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Friday Open Thread

By Jeralyn, Section Blog Related
Posted on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 01:28:09 PM EST
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I'm sure there's news to discuss today. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

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    Friday Open Thread | 200 comments (200 topical)
    Interesting (5.00 / 1) (#13)
    by FlJoe on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 03:50:44 PM EST
    case here
    Newly released police files expose significant holes in the investigation into the death of Vladimir Putin's media czar two years ago in Washington, DC, casting doubt on the official finding of how he died.

    After Mikhail Lesin's corpse was found in a Dupont Circle hotel room on the morning of Nov. 5, 2015, the coroner determined that he had died from blunt force injuries to the head, and had also sustained blunt force injuries to his neck, torso, upper extremities, and lower extremities. A federal prosecutor closed the case last year, announcing that Lesin died alone in his room due to a series of drunken falls "after days of excessive consumption of alcohol."
    Brendan Dassey overturned conviction gets (5.00 / 1) (#14)
    by McBain on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 04:26:31 PM EST
    Overturned
    A federal appeals court in Chicago narrowly overturned a ruling Friday that could have freed a Wisconsin inmate featured in the "Making a Murderer" series from prison, though one dissenting judge called the case "a profound miscarriage of justice."...

    "His confession was not voluntary and his conviction should not stand, and yet an impaired teenager has been sentenced to life in prison," she wrote in her dissent. "I view this as a profound miscarriage of justice."

    Based on what I saw in the Netflix documentary Making A Murderer.... if that's not a a coerced or tricked confession, I don't know what is. Maybe the Supreme Court will finally do the right thing and set this kid free or at least give him a new trial.  

    Yeah, you would go (5.00 / 3) (#65)
    by Towanda on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 11:56:18 PM EST
    with a biased, semifictional, sensationalist flick -- it cannot be dignified by te trrm dicumentary -- over the evidence.

    I have said this before: I live close to the site of the murder. I followed all of the extensive coverage for years. You can review it, too, as it is online.  Yes, the locals screwed up a lot -- but this verdict now is no longer local, or did you miss that? This decision is by out-of-state federal judges. And from what I read then and since, extensively, they got it right today.


    Parent

    It's clear from the footage (3.50 / 2) (#86)
    by McBain on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 10:46:58 AM EST
    this kid didn't know what he was doing when he confessed.  He clearly wasn't smart enough or educated enough to understand the consequences. His lawyer was awful.  Throw out the confession and start over.

    You say you followed the case but you didn't provide any information to support the ridiculous interrogation techniques used against Dassey.  Are you confusing Dassey with Avery?

    Parent

    No, we in Wisconsin (5.00 / 1) (#90)
    by Towanda on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 11:47:21 AM EST
    know the difference between Avery and Dassey -- and all of their unfortunate kin.

    For better information on the case, as I have previously provided, see the extensive collection of documents, coverage, etc., at jsonline.com.  

    You also could search, easily, for solid critiques of the bias of the film.  But, being McBain, you won't. Based on watching television, you are smarter than the federal judges.  That sounds a lot like your large irange lout in the White House.

    Parent

    You still haven't addressed (5.00 / 1) (#92)
    by McBain on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 12:04:02 PM EST
    the confession. Dassey didn't have the mental abilities to comprehend his situation.  

    Based on watching television, you are smarter than the federal judges.

    The recent decision was 4-3.  I disagree with four of those judges.  I don't know how smart they are. I agree with Judge Ilana Diamond Rovner who I quoted and linked to in my original post....
    "His confession was not voluntary and his conviction should not stand, and yet an impaired teenager has been sentenced to life in prison,..."

     

    Parent

    A tip: A confession is evidence (5.00 / 1) (#105)
    by Towanda on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 10:02:40 PM EST
    and I addressed the evidence.

    But yeah, I amend my previous statement to say that based on watching television, you think that you are smarter than four federal judges.

    Parent

    Kinda like the president, who thinks (5.00 / 3) (#107)
    by Anne on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 10:19:37 PM EST
    watching hours and hours of FoxNews makes him an authority on everything.

    Who knew it could be that easy?

    Parent

    That is some amendment! (5.00 / 1) (#112)
    by MKS on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 09:53:00 AM EST
    This seems really funny. It made me laugh out loud.....Hope that is how you intended it.

    Parent
    It would be nice if you could (none / 0) (#113)
    by McBain on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 11:15:30 AM EST
    at least summarize why you think Dassey's confession was legit.  I believe this is one of the more important issues our criminal justice system faces right now... just how far can law enforcement go in order to get someone to confess and what does it take to get a potentially false confession tossed?

    I looked at the website you mentioned... jsonline.com... and could only find vague arguments in favor of keeping the confession.  Since you have "followed extensive coverage for years" can you elaborate a bit?  

    you think that you are smarter than four federal judges.

    I don't know that.  I do know I'm smarter than Brendan Dassey.  His low IQ is one of the reasons I believe his confession was garbage.

    I understand documentaries like Making A Murderer leave certain details out in order to entertain or outrage viewers.  I believe  this link (plus the links to the right) show the entire Dassey confession in case anyone is interested.  Everyone should be.


    Parent

    oh my god! (none / 0) (#108)
    by linea on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 10:36:06 PM EST
    this is the first i have heard of this case but i absolutt agree with judge Ilana Rovner: "His confession was not voluntary and his conviction should not stand, and yet an impaired teenager has been sentenced to life in prison," she wrote in her dissent. "I view this as a profound miscarriage of justice."

    Ilana Kara Diamond Rovner is a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Rovner was the first woman appointed to the Seventh Circuit. Wikipedia



    Parent
    I saw this comment last night, and (5.00 / 1) (#115)
    by Anne on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 12:23:22 PM EST
    reading it again this afternoon, and I have the same reaction: I am shaking my head.  In puzzlement, in disbelief, in wonder - and not the good kind.

    So, just to be sure I have this straight, you had never heard of this case.  Ever.  And you now feel fully prepared to opine that the dissenting judge was right.  

    Either you are a world-class speed-reader/researcher (in which case, I'd surmise you missed a detail or twenty), or you are just climbing on a bandwagon for reasons that, were we to fully explore, would not likely reflect well on you.  Boredom, McBain-worship, what?

    Wait, don't answer that.  I don't think I could take one more comment with a definition or biography or a treatise on your feelings.

    Parent

    well... (none / 0) (#190)
    by linea on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 08:58:07 PM EST
    this is a DEFENSE blog.

    by Anne
    ... or you are just climbing on a bandwagon for reasons that, were we to fully explore, would not likely reflect well on you.  Boredom, McBain-worship, what?

    i am swayed by the writen legal opinion of Judge Ilana Rovner and her conclusion that, based on the totality of the circumstances, the confession was coerced and thus not voluntary. i read the legal opinions and researched Judge Ilana Rovner before posting on this topic.

    • In August 2016, federal magistrate William E. Duffin ruled that Dassey's confession had been coerced, overturned his conviction, and ordered him released the following month.
    • In June 2017, the Seventh Circuit upheld the magistrate's decision to overturn Dassey's conviction. Judge Ilana Rovner wrote the decision.
    • In December 2017, the full seven-member panel of the Seven Circuit voted to uphold Dassey's original conviction. The decision resulted from a split vote of 4 to 3, with the majority ruling that that police had properly obtained Dassey's confession.


    Parent
    I (5.00 / 2) (#75)
    by FlJoe on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 09:27:08 AM EST
    agree with with Charlie here This Erik Prince Transcript Is Unbelievable
    The day before Junior's appearance, a friendly member of Congress not unfamiliar with the shebeen gave me a heads-up. Wait until the transcript of Erik Prince's testimony is released, this friendly person said. You won't believe it. It was the considered opinion that Prince possibly was the most arrogant jackass ever to appear before a congressional committee.
    although the sheer arrogance of it was not that shocking to me.

    I read the transcript the other day(after eagerly awaiting it) and was totally gob-smacked by the sheer implausibility of it.

    Shorter Prince, he flew out into the middle of the Indian Ocean to chit chat with the Crown Prince of the UAE and his bros about the price of bauxite and other sundry stuff(for a measly hour) and BTW: There is some Russian oligarch who is dying to meet you, maybe you should hook up with him later at the bar....sounds like a blind date...or drug deal.

    There are also some very interesting bit players including Bannon, Scaramucci, unnamed sources in the IC and NYPD. Special guest appearance of Weiner's laptop and a cameo by Giuliani.

    This guy scares me more than most of these clowns, he is more of a pro and he has his own private army and intelligence agency.

     

    There is a lot of pressure (none / 0) (#78)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 09:39:30 AM EST
    To release the Christopher Steele transcript.  And Grassley has said he would.

    Should also be a good read.

    Parent

    I expected him to be an ass (none / 0) (#155)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 09:32:25 AM EST
    But not like this. Not a jail-able ass under a functional Congress.

    For me, the fact that his mercs were involved in Trump's first "raid" (the Yemen raid), and someone allowed them out with our most elite SEAL team was indicative to me of how deeply affiliated with the Trump administration Prince is.

    There is a renewed military secrecy too now that the left forced Bush to abandon, and Obama was one of the most military information transparent Presidents this country has ever had. I have zero doubts Prince hasn't coached our President in setting that institutional atmosphere up as well.

    Parent

    And I will not be one bit surprised (none / 0) (#156)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 09:40:59 AM EST
    If by the time Prince is done with the Trump administration and the Trump administration is done with Prince, he won't be considered a global war criminal who will have to spend the rest of his life trying to hide behind the robes of ME royalty.

    Good luck to psychopath Prince, condolences to his past and future victims and their families and nations.

    Hope to see you where you belong, before the Hague, Mr. Prince.

    Parent

    To everyone on this blog (5.00 / 1) (#116)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 12:33:40 PM EST
    Who I chastised for attacking Berners, speaking strongly against them, I am sorry. I was wrong. I couldn't have been more wrong.

    I spent two days in a room with them and the anti-Berners were 100% right. Everyone who called them pseudo Democrats was right, I was wrong, I was naive, I was an idiot, I'm sorry for ever suggesting anyone should play nice.

    This is very funny (none / 0) (#118)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 01:41:14 PM EST
    You poor thing.  Like to hear how and why.  Perhaps another forum.  

    Them on the left.....whatEVER we have on the right...makes one think it would be good to get used to the view from circling the toilet.

    Parent

    Oh you'll be hearing about it (none / 0) (#125)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 03:15:03 PM EST
    As soon as I have this tree up.

    Parent
    Now that's how to apologize. (none / 0) (#119)
    by oculus on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 01:42:23 PM EST


    Parent
    50 years ago today on December 10, 1967, ... (5.00 / 1) (#137)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 05:36:42 PM EST
    ... a private plane crashed into Lake Mendota, WI while on final approach Madison-Dane County Regional Airport, killing seven of the eight passengers aboard, including the critically acclaimed 26-year-old R&B singer Otis Redding.

    The day before, Redding had recorded the first and only take of his classic "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay." When it was released by Stax Records in its unfinished form several weeks later, it quickly proved to be the biggest hit in the artist's tragically abbreviated career, and would become the very first posthumous release by any artist to hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts.

    This has been today's "Make You Feel Old" moment.

    This is an incredible video (5.00 / 2) (#187)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 07:15:33 PM EST
    I was surfing with the tv on in BG mode and I heard the start of this and internally rolled my eyes then it went where I did not expect it to go.

    you really need to see this

    Yes, it is heartbreaking to see (5.00 / 1) (#193)
    by Towanda on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 10:38:53 PM EST
    this father be interviewed, but bless him for his guts in getting out there to oppose Roy Moore.

    (Did you also see photos of him with his sign, not visible on the video? Interesting about the Alabama accent that his spelling of "pervert" --
     the correct spelling, as is everything on his  sign -- differs from his pronunciation of the word.)

    Parent

    I want to just (none / 0) (#194)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Dec 12, 2017 at 07:12:11 AM EST
    Give the guy a hug.  And I am not a hugger.

    Parent
    RIP, Ed Lee (1952-2017). (5.00 / 1) (#201)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Dec 12, 2017 at 10:51:13 AM EST
    San Francisco's popular mayor, who was the first Asian-American to hold the post, and whose folksy and consensus-seeking style of leadership stood in sharp contrast to many of his more flashy and colorful predecessors, collapsed late last night of an apparent heart attack while grocery shopping with his wife Anita, and died several hours later at San Francisco General Hospital with family and friends by his side.

    An effective career city administrator, Lee reluctantly agreed to serve as mayor in late 2010 after Gavin Newsom was elected California's lieutenant governor, after the Board of Supervisors was unable to muster the six votes necessary to appoint anyone else. He self-deprecatingly referred to himself as the "accidental mayor," and initially said that he wasn't interested in running for the job in his own right.

    But he quickly proved so effective in an interim capacity that a public petition drive was launched in 2011 to convince him to change his mind and declare his own candidacy. Lee acceded to public pressure and agreed to run for mayor, but only after being convinced by former mayors Willie Brown and Dianne Feinstein that the groundswell of public support was indeed genuine. He was easily elected in November 2011 and then re-elected in 2015.

    Per the city charter, Board of Supervisors President London Breed immediately succeeds Lee as Acting Mayor, and will serve in that capacity until the full Board can convene to appoint a new mayor to finish out Lee's term, which expires in 2019.

    My condolences to Mayor Lee's family and the people of San Francisco, who are just learning this morning to the terrible news. Several members of the Board of Supervisors burst into tears as they first learned of Lee's death from media as they arrived to work.

    Mayor Ed Lee will be very dearly missed.

    Moore accuser admits to adding notes (1.00 / 1) (#9)
    by McBain on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 02:40:23 PM EST
    to the infamous alleged yearbook inscription.
    "He signed your yearbook?" ABC News' Tom Llamas' asked Nelson in an interview on "Good Morning America." "He did sign it" Nelson she responded.

    "And you made some notes underneath?" Llamas asked. "Yes," Nelson said, with Allred sitting next to her. "Good Morning America" did not ask -- and Nelson did not say -- when her notes were added.

    Allred says she will hold a press conference Friday to reveal more evidence backing up her client's claims, which have been fully denied by Moore.

    Here's a link to that article....

    Allred says she sought the opinion of a forensic document expert, Arthur Anthony, to analyze the signature. Allred provided reporters with the report provided by Anthony, with his assessment that the signature in the yearbook is Moore's. Included in the sheaf of papers she presented were examples of Moore signature from when he was a deputy district attorney decades ago.

    Another crazy Allred press conference.  Why wasn't the "added notes" mentioned before?  

    Because it doesn't matter (5.00 / 2) (#11)
    by vicndabx on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 03:15:27 PM EST
    Why wasn't the "added notes" mentioned before?
     
    Politifact Link
    Yet, the Gateway Pundit wrote that "Nelson admitting that she added to Moore's alleged signature is the final nail in the coffin," the story reads. "Allred's accuser is nothing but a fame-seeking fraud."

    Fox News made a similar misstatement in their headline and story about the ABC report, which they later walked back.

    "Roy Moore accuser admits she forged part of yearbook inscription attributed to Alabama Senate candidate," the original Fox News headline read. It was later edited to say she wrote, rather than forged, part of the inscription. The story did not include a clarification or correction when we last looked at it.

    The original Fox News story also said Nelson "wrote part of the disputed note" without specifying what she wrote, whereas the edited version clarified that "she added the date and place in the inscription."

    Our ruling
    The Gateway Pundit's headline reads "WE CALLED IT! Gloria Allred Accuser *ADMITS* She Tampered With Roy Moore's Yearbook `Signature' (VIDEO)."

    But Nelson does not claim she tampered with Moore's actual signature. She said she added a time and location below the signature. Nelson still attributes the note and signature to Moore.

    We rate the statement Pants on Fire.



    Parent
    So someone made a bogus accusation (5.00 / 3) (#12)
    by Repack Rider on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 03:40:47 PM EST
    Why did you dignify this stupidity by repeating it?

    People might start thinking you believe this cr@p.

    Parent

    Handwriting expert (5.00 / 6) (#85)
    by Repack Rider on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 10:31:07 AM EST
    ...confirms that McBain does not know anything, and apparently does not even suspect much.

    The handwriting in the signature and the sentiment is Moore's The added notes were not examined, since no one had claimed that Moore wrote them.

    Who is this guy and why does he think he knows more than McBain does about handwriting?  Why does he think that examining the actual documents and a career of examining such documents gives him an edge on McBain. McBain don't need to see no stinking document to know what's in them

    Anthony, the handwriting expert, has worked for the FBI and is a certified forensic handwriting and document examiner qualified to testify as an expert in federal and state court, according to Allred.

    American Board of Forensic Document Examiners.

    The American Society of Questioned Document Examiners

    SOUTHEASTERN ASSOCIATION OF FORENSIC DOCUMENT EXAMINERS

    ...

    Georgia:
    Arthur T. Anthony
    P.O. Box 620420
    Atlanta, Georgia 30362



    Parent
    Here's the original press conference (2.00 / 1) (#56)
    by McBain on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 09:05:43 PM EST
    Link
    At around the 10 minute mark Nelson states what Moore wrote in her yearbook. ..

    "Christmas 1977, Love Roy Moore, Old Hickory House... And he signed it Roy Moore DA"

    This article says...

    Allred said Friday that Moore did not write several notes at the end of the inscription. That text consists of the location, the date and the initials "D.A." after the signature that Nelson says is Moore's. Allred said those notes were added later by Nelson "to remind herself of who Roy Moore was and where and when Mr. Moore signed her yearbook."

    This is beginning to sound like slander.  

    Parent

    Don't worry (5.00 / 4) (#64)
    by Repack Rider on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 11:09:42 PM EST
    This is beginning to sound like slander.  

    I don't think they have a solid slander case against you.  For one thing, you have to know you are lying about someone (a non-public figure) for it to be slander, i.e. the George Castanza defense.

    But watch out for her brother.

    Parent

    You think so? (5.00 / 2) (#103)
    by Yman on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 09:24:01 PM EST
    This is beginning to sound like slander.

    Heh.

    Don't worry ... talk to a lawyer and they'll set you straight.  

    Parent

    There you go (none / 0) (#15)
    by MKS on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 04:26:32 PM EST
    So, does that create reasonable doubt in your mind?

    Another falsely accused white guy?  

    So, it is okay to vote for Moore?

    I think we know where you come out on this.

    Parent

    It doesn't look good MKS (none / 0) (#16)
    by McBain on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 04:39:58 PM EST
    Making a big deal about a yearbook inscription, holding a big, theatrical, crying woman press conference months ago but not disclosing part of it was written by the accuser until now?

    How is any of this in the best interest of Beverly Nelson?

    Parent

    For the record (5.00 / 1) (#20)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 05:43:15 PM EST
    The latest woman in the Moore case also has a "Roy" signature.  You don't have to be a handwriting expert to see they match exactly.

    Parent
    Bu-bu-but, Cap'n, suppose they got together? (none / 0) (#32)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 06:47:55 PM EST
    And not only that, suppose they got together with Hillary Clinton and she concocted the scheme and put them up to it? And suppose they got together at Hillary's house and Bill walked in, said "Hi, ladies" and dropped his drawers while Hillary fiendishly cackled at their discomfort? Or suppose they weren't discomforted at all, but were instead -- well, intrigued? Oh, that evil Hillary! After all, if she's can kill off half the Americans in Benghazi, why, she's capable of anything!

    ;-D

    Parent

    Good point (none / 0) (#33)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 06:49:53 PM EST


    Parent
    That's why Fox News should pay me the big bucks. (5.00 / 1) (#37)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 07:00:21 PM EST
    I can spin tales that are for more imaginative and entertaining, than can their best scriptwriters.

    Parent
    Take a position (none / 0) (#18)
    by MKS on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 04:42:54 PM EST
    You are now echoing those who are providing cover for Roy Moore.

    Do you believe the women or not?

    Parent

    He'llnever do it (5.00 / 2) (#19)
    by Yman on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 05:23:57 PM EST
    Smearing through innuendo, asking "questions" and pretending to "wait until all the facts are known" is the SOP.

    Parent
    McBain of our existence. (5.00 / 3) (#26)
    by Anne on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 06:28:38 PM EST
    The misogyny just rolls off of him in waves.

    Parent
    You want me to guess? (none / 0) (#25)
    by McBain on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 06:26:17 PM EST
    I've only followed this one particular accuser and I don't find her story credible.  In general I don't find accusations from years ago that pop up just before an election to be credible.  

    What's your take?  Can you back it up with something more convincing than a questionable yearbook inscription?

    Parent

    How about (5.00 / 3) (#27)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 06:28:46 PM EST
    Being banned from the mall for cruising underage girls?

    Parent
    I do find it credible (5.00 / 2) (#28)
    by MKS on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 06:38:52 PM EST
    The signature looks real.   Moore denied knowing her.  I believe the women.  Her story is consistent with much evidence and other accusers Moore pursued young teenagers.

    You clearly do not believe her. So you are with Trump and Moore.  Not a big surprise.  

    Parent

    I believe (5.00 / 1) (#30)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 06:43:55 PM EST
    The mother (who was Moore's age) from the custody hearing confirmed it, no?

    Parent
    I'm certainly not with you (1.00 / 1) (#38)
    by McBain on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 07:05:53 PM EST
    I don't know which parts of her story, if any, are true.  Her choice of legal representation didn't help.  

    I've seen too many cases of false allegations, witch  hunts, mob mentality to believe an accusation without strong supporting evidence.  Rumors are interesting but not worth ruining lives, careers over.

    From your other post...

    Setting the bar very high allows you to indulge your bias while asserting that you just want a fair trial (which does not really apply here.)

    Setting the bar high on last minute accusations is what everyone should do.  What's my bias?  

    Parent
    What is your bias? (5.00 / 1) (#41)
    by MKS on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 07:19:01 PM EST
    You think you are objective?  Really?

    Not worth my time any longer...

    Parent

    That's easy (5.00 / 1) (#46)
    by Yman on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 07:46:08 PM EST
    Male.

    Conservative.

    I don't know which parts of her story, if any, are true.  Her choice of legal representation didn't help.

    Perfect example.  Your choice of the word "know".  Literally no one except for Moore and his accusers "know" who's telling the truth.  What we do is make decisions based on the evidence as to which are more credible.  A single man who's offered inconsistent, self-serving stories - or SIX women with nothing to gain (and much to lose) whose versions are corroborated by 30 witnesses/sources.

    I've seen too many cases of false allegations, witch  hunts, mob mentality to believe an accusation without strong supporting evidence.  Rumors are interesting but not worth ruining lives, careers over.

    Huh.  If the number of cases of false accusations  is the standard, then I guess we should compare the number of true accusations.

    But I understand why you don't want to do that.

    Parent

    McBain is showing (5.00 / 3) (#79)
    by MKS on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 09:39:44 AM EST
    us how the process of rationalizing takes place for Trump supporters. Seize on anything to say it is all fake news. Just need the slenderist of reeds to cling to.  We all know this after conservatives rallied to Trump in the wake ofAccess Hollowood tapes.
    Heh, McBain, think the tape is phony like Trump says?

    Parent
    I thought this wasn't worth your time? (1.00 / 2) (#140)
    by McBain on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 06:06:17 PM EST
    I asked you what my bias was and you wimped out.   Now, you're back asking me questions?  Looks like you've joined the list of stalkers here with a weird obsession about me.  Best for everyone if you leave my name out of your posts and grow up.  

    Parent
    Site violator (none / 0) (#144)
    by MKS on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 08:08:35 PM EST
    Let's count the insults:

     1.  "wimped out."
     2.   "stalker"
     3.   "Weird obsession"
     4.   I need to "grow up."

    Who has the problem here?  You are following the site rules?  Don't think so.  

    To answer your question.  Your bias is obvious that an honest reply by you would admit it.

    Parent

    Bullseye! (none / 0) (#146)
    by MKS on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 08:21:31 PM EST
    My comment must have hit home to provoke your insult fest.

    Parent
    Money where your mouth...? (5.00 / 1) (#63)
    by Repack Rider on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 11:00:01 PM EST
    I've seen too many cases of false allegations, witch  hunts, mob mentality to believe an accusation without strong supporting evidence.

    Let's parse that statement.

    First, please identify one or two of the "too many" cases of false allegations, witch hunts and mob mentality that you draw your inference from.  I don't need "too many," how about one example of each?  Because you said you knew about them, but we don't, so help us out here.

    Now, since some allegations of sexual misconduct are undoubtedly true (Trump, Hastert, O'Reilly, etc.), what is the ratio of true to false accusations?  This is a very important factor in deciding whether the "average" accusation is likely to be true or false.  For example, if 90% of accusations are true, we should assume the victim is telling the truth.

    When dozens of people who know a guy say the same thing about him, that he preyed on teenage girls while in his 30s, it seems the height of bias to assume you know more than they do.

    And that is why your bias is certainly the strongest of any here, because you can maintain it in the face of any number of facts.

    Even a sentence of 20 years in a federal slam couldn't convince you that Slager might have an ethics problem.  That makes it clear that you will raise the bar of belief to just above the mountain of evidence, no matter how big the mountain.

    You probably thought OJ was railroaded.

    Parent

    Here you go Repack (1.00 / 1) (#87)
    by McBain on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 11:13:51 AM EST
    But I doubt you'll remember or consider any of this before your next round of insults....

    The first case of false allegations that caught my attention was the McMartin preschool trial.   There were other witch hunt related cases about sexual molestation but that one was epic.

    The West Memphis Three case was the first to educate me about false confessions and biased, phony trial experts.

    The Trials of Daryl Hunt made me think about how common false convictions might be.

    The coverage of the Duke Lacrosse was what made me a fan of Jeralyn.  She was one of the few rational voices during that debacle.

    Now, since some allegations of sexual misconduct are undoubtedly true (Trump, Hastert, O'Reilly, etc.),

    You don't know that.

    For example, if 90% of accusations are true, we should assume the victim is telling the truth.

    You can make blanket assumptions based on made up statistics if you want.  I'm going to judge each case individually.

    You probably thought OJ was railroaded.

    You and I have discussed OJ many times.  We didn't agree but at least you made a good case to support your opinion.

    Parent
    Wow. Just wow. (5.00 / 2) (#97)
    by Repack Rider on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 04:03:49 PM EST
    Me: Now, since some allegations of sexual misconduct are undoubtedly true (Trump, Hastert, O'Reilly, etc.),

    You don't know that.

    One guy paid out millions in damages.  Another went to prison.  The third bragged on tape about committing sexual assault.

    What would you consider evidence that they didn't, since there is plenty that they did?

    You and I have discussed OJ many times.  We didn't agree but at least you made a good case to support your opinion.

    I'm always up for that one. I even downloaded all the transcripts.  

    I can't remember, did you provide an explanation for how 175 pieces of physical evidence got where they were found without OJ killing two people? I know that OJ's own lawyers didn't bother with a real defense, and didn't even bother to explain the evidence. They counted on the "Stockholm syndrome" to get their client off.

    Do you have any idea why the defense didn't bother to make a case? They seemed pretty confident that the jury would ignore the evidence, and they were right. You don't seem to have a problem ignoring that evidence, so maybe you could explain it to me.

    Parent

    how about (none / 0) (#40)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 07:11:45 PM EST
    responding about the mall

    Parent
    Do you have a link? (none / 0) (#48)
    by McBain on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 08:03:47 PM EST
    or was that another rumor?

    Parent
    its a rumor (5.00 / 1) (#50)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 08:13:17 PM EST
    New Yorker

    This past weekend, I spoke or messaged with more than a dozen people--including a major political figure in the state--who told me that they had heard, over the years, that Moore had been banned from the mall because he repeatedly badgered teen-age girls. Some say that they heard this at the time, others in the years since. These people include five members of the local legal community, two cops who worked in the town, several people who hung out at the mall in the early eighties, and a number of former mall employees. (A request for comment from the Moore campaign was not answered.) Several of them asked that I leave their names out of this piece. The stories that they say they've heard for years have been swirling online in the days since the Post published its report. "Sources tell me Moore was actually banned from the Gadsden Mall and the YMCA for his inappropriate behavior of soliciting sex from young girls," the independent Alabama journalist Glynn Wilson wrote on his Web site on Sunday. (Wilson declined to divulge his sources.) Teresa Jones, a deputy district attorney for Etowah County in the early eighties, told CNN last week that "it was common knowledge that Roy dated high-school girls."

    just vague enough for right wing tools to "need more information"

    Parent

    You forgot the link Howdy (none / 0) (#53)
    by McBain on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 08:48:17 PM EST
    Here's a link to an article contradicting that rumor
    Boyle, who managed the center from 1981 to 1996 and plans to vote for Moore in next month's election, said he would have documented any such incident and does not believe the mall has the paperwork to prove any such ban took place.

    "We did have written reports and things. But to my knowledge, he was not banned from the mall," Boyle told WBRC in Birmingham, Ala.


    Perhaps he's biased and covering for Moore. Perhaps there wasn't a ban and the rumors are false.  I don't know and neither do you.

    Parent
    i did not forget the link (5.00 / 1) (#54)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 08:55:09 PM EST
    i told you it was from the new yorker and assumed even you could find it if you wanted.

    but i expected you to confirm what i said and you did.   thank you.

    Parent

    That doesnt say anything (5.00 / 1) (#76)
    by MKS on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 09:31:44 AM EST
    "There are no documents?" Of course not. There are all kinds of reasons there would be no documents.  You are just looking for an excuse.

    Parent
    Another "rumor" - heh. (none / 0) (#49)
    by Yman on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 08:11:02 PM EST
    You need to identify the first rumor before you can start "asking" if there's "another" rumor.

    Parent
    i agree with (none / 0) (#55)
    by linea on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 08:58:39 PM EST
    some points mcbain makes. those people opposed to the democratic party candidate (on the issue of abortion, for example) but hesitant to support a candidate accused of preying on young girls - might reevaluate whether to stay home or vote for moore. they may conclude - these are last-minute allegations, the incident is said to have happened forty years ago, and now they are hearing that parts of the incriminating evidence has been added or `forged' including the date. this may well allow people to give moore the benefit of the doubt on this issue.

    Parent
    of course you do (5.00 / 3) (#57)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 09:09:11 PM EST
    anyone stupid enough to use that excuse was going to vote for Moore anyway.

    Parent
    "Guess?" (5.00 / 1) (#29)
    by MKS on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 06:42:28 PM EST
    One indicia of bias is the insistence on a standard that is not realistic....raising the bar very high so nothing is ever proved.

    I assume in your daily life you make all kinds of judgments about people without a jury verdict, true?

    Setting the bar very high allows you to indulge your bias while asserting that you just want a fair trial (which does not really apply here.)

    Parent

    Only about (none / 0) (#31)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 06:44:46 PM EST
    Unarmed people shot by police.

    Parent
    "Unarmed people shot by police"? (none / 0) (#36)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 06:57:06 PM EST
    Oh, my! Who would ever do such a thing?

    Parent
    That video (5.00 / 3) (#44)
    by Chuck0 on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 07:40:06 PM EST
    is stomach churning.

    Parent
    Yes, it is. (5.00 / 1) (#152)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 05:22:11 AM EST
    The jury acquitted Officer Mitch Brailsford of murder and manslaughter charges this past Thursday, even after they saw this video. The judge only released it to the public after the jury returned the verdict.

    But jurors were not allowed to learn that Officer Brailsford had carved the phrase "You're f*cked!" into the stock of the automatic weapon he used to pump five successive shots into 26-year-old Daniel Shaver, who was on his knees in tears and pleading for his life in that hotel hallway, to no apparent avail.

    For his part, Brailsford's defense team stated the painfully obvious in arguing that he had been poorly trained as a law enforcement officer. Despite the acquittal, he has been fired by the Mesa, AZ police department for conduct which an agency spokesperson insisted as unrelated to this tragic incident.

    Daniel Shaver's widow and parents have since filed a wrongful death suit against Brailsford, the City of Mesa and Mesa PD. Odds are better than even that the civil jury hearing that case will be seeing both the damning video and that colorful phrase on the gun used to kill Shaver.

    NRA president Wayne LaPierre loves to contend ad nauseum that the only answer to a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. Well, on that fateful night last year at the La Quinta Inn in Mesa, AZ, the only bad guy with a gun was a power-tripping police officer named Mitch Brailsford, who was masquerading as a good guy with a badge.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    I've seen numerous (5.00 / 2) (#47)
    by Chuck0 on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 07:52:10 PM EST
    reports this evening authenticating Moore's signature. Pull your head out and open your eyes.

    Parent
    GOP in open (none / 0) (#1)
    by MKS on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 01:39:03 PM EST
    attempts now to discredit FBI and Mueller.  

    Hugh Hewitt and Jim Jordan calling for special prosecutor regarding the FBI agent fired by Muller for anti-Trump tweet.  That is evidence of bias cutting across everything, they say--Comey exonerating Hillary, the Intelligence Community's assessment that Russia interfered in the election, and the current Mueller investigation.

    They are totally nuts.  It does not matter if Mueller were to find tapes of Trump taking a direct bribe from Putin.

    They will deny, deny, deny the truth.  And make up their own facts.

     

    The political world is upside down... (5.00 / 2) (#2)
    by kdog on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 01:48:35 PM EST
    I remember when sh*tting on the FBI was our job!  

    Parent
    The FBI is more (none / 0) (#3)
    by MKS on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 01:54:12 PM EST
    directed to counter-intelligence it would seem.

    Hopefully, they are not wasting time and resources in anti-narcotic efforts. That is DEA now, I assume.

    Parent

    Or wasting time... (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by kdog on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 02:02:42 PM EST
    doing immoral and imo illegal Cointelpro work like they were in the 60's-70's.  

    Parent
    From (none / 0) (#5)
    by FlJoe on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 02:02:46 PM EST
    Jack-booted thugs of the deep state to saviors of Democracy, what a plot twist!

    Parent
    FYI (2.50 / 2) (#51)
    by linea on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 08:35:23 PM EST
    it's jackboot and jackbooted. without a hyphen. several people on this forum add a hyphen but that's wrong

    a jackboot is a type of boot commonly used by the military in the 1800s (e.g. the cavalry jackboot). a reference to the jackboot is often an allusion to totalitarianism or fascism as the Nazi SS uniforms included the jackboot.

    Parent

    Yay! More definitions! (5.00 / 1) (#60)
    by Yman on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 10:12:59 PM EST
    With a spelling lesson to "boot".

    FYI - For the uninformed, the discussion to federal agents as "jack-booted thugs"  is a reference to a famous NRA fundraising letter, including the hyphenated spelling.

    Parent

    Oh (5.00 / 3) (#66)
    by FlJoe on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 05:15:57 AM EST
    dear, I've fallen down the jack-rabbit hole.

    Parent
    sorry (none / 0) (#91)
    by linea on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 11:52:13 AM EST
    i couldn't help myself. the spurious hyphen was used by someone else in the previous open thread and i felt compelled to rescue the English language from barbarous abusers.

    Parent
    Much the same way that the English language needs (5.00 / 3) (#101)
    by Erehwon on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 07:58:29 PM EST
    protection from those who won't follow the rules of capitalization, right? ;-)

    Parent
    And don't get me started on apostrophes. (5.00 / 2) (#102)
    by Anne on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 09:10:53 PM EST
    I am constantly amazed how many people don't know the difference between plurals and possessives.

    Parent
    Or the difference between ... (5.00 / 1) (#149)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 02:20:09 AM EST
    Anne: "I am constantly amazed how many people don't know the difference between plurals and possessives."

    ... "its" and "it's." That's something which everyone should've learned by seventh grade English class. I've long since learned to not sweat the small stuff, but I still cringe a little every time I see either of them misused.

    ;-D

    Parent

    LoL !! (none / 0) (#104)
    by linea on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 09:56:41 PM EST


    Parent
    It is my "feeling" (5.00 / 4) (#106)
    by Peter G on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 10:08:21 PM EST
    that the "O" in LOL is capitalized when used to mean "Laughing Out Loud."  On the other hand, when used to mean "Lots of Luck," the O is not capitalized, that is, "LoL." Just sayin'. And "LoL" takes only a single exclamation point, Linea (or is that "linea"?). "LOL," on the other hand, can take multiple exclamation points, depending of course on how loud the laughter is. So, your comment is ambiguous. Or a grave affront to the English language. Not sure which.

    Parent
    oh my gawd! (5.00 / 2) (#109)
    by linea on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 10:57:59 PM EST
    this is sooo funny!

    my nom de plume is Linnéa actually. but i was drinking wine and cocked up when i registered at Talk Left.

    Parent

    Humor can be a difficult concept (none / 0) (#111)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 06:30:40 AM EST
    Particularly when it come to "laughing with" vs "laughing at"

    Parent
    No doubt (none / 0) (#95)
    by Yman on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 03:03:56 PM EST
    In much the same way some of us feel compelled to protect the use of logic/reason/facts from barbarous abuse.

    Parent
    That would be (none / 0) (#62)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 10:40:46 PM EST
    THIS

    Parent
    I think this funny (5.00 / 2) (#72)
    by MKS on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 09:09:28 AM EST
    A classic. Made me smile.

    Parent
    I feel like I don't know... (none / 0) (#6)
    by kdog on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 02:13:05 PM EST
    my arse from my elbow anymore Joe.  I am genetically predisposed from siding with the deep state, or the likes of a Trump...can I be Switzerland in this one? lol

    Parent
    At (none / 0) (#8)
    by FlJoe on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 02:34:53 PM EST
    this time they do seem to be making all the right enemies.

    Parent
    Not Nuts (none / 0) (#7)
    by FlJoe on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 02:31:59 PM EST
    just running the standard tyrant playbook. Lie,lie lie and diminish,destroy or co-opt any person or institution that dares call you out.

    Just saw Gingrich ranting about it.

    Parent

    Fox (none / 0) (#10)
    by FlJoe on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 03:06:56 PM EST
    news goes full CT  
    SEAN HANNITY: Let's start with all of these revelations. [Jeannie] Rhee, and Peter Strzok and all of these figures. Hillary Clinton supporters, Trump haters.

    GREGG JARRETT, FOX NEWS: I think we now know that the Mueller investigation is illegitimate and corrupt. And Mueller has been using the FBI as a political weapon. And the FBI has become America's secret police. Secret surveillance, wiretapping, intimidation, harassment, and threats. It's like the old KGB that comes for you in the dark of the night banging through your door.



    Parent
    Clearly (none / 0) (#21)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 05:44:48 PM EST
    They know time is running out.  I think before Xmas we may get some real red meat.

    Parent
    That's exactly (none / 0) (#22)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 06:00:31 PM EST
    how I see it. The key word is Hillary. Once they start screaming about Hillary thing are really going to get bad for the GOP. It seems everybody has caught onto this key word except the viewers of Fox News and the GOP base.

    Parent
    Ari just interviewed (none / 0) (#24)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 06:15:35 PM EST
    Luke Harding.  He said more indictments coming in the next few weeks.

    He also had interesting things to say about Deuthsche Banks reaction to the subpoenas.

    They are sh!thing their pants.

    He knows a few things.  He wrote Collusion

    For those who don't know Donald defaulted on a 40something million dollars loan and sued them to billions (really) the when they tried to collect it.

    What did they do then?  They loaned him another 300 Million.  Makes total sense to me.

    Parent

    the other thing (none / 0) (#58)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 09:29:20 PM EST
    about the rising volume of this is it IMO is the best evidence they know something really really bad is coming for which there will be no rational defense.

    BTW
    at the Not-Roy Moore-rally tonight Trump was leading LOCK HER UP.  which is really pretty unbelievable considering how well it worked for Flynn.  

    Parent

    Or (none / 0) (#67)
    by FlJoe on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 06:07:02 AM EST
    they are prepping the ground for Mueller's firing. Given the undue influence that Fox has on tRump they appear to be virtually begging him to do it.

    BTW: I wonder if Hannity himself isn't a little nervous

    Here's what Hannity said to Manafort: "You and I stayed in touch, when you were in the campaign, when you left the campaign, you never lost confidence." Hannity then went on to reveal that he had spoken with Manafort a week before election day
    and the FBI probably heard ever word of it. Hope you or Paulie didn't have any loose lip moments.

    Parent
    Oh definitely that too (none / 0) (#68)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 08:09:52 AM EST
    But I really don't think the Senate will allow him to do that.  Ari was talking to some prosecutors about this.  It seems Muller is covering his bases.  Not only would the federal investigation continue, it's way past one man at this point.  Plus Trumps repeated trashing of the agency has, they said fostered an "I am Negan" (walking Dead reference) climate at the agency, I am Mueller, but we know he has months ago partnered with the NY AG.  In addition to that there is a little noticed line in Flynns plea deal that says Flynn will cooperate not just with federal law enforcement but with "all state and local" law enforcement.  Melber explained this means if he wants the deal Flynn must cooperate with anyone else he is told to.

    So in short, it would gain them very little and cost them the moon.  Mueller seems to be saying 'make my day'.  

    I also think Mueller has so much by this point, did you see the description of the scope of the Manafort case?  Damn, that if they try, he or someone else could instantly drop a sh!tload of indictments right in their lap.

    Also congratulations on the Jack-rabbit thing.  I would have gone with an entirely different hyphenated Jack.

    Parent

    All that said (none / 0) (#69)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 08:33:25 AM EST
    I think it's very likely Trump will try to either pardon Flynn or fire Mueller or both.  And it seems Mueller does too.

    And if he does it will be his undoing

    Parent

    I (none / 0) (#83)
    by FlJoe on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 10:09:18 AM EST
    have the odds of the firing going  up now that Fox is piling on, I still think its unlikely, IMO tRump is incapable of pulling this off on his own and it's not clear that any of the rats remaining would help him.

    I think Flynn is a lost cause for tRump now, pardon or no pardon I think he keeps talking.

    Parent

    I'm hoping (none / 0) (#84)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 10:16:01 AM EST
    The FOX stuff is more, as I said, an effort to discredit any report and give the house an excuse to ignore it.

    About that I say, make our day, and make the midterms a referendum on impeachment with a scathing Mueller report to work with.

    I also think it is entirely possible Mueller will have such a massive case showing all manner of high crimes and misdemeanors (and felonies) he will actually indict Trump.

    Parent

    I (none / 0) (#80)
    by FlJoe on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 09:41:54 AM EST
    confess to being a serial abuser of hyphens(actually all punctuation). I suppose the demands for my resignation will soon resound across this blog.

    Parent
    It depends. Do you employ (5.00 / 2) (#88)
    by oculus on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 11:24:37 AM EST
    the Oxford comma?

    Parent
    heresy! (none / 0) (#110)
    by linea on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 11:10:04 PM EST
    only libertarians and paedophiles refuse to use the Oxford comma.

    Parent
    I (none / 0) (#81)
    by FlJoe on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 09:42:37 AM EST
    confess to being a serial abuser of hyphens(actually all punctuation). I suppose the demands for my resignation will soon resound across this blog.

    Parent
    Alex Kosinski (none / 0) (#17)
    by MKS on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 04:41:29 PM EST
    accused of sexual harassment.    

    They are dropping (none / 0) (#23)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 06:04:11 PM EST
    like flies and it is going to continue. The details on Trent Franks coming out are straight out of the handmaid's tale. Even Republicans are now quoting the Handmaid's Tale.

    Parent
    But, you know (none / 0) (#34)
    by MKS on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 06:50:41 PM EST
    the interns may have mistakenly assumed he wanted to consummate the event live and in person....

    Still weird even in the most benign version.

    There are professional IVF services who can locate a surrogate.....whey hector an intern?

    But Trent is a weird dude.....I would not be surprised if he wanted to provide the service in person.  These Biblical guys have some odd ideas....

    The accusation against Kozinski is that he showed p*rn to interns (clerks?) in his chambers.  Really?  How could anyone do such a stupid thing?

    Parent

    That is the only scenario that makes sense to me. (5.00 / 1) (#61)
    by vml68 on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 10:21:24 PM EST
    I would not be surprised if he wanted to provide the service in person.

    The average cost of surrogacy is around $100-150K. I have a friend who used a surrogate and am very familiar with the whole process. The only reason I can think of for Franks to offer $5 million is if he was planning to have sex with the surrogate rather than use IVF.


    Parent

    There (none / 0) (#43)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 07:30:21 PM EST
    are professional services and yet he never used them aparently. I am beginning to wonder if the story of his children was not concocted. Why did he wait until he was almost 60 years old to use a surrogate when he could have done that 20 years ago? Me thinks there never was a surrogate and the mother of the twins is one of his interns that either agreed to this or was forced into it.

    Parent
    Franks does not believe in (none / 0) (#45)
    by caseyOR on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 07:44:34 PM EST
    external insemination. His plan was to have intercourse with whichever staff member he convinced to be the surrogate. He wasxpropisitioning them for sex.

    Parent
    Does not exactly fit my conception (none / 0) (#100)
    by Peter G on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 06:18:02 PM EST
    of "surrogate" parenthood, if I may use that term.

    Parent
    Except in Trent Franks' case, ... (none / 0) (#35)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 06:54:25 PM EST
    ... it was "The Handmaid's Fail." (Bah-DUMM-Bumm-Bumm!) Personally, I could care less about the tawdry details of Franks' proposal. I want to know where the $5 million he was offering them was coming from.

    Parent
    Exactly. (none / 0) (#59)
    by oculus on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 09:42:40 PM EST


    Parent
    Oh mu (none / 0) (#73)
    by MKS on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 09:19:00 AM EST
    He never had it. It was just a bs throway line. "I'll take care of it later."

    Parent
    Kosinski is a brilliant judge, but a crackpot (none / 0) (#133)
    by Peter G on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 04:02:20 PM EST
    on sexual issues. (Kosinski is a libertarian-leaning "boy-wonder" Reagan appointee, became a federal appeals judge at age 35.) He has been skating on thin ice for almost a decade since been controversially cleared in a prior judicial conduct investigation concerning his maintaining an unsecured private server with off-color jokes, pictures and p*rn he had saved. He is now accused of harassing some of his female clerks with that material and with trying to engage them in plainly inappropriate sexual conversations (but not with any touching).

    Parent
    Sorry for spelling error: It's Kozinski (none / 0) (#192)
    by Peter G on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 10:13:07 PM EST
    not "Kosinski." I am usually more careful than that about the spelling of proper names.

    Parent
    DARKEST HOUR (none / 0) (#39)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 07:09:43 PM EST
    saw this today.  Oldman is amazing

    LINK

    Every once in a while, a movie features a performance that is so special, so transformative, you know it's going to be remembered for decades to come. That's definitely the case with Gary Oldman`s turn as Winston Churchill in director Joe Wright's Darkest Hour. While Oldman has been known as a great actor for a very long time, his work in Darkest Hour is career-best and he absolutely delivers the title of "performance of the year." I'll be stunned if he doesn't win the Oscar.
    ps (none / 0) (#42)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Dec 08, 2017 at 07:28:42 PM EST
    i think this is only playing on the coasts.  i got a dvd from a friend who worked on it.  that actually happens pretty often.  still.

    Parent
    i may get a bootleg (none / 0) (#126)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 03:23:27 PM EST
    of The Post

    Parent
    Nothing that Academy voters do ... (none / 0) (#150)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 02:38:41 AM EST
    ... surprises me any more. I'm still gobsmacked over their choice of the featherweight "Shakespeare in Love" as Best Picture for 1998, brushing aside such heavyweights as Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan," Terrence Malick's "The Thin Red Line" and Shekhar Kapur's "Elizabeth."

    Parent
    Moore loses on tuesday (none / 0) (#70)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 08:55:28 AM EST
    I really think so.  Polling is difficult.  That said, Jones is ahead in almost as many as he is behind.  I think enough republicans will be embarrassed to tip it.

    Also Trumps NotRoy rally yesterday and even more his flashpoint crashing of the opening of the Civil Rights museum today next door it going to drive the sh!t out of the AA vote.  

    I say he loses.  But it's ALabama.  What does Tracy think?

    I even think (none / 0) (#71)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 09:00:21 AM EST
    There could be some behind the scene meddling by establishment republicans to solve their Moore problem before it happens.

    Parent
    Polls may underestimate (none / 0) (#74)
    by MKS on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 09:22:38 AM EST
    Moore vote. Too ashamed to admit but in ballot box will vote for the guy.

    Parent
    That is also possible (none / 0) (#77)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 09:36:46 AM EST
    But honestly there does not seem to be a lot of shame on hand down there.

    Parent
    Maybe so (none / 0) (#82)
    by MKS on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 09:44:05 AM EST
    Conservatives have no trouble of throwing out the mantra "fake news" to explain away anything they dont like.

    Parent
    these Alabammy kkkristians have no shame (none / 0) (#89)
    by leap on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 11:42:13 AM EST
     attached to voting for Moore. Moore will win handily.

    Damn, people in this nation are pig-ignorant, racist, stupid. Don't even bother trying to win them over.

    Parent

    very good (none / 0) (#93)
    by linea on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 12:25:11 PM EST
    Vice video

    Parent
    Seriously (none / 0) (#99)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 04:57:55 PM EST
    watch the vice video linked to below. These people are loud and proud about their support for Moore saying it's normal for 30 year old men to date teenagers in Alabama in the 70's. Well, I have to say I grew up in SC which isn't all that much different and yes, there were teenagers who dated 30 year olds but they were definitely fringe and not the norm. More than likely the people who are ashamed and can't bring themselves to vote for Moore just sit home.

    Parent
    They won't (none / 0) (#117)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 12:34:48 PM EST
    They are only ashamed to admit to pollsters who they are voting for.

    Parent
    Personally, I believe that were Moore to lose, ... (none / 0) (#136)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 05:15:25 PM EST
    ... it would be a major upset because as you said, it's Alabama. I also think that if Moore wins as expected, most talking heads will still spend the rest of the week chastising Democrats for losing yet another special election -- never mind that it's, you know, Ala-fckn-bama.

    Parent
    Of course it would be (none / 0) (#138)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 05:41:34 PM EST
    An upset.  The very fact that it's competitive is in a way an upset.

    This is like the nutcase in NV who ran against Harry Reid and everyone had written Harry off except me.  Bottom line I simply can't believe they will do it.

    All the bobble heads are mealy mouthing and CYAing.  But if you listen to the local reporters on the ground they say it's an absolute toss up.  IMO if it's really a toss up at this point in Al freakin bama, Moore is going to lose.

    That's what I think.  But I've been wrong before.

    Parent

    Richard Shelby (none / 0) (#139)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 05:46:45 PM EST
    Came out strongly today against Moore.  Even Doofus Sessions has said he believes the women.  That is going to matter.  Maybe not with the full mooners but with regular sane republicans who do not what their state to be a punchline.

    Parent
    On MTP (none / 0) (#145)
    by MKS on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 08:19:02 PM EST
    the discussion at one point was how a few years ago Atlanta and Birmingham were similar in size and clout, etc. Atlanta went modern and is now a big urban center...a true powerhouse.

    Birmingham could have gone the way of Atlanta and perhaps beat it out as the center of the New South.  But it did not.  If Moore is elected, Birmingham will remain a backwater second tier nothing for quite some time....Or at least so the commentators were so suggesting.

    Parent

    I don't know (none / 0) (#153)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 07:27:07 AM EST
    that Birmingham was ever near the size of Atlanta. These pundits tend to deal strictly with numbers inside the city limits which is not really representative of Atlanta. However I would agree that Birmingham was an up and comer in the 80's into the 90's. It was close in ranking or right behind Atlanta. However sometime in the 90's Birmingham decided to become more like the rest of Alabama and slid way down the scale with now cities like Charlotte rivaling Atlanta.

    Parent
    Charlotte, NC is now ... (none / 0) (#165)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 02:03:29 PM EST
    ... the second largest banking and financial services center in the country after New York City. Not surprising, since it's HQ for Bank of America. The Charlotte metropolitan area is the second biggest in the South after Atlanta, with a population of 2,480,000.

    In Birmingham, they love the governor. Boo-hoo-hoo. Now we all did what we could do. Now Watergate does not bother me. Does your conscience bother you? Tell the truth. Sweet Home, Alabama.

    ;-D

    Parent

    Odd thing. (none / 0) (#167)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 03:32:56 PM EST
    I detest Lynyrd Skynyrd. My good from from NJ loves them and says how can you not like them since you grew up in the south. I said I have heard them way too much. Hubby went to their last concert in Greenville SC before they died in the plane crash. So I said to my friend have you been to a Bon Jovi concert and she said no. I said you lived in NJ and never saw them and she said I don't like them.

    Familiarity does breed contempt I'm afraid. LOL.

    Parent

    I am pretty sure it violates a fundamental (5.00 / 3) (#173)
    by Peter G on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 04:44:10 PM EST
    Site Rule of Jeralyn's to mention not liking Bon Jovi.

    Parent
    I was a huge Lynyrd Skynrd fan in high school. (none / 0) (#182)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 06:07:40 PM EST
    To be honest, I was heartbroken when their plane crashed into that Mississippi swamp in October 1977. But that said, I swear that "Free Bird" and Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" have to be the two most overblown, overplayed and over-requested songs in the pantheon of classic rock radio. And if I hear either one of those two songs again, it will still be too soon.

    ;-D

    Parent

    we (none / 0) (#168)
    by FlJoe on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 03:49:13 PM EST
    heard Mr Young sing about her
    Oh, Alabama
    The devil fools With the best laid plan....
    Alabama
    You got the weight on your shoulders
    That's breaking your back
    Your Cadillac
    Has got a wheel in the ditch
    And a wheel on the track


    Parent
    I met the original singer (none / 0) (#174)
    by jondee on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 05:00:17 PM EST
    Ronnie Van Zandt a few months before he was killed in that plane crash. He seemed like a very nice guy -- not at all the dumbass redneck some might expect. He and Neil Young were actually friends.

    Those guys were just starting to break out of the southern rock boogie band mold and really find their sea-legs as a band when that tragic event happened.

    Parent

    Ronnie Van Zandt was a liberal. (none / 0) (#195)
    by Chuck0 on Tue Dec 12, 2017 at 09:12:53 AM EST
    He was by no means a dumbass redneck. The song "Saturday Night Special" was anti-gun song.

    I hitchhiked from Stockton, CA to the Oakland Coliseum to see them New Year's Eve, 1976. Three weeks before going to USN boot camp. It was a legendary trip (in more ways than one). The story I could tell of that trip, would be worthy of the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.


    Parent

    Another instance of an ineffective (none / 0) (#94)
    by McBain on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 01:08:11 PM EST
    taser
    I don't think the police had much of choice when then they eventually shot and killed Pierre but if the taser had worked well, he'd probably be alive today.
    "I know my dad didn't mean it," she told CBS4's Carey Codd. "He didn't mean it at all. My dad, he had a mental health issue that nobody knew about and I wish the police knew about it before killing him."

    Officers need better non-lethal options in these potentially deadly situations. Tasers don't have great range or accuracy and even when they hit their target, they're not always effective enough.

    Whatever the UK police use (none / 0) (#96)
    by Repack Rider on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 03:43:25 PM EST
    ...seems to be a better solution.  They almost never kill people, even if they are holding a pair of scissors or a rock.

    Maybe we should try something that already works everywhere else.

    Parent

    maybe (none / 0) (#98)
    by linea on Sat Dec 09, 2017 at 04:06:29 PM EST
    like this or this?

    Parent
    No choice. Please. (none / 0) (#114)
    by jondee on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 11:44:02 AM EST
    two or three cops in presumably above-average physical condition can't restrain and subdue one unarmed perpetrator without killing him?

    I call bullsh*t.

    How often do we see One 200 pound db take down a 250 pound tightend in football games? Every effin' Sunday.

    Also, the sheriff says "many cops are killed with their own guns." In the Real World how many times has that actually happened?

    Parent

    I was reading this article and it got me wondering (none / 0) (#120)
    by vml68 on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 02:12:51 PM EST
    Sneaker-Related Violence in the Age of the Mobile App

    about how something like this gets started.

    I know people do this on Black Friday, for Apple products and apparently even sauce at McDonalds!

    I confess, I have never wanted anything so badly or felt so passionately about a product, that I have camped/stood in line for hours (or even one hour) to get it. I don't know of any friends or family that do this, either.

    Are any of you TLers avid collectors/fans of something? What am I missing?

    I don't even stand in lines (none / 0) (#121)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 02:42:15 PM EST
    If there is a line I come back later.  I love theme park rides.  When I lived in both LA and Atlanta I organized groups to go to six flags on mother's day morning because it's the only day of the year when there are no lines.  You can just run from ride to ride till you throw up.

    That kind of wandered didn't it.

    Parent

    Ha! I love rollercoasters or I should say, I did. (none / 0) (#128)
    by vml68 on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 03:40:48 PM EST
    Haven't been on one in at least 15 years and yes, I have stood in line for a couple of hours to get on rides.
    You just shot a big hole in my "I don't stand in line for anything" statememt!

    This year, I volunteered (had my arm twisted!) to take my nieces shopping on Black Friday. My role consisted of standing in the checkout line while they shopped and then paying for their purchases while they moved on to the next store to pick up more items and I would have another checkout line to stand in while they moved on to yet another store....

    Parent

    mothers day morning (none / 0) (#132)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 03:54:06 PM EST
    trust me on this.  but take dramamine

    Parent
    I hate lines with an unreasonable passion. (none / 0) (#122)
    by desertswine on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 02:56:24 PM EST
    Won't do it.

    Parent
    So (none / 0) (#123)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 02:59:42 PM EST
    is this flyer offensive to some because Doug Jones is white?

    I honestly don't get the offense.  You absolutely can not say it's untrue.

    I suppose we should've been outraged. (5.00 / 1) (#151)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 02:46:16 AM EST
    But I ended up laughing at it instead, because it's absolutely true.

    Parent
    to be clear (none / 0) (#124)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 03:11:09 PM EST
    i have read the coverage from the outrage industry.  so i know "why".  i guess my point is i disagree.  i think its funny and in the context of this race pretty smart.  lets be clear.  this race is about race.  it always has been.  we have a guy who says slavery was acutally pretty great running against one who delivered long overdue justice to the KKK.  

    but then my sense of humor should probably not be used for political ads.

    i just think of all the things to be "outraged" about in this race it pretty thin gruel.

    Parent

    I don't get why it would be offensive either. (5.00 / 1) (#127)
    by vml68 on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 03:31:17 PM EST
    I see it as similar to when people commented on the fact that if Obama had been married 3 times, had openly cheated on at least 2 of his wives, had declared bankruptcy multiple times, he would never have had a chance at the presidency.

    A woman (Hillary), married 3 times and children with each husband and numerous affairs....fuhggedaboutit.

    Parent

    If the Jones campaign can just generate (none / 0) (#130)
    by Peter G on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 03:43:46 PM EST
    a 10% or 20% increase in African-American turnout for this election, I have to think that would get the job done.

    Parent
    It's the ID suppression that is so hard (5.00 / 3) (#134)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 04:58:06 PM EST
    To overcome. In some areas of the black belt they don't even have a DMV office any longer Peter. Others it is only open 2 days a week. They began axing them 3 yrs ago. The most impoverished areas of rural Alabama you must drive to another county to get an ID or drivers license. Gotta have valid ID to vote in Bama. These are folks who aren't even sure where the next can of soup is coming from.

    Parent
    Thanks so much for that insight, MT (5.00 / 4) (#141)
    by Peter G on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 07:02:10 PM EST
    I am proud and relieved that we (that is, our state ACLU, of which I am an officer) managed to win our Voter ID case in Pennsylvania a few years ago. I keep forgetting that in most places those challenges failed.

    Parent
    I wish the Unity Reform Commission (5.00 / 2) (#142)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 07:05:57 PM EST
    Would have made that a priority along with a 50 state strategy to enfranchise voters in THAT fashion.

    That's what we need to focus on.

    Parent

    The ACLU People Power program has identified (5.00 / 3) (#143)
    by Peter G on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 07:25:42 PM EST
    one voter-participation-enhancement reform that it considered feasible to make a priority for each state. For some it is felon disenfranchisement, for others it is Voter ID, or gerrymandering, for others early voting or no-excuse absentee ballots, etc. I hope lots of folks will get involved.

    Parent
    The look on that actor/model's face (none / 0) (#129)
    by Peter G on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 03:41:00 PM EST
    on the anti-Moore flier you linked to, Howdy, is perfect.

    Parent
    i think so too (5.00 / 1) (#131)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 03:51:22 PM EST
    but panties are in such a wad about this.

    Parent
    It offends me (none / 0) (#135)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 04:59:42 PM EST
    Because it's so awesome :)

    Parent
    Even the people (none / 0) (#154)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 07:43:05 AM EST
    voting for Moore know that flyer is true.

    Parent
    I guess the truth hurts... (none / 0) (#157)
    by Anne on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 10:09:59 AM EST
    What also hurts is the feeling I'm getting that the lack of media coverage of the many other reasons why Moore isn't qualified for the Senate is related to their not-so-secret interest in the Animal House-level food fight that will take place on the Senate floor if Moore is elected.

    I mean, really - where's the fun in Jones winning?  Well, other than the inevitable claims of voter fraud, and Trump's reaction.

    Parent

    Excellent point (none / 0) (#158)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 11:09:54 AM EST
    Another thing to think about here is this; if Jones pulls out a win Roy Moore will not be the biggest, or even the second biggest, loser.

    The biggest loser will be Donald J. Trump. Who is all in.  All four feel and up to his eyeballs.  He has said Alabama loves him more than ANY state.  He wants to move there because they love him do much.  And don't forget he was punked in the primary.  
    The second biggest loser would be Steve Bannon. No doubt he is the one responsible for Trump being all in.
    If Jones pulls out a win Bannon, and even more Trump, will never be seen or feared the same way.

    Parent

    All this is true (none / 0) (#159)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 11:33:04 AM EST
    which makes me wonder why the RNC went back in for Moore. For McConnell that one vote is probably not worth what is going to happen in the senate if Moore wins. I figured there were some threats issued by either evangelical leaders or Trump himself to get the RNC back in Alabama helping Trump.

    Parent
    And yet, I see there is a Fox News poll (5.00 / 1) (#162)
    by Anne on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 01:02:57 PM EST
    that puts Jones 10 points up on Moore - which I don't believe.

    I wish I didn't think the polling was being futzed with to make it seem like it wasn't important for Jones supporters to get to the polls.

    Parent

    Yes, or (none / 0) (#163)
    by KeysDan on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 01:19:12 PM EST
    to urge the Evangelicals to get out and vote for their man.

    Rep. Gwen Moore (D. WI) has asked the Sargent at Arms to "take steps to prepare the Congressional Page Program for the possible election of Roy Moore."   (note: Gwen is not related to Roy...or Michael).  

    Parent

    for what it's worth (none / 0) (#166)
    by CST on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 02:09:28 PM EST
    The Fox News Polls have consistently had Jones higher than other polls.  That's not to say that it's correct, but it probably has more to do with how they are sampling than intentional futzing, or they've somehow been remarkably consistent with their futzing.

    I also don't think Jones is up 10, but I do think the Fox News poll shows Jones up 10.  I think the main difference is they are attempting to include cell phones vs. some of the other polls that are still landline only.  Now - whether that's a good thing or a bad thing in a special election where no one knows what the demographic turnout will look like - is certainly up for debate.

    Parent

    The RNC (none / 0) (#160)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 12:08:50 PM EST
    Is controlled by Trump. Period.

    Parent
    Yes, as are (none / 0) (#161)
    by KeysDan on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 01:02:52 PM EST
    McConnell and Ryan.   Both have followed Trump, maybe even a harder right turn as they move toward  "Entitlement Reform."....Cutting/privatizing Medicare and Social Security, and further reducing Medicaid.  

    Parent
    Yeah (none / 0) (#164)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 01:57:22 PM EST
    but they did decline to support Moore at one point.

    Parent
    So did Trump (none / 0) (#170)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 04:27:48 PM EST
    And on that subject -

    Megan Kelly, Sara Sanders, Nikki Haley and Trumps accusers!

    My goodness.  Today's "press briefing" was actually worth watching.  

    I said Trumps time in the barrel was coming.  I think I hear the sound of his barrel being prepared.

    Parent

    Gotta say (none / 0) (#171)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 04:36:58 PM EST
    I think Haley has a future.  Of all the headliners of this sh!t show she has done the best job of keeping Trump at arms length and appearing more or less sane.  While a low bar it's something no one else has managed to do.

    And I fully realise it's likely she is simply making the political calculation that she might just be able to ride the wave drowning everyone else.

    Parent

    She might have (none / 0) (#188)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 07:22:02 PM EST
    one though I'm not sure where or what. The GOP base hates her because not only did she take down the confederate flag and now this. You would have to be assuming that the GOP has reasonable voters not feasting on talk radio where they tell Nikki to go back to India for her to be going anywhere. Unfortunately she has sided with quite a few authoritarian states at the UN on issues. I think she'll go back to Bamberg and join the family business. You know what's really sad? She has a great family story of her parents leaving India to escape religious persecution but this is not something that the GOP will accept. Since there's only one party in SC she joined the GOP and now that fact is probably going to end any political future she might have had.

    Parent
    La-La Land (none / 0) (#147)
    by MKS on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 08:35:24 PM EST
    Just saw this on cable.  I thought I would just put something on while I checked emails, etc.

    Musicals are not my thing.  But I liked this movie in spite of myself.  Emma Stone was really compelling.  You end up really caring about her character.  Her scenes really pulled me in.

    Even the hokey dance scenes were fun and sweet in a refreshing way. To break out dancing while stopped on the 405.  Heh, why not?

    Not a spy thriller or Jason Bourne or Atomic Blonde but entertaining in a very fulfilling way.

    A kid from our home town, son of folks (5.00 / 1) (#148)
    by Peter G on Sun Dec 10, 2017 at 09:31:34 PM EST
    we know, won an Oscar for writing the songs for La La Land.

    Parent
    I did not make it thru (none / 0) (#169)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 04:23:09 PM EST
    La La.  Alas.

    But yesterday saw LOGAN.  Which is far and away the best Marvel or X-Men movie ever.

    Patrick Stewart is such a great actor.  

    Parent

    Johnny Cash's 'The Man Comes Around' (5.00 / 1) (#189)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 07:57:20 PM EST
    Finished me off at the end of Logan as the credits rolled.

    Parent
    This the comic book movie (none / 0) (#180)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 05:59:28 PM EST
    For people who don't like comic book movies.  I somehow missed it in theaters. No spandex or even leather. The 93 at RT is earned.  I just grabbed the first blurb because it's perfect.

    Make no mistake, Logan earns its tears. If Jackman and Stewart are serious about this being their mutual X-Men swan song, they could not have crafted a more heartfelt valedictory.

    RT

    Parent

    I really could've stopped after the ... (none / 0) (#183)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 06:32:58 PM EST
    ... musical / dance number on the I-110 on-ramp, and I would've been satisfied. I did enjoy "La La Land" and was thoroughly entertained the first time around - emphasis on "the first time around."

    Because we recently watched "La La Land" again and in my estimation, the opening scene was so infectious and upbeat that the movie spent the rest of its 2+ hours chasing its own tail in a mighty attempt to maintain the momentum. It didn't quite get back there.

    So, upon second viewing and in obvious retrospect, while I give the director and producers kudos for not playing it safe, I'm glad "La La Land" didn't win the Oscar for Best Picture. I further bet that 20-25 years from now, given L.A.'s propensity to re-invent itself every generation or two, the film will likely appear very dated to viewers.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    I think my musical comedy (5.00 / 3) (#186)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 07:06:49 PM EST
    Gene is dormant.  Especially tragic condition for gay man.  

    Parent
    from the YOU CANT MAKE IT UP file (none / 0) (#172)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 04:39:46 PM EST

    Roy Moore, facing allegations of sexual misconduct with teenage girls, sits down for interview with 12-year-old girl sent by Trump allies

    Family Services (5.00 / 1) (#181)
    by KeysDan on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 06:01:35 PM EST
    needs to make a call on the mother.

    It has been said that the reason Roy wants to be a US Senator is because he heard about that great Washington Mall.   He may be surprised to find that there is no "American Girl."

    Parent

    Anybody Here Using Chrome? (none / 0) (#175)
    by RickyJim on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 05:12:11 PM EST
    Starting today, I was not able to access this site using Google's Chrome.  My understanding is that Google is trying to have all websites use the https protocol while www.talkleft.com only accepts http.  I have no trouble using Firefox for this site.

    works for me (5.00 / 1) (#176)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 05:19:54 PM EST


    Parent
    AOK (5.00 / 2) (#177)
    by FlJoe on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 05:22:24 PM EST
    here.

    Parent
    I Should Have Added (none / 0) (#178)
    by RickyJim on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 05:47:36 PM EST
    that the problem started just after Windows updated my Windows 10 operating system.  I'll keep on Firefox.

    Parent
    Both the devices (none / 0) (#179)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 05:52:33 PM EST
    I tried use CHROME on android

    Parent
    Back to the moon (none / 0) (#184)
    by McBain on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 06:55:07 PM EST
    Trump wants astronauts to go to the moon and eventually Mars.  I'm all for this but we've heard it before.  Start with a lunar mission and then go for the red planet.

    "Pence, during the first meeting of the National Space Council in October, said the Trump administration "will return American astronauts to the moon, not only to leave behind footprints and flags, but to build the foundation we need to send Americans to Mars and beyond."
    "The moon will be a stepping-stone, a training ground, a venue to strengthen our commercial and international partnerships as we refocus America's space program toward human space exploration," Pence said.

    I'd really like to see us set foot on Mars during my lifetime but when it comes down to it, I doubt enough people want to spend the money.

    I know how to get the money (5.00 / 5) (#185)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 07:03:44 PM EST
    If Trump commits to go to Mars personally.

    Parent
    send drones (none / 0) (#191)
    by linea on Mon Dec 11, 2017 at 09:03:36 PM EST


    Parent
    Another day in TRUMPLAND (none / 0) (#196)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Dec 12, 2017 at 09:23:48 AM EST
    "Lightweight Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a total flunky for Charles E. Schumer and someone who would come to my office 'begging' for campaign contributions not so long ago (and would do anything for them), is now in the ring fighting against Trump," the president wrote. "Very disloyal to Bill & Crooked-USED!"

    The "press briefing" should be interesting

    The tweet (5.00 / 3) (#200)
    by Chuck0 on Tue Dec 12, 2017 at 10:26:09 AM EST
    is proof as to what a complete POS that cheeto boy really is. The innuendo is dripping from this. A disgusting man-boy with no class, no dignity. No real excuse for him to exist.

    Parent
    Morning Joe (none / 0) (#197)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Dec 12, 2017 at 09:30:48 AM EST
    was talking about this. They were all over his case.

    Parent
    It feels (sorry) like a day (none / 0) (#198)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Dec 12, 2017 at 09:34:35 AM EST
    When we might find out where the bottom is in more than one area.

    Parent
    True (5.00 / 1) (#199)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Dec 12, 2017 at 10:05:14 AM EST
    but according to people like Max Boot and Steve Schmidt there is no bottom in today's GOP. If they elect an accused pedophile what is to stop them from electing a convicted pedophile?

    Parent
    Friday Open Thread | 200 comments (200 topical)