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Tuesday Open Thread

By Jeralyn, Section Blog Related
Posted on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 11:59:18 AM EST
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I have a brief due today. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

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    Tuesday Open Thread | 201 comments (201 topical)
    No puppet, no puppet, (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by KeysDan on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 12:45:38 PM EST
    you're the puppet. Trump called Putin to congratulate him on his great election victory. Trump also discussed the prospects for a meeting with Putin.  

    Senator John McCain (R. AZ) did not think congratulations to a dictator on his sham election victory was fitting for the president.  But, it does seem only right if you believe in reciprocity, and if you overlook the popular vote.

    He (5.00 / 1) (#22)
    by FlJoe on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 07:07:22 PM EST
    did it after being warned by the adults not to
    US President Donald Trump congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on his re-election despite the warnings from multiple national security advisers and briefing materials that said "DO NOT CONGRATULATE," The Washington Post reported Tuesday evening.



    Parent
    Ted Olson say no thank you (5.00 / 3) (#4)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 01:04:00 PM EST
    No link  yet.  Trump wanted Ted Olson.  Ted is busy.

    What about (5.00 / 2) (#8)
    by KeysDan on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 02:44:10 PM EST
    Judge Moore?  Other than the time it would take him to get around to concede the senate election to Doug Jones, he shouldn't be too busy. Maybe Cambridge Analytica could trick Moore into thinking the Washington Mall had shops, such as American Girl.  But, my advice to Trump: Better Call Saul.

    Parent
    Pennsylvania congressional gerrymandering (5.00 / 6) (#6)
    by Peter G on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 02:13:41 PM EST
    case has effectively ended, with the Republican challenges to our new and fair map rejected by both the U.S. Supreme Court and a special three-judge federal court in Harrisburg. (Not a single Justice even dissented.) Net result: a probable five-seat pickup for Dems in the House of Representatives, reflecting Pennsylvanians' actual political preferences.

    Or, as the GOPers (5.00 / 1) (#11)
    by MKS on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 04:26:34 PM EST
    in Penn might say, Ruh-Roh.

    Parent
    Unfortunately, our state legislative districts (none / 0) (#17)
    by Peter G on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 06:21:23 PM EST
    remain gerrymandered in the same way that our congressional districts were, and for some reason (which I actually don't understand) appear to be immune from a similar court challenge. So the state legislature is still more than 2/3 reactionary R's, despite a voting population that is about 50% liberal-to-progressive Dem.

    Parent
    Bummer (none / 0) (#21)
    by MKS on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 07:05:52 PM EST


    Parent
    Ben Carson, testifying (5.00 / 2) (#7)
    by KeysDan on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 02:16:20 PM EST
    before the House Appropriations Committee, said he didn't know anything about that $31,000 dining room set.  Don't know if his wife, Candy, knew if the underside of a bus was in store for her, but Ben said she did it.

    Anyway, Ben probably doesn't need a dining room set----he can just continue to eat at a "Popeye Organization."

    This pic (5.00 / 1) (#12)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 04:34:21 PM EST
    of Stormy taking a polygraph is hilarious on multiple levels.

    For one thing, where the hell is she?  A tool shed?

    As for those asking (5.00 / 2) (#13)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 04:46:59 PM EST
    Why release this photo, I would say there are two big reasons to release that photo.

    Parent
    That photo looks like it could be ... (5.00 / 1) (#16)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 06:20:16 PM EST
    ... a cheesy publicity shot for the 1986 Sybil Danning film "Reform School Girls."

    Parent
    Annihilation film review (5.00 / 1) (#14)
    by linea on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 05:57:01 PM EST
    If you want to see a film this weekend, skip the boring, overproduced, and overhyped Black Panther film and see Annihilation instead.

    Annihilation is a sci-fi horror film staring Natalie Portman and is based on a best-selling novel. The story is about a group of military scientists - five women - who enter a mysterious quarantined zone.

    The film is weird and creepy and includes frightening scenes as well as violence, action, and gross bloody and gory scenes.

    The characters are well-developed, the dialog of the female characters is believable, and the story is internally consistent and believable within the context of the story. This is a good film (hat tip McBain).

    Michael Avenatti (5.00 / 1) (#23)
    by MKS on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 07:09:03 PM EST
    Stormy Daniels' lawyer.  I really like the guy.  Made a lot of sense on Andersen Cooper saying that because Trump did not sign the NDA, it is not binding on Stormy Daniels.

    Avenatti is actually from my backyard.  His office is in Fashion Island, Newport Beach.  Litigated a case with his (former) firm on the opposite side.

    Just watched Avenatti (5.00 / 1) (#26)
    by MKS on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 07:42:06 PM EST
    fight it out with Cohen's lawyer/friend on Anderson Cooper.

    Avenatti, who was Coif at GW and started at O'Melveny, knows how to fight--treats civil litigation as a street fight.   Good for him.  I am thinking J and Peter might not like it so much.

    Parent

    Both lawyers looked childish (5.00 / 1) (#28)
    by McBain on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 08:45:30 PM EST


    Parent
    Mebbe, but (5.00 / 2) (#29)
    by MKS on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 08:47:38 PM EST
    I am believer in not letting the other side push you around.

    Avenatti also parlayed some good legal reasoning in between the theatrics.  

    Parent

    Heh (5.00 / 1) (#30)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 09:06:47 PM EST
    He just said "they have stepped into every trap we have set for the last two weeks"

    I like him.  But you knew that.

    Parent

    Yep - and he'll keep poking ... (none / 0) (#39)
    by Yman on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 09:09:46 AM EST
    ... the bear, because the bear is not very bright and eventually is likely to react in a public and telling way.  I think the constant TV appearances and provocative language are a tactic.  Plus, it's entertaining to watch him publicly call out Michael Cohen and his Ray Donovan fantasies.  Not so easy to play the tough guy when you're trying to rip off a small businessman/subcontractor who can't afford to litigate for years.

    Parent
    I am, too. (none / 0) (#87)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 12:05:06 AM EST
    I think Trump and Co. were caught flat-footed when Stormy Daniels refused to be bullied by them and pushed back hard. She did well to ditch the schmuck who had represented her earlier when she got saddled with the NDA. Michael Avenatti has thus far been an effective advocate.

    Parent
    He is on MSNBC (none / 0) (#27)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 07:54:37 PM EST
    at 10 eastern

    Parent
    I just watched that, too. (none / 0) (#49)
    by Anne on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 01:44:51 PM EST
    I didn't find Schwartz's arguments convincing or credible; I can't help feeling that Trump - or Cohen in this case - doesn't have an A-team of lawyers.  They may not even be B-team quality.

    Parent
    Happy Spring (5.00 / 2) (#43)
    by Chuck0 on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 12:17:47 PM EST
    Now go get your snow shovel. It just won't stop. It's been snowing nonstop since before noon yesterday here  in the Susquehanna Valley. March 21 and I've got nearly 10 inches of snow outside.

    I feel bad for you guys (none / 0) (#45)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 12:51:17 PM EST
    It's been sort of fun watching the driving blizzard behind the people on MSNBC.

    So far we have had a more or less normal winter and spring.

    So far.

    Parent

    It's spring in New Mexico... (none / 0) (#47)
    by desertswine on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 01:30:10 PM EST
    we really haven't had a winter this year.  But its very, very dry - drought conditions, the fires will be bad this coming season.

    Parent
    March is like January (none / 0) (#48)
    by jondee on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 01:43:39 PM EST
    So far, here on the shores of blue Ontario..

    Colder than a ticket taker's smile at the Monroe Theatre on a Saturday night, as Tom Waites says.

    That's pretty much par for the course though.


    Parent

    It doesn't snow here (none / 0) (#63)
    by Repack Rider on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 03:09:47 PM EST
    ...but we went 0 for February in rainfall.

    Now it's March, and the rain won't stop.

    Parent

    I've been in SoCal the last few weeks ... (5.00 / 1) (#86)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 11:55:21 PM EST
    ... tending to the family of my younger sister, who was recently hospitalized for serious complications resulting from acute alcoholism. (Hence my sparse commentary of late.)

    She's in a rehab facility now out near Thousand Oaks, and I'm staying with her teenaged kids and working remotely -- thank Heavens for modern technology! -- while my mother tries to straighten out her tangled affairs, which includes managing my sister's now-pending divorce proceedings from her estranged husband, who left her several years ago for a younger woman. (She crawled into a vodka bottle in response.) All in all, hers is a messy situation that her kids didn't share with anybody until it finally reached crisis stage last month, and so we were all blindsided.

    The weather tonight in Glendale is frankly as dreary as my mood. I can't begrudge the rain because California does need it, but the stormy downpours have been a real problem. Living in Hawaii all these many years, I know how to drive in heavy rain. Unfortunately, most Californians do not, and so it can be a real adventure on the wet streets and highways. I've got a work-related appointment in Costa Mesa tomorrow, and I'm not looking forward to the road trip.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Hang in there DfromH (5.00 / 3) (#91)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 07:11:06 AM EST


    Parent
    Austin Bomber (5.00 / 3) (#58)
    by MisterD on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 02:48:08 PM EST
    It seems when a mass murder is perpetrated by a Muslim, Black or Hispanic no one ever questions their sanity, but there is consistently a call to increase police presence in their communities and a cry for members of these ethnic groups to increase their aid to law enforcement. I must then ask, why are white christians not doing a better job protecting society from these terrorists?

    "DON't CONGRATULATE (5.00 / 2) (#71)
    by KeysDan on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 04:02:29 PM EST
    THE BOMBER."    A note to Trump.

    I think at least some republicans (5.00 / 1) (#72)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 04:11:34 PM EST
    Have decided the only way to get their base to the polls in November is to be in the middle of a constitutional crisis

    I think that is a massive miscalculation.

    But they are not the sharpest tools in the shed

    Parent

    #MeToo nails my former boss. (5.00 / 1) (#80)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 06:39:09 PM EST
    While it's a shame that an otherwise exemplary 36-year state legislative career has to end on such a sad and tawdry note, women deserve to be treated with dignity and respect -- and that clearly didn't happen here. Like so many men of his generation, Speaker Joe is an old man who failed to read the memo and adapt to changing times.

    It must be Wednesday (5.00 / 2) (#81)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 06:56:07 PM EST
    Saudi Crown Prince says he has Kushner "in his pocket "

    And in a separate story brags about getting Tillerson fired

    Who needs a (5.00 / 1) (#124)
    by KeysDan on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 01:40:52 PM EST
    State Department when you have Jared and Ivanka?  Jared's trip to Riyadh reportedly involved the two princes staying up to 4 am to talk strategy...and allegedly, Jared providing names of Saudis disloyal to MSB; the intel taken from Trump's daily briefs.  Shortly after the meeting of the princes, there was that round-up  and incarceration of Saudis royals/businessman at the Ritz Carlton, that included torture and even a death.  

    Parent
    You probably heard Uncle Joe (5.00 / 2) (#93)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 07:45:06 AM EST
    Talking about taking Donald out behind the gym.  Not the high watermark of his career.  But that's Uncle Joe.  Sadly he seems to be all in for 20.

    anyway

    Donald has of course responded.

    Crazy Joe Biden is trying to act like a tough guy. Actually, he is weak, both mentally and physically, and yet he threatens me, for the second time, with physical assault. He doesn't know me, but he would go down fast and hard, crying all the way. Don't threaten people Joe!

    Where to start.  Putting aside the childish nationally embarrassing aspect shouldn't it say "Dont threaten anyone but girls, Joe"?

    Let's be honest for a second (5.00 / 2) (#94)
    by CST on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 07:55:08 AM EST
    About the state of America.

    The ratings would be YUUUUGE.  I can tell you right now that I would not have the strength of character to stay away from that one.  And I'd sit there hoping they somehow both manage to knock each other out.

    Parent

    Cheeto should change (none / 0) (#99)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 09:39:55 AM EST
    His 2020 bumper sticker from KEEP AMURKA GREAT to COME AT ME BRO

    Parent
    Would a weigh-in be required? (5.00 / 2) (#100)
    by oculus on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 09:48:35 AM EST


    Parent
    More (5.00 / 3) (#102)
    by FlJoe on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 09:59:22 AM EST
    importantly, do they make boxing gloves that small?

    Parent
    And do they make (none / 0) (#122)
    by Zorba on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 01:29:00 PM EST
    boxing trunks that big?

    Parent
    It's Joe's tendency to say stupid (5.00 / 3) (#104)
    by Anne on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 10:37:31 AM EST
    things like this that should take him out of contention for 2020.

    Well, unless he comes up with a slogan like:

    Joe Biden: Because You're Already Used to Cringing


    Parent
    Honestly (none / 0) (#106)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 10:40:54 AM EST
    I think that little performance ended it for uncle Joe.  Even his possible supporters envisioned a campaign of THAT and threw up in their mouth.

    Parent
    Biden trying out Trump-speak (5.00 / 1) (#119)
    by jondee on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 01:02:44 PM EST
    to appeal to who exactly?

    The legendary wwc?

    Obviously we need someone with better chops. Trump is biggest, lowest-hanging, piece of rotten fruit to come along in the last hundred years. A slow hanging curve out over the middle of the plate.

    Where the hell are the good fighting Democrats these days? Long time passing?


    Parent

    Biden was a good (none / 0) (#125)
    by KeysDan on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 01:53:23 PM EST
    vice president, but it is time for him to sit back and enjoy retirement.  Don't mind his spouting off so much if he is just in his get off the grass mode.

      However, not as a potential candidate for president.  Not only do Democrats need a fresh and younger face, but the tactic of fighting, literally or figuratively, at Trump's depth of sewerage will only take the country beyond six feet under.

      Not high on history's favorite lists, but I believe the country is more than ready for a page from Harding and Coolidge:  "A Return to Normalcy."  And, that includes a president not an beholden to a foreign power.  And that takes us way back to President George Washington's concern for both foreign control and  monarchy.

    Parent

    Netflix: Chef's Table (5.00 / 1) (#118)
    by CST on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 12:34:28 PM EST
    Was decent, but is now coming under some scrutiny for their lack of diversity in who they profile (mostly male, none black).  Defenders of Netflix could point out that this is somewhat a reflection on the field in general - which tends to trend male.

    So now Netflix is coming out with the pastry version of Chef's Table.  They will be featuring 4 chefs, only one of whom is female.  Here's the problem:

    "Pastry has traditionally been considered the "pink ghetto" of the restaurant world -- the field where women dominate. At the Culinary Institute of America, 80 percent of the students in the Baking & Pastry Arts major are women. At the International Culinary Center in New York, 78 percent of the students who entered the Professional Pastry Arts program in 2017 were female. And locally, at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, 85 percent of pastry students are women.

    These culinary students go on to become the stars of the pastry world. This year, there were 20 semifinalists for the James Beard Foundation's Outstanding Pastry Chef award. Nineteen were women."

    Emphasis mine.  Netflix can, and should, do better.

    So apparently Congress can shoehorn into (5.00 / 1) (#133)
    by Peter G on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 03:52:45 PM EST
    the 1200 page omnibus spending bill a non-germane amendment to help the Department of Justice force U.S. email providers whose "cloud" servers are actually located in privacy-protective locations overseas to respond to U.S. summonses and search warrants for archived emails, but cannot find the time or will to rescue DACA recipients from Tr*mp's cancellation of Obama's beneficent policy. (Although they did defeat another malicious "defund Planned Parenthood" amendment.)

    Sorry, the bill is not 1200 pages (none / 0) (#143)
    by Peter G on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 04:49:01 PM EST
    but rather over 2230 pages.

    Parent
    The spiral of public discourse continues (5.00 / 1) (#141)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 04:37:56 PM EST
    But I laughed

    David A. Clarke, Jr.
    @SheriffClarke
    JOE BIDEN: "I'VE BEEN IN A LOT OF LOCKER ROOMS IN MY LIFE."
    Really Joe? Please tell us why and what you were doing hanging around all those locker rooms, Joe? Taking in the sights? Did the soap keep falling out of your hands Joe? Huh? Tell us Joe. #MAGA. https:/www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/mar/21/joe-biden-i-would-have-beat-hell-out-trump-high-sc ...

    Fraser Galbraith
    @frgalbraith
    Bold position, coming from a man who dresses like a Village People tribute act.

    12:51 PM - Mar 21, 2018

    Hope that incomplete (none / 0) (#142)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 04:44:52 PM EST
    Html is not a problem.  Delete it.  Sorry I didnt see it.

    Parent
    McMaster out - Bolton in. (5.00 / 4) (#144)
    by Anne on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 05:10:05 PM EST
    I just threw up in my mouth a little.

    Ugh, this is not good news.

    Saw that (5.00 / 4) (#147)
    by Zorba on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 05:18:29 PM EST
    Prepare for (more) wars.   :-(

    Parent
    Bolton has been pretty hawkish (none / 0) (#148)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 05:44:55 PM EST
    On Russia.  I guess this will be Trumps cover

    Parent
    I rather think he's Trump's cover on (5.00 / 1) (#151)
    by Anne on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 07:12:53 PM EST
    going to war with Iran and/or North Korea, in the sense of at least a semblance of authority.  I grant you it's not much of one, since he's always seemed to me to be way too fond of war.

    The combination of a gutted State Department and someone who seems to desperately want war is a recipe for disaster.  Trump wants it too, and Bolton's going to provide all the support he wants.  He's getting rid of anyone and everyone who could offer some balance and counterpoint.

    I am not optimistic about the future - it feels like all the windows of hope are closing.

    Parent

    Afraid I do not disagree (none / 0) (#153)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 07:29:12 PM EST
    The news coverage of this is absolutely end times.

    It's making me need a drink.

    But I also think all this acting out could be a response to the knowledge Mueller is closing in.
    Bolton is up to his stash in Cambridge Analytica I just posted a link in that thread.

    If Mueller has any cards it might be the time to play a few of them.

    Parent

    I think the Russians might have (none / 0) (#154)
    by jondee on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 07:36:44 PM EST
    a thing or two to say about the U.S trying to start a war with Iran. But then again, maybe some of them might like to see us descend into a proverbial bottomless quagmire that would make the Iraq War look like the invasion of Grenada.

    Iran is fairly well-armed country, twice the size of Iraq, with a lot of treacherous mountain terrain, and despite all the Trump and Netayahu belligerent rhetoric, the populace is rumored to have friendly feelings toward Americans, if not toward the U.S government.

    Parent

    Not to downplay Iraq (none / 0) (#155)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 07:44:40 PM EST
    But did you see this

    The Legal Case for Striking North Korea First
    By John Bolton
    Feb. 28, 2018 6:59 p.m. ET

    Parent

    Someone should write up (none / 0) (#156)
    by jondee on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 07:47:57 PM EST
    a legal case for striking that azole Bolton.

    With a little imagination and chutzpah, probably could be done.

    My opinion.


    Parent

    China and South Korea (none / 0) (#158)
    by jondee on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 08:12:08 PM EST
    might want to send over a little house-warming present for Bolton..

    I wouldn't blame them.

    Parent

    FAIL (none / 0) (#157)
    by linea on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 08:09:44 PM EST
    Paywall

    Parent
    Then again, maybe he just (5.00 / 3) (#159)
    by jondee on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 08:14:19 PM EST
    needs a little love and understanding
    from a good woman. In high-waisted jeans.

    Parent
    Heh (none / 0) (#161)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 09:07:20 PM EST
    Like point was to read it

    Parent
    Re: high-waisted jeans (none / 0) (#167)
    by linea on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 12:39:12 AM EST
    Thank you for reminding me that I need to lose ten pounds. I often fool myself into thinking I look just fine when I know I'm not actually attractive unless my friends are criticizing me for being `too skinny' because they're jealous and want to sabotage my diet.

    Diet Coke Twisted Mango

    Parent

    Jeebus, Linea. You need to get help. (5.00 / 1) (#168)
    by vml68 on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 01:49:27 AM EST
    I know I'm not actually attractive unless my friends are criticizing me for being `too skinny' because they're jealous and want to sabotage my diet.

    This is not healthy.

    Parent

    Oy (5.00 / 1) (#198)
    by jondee on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 02:54:38 PM EST
    Olive, who ya gonna go to the dance with? Me or Bluto?

    Parent
    15 (none / 0) (#192)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 01:37:13 PM EST
    At least

    Parent
    Oh damn (none / 0) (#145)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 05:16:38 PM EST
    The war cabinet rises

    Parent
    Yes, the war (none / 0) (#194)
    by KeysDan on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 01:44:32 PM EST
    cabinet is what Trump wants to portray on TV and by Tweet. He appears to think that foreign policy is a matter of huffing and puffing....and bluffing.

     But, the great danger is that f...g morons like Bolton, who is as serious as a heart attack about his violent "solutions"...from lopping off the top floors of the UN headquarters in NYC, to bombing Cuba....will take us to a point of no return.

     Trump, of course, thinks he can warm the cockles of the deplorables hearts by being a tough guy, just as thug Roy Cohn taught him to do. Just a reality TV show out of the 90s. But, that huffing and puffing may blow the house down.

    Parent

    Who knows how serious this is (none / 0) (#195)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 01:52:57 PM EST
    But Corker was on the floor last night saying they need to revisit the AUMF

    Parent
    Well I just threw up a lot... (none / 0) (#149)
    by desertswine on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 05:55:54 PM EST
    Hey Jim Bakker is selling End-Time foods.  Maybe he was right all along.

    Time of Trouble Tasty Pantry Deluxe.

    Tongue-in-cheek, of course.  But look for impending war with Iran.  Bolton is one of original neo-cons.

    Parent

    Because you never know (none / 0) (#150)
    by jondee on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 06:47:24 PM EST
    when you may need to refuel during the final battle of Gog and Magog.

    Parent
    Exactly! (none / 0) (#162)
    by desertswine on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 09:14:34 PM EST
    This stuff supposedly has a shelf life of 25 years so you can stick your head out above ground just as the radiation levels are beginning to taper off.

    Parent
    I believe (none / 0) (#166)
    by linea on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 12:15:47 AM EST
    You mean the `battle of Armageddon.' Which actually refers to Megiddo, a location in northern Israel. I've never heard your reference.

    Parent
    Fyi (none / 0) (#172)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 07:44:57 AM EST
    From wiki, your favirite

    Gog and Magog
    Gog and Magog are names that appear in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), the Book of Revelation and the Qur'an, sometimes indicating individuals and sometimes lands and peoples. Sometimes, but not always, they are connected with the "end times", and the passages from the book of Ezekiel and Revelation in particular have attracted attention for this reason


    Parent
    There's also Diet Gog and Magog (none / 0) (#199)
    by jondee on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 03:00:11 PM EST
    Jim Bakker's zesty new taste sensation for the young christian woman on the go.

    Parent
    Jesus (none / 0) (#163)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 09:16:24 PM EST
    I just heard Trump plans to get rid of Kelly and not replace him.

    The mental image of that crazy train makes my head hurt.

    God hepus


    Parent

    I previously forecast, (5.00 / 1) (#191)
    by KeysDan on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 01:34:14 PM EST
    somewhat, but not entirely, tongue-in-cheek, that Kelly's replacement would be Ivanka.  It may well be that this idea is on the mark, without the title, of Chief of Staff.

    Parent
    I was just going to post, "Who is next, (none / 0) (#164)
    by vml68 on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 09:35:22 PM EST
    Sessions or Kelly?". You just answered that.

    Parent
    What will it take (none / 0) (#165)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 09:50:57 PM EST
    Between now a Sunday to eclipse the Stormy show?

    Parent
    Not sure we're ready for the (none / 0) (#170)
    by Anne on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 05:42:12 AM EST
    answer to that question...the options seem to be getting worse all the time.

    Parent
    Trump news conference 1 eastern (none / 0) (#183)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 11:16:10 AM EST
    20 minutes.

    Hooooold on to yer butts.

    Parent

    Oh, jeez... (none / 0) (#184)
    by Anne on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 11:25:36 AM EST
    maybe it's Kelly and McGahn leaving.

    I hope it's something stupid and benign.

    Parent

    Supposedly (none / 0) (#185)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 11:31:38 AM EST
    Ben Carson and the vet affairs guy Shulkin are on the block.

    Who knows if that's today

    Parent

    It's the spending bill. (none / 0) (#186)
    by Anne on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 11:40:20 AM EST
    Or so I'm hearing.

    He must be going to veto it.

    Parent

    Just heard he will sign it (none / 0) (#187)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 11:44:32 AM EST
    Shrug

    Parent
    It really is pathetically desperate (none / 0) (#188)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 11:57:31 AM EST
    That he appears to think this flailing and flapping and firing and threatening to veto things he had already signed off on will detract in the most minor way from what's happening and what's coming.

    I mentioned coming unmoored in another comment, it's not a joke.  I really think he is cracking up.  It has the feeling of a cornered mad dog more every day.

    Parent

    This morning (5.00 / 3) (#173)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 07:48:39 AM EST
    I want to thank Jeralyn for providing this forum in these troubled times.

    It helps me so much to have a place to discuss the endless insanity with people who follow it as closely as I do.  Almost no one in my face to face life is willing to be as obsessed as I am.   I glaze many eyes.

    I'm pretty sure I am not alone in saying this site helps keep me sane.

    Thank you.

    What a sad thing (5.00 / 2) (#178)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 09:25:20 AM EST
    the last male white rhino is dead

    I hope that this loss... (5.00 / 1) (#189)
    by desertswine on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 12:45:54 PM EST
    can serve as a wake-up call (but I doubt it).  We can ill afford to lose any more animal species or wild places.

    Parent
    Not holding my breath on that (5.00 / 1) (#193)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 01:42:03 PM EST
    However
    Perhaps ANCIENT ALIENS captured their DNA.

    let's watch and see

    Parent

    We must depend on the aliens... (5.00 / 4) (#201)
    by desertswine on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 04:36:30 PM EST
    In the meantime, in this photo, I'm the big one. (Sorry, I can't quite get it right, you have to enlarge it. I'm not a computer guy.)

    Parent
    Another NDA (none / 0) (#1)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 12:35:00 PM EST
    RUH ROH

    This is said (none / 0) (#2)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 12:42:54 PM EST
    To be a stronger case because the ENQUIRER does not have the right to silence her.

    They bought the story and buried it.

    Parent

    The good Lord works in mysterious ways (none / 0) (#5)
    by jondee on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 01:30:13 PM EST
    as long as Trump stands as the enemy of the religious right's enemies, they probably wouldn't care if he threw hookers off bridges from a moving car.

    And the conservative folks who might care are imbibing conspiracy theories 24-7 about these stories being concocted by "the Deep State" for some nefarious purpose or another.

    Parent

    this is an old story (none / 0) (#15)
    by Jeralyn on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 06:13:33 PM EST
     

    Parent
    Yes it is (5.00 / 1) (#20)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 06:34:48 PM EST
    Sorry

    Here's the new part

    Former Playboy Model Karen McDougal Sues to Break Silence on Trump

    Parent

    Almost finished with my taxes (none / 0) (#9)
    by McBain on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 03:04:53 PM EST
    After doing a little bit of research it appears the combination of Obama (ACA) and Trump (tax reform) will help me a bit in 2018. I'm a small business owner and won't know for sure about all the changes until around this time next year but so far, so good.

    Are people still predicting doom and gloom?

    Probably not (5.00 / 1) (#33)
    by Yman on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 10:21:31 PM EST
    I haven't seen a single prediction of "doom and gloom" for how the tax bill will affect your taxes.  But they could be taking about the larger/longer term effects of the bill, or the 2 trillion in additional debt being incurred so the wealthy and large corporations can get huge cuts, while others are happy with their "bit" of a tax cut.

    Parent
    comment in response to this (none / 0) (#18)
    by Jeralyn on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 06:25:01 PM EST
    deleted for unsupported accusations.

    Parent
    Got my returns already... (none / 0) (#24)
    by kdog on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 07:09:13 PM EST
    the brightside of broke-arse wage earning, the blessedly simple 1040-EZ.

    Fed return was normal, but if that std deduction gets increased like they say I should score bigly next year. At what cost to the fabric of society, time will tell.

    As for NY State, for the first time in years, after audits and repeatedly coming up short of the nut, I was due a return. 38 bucks. I was stoked. But alas, I got a letter today stating my 38 Washingtons were "applied to an enforceable debt" I allegedly owe the "NYC Transit Authority Transit Adjudication Bureau". They only gave me a debt date of 2002, did not specify details. Damned if I can remember how I angered the transit man 16 years ago, and I'm scared to ask.

    Help yourself NYCTATAB, as long as ya ain't chasing me.

    Parent

    If you are posting links in comments (none / 0) (#19)
    by Jeralyn on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 06:26:38 PM EST
    please preview first to make sure they go where you intend. There's a broken link somewhere that's slowing the site and I don't have time now to find it. If you preview your comment and right click on the link to the image or video, you should have the choice for it to open in another window and make sure it's correct.

    Thank You!

    God bless Austin (none / 0) (#25)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 07:39:58 PM EST
    Another bomb.  In a restaurant

    I'm betting its a right wing texan who does not like it being a librul oasis

    They now say it was (none / 0) (#31)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 09:11:01 PM EST
    A Goodwill store.

    And it appears to not be connected to the others.  Which is even worse I guess.

    Parent

    Alex Jones country.. (none / 0) (#32)
    by jondee on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 09:30:59 PM EST
    he's probably percolating with so many different conspiracy theories, he's lost control of his bodily functions.

    Parent
    Story from the (none / 0) (#34)
    by ragebot on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 10:35:36 PM EST
    LEOs was something about a military relic (which I sorta though was a flare or smoke canister or something similar).  My impression was this was more along the lines of an accident due more to someone mistakenly donating explosives that they did not realize was dangerous.  Sometimes something happens that is simply a freak natural occurrence.  If there had not been multiple other explosions in Austin for a couple of weeks this might well go unnoticed.  I have to say it never shocks me with what I find at Goodwill.  Once I bought a box of books with several Samuel Dashiell Hammett hardbacks on top.  Underneath them was some of the most graphic POORNNN(that is misspelled per Jeralyn's rules) I have ever seen.  Not trying to diminish what is happening in Austin; just saying this may not really be anything worth worrying about.

    Parent
    Update from (5.00 / 1) (#35)
    by ragebot on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 10:59:32 PM EST
    AP.  
    It was an artillery simulators mistakenly donated.    .  
    It was an artillery simulators mistakenly donated.

    Parent
    Most crazy people (none / 0) (#36)
    by linea on Tue Mar 20, 2018 at 11:26:21 PM EST
    who do crazy things do or it because they are crazy and the politics is arbitrary.

    RE: `I'm betting its a right wing texan who does not like it being a librul oasis'

    Like the Anti-Trump Liberal who sent Vanessa Trump to hospital on an anthrax scare with white powder in an envelope? Or the Anti-Trump Liberal who opened fire on a baseball game? Now obviously, I think these people kooky and in need of medical attention but obviously you are incapable of understanding any nuance or logic beyond your partisan histrionics and rhetoric. My opinion.

    Parent

    Well (none / 0) (#37)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 07:16:08 AM EST
    I guess we will know soon.   He is dead.

    The suspect is a 24-year-old white man, and authorities don't know whether he acted alone or what his motive was. He is responsible for all the incidents in Austin, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said.


    Parent
    Mark Anthony Condit (none / 0) (#38)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 08:38:03 AM EST
    Investigators work at the scene of a bombing on Dawn Song Drive in the Travis Country neighborhood on Monday, March 19, 2018 in Austin, Texas.Austin on edge after fourth bombing injures two people
    Click to expand
    PFLUGERVILLE, Texas (Reuters) - An unemployed 24-year-old man suspected of a three-week bombing campaign in Texas that killed two people and injured five others blew himself up on the side of a highway as police closed in on him early Wednesday, authorities said.


    Parent
    He was "home schooled" (none / 0) (#40)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 10:30:48 AM EST

    Updated: Bombing suspect Mark A. Conditt wrote political views in blog

    A 2013 Facebook post from Mark Conditt's mother marking his obtaining a high school-level education through home-schooling.

    PFLUGERVILLE
    9:45 a.m. update: In 2012, when he was 17 years old, Austin bombing suspect Mark A. Conditt laid out his political views in a series of blog posts he wrote for an Austin Community College course on U.S. government.

    In the posts, Conditt takes conservative stances on a variety of issues. He wrote that he was against gay marriage and abortion and in favor of the death penalty.

    On abortion, he wrote: "First, if a women does not want a baby, or is incapable of taking care of one, she should not participate in activities that were made for that reason. Second, if we are going to give women free abortions, why not give men free condoms, or the like? Is it not up to the couple to take these preventive measures?"

    Arguing against gay marriage, he wrote that homosexuality is "not natural."

    "Just look at the male and female bodies. They are obviously designed to couple. The natural design is apparent. It is not natural to couple male with male and female with female. It would be like trying to fit two screws together and to nuts together and then say, "See, it's natural for them to go together."

    On the death penalty, he wrote, "Living criminals harm and murder, again - executed ones do not."



    Parent
    Home schooled... (5.00 / 1) (#50)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 01:46:29 PM EST
    by Amway salespeople.

    Parent
    Oh, boy (none / 0) (#41)
    by Zorba on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 11:07:50 AM EST
    Let's see how Fox News tries to spin this guy's right-wing views.
    Assuming they mention them at all.

    Parent
    My guess is (5.00 / 2) (#44)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 12:47:44 PM EST
    It will be something along the lines of

    Crazy people do crazy things because they are crazy.


    Parent

    from another article (none / 0) (#42)
    by CST on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 12:15:35 PM EST
    On Fauxnews that I won't link:

    "He also called for the elimination of sex offender registries"

    This is actually one subject I tentatively agree with him on, because I believe that once you do the time you should be able to move on with your life.

    That said... It reminds me a bit of this, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find out if his views on that subject are due to his own personal experiences and fear of reprisal.

    At least he is consistent on the death penalty.

    Parent

    Who is your neighbor? (none / 0) (#46)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 12:55:15 PM EST
    Neighbors said he was a nice kid from a good family.


    Parent
    And his views are right in line with (none / 0) (#51)
    by Anne on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 01:48:47 PM EST
    those of millions of people, which is one reason he's not going to be branded a terrorist - plus, he's white, and we all know that real terrorists aren't.

    Cue the "mental health" meme - that's about as far as this is going to go.

    Parent

    There doesn't seem to be (none / 0) (#54)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 02:02:25 PM EST
    A crazy angle

    Nice kid from a good family.

    Parent

    One of the very (none / 0) (#70)
    by KeysDan on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 03:59:47 PM EST
    fine people.

    Parent
    Neighbor just now (none / 0) (#55)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 02:10:49 PM EST
    He seemed like a very normal kid.   I have known him for years there is nothing I could point to

    Parent
    Just a normal kid.. (none / 0) (#56)
    by jondee on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 02:24:40 PM EST
    90% of what people see is what they're predisposed to see.

    Like that Stevie Smith poem: We all thought he waving to us all and it turned out he was drowning..

    Parent

    PFLUGERVILLE might not (none / 0) (#59)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 02:50:19 PM EST
    Share the universal definition of normal.  We know what his politics was.
    Austin just hosted South by Southwest.  A very big deal.  Turning into an international big deal.

    It not hard to imagine this guy being horrified by a city in his back yard swarming with homos, hedonists, heretics and all manner of commie pinko weirdness

    Of course it's possible these two things could be completely unrelated.  I'm sure the fact that Austin is the most progressive city in TX if not the south had nothing whatever to do with his choice of targets.

    Parent

    Daily Beast (none / 0) (#60)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 02:52:28 PM EST
    a rundown of South by Southwest from 12 days ago

    Parent
    This doesn't make any sense (none / 0) (#61)
    by linea on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 03:04:27 PM EST
    I checked wiki and the victims of the bombings appear random. No event on that list you provided was targeted.

    The incredibly popular Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) will be giving a talk on March 9 at 12:30 p.m. at the Austin Convention Center moderated by CNN's Jake Tapper,


    Parent
    Could you find Texas (none / 0) (#62)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 03:07:27 PM EST
    On a map?

    Parent
    But on substance (none / 0) (#64)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 03:10:34 PM EST
    Those events have heavy security.  They are in Texas. You can't really fed ex a bomb to a Bernie rally.

    Hope this helps.

    Parent

    Nope, doesn't help (none / 0) (#73)
    by linea on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 04:12:24 PM EST
    Maybe you should review the wiki article before posting. Apparently, two of the bombs were left near roads (not mailed) and were intended to kill whoever randomly came by. He certainly could have left those bombs outside a SXSW 2018 event but he didn't.

    A suspected tripwire-activated package bomb injured two men (a 22-year-old and a 23-year-old) in a residential neighborhood in southwest Austin on March 18. The men suffered serious, although not life-threatening, injuries. Unlike the previous bombs, which were left on doorsteps, this bomb was left on the side of the road attached to a "for sale" sign.



    Parent
    Actually I did (none / 0) (#75)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 04:26:12 PM EST
    The ones you mention were the last and a change in tactics

    All the first three were sent to people of color.  So not necessarily "random".

    And just to be very clear JUST for you, I never said he planned or tried to attack South by Southwest

    What I actually said was he could be bombing Austin because it is a liberal mecca and South by Southwest was a big expression of that.

    I'm done with linea black holes so this will be it feel free to continue to run on.

    Parent

    Actually (none / 0) (#77)
    by linea on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 05:10:36 PM EST
    The first three packages that exploded at private residences were not mailed and the other packages were left by the road.  

    It seems mailing the packages is new. If this man had an animus toward Austin as a Progressive city it's not apparent from his seemingly random choice of targets.

    I'm also reading that despite being unemployed, he owned the house he was living in. Apparently, his father purchased it for him and he was collecting rent from two roommates. But maybe this report is inacurate? I dunno.

    Parent

    Terrorism (none / 0) (#57)
    by linea on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 02:39:48 PM EST
    Is defined as `the use of violent action in order to achieve political aims or to force a government to act.'

    Parent
    Once again, a quotation with no link (5.00 / 1) (#98)
    by Peter G on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 09:33:40 AM EST
    But I am guessing this is the definition of "terrorism" used in the federal criminal law. State criminal laws often use the term "terroristic" is a much broader sense, as folks do in ordinary conversation.  And when they do, they are not misusing the term.

    Parent
    And setting off bombs (none / 0) (#76)
    by jondee on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 04:42:48 PM EST
    to intimidate political adversaries wouldn't qualify as an attempt to achieve political aims?

    Parent
    Seems (none / 0) (#52)
    by linea on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 01:54:45 PM EST
    His views are normative for Texas (against gay marriage and abortion and in favor of the death penalty) and were posted six years ago when he was seventeen so it really doesn't explain his motivation at all.

    I don't know what point you are trying to make by highlighting that he was homeschooled or the use of scare-quotes. Maybe he was homeschooled because he had ADHD? Also, I think it wrong to assume that homeschooled means he was taught by a parent at home or that he was othwise isolated. Maybe he was angry and went crazy because he didn't have a girlfriend? That seems to be pretty typical of 20-something males who go crazy.

    Parent

    Interesting that you have so much insight (5.00 / 4) (#67)
    by Chuck0 on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 03:37:19 PM EST
    into the motivations of various demographics of the male human species. You know what typical 50-somethings do and now 20 somethings.

    Parent
    You're funny (none / 0) (#53)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 01:58:30 PM EST
    Comment more please

    Parent
    Hyperbole much? (none / 0) (#109)
    by Chuck0 on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 11:21:46 AM EST


    Parent
    She's (5.00 / 2) (#123)
    by Zorba on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 01:30:57 PM EST
    an expert at a it.

    Parent
    As soon as I heard (none / 0) (#65)
    by Repack Rider on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 03:18:56 PM EST
    ...that he sent a package by FedEx, I figured it was only a matter of time before that led police to him.

    First, I knew there would be a video of the transaction.  Even though he wore a disguise, his appearance eliminated a lot of people.  His relative size, weight and age were not disguised.

    Second, I thought that if he was dumb enough to have a cellphone with him in the FedEx, which apparently he was, then it would be a matter of comparing the logs of the nearby cell towers with those near the bombing sites.

    News reports indicate that he gave away his location when he switched on his cellphone, which means they already were onto him and were just waiting for him to stick his head up.

    Parent

    Ya (none / 0) (#66)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 03:23:11 PM EST
    "Home schooled"

    Probably no tv either or he would have been more informed on tactics and strategy.

    Parent

    Apparently (none / 0) (#68)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 03:37:56 PM EST
    An equAlly important clue was the "exotic" batteries ordered from the east.

    They found out who had shipped them to Texas and they knew who it was

    Parent

    He wasn't leaving bread crumbs (5.00 / 1) (#69)
    by Repack Rider on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 03:54:57 PM EST
    He was leaving a trail of bakeries.

    Parent
    The (none / 0) (#74)
    by FlJoe on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 04:14:21 PM EST
    plot thickens
    Former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe, who was fired by Jeff Sessions last week, authorized a criminal investigation of the attorney general last year, ABC News reports.

    McCabe, who was terminated for his "lack of candor," had similarly opened a federal probe into "whether Sessions lacked candor when testifying before Congress about contacts with Russian operatives," according to ABC News.
    Tuesday (none / 0) (#78)
    by linea on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 05:23:15 PM EST
    SCOTUS blocked Missouri from executing Russell Bucklew.

    The Chief Justice, Justice Thomas, Justice Alito, and Justice Gorsuch would deny the application for stay of execution.

    Conditt (none / 0) (#79)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 06:33:17 PM EST
    left a recording being called a confession

    I was right!! (none / 0) (#82)
    by linea on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 07:13:26 PM EST
    "He does not at all mention anything about terrorism...but instead it is the outcry of a very challenged young man talking about challenges in his personal life that led him to this point,"


    Parent
    But you left out the next sentence: (5.00 / 2) (#83)
    by Anne on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 07:36:14 PM EST
    But in terms of a motive, Manley said, "We're never going to be able to put a rationale behind these acts."

    As an aside, your glee at believing you are right is a little off-putting.

    Finally, as far as I'm concerned, there's a reason the phrase "terrorizing the community" is used: anytime a community is living in fear of being blown up or shot or killed because someone is doing just that, they are the victims of terrorism.

    Parent

    "Challenges in his personal life" (none / 0) (#85)
    by jondee on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 08:57:20 PM EST
    is vague enough to suggest any number of factors that might've driven him over the edge.

    If simply not having a girlfriend were enough to turn a young man into a mass murderer, this kind of thing would be happening a few times a day in this country.

    Parent

    Might that "challenge" be (5.00 / 2) (#97)
    by Peter G on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 09:25:09 AM EST
    a struggle with repressed same-sex attraction, after growing up in an overly sheltered, religiously overbearing setting? More likely to lead to alcohol abuse.  But sometimes (rarely) this can lead to an explosion (usually not literally) of violence and anger compensating for self-hatred. See Orlando "Pulse" shooting. Said the amateur shrink.

    Parent
    A few decades back (none / 0) (#114)
    by jondee on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 12:23:53 PM EST
    I think you would've made a good psychoanalyst, Peter.

    Parent
    Yes, the reference (none / 0) (#120)
    by KeysDan on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 01:10:50 PM EST
    of acquaintances as a loner, and of the Chief to "challenged," did suggest the bomber was severely tormented... trying to insurmountably reconcile his fears of damnation and family pressures with his being. A manifestation of internal oppression gone tragically and criminally off the rails.

    Parent
    Yeah and he grew up in a state (none / 0) (#121)
    by jondee on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 01:24:15 PM EST
    with a mythology that says your neighbor is always only a gunshot away. Reach out and shoot someone.

    Even Chris Kyle thought taking a deeply dusturbed person to the firing range would be a healing, bonding experience.

    Parent

    UK News (none / 0) (#152)
    by linea on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 07:26:11 PM EST
    Various UK News sites are reporting that the Austin bomber was involved with a Christian Survivalist group called Righteous Invasion of Truth (RIOT) when he was a teenager.

    I call shenanigans. From everything I can find, this was a youth group for home-schooled children that did typical things young adults in Texas do including shoot guns and participate in camping and other outdoor activities. I also expect the kids named their club after a Christian music group (see link below).

    This is the Righteous Invasion of Truth video I found on YouTube.

    Parent

    I suppose he might have been... (none / 0) (#169)
    by unitron on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 03:50:40 AM EST
    ...way, way back in the closet, but to me the more likely explanation for him and a lot of others is a feeling of powerlessness, and the frustration that comes along with that, that causes them to finally strike out in some way.

    Parent
    But it is (none / 0) (#88)
    by linea on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 12:42:59 AM EST
    it is happening more than a few times a day everyday in this country. Twenty-something men are constantly killing people because they don't have a girlfriend or killing people because their girlfriend or wife left them. It's happening all the time, they are shooting everyone at outdoor barbecues, showing up for birthday parties and killing everyone, or going crazy and killing everone at work. It's all over the news all the time. This incident is only unique because of the bombs. My opinion.

    Parent
    Constantly (5.00 / 3) (#95)
    by Yman on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 08:53:51 AM EST
    These posts have me thinking just the opposite may be true - i.e. having a certain type of girlfriend could make them go crazy.

    In my opinion.


    opposite
    [op-uh-zit, -sit]
    adjective
    situated, placed, or lying face to face with something else or each other, or in corresponding positions with relation to an intervening line, space, or thing:
    opposite ends of a room.

    contrary or radically different in some respect common to both, as in nature, qualities, direction, result, or significance; opposed:



    Parent
    My opinion. You exaggerate. (5.00 / 3) (#101)
    by oculus on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 09:51:57 AM EST


    Parent
    Young man without a (5.00 / 1) (#107)
    by MKS on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 11:06:00 AM EST
    girlfriend.   That describes almost every guy at some point.

    A not so nice view of young guys.

    Parent

    Domestic violence is an issue, but this (5.00 / 1) (#110)
    by Anne on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 11:42:15 AM EST
    does not seem to fit that category.

    And it seems to me that if this was all about not having a girlfriend, or being rejected in his efforts to have one, he would have been more likely to target those girls/young women who had rejected him, as opposed to setting incendiary devices in random places for some unlucky, unknown, random people to be blown to bits.

    I don't pretend to know what this young man's problems/motivation were, nor anything about his mental state, his overall intelligence, how indoctrinated he was in religious beliefs, his basic personality, if he did or didn't have friends, how functional his family was.

    These kinds of things can happen for 100 reasons or no reasons; if we could figure out why these things happen, we could do more to prevent them, but I'd be willing to bet that it tends to be usually in the aftermath, in hindsight, that people realize there were warning signs.

    No one wants to think that their loved one is capable of these acts of violence, so we deny, we dismiss, we lie to ourselves.  Sometimes, we get past it or get through it, and sometimes, the worst happens and we spend the rest of our lives marinating in the guilt of knowing maybe we could have done something to prevent it.  The lives lost are not just those that are shot or attacked.

    But I do think it bears some looking into why it is that girls/women aren't going on shooting rampages, why they aren't showing up with assault weapons, or making bombs in the shed.

    Parent

    In 2014, more than 73% of those arrested (none / 0) (#111)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 12:00:51 PM EST
    In 2014, more than 73% of those arrested in the US were males. Men accounted for 80.4 percent of persons arrested for violent crime and 62.9 percent of those arrested for property crime.

    An observable difference in crime rates between men and women might be due to social and cultural factors, crimes going unreported, or to biological factors (for example, testosterone or sociobiological theories). Taking the nature of the crime itself into consideration may also be a factor.

    Statistics have been consistent in reporting that men commit more criminal acts than women.[1][2] Self-reported delinquent acts are also higher for men than women across many different actions.[3] Burton, et al. (1998) found that low levels of self control are associated with criminal activity.[4]

    Many professionals have offered explanations for this sex difference. Some differing explanations include men's evolutionary tendency toward risk and violent behavior, sex differences in activity, social support, and gender inequality.

    Hopefully we get more insight into this particular dude...

    Parent

    Austin police Chief Brian Manley said (5.00 / 1) (#112)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 12:11:40 PM EST
    Austin police Chief Brian Manley said

    "I know everybody is interested in a motive and understanding why. And we're never going to be able to put a (rationale) behind these acts."

    Wow. Seems kinda early to me to be so definitive...

    Parent

    My thought exactly (5.00 / 1) (#126)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 01:56:47 PM EST
    Almost like they don't want to talk a out the reason or reasons

    Parent
    Yup. (none / 0) (#129)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 02:36:07 PM EST


    Parent
    I'd be interested in knowing to whom (none / 0) (#134)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 03:53:25 PM EST
    the two FedEx bombs were addressed.

    Parent
    The third bomb (none / 0) (#136)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 03:58:08 PM EST
    Apparently was not intended for the woman it maimed.  

    Parent
    Ya I think I read that. (none / 0) (#137)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 04:04:32 PM EST
    The two FedEx bombs must have been addressed to somebody.

    Parent
    meanwhile (none / 0) (#115)
    by CST on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 12:23:57 PM EST
    In Las Vegas...

    He has a point though.  Even when we "know" the motive (Pulse nightclub), more evidence comes out to muddle the waters a bit.

    Hell, even when everyone predicted the outcome in advance (Parkland), we don't really have much of a motive other than he seemed to really want to shoot up a school, and then did.

    We seem to have this need to assign cut-and-dry motives to every crime, but a lot of times it's just not that simple.

    But sure, maybe they'll find a note somewhere that says "I did this because _ " and then we can all sleep better at night.  Or something.

    Parent

    Ya. For me, understanding the reason(s) (none / 0) (#117)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 12:32:40 PM EST
    why someone does something heinous could potentially help in future avoidance. Or the info could be completely useless. Who knows. I still would like to know.

    Parent
    Okay, my bad (none / 0) (#130)
    by linea on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 03:13:04 PM EST
    My post was both a bad example and an exaggeration.

    But if the suicide cellphone video (or a transcript) is ever released MY GUESS is that at least part of it will include a complaint that women were never attracted to him, like this guy: [Video]

    Parent

    The next time you meet (5.00 / 1) (#132)
    by jondee on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 03:37:02 PM EST
    a tall, dark, alienated loner, maybe you should take one for the team.

    Ask not what your country can do for you.

    Parent

    Truly seems no limit (none / 0) (#135)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 03:56:54 PM EST
    To the ways one can over rate ones self

    Parent
    I only wish these young men (none / 0) (#89)
    by jondee on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 02:54:32 AM EST
    knew how to keep it simple the way my rustic Serbian uncle did, who once, while slightly in his cups, gave me some passed-down old country advice on girlfriends that brought matters into stark relief and lit the way forward..

    To whit: A woman that smells like garlic and screams when she c*ms is a keeper.

    Parent

    So the I guess (5.00 / 2) (#90)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 06:56:39 AM EST
    The lack of a boyfriend would have the same effect on a "twenty something girl"

    Explains a lot.

    Parent

    Ouch (none / 0) (#108)
    by MKS on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 11:12:09 AM EST
    But funny.

    Parent
    America is the most (none / 0) (#113)
    by jondee on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 12:18:45 PM EST
    hyper-competitive nation on the planet; practically founded on the robber baron principle that the war of all against is conducive to a "meritocracy"..Martin Buber's compassionate I and Thou relationship to one's fellow humans is the first thing to go in that scenario..

    In some ways mass killers are our proverbial canaries in a coal mine: the price we pay for devaluing and deemphasizing the sangha-community and promoting superficial ideals that alienate and isolate far too many people.

    Parent

    Sorry (none / 0) (#116)
    by jondee on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 12:32:12 PM EST
    I just couldn't take it any more.

    Obviously obviously these isolated murderous guys have problems that run much deeper than the lack of a girlfriend.

    Parent

    Ya think (none / 0) (#127)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 01:57:49 PM EST


    Parent
    Call it a sneaky suspicion (none / 0) (#131)
    by jondee on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 03:28:20 PM EST


    Parent
    True (none / 0) (#92)
    by FlJoe on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 07:22:37 AM EST
    but 99% of them play out as crimes of passion, targeting specific people (exes and rivals).

    This crime is different not only because of the weapon used but the total lack of passion and targeting.

    Parent

    SCOTUS oral arguments (none / 0) (#84)
    by linea on Wed Mar 21, 2018 at 08:05:41 PM EST
    Whether the disclosures required by the California Reproductive FACT Act violate the protections set forth in the free speech clause of the First Amendment, applicable to the states through the 14th Amendment.

    National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) v. Becerra

    Justice Gorsuch: Well, but if you're trying to educate a class of -- of people about their rights, it's -- it's pretty unusual to force a private speaker to do that for you under the First Amendment.
    I support a broad view of free speech rights (5.00 / 2) (#96)
    by Peter G on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 09:17:40 AM EST
    but courts for more than a century have endorsed the principle that the state has a compelling interest, on behalf of its citizens' health and safety, in regulating the misleading and false claims and advice ("speech") of both licensed and self-proclaimed providers of medical and psychological services. This principle supports both the laws against selling snake oil while making unsupportable health claims and against providing "gay conversion therapy" (i.e., protocols for which there is little or no evidence of effectiveness, coupled with a demonstrated risk of harm). It seems to me that the same principle may apply here.

    Parent
    John Dowd resigns (none / 0) (#103)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 10:31:41 AM EST
    Clearly he is smarter than he looks.

    Link (none / 0) (#105)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 10:37:45 AM EST
    John Dowd, Trump's lead Russia probe lawyer, resigns

    Parent
    Market is crashing on China news (none / 0) (#128)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 02:11:44 PM EST
    Down 555  at the moment.  Ali sez watch out if it goes below 2.5% loss.

    -724.4 at closing (none / 0) (#146)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 05:18:08 PM EST
    2.93%.

    Parent
    KRYPTON (none / 0) (#138)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 04:07:14 PM EST
    Just saw the pilot.  It's pretty good.

    It's David Goyer

    The Krypton pilot has a lot of heavy lifting to do, establishing not just the complicated alien culture of a technologically advanced planet, but also laying the track for several competing conflicts on a micro and macro scale. If the episode occasionally buckles under the weight of all this set up, it's not for lack of ambition, and while the first episode is a little too preoccupied with exposition to have much fun, later episodes start to allow the protagonists' humor and sense of adventure shine through.

    The Verdict
    Ambitious and visually daring, Krypton has a lot more potential than the premise (and title) might imply. While the first episode takes its time to get off the ground, all the pieces are in place to create a space adventure series that could soar, if it doesn't get too weighed down with planetary politics.

    IGN

    Sadly (none / 0) (#139)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 04:08:51 PM EST
    Barristan Selmy and Abby from Ray Donavon both die in the pilot.

    Not much of a spoiler really.

    Parent

    Scratch that (none / 0) (#140)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 04:17:16 PM EST
    Selmy comes back so probably Abby does too.

    Parent
    Wild Wild Country (none / 0) (#160)
    by linea on Thu Mar 22, 2018 at 09:06:53 PM EST
    Highly Recommend Documentary Netflix Series (six episodes):
    Wild Wild Country
    I'm three episodes in (5.00 / 1) (#180)
    by McBain on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 09:41:19 AM EST
    so far, so good.  

    Parent
    Avennati hints at video (none / 0) (#171)
    by Yman on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 07:43:48 AM EST
    ... by posting a picture of a CD/DVD in a safe.  "If a picture's worth a thousand words ..."

    Howdy - I do believe our favorite lawyer is a bit of a tease.

    Ha (none / 0) (#175)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 08:05:36 AM EST
    He definitely is.  And he seems to be really enjoying this

    Parent
    The (none / 0) (#174)
    by FlJoe on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 08:03:35 AM EST
    toddler in cheif throws another twitter tantrum
    President Donald Trump threatened Friday to veto the omnibus spending bill passed by Congress just after midnight, citing concerns the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
    "I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded," Trump tweeted.
    Over DACA, my a$$.

    So, when did the Dems take over? (none / 0) (#176)
    by Anne on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 08:30:39 AM EST
    Seems like ol' Don could just get out his Sharpie and sign off on an executive order extending DACA protections - you know, the same way that same Sharpie got rid of it last September?

    I hope Lady Karma is packing his bags for the hell he deserves to go to, leaving out all the hair products, and assigning him to the Vegan Section where the closest he'll get to a Big Mac is a soyburger.

    Jesus, but this man is vile.

    Parent

    Seriously, (none / 0) (#177)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 08:35:41 AM EST
    The man is coming unmoored

    Trump flubbed the name of Lockheed Martin's CEO, calling her 'Marillyn Lockheed'

    "We have some of our great business leaders, and leaders period right behind me," Trump said at the podium before asking Hewson to say a few words.

    "I may ask Marillyn Lockheed, the leading women's business executive in this country, according to many," Trump said.
    And to me, the funniest, and also the (5.00 / 1) (#181)
    by Anne on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 09:46:05 AM EST
    most cringe-worthy, part was that he pronounced "Lockheed" as if it was some sort of foreign, Middle-eastern kind of name: "Lah-kheeeed."

    The only thing that surprised me was that he didn't somehow throw in an aside about Ivanka when he got to the part about Marilyn being the "leading women's business executive in this country."  

    God, he's such an embarrassment.

    Parent

    I'm surprised he didn't call her (5.00 / 1) (#182)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 10:02:54 AM EST
    Wonder Woman since He apparently thinks stealth jets are "invisible"

    Parent
    At (none / 0) (#179)
    by FlJoe on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 09:29:31 AM EST
    least he didn't call her Marilyn Manson.

    Parent
    DiGenova and Toensing off the team? (none / 0) (#190)
    by Anne on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 01:22:27 PM EST
    President Donald Trump is not completely convinced that seasoned Washington attorney Joseph diGenova and his wife, attorney Victoria Toensing, are the right fit to join his legal team, CNN reported Friday.

    While Trump's attorney Jay Sekulow announced Monday that diGenova had been added to Trump's legal team, a source familiar with the matter told CNN that no one has been officially hired yet. Trump reportedly met with the lawyer couple Thursday and "liked their message," but wasn't fully convinced to bring them on the team, CNN reported.

    Trump is reportedly concerned about conflicts of interests with Toensing's other clients. According to the sources who spoke with CNN, Toensing represents clients like Trump-affiliated public relations specialist Mark Corrallo and former Trump campaign co-chair Sam Clovis, both of whom have been interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller for his investigation into Russian meddling and the Trump campaign.

    Link

    I'm dizzy from all the eye-rolling.

    Worth noting (none / 0) (#196)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 02:44:21 PM EST
    this Daily Beast story that says Guccifer 2.0, who Roger Stone has said is a buddy, was in fact a Russian intelligence officer.

    CBS (none / 0) (#197)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 02:47:24 PM EST
    CBS NEWS March 14, 2017, 6:58 PM
    Trump adviser Roger Stone admits contact with Guccifer 2.0 during campaign



    Parent

    Some of the media gets it, (none / 0) (#200)
    by KeysDan on Fri Mar 23, 2018 at 04:08:10 PM EST
    well, a part of it.  It has become common knowledge that Trump does something outrageous to change the subject.  But, then they spend their time talking about the outrageous something.

    Waiting for the other part.  Mention the outrageous something and mention that it is presented to change the subject.  Then return to the subject, Stormy, Putin, incompetence, corruption.  Plenty to talk about, other than that  orchestrated by Trump.

    Reading some interesting (none / 0) (#202)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Mar 25, 2018 at 02:26:14 PM EST
    Possibilities for the Stormy interview.  I started wondering with all the talk of "unprotected" interaction.

    I read on C&L he might have "tried" to force her to have a abortion.  Which seems logically to mean there might be a child

    Pass the popcorn.

    There is some sports event on before 60 minutes so I fear they may locally try to preempt.  Politics and all.  Hope that is unfounded.

    We will all see it eventually.

    Tuesday Open Thread | 201 comments (201 topical)