Oh, ferfuxsake, is this EVER going to end? Just…is it possible to have one. Blessed. Week without having to deal with this ongoing donkey show in Washington? This is like watching monkeys flinging poo, only more maddening.
Can anything slow this trainwreck? What’s it going to take to make this right? Can it ever be made right? Will more rhetorical questions help? We can do this all night. And all day, too.
In the meantime, I’m sure you’ll be discussing this forever. Here are some bonbons if you get bored:
First Comey, then McMaster? Sure, it could happen.
It wasn’t economic anxiety, it was cultural anxiety. Like we didn’t know that.
And here, finally, a couple of kitty pix. First, the nice kitty:
And then, the psycho one. Cooze, a rehab job for you?
Look at those eyes.
basset said on May 10, 2017 at 12:15 am
His previous owner said he was happy and “affectionate” there, he needs to go back.
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Jolene said on May 10, 2017 at 12:21 am
Gene Weingarten posted this video in his online chat today, saying it was the best cat video ever. I don’t think I’ve sampled enough cat videos to make that judgment, but it is pretty sweet and especially relevant to the problem of cats who are not enthusiastic about their humans.
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coozledad said on May 10, 2017 at 6:19 am
I’ll take the cat if you can get it to Durham. There are folks at Balloon Juice who can arrange transport.
One more desocialized black cat is not a problem around here. it will get along fine with the two who already give us the owl eyes when we feed them.
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ROGirl said on May 10, 2017 at 6:56 am
I’ve been trying to come up with a reason why Flynn took the payment from Russia. The only plausible explanation is that they were already blackmailing him.
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coozledad said on May 10, 2017 at 7:08 am
Kompromat is a hella thang:
https://www.palmerreport.com/opinion/mike-pence-sally-yates-flynn/2687/
This is the only reason we still have Trump. Pence is neck deep in this shit too. He was always too stupid not to be.
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Suzanne said on May 10, 2017 at 7:33 am
I don’t doubt My Pants is knee deep in crap, but he prayed to Jesus that he would give him the power to turn this country around and he did it! So, in the mind of My Pants, everything else is done to honor the Lord’s faith in the good ex-governor.
He forgot, apparently, to read that part in the Bible where Satan tempts Jesus to bow down to him in order to get goodies, and Jesus refused.
Maybe we should all send My Pants some WWJD bracelets as a reminder that following Trump is not WWJD.
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alex said on May 10, 2017 at 8:00 am
Love the pussy pictures. Here’s mine:
http://nancynall.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/alexcat.jpg
She’s become quite a bit more Rubinesque these last four years, refusing to touch anything but dry kibble, although she has been known to overindulge on baby birds attempting their first flight.
We had another stray join us last year, a very handsome cat. After we paid to have it neutered, a neighbor lady abducted it and gave it away to her granddaughter. One of her friends tried to convince us that another neighbor had taken it to be tested for feline leukemia and then had it put down, but that neighbor describes a very different cat.
###
The cover-up’s always worse than the crime, and obviously My Pants is complicit, but that would leave us with Blue-Eyed Granny Starver when the newly elected Dem majority congress decides to impeach in 2019.
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Jolene said on May 10, 2017 at 8:02 am
I’ve been trying to come up with a reason why Flynn took the payment from Russia.
He had been fired from his job. Though he certainly has a generous military pension, it may not be adequate for the kind of life he wanted to lead.
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ROGirl said on May 10, 2017 at 8:34 am
Jolene, there are a lot of ways he could have made boatloads of money the Washington way–pr, carlisle group, tv gasbag, speeches, etc. He took money from Russia, not something one would expect a retired army intelligence officer to do.
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Andrea said on May 10, 2017 at 8:36 am
I will be spending my morning calling Republicans in Congress to demand an independent investigation with a special prosecutor that Trump can’t touch. I seriously fear that the fate of our democracy is at stake and I feel helpless to protect it.
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Heather said on May 10, 2017 at 9:11 am
Jolene, the maker of that video, TinyKittens, is a cat rescue group in Canada that I’ve been following for a couple years for their live kitten cam. That story is really touching–they do trap-neuter-return projects, socializing the cats who seem like they’re ready to give up their “feral cards” and returning the ones who aren’t. That cat, Mason, would have been returned but for his terminal kidney disease. It’s really touching to watch him bond with the kittens. Aaaand now I’ve totally outed myself as a crazy cat lady. There are worse fates.
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coozledad said on May 10, 2017 at 9:16 am
There are no Republicans who are opposed to this. Even the sadass low rent Republicans who come out here overwhelmingly demonstrate delusions central to the authoritarian disease- a fealty to the idea of military solutions, the dismissal of women’s views as tangential at best, the persistent men’s club stroking of each other’s egos and the catechism of an unborn child as male prerogative and property.
As George Orwell noted, this ethno-religious nationalism gives itself away in the patterns of language the diseased is prone to use. The priorities of folded flags, crisp uniforms, the wisdom of ancient members of the tribe, and the dead giveaway of Land und Volk platitudes.
The Republicans won’t do anything to stop Trump. The citizenry will have to do it, and the military and police forces, steeped in Rush Limbaugh bullshit, will not hesitate fire upon the citizens of this country. This is going to be a long, bloody fight.
http://www.marieclaire.com/politics/features/a27056/healthcare-bill-trump-authoritarian-regime/
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Julie Robinson said on May 10, 2017 at 9:25 am
The Comey firing has sucked all the attention away from Sally Yates testimony, almost as if Trump didn’t want too much analysis of that.
Suzanne, you are so right about My Pants having bowed down to the devil.
The nice cat walked across mom’s keyboard and deactivated her touchpad. Rebooting didn’t restore it, and googling the problem came up with this solution: shut off the computer, unplug, remove battery, hold the power button for 10 seconds. Replace battery, plug in, restart and immediately press F2 button repeatedly. Press F9 and enter, then F10 and enter.
Easy, right? But it worked. I felt like I should also be muttering some incantations and presenting a burnt offering.
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Icarus said on May 10, 2017 at 9:47 am
but if Comey is as incompetent as Trump’s people say, wouldn’t you want someone like that botching up the investigation of Russian ties?
Also agree with Julie @13
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Sherri said on May 10, 2017 at 10:06 am
Julie, I usually use imprecations rather than incantations, and find those help immensely. Me, anyway, computer systems are a mystery, even to those of us who supposedly know something about how they work.
“Fucking piece of shit” works pretty well, and yes, if you asking, my daughter does curse occasionally, but with nowhere near the fluency and fervor of her mother. She’s much nicer than I am.
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coozledad said on May 10, 2017 at 10:13 am
Your institutions appear to be in meltdown.
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/the-administration/332696-michael-hayden-when-trumps-washington-starts-to
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Charlotte said on May 10, 2017 at 10:16 am
I have new chickens, and I’ve been putting them out in a dog crate to get their feet on the grass, experience the outdoors etc … the cushion/towel combo was to make some shade when it got hot, but Betty Boop the black cat decided that it was HER THRONE: https://www.instagram.com/p/BTu6pk2jkw8/?taken-by=cmf406
I’m desperately trying to finish this novel, and was limiting my social media exposure but jeez oh pete the destruction of the Republic is making it hard to concentrate.
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Julie Robinson said on May 10, 2017 at 10:34 am
Isn’t everything a throne to a cat? Betty is a quite a beauty, so I can see why she’s sure she’s a queen. Mother’s next purchase is going to be one of those cat trees, or whatever they’re called. As you can see in the pix, Flower loves to watch all the birds and bunnies and squirrels outside the patio door, and Mother is happy to enthrone her.
Sherri, my mom still thinks I am a nice girl and might never recover if I called the computer an effin’ piece of shite. See? I guess I am a nice girl because I can’t even type the words.
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Charlotte said on May 10, 2017 at 10:47 am
Betty is a character. She’s missing an ear and the tip of her tail because she was abandoned in a house in one of the outlying towns during a -20 cold spell, so every fall she eats EVERYTHING and gets quite fat. She’s also a talented mouser, and can’t be trusted with the chickens until they’re bigger — she brought me a headless, heartless pigeon the other day. Inside. Ugh!
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Suzanne said on May 10, 2017 at 10:51 am
Our now departed cat used to leave us mice parts: the back legs and rear end, the heart, and once, a lovely decapitated mouse head on the welcome mat.
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Sherri said on May 10, 2017 at 11:10 am
Ah, my mother would have been so much happier with a nice girl! No, I don’t curse, except under my breath, around my mother, even though she’s quite hard of hearing even with her hearing aids. (And has been since my teen years. Which I shamelessly took advantage of.)
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Bitter Scribe said on May 10, 2017 at 11:26 am
Is Trump trying to pass off the Comey firing as retaliation for Comey’s handling of the Clinton e-mail “scandal”? And if so, what did he do wrong…too rough with Clinton or not rough enough? Very confusing.
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Sherri said on May 10, 2017 at 11:37 am
I found out a couple of days ago that new DNC chair Tom Perez will be attending a political fundraising luncheon I’m going to next Tuesday. It will be interesting to hear what he has to say. I’m still looking for signs that the Dems are capable of fighting the war ahead.
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Suzanne said on May 10, 2017 at 11:37 am
Bitter, the GOP doesn’t really know how to do anything but blame the Clintons for everything they do. It’s in their DNA. Trump figured that out pretty quickly.
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Sherri said on May 10, 2017 at 11:49 am
I’m also hearing Anthony Romero talk next week (assuming we all live that long!) and I’ll probably get a chance to talk to him. At least the ACLU knows how to fight.
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susan said on May 10, 2017 at 12:02 pm
OT – Salamander Hamilton
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Charlotte said on May 10, 2017 at 12:50 pm
Sherri — ask Perez why, if he ran on the 50-state strategy, it took the national organizations so long to chip in for Rob Quist? I realize DNC is mostly concerned with presidential races, but DCCC only *just* threw in 400K week before last. Which goes a long way in MT, and if we can get the turnout, and remind enough folks why they didn’t vote for Gianforte for governor, we can win this.
More crucial to the national scene — if Gianforte wins, then he and Daines and Zinke, who have always been a gang, will begin to actively dismantle our public lands.
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Deborah said on May 10, 2017 at 12:50 pm
Susan, it could be my iPhone but I couldn’t get that link at #26 to work.
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Deborah said on May 10, 2017 at 12:54 pm
I’m still reeling from yesterday’s events. I wish former presidents would weigh in and intervene somehow. McConnell has apparently said there’s no need for an independent investigation. I feel helpless.
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Suzanne said on May 10, 2017 at 1:17 pm
Ok. That Salamander Hamilton thing is simply awesome. But those kids in congress!
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coozledad said on May 10, 2017 at 1:27 pm
I’ll bet the Republican traitors here are eating this shit up.
https://twitter.com/laynier/status/862355008800641024
Scum.
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Jolene said on May 10, 2017 at 1:31 pm
Very cute Salamander Hamilton video. I especially liked the second-to-last kid with the hoodie and sunglasses.
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Jolene said on May 10, 2017 at 1:34 pm
I don’t think former presidents have much influence on what’s happening. What’s needed is for GOP senators to call for a special counsel.
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Peter said on May 10, 2017 at 1:46 pm
Cooz, I saw this comment and thought of you “Trumpistas love him so much they would let Trump crap in their mouth just so a liberal standing next to them would have to smell it!”
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coozledad said on May 10, 2017 at 1:47 pm
McConnell already nixed that. So much for that sacred NPR bipartisan bullshit.
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Jakash said on May 10, 2017 at 2:14 pm
https://twitter.com/kashanacauley/status/862119267277443072
*republican maverick looks deeply into his closet full of last straws*
I also enjoyed the photo-shop of a woman firing a machine gun loaded with “like” symbols among the replies to that post…
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Sherri said on May 10, 2017 at 2:27 pm
If I get a chance, Charlotte, I’ll definitely ask Perez about Quist. The DCCC has been missing in action. For that matter, did you even know that there’s a DLCC, for legislative races? They seem to be even more worthless.
I also want to know where the big money Dem donors are. What are they doing? Seems like there are too many people waiting to see what happens before they jump in. By then, it will be too late.
How long have I been screaming at the top of my lungs that the Republicans in Congress and institutional norms aren’t going to save us?
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Deborah said on May 10, 2017 at 3:03 pm
Jolene, I realize the former presidents have no power but it would be good to hear from them concerning this abuse of power. I am outraged and feeling very, very helpless.
Speaking of feeling helpless, I’m in the middle of doing laundry, let me tell you that when you can’t bend over it’s no fun. I’m using my telescopic gripper to put clothes in and take them out of the washers and dryers. It’s slow going and very frustrating. I will prevail though.
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brian stouder said on May 10, 2017 at 3:09 pm
Deborah, I would never bet against you!
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Jolene said on May 10, 2017 at 3:56 pm
Deborah, are you familiar with TaskRabbit? It’s an app you can use to get people to help you with almost anything, including on short notice. Might be worthwhile to recruit someone to help with laundry and whatever else you need.
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Judybusy said on May 10, 2017 at 3:59 pm
Deborah, if we lived in the same city, I’d totally be over there helping you! That TaskRabbitt app sounds great, though!
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alex said on May 10, 2017 at 4:31 pm
“Grotesque.”
http://www.salon.com/2017/05/10/the-first-word-that-comes-to-mind-when-we-think-of-trump-is/
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coozledad said on May 10, 2017 at 4:55 pm
Not so much a word as variations on a similar phrase, i.e, “sprung whole from a fistula in his mom’s ass with a scorbutic rash- a magnet for cock lint, cecal worms, coccidiosis, thrush- a penchant for fecal vomit, a crib death staggering out into the street looking for a snuff film to beat off to, grown into a terricloth robed sidewalk turd, the favored bubbling flesh of racists and the gravebound.
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brian stouder said on May 10, 2017 at 4:56 pm
I think our Proprietress coined the word that I’ve become enamored with…although I’ll have to suppress the urge to actually use it (out loud).
I went home for lunch today, and watched all the BREAKING NEWS about the stupid White House press conference, about the stupider presidential decision to fire Comey, and the stupider-yet ‘judgement’ that the D’s would just love that* – and I muttered:
ferfuxsake
So there’s that!
*I detest Comey as much as anyone, but even with that taken into account, firing him via television news is simply beneath the dignity of the office of the presidency
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Sherri said on May 10, 2017 at 5:06 pm
trump is a toddler. A spoiled, Ill-behaved, indulged toddler.
Mitch McConnell, on the other hand is a Fucking Piece of Shit.
Paul Ryan, of course, is the Zombie-Eyed Granny Starver.
Ted Cruz is the Zodiac Killer.
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coozledad said on May 10, 2017 at 5:18 pm
Mitch McConnell is a sweaty perineal leech.
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Jakash said on May 10, 2017 at 5:30 pm
If he were still just a reality TV star, I think the first word I’d think of would be along the lines of vulgar or creepy, given his pussy-grabbing, serial-marrying, gaudy lifestyle. But, given his mind-blowing current status, I think I have to go with something like charlatan. How he managed to bamboozle so much of the country into electing such an incompetent, ill-prepared, grifting boob will always be the most amazing thing about this pathetic time period to me. Most of the words mentioned in that Salon piece will do in a pinch, though, and grotesque is very good, as well. FFS.
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Sherri said on May 10, 2017 at 5:34 pm
I bow to Cooz’s greater expressive powers.
On a different topic, that of our corporate overlords, here’s an article pointing out how much the Frightful Five rule our lives: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/10/technology/techs-frightful-five-theyve-got-us.html?smid=tw-share
Facebook is the obvious first one to go for me, since I don’t use it (though I have used WhatsApp to communicate with friends traveling). Google would probably be next; there are other search engines and maps apps. Now it gets tough. Laptop or phone? Probably laptop, so Microsoft goes next. But I’m with Manjoo; Amazon has its tentacles deep within my life.
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Jakash said on May 10, 2017 at 5:52 pm
Brian,
You may be pleased to learn that WaPo columnist Gene Weingarten, referred to by Jolene @ 2, has paraphrased Honest Abe with regard to the Comey matter:
“The pretext for this firing is as thin as a soup made from a shadow of a pigeon that had starved to death.”
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Heather said on May 10, 2017 at 6:33 pm
I thought this Twitter thread described the psychology of the GOP very well. tl;dr version: For them to turn away from Trump would require some soul-searching and self-accountability, and they’re doing to do everything they can to avoid that.
https://twitter.com/david_rees/status/862352982754689024
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Sherri said on May 10, 2017 at 6:54 pm
The Big Book of AA talks about people who are “constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves.”
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David C. said on May 10, 2017 at 6:54 pm
This is comforting.
http://www.politicususa.com/2017/05/10/republicans-admit-trump-breakdown-handle-reality.html
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Suzanne said on May 10, 2017 at 9:11 pm
Heather @ 50 and DavidC @ 52 I can believe both of those things. If Trump goes Ape-shit nuts, I have no hope that the GOP would a dang thing. They are too invested. They’d rather let the country burn down than admit they’d been duped.
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Diane said on May 11, 2017 at 9:45 am
Carnival grifter who accidentally found himself on the flying trapeze. Unfortunately, it’s the country that needs the safety net.
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