, adding, “And there’s a lot of connections to some of the brass, if you will, in China.”
“I read in books that people think he’s soft on China,” he said of Mr. McConnell.
For those who don't know: James Chao, Elaine Chao's father, is American and moved to the US in 1958.
posted by srboisvert at 5:26 AM on April 25, 2018 [36 favorites]
“I read in books that people think he’s soft on China,” he said of Mr. McConnell.
For those who don't know: James Chao, Elaine Chao's father, is American and moved to the US in 1958.
posted by srboisvert at 5:26 AM on April 25, 2018 [36 favorites]
Twitter posted a picture of Bolton captioned that Bolton was talking on the phone with somebody about being on the same page as Rudy
If it's any consolation, I think that was actually Ty Cobb (of slightly different mustache fame) who was caught talking about being on the same page as Rudy.
posted by Emera Gratia at 5:30 AM on April 25, 2018 [11 favorites]
If it's any consolation, I think that was actually Ty Cobb (of slightly different mustache fame) who was caught talking about being on the same page as Rudy.
posted by Emera Gratia at 5:30 AM on April 25, 2018 [11 favorites]
For those who don't know: James Chao, Elaine Chao's father, is American and moved to the US in 1958.
He was also forced to flee to Taiwan in 1949 due to the civil war, where he became one of the youngest sea captains in Republic of China Navy history. So he has no connection to mainland Communist China and good reason to dislike them. And in 2008, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under Bush recognized him as an Outstanding American by Choice.
But hey, Chinese ancestry so clearly a traitor.
posted by chris24 at 5:40 AM on April 25, 2018 [60 favorites]
He was also forced to flee to Taiwan in 1949 due to the civil war, where he became one of the youngest sea captains in Republic of China Navy history. So he has no connection to mainland Communist China and good reason to dislike them. And in 2008, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under Bush recognized him as an Outstanding American by Choice.
But hey, Chinese ancestry so clearly a traitor.
posted by chris24 at 5:40 AM on April 25, 2018 [60 favorites]
As someone who is frequently the only lady in a room full of dudes, I have been on the receiving end of "replacing the word 'man' with 'person' while completely ignoring the rest of the offensive context" and it's usually done with the speaker looking directly at me as if to say "Your presence is forcing me to do this, I hope you're happy." Chinaperson surprises me not at all.
But that is an awesome way to fully burn bridges with the leader of the Congressional caucus of your party (and unlike Ryan, McConnell seems like he's going to do his utmost to hang on to that position like grim death).
posted by soren_lorensen at 5:46 AM on April 25, 2018 [39 favorites]
But that is an awesome way to fully burn bridges with the leader of the Congressional caucus of your party (and unlike Ryan, McConnell seems like he's going to do his utmost to hang on to that position like grim death).
posted by soren_lorensen at 5:46 AM on April 25, 2018 [39 favorites]
oh jeez thanks I saw the mustache and made assumptions.
I stand by my Godzlila/Mothra/alien facehugger analogies generally, howevs
posted by angrycat at 5:46 AM on April 25, 2018 [15 favorites]
I stand by my Godzlila/Mothra/alien facehugger analogies generally, howevs
posted by angrycat at 5:46 AM on April 25, 2018 [15 favorites]
Conservative writers aren't even hiding it anymore, they're now openly expressing that their glee over Islamic terror attacks keeps on ending in disappointment that the attacks are being carried out by domestic terrorists that share much of their politics.
posted by zombieflanders at 5:52 AM on April 25, 2018 [48 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 5:52 AM on April 25, 2018 [48 favorites]
I want to know WTF Bolton and Giuliani are up to.
If I had to guess? Planning a war with Iran ahead of the midterms.
Here’s a question, though: who would Putin want us to attack?
That’s...that’s not rhetorical, is the thing? Like I actually want to know, because I think it’s relevant to this dumb timeline.
Hopefully it’s not Iran, and the best case scenario is that Bolton and Putin kinda cancel each other out, like when Mr. Burns goes to the doctor and they’re like, “actually you have so many things wrong with you that none of them are winning.”
posted by schadenfrau at 5:54 AM on April 25, 2018 [14 favorites]
If I had to guess? Planning a war with Iran ahead of the midterms.
Here’s a question, though: who would Putin want us to attack?
That’s...that’s not rhetorical, is the thing? Like I actually want to know, because I think it’s relevant to this dumb timeline.
Hopefully it’s not Iran, and the best case scenario is that Bolton and Putin kinda cancel each other out, like when Mr. Burns goes to the doctor and they’re like, “actually you have so many things wrong with you that none of them are winning.”
posted by schadenfrau at 5:54 AM on April 25, 2018 [14 favorites]
disappointment that the attacks are being carried out by domestic terrorists that share much of their politics
The thing is, the article linked in the tweet "laments" that it's not an ideologically-driven attack. Except that, of course, it is. Dude wants to punish women for existing. But that's not ideologically-driven because we're all swimming in it, I guess? For chrissake.
posted by uncleozzy at 6:00 AM on April 25, 2018 [62 favorites]
The thing is, the article linked in the tweet "laments" that it's not an ideologically-driven attack. Except that, of course, it is. Dude wants to punish women for existing. But that's not ideologically-driven because we're all swimming in it, I guess? For chrissake.
posted by uncleozzy at 6:00 AM on April 25, 2018 [62 favorites]
Exactly. We need to push back hard on people saying this is “not terrorism.” Alt-right and neo-nazis kill far more people in North America than jihadists.
posted by msalt at 6:09 AM on April 25, 2018 [58 favorites]
posted by msalt at 6:09 AM on April 25, 2018 [58 favorites]
What's with the relatively weak D performance last night in NY? I know upstate tends to vote red, but it's a complete departure from other recent elections (in much redder areas) to be seeing numbers similar/worse than 2014/16.
What's the appropriate level of panic here?
posted by schmod at 6:33 AM on April 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
What's the appropriate level of panic here?
posted by schmod at 6:33 AM on April 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
What's with the relatively weak D performance last night in NY? I know upstate tends to vote red, but it's a complete departure from other recent elections (in much redder areas) to be seeing numbers similar/worse than 2014/16.
Armchair speculation -- the state already passed a budget bill this year, control of the Assembly wasn't at risk (and, with Felder's pre-polls-closing announcement, neither was the Senate), and all of the seats are up for reelection in November anyway.
posted by melissasaurus at 7:04 AM on April 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
Armchair speculation -- the state already passed a budget bill this year, control of the Assembly wasn't at risk (and, with Felder's pre-polls-closing announcement, neither was the Senate), and all of the seats are up for reelection in November anyway.
posted by melissasaurus at 7:04 AM on April 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
Alt-right and neo-nazis kill far more people in North America than jihadists.
It's also hard to seperate out from what has become background noise for a lot of white America. It's not less a racist killing when PoC get shot in the street by alt-right/racist cops, but good luck getting stats on incidents where even intentional bias is suspected.
posted by jaduncan at 7:05 AM on April 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
It's also hard to seperate out from what has become background noise for a lot of white America. It's not less a racist killing when PoC get shot in the street by alt-right/racist cops, but good luck getting stats on incidents where even intentional bias is suspected.
posted by jaduncan at 7:05 AM on April 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
Worth noting that as soon as the Toronto attack turned out to be MRA/incel/misogynist terrorism it disappeared from Reddit.
posted by schadenfrau at 7:07 AM on April 25, 2018 [50 favorites]
posted by schadenfrau at 7:07 AM on April 25, 2018 [50 favorites]
Worth noting that as soon as the Toronto attack turned out to be MRA/incel/misogynist terrorism it disappeared from Reddit.
/r/shitredditdoesntsay
posted by jaduncan at 7:08 AM on April 25, 2018 [21 favorites]
/r/shitredditdoesntsay
posted by jaduncan at 7:08 AM on April 25, 2018 [21 favorites]
=> Important note: GOP candidate Bohen is actually a registered Democrat and has pledged to caucus with Assembly Dems.
The 142nd district election was a weird, nasty race. It's worth pointing out that the same thing happened in 2012 with his predecessor, Michael Kearns, who is a Democrat but ran on Republican/Conservative lines and beat the Democratic Party-endorsed Democrat (more info on the candidates here).
Bohen is a conservative Dem, and ran on an anti-Cuomo message, which says something. The next election for this seat is later this year and will probably see more candidates, including the mayor of Lackawanna.
posted by everybody had matching towels at 7:11 AM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
The 142nd district election was a weird, nasty race. It's worth pointing out that the same thing happened in 2012 with his predecessor, Michael Kearns, who is a Democrat but ran on Republican/Conservative lines and beat the Democratic Party-endorsed Democrat (more info on the candidates here).
Bohen is a conservative Dem, and ran on an anti-Cuomo message, which says something. The next election for this seat is later this year and will probably see more candidates, including the mayor of Lackawanna.
posted by everybody had matching towels at 7:11 AM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
What's with the relatively weak D performance last night in NY?
Anecdata from the trenches here in upstate New York: everybody hates Governor Cuomo, but conservatives hate him more (because he passed the NY Safe Act and banned fracking and they like it when people die I guess). In the same way that Trump turns out Democrats to vote, Cuomo turns out Republicans to vote.
This is despite Cuomo essentially being god's gift to Republicans: a conservative Democrat.
I wish I were joking about how insane this is, but I know a lot of people (including family, ugh) who voted R specifically because of a rumor that the Dem assemblyman was a personal friend of Cuomo. This was despite said Dem assemblyman holding progressive policy goals (directly against Cuomo's legislative agenda and in support of things these individuals personally favor, like healthcare for everyone).
These people live in a crazy magical fairy upside-down land and are very, very motivated.
posted by ragtag at 7:19 AM on April 25, 2018 [19 favorites]
Anecdata from the trenches here in upstate New York: everybody hates Governor Cuomo, but conservatives hate him more (because he passed the NY Safe Act and banned fracking and they like it when people die I guess). In the same way that Trump turns out Democrats to vote, Cuomo turns out Republicans to vote.
This is despite Cuomo essentially being god's gift to Republicans: a conservative Democrat.
I wish I were joking about how insane this is, but I know a lot of people (including family, ugh) who voted R specifically because of a rumor that the Dem assemblyman was a personal friend of Cuomo. This was despite said Dem assemblyman holding progressive policy goals (directly against Cuomo's legislative agenda and in support of things these individuals personally favor, like healthcare for everyone).
These people live in a crazy magical fairy upside-down land and are very, very motivated.
posted by ragtag at 7:19 AM on April 25, 2018 [19 favorites]
He was also forced to flee to Taiwan in 1949 due to the civil war, where he became one of the youngest sea captains in Republic of China Navy history. So he has no connection to mainland Communist China and good reason to dislike them. And in 2008, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under Bush recognized him as an Outstanding American by Choice.
But hey, Chinese ancestry so clearly a traitor.
posted by chris24 at 5:40 AM on April 25 [17 favorites +] [!]
Seems we all make assumptions....where is your proof that James Chao has no connection to mainland Communist China or that he dislikes them????
From The Nation Octomer 30, 2014:
"The ties between McConnell and his in-laws have come under scrutiny before. In 2001, they were probed in depth by The New Republic in an article that charged that McConnell led an effort to soften his party’s criticism of China. Through James Chao, who was a classmate of Jiang Zemin, the president of China in the ’90s, McConnell and his wife met with Jiang several times, both in Beijing and in Washington. McConnell subsequently tempered his criticism of Chinese human rights abuses, and broke with hawks like Senator Jesse Helms to support Most Favored Nation trading status with China. As Foremost established closer ties with mainland China, McConnell endorsed the position that the United States should remain “ambiguous” about coming to the defense of Taiwan. In 1999, McConnell and his wife appeared at the University of Louisville with Chinese Ambassador Li Zhaoxing. Li used the opportunity to bash congressional leaders for rebuking China over its repression of the Falun Gong religious sect."
Any speculation that the Mr. Chao has any issues with China, communist or otherwise, appear to be just that, speculation. The Chao family has a multi-million dollar shipping conglomeration using the offshore tax haven of the Marshall Islands and flying under the Liberian flag that does business with China. I also found in my searching that one of their ships had been caught by the Colombian government transporting cocaine. That was a fun read!
posted by W Grant at 7:43 AM on April 25, 2018 [13 favorites]
But hey, Chinese ancestry so clearly a traitor.
posted by chris24 at 5:40 AM on April 25 [17 favorites +] [!]
Seems we all make assumptions....where is your proof that James Chao has no connection to mainland Communist China or that he dislikes them????
From The Nation Octomer 30, 2014:
"The ties between McConnell and his in-laws have come under scrutiny before. In 2001, they were probed in depth by The New Republic in an article that charged that McConnell led an effort to soften his party’s criticism of China. Through James Chao, who was a classmate of Jiang Zemin, the president of China in the ’90s, McConnell and his wife met with Jiang several times, both in Beijing and in Washington. McConnell subsequently tempered his criticism of Chinese human rights abuses, and broke with hawks like Senator Jesse Helms to support Most Favored Nation trading status with China. As Foremost established closer ties with mainland China, McConnell endorsed the position that the United States should remain “ambiguous” about coming to the defense of Taiwan. In 1999, McConnell and his wife appeared at the University of Louisville with Chinese Ambassador Li Zhaoxing. Li used the opportunity to bash congressional leaders for rebuking China over its repression of the Falun Gong religious sect."
Any speculation that the Mr. Chao has any issues with China, communist or otherwise, appear to be just that, speculation. The Chao family has a multi-million dollar shipping conglomeration using the offshore tax haven of the Marshall Islands and flying under the Liberian flag that does business with China. I also found in my searching that one of their ships had been caught by the Colombian government transporting cocaine. That was a fun read!
posted by W Grant at 7:43 AM on April 25, 2018 [13 favorites]
Clearly Macron is attempting to influence President Trump with flattery and a great deal of sucker-uppery, especially in regard to the nuclear deal with Iran. Godspeed Macron on his epic journey. We wish him well. He will need all the luck he can get, as dealing with sociopaths like Trump never ends well for the sane and sensible. But god loves a trier so full marks to Macron fo taking one for the team.
That seems to ignore the fact that Macron is a sociopath in his own right. Macron, a millionaire banker, would fit right in with the U.S. Republicans with his tax cuts for the rich, regulatory cutbacks for corporations and war on labor.
posted by JackFlash at 7:48 AM on April 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
That seems to ignore the fact that Macron is a sociopath in his own right. Macron, a millionaire banker, would fit right in with the U.S. Republicans with his tax cuts for the rich, regulatory cutbacks for corporations and war on labor.
posted by JackFlash at 7:48 AM on April 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
What strikes me is that James Chao doesn't have any different buddy relationships with the rich and powerful than any other rich American. It's not that he's secretly an actual communist (not a state capitalist like the current Chinese regime), or that normally rich Americans are allabout criticizing human rights abuses and sticking to their principles and James Chao alone is a sell-out.
The issue is that for Republicans it's cool for white American men to buddy up to tyrants and oligarchs, but when Chao does it, it's because he's racially suspect.
posted by Frowner at 7:52 AM on April 25, 2018 [43 favorites]
The issue is that for Republicans it's cool for white American men to buddy up to tyrants and oligarchs, but when Chao does it, it's because he's racially suspect.
posted by Frowner at 7:52 AM on April 25, 2018 [43 favorites]
I give up on these last precincts in NY, close enough:
ELECTION RESULT
Dem HOLD in New York Assembly 74:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 11 points.
vs 2016 AD-74 result margin: Dem improvement of about 19 points.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:00 AM on April 25, 2018 [17 favorites]
ELECTION RESULT
Dem HOLD in New York Assembly 74:
Epstein [D] 90.3%Margin changes compared to previous races:
Cooper [R] 4.7%
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 11 points.
vs 2016 AD-74 result margin: Dem improvement of about 19 points.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:00 AM on April 25, 2018 [17 favorites]
ELECTION RESULT
Dem HOLD in New York Senate 32:
Sepulveda [D] 88.6%
Delices [R] 2.3%
Margin changes compared to previous races:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem underperformance of about 2 points.
vs 2016 SD-32 result margin: Dem underperformance of about 8 points.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:03 AM on April 25, 2018 [18 favorites]
Dem HOLD in New York Senate 32:
Sepulveda [D] 88.6%
Delices [R] 2.3%
Margin changes compared to previous races:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem underperformance of about 2 points.
vs 2016 SD-32 result margin: Dem underperformance of about 8 points.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:03 AM on April 25, 2018 [18 favorites]
Worth noting that as soon as the Toronto attack turned out to be MRA/incel/misogynist terrorism it disappeared from Reddit.
I think it's worth noting that the Toronto attack is barely being mentioned on metafilter, NBC news, CBS news, or any of the other US news sources I've seen this week. But I did learn that Trump brushed something off Macron's shoulder and Meek Mill is being released from prison.
posted by rocket88 at 8:06 AM on April 25, 2018 [54 favorites]
I think it's worth noting that the Toronto attack is barely being mentioned on metafilter, NBC news, CBS news, or any of the other US news sources I've seen this week. But I did learn that Trump brushed something off Macron's shoulder and Meek Mill is being released from prison.
posted by rocket88 at 8:06 AM on April 25, 2018 [54 favorites]
(Chrysostom, thank you again for all that you do to track these election results. I certainly rely on them and deeply appreciate the updates.)
posted by RedOrGreen at 8:11 AM on April 25, 2018 [49 favorites]
posted by RedOrGreen at 8:11 AM on April 25, 2018 [49 favorites]
ELECTION RESULT
Dem HOLD in New York Senate 37:
Meyer [D] 57.7%
Killian [R] 42.3%
Margin changes compared to previous races:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem underperformance of about 6 points.
vs 2016 SD-37 result margin: Dem improvement of about 4 points.
=> This one still has a decent number of precincts out, fyi.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:14 AM on April 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
Dem HOLD in New York Senate 37:
Meyer [D] 57.7%
Killian [R] 42.3%
Margin changes compared to previous races:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem underperformance of about 6 points.
vs 2016 SD-37 result margin: Dem improvement of about 4 points.
=> This one still has a decent number of precincts out, fyi.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:14 AM on April 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
Today's afternoon stories (C-SPAN links)
Pompeo's nomination in the Senate 1pm CST.
Blustering Kansan tries to switch jobs. His interviewers aren't so sure. Could a fabrication from his past derail his new career? Ensemble cast. TV-MA.
Jeff Sessions gives budget appearance in front of Senate Appropriations 1:30pm CST
Scurrilous southern lawyer has a lot of dollars to account for. Will he be questioned on other things? Jeff Sessions. Richard Shelby. Patrick Leahy. TV-MA.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 8:17 AM on April 25, 2018 [28 favorites]
Pompeo's nomination in the Senate 1pm CST.
Blustering Kansan tries to switch jobs. His interviewers aren't so sure. Could a fabrication from his past derail his new career? Ensemble cast. TV-MA.
Jeff Sessions gives budget appearance in front of Senate Appropriations 1:30pm CST
Scurrilous southern lawyer has a lot of dollars to account for. Will he be questioned on other things? Jeff Sessions. Richard Shelby. Patrick Leahy. TV-MA.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 8:17 AM on April 25, 2018 [28 favorites]
Travel ban oral argument just ended - Amy Howe is a good twitter follow for reactions: "Obviously can't draw too many conclusions from oral argument, but #SCOTUS seemed to be leaning toward a ruling for the government in #travelban litigation."
posted by melissasaurus at 8:19 AM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by melissasaurus at 8:19 AM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
As for this one, I think we still don't have the early votes that just showed up yesterday, but that shouldn't move it by more than half a point, I gather.
ELECTION RESULT
GOP HOLD in Arizona 8:
Lesko [R] 52.6%
Tipirneni [D] 47.4%
Margin changes compared to previous races:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 16 points.
vs 2012 AZ-08 result margin: Dem improvement of about 23 points. (uncontested in 2014 & 2016)
GOP lead in the US House is extended to 237-193 (5 vacancies).
posted by Chrysostom at 8:25 AM on April 25, 2018 [13 favorites]
ELECTION RESULT
GOP HOLD in Arizona 8:
Lesko [R] 52.6%
Tipirneni [D] 47.4%
Margin changes compared to previous races:
vs 2016 presidential result margin: Dem improvement of about 16 points.
vs 2012 AZ-08 result margin: Dem improvement of about 23 points. (uncontested in 2014 & 2016)
GOP lead in the US House is extended to 237-193 (5 vacancies).
posted by Chrysostom at 8:25 AM on April 25, 2018 [13 favorites]
Worth noting that as soon as the Toronto attack turned out to be MRA/incel/misogynist terrorism it disappeared from Reddit.
Not entirely though.
Not entirely though.
‘Incels’ are wildly celebrating the Toronto van attackposted by monospace at 8:26 AM on April 25, 2018 [25 favorites]
A look at one of the absolutely worst parts of the internet.
Sockin'inthefreeworld: "[AZ election]
So I know the election already happened, but anyone have info about possible impact on turnout of this?
140,000 Maricopa County voters haven’t received registration cards, "
It's hard to say, but I think pretty minimal. You don't *need* the ID, if you can provide some other forms of ID. They did make some effort to get word of this out to people. And the turnout was at midterm levels (i.e., high for a special).
I'm sure some people were dissuaded from voting, which is not okay, but I don't think there was a material impact on the election outcome.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:32 AM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
So I know the election already happened, but anyone have info about possible impact on turnout of this?
140,000 Maricopa County voters haven’t received registration cards, "
It's hard to say, but I think pretty minimal. You don't *need* the ID, if you can provide some other forms of ID. They did make some effort to get word of this out to people. And the turnout was at midterm levels (i.e., high for a special).
I'm sure some people were dissuaded from voting, which is not okay, but I don't think there was a material impact on the election outcome.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:32 AM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
There was a long and continuing discussion about the Toronto attack in /r/Canada, but the biggest thread rapidly became about whether or not Armenians are white or brown or Caucasian or "Middle Eastern" or "caucasian", and then my brain kind of shut down after that.
posted by Quindar Beep at 8:35 AM on April 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Quindar Beep at 8:35 AM on April 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
But I did learn that Trump brushed something off Macron's shoulder and Meek Mill is being released from prison.
Before you casually dismiss Meek Mill's release as a triviality like Trump's dandruff brushing you might want to read up on it a bit.
posted by srboisvert at 8:39 AM on April 25, 2018 [20 favorites]
Before you casually dismiss Meek Mill's release as a triviality like Trump's dandruff brushing you might want to read up on it a bit.
posted by srboisvert at 8:39 AM on April 25, 2018 [20 favorites]
> Conservative writers aren't even hiding it anymore, they're now openly expressing that their glee over Islamic terror attacks keeps on ending in disappointment that the attacks are being carried out by domestic terrorists that share much of their politics.
Barbara Kay hates women, this mass murderer hates women...there's your clash of civilizations right there, Barb. I'm not sure why she's so disappointed.
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:47 AM on April 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
Barbara Kay hates women, this mass murderer hates women...there's your clash of civilizations right there, Barb. I'm not sure why she's so disappointed.
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:47 AM on April 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
Mod note: Several comments deleted. Enough, chris24 and W Grant. And please don't use edit to change content.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 9:04 AM on April 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 9:04 AM on April 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
Seems we all make assumptions....where is your proof that James Chao has no connection to mainland Communist China or that he dislikes them????
I was just referring to his childhood. Since he never lived in Communist China. Any confusion on the scope of "has no connection" was unintentional.
posted by chris24 at 9:06 AM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
I was just referring to his childhood. Since he never lived in Communist China. Any confusion on the scope of "has no connection" was unintentional.
posted by chris24 at 9:06 AM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Washington Post correspondent Daniel W. Drezner celebrates the anniversary of his curated Twitter thread with this article: The #ToddlerinChief Thread Is One Year Old Today! Here are the basic five lessons that he expands on:
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:06 AM on April 25, 2018 [36 favorites]
1) For a guy who values loyalty, Trump has the most disloyal coterie ever. ("[W]hat makes these stories stand out is that these descriptions are coming from fellow Republicans on Capitol Hill in the Cabinet or loyal treaty allies or — most often — from within Trump’s own White House staff. The point is, this is how Trump’s most trusted advisers view Trump.")Although Drezner's curated Twitter thread is incredibly damning when read all at once, its framing still lends the topic to, well, euphemized normalization, to be pompous about it. Trump is, clinically speaking, cognitively impaired, whether medically, neurologically, psychologically or some combination thereof. Part of the problem is that his progressive mental deterioration hasn't happened all at once or even stayed constant from day to day. It would be more obvious if his staff didn't prevent him from holding press conferences or conducting interviews, but even then, they have to blow off steam with these anonymous leaks about dealing with his out-of-control temperament.
2) There was never any calm period. ("Even when Kelly’s influence was at its strongest, Trump rebelled against it and fomented feuds with members of Congress.")
3) Trump is a fundamentally lazy president.
4) Trump sounds like a different kind of toddler now. (This year "has been dominated by temper tantrums. Simply put, Trump has gotten angrier and angrier over time because the government does not execute his every whim and he keeps encountering negative press coverage about it.")
5) Trump will never stop acting like a toddler. ("But you knew that already, didn’t you?")
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:06 AM on April 25, 2018 [36 favorites]
I did some original research using the Trump Twitter Archive, regarding Chuck Todd.
Question 1: How often has Trump referred to Chuck Todd in Twitter?
47 times.
Seven of these were neutral, e.g., I will be on Meet the Press.
Seven of these were about ratings: e.g. My ratings were great on Meet the Press, or, using low ratings as an insult.
Question 2: How often did Trump use sleepy eyes or sleepy eyed?
17 and one more as sleepy.
Question 3: Did he call anyone else sleepy eyes?
No.
Question 4: What other insults did he use to describe Todd?
Dishonest/Fake News/Biased: 10 times.
Moron, moronic, dummy, dumbest: 4
Loser/failed: 4
So many baby tantrums. Make America Grown-Up Again
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 9:09 AM on April 25, 2018 [26 favorites]
Question 1: How often has Trump referred to Chuck Todd in Twitter?
47 times.
Seven of these were neutral, e.g., I will be on Meet the Press.
Seven of these were about ratings: e.g. My ratings were great on Meet the Press, or, using low ratings as an insult.
Question 2: How often did Trump use sleepy eyes or sleepy eyed?
17 and one more as sleepy.
Question 3: Did he call anyone else sleepy eyes?
No.
Question 4: What other insults did he use to describe Todd?
Dishonest/Fake News/Biased: 10 times.
Moron, moronic, dummy, dumbest: 4
Loser/failed: 4
So many baby tantrums. Make America Grown-Up Again
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 9:09 AM on April 25, 2018 [26 favorites]
Lots of my older relatives on Facebook are finding out about incels today and are stunned that they exist. I guess I must have just gotten used to them as a concept, because their horror and amazement was surprising to me.
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:10 AM on April 25, 2018 [37 favorites]
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:10 AM on April 25, 2018 [37 favorites]
Worth noting that as soon as the Toronto attack turned out to be MRA/incel/misogynist terrorism it disappeared from Reddit.
There were several posts in r/politics discussing it. Also r/thebluepill. I'm sure other liberal and feminist subreddits were also discussing it as well.
posted by asteria at 9:13 AM on April 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
There were several posts in r/politics discussing it. Also r/thebluepill. I'm sure other liberal and feminist subreddits were also discussing it as well.
posted by asteria at 9:13 AM on April 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
Trump is a fundamentally lazy president.
Sure, Donald Trump sounds lazy, with his 5-hour workdays, Executive Time, toilet tweeting, three-day weekends, and constant trips to Quagmire-a-Lago. But remember we got a four-for-one deal. We also have John Barron, John Miller, and David Dennison serving as president. Between the four of them, they must be putting in a full day.
Per Wikipedia, "John Baron (played by Frank Sinatra) is the name of the psychopath who terrorizes a town while plotting to assassinate the US president in the 1954 film Suddenly."
posted by kirkaracha at 9:18 AM on April 25, 2018 [26 favorites]
Sure, Donald Trump sounds lazy, with his 5-hour workdays, Executive Time, toilet tweeting, three-day weekends, and constant trips to Quagmire-a-Lago. But remember we got a four-for-one deal. We also have John Barron, John Miller, and David Dennison serving as president. Between the four of them, they must be putting in a full day.
Per Wikipedia, "John Baron (played by Frank Sinatra) is the name of the psychopath who terrorizes a town while plotting to assassinate the US president in the 1954 film Suddenly."
posted by kirkaracha at 9:18 AM on April 25, 2018 [26 favorites]
For a guy who values loyalty, Trump has the most disloyal coterie ever.
He doesn't value loyalty; he just likes the word. He values yes-men and people who sing his praises. He drives away people who would be loyal, if they don't tell him "yes" all the time and don't tell other people how awesome he is.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:20 AM on April 25, 2018 [17 favorites]
He doesn't value loyalty; he just likes the word. He values yes-men and people who sing his praises. He drives away people who would be loyal, if they don't tell him "yes" all the time and don't tell other people how awesome he is.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:20 AM on April 25, 2018 [17 favorites]
Orrin Hatch trying to stand without a spine.
WSJ OpEd by Hatch: Protect Mueller, but Not Like This
WSJ OpEd by Hatch: Protect Mueller, but Not Like This
The Senate Judiciary Committee takes up a bill this week to constrain the president from firing special counsel Robert Mueller. From the beginning, I’ve said—including to the president—that Mr. Mueller’s investigation must be allowed to run its course. But I will vote against the bill, because it is unconstitutional.posted by chris24 at 9:25 AM on April 25, 2018 [5 favorites]
I believe it is in President Trump’s best interest to allow the investigation to run its course, because I believe it will vindicate him. It is in the country’s best interest, because it will provide definitive answers to questions that have embroiled our politics now for over a year. Firing Mr. Mueller would be a grave error. It would trigger a crisis, possibly even impeachment. It would threaten many of the administration’s accomplishments and make continued progress virtually impossible.
I endorse the message the special-counsel bill is meant to send. But I take seriously the responsibility to ensure that the laws Congress passes comport with the Constitution. The concept of an independent prosecutor, insulated from political pressure, has an appeal. In a nation like ours, governed by the rule of law, what grounds could there possibly be for a president to retain the power to fire a prosecutor investigating potential presidential misconduct?
But whatever the superficial attractiveness of an independent prosecutor, it is foreign to our system of government. The Constitution divides authority among three branches. The executive, legislative and judicial departments are meant to guard jealously their own prerogatives. Through this separation of powers, the American system assures that no branch may subvert the others. It ensures the long-term security of citizens’ rights and liberties by preventing any branch or individual from becoming too powerful.
Many, myself included, have supported independent prosecutors in the past. Experience has shown that was a mistake. Freed from political accountability and meaningful oversight, independent prosecutors become a law unto themselves. They rove about seeking charges to bring to justify their existence. Justice Antonin Scalia, in his famous dissent in Morrison v. Olson (1988), made plain why prosecution must be an executive function. Decisions to prosecute or not involve a variety of considerations—legal, practical and political. Resources are finite. Someone must be held accountable when an investigation goes awry, and that person is the president.
The special counsel must be permitted to complete his investigation. President Trump should not, and I believe will not, end the investigation. That is why I plan to join several colleagues in supporting a resolution to convey to the White House the sense of the Senate that Robert Mueller should be left to complete his work.
What I will not do—and what I urge my colleagues to reject—is subvert our constitutional design in favor of momentary urgencies. You cannot protect the rule of law by violating the supreme law of the land.
I think it's worth noting that the Toronto attack is barely being mentioned on metafilter, NBC news, CBS news, or any of the other US news sources I've seen this week
I found out about the Toronto attack on this very thread, here.
Where it is a bit of a derail, connected mostly in the sense that the driver is a shitty racist MRA-type, not unlike the US president.
posted by aspersioncast at 9:27 AM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
I found out about the Toronto attack on this very thread, here.
Where it is a bit of a derail, connected mostly in the sense that the driver is a shitty racist MRA-type, not unlike the US president.
posted by aspersioncast at 9:27 AM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
Remember the École Polytechnique massacre in 1989? And the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995? Both were committed by white men with guns and a sense of entitlement and grievance. It really is not new and did not spring into being full-blown with the Internet and Reddit.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 9:29 AM on April 25, 2018 [54 favorites]
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 9:29 AM on April 25, 2018 [54 favorites]
We've also collectively blanked on Iron John and Promise Keepers.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 9:31 AM on April 25, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 9:31 AM on April 25, 2018 [10 favorites]
It really is not new and did not spring into being full-blown with the Internet and Reddit.
Yet it’s been made infinitely more efficient by the Internet in general and social networks specifically.
posted by Celsius1414 at 9:32 AM on April 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
Yet it’s been made infinitely more efficient by the Internet in general and social networks specifically.
posted by Celsius1414 at 9:32 AM on April 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
Justice Antonin Scalia, in his famous dissent in Morrison v. Olson (1988), made plain why prosecution must be an executive function. ...Someone must be held accountable when an investigation goes awry, and that person is the president.
Can someone explain this concept in a way that doesn't translate to "bigots gotta be free to bigot?" I can see why prosecution falls under executive (making laws is legislative; interpreting them is judicial; enforcing them is exec, okay.) But I can't see why the president should have specific authority over this, especially since one of the major functions of a special investigation is to investigate the president.
I would like investigations of the president not to be under direct presidential review. I would like investigations of congress to be available by executive order, not subject to lawmaking to vanish them. I would like investigations of the courts to be outside the purview of that court to review. I wouldn't mind if a later administration had the right to decide whether the decision had been made properly - but I don't want congress voting on whether or not congress is corrupt, and I don't want the president to have the right to fire the person who's investigating his actions.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:35 AM on April 25, 2018 [11 favorites]
Can someone explain this concept in a way that doesn't translate to "bigots gotta be free to bigot?" I can see why prosecution falls under executive (making laws is legislative; interpreting them is judicial; enforcing them is exec, okay.) But I can't see why the president should have specific authority over this, especially since one of the major functions of a special investigation is to investigate the president.
I would like investigations of the president not to be under direct presidential review. I would like investigations of congress to be available by executive order, not subject to lawmaking to vanish them. I would like investigations of the courts to be outside the purview of that court to review. I wouldn't mind if a later administration had the right to decide whether the decision had been made properly - but I don't want congress voting on whether or not congress is corrupt, and I don't want the president to have the right to fire the person who's investigating his actions.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:35 AM on April 25, 2018 [11 favorites]
The executive, legislative and judicial departments are meant to guard jealously their own prerogatives.
Notice that Senator Hatch says "meant to;" he leaves out "unless Congress and the President are both Republican."
posted by Gelatin at 9:40 AM on April 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
Notice that Senator Hatch says "meant to;" he leaves out "unless Congress and the President are both Republican."
posted by Gelatin at 9:40 AM on April 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
I can't tell which is the more damning fact: That Trump has yet to praise Waffle House hero James Shaw Jr. or that he hasn't condemned Toronto killer Alek Minassian (not least since he immediately Tweeted about the NYC and London ones when the killers lined up with his ideas about what a "real" terrorist looks like).
Meantime, the Yonge and Finch attack really deserves its own FPP, especially now that more information about the killer's online background has emerged.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:40 AM on April 25, 2018 [25 favorites]
Meantime, the Yonge and Finch attack really deserves its own FPP, especially now that more information about the killer's online background has emerged.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:40 AM on April 25, 2018 [25 favorites]
I just would like to take a moment to celebrate that (as court challenges continue) Maine will be using ranked choice voting in Statewide elections starting in June. The ballot sample was released today.
Also, a republican who was attempting to run against Sen. Angus King for Senate has been disqualified due to many, many questionable petition signatures on his nominating paperwork. His attorney says he was a victim of fraud.
posted by anastasiav at 9:45 AM on April 25, 2018 [15 favorites]
Also, a republican who was attempting to run against Sen. Angus King for Senate has been disqualified due to many, many questionable petition signatures on his nominating paperwork. His attorney says he was a victim of fraud.
posted by anastasiav at 9:45 AM on April 25, 2018 [15 favorites]
Recall that Frank Sinatra (the performance, more than the actual man) is Trump's role model.
But Sinatra was a well dressed charmer, and Trump is just a lout. I guess their most common ground is the womanizing and the mob ties.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:51 AM on April 25, 2018 [14 favorites]
But Sinatra was a well dressed charmer, and Trump is just a lout. I guess their most common ground is the womanizing and the mob ties.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:51 AM on April 25, 2018 [14 favorites]
the secretary of state now has invalidated 258 of Linn’s original total of 2,248 petition signatures. That left him with 1,990 valid signatures, which is 10 fewer than the minimum required to qualify for the primary.
I just... how hard is it to get 2k signatures for a statewide election? Does the Republican party crew in the state not have that many members?
In order to qualify for the primary ballot, candidates need to submit petitions signed by 2,000 registered party voters.
OK, so they have to be official Republicans on paper. 294k of them voted for the current governor; it shouldn't be hard to scrounge up 2k legit signatures. I'm back to wtf is wrong with these people that they can't be arsed to do what should be a week's worth of paperwork with the opportunity to hype their candidate.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:02 AM on April 25, 2018 [14 favorites]
I just... how hard is it to get 2k signatures for a statewide election? Does the Republican party crew in the state not have that many members?
In order to qualify for the primary ballot, candidates need to submit petitions signed by 2,000 registered party voters.
OK, so they have to be official Republicans on paper. 294k of them voted for the current governor; it shouldn't be hard to scrounge up 2k legit signatures. I'm back to wtf is wrong with these people that they can't be arsed to do what should be a week's worth of paperwork with the opportunity to hype their candidate.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:02 AM on April 25, 2018 [14 favorites]
Trump’s Lifelong Addiction - Gwenda Blair, Politico
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:13 AM on April 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
...[Aside from women,] there’s another type of individual he has a thing for—some might even say it’s an addiction. And it’s a group that may be far more essential to his way of being: lawyers.And now he's in a place where they don't act on his behalf the way they did before his presidency.
Most business executives tend to be lawyer-dependent, but for the better part of 50 years, lawyers have done everything for Trump except have his children. They have finagled unprecedented tax abatements, kept him going through multiple corporate bankruptcies (and out of personal bankruptcy), protected his finances from public scrutiny. They are so entwined with every aspect of his public and private life, it is unimaginable that Trump could have gotten anywhere close to where he is today without them.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:13 AM on April 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
John Baron (played by Frank Sinatra) is the name of the psychopath who terrorizes a town while plotting to assassinate the US president in the 1954 film Suddenly.
Recall that Frank Sinatra (the performance, more than the actual man) is Trump's role model. I'm finding this absolutely incredible how ... I just... what the hell is going on.
I thought that Roy Cohn was Trump's role model.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:16 AM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Recall that Frank Sinatra (the performance, more than the actual man) is Trump's role model. I'm finding this absolutely incredible how ... I just... what the hell is going on.
I thought that Roy Cohn was Trump's role model.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:16 AM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Who normally fills out his tax forms? Was that Cohen, or someone else? Is he going to have to find a new number-cruncher to file 2018's taxes?
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:18 AM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:18 AM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
WaPo, HUD Secretary Ben Carson to propose tripling rent for low-income Americans receiving federal housing subsidies
U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson on Wednesday will propose tripling the amount low-income households are expected to pay for rent as well as require those receiving housing subsidies to work, according to the administration’s legislative proposal obtained by The Washington Post.posted by zachlipton at 10:31 AM on April 25, 2018 [33 favorites]
The move to overhaul how low-income rental subsidies are calculated would affect more than 4.5 million families relying on federal housing assistance. The proposal legislation would require congressional approval.
Currently, tenants generally pay 30 percent of their adjusted income toward rent or a public housing agency minimum rent not to exceed $50. The administration’s legislative proposal sets the family monthly rent contribution at 35 percent of gross income or 35 percent of their earnings by working 15 hours a week at the federal minimum wage — or approximately $150 a month, three times higher than the current minimum.
OK, so they have to be official Republicans on paper. 294k of them voted for the current governor; it shouldn't be hard to scrounge up 2k legit signatures. I'm back to wtf is wrong with these people that they can't be arsed to do what should be a week's worth of paperwork with the opportunity to hype their candidate.
The Chicago Democratic Machine has a history with signature challenges to such an extent that there are law firms that specialize in the challenges and candidates routinely gather thousands more signatures than required so they can afford to lose a lot of them if challenged (There are also much higher signature requirements and one petitioner this year claimed to have 30,000 signatures).
Also of interest is that Obama got his Senate win by knocking primary opponents off the ballot via signature challenges.
posted by srboisvert at 10:33 AM on April 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
The Chicago Democratic Machine has a history with signature challenges to such an extent that there are law firms that specialize in the challenges and candidates routinely gather thousands more signatures than required so they can afford to lose a lot of them if challenged (There are also much higher signature requirements and one petitioner this year claimed to have 30,000 signatures).
Also of interest is that Obama got his Senate win by knocking primary opponents off the ballot via signature challenges.
posted by srboisvert at 10:33 AM on April 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
ErisLordFreedom: Is he going to have to find a new number-cruncher to file 2018's taxes?
He still hasn't filed 2017's! He applied for an extension. Anyone can do that because the April 15-ish deadline is for payment. So in principle that means he has paid what he owes, he just hasn't shared 2017's financial details with the IRS. He's done it in the past (it's not an unusual thing for business-type people), but never as president (as far as I know it's a first for any president).
Given the obvious Special-Counsel-era significance of his financials, I'm surprised it didn't become a bigger story at the time.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:37 AM on April 25, 2018 [20 favorites]
He still hasn't filed 2017's! He applied for an extension. Anyone can do that because the April 15-ish deadline is for payment. So in principle that means he has paid what he owes, he just hasn't shared 2017's financial details with the IRS. He's done it in the past (it's not an unusual thing for business-type people), but never as president (as far as I know it's a first for any president).
Given the obvious Special-Counsel-era significance of his financials, I'm surprised it didn't become a bigger story at the time.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:37 AM on April 25, 2018 [20 favorites]
Washington Post: News Organizations Seek Access To Mueller Materials In Russia Investigation
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:40 AM on April 25, 2018 [36 favorites]
A coalition of news organizations, including The Washington Post, asked a federal court on Tuesday to unseal materials used by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III to obtain search warrants in his investigation of President Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and others indicted in the probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election.(I'd be a lot more sympathetic to this collective action by Washington Post, New York Times, the Associated Press, CNN and Politico if they actually performed more of their own legwork on the Trump-Russia scandal from the beginning instead of relying mainly on leaks, especially since it's obviously frustrating for them that Mueller doesn't leak at all.)
The news organizations are seeking to compel disclosure of affidavits, records of seizures and the warrants themselves that Mueller filed in bringing indictments against such figures as Manafort and former national security adviser Michael Flynn, among others.
They argue that the material, which has been shielded under a court order, could contain newsworthy information about the shape and direction of Mueller’s investigation. It could indicate, for example, details of criminal activity suspected by Mueller and the basis for FBI searches.[...]
The request covers warrant material used in the investigation of former Trump foreign-policy advisor George Papadopoulos, Manafort associate Rick Gates, and 13 Russian nationals who worked for the Internet Research Agency, a St. Petersburg-based company that allegedly plotted to undermine the 2016 election.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:40 AM on April 25, 2018 [36 favorites]
as far as I know it's a first for any president
Nah, he did it last year, too. He may be the first president not to file taxes on time, but 2018 isn't the first presidential extension.
(Why the delay, dude? You divested yourself of most of your businesses, right? Taxes should be much simpler now.)
I hadn't realized he hadn't filed 2017's taxes yet, but was mostly pondering who's going to help him file this year's.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:42 AM on April 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
Nah, he did it last year, too. He may be the first president not to file taxes on time, but 2018 isn't the first presidential extension.
(Why the delay, dude? You divested yourself of most of your businesses, right? Taxes should be much simpler now.)
I hadn't realized he hadn't filed 2017's taxes yet, but was mostly pondering who's going to help him file this year's.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:42 AM on April 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
(I'd be a lot more sympathetic to this collective action by Washington Post, New York Times, the Associated Press, CNN and Politico if they actually performed more of their own legwork on the Trump-Russia scandal from the beginning instead of relying mainly on leaks, especially since it's obviously frustrating for them that Mueller doesn't leak at all.)
That's exactly why they want court records to be emailed to them now. Leopard, changing spots, etc.
posted by rhizome at 10:44 AM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
That's exactly why they want court records to be emailed to them now. Leopard, changing spots, etc.
posted by rhizome at 10:44 AM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
And now [Trump is] in a place where [lawyers] don't act on his behalf the way they did before his presidency.
Which might explain the umbrage expressed by Sarah Huckabee Sanders that FBI personnel like McCabe weren't fulfilling their "sacred duty to the President." Of course, FBI agents don't have a sacred duty to the president, which made her comments dangerously authoritarian.
posted by Gelatin at 10:44 AM on April 25, 2018 [10 favorites]
Which might explain the umbrage expressed by Sarah Huckabee Sanders that FBI personnel like McCabe weren't fulfilling their "sacred duty to the President." Of course, FBI agents don't have a sacred duty to the president, which made her comments dangerously authoritarian.
posted by Gelatin at 10:44 AM on April 25, 2018 [10 favorites]
Just Security, Benjamin R. Farley, Maybe Dismantling the GTMO Closure Office Wasn’t Such a Good Idea
This has flown really under the radar, but the State Department shut down the Office of the Special Envoy for Guantanamo Closure a while back because Trump is all "load GTMO up with bad dudes" so why would we need a closure office lol right? But among the office's responsibilities was keeping track of where prisoners went after they were transferred and engaging in diplomacy to prevent the resulting national security threats, and that isn't anybody's job anymore. And there's the whole thing about still having a fucking island prison for 16+ years where we've left 41 people without even the sham review process they're supposed to be entitled to.
posted by zachlipton at 10:53 AM on April 25, 2018 [27 favorites]
This has flown really under the radar, but the State Department shut down the Office of the Special Envoy for Guantanamo Closure a while back because Trump is all "load GTMO up with bad dudes" so why would we need a closure office lol right? But among the office's responsibilities was keeping track of where prisoners went after they were transferred and engaging in diplomacy to prevent the resulting national security threats, and that isn't anybody's job anymore. And there's the whole thing about still having a fucking island prison for 16+ years where we've left 41 people without even the sham review process they're supposed to be entitled to.
posted by zachlipton at 10:53 AM on April 25, 2018 [27 favorites]
NYT: Pruitt Plans to Blame Staff for 'Clouds' ("How Scott Pruitt Plans to Defend Himself on Capitol Hill: Spread the Blame")
The document, known as the “hot topics” list, appears to lay out talking points for Mr. Pruitt’s two sessions before the House of Representatives. It suggests that Mr. Pruitt is prepared to say that he now flies coach when traveling; that others were responsible for giving two close aides who used to work for him in Oklahoma substantial pay raises; and that E.P.A. officials who were reassigned or demoted after challenging his spending all had performance issues.
The document, which The New York Times has reviewed and the veracity of which the E.P.A. did not dispute, seemed to be a work in progress.
Let's see, "Deny, deny, . . uh . . blame . . Profit?"
posted by petebest at 11:09 AM on April 25, 2018 [10 favorites]
The document, known as the “hot topics” list, appears to lay out talking points for Mr. Pruitt’s two sessions before the House of Representatives. It suggests that Mr. Pruitt is prepared to say that he now flies coach when traveling; that others were responsible for giving two close aides who used to work for him in Oklahoma substantial pay raises; and that E.P.A. officials who were reassigned or demoted after challenging his spending all had performance issues.
The document, which The New York Times has reviewed and the veracity of which the E.P.A. did not dispute, seemed to be a work in progress.
Let's see, "Deny, deny, . . uh . . blame . . Profit?"
posted by petebest at 11:09 AM on April 25, 2018 [10 favorites]
WaPo, HUD Secretary Ben Carson to propose tripling rent for low-income Americans receiving federal housing subsidies
[...]
posted by zachlipton at 2:31 AM on April 26 [10 favorites +] [!]
Link wasn't working for me, but google is, so here it is again in case anyone else had the same problem.
posted by saysthis at 11:17 AM on April 25, 2018 [20 favorites]
[...]
posted by zachlipton at 2:31 AM on April 26 [10 favorites +] [!]
Link wasn't working for me, but google is, so here it is again in case anyone else had the same problem.
Carson plans to lay out the administration’s reform plans in a press call about an hour before a Wednesday afternoon House Financial Services subcommittee hearing on rent reform.So I guess, updates to come...
The move to overhaul how low-income rental subsidies are calculated would affect more than 4.5 million families relying on federal housing assistance. The proposal legislation would require congressional approval.Got it, call Congress to avoid shakedown of the poor for extra $100 a month. Fuck these guys.
Currently, tenants generally pay 30 percent of their adjusted income toward rent or a public housing agency minimum rent not to exceed $50. The administration’s legislative proposal sets the family monthly rent contribution at 35 percent of gross income or 35 percent of their earnings by working 15 hours a week at the federal minimum wage — or approximately $150 a month, three times higher than the current minimum.
posted by saysthis at 11:17 AM on April 25, 2018 [20 favorites]
The document, which The New York Times has reviewed and the veracity of which the E.P.A. did not dispute, seemed to be a work in progress.
Because Pruitt no doubt delegated the drafting of talking points in which he blames his staff to his staff, who turned around and leaked it.
The Democrats from now on need to be brutally contemptuous of the suggestion that Republicans will "run government like a business." They always should have been.
posted by Gelatin at 11:18 AM on April 25, 2018 [14 favorites]
Because Pruitt no doubt delegated the drafting of talking points in which he blames his staff to his staff, who turned around and leaked it.
The Democrats from now on need to be brutally contemptuous of the suggestion that Republicans will "run government like a business." They always should have been.
posted by Gelatin at 11:18 AM on April 25, 2018 [14 favorites]
Kirsten Gilibrand Unveils a Public Option for Banking.
posted by rc3spencer at 11:19 AM on April 25, 2018 [107 favorites]
posted by rc3spencer at 11:19 AM on April 25, 2018 [107 favorites]
is there a staffer reading my FPPs and if so good job.
posted by The Whelk at 11:23 AM on April 25, 2018 [63 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 11:23 AM on April 25, 2018 [63 favorites]
She's been backing good stuff. I also note that this Mefite was calling her our next president quite some time back.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:32 AM on April 25, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 11:32 AM on April 25, 2018 [13 favorites]
The Democrats from now on need to be brutally contemptuous of the suggestion that Republicans will "run government like a business." They always should have been.
but they do run the place like a business:
but they do run the place like a business:
"Also, the GOP could do anything. Especially run up bills on the joint's credit. And why not? Nobody's gonna pay for it anyway. And as soon as the deliveries are made in the front door, you move the stuff out the back and sell it at a discount. You take a two hundred dollar case of booze and you sell it for a hundred. It doesn't matter. It's all profit. And then finally, when there's nothing left, when you can't borrow another buck from the bank or buy another case of booze, you bust the joint out. You light a match."posted by entropicamericana at 11:46 AM on April 25, 2018 [39 favorites]
Running the government like a business was always a bullshit platitude designed to appeal to the same sort of people who think Trump is a good businessman. Anyone with any actual knowledge of business or politics knows it is laughable. The government is not anything like a business and they have diametrically opposed goals. A publicly owned business' sole and overriding imperative is to make as much money as possible. Theoretically over the long term but in practice in the short term. The overriding imperative of the government should be to provide as high a quality of life, as much safety, and as much justice as possible for the greatest number of people as possible.
My guess is that when ignorant people agree with the statement that the government should be run like a business they are thinking of things like efficiency and accountability. Which, being ignorant, they closely associate with businesses. But when Republicans get in to power the only way they actually do run government like a business is by making as much money as possible as quickly as possible... for themselves.
posted by Justinian at 11:55 AM on April 25, 2018 [66 favorites]
My guess is that when ignorant people agree with the statement that the government should be run like a business they are thinking of things like efficiency and accountability. Which, being ignorant, they closely associate with businesses. But when Republicans get in to power the only way they actually do run government like a business is by making as much money as possible as quickly as possible... for themselves.
posted by Justinian at 11:55 AM on April 25, 2018 [66 favorites]
On a completely separate note, how in hell are Democrats polling better in their senate races in Tennessee and Arizona than in Nevada? Is the advantage of incumbency that massive? Heller is so unpopular that he shouldn't be able to get re-elected dogcatcher and yet yesterday's high quality non-partisan poll shows him ever so slightly ahead, while the ones in TN and AZ show Democrats with a slight edge.
Get it together, Nevada!
posted by Justinian at 12:02 PM on April 25, 2018 [5 favorites]
Get it together, Nevada!
posted by Justinian at 12:02 PM on April 25, 2018 [5 favorites]
But when Republicans get in to power the only way they actually do run government like a business is by making as much money as possible as quickly as possible... for themselves.
The other day my spouse was dealing with an unhappy client because he'd helped this person sell their small business, and now that they were receiving a regular paycheck, instead of having the business' funds cover their personal expenses, they were unhappy. The paycheck, to which they'd agreed in the contract my spouse wrote, wasn't enough for them to live on. They weren't used to having to pay for their transportation, meals, dry cleaning, etc themselves. The American way is that small business owners treat their business like a piggy bank. They underpay employees, misappropriate funds without consequence, cheat their way out of taxes while crying crocodile tears about how "regulations" like payroll taxes are eating them alive. For loads of Americans, the way Trump runs his businesses--as an organization that funnels resources to him, with no responsibility to either its employees or community--is the ideal. That's what these people mean when they want government run like a business. They want the exclusive right to extract everything. And that is clearly how this Grifter Administration is operating.
posted by Kitty Stardust at 12:13 PM on April 25, 2018 [117 favorites]
The other day my spouse was dealing with an unhappy client because he'd helped this person sell their small business, and now that they were receiving a regular paycheck, instead of having the business' funds cover their personal expenses, they were unhappy. The paycheck, to which they'd agreed in the contract my spouse wrote, wasn't enough for them to live on. They weren't used to having to pay for their transportation, meals, dry cleaning, etc themselves. The American way is that small business owners treat their business like a piggy bank. They underpay employees, misappropriate funds without consequence, cheat their way out of taxes while crying crocodile tears about how "regulations" like payroll taxes are eating them alive. For loads of Americans, the way Trump runs his businesses--as an organization that funnels resources to him, with no responsibility to either its employees or community--is the ideal. That's what these people mean when they want government run like a business. They want the exclusive right to extract everything. And that is clearly how this Grifter Administration is operating.
posted by Kitty Stardust at 12:13 PM on April 25, 2018 [117 favorites]
Anyone with any actual knowledge of business or politics knows it is laughable.
And yet the political press doesn't laugh, let alone point out why associating efficiency and accountability with business is ignorant.
posted by Gelatin at 12:15 PM on April 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
And yet the political press doesn't laugh, let alone point out why associating efficiency and accountability with business is ignorant.
posted by Gelatin at 12:15 PM on April 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
Actually, the GOP really is running the government like a business, in particular, the private equity takeover model. Buy a well-run, well-performing business that has a good reputation. Start trimming things to boost profits. Take on debt, a lot of it. Pay the executives their bonuses. When the debt service becomes too much, declare bankruptcy. Basically, loot the business and leave others holding the bag. With government, they've been cutting services that help people. They've continued spending like crazy, especially on the military, and cut taxes. The debt has skyrocketed since Reagan, and mostly during GOP administrations. Now you have Ryan and crew saying, well, gee, we don't have the money, we need to cut Social Security and Medicare. They've looted the federal government to make the rich even richer, and they want to leave the taxpayers holding the bag now by taking away a lot of our SS and Medicare for the future. They really are running it like a business.
posted by azpenguin at 12:17 PM on April 25, 2018 [83 favorites]
posted by azpenguin at 12:17 PM on April 25, 2018 [83 favorites]
in hell are Democrats polling better in their senate races in Tennessee and Arizona than in Nevada?
My guess is that NV was already a swing state, and Democratic voters were already engaged - the "blue wave" isn't bringing out swarms of former non-voters. TN and AZ, however, had long been written off as "D's can't get anywhere" - but after Alabama, Democrats are saying, "oh hey, maybe we do have a chance."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:22 PM on April 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
My guess is that NV was already a swing state, and Democratic voters were already engaged - the "blue wave" isn't bringing out swarms of former non-voters. TN and AZ, however, had long been written off as "D's can't get anywhere" - but after Alabama, Democrats are saying, "oh hey, maybe we do have a chance."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:22 PM on April 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
Justinian: "On a completely separate note, how in hell are Democrats polling better in their senate races in Tennessee and Arizona than in Nevada?"
More on this in tonight's roundup, but name recognition, basically. Rosen isn't well known, and when people have low name ID, they get lower approval. Bredesen, by contrast, is very well known.
If you look deeper into the poll, Trump and Heller both have bad numbers. I'd say, on the whole, this is a good result for Rosen.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:24 PM on April 25, 2018 [5 favorites]
More on this in tonight's roundup, but name recognition, basically. Rosen isn't well known, and when people have low name ID, they get lower approval. Bredesen, by contrast, is very well known.
If you look deeper into the poll, Trump and Heller both have bad numbers. I'd say, on the whole, this is a good result for Rosen.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:24 PM on April 25, 2018 [5 favorites]
The American way is that small business owners treat their business like a piggy bank. They underpay employees, misappropriate funds without consequence, cheat their way out of taxes while crying crocodile tears about how "regulations" like payroll taxes are eating them alive.
This is really a shitty way to generalize a huge segment of the nation and doesn't remotely resemble my experience of people who run their own small business. The majority of them are more fastidious about expenses and legality than the average person and most of them that I have known haven't been so successful that they could misappropriate funds or short employees. In many cases they've been earning less than they would if they just went to work for someone else but they chose to trade cash for personal freedom of choice.
posted by phearlez at 12:26 PM on April 25, 2018 [27 favorites]
This is really a shitty way to generalize a huge segment of the nation and doesn't remotely resemble my experience of people who run their own small business. The majority of them are more fastidious about expenses and legality than the average person and most of them that I have known haven't been so successful that they could misappropriate funds or short employees. In many cases they've been earning less than they would if they just went to work for someone else but they chose to trade cash for personal freedom of choice.
posted by phearlez at 12:26 PM on April 25, 2018 [27 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump: Thank you Kanye, very cool!
Dumbest. Timeline.
posted by zachlipton at 12:35 PM on April 25, 2018 [34 favorites]
Dumbest. Timeline.
posted by zachlipton at 12:35 PM on April 25, 2018 [34 favorites]
Mod note: One deleted. Let's not get into a protracted back-and-forth about whether all small business owners are good, bad, or whatever.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 12:35 PM on April 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 12:35 PM on April 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
The Trump-Macron minibreak makes for some fantastique photographs
The main event, the tree-planting. What I enjoy about this photograph is that neither Melania nor Brigitte has any remote intention of helping, while Trump and Macron bury their dying approval ratings and, perhaps in Trump’s case, Michael Cohen’s paper trail from the Stormy Daniels case. And the Steele dossier. And all other intel on Russia. He’ll probably be finished by nightfall.posted by kirkaracha at 12:43 PM on April 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
From the WaPo’s David Swerdlick (with the headline de-clickbaited) Kanye West fell for the worst black Republican sales pitch there is: His drive to be regarded as an outside-the-box thinker led him to be taken in by the absurd argument that black voters are slaves on the Democratic Party plantation.
posted by peeedro at 12:44 PM on April 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by peeedro at 12:44 PM on April 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
And could the President of the United States please button up his suit jacket when he's standing, like a fucking grown-up? He even had his tuxedo jacket unbuttoned at the state dinner.
"like a fucking grown-up"? I think I see the problem.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:45 PM on April 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
"like a fucking grown-up"? I think I see the problem.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:45 PM on April 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
Jelani Cobb (New Yorker)
Because a narcissist can’t bear to be one-upped and because Obama quoted Jay-Z on the campaign trail but called Kanye a jackass Ye had to find a president of his own. He picked an orange one. Trump’s politics don’t matter. Only the fact that they now have one president apiece.
posted by chris24 at 12:55 PM on April 25, 2018 [23 favorites]
Because a narcissist can’t bear to be one-upped and because Obama quoted Jay-Z on the campaign trail but called Kanye a jackass Ye had to find a president of his own. He picked an orange one. Trump’s politics don’t matter. Only the fact that they now have one president apiece.
posted by chris24 at 12:55 PM on April 25, 2018 [23 favorites]
Why the delay, dude? You divested yourself of most of your businesses, right?
No, Trump divested absolutely nothing. He owns and profits from everything he always did, but he nominally transferred management over to his sons. That is not divestment. Divestment is when you sell your ownership rights so that you no longer profit from conflicts of interest.
posted by JackFlash at 12:57 PM on April 25, 2018 [22 favorites]
No, Trump divested absolutely nothing. He owns and profits from everything he always did, but he nominally transferred management over to his sons. That is not divestment. Divestment is when you sell your ownership rights so that you no longer profit from conflicts of interest.
posted by JackFlash at 12:57 PM on April 25, 2018 [22 favorites]
Can we please not do Kanye in this thread? Nothing good will come of it.
posted by Tevin at 12:57 PM on April 25, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by Tevin at 12:57 PM on April 25, 2018 [27 favorites]
Trump goons, Republican operatives, and Russian spies all trying to use the US government powers of espionage in ways that made even the FISA court balk.
posted by LarsC at 1:11 PM on April 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by LarsC at 1:11 PM on April 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
Conversely (and I sincerely hope less likely), the FISA court, feeling the heat from Capitol Hill, Fox News, and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, backing away from targets that would be politically embarrassing to Trumpists.
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:20 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:20 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
Hoo boy. NYT, New Allegations Emerge Against Ronny Jackson as White House Digs In
Dr. Ronny L. Jackson, the White House physician nominated to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, provided “a large supply” of Percocet, a prescription opioid, to a White House military office staff member, throwing his own medical staff “into a panic” when the medical unit could not account for the missing drugs, according to a summary of questionable deeds compiled by the Democratic staff of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.posted by zachlipton at 1:24 PM on April 25, 2018 [52 favorites]
A nurse on his staff said Dr. Jackson had written himself prescriptions, and when caught, he asked a physician assistant to provide the medication. And at a Secret Service going away party, the doctor got intoxicated and “wrecked a government vehicle,” according to the summary.
I'd opt for an even more basic explanation, typified by the Kolbach embarrassment this week - a lot of the people who choose to associate with the Trumpists and/or who the Trumpists opt to elevate... simply happen to be less competent and have submitted shitty/incomplete/wrong applications. Consider that the document indicated that the number counted among 'denied' includes ones withdrawn after being told "the Court would not grant the application or certification as submitted," which I would assume includes ones they were told "you left the target field blank, dipshit."
posted by phearlez at 1:30 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by phearlez at 1:30 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
I thought that Roy Cohn was Trump's role model.
For how to act, yes. But Cohn was a schlub. For self-image, it's Sinatra all the way.
posted by scalefree at 1:31 PM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
For how to act, yes. But Cohn was a schlub. For self-image, it's Sinatra all the way.
posted by scalefree at 1:31 PM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
No idea why: Trump set for official UK visit in July – minus pomp and ceremony
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:35 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:35 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
"I just... how hard is it to get 2k signatures for a statewide election? Does the Republican party crew in the state not have that many members?"
It's hard, and it's fucking exhausting. If you go on a Sunday when the local NFL franchise is playing (so everyone's at home), you can get ten signatures an hour in an urban area. Suburban areas take way longer to canvas and rural areas almost aren't worth it. Getting just 200 signatures to get on the ballot when I ran took almost 40 hours of work and ALL of my weekends for almost two months (the entire filing period) -- although I actually got 300, it's standard to aim for 150% in Illinois because we have so many petition challenges. To get larger numbers, you need a team. The team needs to know what they're doing. They need not to fuck up their petitions, or forget to turn them in, or seek false signatures, or accept false signatures. There are not all that many people in the world willing to spend 8 to 10 hours a day every Saturday and Sunday walking miles and knocking on strangers' doors to talk about politics. A lot of politicians, especially on the GOP side, hire signature gatherers to make up the difference, usually college students making $10/hour. (That's how Bruce Rauner got enough signatures to get on the ballot in Illinois -- he bought them.) But paid canvassers are typically low-quality and collect low-quality signatures, because they give zero shits if you get on the ballot or not. (It's even worse if you pay per-signature.) In fact, one of the things a state central party often wants to know, before supporting a candidate, is whether you ran your own canvass or hired it -- running your own canvass typically means a stronger candidacy with more grassroots support and a minimum level of charisma such that you can motivate people to do a distasteful task for you.
Anyway, it's hard. The laziness of not going farther over the minimum threshhold is shocking ... but lots of candidacies fail that way, it's not unusual. It's hard and boring and unglamorous and most people are lazy.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 1:41 PM on April 25, 2018 [55 favorites]
It's hard, and it's fucking exhausting. If you go on a Sunday when the local NFL franchise is playing (so everyone's at home), you can get ten signatures an hour in an urban area. Suburban areas take way longer to canvas and rural areas almost aren't worth it. Getting just 200 signatures to get on the ballot when I ran took almost 40 hours of work and ALL of my weekends for almost two months (the entire filing period) -- although I actually got 300, it's standard to aim for 150% in Illinois because we have so many petition challenges. To get larger numbers, you need a team. The team needs to know what they're doing. They need not to fuck up their petitions, or forget to turn them in, or seek false signatures, or accept false signatures. There are not all that many people in the world willing to spend 8 to 10 hours a day every Saturday and Sunday walking miles and knocking on strangers' doors to talk about politics. A lot of politicians, especially on the GOP side, hire signature gatherers to make up the difference, usually college students making $10/hour. (That's how Bruce Rauner got enough signatures to get on the ballot in Illinois -- he bought them.) But paid canvassers are typically low-quality and collect low-quality signatures, because they give zero shits if you get on the ballot or not. (It's even worse if you pay per-signature.) In fact, one of the things a state central party often wants to know, before supporting a candidate, is whether you ran your own canvass or hired it -- running your own canvass typically means a stronger candidacy with more grassroots support and a minimum level of charisma such that you can motivate people to do a distasteful task for you.
Anyway, it's hard. The laziness of not going farther over the minimum threshhold is shocking ... but lots of candidacies fail that way, it's not unusual. It's hard and boring and unglamorous and most people are lazy.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 1:41 PM on April 25, 2018 [55 favorites]
Counterpoint: @jeffmason1: White House doctor and VA secretary nominee Ronny Jackson says he has not wrecked a car (responding to NYTimes report) and is moving forward with his nomination
Unless we're playing semantic games with exactly how wrecked a car must be to count as "wrecked," this really seems like a simple objective matter that shouldn't be so hard to sort out. There's either a damaged car after a party or there isn't one.
Here's the full summary of allegations from Tester's office. The most alarming is "on at least one occasion, Dr. Jackson could not be reached when needed because he was passed out drunk in his hotel room."
posted by zachlipton at 1:48 PM on April 25, 2018 [27 favorites]
Unless we're playing semantic games with exactly how wrecked a car must be to count as "wrecked," this really seems like a simple objective matter that shouldn't be so hard to sort out. There's either a damaged car after a party or there isn't one.
Here's the full summary of allegations from Tester's office. The most alarming is "on at least one occasion, Dr. Jackson could not be reached when needed because he was passed out drunk in his hotel room."
posted by zachlipton at 1:48 PM on April 25, 2018 [27 favorites]
FWIW, we've seen multiple people off the ballot this cycle for signature issues, including a sitting US House member.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:50 PM on April 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 1:50 PM on April 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
Unless we're playing semantic games with exactly how wrecked a car must be to count as "wrecked,"
My god, now I'm getting horrible flashbacks of when I accused my drug-addicted loved one of stealing my boom box and we got into an argument about the definition of stealing. This whole gaslighting shitshow nightmare administration can't end soon enough.
posted by Melismata at 1:52 PM on April 25, 2018 [39 favorites]
My god, now I'm getting horrible flashbacks of when I accused my drug-addicted loved one of stealing my boom box and we got into an argument about the definition of stealing. This whole gaslighting shitshow nightmare administration can't end soon enough.
posted by Melismata at 1:52 PM on April 25, 2018 [39 favorites]
>"I just... how hard is it to get 2k signatures for a statewide election? Does the Republican party crew in the state not have that many members?"
>>It's hard, and it's fucking exhausting.
People who haven't done such things have no idea how challenging they are. It's the same with survey research. When I give quotes for survey costs, naïve folk often balk, incredulous that there is so much work involved. Same with recruiting for health studies. Of course, well funded candidates can hire the work done. Less well funded ones rely on volunteers, but you need a lot of them for high-bar signature requirements, and they need to be well trained and monitored.
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:52 PM on April 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
>>It's hard, and it's fucking exhausting.
People who haven't done such things have no idea how challenging they are. It's the same with survey research. When I give quotes for survey costs, naïve folk often balk, incredulous that there is so much work involved. Same with recruiting for health studies. Of course, well funded candidates can hire the work done. Less well funded ones rely on volunteers, but you need a lot of them for high-bar signature requirements, and they need to be well trained and monitored.
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:52 PM on April 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
He said he "has not wrecked a car" the allegation is that he "wrecked a government vehicle". It's possible for both to be true.
Frankly, if even half of these are true, the guy needs to go to rehab, not head up the VA.
posted by papercrane at 1:53 PM on April 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
Frankly, if even half of these are true, the guy needs to go to rehab, not head up the VA.
posted by papercrane at 1:53 PM on April 25, 2018 [9 favorites]
I couldn't find a license for him in DC or MD, but in VA he hasn't had any discipline reported but it's not been updated since 2014.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 1:53 PM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 1:53 PM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
A nurse on his staff said Dr. Jackson had written himself prescriptions, and when caught, he asked a physician assistant to provide the medication.
Ohhh that's what that je ne sais sweat was about at the "The President's Totally Healthy You Guys" briefing. I thought he was just super nervous about lying so bad to The American People about the extreme unfitness of Trump. It was a little odd.
posted by petebest at 1:54 PM on April 25, 2018 [18 favorites]
Ohhh that's what that je ne sais sweat was about at the "The President's Totally Healthy You Guys" briefing. I thought he was just super nervous about lying so bad to The American People about the extreme unfitness of Trump. It was a little odd.
posted by petebest at 1:54 PM on April 25, 2018 [18 favorites]
Anyway, it's hard. The laziness of not going farther over the minimum threshhold is shocking ... but lots of candidacies fail that way, it's not unusual. It's hard and boring and unglamorous and most people are lazy.
Thanks. I knew collecting signatures for ballot measures was hard, frustrating work; didn't know the same applied to party-candidate signatures. I'd vaguely assumed that they could use party connections to cover at least half of them; unlike ballot measures, "people who are likely to vote (R)" is a known list with contact info already available in most cases.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:59 PM on April 25, 2018
Thanks. I knew collecting signatures for ballot measures was hard, frustrating work; didn't know the same applied to party-candidate signatures. I'd vaguely assumed that they could use party connections to cover at least half of them; unlike ballot measures, "people who are likely to vote (R)" is a known list with contact info already available in most cases.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:59 PM on April 25, 2018
This is really an astonishing litany of complaints:
According to the report: “Jackson was described as ‘the most unethical person I have ever worked with,’ ‘flat-out unethical,’ ‘explosive,’ ‘100 percent bad temper,’ ‘toxic,’ ‘abusive,’ ‘volatile,’ ‘incapable of not losing his temper,’ ‘the worst officer I have ever served with,’ ‘despicable,’ ‘dishonest,’ as having ‘screaming tantrums’ and “screaming fits,’ as someone who would ‘lose his mind over small things,’ ‘vindictive,’ ‘belittling,’ ‘the worse leader I’ve ever worked for.’”posted by zachlipton at 2:01 PM on April 25, 2018 [54 favorites]
It continued: “As Jackson gained power he became ‘intolerable.’ One physician said, ‘I have no faith in government that someone like Jackson could be end up at VA.’ A nurse stated, ‘this [working at WHMU] should have been the highlight of my military career but it was my worst assignment.’ Another stated that working at WHMU was the ‘worst experience of my life.’”
Dr. Ronny L. Jackson, the White House physician nominated to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, provided “a large supply” of Percocet, a prescription opioid, to a White House military office staff member, throwing his own medical staff “into a panic” when the medical unit could not account for the missing drugs
The thing about forcefully advocating the execution of opiate dealers is that sometimes they're your doctor and VA nominee.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:01 PM on April 25, 2018 [91 favorites]
The thing about forcefully advocating the execution of opiate dealers is that sometimes they're your doctor and VA nominee.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:01 PM on April 25, 2018 [91 favorites]
How the Trump Show Gets Old
posted by kirkaracha at 2:02 PM on April 25, 2018 [17 favorites]
A big slump in season two is a hallmark of the president’s entire career. This time the “show” is the White House, and his response will affect the world. So what are we in for?Some very interesting stuff here, especially if you consider Trump's delusions about The Apprentice's popularity and how he probably misattributes its "success" to the "more Trump" approach.
...
The relentless decline of “The Apprentice” reflects a splash-and-crash cycle that’s been a hallmark throughout Trump’s life—from his buildings to his casinos to even his brief stint as a sports team owner. His initial successes are often followed by reckless decisions to double down on his bet, just to keep the excitement going—with often disastrous results. “It’s true of everything he goes into,” Trump biographer Tim O’Brien said in an interview. “He will hunker down and do something well—and then he thinks he’s Zeus.” And that’s when the trouble starts. “Because he’s not Zeus.”
...
...year two of the Trump presidency is starting to feel like season two of “The Apprentice”—and the numerous second acts Trump has tried, and failed, to bring to the level of the first. There’s more Trump. More, more, more. Some combination of incensed and assertive, Trump of late has been even more erratic, combative and capricious
posted by kirkaracha at 2:02 PM on April 25, 2018 [17 favorites]
petebest: I just watched the first 63 seconds of that video. Jackson looks like this is the first time he's been sober in 10 years. I'm familiar with that look.
posted by Horkus at 2:03 PM on April 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Horkus at 2:03 PM on April 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
Let's take a moment to admire how Donald Trump was able to take a hour-long glowing enunciation of praise from his doctor regarding his physical fitness for office, and, by promoting the doctor to a position he was absurdly unqualified for, completely destroy any confidence the public might have in the doctor's judgement. Snatching manifest incompetence from the jaws of perceived competence.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:08 PM on April 25, 2018 [76 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:08 PM on April 25, 2018 [76 favorites]
So...Jackson was kept around all these years because no one wanted to lose their sweet, sweet pill hookup?
posted by fluttering hellfire at 2:12 PM on April 25, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 2:12 PM on April 25, 2018 [14 favorites]
Interesting how the dudes on Pod Save America sang Jackson's praises as the White House doctor during the Obama admin and either didn't know or didn't mention all this other shit.
posted by runcibleshaw at 2:14 PM on April 25, 2018 [22 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 2:14 PM on April 25, 2018 [22 favorites]
The unfortunate thing about these shady scandals coming out about Dr. Jackson is they’re blotting out how wildly unqualified he is for the actual job. The VA is fully 12% of all federal employees. Jackson has never managed more than a tiny staff, apparently very badly. The last two VA Secretaries were the CEO of Proctor and Gamble and Chairman of Drexel medical school before assistant secretary of the VA.
Overprescribing and petty office mismanagement isn’t the real issue, the fact that he’d be a poor candidate for an opening for regional manager of CVS is. Much less the second largest administrative agency in the country.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:16 PM on April 25, 2018 [54 favorites]
Overprescribing and petty office mismanagement isn’t the real issue, the fact that he’d be a poor candidate for an opening for regional manager of CVS is. Much less the second largest administrative agency in the country.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:16 PM on April 25, 2018 [54 favorites]
Trump set for official UK visit in July
This will either be cancelled or will be an utter disaster. You know, like Brexit.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:16 PM on April 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
This will either be cancelled or will be an utter disaster. You know, like Brexit.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:16 PM on April 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
What do the politics around Physician to the President look like, and why didn't anyone in the Obama administration notice the problems with Jackson and, at the very least, nudge him gently out the door? I mean, ideally, fire him for cause and assure he doesn't get a job where he and his pill problem can hurt others, but at the very least why didn't they just quietly get rid of him?
For that matter, who fucked up and hired him in the first place? It sounds as if he had a long history of complaints from coworkers and subordinates. Unlike Trump's administration, Obama's administration was competent. It's weird that they didn't notice the glaring problems with Jackson.
posted by sotonohito at 2:17 PM on April 25, 2018 [18 favorites]
For that matter, who fucked up and hired him in the first place? It sounds as if he had a long history of complaints from coworkers and subordinates. Unlike Trump's administration, Obama's administration was competent. It's weird that they didn't notice the glaring problems with Jackson.
posted by sotonohito at 2:17 PM on April 25, 2018 [18 favorites]
Interesting how the dudes on Pod Save America sang Jackson's praises as the White House doctor during the Obama admin and either didn't know or didn't mention all this other shit.
I was just combing through crooked.com looking for any mention of "I had no idea he was who they are now saying he is". Nothing...I'd think they have to address this in a podcast. They had not a single bad thing to say about him as a physician, only that he was ridiculously unqualified to run the VA.
Which is absolutely true, but as is abundantly clear now, also ridiculously unvetted.
posted by mcstayinskool at 2:18 PM on April 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
I was just combing through crooked.com looking for any mention of "I had no idea he was who they are now saying he is". Nothing...I'd think they have to address this in a podcast. They had not a single bad thing to say about him as a physician, only that he was ridiculously unqualified to run the VA.
Which is absolutely true, but as is abundantly clear now, also ridiculously unvetted.
posted by mcstayinskool at 2:18 PM on April 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
For clarity: during the Obama administration, the Pod Save America dudes' personal physician was Ronny Jackson.
posted by mcstayinskool at 2:19 PM on April 25, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by mcstayinskool at 2:19 PM on April 25, 2018 [13 favorites]
It's not up to patients to know whether their doctor's prescriptions are unethical. It is, however, up to administration HR to know whether a staff member has got drunk and wrecked a government vehicle.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:21 PM on April 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:21 PM on April 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
It's weird that they didn't notice the glaring problems with Jackson.
Those he served liked him and those who worked under him hated him? Sounds like a classic case of kiss up, punch down.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 2:22 PM on April 25, 2018 [23 favorites]
Those he served liked him and those who worked under him hated him? Sounds like a classic case of kiss up, punch down.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 2:22 PM on April 25, 2018 [23 favorites]
Four young healthy white guys aren’t likely to be a good judge of how good a doctor is, much less his internal management style in an office they don’t work in.
They shouldn’t have vouched for him, but from what I remember of that episode it sounded like they didn’t want to throw a friend under the bus, and I remember they said something like, ‘I hope Trump hasn’t just put him in a really tough position’. Well. He did.
I also hope they do address it on the show, because it was obvious from the start he wasn’t remotely qualified. They should have said so, friend or no.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:22 PM on April 25, 2018 [11 favorites]
They shouldn’t have vouched for him, but from what I remember of that episode it sounded like they didn’t want to throw a friend under the bus, and I remember they said something like, ‘I hope Trump hasn’t just put him in a really tough position’. Well. He did.
I also hope they do address it on the show, because it was obvious from the start he wasn’t remotely qualified. They should have said so, friend or no.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:22 PM on April 25, 2018 [11 favorites]
I just listened to Macron's speech, and I got a really mixed message between 'nationalism sucks' and 'here's why we're the best nations'.
posted by adept256 at 2:25 PM on April 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by adept256 at 2:25 PM on April 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
@TVietor08:"Oh boy...I hadn't heard any of these allegation when we discussion Ronny on the pod or when I tweeted about him previously. Nor had I ever heard the 2015 allegations about harassing behavior on a foreign trip. Obviously this is very troubling stuff."
posted by melissasaurus at 2:25 PM on April 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by melissasaurus at 2:25 PM on April 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
“It’s true of everything he goes into,” Trump biographer Tim O’Brien said in an interview. “He will hunker down and do something well—and then he thinks he’s Zeus.” And that’s when the trouble starts. “Because he’s not Zeus.”
This. [Xena/Hercules joke goes here]. Occasionally he gets desperate, such as when he tried to bluff his way into Chelsea Clinton's wedding.
posted by ZeusHumms at 2:26 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
This. [Xena/Hercules joke goes here]. Occasionally he gets desperate, such as when he tried to bluff his way into Chelsea Clinton's wedding.
posted by ZeusHumms at 2:26 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
> This will either be cancelled or will be an utter disaster.
Incredibly, this is not an either/or situation.
posted by The Card Cheat at 2:26 PM on April 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
Incredibly, this is not an either/or situation.
posted by The Card Cheat at 2:26 PM on April 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
U.S. officials force their way into Russian Consulate residence in Seattle - KING 5 news, Seattle
posted by OnceUponATime at 2:29 PM on April 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
State Department officials forced their way into the Russian Consulate residence in Seattle on Wednesday morning.I think this was the consulate that was closed in response to the Novichok attack in the UK.
According to officials, they were conducting a walk-through to confirm that the residence was vacated at midnight, per President Trump's order.
They also said the property was no longer authorized for use for any diplomatic or consular purposes, and no longer enjoys any privileges or immunities.
posted by OnceUponATime at 2:29 PM on April 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
Just in case anyone else is looking for this after seeing that Seattle story...
What Really Went on at Russia’s Seattle Consulate? - Zach Foreman, Politico, March 29, 2018
posted by OnceUponATime at 2:34 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
What Really Went on at Russia’s Seattle Consulate? - Zach Foreman, Politico, March 29, 2018
posted by OnceUponATime at 2:34 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
BuzzFeed, Dominic Holden, Jeff Sessions Just Misled The Senate About Cutting Off Money From Local Cops
posted by zachlipton at 2:51 PM on April 25, 2018 [36 favorites]
Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday blamed a federal judge for cutting off $254 million from local police departments, when, in fact, Sessions has chosen to withhold the money himself.Sessions is choosing to cut off the police grants for the whole country because a judge told him he can't take revenge on sanctuary cities.
Sessions' testimony before a Senate panel provided his most extensive remarks to date about an unprecedented six-month delay in withholding the country's largest annual local crime-fighting grant.
The attorney general announced last year he would withhold the funds as part of his war on roughly 30 sanctuary jurisdictions — but the impacts have reached much further, undermining Sessions’ own allies.
As BuzzFeed News reported last week, Sessions has caught hundreds of police departments and local jurisdictions in the crossfire across the country. They are overwhelmingly not sanctuary jurisdictions, in rural and suburban areas, and the blocked money has particularly hurt drug enforcement.
posted by zachlipton at 2:51 PM on April 25, 2018 [36 favorites]
Initially, I really didn't care whether Ronny Jackson was over-prescribing or under-qualified, but man, after scanning through all of these anecdotes this guy sounds like a train wreck.
posted by xammerboy at 2:53 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by xammerboy at 2:53 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
Initially, I really didn't care whether Ronny Jackson was over-prescribing or under-qualified, but man, after scanning through all of these anecdotes this guy sounds like a train wreck.
Hey, you may be on to something! Is there a government train?
posted by SpaceBass at 2:55 PM on April 25, 2018 [21 favorites]
Hey, you may be on to something! Is there a government train?
posted by SpaceBass at 2:55 PM on April 25, 2018 [21 favorites]
For clarity: during the Obama administration, the Pod Save America dudes' personal physician was Ronny Jackson.
Um, do you know how your physician treats their staff/coworkers or behaves in their off hours? Even if it's a company physician or healthcare center? Jackson was not like sitting in the office next door to CJ Cregg all day.
And as for what the "real issue" is and what is relevant to qualifications to head the V.A., if this guy indeed actually is a belligerent crazy toxic party-hearty dick who makes the workplace a fucking hellscape for his staffers, and (sounds like) especially women, then he should not be employed in, you know, ANY position.
posted by FelliniBlank at 2:55 PM on April 25, 2018 [19 favorites]
Um, do you know how your physician treats their staff/coworkers or behaves in their off hours? Even if it's a company physician or healthcare center? Jackson was not like sitting in the office next door to CJ Cregg all day.
And as for what the "real issue" is and what is relevant to qualifications to head the V.A., if this guy indeed actually is a belligerent crazy toxic party-hearty dick who makes the workplace a fucking hellscape for his staffers, and (sounds like) especially women, then he should not be employed in, you know, ANY position.
posted by FelliniBlank at 2:55 PM on April 25, 2018 [19 favorites]
Initially, I really didn't care whether Ronny Jackson was over-prescribing or under-qualified, but man, after scanning through all of these anecdotes this guy sounds like a train wreck.
Yes, I must say that if this is all a bullshit smear job, it's impressively well-orchestrated bullshit because it's so diverse and full of oddly authentic-sounding details.
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:02 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
Yes, I must say that if this is all a bullshit smear job, it's impressively well-orchestrated bullshit because it's so diverse and full of oddly authentic-sounding details.
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:02 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
This Jackson story is a distraction. One of the few distractions in the past year. This is the rare minor Trump scandal.
posted by LarsC at 3:04 PM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by LarsC at 3:04 PM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Via TPM, Facebook’s going all in with Republicans for their DC lobbying operation.
Juuuust in case anyone needed another reason to vote for Zuckerberg as First Against The Wall.
posted by schadenfrau at 3:05 PM on April 25, 2018 [22 favorites]
Juuuust in case anyone needed another reason to vote for Zuckerberg as First Against The Wall.
posted by schadenfrau at 3:05 PM on April 25, 2018 [22 favorites]
The VA is the second-largest federal agency, with 370,000 employees and responsibility for millions of patients. Nominating someone unqualified to run it is not a distraction. It's a scandal and a betrayal of the people who rely on the VA's care. Jackson is unqualified for the job whether or not his staff hated his management and whether or not he has a drinking problem.
posted by zachlipton at 3:10 PM on April 25, 2018 [69 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 3:10 PM on April 25, 2018 [69 favorites]
The point with Jackson is that being grossly unqualified for a position hasn't stopped any of Trump's previous nominees/appointments (although Jackson may be the most grossly unqualified), only scandal has. So someone somewhere decided to amplify the scandal part early to stop him.
posted by runcibleshaw at 3:14 PM on April 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 3:14 PM on April 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
(Sorry for the many posts. I may just be a bit perturbed by the e-mails I'm getting from seriously unqualified NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine.)
posted by runcibleshaw at 3:15 PM on April 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 3:15 PM on April 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
I totally agree, zachlipton, but being screamed and ranted at constantly by your supervisor/colleague is not "shitty management style." It's emotional abuse and workplace harassment, and it's exactly the type of awfulness we all agreed was fucking outrageous when Rob Porter did it to his former spouses.
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:16 PM on April 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:16 PM on April 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
If Pruitt goes as noisily as he's telegraphing, we may have a special cake day in the new thread* tomorrow.
* that someone is working on. Probably. ?
posted by petebest at 3:18 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
* that someone is working on. Probably. ?
posted by petebest at 3:18 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
Wait wait what the what now?
@mikememoli: NEW: Cambridge whistle blower told House Democrats Tuesday that Steve Bannon directed staff to test messaging in 2014 about Vladmir Putin and Russian expansion in Eastern Europe.
Chris Wylie said it was unusual because it was the only foreign leader they tested. "I can't explain why it was that they picked Vladmir Putin."
Wylie called Cambridge "a full service propaganda machine" and said it also focused, at Bannon's urging, on messaging that would discourage Democratic turnout.
posted by zachlipton at 3:18 PM on April 25, 2018 [44 favorites]
@mikememoli: NEW: Cambridge whistle blower told House Democrats Tuesday that Steve Bannon directed staff to test messaging in 2014 about Vladmir Putin and Russian expansion in Eastern Europe.
Chris Wylie said it was unusual because it was the only foreign leader they tested. "I can't explain why it was that they picked Vladmir Putin."
Wylie called Cambridge "a full service propaganda machine" and said it also focused, at Bannon's urging, on messaging that would discourage Democratic turnout.
posted by zachlipton at 3:18 PM on April 25, 2018 [44 favorites]
After the judge essentially told him to put up or shut up, Michael Cohen says he'll assert his 5th Amendment rights in the Stormy Daniels lawsuit.
posted by zachlipton at 3:20 PM on April 25, 2018 [45 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 3:20 PM on April 25, 2018 [45 favorites]
This is the rare minor Trump scandal.
Jackson is unqualified to serve as Secretary for Veterans Affairs. It is not a minor scandal.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 3:36 PM on April 25, 2018 [44 favorites]
Jackson is unqualified to serve as Secretary for Veterans Affairs. It is not a minor scandal.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 3:36 PM on April 25, 2018 [44 favorites]
The VA is the second-largest federal agency, with 370,000 employees and responsibility for millions of patients. Nominating someone unqualified to run it is not a distraction. It's a scandal and a betrayal of the people who rely on the VA's care.
Especially with how often Republicans flog "support the troops" and harangue democrats for being soft on military and veterans issues. It's hard to imagine a more contemptuous action towards veterans than nominating a total lackwit to the VA.
Except maybe nominating a robber baron privatizer, so that's probably coming next if Jackson's nomination does fail.
Republicans hate the troops. Their actions prove it, including Jackson's nomination. That's not a small issue.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:41 PM on April 25, 2018 [44 favorites]
Especially with how often Republicans flog "support the troops" and harangue democrats for being soft on military and veterans issues. It's hard to imagine a more contemptuous action towards veterans than nominating a total lackwit to the VA.
Except maybe nominating a robber baron privatizer, so that's probably coming next if Jackson's nomination does fail.
Republicans hate the troops. Their actions prove it, including Jackson's nomination. That's not a small issue.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:41 PM on April 25, 2018 [44 favorites]
From a private sector perspective, the VA is close to the size of Kaiser Permanente, Aetna, Cigna, and Humana combined. Chairman Trump is proposing that a doctor be put in charge of that massive health care organization who was previously responsible for managing 70 employees. Imagine how shareholders would respond if we were running this like a business.
posted by peeedro at 3:41 PM on April 25, 2018 [37 favorites]
posted by peeedro at 3:41 PM on April 25, 2018 [37 favorites]
ELECTIONS NEWS
** AZ-08 special:
** 2018 Senate:
** AZ-08 special:
-- The basic takeaway is that this is confirmation that the GOP is in serious danger. This race had none of the excuses that have been used in earlier specials to explain GOP underperformance. This was a midterm-level turnout election with pretty standard candidates in a 70% white, historically quite red district, with the GOP considerably outspending the Dems. And the GOP candidate only won by 5 points.** TX-27 special -- This election has been scheduled for June 30.
-- Takes from: Silver, Enten, Morris, Gonzales.
-- Also of note: historically, polling of specials has been pretty bad, but the polling average has been calling these pretty well.
-- The big question is: why the mismatch between special election margin (really good for the Dems) and the generic ballot margin (only good for the Dems)? And more to the point, which will be more predictive for November?
** 2018 Senate:
-- TN: Mason-Dixon poll has Dem Bredesen up 46-43 on GOPer Blackburn [MOE: +/- 4%]. 12% of Republicans say they would vote for Bredesen vs 4% of Dems for Blackburn.** 2018 House:
-- NV: Mellman poll finds GOPer Heller edging with Dem Rosen, 40-39 [MOE+/- 4%]. Trump approval -17, Heller -2. Rosen is +5, but her name recognition is much lower (she's a first term House member).
-- WV: Fox News poll of the GOP primary has Jenkins edging Morrisey, 25-21, with convicted murderer Blankenship back at 16 [MOE: +/- 3%]. Blankenship may be fading, this is the second recent poll to find him way back. Also interesting, Sen Manchin approval at -24 (among GOP primary voters, i.e., that's pretty high).
-- AZ: As expected, a GOP effort to cancel a potential special election to fill the McCain seat was foiled by state Senate Dems.
-- Weekly check-in with the generic ballot polling average has it at D+6.7 (46.4/39.7).** Odds & ends:
-- Vox: Health care may be the driving issue in the midterms.
-- PA GOP short-staffed, underfunded.posted by Chrysostom at 3:44 PM on April 25, 2018 [33 favorites]
-- IL gov: Victory Research poll has Dem Pritzker up 49-31 on GOPer Rauner [no MOE listed].
Trump, previously, on your staff taking the Fifth: When you have your staff taking the Fifth Amendment, taking the Fifth so they're not prosecuted, when you have the man that set up the illegal server taking the Fifth, I think it's disgraceful. And believe me, this country thinks it's -- really thinks it's disgraceful, also.
posted by zachlipton at 3:46 PM on April 25, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 3:46 PM on April 25, 2018 [20 favorites]
The weird thing about Jackson is how quickly the GOP is abandoning him. Every other Trump nomination they stay on till the bitter end.
posted by PenDevil at 3:46 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by PenDevil at 3:46 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
This is the rare minor Trump scandal.
Jackson is unqualified to serve as Secretary for Veterans Affairs. It is not a minor scandal.
This also should be a massive scandal about a flag officer's grossly inappropriate conduct being swept under the rug over and over, presumably because of his rank. It should put a big spotlight on how high-ranking officers aren't held accountable like everyone else--particularly in light of the Fat Leonard scandal and also in light of #MeToo, given the accounts of this guy being a harasser.
It won't get the sort of attention or follow-up it deserves. But it damn well should.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 3:51 PM on April 25, 2018 [46 favorites]
Jackson is unqualified to serve as Secretary for Veterans Affairs. It is not a minor scandal.
This also should be a massive scandal about a flag officer's grossly inappropriate conduct being swept under the rug over and over, presumably because of his rank. It should put a big spotlight on how high-ranking officers aren't held accountable like everyone else--particularly in light of the Fat Leonard scandal and also in light of #MeToo, given the accounts of this guy being a harasser.
It won't get the sort of attention or follow-up it deserves. But it damn well should.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 3:51 PM on April 25, 2018 [46 favorites]
Chairman Trump is proposing that a doctor be put in charge of that massive health care organization who was previously responsible for managing 70 employees.
I’ll preface this by saying that some of my favorite old Army buddies are doctors. But military doctors very rarely command people in the sense that anyone thinks of command or leadership or management. Even “leading” the WHMU is less like running a hospital and more like being a prefect at Hogwarts — you have some power, but there are people who are really running things, and everyone just sort of goes along with your “leadership” as a polite fiction.
posted by Etrigan at 3:56 PM on April 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
I’ll preface this by saying that some of my favorite old Army buddies are doctors. But military doctors very rarely command people in the sense that anyone thinks of command or leadership or management. Even “leading” the WHMU is less like running a hospital and more like being a prefect at Hogwarts — you have some power, but there are people who are really running things, and everyone just sort of goes along with your “leadership” as a polite fiction.
posted by Etrigan at 3:56 PM on April 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
After the judge essentially told him to put up or shut up, Michael Cohen says he'll assert his 5th Amendment rights in the Stormy Daniels lawsuit.
posted by zachlipton at 7:20 AM on April 26 [9 favorites +] [!]
Is Micheal Cohen financing multiple home purchases with cheap mortgages which he intends to sell for profit in a popular urban area before reinvesting the profits in more such purchases before the sub-prime crisis of 2008 because damn boy be flippin'. #cohendunk
News ephemera:
Wassup America you now have the 45th most free media in the world according to the new Reporters Without Borders 2018 World Press Freedom Index. Only two more down the rankings and we're in the orange, just like our president, who is listed as the primary factor for our decline!
Guardian: Scotland recognises social security as a human right
Not US political news but just, y'know, how things are proceeding in the rest of the world vs. where we are.
Axios: Everybody likes Nikki Haley
Politico: Sessions won't say if he's recused from Michael Cohen probe
posted by zachlipton at 7:20 AM on April 26 [9 favorites +] [!]
Is Micheal Cohen financing multiple home purchases with cheap mortgages which he intends to sell for profit in a popular urban area before reinvesting the profits in more such purchases before the sub-prime crisis of 2008 because damn boy be flippin'. #cohendunk
News ephemera:
Wassup America you now have the 45th most free media in the world according to the new Reporters Without Borders 2018 World Press Freedom Index. Only two more down the rankings and we're in the orange, just like our president, who is listed as the primary factor for our decline!
Guardian: Scotland recognises social security as a human right
Not US political news but just, y'know, how things are proceeding in the rest of the world vs. where we are.
Axios: Everybody likes Nikki Haley
U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is the most popular member of President Trump's foreign policy team, surpassing Defense Secretary Mattis, and she even has widespread approval among Democrats, young people and minorities, according to a new Quinnipiac poll.Guardian: Melania Trump waxwork unveiled at Madame Tussauds by Sean Spicer
Why it matters: The former governor of South Carolina is just 46 years old, and her political ambitions extend far beyond her current post. Most senior officials in this administration have become polarizing just by virtue of working for Trump, but not Haley — at least so far.
By the numbers
Haley's approval/disapproval: Republicans (75/9), Democrats (55/23), Independents (63/19).
Compare that to Trump: Republicans (84/11), Democrats (5/92), Independents (34/58).
Black and Hispanic voters were more than twice as likely to approve of Haley than Trump, and women nearly so.
Politico: Sessions won't say if he's recused from Michael Cohen probe
"I am honoring the recusal in every case and every matter that comes before the Department of Justice," Sessions said. "I committed to that in my confirmation hearing and will continue to honor that."posted by saysthis at 4:03 PM on April 25, 2018 [22 favorites]
[...]
Pressed by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on whether he has stepped aside from the Cohen case, Sessions said he could not elaborate because he could not reveal sensitive details about ongoing investigations.
"It is the policy of the Department of Justice that those who recuse themselves not state the details of it or confirm the existence of an investigation," Sessions replied, while acknowledging that he has not met the top DOJ ethics official to discuss the issue. "I feel like I'm following the rules of the department, which I'm trying to teach all our people to do. I feel I should not answer the question."
"Recusal is not discretionary," Leahy responded. "It's required by Justice Department regulations when you have a political relationship with the president and the president has specific and substantial interests in the investigation."
Later in the hearing Wednesday, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) came back at the issue, asking Sessions whether he would step aside from the Cohen probe if he discovers that it is connected to the 2016 campaign.
"Yes," Sessions replied, without elaborating.
“The mob takes the Fifth,” he said at an Iowa campaign rally in September. “If you're innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?”
posted by kirkaracha at 4:05 PM on April 25, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 4:05 PM on April 25, 2018 [18 favorites]
The weird thing about Jackson is how quickly the GOP is abandoning him.
By "abandoning," do you mean "voting against?" Because the new chic for GOP is "trash-talk the president's choices while voting to support them, no matter how many of your constituents will be hurt by them."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 4:07 PM on April 25, 2018 [34 favorites]
By "abandoning," do you mean "voting against?" Because the new chic for GOP is "trash-talk the president's choices while voting to support them, no matter how many of your constituents will be hurt by them."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 4:07 PM on April 25, 2018 [34 favorites]
Kyle Griffin (MSNBC):
TRUMP in September 2016: "The mob takes the Fifth. If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?"
VIDEO
posted by chris24 at 4:11 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
TRUMP in September 2016: "The mob takes the Fifth. If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?"
VIDEO
posted by chris24 at 4:11 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
@margbrennan: “I believe your president will get rid of this deal on his own for domestic reasons," France's @EmmanuelMacron tells us that he believes @POTUS will exit the #IranDeal in May. He plans to call @HassanRouhani to discuss next steps & a new round of diplomacy.
US flip-flops on treaties are “insane,” says the French president.
Macron's speech to Congress also had strong words on climate change.
posted by zachlipton at 4:19 PM on April 25, 2018 [19 favorites]
US flip-flops on treaties are “insane,” says the French president.
Macron's speech to Congress also had strong words on climate change.
posted by zachlipton at 4:19 PM on April 25, 2018 [19 favorites]
catching up, from upthread:
1) For a guy who values loyalty, Trump has the most disloyal coterie ever.
Trying to pin down what exactly is so gross about loyalty pledges, I've beanplated the idea off and on for a while, and I think the reason it seems absurd is that normal well-meaning people don't demand loyalty since we already receive it by default, as does anyone who actually deserves loyalty.
Loyalty becomes a valuable commodity when it is scarce, hence the only people seeking it out are those who don't deserve any, i.e. criminals, mob bosses, unlikeable assholes, etc.
It's not true irony that Trump seeks loyalty but finds the opposite. That should be the expected result because the only people who are so desperate for loyalty that they have to beg, bribe, or barter for it are exactly the people who attract disloyalty and distrust by their natural behavior.
posted by p3t3 at 4:30 PM on April 25, 2018 [48 favorites]
1) For a guy who values loyalty, Trump has the most disloyal coterie ever.
Trying to pin down what exactly is so gross about loyalty pledges, I've beanplated the idea off and on for a while, and I think the reason it seems absurd is that normal well-meaning people don't demand loyalty since we already receive it by default, as does anyone who actually deserves loyalty.
Loyalty becomes a valuable commodity when it is scarce, hence the only people seeking it out are those who don't deserve any, i.e. criminals, mob bosses, unlikeable assholes, etc.
It's not true irony that Trump seeks loyalty but finds the opposite. That should be the expected result because the only people who are so desperate for loyalty that they have to beg, bribe, or barter for it are exactly the people who attract disloyalty and distrust by their natural behavior.
posted by p3t3 at 4:30 PM on April 25, 2018 [48 favorites]
The Toronto attack didn’t “disappear from Reddit.” There was
a top post on /r/Politics yesterday noting that Trump hasn’t tweeted about Toronto or Tennessee attacks cause white perps for example.
posted by msalt at 4:36 PM on April 25, 2018 [11 favorites]
a top post on /r/Politics yesterday noting that Trump hasn’t tweeted about Toronto or Tennessee attacks cause white perps for example.
posted by msalt at 4:36 PM on April 25, 2018 [11 favorites]
That picture of Sean Spicer at the Madame Tussaud's unveiling of Melania is so perfectly terrible.
Arguably in-focus, weirdly composed action shot of Spicer in mid-burp(?) misaligned with the waxworks,his head framed, vise-like, by the window panes behind him. Spicer's coiffure gives the background a special waft of greenscreen.
Melania Blue-Steels, waxenly. Which is not a thing as only an image such as this can convey. Wax TwoScoops hovers, gravely. Constipatedly. It's an image Dali would love.
posted by petebest at 5:36 PM on April 25, 2018 [13 favorites]
Arguably in-focus, weirdly composed action shot of Spicer in mid-burp(?) misaligned with the waxworks,his head framed, vise-like, by the window panes behind him. Spicer's coiffure gives the background a special waft of greenscreen.
Melania Blue-Steels, waxenly. Which is not a thing as only an image such as this can convey. Wax TwoScoops hovers, gravely. Constipatedly. It's an image Dali would love.
posted by petebest at 5:36 PM on April 25, 2018 [13 favorites]
Trying to pin down what exactly is so gross about loyalty pledges, I've beanplated the idea off and on for a while, and I think the reason it seems absurd is that normal well-meaning people don't demand loyalty since we already receive it by default, as does anyone who actually deserves loyalty.
I think another element of it is that if (a) everyone on the team, including the boss, is honestly working for the good of the company/country/whatever and (b) they are all ethical professionals, then the boss doesn't need to think about loyalty because everyone's interests are organically aligned.
In Trump's case, he's usually doing something shady, and he sets things up so that staff are working against each other instead of for some common goal, so he needs to worry about whether his interests are being threatened either by the resulting melee or by someone who really does feel responsibility to the country.
posted by duoshao at 5:46 PM on April 25, 2018 [17 favorites]
I think another element of it is that if (a) everyone on the team, including the boss, is honestly working for the good of the company/country/whatever and (b) they are all ethical professionals, then the boss doesn't need to think about loyalty because everyone's interests are organically aligned.
In Trump's case, he's usually doing something shady, and he sets things up so that staff are working against each other instead of for some common goal, so he needs to worry about whether his interests are being threatened either by the resulting melee or by someone who really does feel responsibility to the country.
posted by duoshao at 5:46 PM on April 25, 2018 [17 favorites]
There is an interactive element, too: Tussauds have invited visitors to “Give Melania a voice” by tweeting from a social media station next to her waxwork. The tweets will appear on a live stream, and those deemed suitable will be tweeted out to the world.Suitable? Ah, man. "Let me out. Let me out of here. Get me the hell out of here."
posted by kirkaracha at 5:46 PM on April 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
Steve Bannon directed staff to test messaging in 2014 about Vladmir Putin and Russian expansion in Eastern Europe.
I can imagine a few scenarios where one might want to test a political message regarding Putin. Bannon, in 2014 - er, okay maybe for Sessions whom he was working for? But I am not smartated enough to understand what messaging about Russian expansion in Eastern Europe would be about or even look like.
"Do you support Russia invading Eastern Europe?" y/n? Like, who's the audience for that one? Racists of a flavor, I assume, but . . . I dunno.
posted by petebest at 5:54 PM on April 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
I can imagine a few scenarios where one might want to test a political message regarding Putin. Bannon, in 2014 - er, okay maybe for Sessions whom he was working for? But I am not smartated enough to understand what messaging about Russian expansion in Eastern Europe would be about or even look like.
"Do you support Russia invading Eastern Europe?" y/n? Like, who's the audience for that one? Racists of a flavor, I assume, but . . . I dunno.
posted by petebest at 5:54 PM on April 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
Madame Tussaud's unveiling of Melania
We probably shouldn't read into it, but Tussaud is pretty flattering to the subject whereas Disneyland's version is much less.
But Tussaud did put in neck wattles - but " 'shopped" them into respectability.
I know it's petty to talk about such things, but US Presidential hair-going-grey during their tenure is kind of a thing. Mostly (almost all?) coincidence. But presidential stress is still a real thing - has DJT gained/ lost much weight since being sworn in?
posted by porpoise at 6:13 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
We probably shouldn't read into it, but Tussaud is pretty flattering to the subject whereas Disneyland's version is much less.
But Tussaud did put in neck wattles - but " 'shopped" them into respectability.
I know it's petty to talk about such things, but US Presidential hair-going-grey during their tenure is kind of a thing. Mostly (almost all?) coincidence. But presidential stress is still a real thing - has DJT gained/ lost much weight since being sworn in?
posted by porpoise at 6:13 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
To riff on the loyalty discussion but in regards to Ronny Jackson, the remarkable part of the story to me were the reports yesterday that more than 20 current and former members of the White House Medical Unit had stepped forward to act as whistleblowers to members of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. These people serve within both a medical hierarchy and the military chain of command. It goes way beyond calling foul on a supervisor in a normal job; this involves nurses, corpsmen, and physician's assistants questioning the judgement of the unit's managing physician, as well as enlisted service members and junior officers questioning the leadership of an admiral. They have established channels to raise these concerns, and I've seen reporting that some had done so, but for so many people to step out of their workplace hierarchy and chain of command to bring the issue to congress indicates the severity of their concern over Jackson's nomination to VA secretary. I don't think that's an action taken lightly as the repercussions could be quite severe for them.
posted by peeedro at 6:34 PM on April 25, 2018 [55 favorites]
posted by peeedro at 6:34 PM on April 25, 2018 [55 favorites]
has DJT gained/ lost much weight since being sworn in?
No, and that's why I don't trust Admiral Doctor Ronny to run the VA. He was supposed to have put DJT on salads. Well, where's the salads? Shouldn't that regimen change be showing by now? WHERE'S THE GAINS?
posted by Don Pepino at 6:40 PM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
No, and that's why I don't trust Admiral Doctor Ronny to run the VA. He was supposed to have put DJT on salads. Well, where's the salads? Shouldn't that regimen change be showing by now? WHERE'S THE GAINS?
posted by Don Pepino at 6:40 PM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Voting rights good news: Federal Court orders Marion County, Indiana to open satellite early voting sites for 2018 general election. County GOP refused to allow them in Federal elections after Obama's win in 2008 in violation of US Constitution.
And bad news: Federal Court Says Florida Can Hold Off On New System For Restoring Voting Rights
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:42 PM on April 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
And bad news: Federal Court Says Florida Can Hold Off On New System For Restoring Voting Rights
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:42 PM on April 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
Guardian: North Korea nuclear test site has collapsed and may be out of action – China study
Report builds on evidence that site is unstable after sixth nuclear test and puts Kim Jong-un’s pledge to no longer use site in a new light
It goes on to detail Chinese geological & seismological findings and radiation leak fears.
My over-caffeinated realpolitik conspiracy theory hot take that you should put no stock in whatsoever - Beijing told Kim to knock it the fuck off before China has to cope with the PR disaster of radiation poisoning on its border, Kim or Xi or both realized Trump is a big enough rube to accept any spin, and now they're trying to bluff their way through an end to the conflict. Russia's on the border too and probably has all the same data and realizes giving Trump a win on this is a huge stumbling block for the mid-term blue wave, so they're just sitting back with the popcorn. I think they're all too optimistic and Trump will somehow turn this into a huge own goal for all involved and China will suddenly get all bellicose about nuclear danger and invade and use it to score further rising superpower cred, then hammer the US for being an irresponsible nuclear power (while ignoring Russia).
posted by saysthis at 6:53 PM on April 25, 2018 [11 favorites]
Report builds on evidence that site is unstable after sixth nuclear test and puts Kim Jong-un’s pledge to no longer use site in a new light
It goes on to detail Chinese geological & seismological findings and radiation leak fears.
My over-caffeinated realpolitik conspiracy theory hot take that you should put no stock in whatsoever - Beijing told Kim to knock it the fuck off before China has to cope with the PR disaster of radiation poisoning on its border, Kim or Xi or both realized Trump is a big enough rube to accept any spin, and now they're trying to bluff their way through an end to the conflict. Russia's on the border too and probably has all the same data and realizes giving Trump a win on this is a huge stumbling block for the mid-term blue wave, so they're just sitting back with the popcorn. I think they're all too optimistic and Trump will somehow turn this into a huge own goal for all involved and China will suddenly get all bellicose about nuclear danger and invade and use it to score further rising superpower cred, then hammer the US for being an irresponsible nuclear power (while ignoring Russia).
posted by saysthis at 6:53 PM on April 25, 2018 [11 favorites]
That picture of Sean Spicer at the Madame Tussaud's unveiling of Melania is so perfectly terrible.
The first thing I noticed is Trump's tie. Way too short, compared to the idiot way he wears it.
(they did get Melania's Blue Steel down-pat, though)
posted by notsnot at 7:06 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
The first thing I noticed is Trump's tie. Way too short, compared to the idiot way he wears it.
(they did get Melania's Blue Steel down-pat, though)
posted by notsnot at 7:06 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
My over-caffeinated realpolitik conspiracy theory hot take
Forgot to mention Japan & SK in this hot take, but I think neither knew about this until the study came out, and I think Japan's just kinda reacting and I think SK would never slap away an olive branch from NK, so I think their positions remain unchanged by this news. I didn't forget them, I just don't think this changes their approaches...yet.
posted by saysthis at 7:07 PM on April 25, 2018
Forgot to mention Japan & SK in this hot take, but I think neither knew about this until the study came out, and I think Japan's just kinda reacting and I think SK would never slap away an olive branch from NK, so I think their positions remain unchanged by this news. I didn't forget them, I just don't think this changes their approaches...yet.
posted by saysthis at 7:07 PM on April 25, 2018
But Sinatra was a well dressed charmer, and Trump is just a lout. I guess their most common ground is the womanizing and the mob ties.
Not in his mind. You know those 1980s music videos of Bryan Ferry looking rakish in an expensive suit with the tie loosened? I guarantee you that’s what he thinks he looks like, except stronger.
posted by msalt at 7:29 PM on April 25, 2018 [14 favorites]
Not in his mind. You know those 1980s music videos of Bryan Ferry looking rakish in an expensive suit with the tie loosened? I guarantee you that’s what he thinks he looks like, except stronger.
posted by msalt at 7:29 PM on April 25, 2018 [14 favorites]
And bad news: Federal Court Says Florida Can Hold Off On New System For Restoring Voting Rights
Well, on the (still horrible) bright side, the tens of thousands of incredibly angry Puerto Ricans who are now Florida residents with full voting rights may make up the difference. It's still a shanda, though.
posted by nonasuch at 7:30 PM on April 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
Well, on the (still horrible) bright side, the tens of thousands of incredibly angry Puerto Ricans who are now Florida residents with full voting rights may make up the difference. It's still a shanda, though.
posted by nonasuch at 7:30 PM on April 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
They knew, they were just waiting for the hard data to be finalized. I saw after the last test news reports that said the speculation was that the cavern has collapsed and that there was concern about radioactivity being spread through the region. 200 feared dead after North Korea tunnel collapse
posted by azpenguin at 7:33 PM on April 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by azpenguin at 7:33 PM on April 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
GOP Senator Marchione retiring from New York Senate 43. District went 49-46 Trump, Obama 53-45, so definitely a big target.
If Dems pick up a seat, New York will be under Democratic unified control.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:33 PM on April 25, 2018 [46 favorites]
If Dems pick up a seat, New York will be under Democratic unified control.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:33 PM on April 25, 2018 [46 favorites]
Gotta get crackin on those judges if there might be a power shift.
S. Res. 355 would reduce post-cloture debate time for most executive branch nominees from 30 hours to eight hours and District Court nominees from 30 hours to two hours. However, the 30 hours of post-cloture debate time for Supreme Court, Circuit Court, and Cabinet-level nominees would remain the same under the proposed resolution.posted by phearlez at 8:21 PM on April 25, 2018
In December 2017, Senator Shelby held a hearing as chairman of the Rules Committee to review Senator Lankford’s resolution. The full committee met today to debate the bill and advanced the resolution by a vote of 10 to 9. The measure now awaits consideration by the full Senate.
CNN: Expelled Spies Included Russians Suspected Of Tracking Compatriots Who Resettled In US
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:32 PM on April 25, 2018 [24 favorites]
Among the dozens of Russian diplomats the US expelled last month were suspected spies who US law enforcement and intelligence officials believe were tracking Russian defectors and their families who had resettled in the US, officials briefed on the matter tell CNN.And on the Novichok side of espionage news, the Russian scientist who claimed to have developed the nerve agent that poisoned Sergei Skripal has reportedly been hit by a car in Russia (Business Insider).
In at least one instance, suspected Russian spies were believed to be casing someone who was part of a CIA program that provided new identities to protect resettled Russians, the officials said.
That episode and other US intelligence raised concerns that the Russians were preparing to target Russian émigrés in the US labeled by the Kremlin as traitors or enemies, law enforcement and intelligence officials said.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:32 PM on April 25, 2018 [24 favorites]
NBC: Trump's VA nominee Ronny Jackson in talks to withdraw after new allegations raised
He's the one they call doctor feelbad
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:06 PM on April 25, 2018 [36 favorites]
He's the one they call doctor feelbad
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:06 PM on April 25, 2018 [36 favorites]
No idea why: Trump set for official UK visit in July – minus pomp and ceremony
No, seriously. What the hell is going to do over there? He loves basking in the reflected glow of his own glory from the adoring crowd but he won't get to do any of that. He can't talk policy because he's a moron who can't understand his own policies let alone discuss new ones. He gets some photos of him with the royals & proto-fascist politicos, OK. And he gets to visit a couple (closed to the public for the day) museums which will mostly bore & tire him out). And dodge the sizable protests that'll happen anyway. And sit on his bed in the Palace & watch British TV which will only annoy him because it's not Fox News.
posted by scalefree at 9:34 PM on April 25, 2018 [10 favorites]
No, seriously. What the hell is going to do over there? He loves basking in the reflected glow of his own glory from the adoring crowd but he won't get to do any of that. He can't talk policy because he's a moron who can't understand his own policies let alone discuss new ones. He gets some photos of him with the royals & proto-fascist politicos, OK. And he gets to visit a couple (closed to the public for the day) museums which will mostly bore & tire him out). And dodge the sizable protests that'll happen anyway. And sit on his bed in the Palace & watch British TV which will only annoy him because it's not Fox News.
posted by scalefree at 9:34 PM on April 25, 2018 [10 favorites]
What's Nigel Farage got planned in July?
posted by fluttering hellfire at 9:37 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 9:37 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
Not in his mind. You know those 1980s music videos of Bryan Ferry looking rakish in an expensive suit with the tie loosened? I guarantee you that’s what he thinks he looks like, except stronger.
But at the same time he wore a full length winter overcoat in 60 degree weather because it hides how fat he is - same reason he never buttons his suits. Trump's skull is a crowded place.
posted by scalefree at 9:43 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
But at the same time he wore a full length winter overcoat in 60 degree weather because it hides how fat he is - same reason he never buttons his suits. Trump's skull is a crowded place.
posted by scalefree at 9:43 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
AP, Arizona’s only black legislators chastised after race talk
The only two black members of the Arizona Legislature were formally chastised for speaking out against a Republican lawmaker’s published column, which included a racial slur and they say derided black activists while attempting to discredit leaders of a teacher group protesting for better pay.posted by zachlipton at 9:54 PM on April 25, 2018 [38 favorites]
Rep. Maria Syms wrote in a column published in the Arizona Republic that the two best-known leaders of the #RedforEd movement are “political operatives” who are radicalizing Arizona youth. She called Noah Karvelis’ classroom “exotic” and said he prides himself on teaching students music from the hip hop artist Kendrick Lamar. Syms included a lyric from the Pulitzer Prize-winning artist that included a derogatory term for African-Americans.
Democratic Rep. Reginald Bolding, who is black, said he was offended by the language she used.
...
Majority Republicans voted to formally rebuke Bolding as well as the only other black member of the Legislature, Democratic Rep. Geraldine Peten, when she began speaking on the same subject.
On The Rachel Maddow Show tonight she interviews Ronan Farrow on his tour for his new book War on Peace: The End of Diplomacy and the Decline of American Influence and introduces the conversation with the following quote from the book:
I'm inclined to agree with Rosenberger that it was more likely an intentional concession trying to patch up Trump's moronic pre-inauguration stumble of denouncing the One China policy. Not that Kushner isn't a primary orifice for the corruption of the Trump regime but having the “master negotiator” in charge has involved giving lots of stuff away for free as much as it has involved quid-pro-quos.
posted by XMLicious at 12:51 AM on April 26, 2018 [16 favorites]
During Tillerson's first trip to China as secretary of state, he and President Xi Jinping sat in matching taupe leather armchairs in front of a mural of Chinese pastoral beauty: cranes soaring over pristine valleys and forests. They wore matching red ties and dark jackets.Farrow and Maddow imply that Jared Kushner arranged for Tillerson to say that by subverting the speech-writing process without Tillerson's knowledge, but according to Laura Rosenberger in Foreign Policy last year after it happened: “Did Rex Tillerson Misspeak or Intentionally Kowtow to China?” Tillerson used that sequence of phrases repeatedly during the visit to China.
And, in a move that left close followers of US-Chinese relations agape, they used matching language. President Xi urged the United States to “expand cooperative areas and achieve win-win results.” Tillerson agreed: “The US side is ready to develop relations with China based on the principle of no conflict, no confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation.”
A lay observer might have blinked and missed it, but Asia experts at the State Department and beyond saw something unusual immediately. Tillerson had all but copy-pasted earlier statements by Xi who, just a few months before, had expressed hope that President Trump would “uphold the principles of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation.”
That was the most recent of many examples of Xi and other communist officials, using that coded sequence of terms to describe a new balance of powers, with China as an equal to the United States, and the US deferring to Chinese prerogatives on contentious issues from Taiwan to territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
State-run media instantly picked up on the dog whistle. “Tillerson has implicitly endorsed the new model of major power relations,” crowed the communist-affiliated Global Times, saying Tillerson's language has given “US allies in the Asia Pacific region an impression that China and the US are equal...” as “Barack Obama refused to do.”
I'm inclined to agree with Rosenberger that it was more likely an intentional concession trying to patch up Trump's moronic pre-inauguration stumble of denouncing the One China policy. Not that Kushner isn't a primary orifice for the corruption of the Trump regime but having the “master negotiator” in charge has involved giving lots of stuff away for free as much as it has involved quid-pro-quos.
posted by XMLicious at 12:51 AM on April 26, 2018 [16 favorites]
Another Calvinesque and Hobbesian look at Donald Trump and his imaginary friends by Tom the Dancing Bug.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:03 AM on April 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:03 AM on April 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
Kanye West criticizes Obama and praises Trump: 'The mob can't make me not love him'
So Kanye got on the Trump train, though they probably made him sit at the back.
posted by adept256 at 3:05 AM on April 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
So Kanye got on the Trump train, though they probably made him sit at the back.
posted by adept256 at 3:05 AM on April 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
This looks a lot like Kanye's equivalent of Bowie's mid-70s swastika-armband period. I wonder if prodigious quantities of cocaine are involved as well.
posted by acb at 3:09 AM on April 26, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by acb at 3:09 AM on April 26, 2018 [8 favorites]
I found this backgrounder on "Dragon Energy", and yeah, they're in the stratosphere.
posted by mikelieman at 3:22 AM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by mikelieman at 3:22 AM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
This looks a lot like Kanye's equivalent of Bowie's mid-70s swastika-armband period.
Or Drunk Clapton in Birmingham going off on a rant about "Enoch Powell was right".
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 3:29 AM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Or Drunk Clapton in Birmingham going off on a rant about "Enoch Powell was right".
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 3:29 AM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
James Brown supported Nixon, to the astonishment and regret of his coterie. Until he didn't of course. I wonder what an 85-year-old JB would say about Trump.
James Brown had changed his tune on Nixon. In May 1973 he recorded, “You Can Have Watergate Just Gimme Some Bucks And l’ll Be Straight,” a song with few words that offered a concise summary of his evolved political views.
Nixon’s eventual Watergate-related departure led to Brown’s “Funky President (People It’s Bad),” recorded in the fall of 1974, just after Gerald Ford took office. James Brown was no longer a fan or Nixon or his successor.
In James' case, per the mui excellente biography "Kill 'Em and Leave", it was more about his being recognized as a leader - he felt he could solve a lot of the world's problems if people. would just listen to him. (Sounds familiar) But no one ever got around to linking that to supporting Nixon or his administrations. It seems that his ego got the better of him. (He did ask Jimmy Carter for help with his tax bill, which, shows a more banal power relationship. Carter demurred because, well, you can't do that.)
posted by petebest at 4:11 AM on April 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
James Brown had changed his tune on Nixon. In May 1973 he recorded, “You Can Have Watergate Just Gimme Some Bucks And l’ll Be Straight,” a song with few words that offered a concise summary of his evolved political views.
Nixon’s eventual Watergate-related departure led to Brown’s “Funky President (People It’s Bad),” recorded in the fall of 1974, just after Gerald Ford took office. James Brown was no longer a fan or Nixon or his successor.
In James' case, per the mui excellente biography "Kill 'Em and Leave", it was more about his being recognized as a leader - he felt he could solve a lot of the world's problems if people. would just listen to him. (Sounds familiar) But no one ever got around to linking that to supporting Nixon or his administrations. It seems that his ego got the better of him. (He did ask Jimmy Carter for help with his tax bill, which, shows a more banal power relationship. Carter demurred because, well, you can't do that.)
posted by petebest at 4:11 AM on April 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
Or he could just be really into the misogyny. Doesn’t really need a whole lot of explanation.
posted by schadenfrau at 4:12 AM on April 26, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by schadenfrau at 4:12 AM on April 26, 2018 [8 favorites]
Dammit my cat likes to bat at my phone when I’m in bed.
What I wanted to say was that Trump lovers seem to fall into a few groups — either really enthusiastic white supremacists, or people who find something emotionally validating in Trump (and sometimes these groups overlap). Trump himself isn’t particularly complicated, and there aren’t a whole lot of emotions that he validates. Grievance, racism, and misogyny are the big ones. So.
posted by schadenfrau at 4:16 AM on April 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
What I wanted to say was that Trump lovers seem to fall into a few groups — either really enthusiastic white supremacists, or people who find something emotionally validating in Trump (and sometimes these groups overlap). Trump himself isn’t particularly complicated, and there aren’t a whole lot of emotions that he validates. Grievance, racism, and misogyny are the big ones. So.
posted by schadenfrau at 4:16 AM on April 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
Hey remember long ago when people in these threads were talking about how either Kanye or Zuckerberg was going to be the candidate that would save the democrats in 2020?
Thank goodness those ships sailed.
posted by mmoncur at 4:19 AM on April 26, 2018 [59 favorites]
Thank goodness those ships sailed.
posted by mmoncur at 4:19 AM on April 26, 2018 [59 favorites]
This, from all of a week ago, aged well.
@jacobinmag
Kanye West is our best Marxist rn
---
@JohnFugelsang
Hey remember when the Trump team said Kanye wasn't invited to the inaugural bc he wasn't "traditionally American" but Michael Flatley was? There are better reality TV stars to squander your credibility with, Yeezy.
---
And in other more real news.
@Nate_Cohn (NYT)
It's just housekeeping now, but for those keeping track: Lesko's lead ticked down to 4.8 points with now 183k votes counted. Tipirneni won today's 9k tabulated ballots--presumably last day absentees--by about 4 points
@JoyceWhiteVance (MSNBC Legal Analysts, UoAL law prof)
Cohen says he can’t answer any questions in the Stormy Daniels case without incriminating himself. That means any files regarding his clients in that matter, including Trump, are likely not protected by the attorney-client privilege because of the crime fraud exception.
posted by chris24 at 4:40 AM on April 26, 2018 [66 favorites]
@jacobinmag
Kanye West is our best Marxist rn
---
@JohnFugelsang
Hey remember when the Trump team said Kanye wasn't invited to the inaugural bc he wasn't "traditionally American" but Michael Flatley was? There are better reality TV stars to squander your credibility with, Yeezy.
---
And in other more real news.
@Nate_Cohn (NYT)
It's just housekeeping now, but for those keeping track: Lesko's lead ticked down to 4.8 points with now 183k votes counted. Tipirneni won today's 9k tabulated ballots--presumably last day absentees--by about 4 points
@JoyceWhiteVance (MSNBC Legal Analysts, UoAL law prof)
Cohen says he can’t answer any questions in the Stormy Daniels case without incriminating himself. That means any files regarding his clients in that matter, including Trump, are likely not protected by the attorney-client privilege because of the crime fraud exception.
posted by chris24 at 4:40 AM on April 26, 2018 [66 favorites]
Can someone explain a bit more about what happens in the Cohen case? As a not-American, it all seems a bit complicated.
posted by mumimor at 4:50 AM on April 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by mumimor at 4:50 AM on April 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
WaPo: Ronny Jackson withdraws as nominee to lead Veterans Affairs after wave of misconduct allegations
posted by chris24 at 5:01 AM on April 26, 2018 [55 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 5:01 AM on April 26, 2018 [55 favorites]
He's invoked the fifth amendment, meaning he cannot be compelled to answer questions that may incriminate him. The implication is that his answers would be incriminating.
posted by adept256 at 5:01 AM on April 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by adept256 at 5:01 AM on April 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
How does application of the crime fraud exception work when an attorney pleads the fifth? Does the privilege just disappear with the taking the fifth or is the pleading of the fifth just one piece of evidence to support the claim of criminal fraud or what?
posted by angrycat at 5:07 AM on April 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 5:07 AM on April 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
He's invoked the fifth amendment, meaning he cannot be compelled to answer questions that may incriminate him. The implication is that his answers would be incriminating.
And since he's involved in a civil suit with Stormy Daniels and a criminal investigation with SDNY, what he says in the Stormy case would not only have civil/financial ramifications in that case, but also potential criminal liability since SDNY can use what he might say in the Stormy case against him in their case.
posted by chris24 at 5:08 AM on April 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
And since he's involved in a civil suit with Stormy Daniels and a criminal investigation with SDNY, what he says in the Stormy case would not only have civil/financial ramifications in that case, but also potential criminal liability since SDNY can use what he might say in the Stormy case against him in their case.
posted by chris24 at 5:08 AM on April 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
How does application of the crime fraud exception work when an attorney pleads the fifth? Does the privilege just disappear with the taking the fifth or is the pleading of the fifth just one piece of evidence to support the claim of criminal fraud or what?
IANAL, but according to people who are, you can assume someone's guilt in a civil case when they take the 5th, unlike in a criminal case.
Litigation & Trial: Pleading The Fifth Amendment And Adverse Inferences In Civil Litigation
IANAL, but according to people who are, you can assume someone's guilt in a civil case when they take the 5th, unlike in a criminal case.
Litigation & Trial: Pleading The Fifth Amendment And Adverse Inferences In Civil Litigation
Second, although in a criminal procedure, the court must instruct the jury that it cannot draw an inference of guilt from a defendant’s failure to testify about facts relevant to his case, Griffin v. California, 380 U.S. 609 (1965), in civil cases, “the Fifth Amendment does not forbid adverse inferences against parties to civil actions when they refuse to testify in response to probative evidence offered against them.” Baxter v. Palmigiano, 425 U.S. 308, 318 (1976).posted by chris24 at 5:18 AM on April 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
The rule under Baxter is akin to Cicero’s maxim, “Though silence is not necessarily an admission, it is not a denial, either.” That is to say, an opposing party can’t simply point to the silence and claim victory in their civil case, but a court is entitled to draw adverse inferences against the party that “pleads the Fifth.” (Justice Brandeis said: “Silence is often evidence of the most persuasive character.” United States ex rel. Bilokumsky v. Tod, 263 U.S. 149 (1923)). Thus, pleading the Fifth in a civil case in federal court is never helpful, is rarely harmless, and is typically very damaging — indeed, it’s often fatal to the party’s claims or defenses.
Sooo... does this mean the Stormy Daniels countersuit (filed a month ago today!) will most likely prevail, and the NDA is moot? Other NDAs?
posted by Devonian at 5:27 AM on April 26, 2018
posted by Devonian at 5:27 AM on April 26, 2018
Trump just called into Fox & Friends to try to do some spin and appeared to admit that Michael Cohen provided legal representation for him in the "crazy Stormy Daniels thing."
posted by XMLicious at 5:29 AM on April 26, 2018 [54 favorites]
posted by XMLicious at 5:29 AM on April 26, 2018 [54 favorites]
Sam Stein on Twitter:" Trump admits that Cohen represented him on Stormy Daniels, though the talking point originally from Cohen was that Trump was unaware."
Trump has called into Fox & Friends to implicate himself I guess.
Also: "Trump says he never told Comey he didn’t stay overnight in Moscow"
posted by mikepop at 5:31 AM on April 26, 2018 [44 favorites]
Trump has called into Fox & Friends to implicate himself I guess.
Also: "Trump says he never told Comey he didn’t stay overnight in Moscow"
posted by mikepop at 5:31 AM on April 26, 2018 [44 favorites]
So Trump, who gets all his information and talking points from Fox & Friends, is now calling into Fox & Friends and providing them with his own information and talking points which he will then highlight as part of an attack on actual journalists. It's like an infinite ouroboros but instead of its tail the snake is forever swallowing it's own bullshit.
This administration is many things, from hopelessly incompetent to hopelessly corrupt, but it's definitely post-modern.
posted by Freon at 5:47 AM on April 26, 2018 [75 favorites]
This administration is many things, from hopelessly incompetent to hopelessly corrupt, but it's definitely post-modern.
posted by Freon at 5:47 AM on April 26, 2018 [75 favorites]
Trump has called into Fox & Friends to implicate himself I guess.
Also: "Trump says he never told Comey he didn’t stay overnight in Moscow"
Trump is a nightmare client even aside from payment issues; he will not only say 20 contradictory things on the record, but will never, ever just shut up.
posted by jaduncan at 5:50 AM on April 26, 2018 [41 favorites]
Also: "Trump says he never told Comey he didn’t stay overnight in Moscow"
Trump is a nightmare client even aside from payment issues; he will not only say 20 contradictory things on the record, but will never, ever just shut up.
posted by jaduncan at 5:50 AM on April 26, 2018 [41 favorites]
Oh, one other random observation. If I had a retained a lawyer/fixer who was a potential witness against me in many criminal matters, I would probably not attempt to make his previous statements that he was not representing me look like criminal fraud and generate further prosecutorial leverage against him.
posted by jaduncan at 5:58 AM on April 26, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by jaduncan at 5:58 AM on April 26, 2018 [19 favorites]
Wow. Trump is just wound up like a spring loaded toy on Fox today. He must be literally bouncing off the walls in the White House. If I had to guess it's the speech Macron gave to Congress & the reception it got, applause across the aisle. He just hates hates hates it when anybody in his orbit gets the praise that's his birthright. Funny/sad/pathetic/scary.
posted by scalefree at 5:59 AM on April 26, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 5:59 AM on April 26, 2018 [16 favorites]
Happy Birthday, Melania!
For a gift, he got her a card and confirmed the Stormy Daniels affair on a national cable news show, which seems well beyond carelessness or recklessness and deep into viciousness.
posted by notyou at 6:01 AM on April 26, 2018 [58 favorites]
For a gift, he got her a card and confirmed the Stormy Daniels affair on a national cable news show, which seems well beyond carelessness or recklessness and deep into viciousness.
posted by notyou at 6:01 AM on April 26, 2018 [58 favorites]
Fox & Friends trying to break it gently to the nutjobs (and Trump) that Comey isn't going to be frogmarched. (Comey will be interviewed at Fox by Bret Baier today and I'm sure people are expecting a citizen's arrest.)
@foxandfriends
.@Judgenap: It appears James Comey did not break the law if he leaked the memos to a friend who had a security clearance that allowed him to lawfully receive the memos
VIDEO
posted by chris24 at 6:04 AM on April 26, 2018 [19 favorites]
@foxandfriends
.@Judgenap: It appears James Comey did not break the law if he leaked the memos to a friend who had a security clearance that allowed him to lawfully receive the memos
VIDEO
posted by chris24 at 6:04 AM on April 26, 2018 [19 favorites]
Meanwhile, there are a bunch more education strikes breaking out all over
posted by The Whelk at 6:04 AM on April 26, 2018 [61 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 6:04 AM on April 26, 2018 [61 favorites]
If a bunch of high-profile organizations - cultural, business, political, it doesn't matter - got together and started giving Obama a series of Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence-style honours, Trump would be calling in to Fox & Friends within two weeks to say he colluded with Russia, had affairs with alllllllll the porn stars and was the Jack the Ripper just to get the spotlight back.
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:06 AM on April 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:06 AM on April 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
@Judgenap: It appears James Comey did not break the law if he leaked the memos to a friend who had a security clearance that allowed him to lawfully receive the memos
I think it is fair to say that this is almost beyond parody.
posted by jaduncan at 6:07 AM on April 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
I think it is fair to say that this is almost beyond parody.
posted by jaduncan at 6:07 AM on April 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
Speaking of fox, y'know NORAD? The people that are in charge of all the nukes? I was looking at their wikipedia page and guess what news they watch in the command center.
Sleep well!
posted by adept256 at 6:14 AM on April 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
Sleep well!
posted by adept256 at 6:14 AM on April 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
@emptywheel: That should make it easier for Trump to hire more lawyers: not ONLY doesn't he pay his bills and listen to his lawyers, but after they've lied for him he publicly disavows their lies, adding to their own personal jeopardy.
posted by mikepop at 6:15 AM on April 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by mikepop at 6:15 AM on April 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
Meanwhile, there are a bunch more education strikes breaking out all over
NYT OpEd: We Are Republican Teachers Striking in Arizona. It’s Time to Raise Taxes
NYT OpEd: We Are Republican Teachers Striking in Arizona. It’s Time to Raise Taxes
“I’m a die-hard Republican, and I’m dying inside,” says Allison Ryal-Bagley, an elementary school substitute teacher. “Republicans aren’t taking care of our kids.”posted by chris24 at 6:16 AM on April 26, 2018 [76 favorites]
Speaking of fox, y'know NORAD? The people that are in charge of all the nukes? I was looking at their wikipedia page and guess what news they watch in the command center.
To be fair, they have CNN and MSNBC on in addition to Fox. (And it looks like some foreign news network I can't place.) Probably not a bad thing for them to have access to all the major cable news nets.
posted by chris24 at 6:19 AM on April 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
To be fair, they have CNN and MSNBC on in addition to Fox. (And it looks like some foreign news network I can't place.) Probably not a bad thing for them to have access to all the major cable news nets.
posted by chris24 at 6:19 AM on April 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
Speaking of fox, y'know NORAD? The people that are in charge of all the nukes? I was looking at their wikipedia page and guess what news they watch in the command center.
To be fair, it's on one of four TV monitors; CNN is right above it, and I see an NBC logo on the monitor to the right of CNN, which could be MSNBC.
On preview, Chris24 beat me to it. Even down to the phrase "to be fair."
posted by CommonSense at 6:21 AM on April 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
To be fair, it's on one of four TV monitors; CNN is right above it, and I see an NBC logo on the monitor to the right of CNN, which could be MSNBC.
On preview, Chris24 beat me to it. Even down to the phrase "to be fair."
posted by CommonSense at 6:21 AM on April 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
They can monitor the level of cognitive dissonance in real time.
posted by Artw at 6:23 AM on April 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Artw at 6:23 AM on April 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
“I’m a die-hard Republican, and I’m dying inside,” says Allison Ryal-Bagley, an elementary school substitute teacher. “Republicans aren’t taking care of our kids.”
I hope you get what you need. I also hope you realize that their self serving demolition of the state doesn't begin and end with public education.
posted by cmfletcher at 6:30 AM on April 26, 2018 [78 favorites]
I hope you get what you need. I also hope you realize that their self serving demolition of the state doesn't begin and end with public education.
posted by cmfletcher at 6:30 AM on April 26, 2018 [78 favorites]
For a gift, he got her a card and confirmed the Stormy Daniels affair on a national cable news show, which seems well beyond carelessness or recklessness and deep into viciousness.
Lest you think this is snark...
Daniel Dale (Toronto Star)
Trump tells Fox and Friends that he decided to do an interview with them because it's Melania's birthday. Asked what he got her, he pauses and says, "Maybe I didn't get her so much. I got her a beautiful card."
posted by chris24 at 6:31 AM on April 26, 2018 [70 favorites]
Lest you think this is snark...
Daniel Dale (Toronto Star)
Trump tells Fox and Friends that he decided to do an interview with them because it's Melania's birthday. Asked what he got her, he pauses and says, "Maybe I didn't get her so much. I got her a beautiful card."
posted by chris24 at 6:31 AM on April 26, 2018 [70 favorites]
Oh he'll be in the doghouse now . . .
posted by petebest at 6:40 AM on April 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by petebest at 6:40 AM on April 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
He probably still thinks she needs a green card.
posted by adept256 at 6:40 AM on April 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by adept256 at 6:40 AM on April 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
To be fair, they have CNN and MSNBC on in addition to Fox. (And it looks like some foreign news network I can't place.) Probably not a bad thing for them to have access to all the major cable news nets.
Also, even in the civilian government, they may require TVs in public areas to be tuned to certain channels. In the federal buildings I've worked in, it was Fox News under Bush, MSNBC under Obama, and back to FNC again under the current administration. And FWIW in the common areas for employees (breakrooms, kitchens, etc), you're more or less free to tune to whatever channel you want within the limits of what they get (usually the local affiliates and PBS, the news channels, and something like a NASA live feed). Of course, there's always That Asshole who loves to turn it to FNC, but he (and it's always a he) can't force you not to change the channel.
posted by zombieflanders at 6:44 AM on April 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
Also, even in the civilian government, they may require TVs in public areas to be tuned to certain channels. In the federal buildings I've worked in, it was Fox News under Bush, MSNBC under Obama, and back to FNC again under the current administration. And FWIW in the common areas for employees (breakrooms, kitchens, etc), you're more or less free to tune to whatever channel you want within the limits of what they get (usually the local affiliates and PBS, the news channels, and something like a NASA live feed). Of course, there's always That Asshole who loves to turn it to FNC, but he (and it's always a he) can't force you not to change the channel.
posted by zombieflanders at 6:44 AM on April 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
If it's any consolation, I think that was actually Ty Cobb (of slightly different mustache fame) who was caught talking about being on the same page as Rudy.
Now we're getting an idea about their talking points, as Giuliani gives a friendly interview to the WSJ: Trump Lawyers Seek to Determine Whether Mueller Has ‘Open Mind’—Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani met with special counsel’s team this week to discuss interview with president
Meanwhile, between Cohen taking the 5th and Trump promptly undermining him on Fox & Friends, Michael Avenatti is taking a little victory lap on Twitter:
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:47 AM on April 26, 2018 [71 favorites]
Now we're getting an idea about their talking points, as Giuliani gives a friendly interview to the WSJ: Trump Lawyers Seek to Determine Whether Mueller Has ‘Open Mind’—Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani met with special counsel’s team this week to discuss interview with president
“Does the special prosecutor really have an open mind?” Mr. Giuliani said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “We’re trying to assess their good faith.”It seems that Giuliani's contribution Team Trump's defense is to insinuate problems with Mueller over fairness, bias, conflicts of interest, and "perjury traps", i.e. same as they've always complained about.
On Tuesday, Mr. Giuliani met with Mr. Mueller’s team to discuss the interview, according to another person familiar with the matter. The meeting was first reported by the Washington Post.[...]
One particular question the president’s legal team is seeking to answer is whether the special counsel’s team has “made any conclusion about credibility,” Mr. Giuliani said. “Do they favor Comey over Trump in terms of credibility?”[...]
“The president is convinced that if he tells his story to a decent fair-minded arbiter, the whole thing will be over,” Mr. Giuliani said.[...]
The lawyers were considering a written question-and-answer option in an effort to avoid “perjury traps” that could be laid by Mr. Mueller’s team, the person said. The lawyers have concluded that such traps are possible in both a written and an oral interview, the person said.
Meanwhile, between Cohen taking the 5th and Trump promptly undermining him on Fox & Friends, Michael Avenatti is taking a little victory lap on Twitter:
Thank you @foxandfriends for having Mr. Trump on this morning to discuss Michael Cohen and our case. Very informative.The difference in competence between the levels of legal representation is astonishing.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen previously represented to the American people that Mr. Cohen acted on his own and Mr. Trump knew nothing about the agreement with my client, the $130k payment, etc. As I predicted, that has now been shown to be completely false. #basta
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:47 AM on April 26, 2018 [71 favorites]
Has anyone seen John Kelly, the Chief of Staff who isn't sufficiently in-the-loop to check if the President's VA nominee got drunk and wrecked a government vehicle, or to make sure the President gets the First Lady a birthday present? Was John Kelly's existence a communal hallucination?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:49 AM on April 26, 2018 [36 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:49 AM on April 26, 2018 [36 favorites]
Yeah, Trump is crazy. A summary...
Daniel Dale (Toronto Star)
Trump says Ronny Jackson is highly respected. He says Montana Sen. Jon Tester is going to have "a lot of problems" because he went after Ronny Jackson. He notes that he won Montana by many points.
- Trump repeats his argument that "nobody has experience" to run an organization as giant as the VA so it doesn't matter that Ronny Jackson had basically no experience.
- Trump is offering an extended agitated defence of Ronny Jackson AFTER Jackson drops out, saying he has an "unblemished" record. He didn't offer this kind of defence before Jackson dropped out.
- Trump repeats his claim that "nobody's been even close to as tough as me" on Russia. "You can ask President Putin about that," he says.
- Trump, very agitated, says he never told Comey he didn't stay overnight on that Russia trip. "I went to Russia for a day or so. A day or two...Of course I stayed there. I stayed there a very short period of time, but of course I stayed...I never said I left immediately."
- Trump: "He is guilty of crimes. And if we had a Justice Department" that is doing its job... Fox and Friends: "It's YOUR Justice Department!" Trump: Because there's a "witch hunt," I've decided "I will not be involved in the Justice Department."
- Trump is shouting.
- Trump says that Michael Cohen's issues aren't about him, they're about his business. "He's really a businessman...I don't know his business." "I have many attorneys." Cohen handles "a tiny, tiny little fraction" of his legal work, he says.
- Trump says Kanye West likes him because he sees black unemployment at a record low.
- Shockingly to me, the Fox and Friends people are asking some decent follow-up questions, interjecting more than some other interviewers have as Trump rants.
- President Donald Trump on Republicans and African-Americans: If you go back to the Civil War, "it was the Republicans that really did the thing."
- Trump: "If I ever called for a rally in Washington DC, we'd have millions of people." He...had an inauguration in Washington DC with maybe 600,000 people.
- Trump says Shania Twain is terrific but made a mistake in apologizing for publicly praising him.
- For the eighth time in office, Trump falsely says Hillary Clinton earned 223 electoral votes rather than the 232 she did get. He says it would've been easy for him to win the popular vote but he didn't try because he knew he had to win the Electoral College.
- Trump scoffs at people who said he was going to get the U.S. into a nuclear war with North Korea with his "Little Rocket Man" and "bigger button" talk: "The nuclear war would've happened if you had weak people. We had weak people."
Trump says Pompeo was with Kim Jong Un for "more than an hour." He then complains about "Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd," who he says shouldn't be the host of Meet the Press.
- Trump says Fox News is "tough" on him, "but at least it's fair."
- Trump rants about CNN panels that are biased against him. Fox and Friends guy: I'm not your doctor, but I recommend you don't watch them. Trump: "I don't watch them at all."
---
You really need to see and hear it. Here's the Comey clip. His voice is literally crazed. And the hosts look uncomfortable as hell.
Josh TPM
BREAKING: Trump denies telling Comey he didn't overnight in Moscow, then starts rambling about Hillary getting debate questions.
VIDEO
posted by chris24 at 6:50 AM on April 26, 2018 [79 favorites]
Daniel Dale (Toronto Star)
Trump says Ronny Jackson is highly respected. He says Montana Sen. Jon Tester is going to have "a lot of problems" because he went after Ronny Jackson. He notes that he won Montana by many points.
- Trump repeats his argument that "nobody has experience" to run an organization as giant as the VA so it doesn't matter that Ronny Jackson had basically no experience.
- Trump is offering an extended agitated defence of Ronny Jackson AFTER Jackson drops out, saying he has an "unblemished" record. He didn't offer this kind of defence before Jackson dropped out.
- Trump repeats his claim that "nobody's been even close to as tough as me" on Russia. "You can ask President Putin about that," he says.
- Trump, very agitated, says he never told Comey he didn't stay overnight on that Russia trip. "I went to Russia for a day or so. A day or two...Of course I stayed there. I stayed there a very short period of time, but of course I stayed...I never said I left immediately."
- Trump: "He is guilty of crimes. And if we had a Justice Department" that is doing its job... Fox and Friends: "It's YOUR Justice Department!" Trump: Because there's a "witch hunt," I've decided "I will not be involved in the Justice Department."
- Trump is shouting.
- Trump says that Michael Cohen's issues aren't about him, they're about his business. "He's really a businessman...I don't know his business." "I have many attorneys." Cohen handles "a tiny, tiny little fraction" of his legal work, he says.
- Trump says Kanye West likes him because he sees black unemployment at a record low.
- Shockingly to me, the Fox and Friends people are asking some decent follow-up questions, interjecting more than some other interviewers have as Trump rants.
- President Donald Trump on Republicans and African-Americans: If you go back to the Civil War, "it was the Republicans that really did the thing."
- Trump: "If I ever called for a rally in Washington DC, we'd have millions of people." He...had an inauguration in Washington DC with maybe 600,000 people.
- Trump says Shania Twain is terrific but made a mistake in apologizing for publicly praising him.
- For the eighth time in office, Trump falsely says Hillary Clinton earned 223 electoral votes rather than the 232 she did get. He says it would've been easy for him to win the popular vote but he didn't try because he knew he had to win the Electoral College.
- Trump scoffs at people who said he was going to get the U.S. into a nuclear war with North Korea with his "Little Rocket Man" and "bigger button" talk: "The nuclear war would've happened if you had weak people. We had weak people."
Trump says Pompeo was with Kim Jong Un for "more than an hour." He then complains about "Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd," who he says shouldn't be the host of Meet the Press.
- Trump says Fox News is "tough" on him, "but at least it's fair."
- Trump rants about CNN panels that are biased against him. Fox and Friends guy: I'm not your doctor, but I recommend you don't watch them. Trump: "I don't watch them at all."
---
You really need to see and hear it. Here's the Comey clip. His voice is literally crazed. And the hosts look uncomfortable as hell.
Josh TPM
BREAKING: Trump denies telling Comey he didn't overnight in Moscow, then starts rambling about Hillary getting debate questions.
VIDEO
posted by chris24 at 6:50 AM on April 26, 2018 [79 favorites]
The lawyers were considering a written question-and-answer option
Under oath, in person, by subpoena if necessary. Just like Bill Clinton was required to do. This should be a settled question and I'm irritated that the precedent in Clinton's case isn't mentioned more.
posted by kirkaracha at 6:51 AM on April 26, 2018 [43 favorites]
Under oath, in person, by subpoena if necessary. Just like Bill Clinton was required to do. This should be a settled question and I'm irritated that the precedent in Clinton's case isn't mentioned more.
posted by kirkaracha at 6:51 AM on April 26, 2018 [43 favorites]
chris24 quoting Daniel Dale quoting Trump: "Maybe I didn't get her so much. I got her a beautiful card."
This is unsurprising, except for his admitting it, which threw me for a loop. I had a masochistic listen to that part, and I think his intended vibe was "yukking it up with the fellas about the ol' ball-and-chain". So he failed to lie about getting her something beautiful and tremendous, because his stream of consciousness (and hoo boy was it at full blast today) forgot he was being broadcast to the world. It's how he's always operated -- tell group A one thing, person B another, and assume that whatever you said will never reach the other set of ears.
The interviewers' habits also weren't terribly well-suited for this arrangement. Alexandra Erin tweets: I'm getting the impression that Fox & Friends found it inconvenient to be talking to Trump directly, in a two-way medium where they can be associated with his words, not just telling him what to do from a distance.
(What happened was a mixture of that and the visceral discomfort practically anyone would feel around a man acting like he hasn't had anyone to talk to for years.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:57 AM on April 26, 2018 [39 favorites]
This is unsurprising, except for his admitting it, which threw me for a loop. I had a masochistic listen to that part, and I think his intended vibe was "yukking it up with the fellas about the ol' ball-and-chain". So he failed to lie about getting her something beautiful and tremendous, because his stream of consciousness (and hoo boy was it at full blast today) forgot he was being broadcast to the world. It's how he's always operated -- tell group A one thing, person B another, and assume that whatever you said will never reach the other set of ears.
The interviewers' habits also weren't terribly well-suited for this arrangement. Alexandra Erin tweets: I'm getting the impression that Fox & Friends found it inconvenient to be talking to Trump directly, in a two-way medium where they can be associated with his words, not just telling him what to do from a distance.
(What happened was a mixture of that and the visceral discomfort practically anyone would feel around a man acting like he hasn't had anyone to talk to for years.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:57 AM on April 26, 2018 [39 favorites]
It's Pruitt hearing time, and I'm in the room where it happens, as they say. This should be an interesting day.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:00 AM on April 26, 2018 [72 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:00 AM on April 26, 2018 [72 favorites]
Based on the Rupert Murdoch owned WSJ "article", I was tempted to link Rude's RNC speech, which was so egregious and spittle-flecked. Then I reasoned a pull-quote would make the same point - that he will say and do anything to support Trump, and he's smarter and a vicious bastard.
But a picture says 1000 words
posted by petebest at 7:00 AM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
But a picture says 1000 words
posted by petebest at 7:00 AM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
> And the hosts look uncomfortable as hell.
Their job is to put forth an image of Trump as not only competent and sane, but as the greatest, most intelligent leader in the history of the human race, and he's making it awfully difficult.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:03 AM on April 26, 2018 [32 favorites]
Their job is to put forth an image of Trump as not only competent and sane, but as the greatest, most intelligent leader in the history of the human race, and he's making it awfully difficult.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:03 AM on April 26, 2018 [32 favorites]
and he's making it awfully difficult.
James Poniewozik (NYT)
Trump tells Brian Kilmeade he doesn't watch CNN "at all," immediately after giving a description of panels he saw on CNN and immediately before talking about watching Comey last night on CNN.
Daniel Dale
Fox and Friends wraps up the interview with a shouting, raging Trump.
One of the guys says: "I think...he was awake."
posted by chris24 at 7:06 AM on April 26, 2018 [42 favorites]
James Poniewozik (NYT)
Trump tells Brian Kilmeade he doesn't watch CNN "at all," immediately after giving a description of panels he saw on CNN and immediately before talking about watching Comey last night on CNN.
Daniel Dale
Fox and Friends wraps up the interview with a shouting, raging Trump.
One of the guys says: "I think...he was awake."
posted by chris24 at 7:06 AM on April 26, 2018 [42 favorites]
Trump on Fox and Friends regarding Cohen's payment to Stormy Daniels: "There were no campaign funds used, which would have been a problem."
It will be interesting to see if that is a true statement by the President, or if 0xFCAF has already proven it to be false beyond a reasonable doubt, using a fraction of the material the Special Counsel and the US Attorney will have access to.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:08 AM on April 26, 2018 [17 favorites]
It will be interesting to see if that is a true statement by the President, or if 0xFCAF has already proven it to be false beyond a reasonable doubt, using a fraction of the material the Special Counsel and the US Attorney will have access to.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:08 AM on April 26, 2018 [17 favorites]
Asked what he got her, he pauses and says, "Maybe I didn't get her so much. I got her a beautiful card."For those of you who do not have experience with a close friend, relative, or significant other who is a toxic narcissist this translates as, "I wonder if CVS is open right now."
posted by Horkus at 7:08 AM on April 26, 2018 [97 favorites]
Their job is to put forth an image of Trump as not only competent and sane, but as the greatest, most intelligent leader in the history of the human race, and he's making it awfully difficult.
This is like if Kim Il-Sung had a morning zoo radio show
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:10 AM on April 26, 2018 [35 favorites]
This is like if Kim Il-Sung had a morning zoo radio show
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:10 AM on April 26, 2018 [35 favorites]
Who was the woman in the middle at Fox and Friends? Her poker face is on point. Dude on the right let his slip every now and then. Dude on the left squirms a lot. I watched all the clips with the sound off because I cannot bear to hear that man speak but the body language of the hosts was fascinating.
This from Brian Schwartz:
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:11 AM on April 26, 2018 [81 favorites]
This from Brian Schwartz:
I got a hold of Michael Cohen over the phone. At first he said he would have to call me back and then I asked him what's his reaction to the Trump interview on Fox & Friends. Cohen said "Did you hear what I said to you? I’m on the other line with my lawyers…." He then hung up.lol
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:11 AM on April 26, 2018 [81 favorites]
and he's making it awfully difficult.
You know it's bad when F&F cuts off Trump to end the interview.
Emily C. Singer (Mic)
"We're running out of time" Doocey says to Trump. On what planet would a TV host end a freewheeling interview with a president?
posted by chris24 at 7:12 AM on April 26, 2018 [117 favorites]
You know it's bad when F&F cuts off Trump to end the interview.
Emily C. Singer (Mic)
"We're running out of time" Doocey says to Trump. On what planet would a TV host end a freewheeling interview with a president?
posted by chris24 at 7:12 AM on April 26, 2018 [117 favorites]
This is unsurprising, except for his admitting it, which threw me for a loop.
Two things that assholes love even more than being assholes:
1) Telling you to your face that they are intentionally being an asshole to you and you're not going to do anything about it
2) Telling everyone around you that they are intentionally being an asshole to you and you're not going to do anything about it.
posted by Etrigan at 7:13 AM on April 26, 2018 [32 favorites]
Two things that assholes love even more than being assholes:
1) Telling you to your face that they are intentionally being an asshole to you and you're not going to do anything about it
2) Telling everyone around you that they are intentionally being an asshole to you and you're not going to do anything about it.
posted by Etrigan at 7:13 AM on April 26, 2018 [32 favorites]
Asked what he got her, he pauses and says, "Maybe I didn't get her so much. I got her a beautiful card."
After Melania's publicly cold behavior during Macron's visit was all over cable news and Twitter, Trump's remarks about her birthday to Fox & Friends were unquestionably intended to punish and humiliate her in retaliation. He's not merely a narcissist—he's a malignant narcissist.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:18 AM on April 26, 2018 [38 favorites]
After Melania's publicly cold behavior during Macron's visit was all over cable news and Twitter, Trump's remarks about her birthday to Fox & Friends were unquestionably intended to punish and humiliate her in retaliation. He's not merely a narcissist—he's a malignant narcissist.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:18 AM on April 26, 2018 [38 favorites]
This Fox & Friends rant is Narcissistic Injury 101. I've mentioned here before that I was raised by a malignant narcissist (or I raised them, whatever) and the whole stream-of-consciousness ranting and airing of grievances thing is exactly the same. It's just that narcissists are usually slick enough to act like they're not constantly thinking about how everyone is trying to put one over on or take advantage of them and they're really smarter and more importantly shrewder than everyone else and nothing gets past them and everybody else is lying and so what if I misspoke I'm still right and everyone else is wrong and and and.
My narcissistic parent was physically violent, especially when thwarted. At times like these when the "why didn't somebody stop him" questions are likely to start I can't help wondering how much "accidental breakage" is happening at the White House these days.
posted by camyram at 7:22 AM on April 26, 2018 [64 favorites]
My narcissistic parent was physically violent, especially when thwarted. At times like these when the "why didn't somebody stop him" questions are likely to start I can't help wondering how much "accidental breakage" is happening at the White House these days.
posted by camyram at 7:22 AM on April 26, 2018 [64 favorites]
His interview is already being used against him.
Mike Scarcella: SDNY tells court: "Trump, reportedly said on cable television this morning that Cohen performs 'a tiny, tiny little fraction' of his overall legal work."
posted by PenDevil at 7:25 AM on April 26, 2018 [31 favorites]
Mike Scarcella: SDNY tells court: "Trump, reportedly said on cable television this morning that Cohen performs 'a tiny, tiny little fraction' of his overall legal work."
posted by PenDevil at 7:25 AM on April 26, 2018 [31 favorites]
The difference in competence between the levels of legal representation is astonishing.
I would offer that Avenatti is competent, compared to the Cohen/Trump trainwreck.
Muller's team isn't just competent. They are experts, whose entire careers have built to this investigation.
Trump's team is getting destroyed by the JV squad. I will be patient, and wait until the time that Mueller's Varsity crushes them with extreme contempt. From my fingers to G-d's Ears. #amen!
posted by mikelieman at 7:27 AM on April 26, 2018 [42 favorites]
I would offer that Avenatti is competent, compared to the Cohen/Trump trainwreck.
Muller's team isn't just competent. They are experts, whose entire careers have built to this investigation.
Trump's team is getting destroyed by the JV squad. I will be patient, and wait until the time that Mueller's Varsity crushes them with extreme contempt. From my fingers to G-d's Ears. #amen!
posted by mikelieman at 7:27 AM on April 26, 2018 [42 favorites]
Kyle Griffin (MSNBC)
Trump, right before he ends on Fox, reiterates: "Our Justice Department, which I try to stay away from, but at some point I won't."
- It feels like that Fox & Friends interview will end up quoted in multiple legal proceedings.
---
Rule #1: Believe the autocrat.
And speaking of Trump not staying away from the Justice Department, the Mueller protection bill moving through Grassley's committee was greatly improved yesterday. The language that Pelosi and others were worried would give Congress the ability to interfere in the investigation and tip off Trump was removed.
posted by chris24 at 7:27 AM on April 26, 2018 [84 favorites]
Trump, right before he ends on Fox, reiterates: "Our Justice Department, which I try to stay away from, but at some point I won't."
- It feels like that Fox & Friends interview will end up quoted in multiple legal proceedings.
---
Rule #1: Believe the autocrat.
And speaking of Trump not staying away from the Justice Department, the Mueller protection bill moving through Grassley's committee was greatly improved yesterday. The language that Pelosi and others were worried would give Congress the ability to interfere in the investigation and tip off Trump was removed.
posted by chris24 at 7:27 AM on April 26, 2018 [84 favorites]
Sen. McConnell's impeachment statement
It would be the Best Shade Ever if some senator recited that on the floor, substituting generic "President" for Clinton. It would bait McConnell, not realizing it was his own words, into getting fake indignant over the audacity of a senator calling Our Beloved President out like that.
posted by mcstayinskool at 7:30 AM on April 26, 2018 [54 favorites]
It would be the Best Shade Ever if some senator recited that on the floor, substituting generic "President" for Clinton. It would bait McConnell, not realizing it was his own words, into getting fake indignant over the audacity of a senator calling Our Beloved President out like that.
posted by mcstayinskool at 7:30 AM on April 26, 2018 [54 favorites]
This Fox & Friends rant is Narcissistic Injury 101.
Absolutely. He is definitely punishing Melania for making him seem like a fool with all of the closeups on the teevee of him grasping for her hand. He is also punishing Michael Cohen for everything he has ever done to disappoint him. He is currently in a state of high anxiety and I wouldn't be surprised if there were a firing or a good tweetstorm coming to soothe it. (also raised a narcissistic parent, going on 1 year of no contact).
posted by Sophie1 at 7:31 AM on April 26, 2018 [43 favorites]
Absolutely. He is definitely punishing Melania for making him seem like a fool with all of the closeups on the teevee of him grasping for her hand. He is also punishing Michael Cohen for everything he has ever done to disappoint him. He is currently in a state of high anxiety and I wouldn't be surprised if there were a firing or a good tweetstorm coming to soothe it. (also raised a narcissistic parent, going on 1 year of no contact).
posted by Sophie1 at 7:31 AM on April 26, 2018 [43 favorites]
Speaking of malignant narcissism, Pruitt live on CNN now incapable of saying yes or no to any question.
posted by rc3spencer at 7:43 AM on April 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by rc3spencer at 7:43 AM on April 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
For any brave souls or gluttons for punishment, more clips. Where you can see more of the horrified hosts trying hard to keep him sane and on topic.
Matthew Gertz (MMFA)
Here's Trump ranting about the fake news media while the Fox & Friends desperately try to get him to talk about something else.
VIDEO (2 min)
Matthew Gertz (MMFA)
Earlier in the program, Trump says that people watching television "don't know it's fake news -- I've taught them it's fake news." He knows exactly what he's doing.
VIDEO (1 min)
posted by chris24 at 7:44 AM on April 26, 2018 [29 favorites]
Matthew Gertz (MMFA)
Here's Trump ranting about the fake news media while the Fox & Friends desperately try to get him to talk about something else.
VIDEO (2 min)
Matthew Gertz (MMFA)
Earlier in the program, Trump says that people watching television "don't know it's fake news -- I've taught them it's fake news." He knows exactly what he's doing.
VIDEO (1 min)
posted by chris24 at 7:44 AM on April 26, 2018 [29 favorites]
J. Miles Coleman (DecisionDesk)
In #AZ08, Debbie Lesko (R) won by 4.8%. Her performance was similar to Joe Arpaio's 2016 showing there; he carried it by 5% while losing Maricopa Co. by 13%. Lesko lost 12 precincts that supported Arpaio while picking up two that voted for now-Sheriff Paul Penzone (D). MAPS
- So why is this result such a bad sign for Republicans? Trump had a relatively weak performance for an R in Maricopa County, but still won it by 3%. Lesko matched Arpaio in #AZ08, who got demolished by 13% countywide. (AZ-08 outlined in gold on the maps)
---
And Maricopa County is 4.2m of Arizona's 7m population.
posted by chris24 at 7:53 AM on April 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
In #AZ08, Debbie Lesko (R) won by 4.8%. Her performance was similar to Joe Arpaio's 2016 showing there; he carried it by 5% while losing Maricopa Co. by 13%. Lesko lost 12 precincts that supported Arpaio while picking up two that voted for now-Sheriff Paul Penzone (D). MAPS
- So why is this result such a bad sign for Republicans? Trump had a relatively weak performance for an R in Maricopa County, but still won it by 3%. Lesko matched Arpaio in #AZ08, who got demolished by 13% countywide. (AZ-08 outlined in gold on the maps)
---
And Maricopa County is 4.2m of Arizona's 7m population.
posted by chris24 at 7:53 AM on April 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
Mod note: Nixed a few things. First, please don't do the "I changed some nouns on a pullquote, see what I did there" thing, just make your point in plain words so you don't end up with fucking with folks in the process. Second, y'all let's really not wander into a random argument about given names or chatter about royal baby stuff. This thread is long and doesn't need to get longer Just Because.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:57 AM on April 26, 2018 [22 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:57 AM on April 26, 2018 [22 favorites]
Trump's team is getting destroyed by the JV squad. I will be patient, and wait until the time that Mueller's Varsity crushes them with extreme contempt.
The SDNY team shouldn't be overlooked either, as the Legal Times's Mike Scarcella reports:
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:03 AM on April 26, 2018 [38 favorites]
The SDNY team shouldn't be overlooked either, as the Legal Times's Mike Scarcella reports:
Now: SDNY says Hannity, Trump statements about ties to Michael Cohen 'suggest that the seized materials are unlikely to contain voluminous privileged documents'* "As the Court is aware, after originally stating that the Government seized “thousands, if not millions,” of pages of privileged documents, Cohen subsequently identified three current clients. Of those three clients, one, Sean Hannity, has since said that “Michael Cohen has never represented me in any matter. I never retained him, received an invoice, or paid legal fees.” Another, President Trump, reportedly said on cable television this morning that Cohen performs “a tiny, tiny little fraction” of his overall legal work. These statements by two of Cohen’s three identified clients suggest that the seized materials are unlikely to contain voluminous privileged documents, further supporting the importance of efficiency here." [emphasis added, because the SDNY is dragging Trump practically in real time]
https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4447558/Cohen-USAO-20180426.pdf*
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:03 AM on April 26, 2018 [38 favorites]
I would offer that Avenatti is competent, compared to the Cohen/Trump trainwreck.
I think Avenatti and Daniels' appearances on national television flaunting an agreement they haven't actually proven is non-binding aren't especially wise. While it's been quite damaging to Cohen and Trump, because it's salacious and they can't respond without confirming some part of the story (which Cohen absolutely should have seen coming), Avenatti's probably managed to ensure Daniels' civil case is going to be shelved in favour of Cohen's criminal one, meaning all those gory details they've been teasing are only coming out after the story cools.
I suspect that Avenatti's an okay lawyer who's got a quick wit and looks good on TV, and landed a case that was a perfect fit for his competence and skill set. You don't have to be brilliant if the facts are in your favour, and the court of public opinion is a very important a venue in a case like this. Even if the Daniels stuff doesn't go anywhere, it's been good for liberal morale, in that it feels like the truth is leaking out, and stopping people from fretting about why Mueller hasn't arrested Trump for treason already.
posted by Merus at 8:06 AM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
I think Avenatti and Daniels' appearances on national television flaunting an agreement they haven't actually proven is non-binding aren't especially wise. While it's been quite damaging to Cohen and Trump, because it's salacious and they can't respond without confirming some part of the story (which Cohen absolutely should have seen coming), Avenatti's probably managed to ensure Daniels' civil case is going to be shelved in favour of Cohen's criminal one, meaning all those gory details they've been teasing are only coming out after the story cools.
I suspect that Avenatti's an okay lawyer who's got a quick wit and looks good on TV, and landed a case that was a perfect fit for his competence and skill set. You don't have to be brilliant if the facts are in your favour, and the court of public opinion is a very important a venue in a case like this. Even if the Daniels stuff doesn't go anywhere, it's been good for liberal morale, in that it feels like the truth is leaking out, and stopping people from fretting about why Mueller hasn't arrested Trump for treason already.
posted by Merus at 8:06 AM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
Avenatti's probably managed to ensure Daniels' civil case is going to be shelved in favour of Cohen's criminal one, meaning all those gory details they've been teasing are only coming out after the story cools.
There's no reason to shelve the Civil case because of the Criminal case. We've already heard from Trump that "President Trump, reportedly said on cable television this morning that Cohen performs “a tiny, tiny little fraction” of his overall legal work. ", and there's no reason the prosecution and litigation can't continue.
It's no-one's fault but Cohen's if the Civil Jury makes inference from his 5th Amendment Claims and nullifies the agreement.
posted by mikelieman at 8:17 AM on April 26, 2018 [8 favorites]
There's no reason to shelve the Civil case because of the Criminal case. We've already heard from Trump that "President Trump, reportedly said on cable television this morning that Cohen performs “a tiny, tiny little fraction” of his overall legal work. ", and there's no reason the prosecution and litigation can't continue.
It's no-one's fault but Cohen's if the Civil Jury makes inference from his 5th Amendment Claims and nullifies the agreement.
posted by mikelieman at 8:17 AM on April 26, 2018 [8 favorites]
rc3spencer: Speaking of malignant narcissism, Pruitt live on CNN now incapable of saying yes or no to any question.
If Scott Pruitt Leaves, Will EPA Science Change Course? (Eric Niiler for Wired, April 26, 2018)
posted by filthy light thief at 8:25 AM on April 26, 2018 [17 favorites]
If Scott Pruitt Leaves, Will EPA Science Change Course? (Eric Niiler for Wired, April 26, 2018)
Pruitt's fate ultimately rests with President Trump, who has tweeted previously that he supports Pruitt's deregulation efforts. But if allegations of Pruitt's unethical conduct lead to his dismissal, it's unlikely that those policies write large would change. “We have to remember that the root of the problem here is the president’s determination to dismantle the EPA,” says Jeremy Symons, vice president for political affairs at the Environmental Defense Fund. “Whoever he puts in charge is going to be pursuing that agenda.”Emphasis mine, because how the fuck is a coal industry lobbyist who is a climate change denier a step up from Pruitt? Oh right, he was actually working with the EPA previously so he might not be a terrible bureaucrat, and maybe he won't try to bilk the taxpayers. On the other hand,
In Pruitt’s absence, the number two at EPA is Andrew Wheeler, a coal industry lobbyist who was just confirmed to his post earlier this month. In addition to representing coal and energy firms, Wheeler was also a campaign advisor on environmental issues to Marco Rubio, and staffer to Sen. Inhofe, a longtime denier of climate change and the science behind it.
Still, environmental advocacy groups say Wheeler would be a step up. “How could it be worse than Pruitt?” says Eric Schaeffer, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project, an advocacy group that has been suing the EPA for information about Pruitt’s expenses, travel, and private meetings with industry representatives to discuss government regulations.
“It is critically important that the public understand Wheeler’s career as a lobbyist for some of the worst actors in the energy industry,” Keith Gaby, a spokesman for the Environmental Defense Fund, said in an email this week. “Andrew Wheeler running EPA would go far beyond having an administrator overly influenced by lobbyists — the head of EPA would be an energy industry lobbyist.”(Quoting from the above-linked Washington Post article by Steven Mufson, Brady Dennis and Dino Grandoni, from April 12, 2018)
“The mission of the EPA is to protect human health and the environment, but Andrew Wheeler has dedicated his career to weakening environmental protections, serving as a lobbyist for numerous fossil fuel clients, including one of our country’s biggest polluters, Murray Energy,” Gene Karpinski, president of the League of Conservation Voters, said in an open letter to members of the Senate. “Andrew Wheeler’s inherent conflicts of interest from his long history of ties to the fossil fuel industry make him an entirely inappropriate choice for EPA’s number two leadership role.”
posted by filthy light thief at 8:25 AM on April 26, 2018 [17 favorites]
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 14-7 to advance an amended bill (S 2644) to give Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III protections if he is fired. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said the measure won’t make it to the floor.Just another day of a bunch of GOP lickspittles, including Konztitooshunal Skolar* Mike Lee and "proud NeverTrumper (but votes with him 95% of the time)" Ben Sasse, siding with one of Scalia's crazier dissents. Some real profiles in courage there.
Votes against were all Republicans: Hatch, Cornyn, Lee, Cruz, Sasse, Crapo, Kennedy. Concerns were about the constitutionality of a bill that infringes on executive branch's authority over prosecution.
* h/t Charlie Pierce
posted by zombieflanders at 8:27 AM on April 26, 2018 [41 favorites]
This thread is long and doesn't need to get longer Just Because.
(At the rate the news is going today, we'll definitely need a new thread before tomorrow's Friday News Dump.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:29 AM on April 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
(At the rate the news is going today, we'll definitely need a new thread before tomorrow's Friday News Dump.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:29 AM on April 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
The GOP is not salvageable. Scuttle it.
Newsweek: Nearly 60 percent of Republicans don't want a woman president in their lifetime, poll finds
A comfortable majority of Republicans—59 percent—responded no, they don't hope to see a woman president in their lifetime, according to YouGov. In comparison, 89 percent of Democrats and 63 percent of independents responded that yes, they hoped to see a woman president before they died.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:46 AM on April 26, 2018 [68 favorites]
Newsweek: Nearly 60 percent of Republicans don't want a woman president in their lifetime, poll finds
A comfortable majority of Republicans—59 percent—responded no, they don't hope to see a woman president in their lifetime, according to YouGov. In comparison, 89 percent of Democrats and 63 percent of independents responded that yes, they hoped to see a woman president before they died.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:46 AM on April 26, 2018 [68 favorites]
They knew, they were just waiting for the hard data to be finalized. I saw after the last test news reports that said the speculation was that the cavern has collapsed and that there was concern about radioactivity being spread through the region. 200 feared dead after North Korea tunnel collapse
To me this is the key to understanding Un's offer. Now that NK has tested enough weapons to be reasonably satisfied on their quality & yield & also just lost its primary underground testing facility, Un has magnanimously decided to offer to stop using the cave he can no longer use in exchange for lifting sanctions & some degree of normalization. Plus photo ops all around to prove he is a respected world leader after all, the equal of any of them if not better. There's absolutely no way he's ever giving up his weapons themselves, that's just absurd.
posted by scalefree at 8:47 AM on April 26, 2018 [23 favorites]
To me this is the key to understanding Un's offer. Now that NK has tested enough weapons to be reasonably satisfied on their quality & yield & also just lost its primary underground testing facility, Un has magnanimously decided to offer to stop using the cave he can no longer use in exchange for lifting sanctions & some degree of normalization. Plus photo ops all around to prove he is a respected world leader after all, the equal of any of them if not better. There's absolutely no way he's ever giving up his weapons themselves, that's just absurd.
posted by scalefree at 8:47 AM on April 26, 2018 [23 favorites]
Sabato updates ratings for 15 districts, 14 towards the Dems:
Presumably the thinking on AZ-08 is that a) it's no longer an open seat, and b) victors in specials very seldom go on to be defeated in the general.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:53 AM on April 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
AZ-06 - Schweikert | Safe R => Likely R
CA-04 - McClintock | Safe R => Likely R
CA-22 - Nunes | Safe R => Likely R
CO-03 - Tipton | Safe R => Likely R
GA-07 - Woodall | Safe R => Likely R
MO-02 - Wagner | Safe R => Likely R
NC-08 - Hudson | Safe R => Likely R
NJ-07 - Lance | Leans R => Toss-up
NY-11 - Donovan | Likely R => Leans R
OH-07 - Gibbs | Safe R => Likely R
OH-10 - Turner | Safe R => Likely R
SC-05 - Norman | Safe R => Likely R
VA-07 - Brat | Likely R => Leans R
WA-05 - Rodgers | Likely R => Leans R
AZ-0 - Lesko | Likely R => Safe R
Presumably the thinking on AZ-08 is that a) it's no longer an open seat, and b) victors in specials very seldom go on to be defeated in the general.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:53 AM on April 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
[Your regular reminder that Korean names begin with the family name and end with a generally two-syllable personal name, hyphenated or not according to whether we are following North or South Korean usage. One refers to the North Korean jefe màximo as “Kim.”]
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:53 AM on April 26, 2018 [28 favorites]
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:53 AM on April 26, 2018 [28 favorites]
I always find it a bit ironic that the only country in the world to use nuclear weapons in war and on a civilian population is so adamant about making sure "bad guys" don't have nuclear weapons.
posted by runcibleshaw at 8:54 AM on April 26, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 8:54 AM on April 26, 2018 [18 favorites]
There's no reason to shelve the Civil case because of the Criminal case. We've already heard from Trump that "President Trump, reportedly said on cable television this morning that Cohen performs “a tiny, tiny little fraction” of his overall legal work. ", and there's no reason the prosecution and litigation can't continue.
Not to go all math crank here, but Cohen could perform a fraction of Trump's total legal work and still have it be most of Cohen's work, provided the total quantity of work is large enough.
posted by phearlez at 9:01 AM on April 26, 2018 [18 favorites]
Not to go all math crank here, but Cohen could perform a fraction of Trump's total legal work and still have it be most of Cohen's work, provided the total quantity of work is large enough.
posted by phearlez at 9:01 AM on April 26, 2018 [18 favorites]
Nearly 60 percent of Republicans don't want a woman president in their lifetime, poll finds
Hey, I'm not saying Republicans are misogynists. They are.
posted by chris24 at 9:01 AM on April 26, 2018 [98 favorites]
Hey, I'm not saying Republicans are misogynists. They are.
posted by chris24 at 9:01 AM on April 26, 2018 [98 favorites]
Trump’s cell phone use is security “nightmare” waiting to happen, lawmakers say -- New letter: "Does the President use encryption when he makes phone calls…?" (Cyrus Farivar for Ars Technica, April 25, 2018)
posted by filthy light thief at 9:04 AM on April 26, 2018 [86 favorites]
Two congressional Democrats have sent a formal letter to top White House and law enforcement officials, seeking more information about the president’s use of an unsecured cell phone.But her emaaaaiiilllssssss! Private serverssss! Acid washed jeanssss!
The letter, which was sent Wednesday by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-California) and Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona), comes after recent media reports that Donald Trump is making "increased use" of his personal phone.
Last year, Trump reportedly had an iPhone with just one app on it: Twitter.
"While cybersecurity is a universal concern, the President of the United States stands alone as the single-most valuable intelligence target on the planet," the congressmen write.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:04 AM on April 26, 2018 [86 favorites]
Look, I'm not saying Republicans are misogynists. They are.
Nikki Haley has her work cut out for her to capture the all-important "openly loathes women and hopes there's never a woman president" vote.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:06 AM on April 26, 2018 [24 favorites]
Nikki Haley has her work cut out for her to capture the all-important "openly loathes women and hopes there's never a woman president" vote.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:06 AM on April 26, 2018 [24 favorites]
I'm sure those poll respondents' defense for the stance would be that they don't "hope for" a female president because they're totally neutral on the idea; the whole "best person for the job" schtick.
(The real reason is a combination of sexism and a genuine desire for Trump to be president-for-life, which would be the survey result I'm especially curious/terrified to learn.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:09 AM on April 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
(The real reason is a combination of sexism and a genuine desire for Trump to be president-for-life, which would be the survey result I'm especially curious/terrified to learn.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:09 AM on April 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
I'm sure those poll respondents' defense for the stance would be that they don't "hope for" a female president because they're totally neutral on the idea; the whole "best person for the job" schtick.
I think it would be fine just to stick with the actual response -- they do not hope for a woman president -- rather than slide over to "they don't want" or guess at the true motives or beliefs underlying.
posted by notyou at 9:14 AM on April 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
I think it would be fine just to stick with the actual response -- they do not hope for a woman president -- rather than slide over to "they don't want" or guess at the true motives or beliefs underlying.
posted by notyou at 9:14 AM on April 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
Trump comes across as unhinged in the Fox interview. Not Charlie Sheen level, but he had the animated, hyper, no attention-span, rumor-obsessed, paranoiac demeanor of someone I would normally suspect of being on drugs. He monopolized the conversation, talked about everything he shouldn't have, and his hosts looked pale, confused, and mortified. If that had been an interview with a manager about a problem at a local McDonald's, I would have instantly concluded that the manager was the problem at the local McDonald's. Dragon Power was activated.
posted by xammerboy at 9:19 AM on April 26, 2018 [52 favorites]
posted by xammerboy at 9:19 AM on April 26, 2018 [52 favorites]
Who was the woman in the middle at Fox and Friends? Her poker face is on point.
I presume women at Fox News get a lot more practice at it.
posted by Gelatin at 9:24 AM on April 26, 2018 [49 favorites]
I presume women at Fox News get a lot more practice at it.
posted by Gelatin at 9:24 AM on April 26, 2018 [49 favorites]
If Trump had suddenly grown 200 feet tall, smashed his way out of the White House and started laying waste (literally for a change, not figuratively) to Washington D.C. during that interview, Fox would have cut to commercial and then aired a rerun of a panel discussion about illegal immigrants or something after the break.
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:42 AM on April 26, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:42 AM on April 26, 2018 [17 favorites]
I don't know why anyone thought it was a good idea to drag Diamond and Silk in front of Congress in the first place or what it's supposed to accomplish (ostensibly something about social media censorship), but one thing it is doing: reinforcing the fact that Trump cronies have no qualms whatsoever about lying to Congress.
posted by marshmallow peep at 9:53 AM on April 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by marshmallow peep at 9:53 AM on April 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
Judge Wood overseeing the Michael Cohen case has appointed former Federal Judge Barbara Jones as special taint master. Jones was originally a Clinton appointee, and presided over United States v. Windsor, striking down part of the Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:53 AM on April 26, 2018 [22 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:53 AM on April 26, 2018 [22 favorites]
Marsha Blackburn has decided to hold a hearing to confront the most pressing issue of our time, whether Diamond and Silk are being censored on social media. It's not going great when CBS has the headline Pro-Trump social media stars Diamond and Silk offer inaccurate testimony under oath — live updates
And if you'd like to know what kind of great legal reasoning is being used to justify a hearing about what kind of speech a private company suppresses or not: @briantashman: Diamond & Silk reject claims that Facebook is not a public utility "because it went public in 2012." LMAO
We're holding Congressional hearings with witnesses who think a publicly traded company is a public utility. Oh, and Diamond & Silk are doing better than ever on Facebook despite the complaining.
posted by zachlipton at 9:56 AM on April 26, 2018 [28 favorites]
But the duo offered inaccurate testimony under oath Thursday, something that was pointed out far and wide on Twitter. In her testimony, Diamond claimed they have "never been paid by the Trump campaign."Facebook just decided not to come to the hearing at all, and the EFF was invited but nope'd the hell out.
Federal Election Commission records, however, say otherwise. A November 2016 receipt shows the Trump campaign paid them more than $1,200 for "field consulting."
When Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries brought up the FEC filing, the duo called the reports that they had been paid "fake news." Silk suggested the Trump campaign may have made a mistake in recording the payment, and said Lara Trump, Mr. Trump's daughter-in-law, reimbursed them when they traveled for a Trump campaign tour.
And if you'd like to know what kind of great legal reasoning is being used to justify a hearing about what kind of speech a private company suppresses or not: @briantashman: Diamond & Silk reject claims that Facebook is not a public utility "because it went public in 2012." LMAO
We're holding Congressional hearings with witnesses who think a publicly traded company is a public utility. Oh, and Diamond & Silk are doing better than ever on Facebook despite the complaining.
posted by zachlipton at 9:56 AM on April 26, 2018 [28 favorites]
Trump comes across as unhinged in the Fox interview. Not Charlie Sheen level, but he had the animated, hyper, no attention-span, rumor-obsessed, paranoiac demeanor of someone I would normally suspect of being on drugs.
It sure looks that way but it's just his narcissism getting overclocked because he's not getting his needed fix & everybody's abandoned him so he's lashing out at anybody in striking range. Melania pushed his fingers away (on camera no less) & laughed at the hated Obama's joke, Macron gave that terrible speech denouncing him & got applause for it, Dr Ronny wouldn't take a hint & fold up on his own, Cohen & Hannity are both botching up extracting themselves from whatever they've been up to. The disloyal list just keeps growing. And the pee tape! His lies about that keep getting thinner, why can't they all just leave him alone! Where's his Hopey, she could always calm him down & rile him up at the same time with just one word (Daddy).
posted by scalefree at 9:58 AM on April 26, 2018 [10 favorites]
It sure looks that way but it's just his narcissism getting overclocked because he's not getting his needed fix & everybody's abandoned him so he's lashing out at anybody in striking range. Melania pushed his fingers away (on camera no less) & laughed at the hated Obama's joke, Macron gave that terrible speech denouncing him & got applause for it, Dr Ronny wouldn't take a hint & fold up on his own, Cohen & Hannity are both botching up extracting themselves from whatever they've been up to. The disloyal list just keeps growing. And the pee tape! His lies about that keep getting thinner, why can't they all just leave him alone! Where's his Hopey, she could always calm him down & rile him up at the same time with just one word (Daddy).
posted by scalefree at 9:58 AM on April 26, 2018 [10 favorites]
marshmallow peep: reinforcing the fact that Trump cronies have no qualms whatsoever about lying to Congress.
Trump has no qualms about lying to everyone, why should his cronies? He still hasn't gotten into any real trouble, so he's paving a path for every other lying, grifting asshole to follow.
From the article:
posted by filthy light thief at 9:58 AM on April 26, 2018 [81 favorites]
Trump has no qualms about lying to everyone, why should his cronies? He still hasn't gotten into any real trouble, so he's paving a path for every other lying, grifting asshole to follow.
From the article:
Throughout most of the hearing, Republicans prompted Diamond and Silk to explain how they believe Facebook censored and victimized them, while Democrats pointed out inconsistencies in their testimony and wondered why they were even holding the hearing in the first place.TED LIEU FOR EVERYTHING - he's blunt, and he understands what he's talking about.
"This is a stupid and ridiculous hearing," Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., said, noting that the First Amendment is about protecting free speech against government intervention, not ensuring individual free speech from businesses.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:58 AM on April 26, 2018 [81 favorites]
It's 17:00 UTC and time for your Scott Pruitt! (siren) Scandal! (bell) of the Hour! (duck call)
Hold on to your chips campers, because today's hour is a two-fer! Both come from the well-curated PolitcalWire. From CNN, the channel Mr. TwoScoops totally doesn't watch:
Embattled EPA chief Scott Pruitt “believes members of the administration are actively trying to get rid of him,”
The President has continued to ardently defend him in private. Though Trump concedes that the swirling negative headlines aren't good, he often remarks that there is "no way" he would get someone as good as Pruitt confirmed. Another reason Trump has yet to turn on Pruitt is what he's hearing from friends and advisers in the oil and gas industry, such as Harold Hamm, a long-time energy mogul, who has urged him to leave Pruitt in place.
Harold Hamm, ladies and gentlemen!
And from Vox: Scott Pruitt's Ethics Problems Explained in 400 Words
These allegations were fleshed out by a whistleblower in a long report to congressional Democrats. It added details like the fact that Pruitt asked aides to find housing for him, that he used to lights and sirens to make it to dinner reservations, that he chose more luxurious hotels on international trips than those recommended by the State Department, and that he sidelined staffers who questioned his habits. The whistleblower also said he was threatened by the head of Pruitt’s security detail.
Government watchdogs now have more than a half-dozen investigations underway over these allegations. One, the Government Accountability Office, has already found that Pruitt violated two laws with his phone booth.
Could it be time to preheat the oven for cake?! Only TIME . . Will tell.
posted by petebest at 10:00 AM on April 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
Hold on to your chips campers, because today's hour is a two-fer! Both come from the well-curated PolitcalWire. From CNN, the channel Mr. TwoScoops totally doesn't watch:
Embattled EPA chief Scott Pruitt “believes members of the administration are actively trying to get rid of him,”
The President has continued to ardently defend him in private. Though Trump concedes that the swirling negative headlines aren't good, he often remarks that there is "no way" he would get someone as good as Pruitt confirmed. Another reason Trump has yet to turn on Pruitt is what he's hearing from friends and advisers in the oil and gas industry, such as Harold Hamm, a long-time energy mogul, who has urged him to leave Pruitt in place.
Harold Hamm, ladies and gentlemen!
And from Vox: Scott Pruitt's Ethics Problems Explained in 400 Words
These allegations were fleshed out by a whistleblower in a long report to congressional Democrats. It added details like the fact that Pruitt asked aides to find housing for him, that he used to lights and sirens to make it to dinner reservations, that he chose more luxurious hotels on international trips than those recommended by the State Department, and that he sidelined staffers who questioned his habits. The whistleblower also said he was threatened by the head of Pruitt’s security detail.
Government watchdogs now have more than a half-dozen investigations underway over these allegations. One, the Government Accountability Office, has already found that Pruitt violated two laws with his phone booth.
Could it be time to preheat the oven for cake?! Only TIME . . Will tell.
posted by petebest at 10:00 AM on April 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
He talked with Fox for half an hour??? On top of everything else...isn't the POTUS supposed to be, you know, busy?
posted by The Card Cheat at 10:00 AM on April 26, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 10:00 AM on April 26, 2018 [21 favorites]
Nikki Haley has her work cut out for her to capture the all-important "openly loathes women and hopes there's never a woman president" vote.
That Newsweek reporting is a little weird. There's a difference between "doesn't hope that X" and "hopes that not X". Do I hope for a green-haired president? No (hair color is irrelevant to me). Do I hope we never have a green-haired president? Also no.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 10:01 AM on April 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
That Newsweek reporting is a little weird. There's a difference between "doesn't hope that X" and "hopes that not X". Do I hope for a green-haired president? No (hair color is irrelevant to me). Do I hope we never have a green-haired president? Also no.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 10:01 AM on April 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
Trump’s TV interview this morning is already being used to undermine him in court
- Andrew Prokop, Vox
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:02 AM on April 26, 2018 [23 favorites]
- Andrew Prokop, Vox
Federal prosecutors have already cited Trump’s statement about Michael Cohen in a court filing.Heh.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:02 AM on April 26, 2018 [23 favorites]
Pompeo confirmed. Democratic traitors: Heitkamp, Manchin, Donnelly, Jones, King (I), McCaskill, Nelson.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:04 AM on April 26, 2018 [42 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:04 AM on April 26, 2018 [42 favorites]
He talked with Fox for half an hour??? On top of everything else...isn't the POTUS supposed to be, you know, busy?
Obama used to get shit for filling out an NCAA bracket.
While black.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:08 AM on April 26, 2018 [36 favorites]
Obama used to get shit for filling out an NCAA bracket.
While black.
And the fact that he has had time to put on Twitter, the administration and the White House put on Twitter the bracket for March Madness that President Obama chose…He had time to give his picks but not pick up the phone to say congratulations.OMG, a president wasting time on Twitter? Well, I never!
posted by kirkaracha at 10:08 AM on April 26, 2018 [36 favorites]
Do I hope for a green-haired president? No (hair color is irrelevant to me). Do I hope we never have a green-haired president? Also no.
This reasoning would be more compelling if 50% of our population had green hair and yet we'd never had a green haired president in almost 250 years, had only ever had 51 green haired senators (out of nearly 2000!) and a million other facts not assumed in your example.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 10:09 AM on April 26, 2018 [83 favorites]
This reasoning would be more compelling if 50% of our population had green hair and yet we'd never had a green haired president in almost 250 years, had only ever had 51 green haired senators (out of nearly 2000!) and a million other facts not assumed in your example.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 10:09 AM on April 26, 2018 [83 favorites]
Washington Post: Ronny Jackson's VA secretary nomination is dead but questions about his navy career persist
You almost did it. If you'd just left it with completely inventing the physical and delivering your ridiculous "President Donald J Trump has the biggest and healthiest penis in the history of man" conference, you'd have been set for life. Think about the quackery you could have peddled as Doctor Ronny, the infinite potential for grift: your snakeoil operation could have dwarfed Infowars. Not to mention whatever reward you would have received from the GOP for quashing 25th Amendment attempts for 4 or 8 years.
But you flew too close to the sun, O Icarus Jackson, and now your future will be public humiliation, abandonment by friends and allies, and maybe worse.
It's happened so many times already, but there will still always be more wraiths waiting in the wings.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:15 AM on April 26, 2018 [69 favorites]
You almost did it. If you'd just left it with completely inventing the physical and delivering your ridiculous "President Donald J Trump has the biggest and healthiest penis in the history of man" conference, you'd have been set for life. Think about the quackery you could have peddled as Doctor Ronny, the infinite potential for grift: your snakeoil operation could have dwarfed Infowars. Not to mention whatever reward you would have received from the GOP for quashing 25th Amendment attempts for 4 or 8 years.
But you flew too close to the sun, O Icarus Jackson, and now your future will be public humiliation, abandonment by friends and allies, and maybe worse.
It's happened so many times already, but there will still always be more wraiths waiting in the wings.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:15 AM on April 26, 2018 [69 favorites]
One nugget from Pruitt's testimony that hasn't made it into the headlines: One representative brought up an investigation into whether Samantha Dravis, his director of policy who recently quit, simply stopped showing up to work for three months while continuing to draw a salary, before she formally left EPA. His answer was that he's not aware of whether that's true. Not "oh, it's definitely not true, we met and discussed policies many times over those months," or any indication that it would be unusual for him not to notice if someone who reports only to him were simply not doing anything for three months.
That is....not great.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:16 AM on April 26, 2018 [46 favorites]
That is....not great.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:16 AM on April 26, 2018 [46 favorites]
Thank goodness the U.S. uses its power to stop nuclear proliferation. To neglect to use its power — some of which it bought by possessing and using nuclear weapons — to prevent proliferation would be incredibly irresponsible and would put everyone in the world at greater risk of annhilation.
posted by chrchr at 10:18 AM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by chrchr at 10:18 AM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
That is....not great.
He also did this...
@johnrobertsFox
Scott Pruitt just told a Congressional Committee he gave his COS the green light to give raises to two EPA officials. That - in direct defiance of the WH - and contradicting what he told @FoxNews - that he wasn’t aware of the raises. This may be the end of the line .....
posted by chris24 at 10:20 AM on April 26, 2018 [30 favorites]
He also did this...
@johnrobertsFox
Scott Pruitt just told a Congressional Committee he gave his COS the green light to give raises to two EPA officials. That - in direct defiance of the WH - and contradicting what he told @FoxNews - that he wasn’t aware of the raises. This may be the end of the line .....
posted by chris24 at 10:20 AM on April 26, 2018 [30 favorites]
That's not as clear a contradiction as Roberts is making it out to be. Pruitt said the responsibility for approving raises "was delegated" to the chief of staff, but that he didn't know the amounts nor that they were done through a process that avoids White House reviews.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:23 AM on April 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:23 AM on April 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
T.D. Strange: Pompeo confirmed. Democratic traitors: Heitkamp, Manchin, Donnelly, Jones, King (I), McCaskill, Nelson.
Am I correct to infer that any Democratic senators not on that list voted no, or did they not have to vote at all?
The Card Cheat: He talked with Fox for half an hour??? On top of everything else...isn't the POTUS supposed to be, you know, busy?
Trump's busy life at president came up several time in the Fox interview itself. First, as an excuse for not buying his wife anything special. Second, as one of two reasons he no longer has time to watch all the television he used to. (The other reason was that he doesn't have time. Not a typo.) And finally, at the end, the interviewers tried their best to wrap the whole thing up by reminding him that he must have other things to do, meetings or something. (They looked about ten seconds away from trying out the verbalized "Brring! Oo, that's my phone, I gotta take this, talk later, bye")
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:27 AM on April 26, 2018 [17 favorites]
Am I correct to infer that any Democratic senators not on that list voted no, or did they not have to vote at all?
The Card Cheat: He talked with Fox for half an hour??? On top of everything else...isn't the POTUS supposed to be, you know, busy?
Trump's busy life at president came up several time in the Fox interview itself. First, as an excuse for not buying his wife anything special. Second, as one of two reasons he no longer has time to watch all the television he used to. (The other reason was that he doesn't have time. Not a typo.) And finally, at the end, the interviewers tried their best to wrap the whole thing up by reminding him that he must have other things to do, meetings or something. (They looked about ten seconds away from trying out the verbalized "Brring! Oo, that's my phone, I gotta take this, talk later, bye")
posted by InTheYear2017 at 10:27 AM on April 26, 2018 [17 favorites]
Thanks for the clarification Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish.
And in other frightening news from the Trump meltdown this morning, it's the nuttiest nuts in the Freedom Caucus, and a guy who assaulted a woman, who have Trump's ear.
@JakeSherman (Politico)
Want to know who has power? Trump on Fox and Friends this morning: "Honestly, the Republicans -- look, we have some absolute warriors. We have -- when I -- I just watched your show. Jim Jordan, and Mark Meadows, and Matt Gaetz, and DeSantis, and so many -- Corey Lewandowski."
---
And even the sycophants of F&F knew it was a disaster this morning, but Hugh... Yes, more self-incriminating rants please.
@hughhewitt
Listening to @realDonaldTrump having fun and swinging from the hips on @foxandfriends and wondering why he hasn't been doing this more. This works. He's the best promoter of his own record and people.
---
And Mitch doesn't seem happy with Blankenship.
@jaketapper
Asked about GOP Senate candidate Don Blankenship calling his father-in-law “a wealthy Chinaperson,” @SenateMajLdr tells FNC: "My father-in-law is an American who lives in New York. I don't have any comment about ridiculous observations like that."
---
The. Best. People.
@PeterAlexander (NBC)
Dr. Ronny Jackson is at least the 24th unsuccessful nominee to a Senate confirmable job under President Trump.
posted by chris24 at 10:30 AM on April 26, 2018 [42 favorites]
And in other frightening news from the Trump meltdown this morning, it's the nuttiest nuts in the Freedom Caucus, and a guy who assaulted a woman, who have Trump's ear.
@JakeSherman (Politico)
Want to know who has power? Trump on Fox and Friends this morning: "Honestly, the Republicans -- look, we have some absolute warriors. We have -- when I -- I just watched your show. Jim Jordan, and Mark Meadows, and Matt Gaetz, and DeSantis, and so many -- Corey Lewandowski."
---
And even the sycophants of F&F knew it was a disaster this morning, but Hugh... Yes, more self-incriminating rants please.
@hughhewitt
Listening to @realDonaldTrump having fun and swinging from the hips on @foxandfriends and wondering why he hasn't been doing this more. This works. He's the best promoter of his own record and people.
---
And Mitch doesn't seem happy with Blankenship.
@jaketapper
Asked about GOP Senate candidate Don Blankenship calling his father-in-law “a wealthy Chinaperson,” @SenateMajLdr tells FNC: "My father-in-law is an American who lives in New York. I don't have any comment about ridiculous observations like that."
---
The. Best. People.
@PeterAlexander (NBC)
Dr. Ronny Jackson is at least the 24th unsuccessful nominee to a Senate confirmable job under President Trump.
posted by chris24 at 10:30 AM on April 26, 2018 [42 favorites]
Democratic traitors: Heitkamp, Manchin, Donnelly, Jones, King (I), McCaskill, Nelson.
I'm so angry with King. His statement on his vote boils down to, "Well, we need somebody. Might as well be this guy. Could be worse."
posted by anastasiav at 10:34 AM on April 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
I'm so angry with King. His statement on his vote boils down to, "Well, we need somebody. Might as well be this guy. Could be worse."
posted by anastasiav at 10:34 AM on April 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
Pompeo confirmed. Democratic traitors: Heitkamp, Manchin, Donnelly, Jones, King (I), McCaskill, Nelson.
I just wanna pipe up here to appreciate Jon Tester who isn't on that list despite being a red-state Democrat facing a 2018 fight, and who also seems to be responsible for keeping Ronny Jackson from the VA. I have a lot of complaints about my Senator but feel pretty proud of him today.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:34 AM on April 26, 2018 [52 favorites]
I just wanna pipe up here to appreciate Jon Tester who isn't on that list despite being a red-state Democrat facing a 2018 fight, and who also seems to be responsible for keeping Ronny Jackson from the VA. I have a lot of complaints about my Senator but feel pretty proud of him today.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:34 AM on April 26, 2018 [52 favorites]
I'm surprised there's not much outcry against moving the review of Cohen's documents from a team of investigators to a single "master". I wouldn't want to have the GOP, president and the Russian mob all looking over my shoulder.
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:34 AM on April 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:34 AM on April 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
57-42 for Pompeo, all 42 other Democrats voted No, including Duckworth and notably Tester as just mentioned. McCain still not present.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:37 AM on April 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:37 AM on April 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
Facts about our new Secretary of State from the ACLU.
An article from 7 months ago on the utter catastrophe that Mike Pompeo would be if he became Secretary of State.
Pompeo is an advocate of torture and was livid when then President Obama scaled back President Bush's torture program. Pompeo described the "War on Terror" as a clash between Islam and Christianity. Pompeo is an advocate of invading and bombing Iran. He is a man who has made it clear he prefers war to diplomacy.
This is the man that Democratic Senators Heitkamp, Manchin, Donnelly, Jones, McCaskill, Nelson, and (Independent but caucusing with the Democrats) King voted for.
posted by sotonohito at 10:37 AM on April 26, 2018 [50 favorites]
An article from 7 months ago on the utter catastrophe that Mike Pompeo would be if he became Secretary of State.
Pompeo is an advocate of torture and was livid when then President Obama scaled back President Bush's torture program. Pompeo described the "War on Terror" as a clash between Islam and Christianity. Pompeo is an advocate of invading and bombing Iran. He is a man who has made it clear he prefers war to diplomacy.
This is the man that Democratic Senators Heitkamp, Manchin, Donnelly, Jones, McCaskill, Nelson, and (Independent but caucusing with the Democrats) King voted for.
posted by sotonohito at 10:37 AM on April 26, 2018 [50 favorites]
chris24: Dr. Ronny Jackson is at least the 24th unsuccessful nominee to a Senate confirmable job under President Trump.
Whoa, what? You're on the same team - I can understand why Obama nominees got slowed "as payback" for Democrats using the so-called nuclear option to push through scores of nominations in the previous (2014) Congress, but this is just egregious. I know, I know, I shouldn't be shocked, but I wasn't keeping track of these "near-misses" in wholly unqualified appointments (in part because the hits keep coming).
posted by filthy light thief at 10:38 AM on April 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Whoa, what? You're on the same team - I can understand why Obama nominees got slowed "as payback" for Democrats using the so-called nuclear option to push through scores of nominations in the previous (2014) Congress, but this is just egregious. I know, I know, I shouldn't be shocked, but I wasn't keeping track of these "near-misses" in wholly unqualified appointments (in part because the hits keep coming).
posted by filthy light thief at 10:38 AM on April 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Reuters: special master (and ex-judge) Barbara Jones will get first look at all of the seized documents in the Michael Cohen case. Judge Kimba Woods seemed earlier to be hinting that the master might be there just as a tie breaker or less than complete evaluator in combination with a taint team.
posted by msalt at 10:46 AM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by msalt at 10:46 AM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Fifth Amendment basics (Caveat: IANAL): "nor shall any person ... be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself...."
Notice that "civil case" is not there. In a civil case, you can't opt not to testify... unless you claim that doing so, would be the same as testifying in a criminal case against you.
In a criminal case, not testifying is one of your rights. It doesn't indicate guilt - if the charges against you are entirely false, you have the right to basically say, "to hell with all of you; I'm not even validating this farce with a response." Using the 5th to opt out of answers does not, at all, indicate any potential of guilt.
However, in a civil trial, there is no "fuck off; I don't want to answer" option. The only way to claim a "don't want to answer" option is to say: answering these questions would be testifying against myself in a criminal setting.
Stormy's case isn't criminal, and isn't tied to a criminal case - seeking a ruling that a contract is void doesn't accuse anyone of a crime. By taking the 5th to dodge answering questions, he is saying, "the evidence I'd provide could be used against me in a criminal case."
That's not the same as saying, "I have committed crime," just "my answers would look like they're related to crimes." But at best, taking the 5th in a criminal case is saying, "Your Honor, this is not what it looks like." And the courts are allowed to say, "okay, you've said your answers would look like crimes. So, we're going to suggest that a criminal court look into that and find out what happened, and also, since you're not contradicting anything the plaintiff says, their case is much stronger."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:52 AM on April 26, 2018 [20 favorites]
Notice that "civil case" is not there. In a civil case, you can't opt not to testify... unless you claim that doing so, would be the same as testifying in a criminal case against you.
In a criminal case, not testifying is one of your rights. It doesn't indicate guilt - if the charges against you are entirely false, you have the right to basically say, "to hell with all of you; I'm not even validating this farce with a response." Using the 5th to opt out of answers does not, at all, indicate any potential of guilt.
However, in a civil trial, there is no "fuck off; I don't want to answer" option. The only way to claim a "don't want to answer" option is to say: answering these questions would be testifying against myself in a criminal setting.
Stormy's case isn't criminal, and isn't tied to a criminal case - seeking a ruling that a contract is void doesn't accuse anyone of a crime. By taking the 5th to dodge answering questions, he is saying, "the evidence I'd provide could be used against me in a criminal case."
That's not the same as saying, "I have committed crime," just "my answers would look like they're related to crimes." But at best, taking the 5th in a criminal case is saying, "Your Honor, this is not what it looks like." And the courts are allowed to say, "okay, you've said your answers would look like crimes. So, we're going to suggest that a criminal court look into that and find out what happened, and also, since you're not contradicting anything the plaintiff says, their case is much stronger."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:52 AM on April 26, 2018 [20 favorites]
Pomepo had the votes to be confirmed with or without them
Yep, once it was inevitable, I'll forgive anyone who switched to help their reelection chances in 2018. Winning the Senate is more important than protest votes.
WaPo (Greg Sargent): How to end the Trump presidency
Yep, once it was inevitable, I'll forgive anyone who switched to help their reelection chances in 2018. Winning the Senate is more important than protest votes.
WaPo (Greg Sargent): How to end the Trump presidency
A confluence of new events and revelations — including Ronny L. Jackson’s withdrawal moments ago from consideration as head of the Department of Veterans Affairs — underscores the high stakes of this fall’s elections in a new and much more urgent and dramatic fashion.posted by chris24 at 10:52 AM on April 26, 2018 [20 favorites]
Put simply: If Democrats can somehow win both the House and Senate, the Trump presidency as we know it — that is, the Trump presidency in its current incarnation as a rampaging, unchecked kakistocracy facing no meaningful oversight or accountability — will be over. The peculiarities of this particular presidency suggest that this would constitute a more debilitating event to the president — and, crucially, a more meaningful event for the country — than it was when the party opposed to the president captured one or both chambers during the past three presidencies.
The New York Times reports that Republicans are growing more nervous about losing the Senate to Democrats, for a specific and telling reason: It would mean that Democrats will act as a much greater check on Trump’s executive branch and judicial nominees. As the Times delicately puts it, a Democratic-led Senate would be “very deliberate” about bringing Trump’s picks for top federal agency jobs to the floor.
While Democrats have not fully exercised the power they currently have against Trump — Mike Pompeo will be confirmed as secretary of state — the Times rightly notes that if Democrats take control, they’ll face greatly intensified pressure from the base and liberal activist groups to act as a much more substantial check on Trump’s nominees.
the question should be, why did Republicans vote in unison to confirm him?
Because, as they stated publicly after Obama left, they only know how to oppose, they don't know how to govern.
posted by Melismata at 10:57 AM on April 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
Because, as they stated publicly after Obama left, they only know how to oppose, they don't know how to govern.
posted by Melismata at 10:57 AM on April 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
I don’t trust that at least 4 of those 7 would vote any differently under Democratic control of the Senate. And votes like this are exactly why not.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:04 AM on April 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:04 AM on April 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
Michigan will have an initiative to legalize recreational pot on the fall ballot if the GOP legislature does not approve it directly first (Michigan is weird). That legislative approval might happen in an attempt to suppress turnout - legalization has high support among infrequent voters, who usually lean left.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:04 AM on April 26, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 11:04 AM on April 26, 2018 [18 favorites]
Turns out Trump wasn't the only politician funding Diamond and Silk. According to FEC listings, they received even more money from Paul Nehlen, the literal neo-Nazi who was kicked off Twitter and disowned by even Republicans for his openly white supremacist views.
posted by msalt at 11:06 AM on April 26, 2018 [46 favorites]
posted by msalt at 11:06 AM on April 26, 2018 [46 favorites]
> Pompeo had the votes to be confirmed with or without them
I think it would be an interesting question as to whether McCaskill would vote against Pompeo if the vote were close enough to make a difference. Probably she would.
But in reality the vote was not close enough for her vote to make a difference. It came down to, is Pompeo going to get 51 votes or 52, 53, 57, whatever.
In that situation I'm not very surprised that McCaskill made a political calculation and was one of those 'extra' Pompeo votes.
Missouri is about 50/50 R/D but recently it has trending trending more towards R. All but one of the six statewide elected Missouri state officials are Republican, for example. Counting all statewide elected offices (federal and state), it is 2 Democrats out of 8 total offices, and McCaskill is one of the 2 Ds. So, those are not good odds.
Pompeo is from a neighboring state and is presumably fairly popular among the more conservative-voting 55% of the state.
So from McCaskill's point of view she gains nothing be voting against. By voting for, she gets to look moderate, bi-partisan, and all those happy words, plus avoid setting off a spate of "McCaskill votes against a midwesterner for SoS" messaging.
She has a few bits of her image she pushes pretty hard, and "bi-partisan", "able to work with both parties to get things done" are definitely two of her prime themes.
posted by flug at 11:11 AM on April 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
I think it would be an interesting question as to whether McCaskill would vote against Pompeo if the vote were close enough to make a difference. Probably she would.
But in reality the vote was not close enough for her vote to make a difference. It came down to, is Pompeo going to get 51 votes or 52, 53, 57, whatever.
In that situation I'm not very surprised that McCaskill made a political calculation and was one of those 'extra' Pompeo votes.
Missouri is about 50/50 R/D but recently it has trending trending more towards R. All but one of the six statewide elected Missouri state officials are Republican, for example. Counting all statewide elected offices (federal and state), it is 2 Democrats out of 8 total offices, and McCaskill is one of the 2 Ds. So, those are not good odds.
Pompeo is from a neighboring state and is presumably fairly popular among the more conservative-voting 55% of the state.
So from McCaskill's point of view she gains nothing be voting against. By voting for, she gets to look moderate, bi-partisan, and all those happy words, plus avoid setting off a spate of "McCaskill votes against a midwesterner for SoS" messaging.
She has a few bits of her image she pushes pretty hard, and "bi-partisan", "able to work with both parties to get things done" are definitely two of her prime themes.
posted by flug at 11:11 AM on April 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
Meanwhile, there are a bunch more education strikes breaking out all over
NYT OpEd: We Are Republican Teachers Striking in Arizona. It’s Time to Raise Taxes
“I’m a die-hard Republican, and I’m dying inside,” says Allison Ryal-Bagley, an elementary school substitute teacher. “Republicans aren’t taking care of our kids.”
posted by chris24 at 6:16 AM on April 26 [48 favorites +] [!]
"Members of my face-eating leopard party are eating my face and I'm just sick about it. Leopards aren't taking good care of my face."
Why are Republicans always surprised when the party does what it said they would do? I mean, once can't live for a year in the US and not hear a hundred times that Republicans want to lower taxes and kill public schools. How does a public school teacher come to the conclusion that the GOP is they party for them?
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:14 AM on April 26, 2018 [59 favorites]
NYT OpEd: We Are Republican Teachers Striking in Arizona. It’s Time to Raise Taxes
“I’m a die-hard Republican, and I’m dying inside,” says Allison Ryal-Bagley, an elementary school substitute teacher. “Republicans aren’t taking care of our kids.”
posted by chris24 at 6:16 AM on April 26 [48 favorites +] [!]
"Members of my face-eating leopard party are eating my face and I'm just sick about it. Leopards aren't taking good care of my face."
Why are Republicans always surprised when the party does what it said they would do? I mean, once can't live for a year in the US and not hear a hundred times that Republicans want to lower taxes and kill public schools. How does a public school teacher come to the conclusion that the GOP is they party for them?
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:14 AM on April 26, 2018 [59 favorites]
@cjelli- I think that's a fair position, but I'd like to see democrats voting appropriately regardless of whether their votes "matter." It weakens the democratic argument to say: "look at how all these republicans voted to confirm this incredibly poor nominee" when the faithless GOP spin machine can remind folks following along at home that "a number of democrats also voted to confirm him." If he's a bad nominee, he's a bad nominee, regardless of the politics of a local senate race.
Things a democratic vote gives the GOP:
1) reasonable cover should nominee prove to be as bad as he probably will be (We couldn't have known he'd be that bad- even some dems voted for him)
2) the appearance of bipartisanship (He was confirmed with both Republican & Democrat votes)
3) the appearance of divisiveness within the democratic ranks (Dems split on whether to confirm so & so)
4) frustration amongst democratic voters who question the efficacy of the dem in office, possibly leading to a primary challenger who "beats" the incumbent only to lose to the GOP (not because the new challenger is too progressive, but because they lack name recognition, etc.)
Things a democratic vote does for the senator voting with the GOP:
1) the ability to claim faux centrist credit & bipartisanship points in order to pry a few GOP/independent voters from an upcoming GOP challenger.
Does this even happen? Is there any statistical data that confirms democrats making concessions to the GOP in red territory see an uptick in votes? And how many of those votes are offset by would-be democratic voters who stay home in light of the lackluster candidate? We've seen reporting recently that shows people show up to vote for a candidate vs. against the other candidate. How many votes are these purple democrats throwing away in service to the centrist votes they think they're buying?
I wonder if we've just bought a line a la all the punditry that Nate Silver has proven means nothing. Perhaps this whole notion of "I've got to occasionally side with the GOP in order to protect my perilous seat" is false.
And how does one honestly justify "I voted to confirm a war criminal waiting to happen" with "well- you see, my vote wouldn't matter, but pretending to side with the GOP will help me win an embattled senate race this fall." Is this not the definition of party over country?
What good is it to say: "this guy is the worst & will do all the bad things, but I totally voted for him anyway because I knew my vote wouldn't count & yet it'll convince all you suckers watching at home that I'm totes willing to compromise my democratic values & work across the aisle so long as my vote is inconsequential & even when the nominee is terrible."
I just don't understand how that "plays better" than:
"I realize I'm an embattled democrat in a republican state, but I can't in good conscience vote for this awful nominee. I realize my vote doesn't matter & he'll be confirmed nonetheless. I also realize that this will look partisan when all repubs vote for & all dems vote against. However, the fact of the matter is, this guy is really bad & really unqualified & if the GOP wants to push for him, they're going to have to do so without my vote."
At what point are people's arguments that "this is simply how the sausage gets made" a tautology such that we believe it must be the case, so we keep making it the case.
posted by narwhal at 11:15 AM on April 26, 2018 [59 favorites]
Things a democratic vote gives the GOP:
1) reasonable cover should nominee prove to be as bad as he probably will be (We couldn't have known he'd be that bad- even some dems voted for him)
2) the appearance of bipartisanship (He was confirmed with both Republican & Democrat votes)
3) the appearance of divisiveness within the democratic ranks (Dems split on whether to confirm so & so)
4) frustration amongst democratic voters who question the efficacy of the dem in office, possibly leading to a primary challenger who "beats" the incumbent only to lose to the GOP (not because the new challenger is too progressive, but because they lack name recognition, etc.)
Things a democratic vote does for the senator voting with the GOP:
1) the ability to claim faux centrist credit & bipartisanship points in order to pry a few GOP/independent voters from an upcoming GOP challenger.
Does this even happen? Is there any statistical data that confirms democrats making concessions to the GOP in red territory see an uptick in votes? And how many of those votes are offset by would-be democratic voters who stay home in light of the lackluster candidate? We've seen reporting recently that shows people show up to vote for a candidate vs. against the other candidate. How many votes are these purple democrats throwing away in service to the centrist votes they think they're buying?
I wonder if we've just bought a line a la all the punditry that Nate Silver has proven means nothing. Perhaps this whole notion of "I've got to occasionally side with the GOP in order to protect my perilous seat" is false.
And how does one honestly justify "I voted to confirm a war criminal waiting to happen" with "well- you see, my vote wouldn't matter, but pretending to side with the GOP will help me win an embattled senate race this fall." Is this not the definition of party over country?
What good is it to say: "this guy is the worst & will do all the bad things, but I totally voted for him anyway because I knew my vote wouldn't count & yet it'll convince all you suckers watching at home that I'm totes willing to compromise my democratic values & work across the aisle so long as my vote is inconsequential & even when the nominee is terrible."
I just don't understand how that "plays better" than:
"I realize I'm an embattled democrat in a republican state, but I can't in good conscience vote for this awful nominee. I realize my vote doesn't matter & he'll be confirmed nonetheless. I also realize that this will look partisan when all repubs vote for & all dems vote against. However, the fact of the matter is, this guy is really bad & really unqualified & if the GOP wants to push for him, they're going to have to do so without my vote."
At what point are people's arguments that "this is simply how the sausage gets made" a tautology such that we believe it must be the case, so we keep making it the case.
posted by narwhal at 11:15 AM on April 26, 2018 [59 favorites]
I just called Sen Nelson's office and the aide on the phone sounded surprised when I asked her if I was reading correctly he had voted yes to confirm Pompeo. She put me on hold briefly and came back saying she didn't have any information on the vote yet but did I want her pass on a message. I pointed out that while I understand the Senator can't be TOO leftist considering it's Florida, in the race for reelection he is in against a slimy slimy Rick Scott, he needs to campaign as more of a Dem than he ever has. He has to start throwing some serious lefty votes out there soon so that he can campaign as a true Democrat running against the new crazy from the GOP. The time for centrists is over.
posted by hollygoheavy at 11:26 AM on April 26, 2018 [43 favorites]
posted by hollygoheavy at 11:26 AM on April 26, 2018 [43 favorites]
@cjelli- that makes sense. In that light, I better understand your comment & don't disagree. Thanks for the explanation!
posted by narwhal at 11:35 AM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by narwhal at 11:35 AM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
@HonoredSpirit [via Twitter]: because we live in hell i have downloaded the campaign ad for white supremacist Paul Nehlen, who paid Diamond and Silk $7000 for it. enjoy
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:35 AM on April 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:35 AM on April 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
WaPo has some backstory about Diamond and Silk. tl;dr:
Their parents are televangelists who also sell herbal remedies and diet books , their first YouTube videos were about Black Lives Matter and Sandra Bland (the third was about Trump), and most of their fans are middle-aged white women (oh, and, like Kanye West, they refer to the Democratic party as a 'plantation').
When asked about the family, one person who worked at a nearby business said “No disrespect, but I’m not a part of foolishness. I don’t tolerate foolishness. When you’re acting foolish and talking foolish, I shy away from it. And that’s all I gotta say.”
posted by box at 11:37 AM on April 26, 2018 [29 favorites]
Their parents are televangelists who also sell herbal remedies and diet books , their first YouTube videos were about Black Lives Matter and Sandra Bland (the third was about Trump), and most of their fans are middle-aged white women (oh, and, like Kanye West, they refer to the Democratic party as a 'plantation').
When asked about the family, one person who worked at a nearby business said “No disrespect, but I’m not a part of foolishness. I don’t tolerate foolishness. When you’re acting foolish and talking foolish, I shy away from it. And that’s all I gotta say.”
posted by box at 11:37 AM on April 26, 2018 [29 favorites]
> the ability to claim faux centrist credit & bipartisanship points in order to pry a few GOP/independent voters
I can tell you that McCaskill, who right now is the poster child for the type of Democrat who can repeatedly win statewide elections in a right-leaning state, thinks the bipartisan business is SUPER important.
Also, she is not one who has developed her opinions, right or wrong, by sitting in the office and reading charts or listening to consultants or whatever. She does dozens of town hall type meetings and talks personally with hundreds and thousands of constituents all across the state in any given year. Right or wrong, I'm pretty sure that is where her attitude on that issue comes from.
FWIW in Missouri, Democrats hold the centers of the urban areas and inner-ring suburbs, and Republicans the outer suburbs & rural areas.
For statewide elections, these are pretty balanced in terms of voter counts between the two parties.
So winners in these elections tend to be the ones who can hold their base plus dig out just enough votes from the other party's region to put them over the top.
The interesting result of this is you'll find Republicans, like former Senator Kit Bond, considering the cities/urban vote their swing vote and trying to pander to them any way they can without alienating their base. Bond was past master of doing this via earmarks. You might disagree with Bond's politics but you could never argue that brought home the bacon to Missouri in a B-I-G way.
And Bond never won the big-city vote in Missouri, but maybe he would lose it 55-45 instead of 65-35. Just enough to put him over the top.
McCaskill is in the opposite position, where can depend on the populated areas to vote her way (because who in the world is going to vote for the current dingdong Republic-of-the-day, whoever that is) but in order to win statewide, she has to eke out just enough votes from those rural areas and exurbs.
She'll never win these rural areas outright but she's shooting for maybe 55/45 or even 47/53 instead of 65/35 or 70/30. Keep it close . . .
Thus her approach is "bipartisanship", nice safe issues that affect these lesser-populated regions like protections for seniors and consumer product safety, and issues that appeal to conservative voters like support of military/veterans and opposing earmarks.
Whether or not this is a "winning" platform for Democrats nationwide or even with statewide Democratic voters in Missouri (or even statewide Republican voters in Missouri) is somewhat irrelevant.
What she needs is like 3% more of non-Democrat-leaning voters in very specific regions of the state to break her way and just maybe this approach is the one that does it.
Point is, you're never going to know whether or not this is a winning strategy from pundits or national polls or even statewide polls. It is a very, very specific subset of Missouri voters she is aiming at and appealing to.
Based on her past record (and, honestly my own read of the situation and many talks with these sames kinds of voters--though not nearly as many as McCaskill), she seems to have a good feel for what this type of person is looking out for.
In November, we'll find out whether or not she was right.
posted by flug at 11:45 AM on April 26, 2018 [29 favorites]
I can tell you that McCaskill, who right now is the poster child for the type of Democrat who can repeatedly win statewide elections in a right-leaning state, thinks the bipartisan business is SUPER important.
Also, she is not one who has developed her opinions, right or wrong, by sitting in the office and reading charts or listening to consultants or whatever. She does dozens of town hall type meetings and talks personally with hundreds and thousands of constituents all across the state in any given year. Right or wrong, I'm pretty sure that is where her attitude on that issue comes from.
FWIW in Missouri, Democrats hold the centers of the urban areas and inner-ring suburbs, and Republicans the outer suburbs & rural areas.
For statewide elections, these are pretty balanced in terms of voter counts between the two parties.
So winners in these elections tend to be the ones who can hold their base plus dig out just enough votes from the other party's region to put them over the top.
The interesting result of this is you'll find Republicans, like former Senator Kit Bond, considering the cities/urban vote their swing vote and trying to pander to them any way they can without alienating their base. Bond was past master of doing this via earmarks. You might disagree with Bond's politics but you could never argue that brought home the bacon to Missouri in a B-I-G way.
And Bond never won the big-city vote in Missouri, but maybe he would lose it 55-45 instead of 65-35. Just enough to put him over the top.
McCaskill is in the opposite position, where can depend on the populated areas to vote her way (because who in the world is going to vote for the current dingdong Republic-of-the-day, whoever that is) but in order to win statewide, she has to eke out just enough votes from those rural areas and exurbs.
She'll never win these rural areas outright but she's shooting for maybe 55/45 or even 47/53 instead of 65/35 or 70/30. Keep it close . . .
Thus her approach is "bipartisanship", nice safe issues that affect these lesser-populated regions like protections for seniors and consumer product safety, and issues that appeal to conservative voters like support of military/veterans and opposing earmarks.
Whether or not this is a "winning" platform for Democrats nationwide or even with statewide Democratic voters in Missouri (or even statewide Republican voters in Missouri) is somewhat irrelevant.
What she needs is like 3% more of non-Democrat-leaning voters in very specific regions of the state to break her way and just maybe this approach is the one that does it.
Point is, you're never going to know whether or not this is a winning strategy from pundits or national polls or even statewide polls. It is a very, very specific subset of Missouri voters she is aiming at and appealing to.
Based on her past record (and, honestly my own read of the situation and many talks with these sames kinds of voters--though not nearly as many as McCaskill), she seems to have a good feel for what this type of person is looking out for.
In November, we'll find out whether or not she was right.
posted by flug at 11:45 AM on April 26, 2018 [29 favorites]
@CarrieNBCNews
Via @pewresearch : Democrats used to be much more likely than Republicans to say they like elected officials who compromise with those on the other side.
Now, no more.
Link:
The Public, the Political System and American Democracy: Most say ‘design and structure’ of government need big changes
(Some of the other stuff in there may make ot worth an FPP of its own)
posted by Artw at 11:47 AM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Via @pewresearch : Democrats used to be much more likely than Republicans to say they like elected officials who compromise with those on the other side.
Now, no more.
Link:
The Public, the Political System and American Democracy: Most say ‘design and structure’ of government need big changes
(Some of the other stuff in there may make ot worth an FPP of its own)
posted by Artw at 11:47 AM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
zachlipton: We're holding Congressional hearings with witnesses who think a publicly traded company is a public utility.
Hey, someone should bring up regulating Facebook (and Google) as public utilities with Trump. Say, an old friend. Maybe a Steve? Oh hey, a Steve did mention this! Steve Bannon Wants to Regulate Facebook and Google as Utilities (David Z. Morris for Fortune, July 29, 2017)
And he's not alone: Maybe It’s Time To Treat Facebook Like A Public Utility (Cale Guthrie Weissman for Fast Company, May 1, 2017); Facebook is destined to become a regulated public utility (Hamish McRae, in an Op-Ed(?) for The Independent [UK], 21 March 2018 )
posted by filthy light thief at 11:47 AM on April 26, 2018 [8 favorites]
Hey, someone should bring up regulating Facebook (and Google) as public utilities with Trump. Say, an old friend. Maybe a Steve? Oh hey, a Steve did mention this! Steve Bannon Wants to Regulate Facebook and Google as Utilities (David Z. Morris for Fortune, July 29, 2017)
And he's not alone: Maybe It’s Time To Treat Facebook Like A Public Utility (Cale Guthrie Weissman for Fast Company, May 1, 2017); Facebook is destined to become a regulated public utility (Hamish McRae, in an Op-Ed(?) for The Independent [UK], 21 March 2018 )
posted by filthy light thief at 11:47 AM on April 26, 2018 [8 favorites]
So conservatives/free-market-yahoos think Facebook is a public utility but the internet itself isn't a public utility? How?
posted by runcibleshaw at 11:54 AM on April 26, 2018 [59 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 11:54 AM on April 26, 2018 [59 favorites]
Why are Republicans always surprised when the party does what it said they would do? I mean, once can't live for a year in the US and not hear a hundred times that Republicans want to lower taxes and kill public schools. How does a public school teacher come to the conclusion that the GOP is they party for them?
I think many, if not most, Republican voters are actually aligned with the Democrats on taxation and economic issues. They vote Republican because they associate liberalism with pandering to minorities and thus ignoring or outright punishing anyone who is white/male/straight/Christian/etc.
posted by rocket88 at 11:57 AM on April 26, 2018 [23 favorites]
I think many, if not most, Republican voters are actually aligned with the Democrats on taxation and economic issues. They vote Republican because they associate liberalism with pandering to minorities and thus ignoring or outright punishing anyone who is white/male/straight/Christian/etc.
posted by rocket88 at 11:57 AM on April 26, 2018 [23 favorites]
I am fascinated at the idea of Facebook, a web platform, being a public utility while web access, controlled by various ISPs, is not.
That's like saying "G.E. refrigerators are a public utility; we're going to regulate how they work and demand you have the right to access to one - but you don't have a right to electricity; you're on your own for acquiring that."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:01 PM on April 26, 2018 [23 favorites]
That's like saying "G.E. refrigerators are a public utility; we're going to regulate how they work and demand you have the right to access to one - but you don't have a right to electricity; you're on your own for acquiring that."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:01 PM on April 26, 2018 [23 favorites]
flug The problem with that calculus is that it simply presumes that Democratic voters don't get frustrated with having a Senator who doesn't vote in the way they'd prefer and stay home.
Sure, the Democratic voters in Missouri won't go vote for a Republican because they're mad at McCaskill, but she seems to be counting on being able to abuse her Democratic base infinitely and having that base continue voting for her as enthusiastically as ever.
I think that the calculus you propose would likely work in the short term, but seems as if it is going to produce longer term problems.
I'm also not really convinced that what potential Democratic voters in a Republican leaning state really want is a part time Republican. I'd like to see some polling, but anecdotally from here in Texas the local Democrats aren't middle of the road and desperate for a Democrat who frequently votes with Republicans, mostly they're rather bitterly opposed to the Republican agenda and would be less inclined to vote for a centrist Democrat who sometimes votes with the Republicans.
There seems to be an assumption that Democrats in majority Republican areas are going to be right leaning Democrats, and I question the validity of that assumption. I've googled around and I can't really find polling that seems to settle this one way or the other, are you aware of any that I've missed? Cuz if I'm wrong then go McCaskill! But I strongly suspect that she's sabotaging her future electoral success for a possibly illusory gain this year.
posted by sotonohito at 12:06 PM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
Sure, the Democratic voters in Missouri won't go vote for a Republican because they're mad at McCaskill, but she seems to be counting on being able to abuse her Democratic base infinitely and having that base continue voting for her as enthusiastically as ever.
I think that the calculus you propose would likely work in the short term, but seems as if it is going to produce longer term problems.
I'm also not really convinced that what potential Democratic voters in a Republican leaning state really want is a part time Republican. I'd like to see some polling, but anecdotally from here in Texas the local Democrats aren't middle of the road and desperate for a Democrat who frequently votes with Republicans, mostly they're rather bitterly opposed to the Republican agenda and would be less inclined to vote for a centrist Democrat who sometimes votes with the Republicans.
There seems to be an assumption that Democrats in majority Republican areas are going to be right leaning Democrats, and I question the validity of that assumption. I've googled around and I can't really find polling that seems to settle this one way or the other, are you aware of any that I've missed? Cuz if I'm wrong then go McCaskill! But I strongly suspect that she's sabotaging her future electoral success for a possibly illusory gain this year.
posted by sotonohito at 12:06 PM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
let's convene a panel of lefty dudes from other states who can give Claire some advice about how to keep winning in Missouri
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:11 PM on April 26, 2018 [55 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:11 PM on April 26, 2018 [55 favorites]
WSJ, ‘Boss, I Miss You So Much’: The Awkward Exile of Michael Cohen, in which Cohen makes a public show of dining with Mark Cuban: “When they had breakfast at the Time Warner Center in November, paparazzi “somehow” showed up, Mr. Cuban said. “I think he does it to piss off Trump when Trump is ignoring him.””
Cohen had high hopes for himself though:
And one source is reported as saying Cohen considered “defecting” from Trump when he wasn’t paid back the $130K. He stopped complaining about the money mid-last year.
posted by zachlipton at 12:13 PM on April 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
Cohen had high hopes for himself though:
In the months before the election, when Mr. Trump reshuffled his campaign for a third time and named Steve Bannon as campaign chief, Mr. Cohen told associates he had expected to be tapped for the role, according to people familiar with the matter. He also told people at the time he expected to be named White House chief of staff, people familiar with the matter said.Cohen is portrayed as frustrated he didn’t get a White House job, along with tales of the time he bragged about being part of the Russian mob or the time Trump showed up late to his son’s bar mitzvah: “the blessings were delayed.” Trump gave a speech once he showed up about how much Cohen begged him to come.
Mr. Trump decided that bringing Mr. Cohen inside the White House carried too many risks, according to people familiar with the discussions. Mr. Trump privately has described Mr. Cohen as a “bull in a china shop,” who when brought in to fix a problem sometimes breaks more china, according to a person close to the president.
And one source is reported as saying Cohen considered “defecting” from Trump when he wasn’t paid back the $130K. He stopped complaining about the money mid-last year.
posted by zachlipton at 12:13 PM on April 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
Another GOP New York state Senator is retiring (DeFrancisco - SD50). District went Clinton 50-45, Obama 55-43.
Empire State GOP looks to be getting nervous.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:15 PM on April 26, 2018 [22 favorites]
Empire State GOP looks to be getting nervous.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:15 PM on April 26, 2018 [22 favorites]
I don't have the stamina to listen to the entire Trump Fox & Friends thing, but I watched a couple of the excerpts highlighted here on Talking Points Memo and I just have to say: This is literally the most insane thing I can imagine a U.S. President doing.
Like think of the most insane, depressed, neurotic ramblings of Pres. Nixon during the very lowest points of his presidency, just before he resigned.
We're already way, way past that point and no bottom--or end--in sight.
posted by flug at 12:16 PM on April 26, 2018 [45 favorites]
Like think of the most insane, depressed, neurotic ramblings of Pres. Nixon during the very lowest points of his presidency, just before he resigned.
We're already way, way past that point and no bottom--or end--in sight.
posted by flug at 12:16 PM on April 26, 2018 [45 favorites]
@flug- thanks for that insight.
I'm genuinely curious whether or not these token gestures are necessary. Obviously, McCaskill believes so (and the data appears to support her belief). The challenge, when determining the efficacy of "center" pitches (whether taken by a republican to try & snag a few inner-city votes or a democrat to win over "just enough" exurban voters) is that we don't have any control data. There's no simultaneous ballot where people vote on the candidate without any of those efforts.
I'll grant that we shouldn't claim dems who side with repubs are "traitorous" simply because they crossed a party line on a particular vote. However, I'd still like to know (and more importantly, I'd like our congressfolk to know) just how much of that kind of behavior is actually necessary &/or fruitful.
While McCaskill's gut may be correct & her history of winning tough races seems to support it, she could also be operating under false positives. It could be that the exurban voters are voting for her regardless of whether she cast a vote to confirm a shoo-in republican nominee. At that point, I think it does become a fair question how a senator behaves on the national stage vs. what she/he does to maintain the seat.
As always, of course, the problem lies with the fact that there's no way to re-run a race with different variables to compare/contrast the result. My gut tells me that a politician who votes according to an internal litmus test of "what is good for my country & my constituents" and who fiercely proclaims that measure at every turn would win far more weakly aligned GOP/independent voters than a politician who makes compromise votes for bad things because they've done the calculus that it wouldn't matter anyway & hey, it's some red meat for the rubes.
I suppose I'd like to see one's political party as providing a starting point for negotiation or an expressed end goal, but that votes themselves are always made according to whether they serve the country & one's constituents vs. how well they adhere to the template.
"Yes, I'm a democrat, so I will advocate for a higher minimum wage; this particular vote, however, while providing a higher minimum wage will do so at the expense of my constituents & so I must vote against" is far more palatable than "I'm a democrat & I'll work towards a higher minimum wage; this particular vote, however, doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell, so I'll vote against it & then use it to express my bonafides when I'm trying to win over exurban voters."
In the first case, the politician shows that while a democrat, they won't throw their constituents under the bus for a democratic cause & thus, they're a safe vote for an otherwise GOP voter. In the second case, the tactic relies on a cynical representation of the politician such that democratic voters know they're a democrat when it matters while GOP voters are given cherry picked stats that show "hey- she's not as bad as the other democrats. Look at all these times she voted with us. Never mind that her vote wasn't consequential & that the goodness or badness of the vote never really mattered."
tl;dr: more polling/data/research, please
posted by narwhal at 12:17 PM on April 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
I'm genuinely curious whether or not these token gestures are necessary. Obviously, McCaskill believes so (and the data appears to support her belief). The challenge, when determining the efficacy of "center" pitches (whether taken by a republican to try & snag a few inner-city votes or a democrat to win over "just enough" exurban voters) is that we don't have any control data. There's no simultaneous ballot where people vote on the candidate without any of those efforts.
I'll grant that we shouldn't claim dems who side with repubs are "traitorous" simply because they crossed a party line on a particular vote. However, I'd still like to know (and more importantly, I'd like our congressfolk to know) just how much of that kind of behavior is actually necessary &/or fruitful.
While McCaskill's gut may be correct & her history of winning tough races seems to support it, she could also be operating under false positives. It could be that the exurban voters are voting for her regardless of whether she cast a vote to confirm a shoo-in republican nominee. At that point, I think it does become a fair question how a senator behaves on the national stage vs. what she/he does to maintain the seat.
As always, of course, the problem lies with the fact that there's no way to re-run a race with different variables to compare/contrast the result. My gut tells me that a politician who votes according to an internal litmus test of "what is good for my country & my constituents" and who fiercely proclaims that measure at every turn would win far more weakly aligned GOP/independent voters than a politician who makes compromise votes for bad things because they've done the calculus that it wouldn't matter anyway & hey, it's some red meat for the rubes.
I suppose I'd like to see one's political party as providing a starting point for negotiation or an expressed end goal, but that votes themselves are always made according to whether they serve the country & one's constituents vs. how well they adhere to the template.
"Yes, I'm a democrat, so I will advocate for a higher minimum wage; this particular vote, however, while providing a higher minimum wage will do so at the expense of my constituents & so I must vote against" is far more palatable than "I'm a democrat & I'll work towards a higher minimum wage; this particular vote, however, doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell, so I'll vote against it & then use it to express my bonafides when I'm trying to win over exurban voters."
In the first case, the politician shows that while a democrat, they won't throw their constituents under the bus for a democratic cause & thus, they're a safe vote for an otherwise GOP voter. In the second case, the tactic relies on a cynical representation of the politician such that democratic voters know they're a democrat when it matters while GOP voters are given cherry picked stats that show "hey- she's not as bad as the other democrats. Look at all these times she voted with us. Never mind that her vote wasn't consequential & that the goodness or badness of the vote never really mattered."
tl;dr: more polling/data/research, please
posted by narwhal at 12:17 PM on April 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
I think it's worth trying to push Dem officeholders left whenever possible. I also believe that they can't always do what we want, and that Claire McCaskill specifically is a canny operator.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:19 PM on April 26, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 12:19 PM on April 26, 2018 [26 favorites]
The WaPo has an annotated transcript of this morning’s Fox and Friends performance if anyone wants to take it all in on their own terms.
posted by peeedro at 12:20 PM on April 26, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by peeedro at 12:20 PM on April 26, 2018 [17 favorites]
So conservatives/free-market-yahoos think Facebook is a public utility but the internet itself isn't a public utility? How?
Sweet, sweet tax breaks for telcos unbound by net neutrality providing essential public utility Facebook services in their walled garden internet packages.
posted by jason_steakums at 12:22 PM on April 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
Sweet, sweet tax breaks for telcos unbound by net neutrality providing essential public utility Facebook services in their walled garden internet packages.
posted by jason_steakums at 12:22 PM on April 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
The Hill: House Chaplain Patrick Conroy’s sudden resignation has sparked a furor on Capitol Hill, with sources in both parties saying he was pushed out by Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).
posted by Chrysostom at 12:22 PM on April 26, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 12:22 PM on April 26, 2018 [18 favorites]
I'm genuinely curious whether or not these token gestures are necessary. Obviously, McCaskill believes so
It's curious that Republican so-called moderates like Flake and Collins, speak moderately but in the end vote with their party. Meanwhile Democratic moderates like McCaskill and Nelson speak moderately but in the end vote with the opposite party.
posted by JackFlash at 12:25 PM on April 26, 2018 [23 favorites]
It's curious that Republican so-called moderates like Flake and Collins, speak moderately but in the end vote with their party. Meanwhile Democratic moderates like McCaskill and Nelson speak moderately but in the end vote with the opposite party.
posted by JackFlash at 12:25 PM on April 26, 2018 [23 favorites]
It's interesting to consider Facebook being regulated as a utility. Ten years ago, it was their mission statement: "Facebook is a social utility ... not a 'social networking site.'" I have to imagine someone realized what that could imply and got them to drop that angle.
posted by stopgap at 12:27 PM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by stopgap at 12:27 PM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
sources in both parties saying he was pushed out by Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).
Given that his letter starts with "As you have requested, I hereby offer my resignation", I don't think we need to source that claim too broadly.
posted by Etrigan at 12:27 PM on April 26, 2018 [20 favorites]
Given that his letter starts with "As you have requested, I hereby offer my resignation", I don't think we need to source that claim too broadly.
posted by Etrigan at 12:27 PM on April 26, 2018 [20 favorites]
USA Today, Ronny Jackson staying on as White House doctor despite misconduct charges
I’d kinda still like to know if he made work a living hell for his staff, improperly dispensed narcotics, and got drunk and crashed a government car, but that’s just me. Maybe a hearing on that or something?
posted by zachlipton at 12:28 PM on April 26, 2018 [41 favorites]
I’d kinda still like to know if he made work a living hell for his staff, improperly dispensed narcotics, and got drunk and crashed a government car, but that’s just me. Maybe a hearing on that or something?
posted by zachlipton at 12:28 PM on April 26, 2018 [41 favorites]
Speaker Ryan, a Roman Catholic, has forced out a Roman Catholic chaplain because he gave a prayer about helping the poor. Thanks, Twenty-Eighteen!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:28 PM on April 26, 2018 [84 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:28 PM on April 26, 2018 [84 favorites]
Traitors
Heitkamp - Up for election in 2018 in North Dakota, a state Trump won by 35%.
Manchin - Up for election in 2018 in West Virginia, a state Trump won by 42%.
Donnelly - Up for election in 2018 in Indiana, a state Trump won by 19%.
Jones - Squeaked by in a special election with a pedophile in Alabama, a state Trump won by 28%.
King (I) - Up for election in 2018 in Maine, a state Trump won by 3%.
McCaskill - Up for election in 2018 in Missouri, a state Trump won by 19%.
Nelson - Up for election in 2018 in Florida, a state Trump won by 1%.
Except for King and Nelson, you can argue there are not enough Ds in these states to win without appealing to some Rs and getting their votes.
posted by chris24 at 12:44 PM on April 26, 2018 [16 favorites]
Heitkamp - Up for election in 2018 in North Dakota, a state Trump won by 35%.
Manchin - Up for election in 2018 in West Virginia, a state Trump won by 42%.
Donnelly - Up for election in 2018 in Indiana, a state Trump won by 19%.
Jones - Squeaked by in a special election with a pedophile in Alabama, a state Trump won by 28%.
King (I) - Up for election in 2018 in Maine, a state Trump won by 3%.
McCaskill - Up for election in 2018 in Missouri, a state Trump won by 19%.
Nelson - Up for election in 2018 in Florida, a state Trump won by 1%.
Except for King and Nelson, you can argue there are not enough Ds in these states to win without appealing to some Rs and getting their votes.
posted by chris24 at 12:44 PM on April 26, 2018 [16 favorites]
Except for King and Nelson, you can argue they're aren't enough Ds in these states to win without appealing to some Rs and getting their votes.
There is no such state. "Didn't bother voting" wins nearly every election, especially midterms. Energizing new voters works better and longer than trying to appeal to Republicans.
posted by Etrigan at 12:51 PM on April 26, 2018 [46 favorites]
There is no such state. "Didn't bother voting" wins nearly every election, especially midterms. Energizing new voters works better and longer than trying to appeal to Republicans.
posted by Etrigan at 12:51 PM on April 26, 2018 [46 favorites]
Worth noting: there is a long tradition that a President should be given the latitude to pick his team, short of egregious malfeasance. Following that, or disagreeing about what is egregious, is not what I would call being a traitor.
I'd love to see the pressure kept up to fire Ronny Jackson, though, and it sounds like there are plenty of substantial reasons that he could be terminated under civil service rules. Is there a way to force that?
A lot of people in this administration have been acting like they are on drugs, and it would be nice to see the supply channels tightened up a bit.
posted by msalt at 12:52 PM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
I'd love to see the pressure kept up to fire Ronny Jackson, though, and it sounds like there are plenty of substantial reasons that he could be terminated under civil service rules. Is there a way to force that?
A lot of people in this administration have been acting like they are on drugs, and it would be nice to see the supply channels tightened up a bit.
posted by msalt at 12:52 PM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
Speaker Ryan, a Roman Catholic, has forced out a Roman Catholic chaplain because he gave a prayer about helping the poor. Thanks, Twenty-Eighteen!
Do you think we could get the Pope to excommunicate Ryan?
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:52 PM on April 26, 2018 [25 favorites]
Do you think we could get the Pope to excommunicate Ryan?
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:52 PM on April 26, 2018 [25 favorites]
Just a thought, maybe they could, I know this is crazy, **NOT** have a tax paid and promoted preacher advocating their religion in Congress?
Save a few bucks and stop violating both the letter and spirit of the US Constitution. Just a thought.
posted by sotonohito at 12:56 PM on April 26, 2018 [51 favorites]
Save a few bucks and stop violating both the letter and spirit of the US Constitution. Just a thought.
posted by sotonohito at 12:56 PM on April 26, 2018 [51 favorites]
> flug The problem with that calculus is that it simply presumes that Democratic voters don't get frustrated with having a Senator who doesn't vote in the way they'd prefer and stay home.
Well, bring your campaign to Missouri and we'll see how it goes. All know is the Democratic politicians who have actually won statewide office in Missouri recently are almost universally of the "actually a Republican pretty much but say I'm a Democrat" variety, or the ones who put heavy emphasis on their centrist, moderate, bipartisanship.
You can see a full breakdown over time here. I'm talking about, for instance, Jay Nixon, Chris Koster (Republican until just before he ran for SoS and lost recent governor's race anyway), Claire McCaskill. These are all very centrist or "nearly Republican except for the name" types.
People like Russ Carnahan, Robin Carnahan, Robin Smith, and Teresa Hensley, who have all run recently more as "Real Democrats (tm)" were universally butchered in the recent elections. The highest vote total of any of those I just listed was 40.6%, all the others were below 40%. Koster (the ex-Republican) lost his most recent election but did far better than any of the others I just listed.
So there is a pretty strong trend here.
The one somewhat exception to that rule has been Jason Kander.
But--you'll notice he isn't in office right now. Because he lost.
Yes, he lost 49/46, so it was kinda close. But still, lost.
And, a big part of his campaign was "Hey, I'm a gun nut, too, I was in the military, blah-blah-blah." If he'd been all Bernie Sanders on us I'd expect he'd have been at 36% rather than 46% in Missouri.
All that said, I agree with you in the larger sense. We need leadership and actual bold ideas and candidates that can build some real enthusiasm.
But not every candidate and every race and every place is going to be the right place and time for that.
One of the strengths of the Democratic party is it is more of a broad coalition and not a monolithic lock-step ideological-driven mind-meld where everyone has to fall in line, every time--like some parties are.
Maybe one of the Big Ideas we need to be celebrating is exactly that.
posted by flug at 12:59 PM on April 26, 2018 [29 favorites]
Well, bring your campaign to Missouri and we'll see how it goes. All know is the Democratic politicians who have actually won statewide office in Missouri recently are almost universally of the "actually a Republican pretty much but say I'm a Democrat" variety, or the ones who put heavy emphasis on their centrist, moderate, bipartisanship.
You can see a full breakdown over time here. I'm talking about, for instance, Jay Nixon, Chris Koster (Republican until just before he ran for SoS and lost recent governor's race anyway), Claire McCaskill. These are all very centrist or "nearly Republican except for the name" types.
People like Russ Carnahan, Robin Carnahan, Robin Smith, and Teresa Hensley, who have all run recently more as "Real Democrats (tm)" were universally butchered in the recent elections. The highest vote total of any of those I just listed was 40.6%, all the others were below 40%. Koster (the ex-Republican) lost his most recent election but did far better than any of the others I just listed.
So there is a pretty strong trend here.
The one somewhat exception to that rule has been Jason Kander.
But--you'll notice he isn't in office right now. Because he lost.
Yes, he lost 49/46, so it was kinda close. But still, lost.
And, a big part of his campaign was "Hey, I'm a gun nut, too, I was in the military, blah-blah-blah." If he'd been all Bernie Sanders on us I'd expect he'd have been at 36% rather than 46% in Missouri.
All that said, I agree with you in the larger sense. We need leadership and actual bold ideas and candidates that can build some real enthusiasm.
But not every candidate and every race and every place is going to be the right place and time for that.
One of the strengths of the Democratic party is it is more of a broad coalition and not a monolithic lock-step ideological-driven mind-meld where everyone has to fall in line, every time--like some parties are.
Maybe one of the Big Ideas we need to be celebrating is exactly that.
posted by flug at 12:59 PM on April 26, 2018 [29 favorites]
A lot of people in this administration have been acting like they are on drugs, and it would be nice to see the supply channels tightened up a bit.
A lot of people everywhere are on drugs. Acting erratically or unprofessionally does not necessarily to correlate to drug use and drug use does not necessarily correlate to acting erratically or unprofessionally.
posted by melissasaurus at 12:59 PM on April 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
A lot of people everywhere are on drugs. Acting erratically or unprofessionally does not necessarily to correlate to drug use and drug use does not necessarily correlate to acting erratically or unprofessionally.
posted by melissasaurus at 12:59 PM on April 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
I think that voter apathy is worse for Democrats than swing voters. While voter suppression and lack of transportation are issues, especially in communities of color, to me it's ridiculous that there are so many registered voters, who don't have the lack of transportation/purged from the rolls issue, who have to be coaxed and wheedled to the polls. Or they're so busy riding their purity ponies that they won't vote for the candidate available (and I don't have to tell you who this affected in 2016).
If we don't vote, then we can't complain that there are no Democrats in public office etc. etc.
That said, I think that senators in red states are probably going to be more conservative than we want in some areas. House races and local offices are better bets to start a leftward push - and it does seem that leftward pushing works, as witness the Democrats who take even baby steps to the left if there's a whiff of leftward primary challenge. The problem with senators is they have to represent a whole state, red areas, blue areas, purple areas and all. McCaskill, for her part, seems to know what she is doing - she's survived some tough challenges before.
And on preview: what flug said 100%: All that said, I agree with you in the larger sense. We need leadership and actual bold ideas and candidates that can build some real enthusiasm.
But not every candidate and every race and every place is going to be the right place and time for that.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 1:04 PM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
If we don't vote, then we can't complain that there are no Democrats in public office etc. etc.
That said, I think that senators in red states are probably going to be more conservative than we want in some areas. House races and local offices are better bets to start a leftward push - and it does seem that leftward pushing works, as witness the Democrats who take even baby steps to the left if there's a whiff of leftward primary challenge. The problem with senators is they have to represent a whole state, red areas, blue areas, purple areas and all. McCaskill, for her part, seems to know what she is doing - she's survived some tough challenges before.
And on preview: what flug said 100%: All that said, I agree with you in the larger sense. We need leadership and actual bold ideas and candidates that can build some real enthusiasm.
But not every candidate and every race and every place is going to be the right place and time for that.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 1:04 PM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
He talked with Fox for half an hour??? On top of everything else...isn't the POTUS supposed to be, you know, busy?
Obama wore the same color/style suit every day so he wouldn't waste time/energy on such an unimportant decision.
I guess that means no "executive time" either. Quite a contrast to 45.
posted by duoshao at 1:05 PM on April 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
Obama wore the same color/style suit every day so he wouldn't waste time/energy on such an unimportant decision.
I guess that means no "executive time" either. Quite a contrast to 45.
posted by duoshao at 1:05 PM on April 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
There is no such state. "Didn't bother voting" wins nearly every election
57% of eligible voters voted in West Virginia. 728,000 people voted. So based on the turnout percentage, 549,000 didn't vote. Trump got 489,000 votes, Clinton 189,000. So in order for Clinton to have won, she would've needed 301,000 more votes, 55% of that 549,000 to make up the deficit. And a higher percentage if not every single person voted. You're saying there's at least 55% Ds in that non-voting segment in West Virginia, where Rs got 2.5 times the votes from the voting segment.
And nationally, 61.4% voted, so while WV is the largest deficit, it also has an above average non-voting segment.
posted by chris24 at 1:07 PM on April 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
57% of eligible voters voted in West Virginia. 728,000 people voted. So based on the turnout percentage, 549,000 didn't vote. Trump got 489,000 votes, Clinton 189,000. So in order for Clinton to have won, she would've needed 301,000 more votes, 55% of that 549,000 to make up the deficit. And a higher percentage if not every single person voted. You're saying there's at least 55% Ds in that non-voting segment in West Virginia, where Rs got 2.5 times the votes from the voting segment.
And nationally, 61.4% voted, so while WV is the largest deficit, it also has an above average non-voting segment.
posted by chris24 at 1:07 PM on April 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
Southern states are the center of the New Ppor People’s Campaign and thier Policy platform - The Souls Of Poor Folk
Pretty much the only thing you can say about the region is whenever sometimes tries to raise uo the downtrodden and brow beaten into political power they get assassinated.
posted by The Whelk at 1:09 PM on April 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
Pretty much the only thing you can say about the region is whenever sometimes tries to raise uo the downtrodden and brow beaten into political power they get assassinated.
posted by The Whelk at 1:09 PM on April 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
>It's curious that Republican so-called moderates like Flake and Collins, speak moderately but in the end vote with their party. Meanwhile Democratic moderates like McCaskill and Nelson speak moderately but in the end vote with the opposite party.
Some of that is who they are pleasing. Republicans must please a relatively small cadre of big donors first, actual voters a far-distant second. That makes them answerable to a relatively few people with a relatively high say-so, and tends to keep them on a tighter leash.
Democratic candidate fundraising tends to be based more on large numbers of smaller donors vs a very few large donors, and as such the Ds tend to be answerable to a much larger donor base plus their voters as a whole. Any individual donor or voter has relatively little say-so. That gives them a fair bit more operating room.
Like the broad coalition vs lock-step thing, this dynamic in general is a positive one for the Democrats--in no small part because that is how political parties in a democracy should be run and operated.
But the more lock-step and centralized approach does give Republicans some short-term tactical advantage--no question.
posted by flug at 1:12 PM on April 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
Some of that is who they are pleasing. Republicans must please a relatively small cadre of big donors first, actual voters a far-distant second. That makes them answerable to a relatively few people with a relatively high say-so, and tends to keep them on a tighter leash.
Democratic candidate fundraising tends to be based more on large numbers of smaller donors vs a very few large donors, and as such the Ds tend to be answerable to a much larger donor base plus their voters as a whole. Any individual donor or voter has relatively little say-so. That gives them a fair bit more operating room.
Like the broad coalition vs lock-step thing, this dynamic in general is a positive one for the Democrats--in no small part because that is how political parties in a democracy should be run and operated.
But the more lock-step and centralized approach does give Republicans some short-term tactical advantage--no question.
posted by flug at 1:12 PM on April 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
USA Today, Ronny Jackson staying on as White House doctor despite misconduct charges
I’d kinda still like to know if he made work a living hell for his staff, improperly dispensed narcotics, and got drunk and crashed a government car, but that’s just me. Maybe a hearing on that or something?
My god. Imagine being on the medical staff after everything that just happened. Imagine being one of those folks who stepped up, overcoming the pressures to stay silent from both the medical and military cultures, speaking up against this guy... and the end result is that he doesn't go anywhere. You still have to deal with him on the job. This dude should be fired out of a cannon, and yet he's back to work like nothing happened--except he's gonna remember how staffers spoke out against him and cost him another failing-forward step in his misbegotten career.
What a fucking nightmare.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 1:14 PM on April 26, 2018 [70 favorites]
I’d kinda still like to know if he made work a living hell for his staff, improperly dispensed narcotics, and got drunk and crashed a government car, but that’s just me. Maybe a hearing on that or something?
My god. Imagine being on the medical staff after everything that just happened. Imagine being one of those folks who stepped up, overcoming the pressures to stay silent from both the medical and military cultures, speaking up against this guy... and the end result is that he doesn't go anywhere. You still have to deal with him on the job. This dude should be fired out of a cannon, and yet he's back to work like nothing happened--except he's gonna remember how staffers spoke out against him and cost him another failing-forward step in his misbegotten career.
What a fucking nightmare.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 1:14 PM on April 26, 2018 [70 favorites]
With regard to the irony/contradiction in treating social media like a public utility while internet access is still a privilege: it's pretty similar to the conservative stance on healthcare. Much in the same way that they argue the current system is okay because someone without insurance can always go to an emergency room, I imagine they think that people can always go to a Starbucks or a library if their internet access is cut off.
It's a slightly more tenuous analogy, but I think there's a further parallel between the conservative belief that giving people reproductive and financial freedom via universal healthcare is more detrimental to society than a widespread access to care...and their belief that the biggest contemporary threats to personal freedom are restrictions on guns and promoting bigotry or ethnic cleansing via ad-supported corporate content streams. The only kind of liberty that matters is whether people with privileged positions in society are completely free to attack and impose their will on others. Any effort to protect people who are most likely to be disenfranchised/victimized or promote equality/equal-access is, in actuality, allowing the most weak and deficient members of society to unjustly punish individuals who are strong-willed and successful.
posted by prosopagnosia at 1:19 PM on April 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
It's a slightly more tenuous analogy, but I think there's a further parallel between the conservative belief that giving people reproductive and financial freedom via universal healthcare is more detrimental to society than a widespread access to care...and their belief that the biggest contemporary threats to personal freedom are restrictions on guns and promoting bigotry or ethnic cleansing via ad-supported corporate content streams. The only kind of liberty that matters is whether people with privileged positions in society are completely free to attack and impose their will on others. Any effort to protect people who are most likely to be disenfranchised/victimized or promote equality/equal-access is, in actuality, allowing the most weak and deficient members of society to unjustly punish individuals who are strong-willed and successful.
posted by prosopagnosia at 1:19 PM on April 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
"Didn't bother voting" wins nearly every election
So in order for Clinton to have won, she would've needed 301,000 more votes
Actually, the winner is they who capture them most electoral college votes (those who appeal to small population states can get an edge in).
That would have been 301,000 needed in WVa on top of the 2.8 million she was already ahead with nationally.
So its Electoral college first place > maybe popular as long as you're not Hillary Clinton, Al Gore.
That's quite a democracy.
posted by rc3spencer at 1:20 PM on April 26, 2018
So in order for Clinton to have won, she would've needed 301,000 more votes
Actually, the winner is they who capture them most electoral college votes (those who appeal to small population states can get an edge in).
That would have been 301,000 needed in WVa on top of the 2.8 million she was already ahead with nationally.
So its Electoral college first place > maybe popular as long as you're not Hillary Clinton, Al Gore.
That's quite a democracy.
posted by rc3spencer at 1:20 PM on April 26, 2018
I have a good feeling that today is the day that we resolve turnout vs persuasion once and for all!
posted by Chrysostom at 1:24 PM on April 26, 2018 [125 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 1:24 PM on April 26, 2018 [125 favorites]
King (I) - Up for election in 2018 in Maine, a state Trump won by 3%.
Trump did not win Maine. He won D2, but statewide, Clinton beat him 357, 735 votes to 335,593 votes. She won 3 of Maine's electoral votes, he won 1.
King won his 2012 Senate race (soundly beating the (R) candidate) with about 370K votes (more than either Clinton or Trump in the 2016 election). He was extremely popular as Governor and continues to be popular as Senator. The D's aren't running a serious candidate against him, and on the R side one of the two guys running for the nomination had to withdraw for submitting fraudulent signatures on his nomination papers. Ben Pollard might run against him as an Independent, but has zero legislative experience.
There is no electoral reason for King to support this guy. Zero. None.
posted by anastasiav at 1:28 PM on April 26, 2018 [23 favorites]
Trump did not win Maine. He won D2, but statewide, Clinton beat him 357, 735 votes to 335,593 votes. She won 3 of Maine's electoral votes, he won 1.
King won his 2012 Senate race (soundly beating the (R) candidate) with about 370K votes (more than either Clinton or Trump in the 2016 election). He was extremely popular as Governor and continues to be popular as Senator. The D's aren't running a serious candidate against him, and on the R side one of the two guys running for the nomination had to withdraw for submitting fraudulent signatures on his nomination papers. Ben Pollard might run against him as an Independent, but has zero legislative experience.
There is no electoral reason for King to support this guy. Zero. None.
posted by anastasiav at 1:28 PM on April 26, 2018 [23 favorites]
This dude should be fired out of a cannon, and yet he's back to work like nothing happened--except he's gonna remember how staffers spoke out against him and cost him another failing-forward step in his misbegotten career.
This kind of thing is why I will never, ever whistleblow. It ruins YOUR life for sure, but almost always doesn't ruin the life of the accused.
I am surprised here he wasn't pressured to quit this job too, though. Well, slightly surprised.
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:30 PM on April 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
This kind of thing is why I will never, ever whistleblow. It ruins YOUR life for sure, but almost always doesn't ruin the life of the accused.
I am surprised here he wasn't pressured to quit this job too, though. Well, slightly surprised.
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:30 PM on April 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
Via Twitter: Great overhead picture of Arizona teachers marching on the state capitol.
The internet tells me it's 93F in Phoenix today, which in Arizona is "Whatever, I've got shit to do" weather.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 1:33 PM on April 26, 2018 [55 favorites]
The internet tells me it's 93F in Phoenix today, which in Arizona is "Whatever, I've got shit to do" weather.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 1:33 PM on April 26, 2018 [55 favorites]
Pretty much the only thing you can say about [Southern states] is whenever sometimes tries to raise uo the downtrodden and brow beaten into political power they get assassinated.
No, that's the only thing you can say about them. Those of us who know them can say a lot more.
posted by biogeo at 1:34 PM on April 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
No, that's the only thing you can say about them. Those of us who know them can say a lot more.
posted by biogeo at 1:34 PM on April 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
So conservatives/free-market-yahoos think Facebook is a public utility
Because it works to their advantage.
but the internet itself isn't a public utility? How?
Because it doesn't.
posted by scalefree at 1:36 PM on April 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
Because it works to their advantage.
but the internet itself isn't a public utility? How?
Because it doesn't.
posted by scalefree at 1:36 PM on April 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
Trump got 489,000 votes, Clinton 189,000. So in order for Clinton to have won, she would've needed 301,000 more votes, 55% of that 549,000 to make up the deficit. And a higher percentage if not every single person voted.
And actually I made a mistake, she would need to net 301k more votes, not just get 301k more votes, since Trump would be getting some votes. To net 301k out of 549k, she would need to get 425k votes to Trumps 124k. So she'd need 77% of the non-voters in a state where the voters went Trump 69%. And a higher percentage if not every single person voted.
posted by chris24 at 1:36 PM on April 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
And actually I made a mistake, she would need to net 301k more votes, not just get 301k more votes, since Trump would be getting some votes. To net 301k out of 549k, she would need to get 425k votes to Trumps 124k. So she'd need 77% of the non-voters in a state where the voters went Trump 69%. And a higher percentage if not every single person voted.
posted by chris24 at 1:36 PM on April 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
Could we please not do this again?
posted by lesbiassparrow at 1:42 PM on April 26, 2018 [24 favorites]
posted by lesbiassparrow at 1:42 PM on April 26, 2018 [24 favorites]
And just to run that out on Missouri since the vote deficit is smaller and we've been talking about McCaskill.
67% of eligible voters voted in Missouri. 2.8m people voted. So based on the turnout percentage, 1.4m didn't vote. Trump got 1.6m votes, Clinton 1.1m. So in order for Clinton to have won, she would've needed to net 500k more votes. To make up that half million from 1.4m, Clinton would've needed 950k to Trump's 450k. Or 68% in a state that went Trump 56-38. And again, a higher percentage if not every person voted.
posted by chris24 at 1:44 PM on April 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
67% of eligible voters voted in Missouri. 2.8m people voted. So based on the turnout percentage, 1.4m didn't vote. Trump got 1.6m votes, Clinton 1.1m. So in order for Clinton to have won, she would've needed to net 500k more votes. To make up that half million from 1.4m, Clinton would've needed 950k to Trump's 450k. Or 68% in a state that went Trump 56-38. And again, a higher percentage if not every person voted.
posted by chris24 at 1:44 PM on April 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
Mod note: I'm gonna second that emotion; let's not put more time in here into re-re-rehashing some of the arguments we've already re-re-hashed in the past.
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:52 PM on April 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:52 PM on April 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
There is no such state. "Didn't bother voting" wins nearly every election
There's a question behind this. Are there a large number of non-voters in, say, West Virginia who know who Pomepo is, dislike him, and would be fired up to vote for a candidate who took a stand against him? And are there more of those people than there are Trump voters (or at least Trump non-haters) who would see a bunch of attack ads and be more likely to vote for the other candidate? I'd love to see research on this, but I'm not personally convinced there's that many non-voters who are engaged and informed enough to care about Mike Pomepeo's confirmation vote.
That's not to say that we don't need to bring in more voters. We absolutely do. And I do think being bold, taking stands, not always trying to play it down the middle is important to that effort. If non-voters think their vote doesn't matter because the parties don't mean anything to them, we need both policies and messaging that makes a meaningful difference. But I'm having a hard time swallowing
that there are so many high-information non-voters that you could ever win elections off of stuff like confirmation votes. There's a compelling argument for how voting against Pompeo could have hurt Manchin, at least a little, but what's the argument that he lost potential voters by not taking a stand against him?
It's seemingly become an article of faith in some circles that Democrats lose elections because they aren't sufficiently far left enough to energize non-voters. Much as I want our luxury gay space communism, where's the empirical evidence that this is a winning strategy in every district right now?
That's the contradiction I can't quite get over. The dream is that you have a candidate who supports great stuff like single-payer universal health care, a jobs guarantee, postal banking, etc..., they barnstorm and build excitement for these things that should be widely popular, and a groundswell of new support comes out of the woodwork. We haven't entirely given that plan a fair try, no, and I have great respect for the people working to build it from the ground up (*waves to the DSA*). But what's the reason to believe it can work at all? What's the reason to believe it comes from non-voters?
posted by zachlipton at 1:54 PM on April 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
There's a question behind this. Are there a large number of non-voters in, say, West Virginia who know who Pomepo is, dislike him, and would be fired up to vote for a candidate who took a stand against him? And are there more of those people than there are Trump voters (or at least Trump non-haters) who would see a bunch of attack ads and be more likely to vote for the other candidate? I'd love to see research on this, but I'm not personally convinced there's that many non-voters who are engaged and informed enough to care about Mike Pomepeo's confirmation vote.
That's not to say that we don't need to bring in more voters. We absolutely do. And I do think being bold, taking stands, not always trying to play it down the middle is important to that effort. If non-voters think their vote doesn't matter because the parties don't mean anything to them, we need both policies and messaging that makes a meaningful difference. But I'm having a hard time swallowing
that there are so many high-information non-voters that you could ever win elections off of stuff like confirmation votes. There's a compelling argument for how voting against Pompeo could have hurt Manchin, at least a little, but what's the argument that he lost potential voters by not taking a stand against him?
It's seemingly become an article of faith in some circles that Democrats lose elections because they aren't sufficiently far left enough to energize non-voters. Much as I want our luxury gay space communism, where's the empirical evidence that this is a winning strategy in every district right now?
That's the contradiction I can't quite get over. The dream is that you have a candidate who supports great stuff like single-payer universal health care, a jobs guarantee, postal banking, etc..., they barnstorm and build excitement for these things that should be widely popular, and a groundswell of new support comes out of the woodwork. We haven't entirely given that plan a fair try, no, and I have great respect for the people working to build it from the ground up (*waves to the DSA*). But what's the reason to believe it can work at all? What's the reason to believe it comes from non-voters?
posted by zachlipton at 1:54 PM on April 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
WaPo, Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez is ‘severely admonished’ by Ethics Committee, ordered to repay gifts
posted by zachlipton at 1:56 PM on April 26, 2018 [17 favorites]
The Senate Ethics Committee said Thursday that Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), who avoided conviction in a federal corruption trial last year, violated federal law and Senate rules in accepting unreported gifts from a friend and political ally whom Menendez used his office to assist.We can do better than this guy.
In a four-page “letter of admonition,” the six members of the panel ordered Menendez to pay back the gifts he received from Salomon Melgen, a Florida eye doctor, and said that he is “hereby severely admonished.”
“Your assistance to Dr. Melgen under these circumstances demonstrated poor judgment, and it risked undermining the public’s confidence in the Senate,” the letter reads. “As such, your actions reflected discredit upon the Senate.”
posted by zachlipton at 1:56 PM on April 26, 2018 [17 favorites]
while John Kelly and a bunch of White House staff run frantically around the White House from room to room
Kelly stopped trying a long time ago and now mostly roams the halls as a translucent, moaning spectre.
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:58 PM on April 26, 2018 [24 favorites]
Kelly stopped trying a long time ago and now mostly roams the halls as a translucent, moaning spectre.
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:58 PM on April 26, 2018 [24 favorites]
NYT, F.B.I. Letter Casts Further Doubt on White House’s Rob Porter Timeline, in which the FBI says they sent Don McGahn a file containing information about Porter's abuse in March 2017, with more complete information in July and even more in November. This is significantly at various with the timeline the White House has given to defend themselves for not taking action.
posted by zachlipton at 1:59 PM on April 26, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 1:59 PM on April 26, 2018 [20 favorites]
couple of threads I've been thinking about lately. One is, the Russian psyops are certainly still ongoing. Not like they said "look how well that worked, time to stop doing the thing that worked well."
Another is a thread from Vox's Worldly podcast; one of the goals of Russian propaganda is to diminish how people feel about democracy in general. To their own people, they say, "All those other democracies are shams, none of them are legitimate, our government is not worse than anyone else's, and there's no point in trying to change it." Then they go out in the world to provide evidence to support that. That is (according to Worldly) one of the motivations for Russia being involved in Syria after the Arab Spring. If a democratic uprising succeeds, their own people might get ideas. And this is why they've specifically attacked elections in Western countries. They've demonstrated they could attack other things, like the power grid, but the elections matter more.
I've been wondering if maybe some of the Russian ops shifted to helping Democrats win these unlikely special elections in the past year. Keeping the government divided serves their goals of reducing American power. (a united Republican government is more likely to actually do something in Iran, for example.) But especially, having Democrats be in power without any actual popular support serves their goals especially well. Having Republicans be in power without a sense of legitimacy serves their goals really well.
This is one of the ways we know we're in a democracy; it still matters how people feel about their government. It matters e.g. that a given court decision actually serves justice; it also matters very much that people believe justice was served in that decision. It matters that our representatives legitimately won election and legitimately serve their constituents; it also matters very much that those constituents believe that's the case. This should be on everyone's mind when thinking about the Mueller investigation, by the way. I'm sure it's on Mueller's mind.
So this is my question about the "traitorous democrats" meme. Where does that idea come from? Why is it being reproduced here? Who does it benefit? Does it benefit the people in this conversation? That sounds accusatory, but I'm trying to be reflective.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 2:02 PM on April 26, 2018 [19 favorites]
Another is a thread from Vox's Worldly podcast; one of the goals of Russian propaganda is to diminish how people feel about democracy in general. To their own people, they say, "All those other democracies are shams, none of them are legitimate, our government is not worse than anyone else's, and there's no point in trying to change it." Then they go out in the world to provide evidence to support that. That is (according to Worldly) one of the motivations for Russia being involved in Syria after the Arab Spring. If a democratic uprising succeeds, their own people might get ideas. And this is why they've specifically attacked elections in Western countries. They've demonstrated they could attack other things, like the power grid, but the elections matter more.
I've been wondering if maybe some of the Russian ops shifted to helping Democrats win these unlikely special elections in the past year. Keeping the government divided serves their goals of reducing American power. (a united Republican government is more likely to actually do something in Iran, for example.) But especially, having Democrats be in power without any actual popular support serves their goals especially well. Having Republicans be in power without a sense of legitimacy serves their goals really well.
This is one of the ways we know we're in a democracy; it still matters how people feel about their government. It matters e.g. that a given court decision actually serves justice; it also matters very much that people believe justice was served in that decision. It matters that our representatives legitimately won election and legitimately serve their constituents; it also matters very much that those constituents believe that's the case. This should be on everyone's mind when thinking about the Mueller investigation, by the way. I'm sure it's on Mueller's mind.
So this is my question about the "traitorous democrats" meme. Where does that idea come from? Why is it being reproduced here? Who does it benefit? Does it benefit the people in this conversation? That sounds accusatory, but I'm trying to be reflective.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 2:02 PM on April 26, 2018 [19 favorites]
In happier news, things are looking up even in red districts you wouldn't think Ds have much of a chance in..
PublicPolicyPolling
Last week we polled 12 House districts for @PatriotMajority that are sort of 'wave election' districts for Democrats- 9 of them are lean Republican, 2 likely GOP, and 1 toss up according to @CookPolitical. They were all competitive, but the enthusiasm numbers were most striking.
- In AR-2 French Hill won 58-37 in 2016. He only leads Democrat Clarke Tucker 47-42 now, and among the 53% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, Tucker leads 48-47
- In IL-12 Mike Bost won 54-40 in 2016. He only leads Democrat Brendan Kelly 44-39 now, and among the 43% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, Kelly leads 50-42
- In IL-13 Rodney Davis won 60-40 in 2016. He only leads Democrat Betsy Dirksen-Londrigan 45-42 now, and among the 50% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, Dirksen-Londrigan leads 48-44
- In IL-14 Randy Hultgren won 59-41 in 2016. He only leads Democrat Lauren Underwood 45-41 now, and among the 51% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, Underwood leads 52-40
- In MI-8 Mike Bishop won 56-39 in 2016. He only leads Democrat Elissa Slotkin 46-41 now, and among the 56% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, Slotkin leads 49-44
- In NC-9 Robert Pittenger won 58-41 in 2016. He only leads Democrat Dan McCready 42-37 now, and among the 52% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, McCready leads 47-44
- In NC-13 Ted Budd won 46-44 in 2016. He only leads Democrat Kathy Manning 43-40 now, and among the 53% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, Manning leads 49-39
- In NJ-3 Tom McArthur won 59-39 in 2016. He only leads Democrat Andy Kim 42-41 now, and among the 48% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, Kim leads 50-40
- In OH-1 Steve Chabot won 59-41 in 2016. He only leads Democrat Aftab Pureval 43-42 now, and among the 45% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, Pureval leads 47-43
- In VA-2 Scott Taylor won 61-39 in 2016. He only leads Democrat Elaine Luria 48-42 now, and among the 57% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, Luria leads 47-45
- In WA-5 Cathy McMorris Rodgers won 62-38 in 2016. She only leads Democrat Lisa Brown 48-45 now, and among the 55% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, Brown leads 57-40
- And in FL-16 Vern Buchanan won 60-40 in 2016. He only leads Democrat David Shapiro 49-37 now, and among the 58% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, his lead shrinks to 48-44
- Democrats could probably win a majority in the House without winning any of these 12 districts. The fact that they are so close in so many of them- and leading among people 'very excited' to vote this year- speaks to some unexpected pick ups in a possible wave election
- The lack of popularity of the tax plan is a big piece of why these districts are all so competitive, as outlined in this memo for @PatriotMajority
posted by chris24 at 2:03 PM on April 26, 2018 [21 favorites]
PublicPolicyPolling
Last week we polled 12 House districts for @PatriotMajority that are sort of 'wave election' districts for Democrats- 9 of them are lean Republican, 2 likely GOP, and 1 toss up according to @CookPolitical. They were all competitive, but the enthusiasm numbers were most striking.
- In AR-2 French Hill won 58-37 in 2016. He only leads Democrat Clarke Tucker 47-42 now, and among the 53% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, Tucker leads 48-47
- In IL-12 Mike Bost won 54-40 in 2016. He only leads Democrat Brendan Kelly 44-39 now, and among the 43% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, Kelly leads 50-42
- In IL-13 Rodney Davis won 60-40 in 2016. He only leads Democrat Betsy Dirksen-Londrigan 45-42 now, and among the 50% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, Dirksen-Londrigan leads 48-44
- In IL-14 Randy Hultgren won 59-41 in 2016. He only leads Democrat Lauren Underwood 45-41 now, and among the 51% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, Underwood leads 52-40
- In MI-8 Mike Bishop won 56-39 in 2016. He only leads Democrat Elissa Slotkin 46-41 now, and among the 56% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, Slotkin leads 49-44
- In NC-9 Robert Pittenger won 58-41 in 2016. He only leads Democrat Dan McCready 42-37 now, and among the 52% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, McCready leads 47-44
- In NC-13 Ted Budd won 46-44 in 2016. He only leads Democrat Kathy Manning 43-40 now, and among the 53% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, Manning leads 49-39
- In NJ-3 Tom McArthur won 59-39 in 2016. He only leads Democrat Andy Kim 42-41 now, and among the 48% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, Kim leads 50-40
- In OH-1 Steve Chabot won 59-41 in 2016. He only leads Democrat Aftab Pureval 43-42 now, and among the 45% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, Pureval leads 47-43
- In VA-2 Scott Taylor won 61-39 in 2016. He only leads Democrat Elaine Luria 48-42 now, and among the 57% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, Luria leads 47-45
- In WA-5 Cathy McMorris Rodgers won 62-38 in 2016. She only leads Democrat Lisa Brown 48-45 now, and among the 55% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, Brown leads 57-40
- And in FL-16 Vern Buchanan won 60-40 in 2016. He only leads Democrat David Shapiro 49-37 now, and among the 58% of voters who are 'very excited' to turn out this year, his lead shrinks to 48-44
- Democrats could probably win a majority in the House without winning any of these 12 districts. The fact that they are so close in so many of them- and leading among people 'very excited' to vote this year- speaks to some unexpected pick ups in a possible wave election
- The lack of popularity of the tax plan is a big piece of why these districts are all so competitive, as outlined in this memo for @PatriotMajority
posted by chris24 at 2:03 PM on April 26, 2018 [21 favorites]
I think it was in the New Yorker "McMaster and Commander" piece maybe that I read about people being told by Trump to do something that would really be Kelly's job, and the person told to do the not my job thing would go to Kelly, and he'd snark something about how apparently this other person was chief of staff now and could therefore figure it out for themselves.
In my kinder moments, I do think that maybe some of these people are there so they can keep the president from blowing up the world. But how they tell themselves they can do that when Trump is actively undermining their ability to do their jobs is beyond me.
So I imagine when the TVs started blaring this insanity, maybe Kelly went and had a drink.
posted by angrycat at 2:12 PM on April 26, 2018 [8 favorites]
In my kinder moments, I do think that maybe some of these people are there so they can keep the president from blowing up the world. But how they tell themselves they can do that when Trump is actively undermining their ability to do their jobs is beyond me.
So I imagine when the TVs started blaring this insanity, maybe Kelly went and had a drink.
posted by angrycat at 2:12 PM on April 26, 2018 [8 favorites]
scaryblackdeath: Via Twitter: Great overhead picture of Arizona teachers marching on the state capitol. The internet tells me it's 93F in Phoenix today, which in Arizona is "Whatever, I've got shit to do" weather.
Accurate.
The atmosphere here in downtown Phoenix is amazing. I'm at work, but when I took the light rail in this morning, I was surrounded by people wearing red. I took some food over to a teacher friend's house yesterday, where she was collecting to give to volunteers who are making sure kids who rely on schools for meals still get fed. There was barely room to walk, let alone sit, in her entire (decent-sized) living room.
People are really stepping up to support our teachers. I hope we can outlast the governor, who has big-ticket donors hell-bent on decimating public education, and a legislature packed with folks who just happen to make money from vouchers and private charter schools. It was full of donated supplies.
Meanwhile, though, this movement has really galvanized the public here in a way I haven't seen before.
posted by Superplin at 2:17 PM on April 26, 2018 [82 favorites]
Accurate.
The atmosphere here in downtown Phoenix is amazing. I'm at work, but when I took the light rail in this morning, I was surrounded by people wearing red. I took some food over to a teacher friend's house yesterday, where she was collecting to give to volunteers who are making sure kids who rely on schools for meals still get fed. There was barely room to walk, let alone sit, in her entire (decent-sized) living room.
People are really stepping up to support our teachers. I hope we can outlast the governor, who has big-ticket donors hell-bent on decimating public education, and a legislature packed with folks who just happen to make money from vouchers and private charter schools. It was full of donated supplies.
Meanwhile, though, this movement has really galvanized the public here in a way I haven't seen before.
posted by Superplin at 2:17 PM on April 26, 2018 [82 favorites]
Guess I picked the wrong week to quit having scruples
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:19 PM on April 26, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:19 PM on April 26, 2018 [18 favorites]
Haaretz: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis breaks with Trump and says Iran Nuclear Deal includes ‘robust’ verification. He says after reading the deal three times, he was struck by how tough it is.
posted by chris24 at 2:21 PM on April 26, 2018 [44 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 2:21 PM on April 26, 2018 [44 favorites]
I wonder how many times the President has read it, and whether that number is a positive integer
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:24 PM on April 26, 2018 [37 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 2:24 PM on April 26, 2018 [37 favorites]
So this is my question about the "traitorous democrats" meme. Where does that idea come from? Why is it being reproduced here? Who does it benefit? Does it benefit the people in this conversation? That sounds accusatory, but I'm trying to be reflective.
-I would like to see the US move in a more socialist direction.
-I would like to believe that this can be at least partly accomplished via electoral means.
-I believe that proud, full-throated advocacy for socialist policies from Democratic politicians would actually make them generally more electorally viable.
-Calling out Democratic politicians who are actively moving away from the socialist direction I'd like to see helps my aims by providing at least some pushback.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 2:25 PM on April 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
-I would like to see the US move in a more socialist direction.
-I would like to believe that this can be at least partly accomplished via electoral means.
-I believe that proud, full-throated advocacy for socialist policies from Democratic politicians would actually make them generally more electorally viable.
-Calling out Democratic politicians who are actively moving away from the socialist direction I'd like to see helps my aims by providing at least some pushback.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 2:25 PM on April 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
So this is my question about the "traitorous democrats" meme. Where does that idea come from? Why is it being reproduced here? Who does it benefit? Does it benefit the people in this conversation? That sounds accusatory, but I'm trying to be reflective.
It comes from people that legit believe it. That's not to say anything about whether or not it is useful to the Russians, or anything. The kindling of division on the left is so there whether or not the Russians provide a spark.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 2:27 PM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
It comes from people that legit believe it. That's not to say anything about whether or not it is useful to the Russians, or anything. The kindling of division on the left is so there whether or not the Russians provide a spark.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 2:27 PM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
I thought it was strange we were all handed Mosin rifles last time we got together for a circular firing squad!
posted by prize bull octorok at 2:31 PM on April 26, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 2:31 PM on April 26, 2018 [20 favorites]
> "Drain the swamp" now just means "beat the other team." The "swamp" doesn't mean corruption or elites or anything like that, it just means Them, however you want to define that as at any particular moment.
I'll Say it Again: To the Trumpers, "The Swamp" Isn't Corruption -- It's Us
I'll Say it Again: To the Trumpers, "The Swamp" Isn't Corruption -- It's Us
The Daily Beast headline is "DRAIN THE SWAMP? Report: Mick Mulvaney Encouraged Pay-to-Play With Lobbyists." A photo of Mulvaney that accompanies New York magazine's write-up is captioned "It’s simple: Keep filling the swamp."Trump Tells Us What He Thinks the Swamp is (Hint: Not Corruption)
But as I regularly tell you, the Trumpers don't believe that "draining the swamp" means eliminating corruption -- to them, "draining the swamp" means eliminating their enemies.
Elsewhere in the article, Thrush writes:In his remarks, Mr. Mulvaney also announced a series of moves intended to reduce the [CFPB]’s power....To Trumpers, that's the swamp. It's the Obama-era people who decided that the complaints should be posted and the holdovers who continue to take those complaints seriously, as well as the ordinary Americans who file the complaints and those of us who want the bureau to function as it did prior to Trump's inauguration
Such moves include cutting public access to the bureau’s database of consumer complaints, which the agency had used to help guide its investigations.
“I don’t see anything in here that says I have to run a Yelp for financial services sponsored by the federal government,” he said.
Here's what Trump said this morning about his appointment of Dr. Ronny Jackson to be the head of the Veterans Administration, just as it was being revealed that Jackson had withdrawn from consideration:posted by tonycpsu at 2:36 PM on April 26, 2018 [64 favorites]TRUMP: You know, these are all false accusations that were made. These are false and they're trying to destroy a man. By the way, I did say welcome to Washington. Welcome to the swamp. Welcome to the world of politics.To Trump, that's the swamp -- not people who are corrupt but, rather, people who say bad things about one of his appointees. The swamp is everyone who's not loyal to Trump. [...]
This is the same definition used by Trump's base: the swamp is the president's enemies. No one in the Trump administration can be part of the swamp -- not Jared Kushner, not Scott Pruitt, not Trump himself -- because the swamp is defined as whatever is not Trump or Trump-positive. That's why the Trump base will never care about Trump administration corruption.
After all Michael Cohen was a coffee boy, a low level volunteer, a friend of a friends, my decorator’s niece, a sperm donor, the guy who fixed my wife’s Birkin bag, my driver’s granddaughter....
posted by growabrain at 2:38 PM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by growabrain at 2:38 PM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
To Trump, that's the swamp -- not people who are corrupt but, rather, people who say bad things about one of his appointees.
Oh, I get it now. Drain the swamp of taxpayer dollars. #griftersGottaGrift
posted by kirkaracha at 2:43 PM on April 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Oh, I get it now. Drain the swamp of taxpayer dollars. #griftersGottaGrift
posted by kirkaracha at 2:43 PM on April 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
I think sometimes in these threads we're getting a little too comfortable embracing conspiratorial thinking in order to explain everything that is rotten with the current state of the world.
Was it Russian psy-ops that caused Al Gore to pick Joe Fucking Lieberman as his 2000 running mate? Because that's pretty much ground zero for when my personal disaffection with the Democratic Party began.
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:45 PM on April 26, 2018 [54 favorites]
Was it Russian psy-ops that caused Al Gore to pick Joe Fucking Lieberman as his 2000 running mate? Because that's pretty much ground zero for when my personal disaffection with the Democratic Party began.
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:45 PM on April 26, 2018 [54 favorites]
The Intercept is reporting on how the DCCC is trying to keep progressives who they feel are to let-wing out of completion, specifically in the Colorado primary between Steny Hoyer and Levi Tilleman.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 3:05 PM on April 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 3:05 PM on April 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
To be clear, Hoyer is talking to Tillemann. Hoyer is not in the primary, he's a Maryland rep.
So, is Colorado a single party consent state for being recorded?
posted by Chrysostom at 3:11 PM on April 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
So, is Colorado a single party consent state for being recorded?
posted by Chrysostom at 3:11 PM on April 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
New Documents Reveal How ICE Mines Local Police Databases Across the Country. In which the Massachusetts State Police does not know how to redact documents (the black boxes they put over information were on a separate layer and could simply be deleted) and we learn how even sanctuary cities are allowing Homeland Security Investigations access to local police databases through COPLINK. HSI then uses this information for workplace raids and immigration actions with ICE.
posted by zachlipton at 3:27 PM on April 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 3:27 PM on April 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
It really isn’t necessary to manufacture disdain for centrist/moderate* Dems and their bipartisan fetish. I’m sure The Intercept will try, but it’s really something that grows organically just from observing them.
* In Dem-watching terminology only, Manchin is very obviously a plain old right winger.
posted by Artw at 3:29 PM on April 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
* In Dem-watching terminology only, Manchin is very obviously a plain old right winger.
posted by Artw at 3:29 PM on April 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
Trump just tweeted his takeaway on this morning's interview (and presumably the reactions to it): "Loved being on @foxandfriends this morning. Great show!"
The mind boggles.
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:33 PM on April 26, 2018 [18 favorites]
The mind boggles.
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:33 PM on April 26, 2018 [18 favorites]
So this is my question about the "traitorous democrats" meme. Where does that idea come from? Why is it being reproduced here? Who does it benefit? Does it benefit the people in this conversation? That sounds accusatory, but I'm trying to be reflective.
Well, it feels wierd to take a nap and come back to find myself part of a Russian plot. If anything I'm more used to the other way around.
-I believe that proud, full-throated advocacy for socialist policies from Democratic politicians would actually make them generally more electorally viable.
-Calling out Democratic politicians who are actively moving away from the socialist direction I'd like to see helps my aims by providing at least some pushback.
Basically this. I want every elected Democrat primaried from the left, every time, in every election, because that's how the Right has won full control and implemented damn close to everything they've every fantasized about for 40 years. Evidence says to me pushing elected officials hard in the direction you want them to go at every single opportunity, and punishing them severely when they don't, is the only thing that works. Since I don't have millions of dollars to buy Senators like the Kochs, all I have are words on the internet, a slightly above average understanding of a few policy areas, and angry messages left on Tim Kaine's answering machine. I use them as best I know how.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:35 PM on April 26, 2018 [47 favorites]
Well, it feels wierd to take a nap and come back to find myself part of a Russian plot. If anything I'm more used to the other way around.
-I believe that proud, full-throated advocacy for socialist policies from Democratic politicians would actually make them generally more electorally viable.
-Calling out Democratic politicians who are actively moving away from the socialist direction I'd like to see helps my aims by providing at least some pushback.
Basically this. I want every elected Democrat primaried from the left, every time, in every election, because that's how the Right has won full control and implemented damn close to everything they've every fantasized about for 40 years. Evidence says to me pushing elected officials hard in the direction you want them to go at every single opportunity, and punishing them severely when they don't, is the only thing that works. Since I don't have millions of dollars to buy Senators like the Kochs, all I have are words on the internet, a slightly above average understanding of a few policy areas, and angry messages left on Tim Kaine's answering machine. I use them as best I know how.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:35 PM on April 26, 2018 [47 favorites]
Rep. Mark Walker, who is supposed to be finding a new House Chaplain and is a member of the "Prayer Caucus" (a thing I did not know existed and am now horrified yet not remotely surprised) "said the next spiritual leader of the House should be someone with a family who can better relate and counsel lawmakers with spouses and children." He says he wants someone "more of a non-denominational background, that has a multicultural congregation," and I'll just point to The West Wing's "Two Cathedrals" for what that always seems to translate to.
Catholic members are furious at the suggestion the new chaplain must have a family. Instead of fights like these, we could also, you know, just not have a government preacher and have lawmakers engage in whatever religious activities they wish on their own time instead of bringing them to work.
posted by zachlipton at 3:40 PM on April 26, 2018 [52 favorites]
Catholic members are furious at the suggestion the new chaplain must have a family. Instead of fights like these, we could also, you know, just not have a government preacher and have lawmakers engage in whatever religious activities they wish on their own time instead of bringing them to work.
posted by zachlipton at 3:40 PM on April 26, 2018 [52 favorites]
Legal scholar and blogger David Schraub: The Supreme Court's First Rule on Racism
Though it remains unclear, many Supreme Court observers predict that the high court will uphold President Trump's Muslim Ban, in spite of the obvious evidence that the ban was motivated by illicit animus against Muslims.posted by Joe in Australia at 3:45 PM on April 26, 2018 [17 favorites]
[…]
So why is this case hard? The answer is: Because the guy who made the comments is the President of the United States.
[… A] ruling that the President had engaged in unlawful discrimination means conceding that overt, intentional discrimination is present at the highest level of American government. It means saying, in a very real sense, that America is racist -- or at least, we were fine electing a racist. And I think this Supreme Court wants to resist that conclusion with all of its might.
Catholic members are furious at the suggestion the new chaplain must have a family. Instead of fights like these, we could also, you know, just not have a government preacher and have lawmakers engage in whatever religious activities they wish on their own time instead of bringing them to work.
+1000. A President is free to go to church on their own time and believe what they want in their personal life. But we're a religiously diverse nation (sorry, not a "Christian" nation) and we need to respect that.
I'm in favor of something secular like a government therapist - in fact, an on-call psychologist for the President is a great idea, as this is a stressful job - or even a secular chaplain like Greg Epstein. Emphasis on secular. We're supposed to have separation of church and state.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 3:51 PM on April 26, 2018 [19 favorites]
+1000. A President is free to go to church on their own time and believe what they want in their personal life. But we're a religiously diverse nation (sorry, not a "Christian" nation) and we need to respect that.
I'm in favor of something secular like a government therapist - in fact, an on-call psychologist for the President is a great idea, as this is a stressful job - or even a secular chaplain like Greg Epstein. Emphasis on secular. We're supposed to have separation of church and state.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 3:51 PM on April 26, 2018 [19 favorites]
It means saying, in a very real sense, that America is racist -- or at least, we were fine electing a racist. And I think this Supreme Court wants to resist that conclusion with all of its might.
It's like I always say, the only way to stop racism is to vehemently deny it exists and attack anyone that suggests otherwise.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 4:02 PM on April 26, 2018 [29 favorites]
It's like I always say, the only way to stop racism is to vehemently deny it exists and attack anyone that suggests otherwise.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 4:02 PM on April 26, 2018 [29 favorites]
"Loved being on @foxandfriends this morning. Great show!"
Actually while it would have made for an interesting radio show, it was pretty terrible TV. I've watched all the clips and I'm struck by how boring the visuals are. For the most part all three hosts are frozen in place, hardly daring to move. A few times while the president is blathering on in the background, the woman reaches down to read her notes. The men move their hands a little. All three keep their faces pretty blank as though afraid to register any emotions. Such a strange half hour of a visual medium.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:10 PM on April 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
Actually while it would have made for an interesting radio show, it was pretty terrible TV. I've watched all the clips and I'm struck by how boring the visuals are. For the most part all three hosts are frozen in place, hardly daring to move. A few times while the president is blathering on in the background, the woman reaches down to read her notes. The men move their hands a little. All three keep their faces pretty blank as though afraid to register any emotions. Such a strange half hour of a visual medium.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:10 PM on April 26, 2018 [15 favorites]
These are the photos of Kim Jong-un and Mike Pompeo that Trump called “incredible”
He keeps using that word. I do not think it means what he thinks it means.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:13 PM on April 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
He keeps using that word. I do not think it means what he thinks it means.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:13 PM on April 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
To be clear, Hoyer is talking to Tillemann. Hoyer is not in the primary, he's a Maryland rep.
Ack. Sorry.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 4:15 PM on April 26, 2018
Ack. Sorry.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 4:15 PM on April 26, 2018
The President losing his damn mind on national TV is no big deal, guys. It happens all the time.
Aaaaaaaaaallllllll the time.
posted by petebest at 4:21 PM on April 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
Aaaaaaaaaallllllll the time.
posted by petebest at 4:21 PM on April 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
‘Fox & Friends,’ stuck with Donald Trump for all eternity (Alexandra Petri, WaPo)
Stars spun into existence in the deep womb of the sky and burned out again, and planets rose and set, and at the end of the last age of men the great wolf Fenris rose from the deep and swallowed the Earth — and Donald Trump was still on the phone with “Fox & Friends” after calling in with a lot of opinions he wanted to share, against the best legal advice, and also probably the advice of his lawyers.posted by Johnny Wallflower at 4:21 PM on April 26, 2018 [54 favorites]
The leader of the free world, a man who could order the launch of nuclear weapons, who has been signaling he wants to pull out of the Iran deal, whose travel ban is before the Supreme Court, spent half an hour ranting to Fox & Friends about his television viewing habits. The three hosts’ smiles and laughter grew increasingly strained as it became slowly apparent that the president would not get off the line unless forcibly removed, that maybe the president did not realize he had anything better to do, that the president would have to be reminded by the hosts of Fox and Friends that He Surely Had A Busy Schedule And A Lot Going On. […]
It began to be clear that he would never leave, that they would be trapped here with him as long as the sun burned, with people from other Fox departments having to run in periodically with sandwiches and bottled water as the president continued to speak in one great, burning, horrible loop, that these would be the clothes that they would die in, and that, worst of all, they would learn nothing. Maybe in the fourth hour they would start to get a glimpse of the kind of man Trump really was, inside. If he were just left to talk long enough, he might start sloughing off the onion layers of his personality and reveal things about his heart and his childhood that no one had ever before been told. But already they could tell that this would not be the case. This was not the kind of interview where you if you just sat there long enough you would discover something new; it would simply get more and more alarming as it doubled back on itself, it would be an interview drawn by M.C. Escher or Salvador Dalí where you were trapped and circling around and around in a dream-landscape with a nightmare physics that bore no resemblance to reality and every clock in the studio melted.
One thing that strikes me, listening to and reading the transcripts of the Trump meltdown, is how often he bitterly criticizes prior administrations.
That's new.
In the past Presidents generally avoided directly criticizing their predecessors, and when they did they tended to do so in guarded terms. They relied on their Congressional allies, their press allies, their think tank allies, to do the more direct and personal criticism of their predecessors.
Because they had a sort of shared notion of upholding the office of the presidency as an institution.
Trump, of course, relies on no one but himself to badmouth those who went before him and has no truck with the idea that the office of the presidency has, or should have, an existence beyond his own personal presidency.
Prior to seeing Trump tearing it down I was iffy about the whole upholding the office of the presidency as an institution. Having seen the opposite, I have to concede that I was wrong and the past Presidents were right.
posted by sotonohito at 5:17 PM on April 26, 2018 [38 favorites]
That's new.
In the past Presidents generally avoided directly criticizing their predecessors, and when they did they tended to do so in guarded terms. They relied on their Congressional allies, their press allies, their think tank allies, to do the more direct and personal criticism of their predecessors.
Because they had a sort of shared notion of upholding the office of the presidency as an institution.
Trump, of course, relies on no one but himself to badmouth those who went before him and has no truck with the idea that the office of the presidency has, or should have, an existence beyond his own personal presidency.
Prior to seeing Trump tearing it down I was iffy about the whole upholding the office of the presidency as an institution. Having seen the opposite, I have to concede that I was wrong and the past Presidents were right.
posted by sotonohito at 5:17 PM on April 26, 2018 [38 favorites]
Yeah so that comment about the Russian stuff was weird and dumb but please take it as a sign of how phenomenally tired of that conversation about turncoat Dems, especially when it's triggered by something as unimportant as a few votes on Pompeo's confirmation
Pompeo in particular is a very normal deplorable Republican. He's not so unfit as Dr. Jackson, who isn't getting confirmed. He's more experienced than Betsy Devos, whose confirmation was so narrow it needed a tiebreaker. He's dangerous because of his islamophobic views ... But he's qualified to carry out the goals of the administration. Appointing Pompeo for State is the most normal thing Trump has done this week. It's a little surprising that so many Dems voted against it.
I wish the default assumption was good faith, that these Dems are making what they think is the best choice based on the information they have and the situation as they perceive it.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 5:20 PM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
Pompeo in particular is a very normal deplorable Republican. He's not so unfit as Dr. Jackson, who isn't getting confirmed. He's more experienced than Betsy Devos, whose confirmation was so narrow it needed a tiebreaker. He's dangerous because of his islamophobic views ... But he's qualified to carry out the goals of the administration. Appointing Pompeo for State is the most normal thing Trump has done this week. It's a little surprising that so many Dems voted against it.
I wish the default assumption was good faith, that these Dems are making what they think is the best choice based on the information they have and the situation as they perceive it.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 5:20 PM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
I notice Feinstein has stopped pulling that shit and suspect it's not uncoincidental with pushback she's gotten.
posted by Artw at 5:27 PM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Artw at 5:27 PM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
Without wanting in any way to defend Menendez, it's hard to imagine that this:
"Your assistance to Dr. Melgen under these circumstances demonstrated poor judgment, and it risked undermining the public’s confidence in the Senate.”
was intended as anything other than a laugh line.
posted by nickmark at 5:36 PM on April 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
"Your assistance to Dr. Melgen under these circumstances demonstrated poor judgment, and it risked undermining the public’s confidence in the Senate.”
was intended as anything other than a laugh line.
posted by nickmark at 5:36 PM on April 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
WaPo obtains a memo signed by the acting director of ICE, the commissioner of CBP, and the director of Citizenship and Immigration Services, Top Homeland Security officials urge criminal prosecution of parents crossing border with children:
The nation’s top immigration and border officials are urging Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to detain and prosecute all parents caught crossing the Mexican border illegally with their children, a stark change in policy that would result in the separation of families that until now have mostly been kept together.posted by peeedro at 5:49 PM on April 26, 2018 [17 favorites]
[...]
Such a policy would mean separating parents and children, because the parents would be placed in criminal detention, where children cannot be held.
WaPo, Macron confident Trump will commit to a new Syria strategy. A bunch of good Macron stuff in here, but let's check in on how Trump feels about tomorrow's meetings:
posted by zachlipton at 5:52 PM on April 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
The tariffs are expected to dominate discussions between Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who will make a brief visit to the White House on Friday. Her relationship with Trump is icy, and “he is not looking forward to Merkel coming,” said the person who was in the room, adding that Trump “said that to several of us” Tuesday.So this will go well.
posted by zachlipton at 5:52 PM on April 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
I notice Feinstein has stopped pulling that shit and suspect it's not uncoincidental with pushback she's gotten.
And you can directly attribute Cuomo's squashing of his self-serving splinter faction in the NY Senate to having a real primary challenger in Cynthia Nixon. Pushback works.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:52 PM on April 26, 2018 [32 favorites]
And you can directly attribute Cuomo's squashing of his self-serving splinter faction in the NY Senate to having a real primary challenger in Cynthia Nixon. Pushback works.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:52 PM on April 26, 2018 [32 favorites]
Politico, Rep. Conaway: Intel agencies ‘over-redacted’ Russia investigation findings
posted by zachlipton at 5:54 PM on April 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
The FBI, CIA and other intelligence agencies have redacted large portions of the House Intelligence Committee’s final report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, a top Republican on the panel said Thursday.Their idiotic report is going to drop soon, and everyone will go back to yelling "no collusion" and "you're the puppet."
Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas) said the committee could release the heavily blacked-out report as soon as Thursday evening or Friday but that he expected to highlight what he described as “overclassification” of details that should be “no-brainers.”
...
Conaway said he expected to send out the “over-redacted” version and work to “convince those knuckleheads that they overdid it.”
posted by zachlipton at 5:54 PM on April 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
And you can directly attribute Cuomo's squashing of his self-serving splinter faction in the NY Senate to having a real primary challenger in Cynthia Nixon. Pushback works.
It absolutely does but it's also not an accident that these two examples are in New York and California rather than North Dakota and West Virginia.
posted by Justinian at 6:02 PM on April 26, 2018 [28 favorites]
It absolutely does but it's also not an accident that these two examples are in New York and California rather than North Dakota and West Virginia.
posted by Justinian at 6:02 PM on April 26, 2018 [28 favorites]
NY Post: Manhattan federal prosecutors seized as many as 16 cell phones when the FBI raided the home, office and hotel room of Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen.
---
Who (burners) doesn't (burners) have (burners) 16 phones?
posted by chris24 at 6:07 PM on April 26, 2018 [51 favorites]
---
Who (burners) doesn't (burners) have (burners) 16 phones?
posted by chris24 at 6:07 PM on April 26, 2018 [51 favorites]
Who (burners) doesn't (burners) have (burners) 16 phones?
It's like he doesn't even understand the concept. You are supposed to throw them away!
posted by Literaryhero at 6:13 PM on April 26, 2018 [49 favorites]
It's like he doesn't even understand the concept. You are supposed to throw them away!
posted by Literaryhero at 6:13 PM on April 26, 2018 [49 favorites]
I have no doubt Cohen has or has had burners but those 16 phones may legitimately not be such. Someone in his circles would likely have had a mobile phone for 25 years, so the 16 found in the search may represent his series of primary phones over the years. Why he keeps the old ones when he gets a new one I have no idea.
Or he could be a stupid asshole who keeps 10 burners and just leaves 'em laying around. But the other possibility is there.
posted by Justinian at 6:24 PM on April 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
Or he could be a stupid asshole who keeps 10 burners and just leaves 'em laying around. But the other possibility is there.
posted by Justinian at 6:24 PM on April 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
I know it's fun to point out how having many cell phones = criminal, but I probably have four or five cell phones around here in various states of disrepair and I don't even have separate business and personal lines.
posted by runcibleshaw at 6:24 PM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 6:24 PM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
Who (burners) doesn't (burners) have (burners) 16 phones?
Sixteen is a lot, but we have a box here of old phones going back to Nokia candy bars and Moto Razrs, so maybe one or two are old ones Cohen hasn’t gotten rid of because the batteries are dead, the chargers are lost, and he can’t figure out to reset ‘em to factory fresh.
posted by notyou at 6:26 PM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Sixteen is a lot, but we have a box here of old phones going back to Nokia candy bars and Moto Razrs, so maybe one or two are old ones Cohen hasn’t gotten rid of because the batteries are dead, the chargers are lost, and he can’t figure out to reset ‘em to factory fresh.
posted by notyou at 6:26 PM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
I mean just right here we have a half dozen comments about having old phones.
But not for long, probably.
posted by notyou at 6:28 PM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
But not for long, probably.
posted by notyou at 6:28 PM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
I have old phones, but they’re obviously old, their batteries are dead and they don’t have SIM cards. I doubt it would be reported as a seizure if the guy just had a box of old dead phones in his junk drawer.
posted by Autumnheart at 6:29 PM on April 26, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Autumnheart at 6:29 PM on April 26, 2018 [8 favorites]
Pompeo in particular is a very normal deplorable Republican.
From someone upthread:
No. Vote against. You have the whole campaign to say, "I am against torture. I am against a religious war. I am against sending your family to some far off country to die. That is why I voted against this Cabinet nominee."
I understand the politics of holding your nose and voting against your interests since you will lose the vote anyway but you stay elected to make changes. This is one of those votes I will not support any of the Ds voting for.
He's not so unfit as Dr. Jackson
I would humbly suggest that is normalizing. I would prefer to have a functioning government. Preferably non-partisan or bi-partisan.
I am not interested in ranking Trump's nominations for anything. You could probably count the qualified ones/uncorrupt ones on your digits. We are literally getting into "Well, this one only committed misdemeanors. This one committed felonies. And there may be some others that are eventually confirmed traitors."
Appointing Pompeo for State is the most normal thing Trump has done this week. It's a little surprising that so many Dems voted against it.
Again, normalizing. The word normal is even used in the quote. It is, IMHO, incredibly shocking how many Dems voted for it. There are plenty of other things they could have voted for to show their centrism or bipartisanship. Pompeo was not that hill to die on.
edited to add: sentence lost explaining why there is normalizing again towards the end.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 6:30 PM on April 26, 2018 [21 favorites]
From someone upthread:
Pompeo is an advocate of torture and was livid when then President Obama scaled back President Bush's torture program. Pompeo described the "War on Terror" as a clash between Islam and Christianity. Pompeo is an advocate of invading and bombing Iran. He is a man who has made it clear he prefers war to diplomacy.If that is the normal, deplorable R, we should be hanging any D or I out to dry who is saying "We had to vote for them to keep our seat."
No. Vote against. You have the whole campaign to say, "I am against torture. I am against a religious war. I am against sending your family to some far off country to die. That is why I voted against this Cabinet nominee."
I understand the politics of holding your nose and voting against your interests since you will lose the vote anyway but you stay elected to make changes. This is one of those votes I will not support any of the Ds voting for.
He's not so unfit as Dr. Jackson
I would humbly suggest that is normalizing. I would prefer to have a functioning government. Preferably non-partisan or bi-partisan.
I am not interested in ranking Trump's nominations for anything. You could probably count the qualified ones/uncorrupt ones on your digits. We are literally getting into "Well, this one only committed misdemeanors. This one committed felonies. And there may be some others that are eventually confirmed traitors."
Appointing Pompeo for State is the most normal thing Trump has done this week. It's a little surprising that so many Dems voted against it.
Again, normalizing. The word normal is even used in the quote. It is, IMHO, incredibly shocking how many Dems voted for it. There are plenty of other things they could have voted for to show their centrism or bipartisanship. Pompeo was not that hill to die on.
edited to add: sentence lost explaining why there is normalizing again towards the end.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 6:30 PM on April 26, 2018 [21 favorites]
You guys take those old phones with you when you stay at a hotel?
posted by valkane at 6:31 PM on April 26, 2018 [41 favorites]
posted by valkane at 6:31 PM on April 26, 2018 [41 favorites]
Why he keeps the old ones when he gets a new one I have no idea.
Possibly, because he is not tech-savvy enough to know how to wipe them safely. Or because he gets a new one, transfers most of the data to it, but the old one still has his music settings so he keeps it in the office for a few weeks just for that, and gradually sets up things on the new one. A couple months later, he sees it in the office drawer, takes it out, and throws it in the "don't need it now; but better check what's on it before I throw it out" bin - he knows it should be wiped before he actually gets rid of it, but doesn't want to bother right now, or he could give it to a friend or nephew or whatever (but doesn't have anyone in mind right now).
I currently have 4 cellphones in easy reach, two of which would be ID'd as "burner phones," because they're cheap pay-as-you-go things. (I haven't gotten around to throwing them out. I have a couple phone numbers on each that I keep thinking I'll transfer someday.) 16 phones for someone who's worked with them professionally for many years isn't a red flag to me; it just says "I don't throw out still-usable tech."
However, it does mean they have either evidence of burner-phone habits, or 16 phones worth of usage data to comb through. That would be an excellent reason for the raid instead of a standard subpoena.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 6:32 PM on April 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Possibly, because he is not tech-savvy enough to know how to wipe them safely. Or because he gets a new one, transfers most of the data to it, but the old one still has his music settings so he keeps it in the office for a few weeks just for that, and gradually sets up things on the new one. A couple months later, he sees it in the office drawer, takes it out, and throws it in the "don't need it now; but better check what's on it before I throw it out" bin - he knows it should be wiped before he actually gets rid of it, but doesn't want to bother right now, or he could give it to a friend or nephew or whatever (but doesn't have anyone in mind right now).
I currently have 4 cellphones in easy reach, two of which would be ID'd as "burner phones," because they're cheap pay-as-you-go things. (I haven't gotten around to throwing them out. I have a couple phone numbers on each that I keep thinking I'll transfer someday.) 16 phones for someone who's worked with them professionally for many years isn't a red flag to me; it just says "I don't throw out still-usable tech."
However, it does mean they have either evidence of burner-phone habits, or 16 phones worth of usage data to comb through. That would be an excellent reason for the raid instead of a standard subpoena.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 6:32 PM on April 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Cohen's hotel room, home, and office were all raided. As far as I am aware the 16 phones are from all those locations.
posted by Justinian at 6:32 PM on April 26, 2018
posted by Justinian at 6:32 PM on April 26, 2018
You could probably count the qualified ones/uncorrupt ones on your digits.
I don't think there are any qualified and uncorrupt nominees for anything. I expect that there are a few who are only unqualified - they are just incompetent, lack the skills for the job, or just have no idea what kind of work is required, but will be actually trying to fill the role they got into by sucking up to the president. However, I fully believe the president expects them to be "loyal" and grant him whatever special favors the role has access to, even if it's illegal.
I'm positive he didn't nominate anyone at all that he didn't think was corrupt, for which he uses the word "loyal." He just may have guessed wrong in a few cases.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 6:37 PM on April 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
I don't think there are any qualified and uncorrupt nominees for anything. I expect that there are a few who are only unqualified - they are just incompetent, lack the skills for the job, or just have no idea what kind of work is required, but will be actually trying to fill the role they got into by sucking up to the president. However, I fully believe the president expects them to be "loyal" and grant him whatever special favors the role has access to, even if it's illegal.
I'm positive he didn't nominate anyone at all that he didn't think was corrupt, for which he uses the word "loyal." He just may have guessed wrong in a few cases.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 6:37 PM on April 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
Guys, I'm usually the one who can't stop talking about phones but I don't think we're getting anywhere with it. Maybe after we have more than speculation?
posted by scalefree at 6:43 PM on April 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 6:43 PM on April 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
Their idiotic report is going to drop soon, and everyone will go back to yelling 'no collusion' and 'you're the puppet.'
Or they'll yell all that before the report comes out and when it does it will either be a nothingburger or an own goal like their last couple of "shocking" revelations.
posted by kirkaracha at 6:50 PM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Or they'll yell all that before the report comes out and when it does it will either be a nothingburger or an own goal like their last couple of "shocking" revelations.
posted by kirkaracha at 6:50 PM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
So, Pompeo. Not just an Islamophobe. He's a Rapturist. He's said as much, on camera no less. "It is a never ending battle until...the Rapture." It brings to mind Martin Sheen's character in The Dead Zone. "Mr Vice President, Mr Secretary, the missiles are flying. Hallelujah, hallelujah!" Let's all thank god Trump didn't appoint him to SecDef, then he'd be the one authenticating Trump's voice to make the missiles fly.
posted by scalefree at 6:55 PM on April 26, 2018 [28 favorites]
posted by scalefree at 6:55 PM on April 26, 2018 [28 favorites]
AP: An Arkansas judge on Thursday blocked a voter ID law that’s nearly identical to a measure the state’s highest court found unconstitutional about four years ago.
This is good, but we need to see what the AR Supreme Court does yet - it's not the same partisan makeup as the earlier one.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:26 PM on April 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
This is good, but we need to see what the AR Supreme Court does yet - it's not the same partisan makeup as the earlier one.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:26 PM on April 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
SurveyMonkey poll has Dems leading in Senate races in AZ, NV, TN.
Keep in mind SM is kind of meh pollster, but still good to see.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:31 PM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
Keep in mind SM is kind of meh pollster, but still good to see.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:31 PM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
New Quinnipiac poll:
Trump should not fire Mueller: 74-13 (59-25 percent among Rs)
Mueller is conducting a fair investigation: 54-31
Believe Comey over Trump: 54-35
Trust media over Trump: 53-37
Media is important part of democracy: 66-22
And the more disturbing breakdown of the above.
Democrats: 91% important part of democracy, 3% enemy of the people
Republicans: 51% enemy of the people, 37% important part of democracy
posted by chris24 at 7:39 PM on April 26, 2018 [40 favorites]
Trump should not fire Mueller: 74-13 (59-25 percent among Rs)
Mueller is conducting a fair investigation: 54-31
Believe Comey over Trump: 54-35
Trust media over Trump: 53-37
Media is important part of democracy: 66-22
And the more disturbing breakdown of the above.
Democrats: 91% important part of democracy, 3% enemy of the people
Republicans: 51% enemy of the people, 37% important part of democracy
posted by chris24 at 7:39 PM on April 26, 2018 [40 favorites]
And new FOX poll.
About two-thirds, 67 percent in the latest Fox News poll, say it is at least somewhat important the investigation continues, and 56 percent think it’s likely that Mueller’s probe will find Donald Trump committed criminal or impeachable offenses.posted by chris24 at 7:43 PM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
And even though a majority feels confident Mueller is treating the White House fairly (64 percent), an even larger number thinks it’s likely President Trump will fire Mueller before the investigation is complete (71 percent).
Democrats (85 percent) are nearly four times more likely than Republicans (22 percent) to think Mueller will find Trump committed criminal or impeachable offenses. Democrats are also more likely to expect Mueller will be fired, although by a smaller margin (82 percent vs. 61 percent).
Trump’s favorable rating comes in at 43 percent, a bit higher than Mueller’s 39 percent favorable. However, far more have an unfavorable rating of Trump (55 percent) than Mueller (33 percent).
Watch Steve Doocy, the guy on the left right here, actually snort back laughter when Trump says "I love the FBI. The FBI loves me." I was listening without watching the video, heard the stifled laugh, and was amazed to go and look and, yep, even Fox & Friends is laughing at him now.
Doocy can't quite hold it together for "I did watch a liar leaker" either, and Ainsley Earhardt's half-laugh/half-sigh at that moment is a thing to behold. Kilmeade just looks like he's in a hostage video.
The entire clip, in which Trump gets increasingly unhinged until he reaches "our Justice Department, which I try and stay away from but at some point I won’t" territory, followed by Brian Kilmeade abruptly ending the interview by suggesting Trump must be busy, is incredible. Has there ever been an interview with the President where the interviewers just suggest he stop talking?
posted by zachlipton at 7:51 PM on April 26, 2018 [55 favorites]
Doocy can't quite hold it together for "I did watch a liar leaker" either, and Ainsley Earhardt's half-laugh/half-sigh at that moment is a thing to behold. Kilmeade just looks like he's in a hostage video.
The entire clip, in which Trump gets increasingly unhinged until he reaches "our Justice Department, which I try and stay away from but at some point I won’t" territory, followed by Brian Kilmeade abruptly ending the interview by suggesting Trump must be busy, is incredible. Has there ever been an interview with the President where the interviewers just suggest he stop talking?
posted by zachlipton at 7:51 PM on April 26, 2018 [55 favorites]
Ethan Grey
1. Donald Trump won the GOP primary and the presidency because campaigning on whiteness-first messaging still has potency in the 21st century. Plenty of people don’t want to directly engage with this fact, but this thread will be getting into it in full.
2. All too often I see the framing that “Hillary lost to the worst candidate in history.” But I think this framing has always been wrong, and it allows people to bypass a question that they don’t want to grapple with: why was Trump electorally viable to the degree that he was?
3. Do not construe this as me arguing that Hillary’s campaign didn’t make mistakes, but I want to laser focus on why people voted for Trump, and what that says about where we are as a country.
4. We've seen the excuses for Trump: “He promised to shake up the establishment.” “His campaign resonated with those who have been left behind.” “It’s just so refreshing to hear a candidate speak his mind.” “Trump voters responded to economic anxiety.”
5. But these theories do not have any explanatory power regarding why the vote broke down the way it did demographically. Only one broad demographic seemed to be receptive to the kind of campaign that Trump ran on: white people. https://www.cnn.com/election/2016/results/exit-polls
6. We must be cognizant of what Trump ran on: calling Mexicans rapists, banning Muslim immigration, building a wall to keep undocumented immigrants out, national stop-and-frisk. And he has a track record of questioning the legitimacy of Obama's birth certificate.
7. We know that denial of racism, alongside hostile sexism, predicted a vote for Donald Trump significantly more than other factors like economic dissatisfaction. Explaining White Polarization in the 2016 Vote for President: The Sobering Role of Racism and Sexism
8. This kind of correlation between racial resentment and the probability of voting for Trump has been observed in other studies. Explaining the Trump Vote: The Effect of Racist Resentment and Anti-Immigrant Sentiments
9. Lack of education predicted support for Trump because of its strong relationship to ethnocentrism, not so much income and occupation. Trump voters thought that a hierarchy that prioritized white people was under attack. Trump helped cement that belief. Status threat, not economic hardship, explains the 2016 presidential vote
10. Separate point: perceptions of the economy don’t really determine political preference. Rather, it’s the other way around; political preferences determine economic perceptions. Bearing this in mind… Reversing the Causal Arrow: The Political Conditioning of Economic Perceptions in the 2000–2004 U.S. Presidential Election Cycle
11. We’ve seen something analogous under President Obama; racial resentment predicted perception of the economy (note the blue curve). The more racially resentful, the poorer the perception of the economy. Economic anxiety isn’t driving racial resentment. Racial resentment is driving economic anxiety.
12. So yeah. You see the theme. Of course, it’s not enough to grapple with what the appeal of Trump’s campaign was. We must also be cognizant of the fact that that appeal was propelled to the White House while Trump has demonstrated he's thoroughly unfit.
13. We know Trump’s temperament is horrible, he lacks the qualifications to govern effectively, he doesn’t know the ins and outs of the issues, he has no real desire to learn, he is obsessed with denigrating his opponents and not being humiliated, and he’s a lecher.
14. We can’t just say “Donald Trump won by cultivating bigotry” though because that still leaves some things ambiguous. Donald Trump won because affirming the primacy of whiteness is still an issue of importance to too many white voters.
15. What white supremacy greatly fears is a genuine meritocracy, a society where anyone, regardless of race or gender, can rise according to their talents and diligence.
16. For white supremacy to guard against a trajectory toward meritocracy, this requires everything of merit must be sacrificed, which brings us to a terrifying conclusion: the various ways Trump was unfit for the Presidency were features to his voters, not flaws.
17. Trump won the GOP primary and was propelled to the White House because a swath of white voters wanted to send this message to people of color after 8 years of a Black President who successfully governed: “The worst of us should still be given deference over the best of you.”
18. Furthermore, this entitlement is so profound that many white voters have been willing to sacrifice benefits to their class in exchange for seeing institutions uphold the primacy of whiteness.
CONTINUED
posted by chris24 at 8:09 PM on April 26, 2018 [126 favorites]
1. Donald Trump won the GOP primary and the presidency because campaigning on whiteness-first messaging still has potency in the 21st century. Plenty of people don’t want to directly engage with this fact, but this thread will be getting into it in full.
2. All too often I see the framing that “Hillary lost to the worst candidate in history.” But I think this framing has always been wrong, and it allows people to bypass a question that they don’t want to grapple with: why was Trump electorally viable to the degree that he was?
3. Do not construe this as me arguing that Hillary’s campaign didn’t make mistakes, but I want to laser focus on why people voted for Trump, and what that says about where we are as a country.
4. We've seen the excuses for Trump: “He promised to shake up the establishment.” “His campaign resonated with those who have been left behind.” “It’s just so refreshing to hear a candidate speak his mind.” “Trump voters responded to economic anxiety.”
5. But these theories do not have any explanatory power regarding why the vote broke down the way it did demographically. Only one broad demographic seemed to be receptive to the kind of campaign that Trump ran on: white people. https://www.cnn.com/election/2016/results/exit-polls
6. We must be cognizant of what Trump ran on: calling Mexicans rapists, banning Muslim immigration, building a wall to keep undocumented immigrants out, national stop-and-frisk. And he has a track record of questioning the legitimacy of Obama's birth certificate.
7. We know that denial of racism, alongside hostile sexism, predicted a vote for Donald Trump significantly more than other factors like economic dissatisfaction. Explaining White Polarization in the 2016 Vote for President: The Sobering Role of Racism and Sexism
8. This kind of correlation between racial resentment and the probability of voting for Trump has been observed in other studies. Explaining the Trump Vote: The Effect of Racist Resentment and Anti-Immigrant Sentiments
9. Lack of education predicted support for Trump because of its strong relationship to ethnocentrism, not so much income and occupation. Trump voters thought that a hierarchy that prioritized white people was under attack. Trump helped cement that belief. Status threat, not economic hardship, explains the 2016 presidential vote
10. Separate point: perceptions of the economy don’t really determine political preference. Rather, it’s the other way around; political preferences determine economic perceptions. Bearing this in mind… Reversing the Causal Arrow: The Political Conditioning of Economic Perceptions in the 2000–2004 U.S. Presidential Election Cycle
11. We’ve seen something analogous under President Obama; racial resentment predicted perception of the economy (note the blue curve). The more racially resentful, the poorer the perception of the economy. Economic anxiety isn’t driving racial resentment. Racial resentment is driving economic anxiety.
12. So yeah. You see the theme. Of course, it’s not enough to grapple with what the appeal of Trump’s campaign was. We must also be cognizant of the fact that that appeal was propelled to the White House while Trump has demonstrated he's thoroughly unfit.
13. We know Trump’s temperament is horrible, he lacks the qualifications to govern effectively, he doesn’t know the ins and outs of the issues, he has no real desire to learn, he is obsessed with denigrating his opponents and not being humiliated, and he’s a lecher.
14. We can’t just say “Donald Trump won by cultivating bigotry” though because that still leaves some things ambiguous. Donald Trump won because affirming the primacy of whiteness is still an issue of importance to too many white voters.
15. What white supremacy greatly fears is a genuine meritocracy, a society where anyone, regardless of race or gender, can rise according to their talents and diligence.
16. For white supremacy to guard against a trajectory toward meritocracy, this requires everything of merit must be sacrificed, which brings us to a terrifying conclusion: the various ways Trump was unfit for the Presidency were features to his voters, not flaws.
17. Trump won the GOP primary and was propelled to the White House because a swath of white voters wanted to send this message to people of color after 8 years of a Black President who successfully governed: “The worst of us should still be given deference over the best of you.”
18. Furthermore, this entitlement is so profound that many white voters have been willing to sacrifice benefits to their class in exchange for seeing institutions uphold the primacy of whiteness.
CONTINUED
posted by chris24 at 8:09 PM on April 26, 2018 [126 favorites]
Today's Pod Save America Favreau and Phiffer did address Dr. Jackson and said basically the right things, he was never qualified, they saw him as patients, the allegations should be looked into.
There's also an infuriating interview with Kristen Sinema where she dodges their attempts to ask her about single payer or medicare buy in, and touts her votes to water down the Obamacare employer insurance requirements because small business. You know, if you'd like to bang your head against a wall to help get to bed.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:28 PM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
There's also an infuriating interview with Kristen Sinema where she dodges their attempts to ask her about single payer or medicare buy in, and touts her votes to water down the Obamacare employer insurance requirements because small business. You know, if you'd like to bang your head against a wall to help get to bed.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:28 PM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
*Kyrsten* Sinema.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:33 PM on April 26, 2018
posted by Chrysostom at 8:33 PM on April 26, 2018
That Ethan Grey tweetstorm (is there a worse platform for a long form essay than twitter?) has a bit that makes sense but which I hadn't considered and is disturbing:
posted by Justinian at 8:49 PM on April 26, 2018 [52 favorites]
30. As minorities increasingly got to participate in democracy—both in terms of voting and participating in government—we saw a decline in bipartisanship, a trend which effectively exploded when Barack Obama was elected President. This isn't a coincidence.I mean, I knew the correlation was there but I guess I had unthinkingly assumed it was indeed just a correlation and not at all causative. But from what we've seen in the last decade that belief should be scrutinized.
posted by Justinian at 8:49 PM on April 26, 2018 [52 favorites]
Father Conroy, the fired House chaplain, speaks: House Chaplain Was Asked to Resign. He Still Doesn’t Know Why.
He confirms that Ryan's chief of staff requested he resign and that Ryan's office and Ryan personally complained about his tax prayer, a portion of which is excerpted, about a week after he gave it.
Today's Pod Save America Favreau and Phiffer did address Dr. Jackson and said basically the right things, he was never qualified, they saw him as patients, the allegations should be looked into.
David Litt, former Obama speechwriter, also had a short piece reckoning with this: I Got Pills from Ronny Jackson. But That’s Not the Part I Regret. After acknowledging that he really didn't know enough about the man to have said anything at all, he brings it back around to some truths, that someone flattering you because you're a White House staffer doesn't mean they're all right, yet flattery is central to Trump's world:
He confirms that Ryan's chief of staff requested he resign and that Ryan's office and Ryan personally complained about his tax prayer, a portion of which is excerpted, about a week after he gave it.
“May all members be mindful that the institutions and structures of our great nation guarantee the opportunities that have allowed some to achieve great success, while others continue to struggle,” he prayed. “May their efforts these days guarantee that there are not winners and losers under new tax laws, but benefits balanced and shared by all American----
Today's Pod Save America Favreau and Phiffer did address Dr. Jackson and said basically the right things, he was never qualified, they saw him as patients, the allegations should be looked into.
David Litt, former Obama speechwriter, also had a short piece reckoning with this: I Got Pills from Ronny Jackson. But That’s Not the Part I Regret. After acknowledging that he really didn't know enough about the man to have said anything at all, he brings it back around to some truths, that someone flattering you because you're a White House staffer doesn't mean they're all right, yet flattery is central to Trump's world:
Looking back, I don’t wonder how I could have been so wrong about the president’s doctor. What I wonder is how I could have been so confident about him. Why did I mistake my brief glimpses of a man for the full picture of his character? Why was I so convinced my positive impression was correct?posted by zachlipton at 9:05 PM on April 26, 2018 [29 favorites]
That’s the nature of sycophancy. The “kiss up, kick down” attitude that defines countless horrible bosses, especially in politics, is surprisingly hard to spot—and that’s especially true when you’re on the receiving end of the attention. For one thing, it didn’t occur to me that in my own, middle-of-the-org chart way, having a White House job made me worth sucking up too. I knew that plenty of people in Washington kiss ass to get ahead. I just never imagined my ass might be the one getting kissed.
...
Three years after accepting my pill baggie, I now think of my story as a warning, not about the dangers of pharmaceuticals but of flattery. Those of us hoping to wield power—even power of the modest and/or make-the-world-better variety—would do well to avoid my mistakes. Don’t confuse charm with character. Don’t assume you’re too unimportant to garner sycophants’ attention, or too savvy to succumb to their appeal. Don’t underestimate how difficult it is to find people willing to tell you no. And don’t forget that if these things aren’t easy for mid-level White House staffers, they must be near-impossibly hard for presidents.
Which brings us to the current one. President Trump isn’t merely susceptible to flattery. He requires it. Just witness his cabinet meetings, where heads of federal agencies compete to out-grovel each other on camera. Or his bilateral press conferences, where heads of state have discovered that Trump-era diplomacy is mostly about praising Donald Trump.
> Stars spun into existence in the deep womb of the sky and burned out again, and planets rose and set, and at the end of the last age of men the great wolf Fenris rose from the deep and swallowed the Earth — and Donald Trump was still on the phone with “Fox & Friends” ...
OK. So a Washington Post columnist usually known for her humor is referencing the Völuspá, a prophecy about the end of the world recorded in Iceland in the 11th century. That means something I guess.
posted by nangar at 9:12 PM on April 26, 2018 [29 favorites]
OK. So a Washington Post columnist usually known for her humor is referencing the Völuspá, a prophecy about the end of the world recorded in Iceland in the 11th century. That means something I guess.
posted by nangar at 9:12 PM on April 26, 2018 [29 favorites]
Kyrsten Sinema's response in her Pod Save America interview to the question about fixing health care was terrible. She basically said that what needs to happen is that everyone should set aside partisanship, sit down together in a room, and work it out.
Now, it's true that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid all required plenty of tweaks and adjustments to reach their present forms, and even the most enthusiastic proponents of the ACA would agree that it has lots of issues that need addressing.
But the idea that the Republicans, who have spent a decade first trying to prevent, and then repeal the ACA, and who in all that time have yet to come up with a viable alternative plan, could be good faith participants in that sort of old-fashioned, bipartisan horse tradin' is simply absurd.
Sinema just can't admit that Republicans do not want everyone to have health care, and that the approach she's advocating is a total non-starter. And the Pod Save America guys did not press her on this at all. I am disappoint.
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 9:26 PM on April 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
Now, it's true that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid all required plenty of tweaks and adjustments to reach their present forms, and even the most enthusiastic proponents of the ACA would agree that it has lots of issues that need addressing.
But the idea that the Republicans, who have spent a decade first trying to prevent, and then repeal the ACA, and who in all that time have yet to come up with a viable alternative plan, could be good faith participants in that sort of old-fashioned, bipartisan horse tradin' is simply absurd.
Sinema just can't admit that Republicans do not want everyone to have health care, and that the approach she's advocating is a total non-starter. And the Pod Save America guys did not press her on this at all. I am disappoint.
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 9:26 PM on April 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
Republicans: 51% enemy of the people watches >3 hours of Fox News per day, 37% important part of democracy <3 hours of Fox News per day
posted by benzenedream at 9:38 PM on April 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by benzenedream at 9:38 PM on April 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
Richard Hine:
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:54 PM on April 26, 2018 [94 favorites]
The start of the interview vs. the end of the interview. (The faces tell it all.)What a difference 28 minutes make eh.
Before | After
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:54 PM on April 26, 2018 [94 favorites]
Sinema knows she is running as a Dem in a red state, and if she threads the needle just right, she may be able to ride a blue wave into office.
Threading that needle means sometimes being willfully obtuse about Republican obstruction, especially in the campaign, and not getting her voice recorded saying something inflammatory that will be played a thousand times a day on tv and radio ads for the next six months.
It also means that, if and when she’s elected, she will have to walk that same tightrope that every Dem in a red state has to walk. Including sometimes being lukewarm about progressive goals, and insufficiently outraged by conservative ones.
But, in the end, it will mean one step closer to controlling the Senate, which means controlling the agenda of the nation, judicial appointments, investigations, etc. If that means we don’t get a progressive firebrand, but instead get a centrist, as an Arizona Senator, I’m okay with that.
Seriously, Arizona politics are fucked up, y’all.
posted by darkstar at 9:55 PM on April 26, 2018 [16 favorites]
Threading that needle means sometimes being willfully obtuse about Republican obstruction, especially in the campaign, and not getting her voice recorded saying something inflammatory that will be played a thousand times a day on tv and radio ads for the next six months.
It also means that, if and when she’s elected, she will have to walk that same tightrope that every Dem in a red state has to walk. Including sometimes being lukewarm about progressive goals, and insufficiently outraged by conservative ones.
But, in the end, it will mean one step closer to controlling the Senate, which means controlling the agenda of the nation, judicial appointments, investigations, etc. If that means we don’t get a progressive firebrand, but instead get a centrist, as an Arizona Senator, I’m okay with that.
Seriously, Arizona politics are fucked up, y’all.
posted by darkstar at 9:55 PM on April 26, 2018 [16 favorites]
Via Reddit: Deep into the increasingly unhinged Fox & Friends rant this morning, you can actually hear someone in-studio muttering "Jesus Christ" at 13:55. (Same commenter claims there's a muffled "oh my god" a bit earlier at 13:43, but I can't make it out on my earbuds.)
posted by Rhaomi at 10:08 PM on April 26, 2018 [43 favorites]
posted by Rhaomi at 10:08 PM on April 26, 2018 [43 favorites]
Claire McCaskill is one of my senators, so I get the "Dem in a red state" thing. Knowing that Sinema is positioning herself as a centrist, I wasn't expecting her to be a Medicare-for-all/single-payer advocate.
My fear is that pretending that Republicans will act in good faith doesn't make her (or McCaskill) seem like centrists; in this particular instance, Sinema sounded more like a chump, claiming that "the solution is for both sides to sit down together and work it out" when literally everyone who's been paying attention knows that will never, ever happen.
At the very least, she could have demonstrated knowledge of the issue by talking more about what specific fixes to the ACA she would favor. That would seem to be in keeping with her desire to focus on solutions that can be implemented now, and wouldn't necessarily involve directly attacking Republicans. But instead, she just served up vague generalities, and Favreau & company made no attempts to probe deeper.
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 10:09 PM on April 26, 2018 [8 favorites]
My fear is that pretending that Republicans will act in good faith doesn't make her (or McCaskill) seem like centrists; in this particular instance, Sinema sounded more like a chump, claiming that "the solution is for both sides to sit down together and work it out" when literally everyone who's been paying attention knows that will never, ever happen.
At the very least, she could have demonstrated knowledge of the issue by talking more about what specific fixes to the ACA she would favor. That would seem to be in keeping with her desire to focus on solutions that can be implemented now, and wouldn't necessarily involve directly attacking Republicans. But instead, she just served up vague generalities, and Favreau & company made no attempts to probe deeper.
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 10:09 PM on April 26, 2018 [8 favorites]
(Same commenter claims there's a muffled "oh my god" a bit earlier at 13:43, but I can't make it out on my earbuds.)
On my headset I do hear what could be a faint "oh my god" at 13:43 though if you hadn't said anything it is very unlikely I would have noticed. But there's definitely something there.
posted by Justinian at 10:14 PM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
On my headset I do hear what could be a faint "oh my god" at 13:43 though if you hadn't said anything it is very unlikely I would have noticed. But there's definitely something there.
posted by Justinian at 10:14 PM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
I think it's "oh god" rather than "oh my god" if that matters to those following along at home.
posted by Justinian at 10:16 PM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 10:16 PM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
(is there a worse platform for a long form essay than twitter?)
This is a side-bar, but it's common knowledge that engagement outside of Twitter cratered in the last few years. If you have a blog, put your essays on that blog, and link to it on Twitter, they will get a fraction of the eyeballs that they get if you make a thread of tweets.
An artifact of social media companies trying to drive engagements at all costs, I'm guessing.
posted by Merus at 10:24 PM on April 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
This is a side-bar, but it's common knowledge that engagement outside of Twitter cratered in the last few years. If you have a blog, put your essays on that blog, and link to it on Twitter, they will get a fraction of the eyeballs that they get if you make a thread of tweets.
An artifact of social media companies trying to drive engagements at all costs, I'm guessing.
posted by Merus at 10:24 PM on April 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
how is this interview even being processed by the True Believers? How could anyone listen to that and not come out completely demoralized and abjected.
I get that most of his support is from the horrifying unholy alliance of the evil and the stupid, but how could either of those groups be impressed by that rambling shitshow.
posted by mrjohnmuller at 10:39 PM on April 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
I get that most of his support is from the horrifying unholy alliance of the evil and the stupid, but how could either of those groups be impressed by that rambling shitshow.
posted by mrjohnmuller at 10:39 PM on April 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
yep, even Fox & Friends is laughing at him now.
That didn't look like a laughing at to me, more like a "ha! nice one, dude" like when you're in your 20s and your friends are ripping on each other, or you recognize an especially well-played bit of sarcasm.
posted by ctmf at 12:42 AM on April 27, 2018
That didn't look like a laughing at to me, more like a "ha! nice one, dude" like when you're in your 20s and your friends are ripping on each other, or you recognize an especially well-played bit of sarcasm.
posted by ctmf at 12:42 AM on April 27, 2018
how is this interview even being processed by the True Believers? How could anyone listen to that and not come out completely demoralized and abjected.
"It's not his fault, everyone's so mean to him."
(Not to mention that there's nothing new here. This is how he's talked for a long time - ranty and disjointed or, if you're a fan, letting people in, sharing his feelings in his honest, non-elitist way. I forget who called him a walking id with hair, but a lot of people are really drawn to that raw neediness.)
posted by trig at 1:27 AM on April 27, 2018 [11 favorites]
"It's not his fault, everyone's so mean to him."
(Not to mention that there's nothing new here. This is how he's talked for a long time - ranty and disjointed or, if you're a fan, letting people in, sharing his feelings in his honest, non-elitist way. I forget who called him a walking id with hair, but a lot of people are really drawn to that raw neediness.)
posted by trig at 1:27 AM on April 27, 2018 [11 favorites]
in which Trump gets increasingly unhinged until he reaches "our Justice Department, which I try and stay away from but at some point I won’t" territory, followed by Brian Kilmeade abruptly ending the interview by suggesting Trump must be busy, is incredible. Has there ever been an interview with the President where the interviewers just suggest he stop talking?
I imagine they had people screaming in their earpieces "Shut him the fuck up before he sacks Sessions live on TV..." or "Shut him the fuck up before he actually admits the pee tape is real.."
posted by jontyjago at 1:48 AM on April 27, 2018 [9 favorites]
I imagine they had people screaming in their earpieces "Shut him the fuck up before he sacks Sessions live on TV..." or "Shut him the fuck up before he actually admits the pee tape is real.."
posted by jontyjago at 1:48 AM on April 27, 2018 [9 favorites]
Koreas Set Bold Goals: Peace by Year’s End and No Nuclear Arms
posted by zachlipton at 2:21 AM on April 27, 2018 [21 favorites]
The leaders of North and South Korea agreed on Friday to work to remove all nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula and, by this year, declare an official end to the Korean War that ravaged the nations from 1950 to 1953.Of course, you can play a fun guessing game when it comes to such goals, and denuclearization is a goal rather than an actual plan ("a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearization"), but President Moon has agreed to visit Pyongyang in the fall and this is all absurdly astonishing and I'm having a hard time understanding these images and what is even happening here this is 65 years of history being reshaped, and how soon before it all goes horribly wrong?
posted by zachlipton at 2:21 AM on April 27, 2018 [21 favorites]
@elisewho (NPR News): In a dark twist, at the end of his statement, Kim Jong Un thanks the press earnestly for its interest and for covering the summit. It is super weird as a freedom-loving American whose president trashes the press all the time
It's not like North Korea lets you report on human rights or anything, of course.
posted by zachlipton at 2:32 AM on April 27, 2018 [8 favorites]
It's not like North Korea lets you report on human rights or anything, of course.
posted by zachlipton at 2:32 AM on April 27, 2018 [8 favorites]
besides the fact that Kim's test bunker is probably now unsafe, he's observed that Trump goes back on what he says, randomly changes tack, outright lies about his intentions and it seems to be working, no avalanche of foreign leaders screaming for rational governance, no effective opposition in government, massive uncertainty in the body politic, so this is his chance to get out of the quite significant blind alley he was in.
Trump's legacy
posted by Wilder at 2:36 AM on April 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
Trump's legacy
posted by Wilder at 2:36 AM on April 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
Any chance of a new thread before the Friday news dump? My phone tells me this one’s getting very unwieldy.
posted by GrammarMoses at 3:45 AM on April 27, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by GrammarMoses at 3:45 AM on April 27, 2018 [7 favorites]
Phone? My desktop won't load it in Chrome, had to go to Firefox.
posted by Peach at 4:00 AM on April 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Peach at 4:00 AM on April 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
I had an extremely vivid dream that we were making fun of Trump's use of two spaces between sentences. I don't know if there was a comment on the blue that maybe pointed out that Trump's team did in a legal brief or whatever or if it's just because I'm eradicating extra spaces in my own work at the moment, but in my dream we were AGHAST that Trump used two spaces between sentences in a tweet.
It's like, what kind of fucking nightmare is that, where you wake up, and you think, no actually we're fucked for non-punctuation issues. No fun at all.
But anyway, I wonder if that's how Trump supporters feel about Trump haters: we're really mad about shit that doesn't mean shit. Hey, I'd love for them to be right. /sighs
posted by angrycat at 4:18 AM on April 27, 2018 [8 favorites]
It's like, what kind of fucking nightmare is that, where you wake up, and you think, no actually we're fucked for non-punctuation issues. No fun at all.
But anyway, I wonder if that's how Trump supporters feel about Trump haters: we're really mad about shit that doesn't mean shit. Hey, I'd love for them to be right. /sighs
posted by angrycat at 4:18 AM on April 27, 2018 [8 favorites]
Any chance of a new thread before the Friday news dump? My phone tells me this one’s getting very unwieldy.
We're going to need one before lunch as all the reactions arise to Trump's undoubtedly fraught meeting with Merkel today—the clock starts at 11:40 AM.
Oh, and Trump's being his usual well-behaved self on Twitter, in either a preview of today's behavior or a ritual purge in order to function comparatively normally for the rest of the day:
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:22 AM on April 27, 2018 [7 favorites]
We're going to need one before lunch as all the reactions arise to Trump's undoubtedly fraught meeting with Merkel today—the clock starts at 11:40 AM.
Oh, and Trump's being his usual well-behaved self on Twitter, in either a preview of today's behavior or a ritual purge in order to function comparatively normally for the rest of the day:
Is everybody believing what is going on. James Comey can’t define what a leak is. He illegally leaked CLASSIFIED INFORMATION but doesn’t understand what he did or how serious it is. He lied all over the place to cover it up. He’s either very sick or very dumb. Remember sailor!I almost expect him to tweet next, "Peace in our time!"
So great to have Staff Sgt. Dan Nevins and the incredible WOUNDED WARRIORS with me in the White House yesterday. These are truly brave and special people! @foxandfriends [yes, he's live-tweeting Fox again]
KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:22 AM on April 27, 2018 [7 favorites]
He lied all over the place to cover it up. He’s either very sick or very dumb.
Trump's Mirror in full effect this morning.
posted by chris24 at 5:27 AM on April 27, 2018 [7 favorites]
Trump's Mirror in full effect this morning.
posted by chris24 at 5:27 AM on April 27, 2018 [7 favorites]
I almost expect him to tweet next, "Peace in our time!"
This analogy is unfair to Neville Chamberlain.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:33 AM on April 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
This analogy is unfair to Neville Chamberlain.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:33 AM on April 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
re.: Korea — I fear we are heading towards a second time now as a farce version of "Reagan won the cold war". Reagan didn't win the cold war, the Soviet Union and vassal states collapsed all by themselves. If anything, the US and World Bank helped create the authoritarian regimes we have today in the former east block.
Right now, it is more and more obvious that North Korea is no longer able to uphold itself, which is probably a good thing. For the North Koreans, I hope there is a new future. I hope South Korea can handle this. But I resent the idea that Trump will get credit for something he didn't do, just like Reagan did. Aargh.
posted by mumimor at 5:36 AM on April 27, 2018 [63 favorites]
Right now, it is more and more obvious that North Korea is no longer able to uphold itself, which is probably a good thing. For the North Koreans, I hope there is a new future. I hope South Korea can handle this. But I resent the idea that Trump will get credit for something he didn't do, just like Reagan did. Aargh.
posted by mumimor at 5:36 AM on April 27, 2018 [63 favorites]
Cook moves rating for OH-12 special: Lean R => Toss-up
posted by Chrysostom at 5:37 AM on April 27, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 5:37 AM on April 27, 2018 [12 favorites]
Remember sailor! --- The what, now?
I'm assuming the submarine sailor who was convicted of leaking classified material and who Trump pardoned recently.
posted by chris24 at 5:40 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'm assuming the submarine sailor who was convicted of leaking classified material and who Trump pardoned recently.
posted by chris24 at 5:40 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
I hope things turn out well, but we've been here before.
NYT (June 2000): Seoul Leader Lands in North for Meeting
NYT (June 2000): Seoul Leader Lands in North for Meeting
Nearly 50 years to the week since the Korean War began, the leaders of North and South Korea met this morning for a first-ever series of talks.posted by chris24 at 5:43 AM on April 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
With thousands of official greeters cheering his arrival in the North's capital, Pyongyang, President Kim Dae Jung of South Korea descended from a plane and was welcomed by the North Korean president, Kim Jong Il.
They shook hands at length, and then walked together along a red carpet to review a military honor guard. The two men smiled and chatted as they walked to the visiting president's limousine, while the crowd chanted the name of Kim Jung Il, and ocassionally the name of Kim Dae Jung.
In a surprise, the two men rode together in Kim Dae Jung's limousine, brought especially from South Korea, to the state guest house, where the visiting head of state will be staying.
South Korean officials said they were delighted by the North Korean president's presence at the airport. ''It was something we were not expecting at all,'' said one government official in Seoul. ''It is a very good sign.''
Cook moves rating for OH-12 special: Lean R => Toss-up
Trump won it by 11, Romney by 10. It hasn't elected a D since 1980.
posted by chris24 at 5:49 AM on April 27, 2018 [9 favorites]
Trump won it by 11, Romney by 10. It hasn't elected a D since 1980.
posted by chris24 at 5:49 AM on April 27, 2018 [9 favorites]
> Cook moves rating for OH-12 special: Lean R => Toss-up
Y'all I just want to give a special shoutout to the volunteers doing the legwork in my neighboring district, Ohio 12th. Incredible women leaders doing fantastic work there.
They've made the news more times than I can count if you want to dig into particulars but they basically shamed Tiberi out of office and have been Doing the Goddamn Work to make way for a Dem candidate and if that seat flips they could be a case study in how to turn a district.
posted by Tevin at 5:50 AM on April 27, 2018 [45 favorites]
Y'all I just want to give a special shoutout to the volunteers doing the legwork in my neighboring district, Ohio 12th. Incredible women leaders doing fantastic work there.
They've made the news more times than I can count if you want to dig into particulars but they basically shamed Tiberi out of office and have been Doing the Goddamn Work to make way for a Dem candidate and if that seat flips they could be a case study in how to turn a district.
posted by Tevin at 5:50 AM on April 27, 2018 [45 favorites]
It hasn't elected a D since 1980.
You have to be careful with that sort of thing, since with re-districting the borders change.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:54 AM on April 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
You have to be careful with that sort of thing, since with re-districting the borders change.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:54 AM on April 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
I spun up a NEW THREAD --> Despair is a sin. (Potus 45 Catch-all thread April 27, 2018) for Friday-is-Grand-Jury Day, Trump's continued meltdown, &tc.
posted by mikelieman at 6:10 AM on April 27, 2018 [30 favorites]
posted by mikelieman at 6:10 AM on April 27, 2018 [30 favorites]
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has chosen to become involved in the DCCC fiasco by coming down on the side of the DCCC and against progressive candidates. She did, however, express incredulity that Tillemann would record and release the conversation he had with Hoyer in which Hoyer freely discussed using DCCC and other Democratic Party apparatus to promote Crow and impede Tillemann.
It's rather amazing that the idea of the Democratic Party intervening on behalf of centrist candidates and against progressive candidates has gone in less than 48 hours from being derided as a conspiracy theory to being acknowledged as perfectly normal and appropriate by Democratic leadership.
Pelosi's announcement seems especially tone deaf in a time when there is a large progressive wave fueled by anti-Trump sentiment. Seeking to actively discourage younger, more progressive, Democrats from voting seems to be counterproductive, but it is apparently the official policy of the Democratic Party now.
posted by sotonohito at 6:10 AM on April 27, 2018 [20 favorites]
It's rather amazing that the idea of the Democratic Party intervening on behalf of centrist candidates and against progressive candidates has gone in less than 48 hours from being derided as a conspiracy theory to being acknowledged as perfectly normal and appropriate by Democratic leadership.
Pelosi's announcement seems especially tone deaf in a time when there is a large progressive wave fueled by anti-Trump sentiment. Seeking to actively discourage younger, more progressive, Democrats from voting seems to be counterproductive, but it is apparently the official policy of the Democratic Party now.
posted by sotonohito at 6:10 AM on April 27, 2018 [20 favorites]
Catholic members are furious at the suggestion the new chaplain must have a family.
Which ones? I am Catholic, I am not furious at the notion.
I would be happy with a Congressional Secular Humanist, or maybe get Kate Braestrup in the gig. Either way, someone who has lived a little, held a few different jobs, loved & lost, all that. Many R.C. priests have done these things, but I'm not so parochial that I think my faith has a stranglehold on the very notion of right and wrong. Sheesh!
posted by wenestvedt at 6:18 AM on April 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
Which ones? I am Catholic, I am not furious at the notion.
I would be happy with a Congressional Secular Humanist, or maybe get Kate Braestrup in the gig. Either way, someone who has lived a little, held a few different jobs, loved & lost, all that. Many R.C. priests have done these things, but I'm not so parochial that I think my faith has a stranglehold on the very notion of right and wrong. Sheesh!
posted by wenestvedt at 6:18 AM on April 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
Catholic members are furious at the suggestion the new chaplain must have a family.
Which ones? I am Catholic, I am not furious at the notion.
I took this to mean Catholic members of Congress.
posted by ogooglebar at 6:26 AM on April 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Which ones? I am Catholic, I am not furious at the notion.
I took this to mean Catholic members of Congress.
posted by ogooglebar at 6:26 AM on April 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Reagan didn't win the cold war, the Soviet Union and vassal states collapsed all by themselves
Didn't Reagan give the USSR a push by starting an arms race they couldn't keep up in, accelerating their collapse?
posted by acb at 6:41 AM on April 27, 2018
Didn't Reagan give the USSR a push by starting an arms race they couldn't keep up in, accelerating their collapse?
posted by acb at 6:41 AM on April 27, 2018
The new thread is dead. We all await the new new thread.
posted by michswiss at 6:48 AM on April 27, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by michswiss at 6:48 AM on April 27, 2018 [19 favorites]
The Progressive: Don't credit Reagan for ending the Cold War
Perhaps the most dangerous myth regarding the legacy of the late President Ronald Reagan is that he was somehow responsible for the end of the Cold War.posted by chris24 at 6:50 AM on April 27, 2018 [18 favorites]
The Soviet Union and its Communist allies in Eastern Europe collapsed primarily because their governments and economies rested upon an inherently unworkable system that would have fallen apart anyway.
And they were doomed in part because they fell victim to pro-democracy movements. Totalitarian systems cannot survive without being able to control access to information. Cracks in the system were becoming apparent as early as the 1970s.
In a December 2003 interview, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said the fall of the Soviet Union had nothing to do with the arms race. "When it became clear to us that the one-party model was mistaken, we rejected that model," he said. "A new generation of more educated people started to be active. Then society required freedom, society demanded freedom."
It was not Reagan's military buildup or bellicose threats against the Soviets and their allies that brought down the system. Instead, such threats possibly allowed these regimes to hold on to power even longer as people rallied to support the government in the face of the perceived American threat.
I would say that Gorbachev's stated opinion is an interesting data point, but not determinative.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:52 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 6:52 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'm not sure Gorbachev's assessment is the one that should be considered authoritative. I think there's a strong case to be made that economic problems contributed heavily to the collapse, and Reagan (and his predecessors) could be considered responsible for some percentage of those economic woes. Not to say "he won it single-handedly" or anything, but Gorbachev's assessment that the USSR collapsed because smart people decided freedom was better is a bit simplistic to my eyes.
posted by pwinn at 6:54 AM on April 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by pwinn at 6:54 AM on April 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
All I know is we should have been able to foresee the collapse of the Soviet Union much earlier than we did.
In hindsight, there were a lot of red flags.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:56 AM on April 27, 2018 [44 favorites]
In hindsight, there were a lot of red flags.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:56 AM on April 27, 2018 [44 favorites]
NYT: Lawyer Who Was Said to Have Dirt on Clinton Had Closer Ties to Kremlin Than She Let On
posted by Chrysostom at 6:56 AM on April 27, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 6:56 AM on April 27, 2018 [23 favorites]
how is this interview even being processed by the True Believers? How could anyone listen to that and not come out completely demoralized and abjected.
I put the YT up on my Facebook page last night and the one Trump supporter friend I still have in my friend list replied "Still crying??". That's really all they have at this point.
posted by sundrop at 6:58 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
I put the YT up on my Facebook page last night and the one Trump supporter friend I still have in my friend list replied "Still crying??". That's really all they have at this point.
posted by sundrop at 6:58 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
Gorbachev's assessment that the USSR collapsed because smart people decided freedom was better is a bit simplistic to my eyes.
Especially since,
Shame 'renewable energy' just doesn't get the same traction as 'arms race'.
posted by Buntix at 7:07 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
Especially since,
Totalitarian systems cannot survive without being able to control access to information.is being proven a pretty weak hypothesis by current events. All you really need to do is control the dominant propaganda narrative at best. Not to say Reagan deserves the credit anymore than the random vagaries of the oil market. Which tends to be a continuing thread in terms of how much political power the politburo/oligarchy wield.
Shame 'renewable energy' just doesn't get the same traction as 'arms race'.
posted by Buntix at 7:07 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
chris24: Who (burners) doesn't (burners) have (burners) 16 phones?
Saul Goodman comes to mind, in keeping with prior comments, saying Cohen is Trumpland's Saul Goodman, except not as wily.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:17 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
Saul Goodman comes to mind, in keeping with prior comments, saying Cohen is Trumpland's Saul Goodman, except not as wily.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:17 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
Hey, more fun to come.
@JenniferJJacobs (Bloomberg)
Trump plans to do FOX PHONERS more regularly, Kellyanne Conway says on Fox News.
CONWAY: “The president has said he would like to perhaps come once a month and as news breaks. He’ll keep us guessing.”
FOX: Wait. Come to Fox & Friends once a month?
CONWAY: “Yes.”
posted by chris24 at 7:18 AM on April 27, 2018 [24 favorites]
@JenniferJJacobs (Bloomberg)
Trump plans to do FOX PHONERS more regularly, Kellyanne Conway says on Fox News.
CONWAY: “The president has said he would like to perhaps come once a month and as news breaks. He’ll keep us guessing.”
FOX: Wait. Come to Fox & Friends once a month?
CONWAY: “Yes.”
posted by chris24 at 7:18 AM on April 27, 2018 [24 favorites]
> The new thread is dead. We all await the new new thread.
This post was deleted for the following reason: Alright, the people have spoken: they want a post with one or more external links as per usual. -- goodnewsfortheinsane
Eponysterical!
And on that note, CNN received a leak of new text messages between the FBI's Peter Strzok and Lisa Page that had been provided to Congress yesterday, showing their reactions to such events as Comey's firing and Mueller's appointment. Fox and the rest of the rightwing noise machine is in the process of whipping up their audience, which was already frothing over Trump ranting about them on Fox & Friends ("And then you look at the phony Lisa Page and Strzok and the memos back and forth, and the FBI.")…
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:29 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
This post was deleted for the following reason: Alright, the people have spoken: they want a post with one or more external links as per usual. -- goodnewsfortheinsane
Eponysterical!
And on that note, CNN received a leak of new text messages between the FBI's Peter Strzok and Lisa Page that had been provided to Congress yesterday, showing their reactions to such events as Comey's firing and Mueller's appointment. Fox and the rest of the rightwing noise machine is in the process of whipping up their audience, which was already frothing over Trump ranting about them on Fox & Friends ("And then you look at the phony Lisa Page and Strzok and the memos back and forth, and the FBI.")…
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:29 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
Didn't Reagan give the USSR a push by starting an arms race they couldn't keep up in, accelerating their collapse?
Not really; the build up more properly began in the USSR. Even then, the Western perception was much different than reality.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 7:31 AM on April 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Not really; the build up more properly began in the USSR. Even then, the Western perception was much different than reality.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 7:31 AM on April 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
North Korea is finally ready to engage in diplomacy because they now have nukes and the missiles to deliver them, which Kim thinks gives him a much better shot at being treated as a legitimate negotiating partner rather than a candidate for being regime-changed.
In retrospect this seems like it was probably their strategy since at least when Kim Jong Un came to power.
If that's the case, I don't see that the current administration had any real effect on the outcome, or that previous administrations could have affected it either, short of attacking NK.
NK has their safety blanket now, so it's time to try to normalize relations and improve their lot in the world.
posted by duoshao at 7:31 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
In retrospect this seems like it was probably their strategy since at least when Kim Jong Un came to power.
If that's the case, I don't see that the current administration had any real effect on the outcome, or that previous administrations could have affected it either, short of attacking NK.
NK has their safety blanket now, so it's time to try to normalize relations and improve their lot in the world.
posted by duoshao at 7:31 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
If you haven't seen the Daily Show's breakdown of yesterday's F&F meltdown, it's a must watch if for nothing else than the part where they focus/zoom in on the hosts reactions as he rants.
posted by chris24 at 7:31 AM on April 27, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 7:31 AM on April 27, 2018 [19 favorites]
North Korea is finally ready to engage in diplomacy because they now have nukes and the missiles to deliver them
I thought the recent news about their primary test bunker indicated the opposite of this?
posted by Twain Device at 7:32 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
I thought the recent news about their primary test bunker indicated the opposite of this?
posted by Twain Device at 7:32 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump
Just Out: House Intelligence Committee Report released. “No evidence” that the Trump Campaign “colluded, coordinated or conspired with Russia.” Clinton Campaign paid for Opposition Research obtained from Russia- Wow! A total Witch Hunt! MUST END NOW!
Fox committee fails to find evidence of hen-related crimes.
Just in case: Nobody is above the law: Mueller firing rapid response
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:34 AM on April 27, 2018 [19 favorites]
Just Out: House Intelligence Committee Report released. “No evidence” that the Trump Campaign “colluded, coordinated or conspired with Russia.” Clinton Campaign paid for Opposition Research obtained from Russia- Wow! A total Witch Hunt! MUST END NOW!
Fox committee fails to find evidence of hen-related crimes.
Just in case: Nobody is above the law: Mueller firing rapid response
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:34 AM on April 27, 2018 [19 favorites]
Here's an idea: DPRK doesn't need a reliable method of nuking the US or even Japan, it merely needs the ability to genuinely claim to be a nuclear-armed state while having its people believe that Kim Jong-Un has realized the dreams of his ancestors. DPRK knows the very real threat of its conventional weapons pointed at Seoul is deterrent enough to protect the regime from the global community.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:36 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:36 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
I thought the recent news about their primary test bunker indicated the opposite of this?
Bit of both I think. There's always room for more testing, ask any engineer. But they've got enough to go on. The tunnel collapse just made it the only choice going forward.
posted by scalefree at 7:39 AM on April 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
Bit of both I think. There's always room for more testing, ask any engineer. But they've got enough to go on. The tunnel collapse just made it the only choice going forward.
posted by scalefree at 7:39 AM on April 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
They also appear to be incapable of conducting another test without risking site collapse and radiological contamination of the area. That site is about 200 miles upwind of Vladivostok.
posted by cmfletcher at 7:40 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by cmfletcher at 7:40 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
The Washington Post: House Intelligence Committee's final report accuses the intelligence community of "significant intelligence tradecraft failings"
This tradecraft appraisal brought to you by Nunes, Devin Nunes, International Man of Mystery
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:42 AM on April 27, 2018 [30 favorites]
This tradecraft appraisal brought to you by Nunes, Devin Nunes, International Man of Mystery
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:42 AM on April 27, 2018 [30 favorites]
I thought the recent news about their primary test bunker indicated the opposite of this?
This is what people are speculating is the reason for their offer to halt testing.
But they've also been pursuing diplomacy with SK, engaging in the Olympics, and now talking about a treaty to replace the armistice.
posted by duoshao at 7:45 AM on April 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
This is what people are speculating is the reason for their offer to halt testing.
But they've also been pursuing diplomacy with SK, engaging in the Olympics, and now talking about a treaty to replace the armistice.
posted by duoshao at 7:45 AM on April 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
The Connecticut House passed a bill yesterday to join the Popular Vote Compact. On to the state senate next; control of that chamber is divided 50/50 (Dem. president pro tem supports it and the Dem. governor supports it as well).
posted by melissasaurus at 7:52 AM on April 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by melissasaurus at 7:52 AM on April 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
So that House IC Report?
(U) Recommendation #18: Congress should consider repealing the Logan Act.
In case you think they're not planning on continuing to commit treason.
posted by chris24 at 7:56 AM on April 27, 2018 [55 favorites]
(U) Recommendation #18: Congress should consider repealing the Logan Act.
In case you think they're not planning on continuing to commit treason.
posted by chris24 at 7:56 AM on April 27, 2018 [55 favorites]
As of March 2018, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact has been adopted by ten states and the District of Columbia. Together, they have 165 electoral votes, which is 30.7% of the total Electoral College and 61.1% of the votes needed to give the compact legal force.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:57 AM on April 27, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:57 AM on April 27, 2018 [18 favorites]
The report by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is called "Report on Russian Active Measures". It claims to provide recommendations to combat and discourage Russian active measures.
One of its recommendations is to repeal a law which prohibits certain acts of collusion with Russia, without replacement, on the basis that it is rarely used.
These people have no shame.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:04 AM on April 27, 2018 [46 favorites]
One of its recommendations is to repeal a law which prohibits certain acts of collusion with Russia, without replacement, on the basis that it is rarely used.
These people have no shame.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:04 AM on April 27, 2018 [46 favorites]
Seeking to actively discourage younger, more progressive, Democrats from voting seems to be counterproductive, but it is apparently the official policy of the Democratic Party now.
No, at best it is the primary strategy for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which exists specifically to elect members of the House. It is not the Democratic Party and doesn’t set policy for the Democratic Party, and certainly doesn’t represent the overarching strategy of the Democratic Party at any level except the House of Representatives.
I think it’s really dishonest to take the strategy of one—yes, influential and significant—
branch of Democratic Party activity and act like this is what Democrats are deciding to do. To be honest, I didn’t even know what the DCCC did until I decided to caucus and we had a discussion about it, and I bet I’m not the only one in this thread who was fuzzy on the distinction.
The DCCC raises money for Democratic Congressional campaigns. That is it. It doesn’t “decide” who the candidates are going to be. We, Democrats, decide that. The DCCC decides which candidates it will back, just like any other fundraising group. It does not “prevent” other candidates from running, or being funded, or being endorsed.
I’ve seen the DCCC being presented many times in these threads as somehow being equivalent to the DNC or the Democratic Party enough times, and it’s time to stop doing that and misleading people about their actual impact and purpose. I’d be willing to bet that a lot of people come to these threads for education on the particulars of the political process, just like I do, and it doesn’t serve anyone to catastrophize about Democratic Party activity when you’re not even presenting the facts correctly.
posted by Autumnheart at 8:18 AM on April 27, 2018 [67 favorites]
New post. (It's short but has some links.)
posted by nangar at 8:19 AM on April 27, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by nangar at 8:19 AM on April 27, 2018 [10 favorites]
chris24: "So that House IC Report?
(U) Recommendation #18: Congress should consider repealing the Logan Act.
In case you think they're not planning on continuing to commit treason."
Two people have ever had charges brought under the Logan Act, the last in 1852. I'm not sure it's existence or repeal would mean that much.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:25 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
(U) Recommendation #18: Congress should consider repealing the Logan Act.
In case you think they're not planning on continuing to commit treason."
Two people have ever had charges brought under the Logan Act, the last in 1852. I'm not sure it's existence or repeal would mean that much.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:25 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
The report itself claims:
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:28 AM on April 27, 2018 [16 favorites]
"when Papadopoulos raised the issue of obtaining contacts with the Russian government on behalf of the campaign, Senator Sessions Interrupted and began "talking about the Logan Act," which criminalizes unauthorized negotiations with foreign governments"So even while the report admits that the Logan Act works as a deterrent, it calls for it to be repealed without replacement. Why? Because it makes life hard for people trying to collude with Russia.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:28 AM on April 27, 2018 [16 favorites]
Two people have ever had charges brought under the Logan Act, the last in 1852. I'm not sure it's existence or repeal would mean that much.
Can its deterrent effect be measured? If not, I'm not sure how to measure how much it means to have it in place.
posted by rhizome at 9:29 AM on April 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Can its deterrent effect be measured? If not, I'm not sure how to measure how much it means to have it in place.
posted by rhizome at 9:29 AM on April 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
> Together, they have 165 electoral votes, which is 30.7% of the total Electoral College and 61.1% of the votes needed to give the compact legal force.
This this this!
I've been trying to figure out how to push this as a big strategic effort in the 2019 legislative sessions and to be a topic of discussion for all the state level races in the key states. This is entirely a thing a modern focused campaign strategy could push through, but it feels like such a stodgy and wordy thing to talk about. There's not an elevator pitch for why everyone should push their legislator to support it (especially the no voters). If the current states it's up for a vote on all passed it, it would go swing into effect. Also possibly cause a huge Supreme Court case.
posted by mrzarquon at 11:15 AM on April 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
This this this!
I've been trying to figure out how to push this as a big strategic effort in the 2019 legislative sessions and to be a topic of discussion for all the state level races in the key states. This is entirely a thing a modern focused campaign strategy could push through, but it feels like such a stodgy and wordy thing to talk about. There's not an elevator pitch for why everyone should push their legislator to support it (especially the no voters). If the current states it's up for a vote on all passed it, it would go swing into effect. Also possibly cause a huge Supreme Court case.
posted by mrzarquon at 11:15 AM on April 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
Elevator pitch: Democracy! The candidate with the most votes should be president. Here's an easy way to stop electoral college manipulation.
posted by msalt at 11:48 AM on April 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by msalt at 11:48 AM on April 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
I’m wondering if the Electoral as college as clear security vulnerability would be a saleable pitch. Force multiplier for foreign meddling!
posted by Artw at 11:52 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 11:52 AM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
Can its deterrent effect be measured? If not, I'm not sure how to measure how much it means to have it in place.
I believe most studies show that deterrence in general is mostly correlated with immediacy and frequency of punishment, so if you have a law on the books that infrequently leads to punishment, it's not going to have much deterrent effect. It's definitely something I've seen discussed with regard to whether capital punishment is an effective deterrent, which it mostly is not.
posted by Copronymus at 11:58 AM on April 27, 2018
I believe most studies show that deterrence in general is mostly correlated with immediacy and frequency of punishment, so if you have a law on the books that infrequently leads to punishment, it's not going to have much deterrent effect. It's definitely something I've seen discussed with regard to whether capital punishment is an effective deterrent, which it mostly is not.
posted by Copronymus at 11:58 AM on April 27, 2018
Wouldn't the existence of the Logan Act on the books still help get investigations rolling and warrants signed even if prosecutors end up shifting the investigation to other, more easily prosecuted crimes as evidence came in? I mean for the high profile powerful people who would theoretically have the means and opportunity to violate the Logan Act, I'm not too terribly broken up about it being the Rich White Dude version of "the K9 indicated the presence of marijuana so we proceeded to tear apart the vehicle".
posted by jason_steakums at 12:46 PM on April 27, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 12:46 PM on April 27, 2018 [7 favorites]
Together, they have 165 electoral votes, which is 30.7% of the total Electoral College and 61.1% of the votes needed to give the compact legal force.
All of which are either solid blue or moderately blue. Sadly, the compact is going nowhere until somewhere like Florida or perhaps a couple rust belt states sign on.
posted by Justinian at 1:53 PM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
All of which are either solid blue or moderately blue. Sadly, the compact is going nowhere until somewhere like Florida or perhaps a couple rust belt states sign on.
posted by Justinian at 1:53 PM on April 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
I believe most studies show that deterrence in general is mostly correlated with immediacy and frequency of punishment
This ignores the moral education part of law. One reason for the lack of Logan Act prosecutions is because selling out your country to foreign powers is wrong and shameful, and as a result people didn't violate it. (Espionage prosecutions are also rare.) As with marijuana laws, legalization would declare "this is OK now, go for it" with -- in this case -- disastrous results.
The studies about certainty and celerity of punishment have more to do with crimes like speeding, theft, etc.
posted by msalt at 2:09 PM on April 27, 2018 [7 favorites]
This ignores the moral education part of law. One reason for the lack of Logan Act prosecutions is because selling out your country to foreign powers is wrong and shameful, and as a result people didn't violate it. (Espionage prosecutions are also rare.) As with marijuana laws, legalization would declare "this is OK now, go for it" with -- in this case -- disastrous results.
The studies about certainty and celerity of punishment have more to do with crimes like speeding, theft, etc.
posted by msalt at 2:09 PM on April 27, 2018 [7 favorites]
In today's surprising to no-one news Jill Stein announces she will not fully comply with the Senate Russia investigation. Why should she, she obviously has never even met a Russian person.
posted by Justinian at 7:36 PM on April 27, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 7:36 PM on April 27, 2018 [12 favorites]
I can't believe this is happening but Topher Spiro links to a story on what is, again, movement among Republicans to make one last big push to repeal Obamacare before the midterms. With a Democrat in Alabama and McCain out how would this happen, you ask? Apparently it will include massive bribes for Alaska and Maine to try to get both of those votes.
These people have to be stopped. Because they sure won't stop until we're dead and they are looting our graves.
posted by Justinian at 11:36 PM on April 27, 2018 [7 favorites]
These people have to be stopped. Because they sure won't stop until we're dead and they are looting our graves.
posted by Justinian at 11:36 PM on April 27, 2018 [7 favorites]
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posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 7:03 PM on April 15, 2018 [19 favorites]