Try to stay in touch with it.
Jan 25, 2018
Today's Tweet
Never stop expecting 45* to play the Smarm Space - where there's a loophole, there's a way to weasel out.
The only question I have is "Will Mueller charge Trump as an adult?"— Luisa Haynes (@wokeluisa) January 25, 2018
Vox On Fox
They could just be hedging their bets, but when DumFux News almost directly countervails their own prime time commentators, I have to think there's something more to it than that. Like maybe they understand how wacky they've made some of their viewers, and how dangerous it is to throw just a few too many signals out to the Lone Wolf cray-zoids - like the freak who threatened CNN.
.@DonLemon: There's "nothing random" about the arrest of a Michigan man who threatened to kill CNN employees. "This is what happens when the President of the United States repeatedly attacks members of the press simply for reporting facts he does not like" https://t.co/b7oXT900iO— CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) January 24, 2018
Vox:
Fox News just published a story that directly cuts against a conspiracy theory being pushed by the network’s television hosts, congressional Republicans, and the president himself.
Yes, that Fox News.
For the past few days, Fox News has been featuring wall-to-wall coverage of an unknown number of text messages between FBI agent Peter Strzok and FBI attorney Lisa Page that had disappeared from FBI server records. Previous Strzok and Page messages had included a number of vitriolic comments about President Trump — even a reference to an “insurance policy” against his election.
So the missing texts were taken by the White House, pro-Trump Republicans in Congress, and many in the conservative media as proof that the FBI was covering up a vast anti-Trump conspiracy at the bureau.
“This is like Watergate but far worse,” Sean Hannity said on his Monday night Fox show. “This reeks of law-breaking, it reeks of conspiracy, and it reeks of obstruction of justice.”
Yet on Wednesday afternoon, Fox published an article on its website by reporter Jake Gibson, saying this theory was flatly wrong. Gibson writes, citing “federal law enforcement officials,” that the messages were deleted by a technical error, not malice — one that had affected not just Strzok and Page’s phones, but “thousands” of Bureau-issued devices between the dates of December 14, 2016, and May 17, 2017.
“The gap in records covered a crucial period, raising suspicion among GOP lawmakers as to how those messages disappeared,” Gibson writes. “But Fox News is told that the glitch affected the phones of ‘nearly’ 10 percent of the FBI’s 35,000 employees.”
So either one of two things is happening here: Fox News has gotten a huge story wrong in a way that deeply undercuts the president, or its big-name talk show hosts like Hannity have been peddling a narrative that has absolutely zero basis in fact — but dovetails directly with a broader attack on the FBI aimed at undercutting special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.
We report, you decide.
Or maybe we could call it Fox-on-Fox Violence(?)
Anyway, it's another very strong indication that we've got some serious Daddy State bullshit goin' on - and maybe the Press Poodles in legitimate media are finally wising up and taking it to heart.
But also too, 45* still approaches this like it's all part of the show. He phonies up a villain; he stages a confrontation; he waits to see how the audience reacts; then he adjusts the script (which includes changing facts and flat-out making shit up) to maintain the tension - and to tease whatever cliff-hanger he's ginned up this time around - so the hero (him, of course) always comes out on top.
It's axiomatic that if you stay in it long enough, show biz will make you crazy - fingers in your mouth, jumping up and down crazy.
45*'s trick is that he's using everything at his disposal to make us think we're the crazy ones (standard gaslighting tactics) - and more than that - he's convinced his "base" that they're the only sane ones, and that they can only stay sane by going along with whatever weird shit he comes up with next.
Cult45 - and that kinda explains why the Evangelicals feel so much at home with his malarkey, don't it.
Stay focused
Stay busy
Stay mad
Stay together
Get shit done
Jan 24, 2018
America 8th!
Well now - that don't scan for shit, does it?
The Hill:
A Gallup poll recently found that global approval of U.S. leadership sank to its lowest point in nearly two decades during President Trump’s first year in office.
The U.S. has also dropped significantly in the U.S. News rankings of trustworthiness and political stability. The greatest U.S. decline was in rankings of countries having open travel policies, likely related to Trump’s attempts to block visitors to the U.S. via the travel ban.
Just To Be Clear
They're not Christians - they're Christianists. Right Radical TheoCons.
They care for nothing but their Daddy State political agenda of gaining the power to Control & Oppress.
Politico:
Evangelical Christians, says Perkins, “were tired of being kicked around by Barack Obama and his leftists. And I think they are finally glad that there’s somebody on the playground that is willing to punch the bully.”
What happened to turning the other cheek? I ask.
“You know, you only have two cheeks,” Perkins says. “Look, Christianity is not all about being a welcome mat which people can just stomp their feet on.”
Matthew 15:8-9 The Message
3-9: But Jesus put it right back on them. “Why do you use your rules to play fast and loose with God’s commands? God clearly says, ‘Respect your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone denouncing father or mother should be killed.’ But you weasel around that by saying, ‘Whoever wants to, can say to father and mother, What I owed to you I’ve given to God.’ That can hardly be called respecting a parent. You cancel God’s command by your rules. Frauds! Isaiah’s prophecy of you hit the bull’s-eye:
These people make a big show of saying the right thing,
but their heart isn’t in it.
They act like they’re worshiping me,
but they don’t mean it.
They just use me as a cover
for teaching whatever suits their fancy.”
They care for nothing but their Daddy State political agenda of gaining the power to Control & Oppress.
Politico:
Evangelical Christians, says Perkins, “were tired of being kicked around by Barack Obama and his leftists. And I think they are finally glad that there’s somebody on the playground that is willing to punch the bully.”
What happened to turning the other cheek? I ask.
“You know, you only have two cheeks,” Perkins says. “Look, Christianity is not all about being a welcome mat which people can just stomp their feet on.”
Matthew 15:8-9 The Message
3-9: But Jesus put it right back on them. “Why do you use your rules to play fast and loose with God’s commands? God clearly says, ‘Respect your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone denouncing father or mother should be killed.’ But you weasel around that by saying, ‘Whoever wants to, can say to father and mother, What I owed to you I’ve given to God.’ That can hardly be called respecting a parent. You cancel God’s command by your rules. Frauds! Isaiah’s prophecy of you hit the bull’s-eye:
These people make a big show of saying the right thing,
but their heart isn’t in it.
They act like they’re worshiping me,
but they don’t mean it.
They just use me as a cover
for teaching whatever suits their fancy.”
Today's Tweet
It's the new American dream - which is pretty much the same old dream of aristocracies everywhere.
If you don't like income inequality, stop whining & buy yourself some Senators.— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) January 23, 2018
Jan 23, 2018
Today's Tweet(s)
#ThingsThatAreProbablyTrueAboutMikePence
#ThingsThatAreProbablyTrueAboutMikePence— EdgarOfTheMoors (@EdgarOfTheMoors) January 22, 2018
Mike Pence plucks his chest hair out in penance for having ever become a grown man with manish needs in the first place.
#ThingsThatAreProbablyTrueAboutMikePence— EdgarOfTheMoors (@EdgarOfTheMoors) January 22, 2018
Mike calls his wife "Mother."
She calls Mike Pence "Unfuckable."
— WhyzGuy (@_WhyzGuy_) January 22, 2018
#ThingsThatAreProbablyTrueAboutMikePence— EdgarOfTheMoors (@EdgarOfTheMoors) January 22, 2018
Mike Pence avoids all kitchens because he can't see basic cooking utensils as anything other than sex toys begging him silently to be played with.
Turnout
I was a little worried that this year's Women's March numbers might be down, and it would indicate that we're sliding into normalization due to Trump Fatigue.
Looks like I didn't have to be concerned at all - except that I haven't seen a great level of solid confirmation, but that could be a priority conflict with the Press Poodles having to decide between the protests and the shutdown.
Still, marches went off as planned, and (apparently) exceeded my expectations.
Vox:
Crowd estimates from Women’s Marches on Saturday now tally over 4 million and political scientists think we may have just witnessed the largest day of demonstrations in American history.
According to data collected by Erica Chenoweth at the University of Denver and Jeremy Pressman at the University of Connecticut, marches held in more than 600 US cities were attended by at least 4.2 million people.
- and -
The turnout at events outside the US was significant, too. Chenoweth and Pressman have recorded over 200 international Women’s Marches with an estimated attendance of more than 307,000.
Half the town of Stanley, Idaho (pop. 63) came out in a snowstorm to march in peace & solidarity w/ men, women, & children on 7 continents. pic.twitter.com/tLPCognu2t— Carole King (@Carole_King) January 22, 2017
The Nation, John Nichols (pay wall):
A review of the president’s approval ratings from the states that provided Trump with the narrow margin he gained in the Electoral College found across-the-board evidence of decay in enthusiasm. With 55 percent disapproval of Trump in Michigan, 53 percent disapproval in Wisconsin, and 51 percent disapproval in Pennsylvania, a credible case could be made that, were Trump on the ballot today, he would lose both the popular vote and the Electoral College vote by considerable margins.
But Trump is not on the ballot today, or even this year.
If Trump is ever on the ballot again, it will not be until 2020.
What matters now is who else is on the ballot. The 2018 mid-term elections will be a critical test for the president’s Republican Party and, if patterns hold, they could see a turn in the electoral math sufficient to check and balance the president in Washington while removing his allies in the states. That’s an essential combination because it is not just Trump but Trumpism–as practiced by presidential allies such as Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker–that must be addressed if the crisis of conservative hegemony is going to ease.
Jan 22, 2018
This Week With Amy
Amy Siskind's list of 45*'s Daddy State bullshit - Week 62:
Trump marked his one-year anniversary in office with a government shutdown, the first shutdown in history when a single party is in control of the House, Senate, and White House. Trump’s erratic behavior and fluid positions on issues were fuel on the flames of a country and Congress torn and divided. Conversely, the anniversary of the Women’s March celebrated millions marching in 250 cities across the country, and marked a record number of women running for office and becoming politically involved.
This week new evidence emerged of Russia’s effort to financially support Trump’s 2016 campaign, while the Mueller probe engulfed more Trump insiders quoted in Wolff’s book. With all the noise and chaos, it was again easy to miss the continued dismantling of our federal agencies, and disappearing rules and protections for women and marginalized communities.
6. On Saturday, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted a meme, “Fake news is at it again!” accusing the Wall Street Journal of misquoting Trump. The Journal quoted Trump as saying, “I probably have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un.”
7. Late Saturday, the WSJ released the tape of the interview via a tweet. The Journal stated they have reviewed the audio “as well as the transcript provided by an external service, and stand by what we reported.”
8. On Sunday morning, Trump attacked the WSJ, tweeting, “Obviously I didn’t say that,” and in a second tweet, “and they knew exactly what I said and meant. They just wanted a story. FAKE NEWS!”
9. On Sunday, the WSJ issued a statement, again refuting Trump and saying the Journal stands by what was reported.
- and -
13. Economic Policy Institute said if Trump’s Department of Labor proposed rule allowing employers to pocket tips so long as they pay minimum wagegoes into effect, women workers would lose $4.6 billion, 80% of the $5.8 billion lost.
14. Politico reported Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services is planning to expand “conscience” protections for those who do not want to perform abortions or treat transgender patients based on their gender identity on the basis of moral objections.
15. Intercept reported on a prosecutor in Whatcom County, Washington who sought a warrant to get Facebook to disclose names of anti-pipeline activists. The first two attempts were fought and won by the ACLU and Facebook.
16. Facebook advised the prosecutor to seek formal guidance from the Department of Justice, and on the third request, using a DOJ template, the prosecutor was successful in obtaining a warrant and gained access tomessages to and from the page and a list of everyone “invited” to the protest event.
- and -
27. On Wednesday, 10 of the 12 members of the National Park Service advisory board resigned. In May 2017, Zinke suspended all outside committees while he reviewed their work. No meetings have taken place.
- and -
34. The Washington Post reported Trump has yet to put forth a nominee for 245 of the 633 key roles in the executive branch which require Senate confirmation, including the role of ambassador to South Korea.
132 items on this week's list.
- and -
27. On Wednesday, 10 of the 12 members of the National Park Service advisory board resigned. In May 2017, Zinke suspended all outside committees while he reviewed their work. No meetings have taken place.
- and -
34. The Washington Post reported Trump has yet to put forth a nominee for 245 of the 633 key roles in the executive branch which require Senate confirmation, including the role of ambassador to South Korea.
132 items on this week's list.
Like Deja Vu All Over Again
History does not repeat - but it sure as fuck rhymes.
The Daily Beast, Betsy Woodruff:
The FBI has not been permitted to see the memo Rep. Devin Nunes and his staff wrote about alleged abuses by the intelligence community, The Daily Beast has learned.
"The FBI has requested to receive a copy of the memo in order to evaluate the information and take appropriate steps if necessary. To date, the request has been declined,” said Andrew Ames, a spokesperson for the FBI.
-and-
The fact that Republicans refuse to show the memo to FBI, which characterizes the intelligence they shared with Nunes, has Democrats concerned. One aide told The Daily Beast it means Nunes’ efforts are just politics.
“If this is about FBI abuses, why wouldn’t they share it with the Trump-appointed director who wasn't at the bureau when the abuses supposedly occurred?” the aide said. “If this is about cleaning up the FBI like they claim, wouldn't they want Wray as an ally?”
McClatchy's Day In History:
During a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, Senator Joseph McCarthy (Republican-Wisconsin) claims that he has a list with the names of over 200 members of the Department of State that are “known communists.” The speech vaulted McCarthy to national prominence and sparked a nationwide hysteria about subversives in the American government.
Speaking before the Ohio County Women’s Republican Club in Wheeling, West Virginia, Senator McCarthy waved before his audience a piece of paper. According to the only published newspaper account of the speech, McCarthy said that, “I have here in my hand a list of 205 [State Department employees] that were known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping the policy of the State Department.” In the next few weeks, the number fluctuated wildly, with McCarthy stating at various times that there were 57, or 81, or 10 communists in the Department of State. In fact, McCarthy never produced any solid evidence that there was even one communist in the State Department.
Despite McCarthy’s inconsistency, his refusal to provide any of the names of the “known communists,” and his inability to produce any coherent or reasonable evidence, his charges struck a chord with the American people. The months leading up to his February speech had been trying ones for America’s Cold War policies. China had fallen to a communist revolution. The Soviets had detonated an atomic device. McCarthy’s wild charges provided a ready explanation for these foreign policy disasters: communist subversives were working within the very bowels of the American government.
Breaking News
This just in:
Preliminary results of the president's colonoscopy indicate they've found rather large traces of Mike Pence and Devin Nunes.
More details as we learn them.
Preliminary results of the president's colonoscopy indicate they've found rather large traces of Mike Pence and Devin Nunes.
More details as we learn them.
One Year Ago
We are one year past Trump's inauguration, and here are a few numbers from Jan 2017 for comparison:
Also:
Federal Budget Deficit: $441 Billion
Federal Debt: $19.9 Trillion
Median Income: $56,500
Minimum Wage: $7.50/hr
Median price of an existing home: $188,900
Median Rental: $1231/mo
CPI (unadjusted as of 12-31-2017): 2.1
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