;)
The Commentariat -- October 26, 2018
Afternoon Update:
Obviously, I can't take time off to go to the dentist. Good for the FBI & other law enforcement personnel. Phenomenal work. -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie
William Rashbaum, et al., of the New York Times: "Federal authorities made an arrest on Friday in connection with the nationwide bombing campaign against outspoken critics of President Trump, a significant breakthrough in a case that has gripped the country in the days leading up to the midterm elections. A law enforcement official identified the suspect as Cesar Sayoc Jr., 56, of Aventura, Fla., just north of Miami. The arrest came even as the crude pipe bombs continued to appear across the country. [Besides the pipe bombs sent to Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.)] & former DNI James Clapper, discovered earlier today,] "a third was intercepted before it reached Senator Kamala Harris, a California Democrat. Mr. Sayoc, a registered Republican, has a lengthy criminal history in Florida dating back to 1991 that includes felony theft, drug and fraud charges, as well as being arrested and accused of threatening to use a bomb, public records show.... Photos of [Sayoc's white] van showed that one of the stickers depicted Mr. Trump standing in front of flames and the American flag. Another was of Hillary Clinton's face in the crosshairs of a rifle scope. A third said: 'CNN Sucks.'" ...
Via the Miami Herald.... Jay Weaver, et al., of the Miami Herald: "Federal agents arrested a South Florida man outside an auto parts store on Thursday as a prime suspect in a string of pipe-bomb mailings to prominent Democrats and other critics of ... Donald Trump. A trail of DNA evidence on the packages or the devices helped investigators narrow a nationwide manhunt to Cesar Sayoc, a 56-year-old man from Aventura, law enforcement sources told the Miami Herald. Sayoc was being questioned by FBI agents with the Joint Terrorism Task Force following his arrest. Agents also seized and towed away his white van, which had most of its windows covered in pro-Donald Trump and right wing stickers. Photos of the van, posted by a Twitter user who said he saw the car at a stoplight in April, show rifle scope images over the faces of H[l]ilary Clinton, left wing filmmaker Michael Moore and President Barack Obama.... The arrest was made at an AutoZone in Plantation instead of his home to avoid any potential dangerous confrontation, sources told the Miami Herald. News partner CBS4 reports a 'loud explosion' was heard at the time of the arrest, possibly from an FBI flash bomb device. Sayoc was a frequent poster on social media sites and his Twitter and Facebook accounts were filled with pro-Trump memes and attacks on Democrats -- including a string linking Andrew Gillum, the Democratic candidate for Florida governor, with billionaire George Soros, a major party donor and recipient of one of the menacing mailings." ...
... Kelly Weill & Will Sommer of the Daily Beast: "Cesar A. Sayoc, the Florida man reported to be the mail bombing suspect, frequently posted conspiratorial pro-Trump messages on Twitter or made threats to Democratic leaders, including some who would later receive potentially explosive devices in the mail this week.... The account and his Facebook profile, which feature pictures of Sayoc, 56, at Trump rallies, also contain some of the same images plastered to Sayoc's van, including flags for Florida's Seminole tribe and collages of pro-Trump and anti-CNN meme stickers. The Facebook account is almost exclusively pro-Trump content, including pictures and videos Sayoc purportedly filmed at one of th president's political rallies.... The account also posted video of what appears to be Sayoc himself chanting Trump's name at what looks like an indoor Trump rally.... And the Twitter feed is littered with far-right conspiracy theories or violent threats aimed at some of President Trump's most outspoken critics. He appears to have repeatedly tweeted about George Soros, the liberal billionaire philanthropist who has long been the target of far-right, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. At one point, Sayoc purportedly wrote 'you will vanish' in a tweet aimed at the billionaire." There's more. ...
Just moments after Trump calls for unity at a WH event, he references "globalists," prompting several audience members shout "Soros" -- who was a target of one of the bombs -- and others shout "lock him up" to which Trump chuckles, points and repeats "lock him up" pic.twitter.com/IWZR3DRCvk
— Robert Maguire (@RobertMaguire_) October 26, 2018
... Mrs. McCrabbie: It would be hard to read a teleprompter with less apparent enthusiasm while still appearing to be awake:
... Mrs. McCrabbie BTW: In his limp remarks, Trump never mentioned the names of any of the targets, nor did he mention the letters F, B & I. Of course others wrote his remarks, but the speechwriters followed his directions. ...
... John Wagner of the Washington Post: "President Trump lamented [in a tweet] Friday that the news media was more focused on covering 'this "Bomb" stuff' rather than politics, a development he asserted was slowing Republican momentum in advance of the Nov. 6 midterms. 'Republicans are doing so well in early voting, and at the polls, and now this "Bomb" stuff happens and the momentum greatly slows -- news not talking politics,' Trump said in a midmorning tweet. 'Very unfortunate, what is going on. Republicans, go out and vote!'" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: "This 'Bomb' stuff" targeted two former U.S. presidents, a former vice-president and numerous other high government officials and high-profile private citizens. "This 'Bomb' stuff" threatened the lives of these individuals as well as the lives of an untold number of ordinary USPS workers and office and home workers throughout the country. Trump's concern? Maybe the media's attention to "this 'Bomb' stuff" will help Democrats take over one House of Congress & start investigating me, Donald Trump. "Very unfortunate." ...
... Update. Matt Miller noted on MSNBC that the FBI identified Sayoc on Thursday and certainly would have told Trump yesterday what they knew about him & the devices he sent. So Trump's tweet about "this 'bomb' stuff" was almost certainly made after he knew the alleged perp was one of his supporters. In addition, FBI director Chris Wray said in a news conference this afternoon that the bombs were not fakes, or as Trump put it "bomb" (in quotation marks). That makes Trump's tweet dismissing the bombs as "bombs" doubly egregious. ...
Jordan Fabian of the Hill: "Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on Friday that bombing suspect Cesar Sayoc Jr. has been charged with five federal crimes for sending explosive devices to more than a dozen Democratic political figures, celebrities and news organizations.... The charges include interstate transportation of an explosive, illegal mailing of explosives, threats against former presidents and other persons, threatening interstate commerce and assaulting federal officers.... FBI Director Christopher Wray said investigators used DNA and fingerprint evidence pulled from the packages to locate Sayoc. Wray emphasized 'these are not hoax devices' and described some as 'improvised explosive devices.' The comments came hours after President Trump appeared to cast doubt on whether the devices were real. In a tweet Friday morning, Trump put scare quotes around the word 'bomb,' an apparent nod to false-flag conspiracy theories voiced by some of his supporters." ...
... Maxwell Strachan of the Huffington Post: "... [George] Soros has become the right wing's main boogeymen over the last decade. His most vicious critics tend to be members of the Nazi frog set, employing longtime anti-Semitic tropes to depict Soros as a Jewish puppet master. But other critics make their money at Fox News, where Soros is treated as the Moriarty of liberal America, the spider at the center of a vast web. In the eyes of his most unwavering detractors, Soros is a Nazi-sympathizing, left-wing 'globalist' hellbent on using his billions to destroy the conservative movement.... Since April, people on Fox News have depicted Soros as a 'dirty word' and a 'radical' who 'hates the United States.' Here are other comments about Soros that have been broadcast on Fox News since April, based on TVEyes' rough transcripts."
Michelle Boorstein & Samantha Schmidt of the Washington Post: "... thousands filled the soaring nave of the Washington National Cathedral for the interment service of Matthew Shepard, the young man whose murder 20 years ago horrified the nation and became a milestone in the fight for gay rights.... Presiding over the worship service at the second-largest cathedral in the country, in front of a crowd of about 2,025 people, was Bishop Gene Robinson, whose elevation in the early 2000s as the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church marked another huge -- and controversial -- milestone in the push for LGBT equality.... Rippling through the Cathedral at times was the crackling energy of a political rally, with Robinson urging the crowd not to simply commemorate Shepard but to train their eyes on continued discrimination against sexual minorities, especially transgender people, who he called a 'target' right now."
Karen Zraick & Matt Stevens of the New York Times: "A gunman who killed two people at a Kroger supermarket in Jeffersontown, Ky., on Wednesday tried to enter a predominantly black church minutes before the attack, the police said on Thursday. The man, Gregory Bush, 51, of Louisville, was arraigned Thursday on two counts of murder and 10 counts of wanton endangerment. He was ordered held with bail set at $5 million. The police said they were investigating the motive for the attack, which killed Vickie Lee Jones, 67, and Maurice E. Stallard, 69. Both were black, while Mr. Bush is white, and the son of a witness said his father heard the gunman make a racist remark during the episode, though the police said they could not confirm that account. Mr. Bush has a history of mental illness, Chief Sam Rogers of the Jeffersontown Police Department said at a news conference on Thursday."
Brian Stelter of CNN: "While negotiations continue between Megyn Kelly and NBC, the network announced on Friday that her 9 a.m. talk show has been canceled. 'Megyn Kelly Today is not returning,' the network said in a statement. 'Next week, the 9 a.m. hour will be hosted by other "Today" co-anchors.' Her exit from NBC News is not official yet. But it will be soon. It's a foregone conclusion among all the players involved, multiple sources said Thursday." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Too bad she mixed it up with Trump. Otherwise, she's a natural to replace Jim Mattis as Secretary of Defense.
*****
9:45 am ET Update. William Rashbaum & Matthew Haag of the New York Times: "Federal authorities discovered two more explosive devices, one addressed to Senator Cory Booker and the other to James R. Clapper Jr., the former director of national intelligence, law enforcement officials said on Friday. The package sent to Mr. Clapper was addressed to CNN's offices in New York, similar to a pipe bomb found Wednesday that was addressed to John O. Brennan, a former C.I.A. director via CNN.... The package addressed to Mr. Clapper at CNN was discovered on Friday morning at a United States Postal Service facility in Midtown Manhattan, a few blocks south of the news network's building. The package for Mr. Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, was found in Florida, the F.B.I. said." Thanks to PD Pepe for the lead.
Karen DeYoung, et al., of the Washington Post: "CIA Director Gina Haspel briefed President Trump on Thursday about her trip this week to Turkey, where she listened to audio purportedly capturing the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, as Saudi Arabia appeared to acknowledge that its agents had murdered the dissident Saudi journalist in a 'premeditated' operation." Mrs. McC: But don't worry, people. Trump won't remember any of the "details" of the briefing, so he won't be able to pass them on to the Chinese & Russians on that "rarely used," "government authorized" iPhone of his. ...
... Matt Novak of Gizmodo: "... according to the New York Times, Chinese and Russian spies are listening [to Donald Trump's phone conversations], especially to his unsecured cellphone. But President Trump would like you to know that he 'rarely' uses his cellphones. He says so in this morning's toilet tweets, sent from his iPhone[.]... I think this is going to be it for President Trump. This is the kind of scandal that can bring down a presidency. He has no choice but to resign in disgrace now." Thanks to Akhilleus for the hilarious link. ...
... Matthew Rosenberg & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "President Trump dismissed a report about Chinese and Russian spies listening in on his cellphone calls as 'soooo wrong,' yet he acknowledged the crucial vulnerability being exploited by foreign agents -- that he uses a cellphone to make calls.... Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the Democratic vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, a tweet that the president's cellphone habits were a big problem 'if true.' [Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), said,] 'We need an investigation to definitively determine whether Trump has compromised classified information.'... Mr. Trump, of course, spent much of the 2016 presidential campaign attacking Hillary Clinton for using an unsecured email server while she was secretary of state. He accused her of putting American secrets at risk, and basked in the chants of 'lock her up' at his rallies."
Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "At the end of a week in which 10 suspected pipe bombs were sent to prominent liberal leaders over a 72-hour period, President Trump took to Twitter past 3 a.m. Friday to criticize CNN, another recipient of a suspicious package.... 'Funny how lowly rated CNN, and others, can criticize me at will, even blaming me for the current spate of Bombs and ridiculously comparing this to September 11th and the Oklahoma City bombing,' the president tweeted at 3:14 a.m., 'yet when I criticize them they go wild and scream, "it's just not Presidential!'... The 3:14 a.m. tweet, which was posted after an incomplete version of the tweet was published and deleted about 30 minutes prior, comes in the same week that the president both condemned the pipe bombs and again targeted the media for the coverage of his administration." ...
... William Rashbaum, et al., of the New York Times: "Federal authorities investigating a spate of pipe bombs sent this week to several prominent critics of President Trump have turned their attention toward southern Florida, believing that a number of the explosive devices were mailed from the area, two people briefed on the matter said Thursday.... All of the 10 packages that have been discovered since Monday bore return addresses from Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democratic congresswoman from Florida.... Though investigators initially believed that some of the packages were delivered by hand or by courier, they have now concluded that all 10 were likely sent through the mail, a person briefed on the matter said." ...
... Laura Jarrett of CNN: "The FBI said in a tweet Thursday morning that it could confirm three more packages that were 'similar in appearance to the others.' 'One in New York addressed to Robert DeNiro, and two in Delaware addressed to former Vice President Joseph Biden,' said the tweet from the FBI's official account. This brings the total to 10 suspicious packages that have been discovered since earlier this week." This is a running report on developments. (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Andrew Restuccia & Gabby Orr of Politico: "A day after several leading Democrats were found to have been targeted by package bombs, Republicans have identified one of their own as a victim: ... Donald Trump. As of Thursday afternoon, less than 36 hours after the first packages were discovered, White House officials and outside advisers bitterly protested the notion that Trump's vitriolic rhetoric might have inspired whoever sent the packages. The alleged main offender was a familiar one -- the news media, which conservatives insisted had rushed to unfair conclusions in an effort to undermine the president less than two weeks before the midterm elections.... 'I think it is absolutely disgraceful that one of the first public statements we heard from CNN yesterday was to put the blame and responsibility of this despicable act on the president and on me personally," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told Fox News on Thursday. She subsequently told reporters that Trump is no more responsible for the attempted bombings than Sen. Bernie Sanders was responsible 'for a supporter shooting up a baseball practice field last year,' referring to the June 2017 Alexandria, Va., shooting in which four people, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) were shot. The coordinated pushback echoes one of Trump's most frequent reactions to harsh criticism: give no ground and shift the blame to others." ...
... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: I'd like to point out how stupid the Steve Scalise argument (which I've heard elsewhere) is. Bernie Sanders no more incited supporters to violence than Jodie Foster urged John Hinckley, Jr. to shoot President Reagan & Jim Brady, even tho Hinckley said he tried to assassinate Reagan to impress Foster. Trump, on the other hand, regularly celebrates violence, demonizes adversaries & occasionally even encourages his followers to perform violent acts. Sarah Sanders & her ilk are comparing an apple to a big sour Orange. ...
... AND as Michelle Goldberg: writes, "rudeness toward powerful people" is not "akin to [physical] assault": At a rally in Wisconsin Wednesday Donald Trump "blamed the press for America's climate of simmering rage. 'The media also has a responsibility to set a civil tone and to stop the endless hostility and constant negative and oftentimes false attacks and stories,' he said. It was an audacious act of misdirection, especially since the attack included a bomb sent to the New York offices of CNN, one of Trump's favorite punching bags. But while Trump's words were meant to further derange American political debate, they were, in one sense, clarifying. They demonstrated the rank disingenuousness of conservative complaints about 'incivility,' a term that's increasingly used to conflate expressions of political anger with political violence, equating yelling at politicians with trying to kill them.... The violent part of the right is integrated into the Republican Party in a way that has no analogue on the left. [Goldberg provides several examples.]... Of course, no one has done more to stoke political violence than Trump."
... Jonathan Chait: "... the important issue here is not Trump's inability to convincingly advocate civility for an entire news cycle.... The issue is Trump's conviction that he should not be subjected to any scrutiny or criticism.... What has given Trump's version of it unusual virulence is his belief that the media should be an uncritical conduit for his lies. This is the true through line of his entire career.... What has given Trump's version of it unusual virulence is his belief that the media should be an uncritical conduit for his lies. This is the true through line of his entire career. [As a businessman,] he was fanatical about intimidating reporters with legal threats.... In his incarnation as a political candidate, Trump has mostly lost his ability to intimidate the media with legal threats. (Politicians have a prohibitively high standard for libel in the United States.) But his expectation and worldview are the same.... It is a supreme irony that Trump used his speech last night to delegitimize criticism. 'No one should carelessly compare political opponents to historical villains.' But ... Trump, in his psychological makeup and aspirations, is precisely such a historical villain." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Stephen Collinson of CNN: "... the President has chosen not to rise above the tumult or even console or counsel those who opposed him. He did not mention the victims by name. Or give any indication that he is concerned that some people might see his flaming rhetoric as a spur to violence. Trump's response to Wednesday's events was a reminder of the gap between presidential expectations and performance that has often been evident in his response to grave national moments, crises and natural disasters." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post: "At a raucous rally in Montana last week, a Trump supporter -- juiced up by the president's crude praise of a congressman who body-slammed a reporter -- looked directly at CNN reporter Jim Acosta. Then he ran his thumb across his throat. And laughed. Later, Acosta described 'the Trump effect.' 'It has normalized and sanitized nastiness and cruelty in a way that I just never thought I would see,' he said, shortly after that Montana rally. The Trump effect is a straight line from years of his hateful rhetoric to real-world danger. It's a line that goes directly from disrespect to pipe bomb. And -- almost inevitably -- it will eventually go from failed attempt to spilled blood. If you can't see it, you aren't looking." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Will Sommer of the Daily Beast: "Instagram deleted a post from right-wing figure Milo Yiannopoulos praising the recent mail bombs sent to prominent Democratic officials, after initially refusing to take the post down when it was reported as hate speech. On Thursday afternoon, Yiannopoulos posted a picture of himself with a caption expressing his regret that the bombs hadn't detonated. Yiannopoulos also told his 386,000 followers that he was upset that no mail bomb was sent to this publication, The Daily Beast.... Instagram [initially] said [the post] 'does not violate our Community Guidelines.'... Yiannopoulos' post was removed roughly two hours later. 'This content violates our policies and has been removed from Instagram and Facebook,' Instagram spokeswoman Stephanie Noon said in an email. 'We prohibit celebration or praise of crimes committed, and we will remove content praising a bombing attempt as soon as we're aware.'" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Instagram, which is a Facebook company, seems pretty confused about what its own "community guidelines" mean.
... Oliver Darcy of CNN: "Fox Business Network host Lou Dobbs, who is prone to peddling conspiracy theories and is a prominent supporter of President Trump, asserted without evidence on Thursday that it was 'fake news' that suspicious packages were mailed this week to high-profile Democrats and the New York City offices of CNN. 'Fake bombs,' Dobbs wrote in a tweet posted to his verified account Thursday morning. 'Who could possibly benefit by so much fakery?' Dobbs deleted his tweet after immediate and widespread condemnation. Authorities have said that the bombs found in the packages were rudimentary, but functional. After Dobbs deleted the tweet, he posted a second tweet which carried the same suggestion. In the second tweet, Dobbs wrote that 'Fake News had just successfully changed the narrative from the onslaught of illegal immigrants and broken border security to "suspicious packages."' Dobbs later deleted that tweet as well." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Robert Pear of the New York Times: "President Trump proposed on Thursday that Medicare pay for certain prescription drugs based on the prices paid in other advanced industrial countries -- a huge change that could save money for the government and for millions of Medicare beneficiaries. As part of a demonstration project covering half the country, Medicare would establish an 'international pricing index' and use it as a benchmark in deciding how much to pay for drugs covered by Part B of Medicare.... The drug proposal would take effect in late 2019 or early 2020 at the earliest.... [The program] would be phased in from 2020 to 2025.... Mr. Trump's announcement was part of a flurry of initiatives emerging from the White House ahead of next month's midterm elections...." ...
Nobody's had the courage to do it, or even wanted to do it. -- Donald Trump, on his proposal to lower some drug prices in the future ...
... [Trump is] ignoring that his predecessor, Obama, proposed some similar reforms. -- Dan Diamond, in a straight news report linked below
It's hard to take the Trump administration and Republicans seriously about reducing health care costs for seniors two weeks before the election when they have repeatedly advocated for and implemented policies that strip away protections for people with pre-existing conditions and lead to increased health care costs for millions of Americans. -- Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-Ny.)
On the eve of the midterm elections, the president is proposing a small step on drug price relief when a giant leap is urgently needed. Instead of nibbling around the edges, he should demand in his State of the Union speech that Congress send to his desk within 30 days a broad price negotiation bill that applies to all drugs in the Medicare program. -- Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) ...
... Dan Diamond of Politico: "... Donald Trump tried Thursday to make good on a campaign vow to lower drug prices.... But his populist proposal didn't appear likely to budge the national debate around health care, just days ahead of the midterm elections.... It's too wonky for Republicans playing defense in local races, it gave Democrats a fresh opportunity to slam the administration's attacks on patient protections and it won't help most voters pay less for prescriptions at local pharmacies.... 'Trump is promoting insurance policies that aren't required to cover any prescription drugs,' said Andy Slavitt, who ran Medicare under President Barack Obama.... Trump's sweeping proposal mostly landed with a thud in Washington and on the campaign trail. The handful of Republicans to release statements issued mild remarks saying only they would take a look at it.... For many Republicans, Trump's plan was not only wonky but anathema to their belief in competition as the solution to high prices.... Some GOP leaders also are angry that Trump would bypass Congress and use a pilot approach made possible by an Obamacare provision that many revile."
Julie Davis & Thomas Gibbons-Neff of the New York Times: "President Trump is considering taking executive action to bar migrants, including asylum seekers, from entering the country at the southern border, according to people familiar with the plan. The effort would be the starkest indication yet of Mr. Trump's election-season push to play to his anti-immigrant base as his party fights to keep control of Congress. The proposal amounts to a sweeping use of presidential power to fortify the border and impose the kind of aggressive immigration restrictions and enforcement measures that Mr. Trump has made his signature pursuit. It would also be the most drastic in a series of steps that Mr. Trump has taken or threatened to take in recent days -- including preparations on Thursday to send as many as 1,000 active-duty Army troops to help secure the southern border -- as he works to stoke fears of what he has called an 'onslaught' of immigrants only days before the midterm elections." ...
... Barbara Starr of CNN: "Defense Secretary James Mattis is expected to sign deployment orders as soon as Thursday that could send 800 or more troops to the border with Mexico to help border patrol authorities stop a caravan of migrants from Central America moving through Mexico to enter the US, according to three administration officials.... The troops will not engage in lethal operations to stop the migrants. Instead they are expected to provide fencing, wall materials and other technical support at several key points along the border where it is believed the migrants may try to cross. The troops will also provide tents and medical care for border authorities in those areas.... President Trump hinted at the upcoming effort with a Thursday morning tweet, saying 'I am bringing out the military for this National Emergency.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Mad Dog Foils Trumpy Dumpty Again. Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "In several recent tweets, including a new one Thursday calling the migrants' advance a 'National Emergency,' the president said he would deploy the U.S. military to the border. But the additional personnel won't be 'trigger pullers' performing an enforcement role. Instead, they'll be assigned to provide aviation, transport and other logistical support, and the contingent will include doctors and lawyers.... It sounds as if the Pentagon is deploying them in more of a humanitarian-relief capacity, as they would after a natural disaster such as a hurricane. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is not sending tanks or combat troops." Mrs. McC: Meep Meep. Watching Mattis get the better of Trump is a little like watching a version of a Road Runner cartoon. ...
Reassurance. Frank Dale of ThinkProgress: "The U.S. government does not plan 'right now to shoot at people' traveling in a migrant caravan making its way north from Central America, according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. In an interview at the U.S.-Mexico border with Fox News' Martha MacCallum on Thursday, Nielsen explained that border agents don't intend to use firearms against the migrants..., However, President Donald Trump's DHS Secretary warned that border agents 'do have the ability, of course, to defend themselves.'" --s
Julian Borger of the Guardian: "The US mission to the United Nations is seeking to eliminate the word 'gender' from UN human rights documents, most often replacing it with 'woman', apparently as part of the Trump administration's campaign to define transgender people out of existence. At recent meetings of the UN's Third Committee, which is concerned with 'social, humanitarian and cultural' rights, US diplomats have been pushing for the rewriting of general assembly policy statements to remove what the administration argues is vague and politically correct language, reflecting what it sees as an 'ideology' of treating gender as an individual choice rather than an unchangeable biological fact." Mrs. McC: Oh great. Now we're trying to spread discrimination around the world. And you thought Trump wasn't trying to be a world leader. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Betsy Woodruff & Erin Banco of the Daily Beast: "Gen. Ahmed Al-Assiri, the Saudi intelligence chief taking the fall for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, hobnobbed in New York with Michael Flynn and other members of the transition team shortly before Trump's inauguration. The topic of their discussion: regime change in Iran. Mohammed bin Salman, the powerful Saudi crown prince, dispatched Assiri from Riyadh for the meetings, which took place over the course of two days in early January 2017, according to communications reviewed by The Daily Beast. The January meetings have come under scrutiny by special counsel Robert Mueller's office as part of his probe into foreign governments' attempts to gain influence in the Trump campaign and in the White House, an individual familiar with the investigation told The Daily Beast.... Steve Bannon was involved as well in conversations on Iran regime change during those two days in January, according to the communications.... 'It's concerning to me as a former intelligence official because of the fact that it smacks of covert action planning, which is the most sensitive thing the U.S. government does and is so uniquely the province of the sitting president,' [former CIA acting director John McLaughlin] said."
Dan Friedman of Mother Jones: "In early January, Roger Stone, the longtime Republican operative and adviser to Donald Trump, sent a text message to an associate stating that he was actively seeking a presidential pardon for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange -- and felt optimistic about his chances. 'I am working with others to get JA a blanket pardon,' Stone wrote, in a January 6 exchange of text messages obtained by Mother Jones. 'It's very real and very possible. Don't fuck it up.' Thirty-five minutes later Stone added: 'Something very big about to go down.'... As [Robert] Mueller's team zeroes in on Stone, they have examined his push for an Assange pardon ... and have questioned at least one of Stone's associates about the effort." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Alan Pyke of ThinkProgress: "It's open season for environmental crimes in the U.S., a new report from Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) suggests. Prosecutions under environmental law fell 10 percent for the 2018 fiscal year from their 2017 levels, which were themselves a substantial drop from prior years. Overall, federal prosecutions for environmental crimes are now down 40 percent from 2013 levels.... The 109 new environmental cases brought by federal prosecutors last fiscal year is roughly half the figure from 20 years earlier. Prosecutors have been slackening their environmental caseloads ever since the start of President Barack Obama's second term.... The willful sabotage of environmental regulation and enforcement at the federal level has left state officials to fill the breech." --s
The Best People, Ctd. Mark Hand of ThinkProgress: "President Donald Trump announced late Monday that he intends to nominate a former agrochemical industry official to lead the Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). The selection of Aurelia Skipwith, who worked at Monsanto for six years, to head FWS carries on a Trump administration trend of filling top environmental regulatory positions with officials from companies regulated by the agency.... Environmental and conservation groups largely condemned Skipwith's nomination, noting that she spent the past year and a half at the Interior Department helping to oversee the administration's dismantling of wildlife and national monument protections." --s
...Josh Marshall of TPM: "At an interview [Thursday] with The Washington Post, Newt Gingrich said that if the Democrats subpoena the President's tax returns 'we'll see whether or not the Kavanaugh fight was worth it.' In other words, he made the loyalty oath. He's the President's man." With video. --s
Actual Packing of the Courts. Li Zhou of Vox: "Senate Republicans have made yet another unusual procedural move in an effort to jam through more judicial nominees.... Not only did Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley hold a confirmation hearing for a slate of nominees this week -- even though the Senate is in recess and not a single Democratic senator was in attendance -- the panel also considered a Ninth Circuit pick who doesn't have the explicit approval of either of his home state senators. That approval is typically conveyed via what's known as a 'blue slip.' It isn't required to move a nomination forward, but it is one of the rare courtesies typically given to home state senators.... That's exactly what happened, however, with Ninth Circuit nominee Eric Miller, someone who multiple activist groups have cited as controversial for previous positions he's taken regarding Native American tribal sovereignty."
Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday referred a woman who accused Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct for criminal investigation, questioning whether she and her high-profile lawyer, Michael Avenatti, knowingly provided the committee with false information. In a letter to the attorney general and the F.B.I. director, the chairman, Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, detailed a series of apparent contradictions between sworn claims submitted to his committee and subsequent statements to the news media by the woman, Julie Swetnick, and Mr. Avenatti, who could also be investigated. Mr. Grassley also said that committee investigators had been able to find no information substantiating the claims and instead unearthed 'substantial information calling into question her credibility.'"
Supreme Conflicts. Stephanie Kirchgaessner of the Guardian: "Brett Kavanaugh, the new supreme court justice, counts the Trump administration's solicitor general [Noel Francisco], who will be arguing cases before the high court on behalf of the president, as a close professional friend, according to [new] emails that offer new insights into an all-male dinner club that Kavanaugh used to attend.... It is not clear whether the dinners continued after Kavanaugh became a federal judge in 2006.... The so-called 'Eureka' dinners ... were briefly raised in a written question that was submitted to Kavanaugh by senators following his initial confirmation hearing.... What Kavanaugh's answer did not fully explain was that the dinners were attended by an elite group of men closely associated with the Federalist Society, the rightwing organization that has played a major role in vetting and choosing judicial appointments for Republican presidents.... [The] new revelations about the identity of his circle of professional friends raise questions about how the close-knit relationships Kavanaugh forged with other lawyers might influence his rulings in the future." --s...
Election 2018
Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: "As President Trump criss-crosses the country on Air Force One during the final days of the midterm campaign, a trio of Democratic senators are demanding information about whether the White House is properly reimbursing taxpayers for campaign-related travel. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) argue there have been multiple instances throughout Trump's presidency when he traveled out of town for an official event but engaged directly in political activity, such as calling for the election of a certain candidate. It amounts to a 'frequent blurring of the lines' between official and campaign events, the senators say, and they're asking the White House to hand over documents that may shed light on how it has compensated taxpayers for political expenses."
Alabama. Mini Moore. Samantha Michaels of Mother Jones: "[N]ext month, there's a chance voters will usher in one of [former Senate candidate Roy] Moore's former aides and judicial acolytes: Republican Tom Parker, an associate justice on the Alabama Supreme Court, is vying to become its next chief justice. Given his reputation for religious zeal and his writings on abortion, many fear that a Parker victory could have major consequences for reproductive rights in the state.... Like his old boss, Parker suggested on a radio show in 2015 that state courts should resist the legalization of gay marriage. And both men have come under fire for their apparent nostalgia for the Confederacy.... Parker has expressed a desire to restrict access to abortion: Earlier this year, he said the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which affirms the constitutional right to an abortion, was 'invented out of whole cloth just to satisfy a political agenda.'" --s
** Iowa. Irony Is Dead. Sophie Murguia of Mother Jones: "Iowa Rep. Steve King, the conservative lightning rod known for his racist and anti-immigrant rants, made headlines again Thursday when the Washington Post revealed that he met with members of an Austrian far-right party during a trip paid for by a Holocaust memorial group. The Republican congressman had been on a five-day trip to Poland funded by From the Depths, a group that educates people about the Holocaust, before visiting Vienna and giving an interview to Unzensuriert, a website associated with Austria's Freedom Party. The party was founded by a former Nazi SS officer[.]" --s
Kansas. Complete Clusterfuck. Roxana Hegeman of the AP: "After moving Dodge City's sole polling site outside city limits, county election officials sent newly registered voters an official certificate of registration that listed the wrong place to cast a ballot in the midterm election -- the latest election snafu to surface in the iconic Wild West town where Hispanics now make up the majority of the population.... 'I didn't know this could get worse, and it did: "Hey, let's move the site and not tell new registrants where they are supposed to go,"' said Johnny Dunlap, chairman of the Ford County Democratic Party. Local election officials are now scrambling to notify newly registered voters who might be confused by its official registration notice that listed only their regular polling site -- not the temporary site for the November election." --safari: Whoever is engineering this election sabotage is looking for a high post in Kobach's cabinet. ...
... Kansas. John Hanna & Heather Hollingsworth of the AP: "Kansas election officials are reviewing text messages claiming to be from President Donald Trump and telling residents that their early votes hadn't been recorded, as Democratic leaders were quick Thursday to worry that they were part of efforts to 'steal' a close governor's race. State Elections Director Bryan Caskey said the Kansas secretary of state's office received 50 or 60 calls about the texts Wednesday, mostly from the northeastern part of the state. Caskey said the office is trying to determine whether the texts broke a law before determining what to do next.... Kansas Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley ... and Kansas House Minority Leader Jim Ward [two Democrats] said during a Statehouse news conference that they worry the texts are confusing voters because at least a few Democrats received them.... The texts to voters link to a website for the Republican National Committee, and Kansas Republican Party Chairman Kelly Arnold said he suspects that's who sent the messages. He said the texts didn';t come from state party officials. The RNC didn't respond ... to an email seeking comment." --safari: That Kobach, famous for dedicating his life to voter suppression, is overseeing a process filled with so many irregularities, is a surprise to exactly no one. ...
... Tierney Sneed of TPM: "The deposition video that Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach feared would be used in campaign ads against him as he runs for governor will not be made available to the media, a federal judge ruled Thursday. U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson's order was a win for Kobach.... A transcript from the deposition is already public; however, the transcript does not convey Kobach's body language and tone during the deposition. In the video, which TPM viewed at the trial, he is uncomfortable, frustrated and often combative with the attorney deposing him." Robinson is a Dubya nominee --s...
Nevada. Allegra Kirkland of TPM: "Far-right media figures aren't the only ones promoting dark conspiracy theories about the pipe bombs sent this week to Democratic figures and news organizations. Amy Tarkanian, former chairwoman of the Nevada Republican Party and a surrogate for her husband Danny's 2018 congressional race, shared messages on Wednesday suggesting that the 'fake' bombs were a Democratic political ploy.... [T]he Tarkanian campaign sent TPM an email saying that 'Mrs. Tarkanian is a political commentator. She has her own views and Danny has his own.' 'Danny does not believe that Democrats are behind it,' the statement continued.... Amy Tarkanian served as chair of the Nevada GOP from 2011 to 2012" --s
Election 2020
Molly Ball of Time: "Michael Avenatti, the lawyer and possible presidential candidate, caused a stir with his contention that there’s only one type of candidate who can beat President Trump. In an interview with TIME published Thursday, Avenatti said the Democrats' 2020 nominee 'better be a white male,' because society affords more credibility to white men than it does others. Though the statement has struck many as inflammatory, it represents a real, if usually private, debate within the Democratic Party -- one that is likely to recur as the next presidential election approaches." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: If Avenatti is right, then his theory is bad news for him. I assume, based on his name, that Avenatti has at least some Italian heritage. When I was young, a whole lot of Anglo-Americans would not have considered someone named Avenatti to be "white." There was a reason some Italian-Americans briefly formed an anti-defamation league, a reason there were no Italian-Americans on the Supreme Court until 1986 (and it took a mostly-Irish -- that is, another ethnic group subjected to negative stereotypes -- President to nominate him), etc. If you think times have changed, look at why we have President* Trump.
Ian Millhiser of ThinkProgress: "Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that a Trump administration memo seeks to define the word 'sex.'... On Wednesday, the administration filed a brief in the Supreme Court laying out its legal rationale for its conclusion. The brief is, to put it mildly, a dumpster fire. It ignores the plain text of the law, attempts to dismiss two seminal Supreme Court decisions, and completely disregards the facts of one of those cases. Should the Trump administration's effort to redefine 'sex' succeed, moreover, it would have profound implications for American civil rights laws.... Numerous federal laws prohibit discrimination 'because of ... sex,' or 'on the basis of sex,' or otherwise provide that 'sex' discrimination is not allowed.... Just as significantly, the Trump administration’s argument raises serious questions about whether the words of the law matter so long as the Supreme Court is dominated by conservative activists." --s
Daisuke Wakabayashi & Katie Benner of the New York Times: "Google gave Andy Rubin, the creator of Android mobile software, a hero's farewell when he left the company in October 2014.... What Google did not make public was that an employee had accused Mr. Rubin of sexual misconduct. The woman, with whom Mr. Rubin had been having an extramarital relationship, said he coerced her into performing oral sex in a hotel room in 2013.... Google investigated and concluded her claim was credible.... [Then-CEO Larry] Page asked for [Rubin's] resignation. Google could have fired Mr. Rubin and paid him little to nothing on the way out. Instead, the company handed him a $90 million exit package.... After Mr. Rubin left, the company invested millions of dollars in his next venture.... Mr. Rubin was one of three executives that Google protected over the past decade after they were accused of sexual misconduct. In two instances, it ousted senior executives, but softened the blow by paying them millions of dollars as they departed, even though it had no legal obligation to do so. In a third, the executive remained in a highly compensated post at the company. Each time Google stayed silent about the accusations against the men."
**Booming Inequality. Rupert Neate of the Guardian: "Billionaires made more money in 2017 than in any year in recorded history. The richest people on Earth increased their wealth by a fifth to $8.9tn (£6.9tn), according to a report by Swiss bank UBS.... The report by UBS and accountants PwC said there was so much money in the hands of the ultra-rich that a new wave of rich and powerful multi-generational families was being created.... The world's 2,158 billionaires grew their combined wealth by $1.4tn last year, more than the GDP of Spain or Australia, as booming stock markets helped the already very wealthy to achieve the 'greatest absolute growth ever'. More than 40 of the 179 new billionaires created last year inherited their wealth, and given the number of billionaires over 70 the report's authors expect a further $3.4tn to be handed down over the next 20 years." --s
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Jordan Crucchiola of New York: "The end of Megyn Kelly Today is near, but is Kelly herself also done at NBC? Sources close to the morning-show host tell People and CNN that her hour-long program is kaput, and Vulture has learned that her lawyers will meet with NBC executives as soon as Friday to discuss her future. According to NPR's David Folkenflik, Kelly 'will not return to the network.' Earlier discussions between Kelly and NBC higher-ups about her role reportedly started a few weeks ago, according to The Hollywood Reporter, placing them well before her comments about blackface Halloween costumes not necessarily being racist -- comments for which she has since apologized...." Mrs. McC: I, for one, am having a terrible time getting past a crying jag over this. For one thing, it's so unfair that I never got to see the show or was even fully aware that after her first NBC show flopped, she landed in daytime.
Way Beyond the Beltway
Adieu, Amazon. Dom Philips of the Guardian: "Polls show that Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right former army captain has 78% support in Rondônia [in the Brazilian Amazon], leaving his leftist rival Fernando Haddad in the dust.... And his radical proposals -- to neuter federal environment agencies, give the green light to destructive hydro-electric dams, freeze the demarcation of new indigenous reserves and open up existing ones to mining -- chime with voters here, including those breaking environmental laws.... Bolsonaro has previously promised to withdraw Brazil from the Paris climate deal, although on Thursday he said he changed his mind on pulling out of the deal. But he has pledged to put an end to 'environmental activism' by ICMBio, and the environment agency Ibama, and may fold the environment ministry into the agriculture ministry -- whose chief will be chosen by the agribusiness lobby." --s
Maria Cheng of the AP: "The Kenyatta National Hospital is east Africa's biggest medical institution, home to more than a dozen donor-funded projects with international partners -- a 'Center of Excellence,' says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.... [At this hospital] and at an astonishing number of other hospitals around the world, if you don't pay up, you don't go home. The hospitals often illegally detain patients long after they should be medically discharged, using armed guards, locked doors and even chains to hold those who have not settled their accounts. Mothers and babies are sometimes separated. Even death does not guarantee release: Kenyan hospitals and morgues are holding hundreds of bodies until families can pay their loved ones' bills, government officials say. Dozens of doctors, nurses, health experts, patients and administrators told The Associated Press of imprisonments in hospitals in at least 30 other countries, including Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, China and Thailand, Lithuania and Bulgaria, and others in Latin America and the Middle East." --s
News Lede
Bloomberg: "The U.S. economy expanded at a 3.5 percent pace in the third quarter as consumers opened their wallets, businesses restocked inventories and governments boosted spending, marking the strongest back-to-back quarters of growth since 2014."
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Reader Comments (20)
What? Did it take just six Forever stamps @ .50 each to mail the pipe bombs? I keep looking at the package that is shown with many online articles and puzzled that it only took $3.00 to mail something one might think should have some weight! Contents had to be fairly lightweight..but, maybe if activated had the potential to do damage? Hmmmmmmmmm....
@MAG: I think I heard or read that one of the mail bombs was returned to sender (actually to Wasserman Schultz) for insufficient postage.
This whole postage thing can get rather complicated. If the sender isn't a Repugnant, s/he is certainly just a run-of-the-mill dumbass with violent tendencies.
"A letter weighing an ounce or less and mailed within the U.S. needs one Forever stamp [$0.50]. Each additional ounce costs $0.21..."
"Letters weighing over 3.5 ounces are considered large envelopes. Large envelopes weighing more than 13 ounces are considered parcels, rather than letters, and will be charged according to USPS’s schedule for parcel prices."
"1. Letters that meet one or more of the nonmachinable characteristics in DMM 101.1.2 are subject to the $0.21 nonmachinable surcharge.
2. Large envelope-sized pieces that are rigid, nonrectangular, or not uniformly thick pay parcel prices."
According to this USPS publication, the minimum rate for a parcel of up to 1 pound is $6.70.
I don't know how big the bombs were but I'm surprised all of the cheapskate's packages didn't get returned for insufficient postage.
Why oh why can't we all get along says those like Tucker, that sly fucker from way back. With his maniacal laugh and his always superior demeanor Tucker now is asking once again how the heck did we get so divided. He got "in your face" answers––some very clever.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tucker-carlson_us_5bd2efa8e4b055bc948abdf7
The journalists don't get it. The rules that apply to Hilary don't apply to Trump. And he never makes a mistake. Sooooooo
Lock HIM up! (in a mental hospital)
Mr. Carrot top should not be permitted to send troops to the border. The midterm optics are all in his favor. A purely political move. Very dangerous for the country and the opinion of our neighbors and ourselves. Lock him up before this happens.
"Will Sommer of the Daily Beast: "Instagram deleted a post from right-wing figure Milo Yiannopoulos praising the recent mail bombs sent to prominent Democratic officials, after initially refusing to take the post down when it was reported as hate speech."
Until they did–-later–- eyes wide shut! Another example of this absolute ignorance of the fermentation of hate that permeates this country. Marie cites the Huckleberry nonsense of using a false narrative to compare those not responsible for the Scalise shooting with her boss's (certain) responsibility for this bomb bastard's targets is exactly like comparing "an apple to a big sour orange."
On the other hand: Aren't we the lucky duckies that we have a president that will give all those poor middles a tax cut in just a few weeks before the election even though Congress is not in session. And aren't we lucky that he's going to lower our drug prices on our Medicare part B business even lower than Medicare part B actually does now (does he realize this?) Well, no matter, he will shower us with more goodies before the election. Pondering exactly what that will be–––maybe open the White House to those Dreamers who are dreaming of freedom and some kind of resolution? What a guy! He's the best, the brightest, and by far the most lauded president of all times. Our eyes hurt from the glare his golden showers rain down on us.
In truth: Lei un pezzo di Merda!!!!
More bombs found: Cory Booker and James Clapper are the next two targets.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/26/suspicious-package-addressed-to-sen-cory-booker-intercepted-in-florida-nbc-news.html
Fatty ("Fat Boy" has been retired) is outraged, outraged I tells ya, that anyone would dare to blame him for inciting violence.
Aside from telling thugs at his rallies to "rough people up" and saying things like "I'd like to punch him in the face" and encouraging violence by saying that he would pay for any legal bills incurred by his followers attacking any who criticized his Nazi agenda, leave us not forget that Trump, who even refuses to name any of his critics who have been targeted by a bomber, once wondered whether any of his Second Amendment supporters might be inclined, pretty please, to shoot Hillary Clinton.
Anyone blithely suggesting political assassination of an opponent has no business complaining when actual assassination attempts come to fruition.
He asked for it, he got it. He is to blame. If not for the actual bombs themselves, then for the atmosphere of fear, paranoia, hatred, and violence which hovers about him like stench over a garbage scow, but also for the specific invitation to kill his enemies and the intimation that such actions would be perfectly okay with him. Grab women by the pussies, beat up reporters, shoot my enemies, it's all jake.
I realize that facts and logic don't work on either Trump or his supporters in and out of congress, but that doesn't mean the rest of us should give up on pointing out the logical consequences of his indefensible and inflammatory rhetoric.
He IS to blame.
Troops to the border to stop all those ISIS terrorists! I'll save you, white people! Tax cuts for the middle class. Money for all of you! Drug prices? I'll cut them in half! All before the election. Vote for me!
Jesus, what's next? Promising 40 acres and a mule to black Americans as long as they vote for R's? Oh, wait. That won't work. Most of their polling places have been closed or moved. By those same R's. Never mind.
Oh well. 40 acres and a Caddy for Evangelicals and rural Trumpers as long as they all get out and vote early and vote often.
Are Confederate voters really this stupid?
(Rhetorical question)
Arrest:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/nyregion/cnn-cory-booker-pipe-bombs-sent.html?
"...a white van with Trumps stickers..."
Stickers placed there by CNN, no doubt.
Press conference later today.
Yes–-another update. A man was arrested this morning:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/nyregion/cnn-cory-booker-pipe-bombs-sent.html
Unless this van and its many Trump stickers was placed there by George Soros and the Deep State, the person arrested for sending pipe bombs to anyone daring to criticize the Glorious Leader, Cesar Sayoc, is inarguably a supporter of the Orange Thug.
Love to hear what Trump and his minions will come up with to weasel out of this.
It IS his fault.
Oh wait. This guy, Cesar Sayoc, works or has worked for some companies connected to "Native Americans". Trump is saved! The bomber can be painted as a renegade red man, not a nice white Christian Trump voter.
Because non-whites are not real Americans. Everyone knows this.
What a relief. And geez...if the guy happened to be an immigrant, it'll be a bonus. Trump will be the VICTIM yet again!
Hurray! The White Race is saved from the mongrel hordes.
So you don't have to, I went and checked out a few rightwing moron rags to see how they're spinning the fact that the alleged serial bomb maker is, alas, one of them.
Assuredly not! He's NOT WHITE!!! No, no, no. NOT white. Get the word out, I've seen white people, and he's not white. His name is Carlos for Christ's sake! Def. Latino. No, wait. Filipino! Yeah, a Filipino jew. There we go, type away keyboard warriors, spread the message he's a low IQ Filipino jew. Because all Filipinos are dumb, and will go along with anything. BTW, those stickers on the van? Look pretty damn new...
That, my friends, is the fevers swamps of Trump World. His base. Republicans' current electoral foundation of success. And they're all batshit crazy.
Ak, I noticed after my comment earlier this week that you started calling the orange blob just plain old Fatty. Thanks, I appreciate it.
At this very moment I'm sitting in the Charlotte airport enjoying a glass of the Fat Boy Baltic Porter. It's good but not my type. Can't wait to get home tonight to have my local favorite Fat Boy Double IPA.
I owe you a couple or three.
Coming to news late today (EST) via my cell.
Thank you for all the postings.
My sentiments exactly once eyeballing the surname:
An imposter repug by way of ethnicity.
(Perhaps some whitey-white co-conspirators?)
Yes - “Fatty” fits.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2018/06/01/signs-of-sophisticated-cell-phone-spying-found-near-white-house-say-u-s-officials/?utm_term=.4948cf3e647e
Earlier this year there were reports of cell phone spying devices found near the White House. At the time people were guessing that they were probably from the Chinese. I wish we made them work just a little to listen in our highest leader's phone calls. But what about all the compromised business men that are now witting or unwitting chinese agents?
Unwashed,
Well hey, man, that was my ploy all along. Free beers for adjusting epithets referring to the Fat Orange Traitor is a worthy goal.
I've spent time in the Queen City airport before, waiting for connecting flights, but never found one of those corridor enclaves offering a Baltic porter. As a fan of the darker-hued potables I'm impressed with the reviews of FBBP, but find it ironic that in a state so ground down by nationalist Trumpist propaganda and skeezy political skullduggery, a drink that brandishes a European (and not just "European", but non-Russian northern European provenance) connection might be so well produced and received.
Maybe there's hope for us after all.
Rather astounding that Fatty chose to announce, to raucous cheers from the 2018 Young Black Leadership Summit at the Blight House, the capture of the person he just hours earlier declared was a myth, the Trump supporter who sent pipe bombs to critics of the Orange Blimp.
"Shameless" doesn't begin to describe this schmuck. First, he's bragging to black kids, whose futures and reputations he and his supporters work diligently to deface and destroy, that a criminal--a TRUMP SUPPORTER--who had tried to assassinate influential black political figures, including the first and only black president and his family, has been captured, for which he, TRUMP, deserves praise and loyalty (and votes, of course).
Neither Jonathan Swift, Preston Sturges, Joseph Heller, Voltaire, nor Aristophanes would know what to do with such self-serving hypocritical fantasizing. They'd all throw their hands up and beg Unwashed for a case of his Fat Boy Double IPA.
I'd offer them three fingers of John Jamesons to slice the edge, but I'm sure I'll knock off the bottle before they get there.