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Tuesday Open Thread

It's a jail day for me, which means an open thread for you.

All topics welcome.

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    F*(king unbelievable! (5.00 / 4) (#1)
    by vml68 on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 01:28:04 PM EST
    Obama (5.00 / 5) (#2)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 01:46:29 PM EST
    should have fired Comey after the election or at least come down on him before the election. Lots of things Obama should have done but did not. He should have reprimanded Comey for breaking justice department rules in July.

    Parent
    I'll do you one better... (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by kdog on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 03:03:23 PM EST
    The god damn Bureau should have never been founded, they've been nefariously influencing domestic political activity since Day 1 making lists of anarchists and communists and persecuting their inalienable right to be politically active.

    Or at least been disbanded after nefariously influencing the presidential elections of '68 and '72 via oointelpro and other such dastardly criminality.

    And the CIA is even worse...disband, disband, disband!

    Parent

    Firing Comey (none / 0) (#9)
    by smott on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 04:00:23 PM EST
    Would have been cathartic, esp had Clinton won, and Obama could have dropped the hammer at 9:01 am on Wednesday.
    But he's likely better than anyone Trump would come up with, so he must stay.

    Obama's biggest mistake was his greatest strength - assuming the best in people.

    Assuming the GOP and McConnell wouldn't piss all over him from Day 1, and going for bipartisan conciliatory nominations like the cowardly f-ck Comey.

    Parent

    i agree (none / 0) (#26)
    by linea on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 08:25:28 PM EST
    that the cia and the other (17?) inteligence gathering agencies should and could be eliminated without any consequence to the security of america or american citizens.

    however, federal police investigation is needed and the FBI mostly does excellent and helpfull work.

    so maybe just a reform is needed? but yes, the FBI domestically and Army Intelligence internationally is all that is needed. in my opinion.

    Parent

    Maybe in some extremely limited form... (none / 0) (#57)
    by kdog on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 07:49:21 AM EST
    we need a federal police/investigative force...but I tend to lean towards thinking state and local cops can handle almost all our domestic policing/investigative needs.  

    Though my view may be skewed by living in NY, where we have way too much state/local police as it is.  The FBI and NYPD end up squabbling over who gets the investigation and the collar...unnecessary redundancy.  Not to mention, neither one appears to be any good when it comes to the daily crime spree down on Wall St.  

    With a little interstate cooperation, the FBI can hit the bricks and we'd be better for it.

    Parent

    Must be (none / 0) (#59)
    by FlJoe on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 08:24:34 AM EST
    some good bud you are smoking
    With a little interstate cooperation
    Do you really think say Mississippi would enforce Civil rights laws or W Virginia environmental laws?

    There are travesties committed at all levels of LE, but they are societies main bulwark against anarchy. The FBI at it's best serves as a "watcher of the watchers" at it's worst it's a danger to democracy. The former makes it impossible to dispense with but the latter means it must be held on the shortest leash with the tightest choke collar.

    Parent

    Fair point... (none / 0) (#66)
    by kdog on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 09:29:24 AM EST
    disband the FBI and give the EPA limited police powers to investigate/enforce environmental laws and the DOJ can assume the civil rights responsibilities.

    Any other select good things the FBI does that local cops can't handle? Cuz I lean towards the "at worst", a danger to our democracy that we've tolerated for too long and failed to hold to account. Ask any old hippie, or really old anarchist/communist labor leader....they'll tell ya!

    Aside...anarchy as political philosophy isn't a danger that needs bulwarks with guns to guard against it, it's a goal to reach upon the further evolution of human consciousness.  The pinnacle ideal of self-governance.

    Parent

    that is incorrect (none / 0) (#61)
    by nyjets on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 08:36:13 AM EST
    There are a lot of crimes that travel state lines. It will take a lot more than 'interstate cooperation' to handle that crime. You need some kind of national police force to investigate said crimes.
    And honestly, dealing with the criminals in wall street (and in all fairness, not everybody in wall street are crooks) does need to be dealt by a national police force because almost everybody in wall street are either national or international.

    Parent
    Comey (none / 0) (#25)
    by linea on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 08:13:11 PM EST
    i dont understand the hysteria over the "russia hacked the dnc servers and released embarassing emails that made the bernie-or-bust crowd mad."

    when we have this. i was driving to work in the morning, in the rain of course, and i was shocked to hear the report from the FBI as they are federal police investigation. i was really shocked.

    from msnbc:

    Comey's original letter touched off nine days of political uproar that created a media feeding frenzy, cut Clinton's lead in half, rattled international financial markets, divided the FBI, and undermined Democrats' chances of reclaiming a congressional majority - at a key moment for early voting in much of the country.


    Parent
    CNN is reporting (5.00 / 1) (#13)
    by KeysDan on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 04:49:57 PM EST
    that "Classified documents presented to President Obama and Trump included allegations that Russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information about Trump."

    Parent
    Oooooh (1.67 / 6) (#14)
    by BTAL on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 04:57:39 PM EST
    And "Anonymous" sources presented to President Obama and PeOTUS Trump included allegations compromising the existence of Santa Clause, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny and the Rougarou.    

    Parent
    Trump owing (5.00 / 2) (#16)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 05:11:18 PM EST
    money to the Russian oligarchs is not earth shattering information. We've all known that he owes money to Russia. It's been widely reported. What is new is the fact that Russia is claiming to have personal information on Trump ala worse than the Access Hollywood tape.

    Yes, the American intelligence community is exactly the same as the Easter Bunny/snark.

    Parent

    The allegations (5.00 / 3) (#17)
    by KeysDan on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 05:34:53 PM EST
    were presented by the senior intel officers in an annex to, but not included in the unclassified report available to the public.  The multiple anonymous sources cited relate to presentation during the briefing to President Obama and Trump.

    However, probably not of the high confidence some Republicans are accustomed to, such as Trump's allegation of President Obama being born in Kenya, or that child sex ring in the DC pizza parlor basement, or Sessions uncertainty as to whether grabbing a woman's genitals is assault.

    While you seem to disagree,the Intel Report presented to the President and Trump is, actually, serious, and should be cause, at least, for further investigation.

    Parent

    Correct (none / 0) (#28)
    by TrevorBolder on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 09:02:52 PM EST
    WASHINGTON -- The chiefs of America's intelligence agencies last week presented President Obama and President-elect Donald J. Trump with a summary of unsubstantiated reports that Russia had collected compromising and salacious personal information about Mr. Trump, two officials with knowledge of the briefing said.

    The summary is based on memos generated by political operatives seeking to derail Mr. Trump's candidacy. Details of the reports began circulating in the fall and were widely known among journalists and politicians in Washington.

    http://tinyurl.com/zcbse8c

    Parent

    Or (none / 0) (#30)
    by TrevorBolder on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 09:06:33 PM EST
    If by chance it is actually true..

    Well, Welcome President Pence

    Parent

    Pence (none / 0) (#31)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 09:14:57 PM EST
    is probably compromised too. Remember he had a lot of praise for Putin. Say hello to President Orrin Hatch. As far as we know he's not been compromised by the Russians. Paul Ryan has a problem too by not telling the truth about the Russians, withholding information and attempting to protect Trump.

    Parent
    Lol (none / 0) (#32)
    by TrevorBolder on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 09:16:00 PM EST
    Yeah, (none / 0) (#38)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 09:36:35 PM EST
    you LOL'ed at the fact that Trump was a Putin stooge too.

    Trevor, I think the joke is really on you.

    Parent

    Well (none / 0) (#48)
    by TrevorBolder on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 05:22:57 AM EST
    The 3 journalists on Morning Joe, from Wash Post, NY Times, and 1 other, all are shaking their head, why was this published?
    They all had this for months, and wouldn't publish, because much of it is actually false, and can be proven false. (Meeting in Prague by Cohen, who has never been to Prague.)
    Appears to be more Fake News.
    At least that what the journalists are claiming

    Parent
    "Much" of it? (5.00 / 1) (#63)
    by Yman on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 09:20:04 AM EST
    One piece.

    But the sudden embrace of journalistic standards by Trump and his supporters is funny.

    Parent

    Nah (none / 0) (#33)
    by TrevorBolder on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 09:18:51 PM EST
    Chuckie Schumer might be on to something

    Appearing on "The Rachel Maddow Show," Schumer said, "Let me tell you, you take on the intelligence community, they have six ways from Sunday to get back at you. So, even for a practical, supposedly hard-nosed businessman, he is being really dumb to do this."

    "What do you think the intelligence community would do if they were motivated to?" Maddow asked.
    "I don't know, but from what I am told, they are very upset with how he has treated them and talked about them," Schumer replied.



    Parent
    LOL (none / 0) (#37)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 09:35:21 PM EST
    The fact that the intelligence agencies don't like being trashed is not rocket science. The new information comes from British intelligence which has gathered its own information.

    Of course all anybody can talk about now is the urine episode.

    Parent

    I read a lot... (5.00 / 1) (#58)
    by kdog on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 08:09:04 AM EST
    history and such...until the "intelligence" sources are named and speak in the daylight, and present hard evidence, history forces me to be skeptical of anything and everything they say about anything and everything.

    As for things related to The Chump...I don't need no stinking cowardly unnamed "intelligence" agent to tell me he's a thief, a liar, and has only his own interests at heart. All you need is your own two eyes, two ears, and half a brain.

    To think he's working for Russia is as laughable as thinking he's working for the United States...he works for himself and himself alone.  When the presidency grift ends, he'll find another...that's what grifters do.  

    Parent

    Have to disagree on this one (none / 0) (#75)
    by TrevorBolder on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 04:46:35 PM EST
    To think he's working for Russia is as laughable as thinking he's working for the United States...he works for himself and himself alone.

    At this point in his life....The Donald has enough money, putting yourself and your family out there , in the public microscope 24 hours a day,
    Nah, not for any more money.

    For glory. The Donald wants a legacy, and Yes, I think he is doing it for country. Now his version of what benefits the country and that of others can be drastically different,

    But at the end of the day, The Donald wants his own Mount Rushmore

    Parent

    We shall see Tre... (5.00 / 2) (#82)
    by kdog on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 06:09:23 PM EST
    Of course he don't need money, but greed is a helluva drug. I think it might be how he measures glory and legacy...like a game of Monopoly, only real life.

    I mean, if he bigly wanted to do something great for America, with his bankroll, there are far more effective ways than president. President might be the dumbest route of all.

    Parent

    One of Trump's mentors (none / 0) (#89)
    by jondee on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 08:24:10 PM EST
    was Roy Cohn.

    His Merlin to Trump's Arthur.

    Does. Not. Bode. Well.

    Parent

    A narcissistic egomanic (none / 0) (#90)
    by TrevorBolder on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 08:33:45 PM EST
    I am going with Mt Trump,

    What he likes more than money, is his name in the press, people talking about him, All about him

    The Donald is setting his sights on a Mount Trump

    Parent

    He's gonna have his name in the press all right... (none / 0) (#92)
    by kdog on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 09:00:34 PM EST
    for 1450 days plus. In a row. Sweet Jesus. Huge win for him though.

    Maybe he gets a Mount if he finances himself at sparkling new Trump Presidential Library, Hotel, Spa, Casino Resort. Just hope the sculptors know to get paid up front...you know how that goes in Trump-o-nomics.

    Parent

    Serial killers (none / 0) (#95)
    by jondee on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 09:08:07 PM EST
    want to be remembered too.

    Parent
    You have no idea how much money he has (5.00 / 1) (#87)
    by ruffian on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 08:14:21 PM EST
    There is however documented records of hundreds of millions of debt.

    Parent
    Trump against the world (none / 0) (#41)
    by MKS on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 09:47:29 PM EST
    Everyone is wrong but him.

    Parent
    Could well happen (none / 0) (#34)
    by MKS on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 09:19:51 PM EST
    Trump is not your ordinary guy in many ways.

    Astonishing though that such things are being said aabout the guy during the honeymoon phase.

    Parent

    Honeymoon phase? (none / 0) (#35)
    by TrevorBolder on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 09:21:57 PM EST
    What honeymoon phase?

    Democrats are not calling it a legitimate election. No honeymoon phase here.

    Parent

    Trump legitimately (none / 0) (#68)
    by MKS on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 10:16:37 AM EST
    lost the popular vote--by a significant margin.

    Parent
    Researchers conclude (5.00 / 5) (#73)
    by KeysDan on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 03:47:12 PM EST
    that Comey cost Hillary Clinton the election.  If not for Comey, Clinton would have won the popular vote by about 6 points and the electoral college by 70 or more.

     The reason is that Comey, based on no new evidence and against FBI policy of interfering so close to the election, made a public announcement that undermined her candidacy.  Trump, immediately taking up the vaguely worded letter,claimed that Comey showed that Mrs. Clinton was crooked.  Two days before election day, Comey announced a never-mind, just duplicates of what was reviewed before, and no change warranted from previous conclusions.

    Yesterday, Comey when asked if the FBI was investigating Trump over his Russian ties, Comey said to the Senate Committee on Intelligence, "I would never comment on an investigation in an open forum like this, so can't answer one way or another.

    Parent

    Comey's (none / 0) (#74)
    by FlJoe on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 04:38:47 PM EST
    name will go down in infamy.

    Parent
    Trump won (5.00 / 1) (#76)
    by TrevorBolder on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 04:46:41 PM EST
    The electoral vote by a significant margin, the only measure of electing a President this country has ever had

    Parent
    Yes, and the (5.00 / 2) (#77)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 04:51:29 PM EST
    electoral college brought us a Putin stooge and Comey's name is going to go down in the annals of history as enabling him. And he lost the will of the people by 2.9 million. So basically a relic of slavery brought you a white nationalist president. How ironic is that?

    Parent
    Nah (5.00 / 1) (#78)
    by TrevorBolder on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 04:59:12 PM EST
    He lost 2 states, NY and California by 6 million votes,
    The rest of the country , he didn't do too bad

    Parent
    Absolutely! (none / 0) (#79)
    by Yman on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 05:06:34 PM EST
    If you ignore two of the most populace states, he didn't do too bad!

    Heh, heh, heh ...

    Parent

    Isn't that (5.00 / 1) (#80)
    by TrevorBolder on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 05:16:14 PM EST
    How we elect Presidents? By an electoral college.
    So overwhelming vote counts in just 2 states , 6 million votes, do not counteract what the rest of the country voted for.

    Parent
    Yes, (none / 0) (#83)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 06:14:45 PM EST
    we use the electoral college however Trump is considered a very weak minority president who is universally disliked and completely inept. What is astounding to me is the GOP completely embraces Trump and his entire agenda. The GOP is now the white nationalist Trump party.

    Yes, and those votes in NY came from the people who know both candidates best. There are consequences to not paying people. Even Republicans in NY who had done business with Trump wouldn't vote for him.

    Parent

    The "rest of the country" - heh (none / 0) (#96)
    by Yman on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 09:47:21 PM EST
    Sorry - the "rest of the country" did not choose Trump, and you don't get to write off 22 million voters just because you don't like it.

    But congrats on figuring out the electoral college.  Maybe one day you guys will actually get a POTUS chosen by the voters, rather than the electoral college.

    Parent

    Now that I figured out (none / 0) (#102)
    by TrevorBolder on Thu Jan 12, 2017 at 05:31:22 AM EST
    How the Electoral College works,

    Perhaps I should teach it to Democrats to assist in their future campaigns? They seem to not realize that this is how we have always elected our Presidents.

    Parent

    "Seem to" (5.00 / 1) (#103)
    by Yman on Thu Jan 12, 2017 at 05:49:52 AM EST
    It's funny what false claims people feel they can make about others by using this qualifier.

    In reality,  knowing something and agreeing worth it after two different things.   Then again,  Republicans "seem to" agree with anything that let's them win (fake news, fake claims of smears,  gerrymandering, the electoral college,  etc).

    Parent

    Well, They very proudly (none / 0) (#104)
    by TrevorBolder on Thu Jan 12, 2017 at 06:23:58 AM EST
    State they won NY & California by 6 million votes (and won the national vote by 3 million)
    Yet, The Donald is in the White House

    So yes, Democrats do get the participation trophy, but if that is what they strive for....

    So either amend the voting rules, or campaign differently

    Parent

    What they get ... (5.00 / 1) (#106)
    by Yman on Thu Jan 12, 2017 at 09:18:45 AM EST
    ... is the American voter's endorsement and mandate for their agenda, unlike your party's candidate.  What we all get is 4 years of listening to a 7th grade bully and blowhard,  who's about to learn that governing and leading are a lot harder than taking over Daddy's  business or inciting a minority of the public with bigotry, false smears Ams empty promises.

    Parent
    Absolutely (none / 0) (#84)
    by BTAL on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 07:33:29 PM EST
    Let's just toss the concept of the Tyranny of the Majority into the dustbin of history.  The founder's foresight to incorporate minority protections into the Constitution is one of their greatest achievements.

    Parent
    The preeminent tyranny these days (5.00 / 2) (#88)
    by jondee on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 08:17:01 PM EST
    (and maybe even back then, at the founding) that of money, power, influence, and ego hasn't be doing all that well for the nation for the last few decades..

    At least 250 years ago the Founders were steeped in Pluto's Republic and Cicero..

    Now we have to deal with a tyrannical minority steeped in Atlas Shrugged and Milton Friedman. People who make "portfolio decisions"..

    Parent

    That is what (5.00 / 3) (#91)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 08:44:27 PM EST
    the senate is for. Apparently you're very accepting of the tyranny of the minority though which is what is going on right now with the presidency and the house which is gerrymandered.

    Parent
    Minority protections (5.00 / 2) (#93)
    by MKS on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 09:01:17 PM EST
    are found primarily in the Bill of Rights.

    To assert our elected officials should not be elected by a majority vote of the people is to subvert democratic government.  

    Parent

    Absolutely (5.00 / 1) (#98)
    by Yman on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 09:56:56 PM EST
    Let's just toss the concepts of democracy and one man, one vote into the dustbin of history.  Appropriate, given that the electoral college was based in part on the three-fifths "compromise.  No wonder it's so popular with conservatives.

    BTW - Nice misuse of the term "tyranny of the majority", particularly given the fact that your POTUS embodies everything Hamilton warned against.

    Parent

    i support... (5.00 / 1) (#100)
    by linea on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 10:02:49 PM EST

    The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is an agreement among a group of U.S. states and the District of Columbia to award all their respective electoral votes to whichever presidential candidate wins the overall popular vote in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

    Parent
    Franken nailed Sessions (5.00 / 5) (#3)
    by MKS on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 02:25:04 PM EST
    during his confirmation hearing today.  Sessions misrepresented how many Civil Rights and Voting Rights cases he had personally handled as a U.S. Attorney.  Franken caught him cold.

    But, alas, lying is a plus for members of team Trump--just blame the press when you get caught  lying.

    The guy at DOJ who deserves credit for ... (5.00 / 1) (#39)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 09:43:38 PM EST
    ... confronting the Ku Klux Klan in Alabama is the former Deputy U.S. Attorney from Mobile, Thomas Figures, who so happens to also be African American.

    And tomorrow, Mr. Figures will testify before the Senate Committee and likely tell them that Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, in his capacity as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, did his damnedest to dissuade him from further investigation of the Klan's tragic 1981 lynching of 19-year-old Michael Donald.

    According to Mr. Figures' Senate testimony back in 1986, when Sessions had been nominated for a federal judgeship by President Reagan, the current Atty. General nominee called the Donald investigation a waste of time and further threatened to bar Figures from prosecuting the case, in the event he managed to obtain an indictment.

    And this was AFTER Sessions had first admonished him to "be careful what you say to white folks," after Sessions' white secretary had complained to her boss that Figures acted uppity toward her.

    It's really too bad that Thomas Figures isn't the nominee for U.S. Attorney General, rather than this wretched antebellum namesake.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    i cant find (2.00 / 1) (#43)
    by linea on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 10:03:15 PM EST
    any confimation that the secretary in the US Attorney's office used the racially-charged "uppity" language as you state.

    i have only found versions of this:

    • "Figures had spoken harshly to a secretary who was white."
    • "in a dispute with a white secretary"

    not finding any specifics of this case, my assumption would be that Figures was rude and dismissive to a woman and she correcttly told her supervisor of the incident.

    Parent

    You have little understanding of southern (5.00 / 1) (#60)
    by Chuck0 on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 08:31:26 AM EST
    "culture." In Alabama (or Mississippi, where my family came from), for a black man to speak to a white person with anything other than reverence is being "uppity." I have heard that term thousands of times from southern whites. Especially when speaking of blacks who stand up for themselves. Or for even being successful. That's being "uppity."


    Parent
    Uh, Chuck (none / 0) (#139)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 02:53:09 PM EST
    it is 2017.

    Parent
    Hmmm (none / 0) (#140)
    by jondee on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 02:58:36 PM EST
    so it finally dawned on you that it's futile to want to go back to 1962?

    Parent
    Uh, Jim, ... (none / 0) (#142)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 03:27:43 PM EST
    ... the incident in question took place in 1982.

    Parent
    The point being that the world has changed (none / 0) (#148)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 05:34:40 PM EST
    in 35 years.

    Catch a clue. Let go. Be part of the solution.

    Parent

    Coming from you, that's hilarious. (none / 0) (#150)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 06:11:58 PM EST
    Nobody who traffics in prejudice on his own website and posts a picture of President Obama with a bone in his nose is ever going to be part of any meaningful solution, Jim. Rather, you and your fellow white wingbats -- including Sen. Sessions -- have long been a huge part of the overall problem. You people do nothing but retard the scene.

    Parent
    my query (none / 0) (#154)
    by linea on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 08:49:13 PM EST
    stands.

    did you fabricate the assertion that the secretary used the racially-charged uppity word or do you have documentation that her complaint to her supervisor was based on racial animus?

    because, im telling you, complaining to your supervisor about the how one is treated by a man is seriously the last desperate resort. nobody is coddled when they do that and it often results in "unrelated" bad performace reviews.

    Parent

    I think the more pertinent question (none / 0) (#156)
    by jondee on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 10:08:01 PM EST
    concerns whether or not Sessions said "be careful how you talk to white folks" to Figures.

    Parent
    Pictures of watermelon patches (none / 0) (#157)
    by jondee on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 10:15:33 PM EST
    on the Whitehouse lawn. Now there's a cutting-edge approach to the racial divide.

    Be part of it.

    I wish I was in the land of cotton..good times there are not forgotten..

    Parent

    et al (none / 0) (#161)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Jan 14, 2017 at 09:39:57 AM EST
    You are never going to have equality until you accept everyone's right to insult each other's political demigod.

    Donald and Jondee - Those are paybacks for all the nasties of Bush by the Left. If you don't want a fight don't start one.

    Donald, it will be hard for anyone to discuss:

    And tomorrow, Mr. Figures will testify before the Senate Committee

    But if you want discuss the 30 year old testimony of Figures:

    Thomas Figures, an assistant U.S. attorney whose accusations of racial bias torpedoed Sen. Jeff Sessions' nomination to the federal bench in 1986, had a history of erratic and disturbed behavior, colleagues and estranged family say.

    New sworn statements obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation given by former colleagues allege Figures, who died in 2015, was a paranoid figure who, among other things, believed "CBS Evening News" anchor Dan Rather was communicating with him through his television. An office loner with a flair for confrontation, Figures was later indicted by federal authorities for attempting to bribe a witness.

    Link

    linea - Uppity is mostly a word that isn't used much any more and wasn't used widely outside the south.

    This is as good a definition as any:

    putting on or marked by airs of superiority

    It was a put down but it was never race specific.

    ChuckO, you say your family was from the south. That leads me to believe you are not. That is, you would have said, "Where I come from..." or "Where I live."

    Never the less, if you heard the expression thousands of time, since it is an expression indicating disapproval and potential conflict, then you have lived an interesting life.

    Parent

    Shorter Jim (none / 0) (#162)
    by FlJoe on Sat Jan 14, 2017 at 09:57:05 AM EST
    "We can't have equality as long until decrying racism is considered as bad as promoting racism."

    Parent
    Did anyone at this site Ever (none / 0) (#163)
    by jondee on Sat Jan 14, 2017 at 10:32:50 AM EST
    post pictures like the one's you say "the left" posted of Bush?

    As far as I'm aware, only One regular poster here was perfectly comfortable sinking to that level.

    But then, in that case, maybe it wasn't a question of sinking; just a settling at one's natural level.

    The nomination of a Jeff Sessions has to be like manna from heavan to a man who's already said he wants to turn the clock back 60 years..

    Next best thing to doin' away with anti-lynchin' laws.

    Parent

    It is a conundrum isn't it? (none / 0) (#164)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Jan 14, 2017 at 10:36:34 AM EST
    If your side is attacked and you respond then you are a bad person.

    Parent
    The question of sinking to any level (none / 0) (#165)
    by jondee on Sat Jan 14, 2017 at 10:48:56 AM EST
    has never seemed like much of a conundrum for the Right.

    More like just another expression of the essential irrationality that the Right thrives on.

    Parent

    Of (none / 0) (#166)
    by FlJoe on Sat Jan 14, 2017 at 11:02:00 AM EST
    course I expect racists and Russians and other assorted evil-doers to "defend" themselves. If you want to applaud that, go right ahead, it makes it  all the more obvious who you are rooting for.

    BTW:Your "I only posted arguably racist pictures of Obama because the left was mean to Bush" defense is pathetic. Even more ridiculous "but I have Black friends" gambit.

    Parent

    Please quit making things up (none / 0) (#167)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Jan 14, 2017 at 09:29:46 PM EST
    I never claimed to have any friends of any race. I don't have to speak for them.

    And, of course, the real question is just who gets to define what.

    At one time there was a big argument over colleges taking students based on a race quota. Do you think that is right??

    Why I posted nasty photos of Obama and your rabid attacks on me proves the point.

    I don't like him. But according to you that makes me a racist. Thanks for proving my point.

    In the meantime, since we are talking about foreign influence and unanswered questions:

    Obama's epiphany??

    Parent

    You might as well have skipped (5.00 / 1) (#168)
    by jondee on Sun Jan 15, 2017 at 12:32:04 PM EST
    the photos of Obama and gone right to one of yourself standing in front of a burning cross.

    The question is, how does wanting to turn the clock back 60 years help your cause?

    Obviously it doesn't. It comes across more as an embittered, mean-spirited parting shot from someone with one foot in the great beyond.

    Don't let us hold you up.

    Parent

    Your assumption (none / 0) (#70)
    by Towanda on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 10:50:03 AM EST
    borders on racism.

    Parent
    Yes (none / 0) (#10)
    by smott on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 04:01:36 PM EST
    Al's dogged, pedantic style seemed to really get under Session's skin.
    Or in this case, his white sheet.

    Parent
    Speak of stolen elections (none / 0) (#45)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 10:08:18 PM EST
    and Franken's name poops up.

    '-)

    Parent

    Not sure what your point is. (5.00 / 1) (#62)
    by Chuck0 on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 09:01:35 AM EST
    But Al Franken is one of hardest working and most honorable men or women in the US Senate today.

    Parent
    You actually don't know? (none / 0) (#97)
    by jimakaPPJ on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 09:55:05 PM EST
    You never let go of a grudge (none / 0) (#99)
    by jondee on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 10:01:45 PM EST
    do you?

    All because he wrote a book calling a porcine liar a porcine liar..

    And your evidence of stolen elections would be laughed out of court even harder than I'm laughing now.

    Parent

    Doesn't cut it (none / 0) (#109)
    by Yman on Thu Jan 12, 2017 at 05:59:33 PM EST
    The link to your own blog doesn't support your silly, tinfoil claim that Al Franken stole anything.

    You'll need to try harder.

    Parent

    Franken got under some people's skin (none / 0) (#110)
    by jondee on Thu Jan 12, 2017 at 07:10:37 PM EST
    pretty bad with that Operation Chickenhawk chapter in his book..

    Parent
    Glad you asked. (none / 0) (#120)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Jan 12, 2017 at 08:37:13 PM EST
    I don't suppose (none / 0) (#126)
    by jondee on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 07:15:56 AM EST
    the oft-used expression "consider the source" means anything to you?

    Well, Al did warn us that when the Chickenhawk brigade really gets their fighting spirit up, they might go so far as to resort to anonymous blogging about leftie moonbats, and then Look Out!

    Parent

    Why would you be glad? (none / 0) (#130)
    by Yman on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 08:04:51 AM EST
    Your evidence us one wingnut blog citing another wingnut blog, trying to interpret election laws that are clearly being their capacities?

    That's just funny.

    Nope.  I'll defer to the expertise of the Minn. election panel, which had 1 Democrat (DFL), 1 Independence member, 1 unaffiliated judge and 2 Republican-appointed judges.

    Parent

    We all know that the Demos (none / 0) (#132)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 08:34:11 AM EST
    stole the election.

    And yes, that includes you.

    Parent

    I love when a winger ... (none / 0) (#133)
    by Yman on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 08:57:22 AM EST
    ... is reduced to making ridiculous claims about what "we all know", when they can't back up their tinfoil conspiracy theories.  It just proves the point that - much like their "combat" experience as am armchair warrior - they are all hat and no cattle.

    Parent
    ROTFLMAO (none / 0) (#137)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 01:03:25 PM EST
    "We all know" are the people in the conservative bubble. Like everybody loves Trump because "Bubba and them" think he's "awesome".

    Parent
    "We all know" (none / 0) (#134)
    by jondee on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 08:58:35 AM EST
    multiple personality disorder?

    Is that what the source of this imaginary "we" is?

    One (intentionally?) partially displayed, ambiguously marked ballot out of tens-of-thousands is supposed to be some sort of smoking gun evidence of something?

    lol


    Parent

    You'll need to be more specific ... (none / 0) (#64)
    by Yman on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 09:23:44 AM EST
    ... if you want to push silly, baseless,  wingnut CTS, while simultaneously complaining that the Trump memo has insufficient evidence.

    Parent
    Cory Booker (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by Chuck0 on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 02:34:35 PM EST
    to testify against the Sessions nomination. Please, please Booker for President in 2020.

    And, from the Hous, John Lewis (none / 0) (#5)
    by Towanda on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 02:39:38 PM EST
    . . . still bearing scars from his beating in Jefferson Beauregard's beloved Alabama.

    Parent
    That, I have to see (none / 0) (#42)
    by MKS on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 09:49:27 PM EST
    That's the vibe I get (none / 0) (#7)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 03:10:18 PM EST
    Second time Booker mixing it up with Trumpers

    Parent
    With friends like these... (5.00 / 1) (#136)
    by kdog on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 11:32:36 AM EST
    PharmaBro Senators Booker & Menendez joined 11 other Dems in opposing a procedural vote that may have lead to allowing the importation of cheaper meds from Canada.

    Some pharma jobs and big executive pharma compensation in New Jersey are more important than alleviating an unnecessary financial hardship on the sick and the old I guess. "Regulatory concerns" my arse.

    Best keep an eye on the "rising star" and make sure he's worth a rise.  

    ... what actually happened here, and not make unwarranted assumptions about someone's motive based upon someone else's limited knowledge of legislative processes in the U.S. Senate, which can be incredibly arcane and convoluted.

    I'm a trained parliamentarian, and the stuff they sometimes pull off there never ceases to amaze me. So, it's not at all surprising that you don't really see what's going on here in the Senate -- and why should you, really? It's not your job. Unfortunately, confusing the public like this only adds to everyone's skepticism.

    Anyway, Sen. Cory Booker and the other Democrats did NOT oppose a measure allowing for the importation of cheaper meds from Canada. What they voted against was an amendment to Title III of Senate Concurrent Amendment 3, which would have given Senate Health Committee Chair Mike Enzi (R-WY) the discretion to add a deficit-neutral reserve fund "relating" to the lowering of prescription drug prices through the importation of pharmaceuticals from Canada, provided that such funding did not add the federal deficit for the next ten fiscal years.

    It was a bullshit "poison pill" amendment with no funding, which had it passed would've been attached to the budget reconciliation bill that has been crafted by Senate Republicans to repeal Obamacare. Republicans were never going to allow such an amendment to pass as a rider.

    Just for starters, there is no way that you can implement such a fund without inflating the federal deficit, so its alleged purpose was in fact moot. Rather, its intended effect was to get GOP members of the committee on the public record as having voted "against" the lowering of prescription drug costs, even though as I said, no monies were included to fund the measure.

    Thus this amendment would never have actually accomplished what people on the outside like you thought it would, and it constituted cheap sentiment and meaningless symbolism. Of course Chair Enzi voted against it, since he never had any intention of setting up any such reserve fund in the first place, while Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) voted for it because it symbolizes the sort of shallow populism to which he gravitates, as a moth does to a fluorescent bug lamp.

    Please don't pay undue attention to the opinions of those persons who can't identify congressional reindeer games like this one. Trust me, this amendment offered by Sens. Klobuchar and Sanders was all kabuki. In that regard, Sen. Booker's vote is entirely consistent with someone who is in full-throated opposition to the budget reconciliation bill to repeal Obamacare. Why vote in favor of amending a bill you're going to vote against anyway?

    Aloha.

    Parent

    sorry Donald (none / 0) (#160)
    by linea on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 10:51:44 PM EST
    i politely recind my 5-stars for your convincing post after reading his wiki entry.  

    Parent
    Booker (none / 0) (#155)
    by TrevorBolder on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 09:55:01 PM EST
    is a phony and publicity hound, perhaps better then Chuckie Schumer.
    His famous Pampers run during the blizzard says it all.
    So Booker and Andy Cuomo are in for the 2020 presidential race.
    I guess they see a opportunity, but hopefully the Democrats can do better

    Parent
    on booker (none / 0) (#158)
    by linea on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 10:20:26 PM EST
    wiki states he is "a moderate,[118] and a neoliberal.[119]" and while he "supports abortion rights, affirmative action, and same-sex marriage," he also supported "the Patriot Act."

    wiki also states:

    On drug costs, Booker was among 13 Democrats who voted with 39 Republicans on January 11, 2017 [135]against a congressional budget amendment that would have allowed importation of prescription drugs from Canada, where many drugs (including those produced in the US) are more affordable than in the United States itself.[136] Had the amendment passed, it was likely to have significantly lowered drug prices in the United States.[137] At the time of the vote, Booker had received hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical industry. [138][139]

    i would not be inclined to support booker based on this information.


    Parent

    The next Obama (none / 0) (#159)
    by TrevorBolder on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 10:31:33 PM EST
    http://tinyurl.com/h85oodo

    Barbara Byers is one of them. Remember that emergency diaper delivery? That was her.

    "He did come and bring me Pampers," Byers told me recently on Highland Avenue. Back in 2010, her brother had tweeted at Booker three days after a massive snowstorm that Byers could not get out and was running out of diapers. Booker, as he was fond of saying on his Twitter feed, was "on it."

    Byers laughed at the memory and thinks everyone missed the point: Booker, she said, focused on the individual heroics because the larger task of managing city services eluded him.

    "The only reason he brought me Pampers was that it had been three days and our street hadn't been plowed," she said. "I have five kids and, trust me, I don't just run out of Pampers. All we wanted was for him to plow our streets. It's about knowing how to manage a city."



    Parent
    So two new (none / 0) (#8)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 03:46:01 PM EST
    polls come out today with Trump's approval rating 37 in the Q poll and 39 in Pew. Those are the numbers that George W. Bush left office with. I don't know whether to laugh or cry at the GOP's embrace of this cretin.

    I better idea would be to stop trusting the polls (none / 0) (#21)
    by McBain on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 06:38:35 PM EST
     

    Parent
    Good luck with that (5.00 / 2) (#22)
    by Yman on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 07:35:42 PM EST
    I prefer reality to sticking my head in the sand and pretending polls have no meaning.

    Parent
    Certainly (none / 0) (#23)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 07:50:47 PM EST
    they're not perfect but do you have a better gauge of public sentiment other than my friend Otis and all his friends just love Trump?

    Parent
    He IS right (5.00 / 2) (#24)
    by Yman on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 08:09:10 PM EST
    The national polls had Hillary up over Trump by 3.2 percent, when in reality, she only beat him by 2.1%, so they were "off" by a whopping 1.1%.

    Maybe his theory is that Trump's polls are wrong by 12-14% and a majority actually approve of him.

    Parent

    There isn't a quick and easy way (none / 0) (#29)
    by McBain on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 09:03:05 PM EST
    you have to do a lot of work.  If you want to look at polls you have to also look at how they sample and understand the margin of error. Be skeptical when you hear words like "scientific" and "consensus".  

       

    Parent

    Well (none / 0) (#36)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 09:32:19 PM EST
    like I said they are not perfect. However the fact that Trump is the most disliked president elect in polling history is not rocket science. I mean the guy couldn't even win the popular vote. He started out at 45% so it's not inconceivable with all the stuff about him being a stooge of Putin that he could be below 40% in approval. And then that's even before you get started on his 180 on Medicare and Social Security.

    Parent
    John Quincy Adams lost the popular (none / 0) (#40)
    by McBain on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 09:47:25 PM EST
    vote by 10% in 1824. He also lost the electoral vote but somehow won the presidency.  Are you sure he wasn't more disliked?

     

    Parent

    ... including Maine, Vermont, New York, Georgia, South Carolina and Louisiana, did not provide for the casting of a ballot for president by their white male citizens, but instead delegated the responsibility for choosing members of the Electoral College to their state legislatures. Thus, no popular vote for president was held at all in those states.

    Further, states such as New Hampshire, Illinois, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama had a fair number of counties where citizens were not allowed to vote for president, for the same reason. Local political officials instead chose the electors from those districts. So, electoral results from those states in 1824 were partial and incomplete at best.

    (I would further argue that had citizens in all these various states and locales been accorded the right to cast a presidential vote, Andrew Jackson would have likely won the 1824 election outright.)

    Your dubious choice of the 1824 presidential election is not at all analogous to what just happened in Nov. 2016, for the simple fact that U.S. electoral rights and processes have changed significantly over the course of the last 193 years.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Sounds like Q. Adams was the least (1.00 / 1) (#47)
    by McBain on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 11:17:54 PM EST
    popular president elect of all time.  

    It's hard to tell how our current country really feels about Trump. The main stream media certainty isn't any help.    

    Parent

    It's not hard at all (none / 0) (#65)
    by Yman on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 09:25:51 AM EST
    You ask people.   It's called a poll.  You just don't like the answer.

    Parent
    Note (none / 0) (#50)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 06:58:51 AM EST
    I said "polling history".

    Parent
    like I said they are not perfect. - heh (none / 0) (#49)
    by jimakaPPJ on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 06:57:15 AM EST
    Respondents were selected from YouGov's opt-in Internet panel using
    sample matching. A random sample (stratified by age, gender,
    race, education, and region) was selected from the 2014 American
    Community Study. Voter registration was imputed from the November
    2014 Current Population Survey Registration and Voting Supplement.
    Weighting The sample was weighted based on age, gender, race, education,
    and 2016 Presidential vote. The weights range from 0.24 to 3.98, with
    a mean of one and a standard deviation of 0.7


    Parent
    These (none / 0) (#52)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 06:59:56 AM EST
    are not You Gov polls. The worst numbers for Trump come from the GOP's beloved Q poll.

    Parent
    GA6 What are those polls??? (none / 0) (#51)
    by jimakaPPJ on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 06:59:31 AM EST
    You do know how to link, don't you??

    Parent
    The q poll (none / 0) (#53)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 07:02:00 AM EST
    link is here

    The Pew Poll you can look up yourself.

    Parent

    No, I am not (none / 0) (#54)
    by jimakaPPJ on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 07:07:47 AM EST
    If you wont provide a link then, based on your history as a total partisan Democrat suffering from TBS then I'm not gonna waste my time doing your job.

    Put up or be disbelieved.

    Parent

    I put (none / 0) (#55)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 07:27:41 AM EST
    up a link to the Q poll but you won't even click on that apparently. I'm not going to play your little game of Calvin ball.

    Parent
    GA, you referenced two polls (none / 0) (#56)
    by jimakaPPJ on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 07:39:23 AM EST
    Linking here is real easy. The poll may or may not show what you claim but it isn't my job to prove what you claim.

    Now I'm done with this subject.

    Parent

    Takes 2 seconds (none / 0) (#67)
    by Yman on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 09:30:27 AM EST
    If you guys start... (5.00 / 2) (#69)
    by kdog on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 10:47:50 AM EST
    that Survey Monkey sh*t again I'm going home.

    Parent
    I was thinking the exact same thing... (none / 0) (#71)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 12:12:07 PM EST
    A note to linea (none / 0) (#11)
    by BTAL on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 04:02:01 PM EST
    You made the following comment in the previous open thread that filled before I could reply.

    citizens (none / 0) (#199)
    by linea on Sun Jan 08, 2017 at 03:11:31 PM EST
    are not divided into realestate property owning "class" clitzens and the lessor "class" of non-realestate owning citizens. by the way, rents in seattle are some of the highest in the country.

    i assume your anti-tax screed is part of some farcical Libertarian Utopianist worldview.

    "class"es of individuals are commonly used as in a Class Action Suit.  It is not a derogatory term.  In this case, yes property owners being taxed are a "class" and non-property owners are another "class".  The first are being taxed and the latter are being given free money for political purposes.  You've stated you are a Seattle resident.

    The point of the post & discussion is the constitutionality of taxing one class and redistributing their monies to another class to fund the latter's political speech.  

    with respect (none / 0) (#27)
    by linea on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 08:41:54 PM EST
    owning property does not make you a class.

    i'll try to explain:

    if you tax beer and wine at 10% but whiskey and spirits at 20% to fund school improvements, you are not descriminating against the "whiskey class." it's not a class.

    Parent

    But for legal purposes, BTAL is correct. (5.00 / 3) (#44)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 10:03:43 PM EST
    "Class" in the instance is a legal term referring to a specific sub-group, in this case property owners, which might otherwise not be a recognized demographic.

    That said, you pretty much described why his argument about a potential misuse of property tax revenues to fund Seattle's Democracy Voucher program is not likely to get any real traction, given that most municipalities have long funded various undertakings through just such a funding mechanism.

    Were that to ever be upheld legally, one might then well claim that using property tax revenues to fund the local school district likewise constitutes an illegal taking from property owners. I'm afraid that only a federal court judge who's an ideological extremist that's hellbent on throwing sand into the gears of municipal tax collections is ever going to agree with that.  

    In my opinion, it's a libertarian philosophical position about taxation and the individual that's being taken to a rather absurd level. The "Democracy Voucher" program will likely be proved an ineffectual idea, but potential deprivation of property owners is not a valid reason why it should be discarded.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    So what's the over/under (none / 0) (#12)
    by smott on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 04:05:20 PM EST
    On the participants the first nuclear exchange?

    Paki-India? Israel-Iran?
    China....?
    US....vs whoever insulted Trump on Twitter?

    I'm guessing some small exchange will escalate. Trump will have not clue One how to deal.

    The only hope I have is that he has massively pissed off the IC.

    If there's anybody who can control him, damage him, it's the CIA. They're already leaking. Expect more of that.

    Good question (none / 0) (#72)
    by ruffian on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 03:26:08 PM EST
    Yes, it will be someone testing the waters. I honestly don't think it will be Trump vs anyone. If nothing else, he does not like to destroy property, at least not until he has stripped it bare of all value.

    Parent
    More coming out of the (none / 0) (#15)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 05:04:36 PM EST
    What's truly nuts (5.00 / 2) (#18)
    by smott on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 05:49:00 PM EST
    Is that Comey had all this info prior to the elections, Trump apparently compromised by a hostile foreign govt.

    But it was more important that he tell us all about Huma's laptop.

    Parent

    Oh, not just Comey. (5.00 / 2) (#20)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 06:31:42 PM EST
    how many of those cretinous agents in NY had the information too and kept their mouths shut about it but were obsessed with Huma's laptop? There's honestly no telling how far some of this could reach.

    Comey knew he was helping Putin and just did not freaking care. CDS apparently is a powerful addiction for him and clouds all rational thought.

    Parent

    Dylan Roof sentenced to death. (none / 0) (#19)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Tue Jan 10, 2017 at 05:55:14 PM EST


    south carolina death row (none / 0) (#86)
    by linea on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 07:46:00 PM EST
    2 exoneration(s) match your current filters:

    Michael Linder / SC / White / Convicted 1979 / Exonerated 1981 / Acquitted

    Warren Manning / SC / Black / Convicted 1989 / Exonerated 1999 / Acquitted


    Parent

    I have no idea what your point is. (none / 0) (#107)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Jan 12, 2017 at 11:45:26 AM EST
    Foreign Government found (none / 0) (#81)
    by TrevorBolder on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 06:04:41 PM EST
    To assist campaign in the last election!!

    No, not Russia!!

    http://tinyurl.com/jqcezpl   Politico

    Donald Trump wasn't the only presidential candidate whose campaign was boosted by officials of a former Soviet bloc country.

    Ukrainian government officials tried to help Hillary Clinton and undermine Trump by publicly questioning his fitness for office. They also disseminated documents implicating a top Trump aide in corruption and suggested they were investigating the matter, only to back away after the election. And they helped Clinton's allies research damaging information on Trump and his advisers, a Politico investigation found.



    i found this! (none / 0) (#85)
    by linea on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 07:35:02 PM EST
    SEPTEMBER 27, 2012
    www.csmonitor.com

    What Netanyahu's meddling in US election means for Obama, Romney, and diplomacy

    WASHINGTON -- Some observers claim that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to tip the scales against President Obama in the elections this November... The realization that Mr. Netanyahu may be meddling in the American presidential elections could complicate the foreign policy debate on the campaign trail and have repercussions for future diplomacy between the United States and Israel.



    Parent
    Gasp! (none / 0) (#101)
    by Yman on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 10:06:00 PM EST
    OMG!  Who did the Ukraine hack!!!

    (pfffttt...)

    Parent

    Hmm (none / 0) (#105)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Jan 12, 2017 at 06:30:58 AM EST
    if they were helping find information on Trump then that dossier might be accurate.

    However this story makes me laugh. It sounds like a story shopped out of desperation from Trump and Putin and the GOP.

    And the Ukraine is a country we support not an enemy like Russia is. Ukraine attempting to help with oppo research would be no different than the British doing it.

    Parent

    Maureen Dowd and Peter Thiel (none / 0) (#94)
    by TrevorBolder on Wed Jan 11, 2017 at 09:01:21 PM EST
    http://tinyurl.com/zwc3h5g

    Nice article giving some insight as to what makes Thiel tick

    Peter Thiel.. (5.00 / 1) (#129)
    by jondee on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 08:03:20 AM EST
    yes, the Bolsheviks had their dictatorship of the proletariat, ISIS has their caliphate, and uber-libertarians have their self-regulating markets.

    There's few things worse than a filthy rich ideologue with no imagination and an Asperger-like sense of detachment from the community and the biosphere.

    Parent

    an interesting article (if long) (none / 0) (#153)
    by linea on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 08:26:40 PM EST
    about the Hulk Hogan - Gawker lawsuit:

    "It basically stands for the narrow proposition that you should not publish a sex tape," Mr. Thiel says

    the article meanders but does give Thiel's thoughts on various topics if one is interested. not being familiar with him, i had to wiki his name.

    Parent

    DOJ'so IG to investigate FBI (none / 0) (#108)
    by Yman on Thu Jan 12, 2017 at 01:49:16 PM EST
    ... and how it (mis)handled the Clinton email "investigation".

    Donald's not gonna like this ...

    it befuddles me why (none / 0) (#111)
    by linea on Thu Jan 12, 2017 at 07:21:57 PM EST
    people arent more outraged over this. i suppose it's more fun for TL'ers to run riot over the russians and spurious trump gossip.

    Critics of Comey's decisions also said he could be in violation of the Hatch Act, a 1939 law that bars government employees from interfering with U.S. elections.

    Parent

    I often (5.00 / 1) (#116)
    by FlJoe on Thu Jan 12, 2017 at 08:08:40 PM EST
    wonder that myself, IMO Comey's actions threw the election to Trump. I for one will remain eternally outraged. Maybe it is more fun to talk about the Russians, they are a traditional enemy, it's harder to stomach the knife in the back from the supposed good guys.

    Besides, the trolls have no love lost for Comey anyway so the angry posts about Comey that have and continue to pop up generate little argumentative traffic.

    Parent

    What? (none / 0) (#112)
    by TrevorBolder on Thu Jan 12, 2017 at 07:34:35 PM EST
    The part about Podesta's DOJ buddy sending him e ,mails regarding the case?

    Or letting the FBI official manage the case after his wife got $1 million in campaign donations to run for office in Virginia as a Democrat?

    nah, all water under the bridge now, too much real stuff on the policy plate coming back

    Parent

    there was no "case" (none / 0) (#114)
    by mm on Thu Jan 12, 2017 at 07:55:10 PM EST
    The security referral could have been and should have been handled in less than a week.

    Parent
    No idea what wingnut, Podesta CT ... (none / 0) (#117)
    by Yman on Thu Jan 12, 2017 at 08:25:00 PM EST
    ... you're pushing now.  You'll need to link to something for a change.  I know the smear against McCabe has already been debunked many times, who always forget to mention that McCabe had no involvement in the investigation until months after his wife's election was completed.

    But it's good to know the idea of an investigation bothers you guys.

    Parent

    That's why it's so (none / 0) (#119)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Jan 12, 2017 at 08:27:46 PM EST
    hysterical to hear him whine about "fake news" because he's been shopping a ton of it on this blog the entire time he has been here.

    Maybe he is on Putin's payroll.

    Parent

    It is (none / 0) (#123)
    by TrevorBolder on Thu Jan 12, 2017 at 08:47:38 PM EST
    Washington Post

    The investigation will be wide-ranging, encompassing Comey's various letters and public statements on the matter and whether FBI or other Justice Department employees leaked nonpublic information, according to Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz.

    And he said he would also probe whether Peter Kadzik, the Justice Department's assistant attorney general for legislative affairs, "improperly disclosed non-public information to the Clinton campaign and/or should have been recused from participating in certain matters." Kadzik used to be the lawyer for Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, and WikiLeaks released hacked emails showing communications between the two men about the State Department's review of Clinton emails for Freedom of Information Act purposes.

    In an interview, Kadzik, who said he was speaking in his personal capacity, called the inspector general's investigation "disheartening." He noted that the information he gave Podesta about a hearing and a court document already was public and that it came before the FBI opened its criminal investigation.

    Of whether he should have recused himself from any involvement in that criminal probe, Kadzik said, "It's not as if I had any decision-making authority or role in the criminal investigation."

    Kadzik declined to say whether he would cooperate with the inspector general's probe.



    Parent
    Excellent! (none / 0) (#124)
    by Yman on Thu Jan 12, 2017 at 09:50:45 PM EST
    So when you said "Podesta's DOJ buddy sending him e mails regarding the case", you have no evidence that Kadzik discussed anything that wasn't public knowledge and certainly weren't suggesting he did.

    Plus, the McCabe smear is gone.

    Progress.

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    Gone? (none / 0) (#125)
    by TrevorBolder on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 05:40:24 AM EST
    Isn't the Inspector General looking into both?

    That doesn't seem gone to me

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    Gone from your selective list ... (none / 0) (#127)
    by Yman on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 07:46:55 AM EST
    ... if evidence-free smears.  But I'd be more than happy to place a wager that neither the McCabe nor Kudziak accusations go anywhere - just like the Clinton email  fake scandal.   Any amount you want.

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    Never fear (none / 0) (#118)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Jan 12, 2017 at 08:25:43 PM EST
    you golden shower hero will shut it down. He'll probably have congress fire the IG.

    Even though Comey is likely in violation of the Hatch Act. However all this is going to come back in spades on Comey. He's made a great case against ever trusting the FBI.

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    Ahhhh ... found it (none / 0) (#121)
    by Yman on Thu Jan 12, 2017 at 08:41:50 PM EST
    Forgot the wingers were all upset that one of Podesta's friends gave him such sensitive, inside information - telling him about a HJC hearing that was public information and even posted on the House.gov website.

    Heh.

    No wonder you kept it vague and provided no links.

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    WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (none / 0) (#113)
    by TrevorBolder on Thu Jan 12, 2017 at 07:49:47 PM EST
    London (AFP) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will agree to be extradited to the United States if President Barack Obama grants clemency to the former US soldier Chelsea Manning, jailed for leaking documents, the company said on Thursday.

    "If Obama grants Manning clemency Assange will agree to US extradition despite clear unconstitutionality of DoJ (US Department of Justice) case," WikiLeaks wrote on Twitter.



    seems (none / 0) (#115)
    by linea on Thu Jan 12, 2017 at 07:58:35 PM EST
    like a disengenuous offer.

    to me.

    __________________________________
    not candid or sincere, typically by pretending that one knows less about something than one really does.

    Parent

    Well (none / 0) (#122)
    by TrevorBolder on Thu Jan 12, 2017 at 08:41:57 PM EST
    They have 7 days to workout the details

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    That would be outstanding... (none / 0) (#128)
    by kdog on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 07:57:50 AM EST
    if more dangerous to Assange's life and liberty than exile limbo at the embassy.

    I saw an article or two reporting Obama was considering it regardless...that would be a lovely going away present.  Throw in a Snowden pardon and we'll be really cookin'.

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    I wouldn't (none / 0) (#131)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 08:33:40 AM EST
    trust Assange to hold up his end of the bargain though.

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    That's fine... (none / 0) (#135)
    by kdog on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 11:09:25 AM EST
    as long as Chelsea is released, I got no problem with Assange welching.  

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    I do (none / 0) (#138)
    by Militarytracy on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 02:27:08 PM EST
    But I don't believe Obama truly considers this, not at all.

    Is Assange only our problem? NOPE

    Let the world and all he has dealt it deal with Assange. Let it all come around and go around. Narcissists demand that they get to live without boundaries and violate everyone's.

    I'm happy with Assange living within the confines of that embassy forever.

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    Chelsea Manning out in 5 months (none / 0) (#169)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Jan 17, 2017 at 03:33:05 PM EST
    President Obama doesn't seem to give a $hit about what Assange does one way or the other.

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    Comey hearing (none / 0) (#141)
    by Yman on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 03:20:39 PM EST
    What the heck happened in the last 15 minutes???

    I wonder if/when we'll get more information.

    Probably the fact (none / 0) (#144)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 03:50:13 PM EST
    that Comey wouldn't announce that they had been investigating Trump for his ties to Putin but would announce come email BS.

    Parent
    It (5.00 / 1) (#145)
    by FlJoe on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 04:56:48 PM EST
    seems that information has been out there for a while, in public testimony several days ago he drew some ire
    Testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Comey said he could not comment publicly on the possibility of open investigations -- a comment that raised some eyebrows among Democrats and led to a biting response from Sen. Angus King (I-Maine): "The irony of your making that statement here, I cannot avoid, but I'll move on."
    The Democrats should have been steamed over this before they went in, Comey's malfeasance and hypocrisy has been litigated for months.  

    It's got to be more then that, something new, given that this was a briefing not a hearing(no grilling allowed) it has to do with what he knew and when he knew it.

    "Some of the things that were revealed in this classified briefing - my confidence has been shook."

    My guess it is something very damning for Trump(at least optically) and Comey knew it while he was hounding Hillary over a hill of beans.

    Parent
    From our "Radio Velveeta" file: (none / 0) (#143)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 03:46:38 PM EST
    You know that your public approval rating is cratering, when even Marie Osmond and Paul Anka decline to perform at your inauguration celebration.

    Both entertainers were compelled to say so publicly, after someone apparently leaked rumors otherwise.

    Gee, I wonder who would ever do such a thing?
    ;-D

    R Kelly... (none / 0) (#146)
    by kdog on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 05:20:35 PM EST
    also has issued a formal decline...speaking of leaks.

    So beyond surreal now there's no word for it, in any language.

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    Things (none / 0) (#147)
    by FlJoe on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 05:31:56 PM EST
    seem to be spinning out of control on every level. Never in my life have I seen so much compressed political turmoil.

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    Yes (none / 0) (#151)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 06:41:45 PM EST
    it so bad that one of my gay friends said he would consider Pence. Although I don't think he was thinking about Pence having the Russian problem too.

    Never in my life have I ever seen such a disaster. A peotus that defends a foreign dictator over everybody else. Putin sure knew what he was doing by helping Trump that's for sure.

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    Looks like he's got... (none / 0) (#149)
    by desertswine on Fri Jan 13, 2017 at 05:35:57 PM EST
    Toby Keith, 3 doors down, and Lee Greenwood, among practically nobody else.

    Country music star Toby Keith, rock band 3 Doors Down and patriotic staple Lee Greenwood join a roster that includes "America's Got Talent" runner-up Jackie Evancho, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Bruce Springsteen cover band the B Street Band and the Radio City Rockettes.


    Parent