Patterico's Pontifications

1/13/2014

Offered Without Comment

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:02 am



Classic Dog Trainer.

Screen Shot 2014-01-10 at 8.30.20 PM

83 Responses to “Offered Without Comment”

  1. plus it looks like he took sandy money meant for his morose soggy constituents and spent in on campaign ads

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  2. The New York Times today is sticking with the (unsupported) story that this was retaliation against Mayor Mark Sokolich for not endorsing Chris Christie for re-election, even though the article really doesn’t support that.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/13/nyregion/a-bridge-to-scandal-behind-the-fort-lee-ruse.html?hp&_r=0

    One day last spring, though, he was the person asked to give. A member of Gov. Chris Christie’s re-election campaign staff came calling to see if Mr. Sokolich, a Democrat, would endorse the governor, a Republican….

    ….Mr. Sokolich, however, was noncommittal. “I said, ‘Yes, I’ll consider it, because I’ll consider anything,’ ” he recalled…

    …And so the mayor let the request go. “I never called and said no, I never called and said yes,” said Mr. Sokolich, who would not name the official who had reached out to him. “I think they interpreted my response to that conversation to be a no.”

    Not long afterward, on Sept. 9, ….

    How is September 9 not long after the spring???

    And the article indicates Mayor Sokolich didn’t think that, but he thought this might be about not supporting toll increases.

    On Friday the 13th (it took a few days for word of this to get around, because there was NO public announcement) John Cichowski, of the (no longer just Bergen?) Record wrote in his “Road Warrior” column that Mayor Sokolich had told him:

    “Please print this. I’m always proud and pleased with this administration even though I didn’t support the toll increases. So I don’t understand the basis for this. Is there a punitive overtone here? Is there something we should have done?”

    So Sokolich did not think this had to do with the Governor.

    He thought it maybe had something to do with the Port Authority – his not supporting a toll increase maybe?

    Nobody told him anything.

    Incidentally, by the time this paper appeared it was all over, as the Port Authority’s Executive Director, Patrick J. Foye, a New York appointee, had stopped it the next morning after he found out about it.

    Sammy Finkelman (28600b)

  3. The L.A. Tiomes says that Bridge emails show that Chris Christie aides ignored pblic safety.

    No, that’s the one thing they did pay attention to. (although possibly only for legal reasons)

    At least in the first batch of – mail (supplied from David Wildstein) and taken from his G-Mail account and maybe some other material from him

    http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1003328/wildstein-documents.pdf

    It is probably the minimum required to comply with the subpoena, so there is nothing there to indicate why, and maybe even some misdirection.

    In that batch there’s an exchange (of text messages maybe?)

    Senders are not clear or absent but this is believed to be an exchange between David Wildstein and Bridget Anne Kelly. Sent means Wildstein and Received probably means Kelly.

    Some of the news media didn’t get this right, but all of this – the first release – came from David Wildstein, so he’s the one who “Sent” the messages.

    It goes:

    Sent 9/10/2013 8:04 AM

    Sokolich text to Baroni: Presently we have four very busy traffic lanes merging into only one toll booth…..

    The bigger problem is getting kids to school.. help please. It’s maddening.

    Received 9/10/13 8:05 AM

    Is it wrong that I am smiling?

    Sent 9/10/13 8:05 am

    No

    Received 9/10/13 8:05 AM

    I feel badly about the kids

    Received 9/10/13 8:06 AM

    I guess

    Sent 9/10/13 8:11 am

    They are the children of Buono voters.

    Received 9/10/13 8:13 AM

    Bottom line is he didn’t say safety.

    (Actually he did in his e-mail Sept 9 to Bill Baroni)

    Sammy Finkelman (28600b)

  4. If the US Chamber of Commerce endorses him, he’s dead(meat not included).

    gary gulrud (e2cef3)

  5. IRS abuse, Benghazi, ObamaCare, fast and furious, non-compliance with Constitutional limitations of executive powers, etc. push back harder

    Colonel Haiku (a5463a)

  6. There’s at least more person besides the gang of 4 very probably involved in this whom Chris Christie hasn’t yet fired:

    His press secretary Michael Drewniak. He’s in the e-mails.

    Also maybe another press staffer, Maria Comella, but she my be innocent, and someone at the Port Authority press office appointed from New York. She left suddenly about January 2.

    Sammy Finkelman (28600b)

  7. I hear he put his dog up on top of his car once too!

    Patricia (be0117)

  8. I noticed something that leads me to believe that maybe they were planning something with the PATH trains next.

    On Saturday Sept 7, 2013 at 9:43 am David Wildstein writes Bridget Anne Kelly:

    I will call you Monday AM to let you know how Fort Lee goes.

    at 10:00 Am Bridget Anne Kelly replies:

    Great. I called you yesterday to talk PATH

    At 10:09 he wrotes to say he will call in five minutes.

    Now PATH could be something entirely legitimate.

    Sammy Finkelman (28600b)

  9. Perhaps it is good that folk are reminded how quickly the press will turn on a previous darling if there is an R after their name. Better to nominate someone everyone realizes will have to overcome the trash rather than be ignored by it.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  10. Future LAT headline:

    “Little Sisters of the Poor go to prison rather than obey Obamacare abortifacient, sterilization, and contraceptive mandate; underscore their bully image.”

    Steve57 (f8d67f)

  11. plus it looks like he took sandy money meant for his morose soggy constituents and spent in on campaign ads

    BS, happy. That ad was for tourism and the Obama administration specifically approved the use of the funds.

    Kevin M (536c5d)

  12. Future LAT headline:

    “Claiming they can’t afford to subsidize patients on welfare out of their own pockets, Doctors disobey Obama order to operate at a loss and accept Medicaid patients; underscore medical profession’s bully image.”

    Steve57 (f8d67f)

  13. 9. Perhaps it is good that folk are reminded how quickly the press will turn on a previous darling if there is an R after their name. Better to nominate someone everyone realizes will have to overcome the trash rather than be ignored by it.

    Comment by MD in Philly (f9371b) — 1/13/2014 @ 8:48 am

    The electability myth.

    Steve57 (f8d67f)

  14. Besides, the LA Times neglects to report that every day the LA City Council meets, traffic gets worse.

    Kevin M (536c5d)

  15. There ain’t enough rope to take care of the lapdog media/Praetorian Guard.

    Colonel Haiku (a5463a)

  16. As lont as it’s “Look at the stupid, biased headline day:”

    http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/13/us-pope-abortion-idUSBREA0C0ME20140113

    Pope, after conservatives’ criticism, calls abortion “horrific”

    Reuters and everyone who uses the service is busy disappearing the original headline, which was even worse, down the memory hole. But Breitbart has it:

    http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2014/01/13/reuters-dismisses-pope-abortion-opposition-as-nod-to-conservatives

    Reuters Dismisses Pope’s Abortion Opposition as ‘Nod to Conservatives’

    Red State’s Erick Erickson calls it “the stupidest headline and premise of a story ever.” Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey describes “pretty much every word” of the article itself as “nonsense…”

    Pope, in nod to conservatives, calls abortion ‘horrific’

    Steve57 (f8d67f)

  17. The media is a fickle lover.

    The cuckoo is a pretty bird,
    She sings as she flies;
    She bringeth good tidings,
    She telleth no lies;
    She sucketh sweet flowers
    To keep her voice clear,
    And when she sings Cuckoo,
    The summer draweth near.

    O meeting is a pleasure
    And parting is a grief;
    An inconstant lover
    Is worse than a thief;
    A thief can but rob me
    Of all that I have,
    But an inconstant lover,
    Will bring me to the grave.

    The grave it will recieve me
    And bring me to dust.
    An inconstant lover
    No maiden can trust;
    He’ll court you, cajole you
    Poor maids to decieve;
    There is not one in twenty
    A maiden can believe.

    Come all you sweet maidens
    Wherever you be,
    Your hearts – do not hang them
    On a sycamore tree.
    The leaf it will wither,
    The root will decay;
    Alack! I’m foresaken
    And wasting away.

    nk (dbc370)

  18. You know the leftists are yearning to write/read the headlines:

    “With eye to future, Pope Francis declares ‘time is finally ripe,’ declares old anti-choice policies ‘stupid’ and ‘null and void,’ authorizes Catholic hospitals to perform abortions and Catholic charities in Africa to hand out condoms”

    “Pope Francis brings Catholocism into 21st Century, declares gay sex not a sin, consecrates same sex marriage in St. Peter’s Basilica”

    Followed by:

    “On first ever visit to Israeli-occupied territories man later identified as Palestinian police officer Faisal ibn Muhammad attempts to assassinate Catholic Pontiff; no motive immediately identified but harsh anti-Pope hate speech from hard-line reactionary right-wing Catholics opposed to Pope Francis’ liberal policies on gays, abortion, may have motivated Ramallah killer says Southern Poverty Law Center”

    Steve57 (f8d67f)

  19. Shoot. Forgot to add the fact the Palestinian cop was shouting “Allahuh Akhbar” as he tried to shoot the Pope.

    Thus making even harder for the mandarins in the press, government, and the academic monastery to immediately discern a possible motive. Perhaps he lost his house in Connecticut due to foreclosure? Maybe he saw Sarah Palin’s website? Still, the Consensus remains that the devout Muslim was motivated by right-wing conservative Catholic hate speech.

    Steve57 (f8d67f)

  20. poor MFM… they spent all that effort over the last few years to build up the image of the Jersey Blob as the “perfect Republican”, only to turn on him early in the election cycle, when the plan was to make him the GOP candidate, THEN turn on him…

    i wonder who triggered the feeding frenzy early?

    redc1c4 (abd49e)

  21. We need to nominate candidate nobody thinks are electable in the first place to overcome the onslaught of negative press.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  22. We need to nominate a candidate who is the real metal, and not a tinhorn.

    nk (dbc370)

  23. 18. You almost got another drive by commenter.

    For once I suppressed my SF impulse.

    gary gulrud (e2cef3)

  24. We need to ignore the lunatic clamor for a nomination process taking months to years, costing hundreds of millions and allowing any damn fool, especially Republicans, a voice.

    We just need a skills test.

    gary gulrud (e2cef3)

  25. Related to the Port Authority: Baltic Dry Index down 40% since New Years, 18% in two days.

    OBozo needs another round-the-world statesman junket.

    No way Crispy can dominate the News another day.

    gary gulrud (e2cef3)

  26. For as long as I remember the press have been expressing their dismay that pope after pope turns out to be Catholic. They keep waiting for a non-Catholic to be elected pope, or for a pope to come out of the closet as a non-Catholic, and they keep being disappointed. This time they seem to be trying something new; instead of being dismayed that the pope is Catholic, they’ve turned to pretending that he isn’t, and praising him for his non-Catholicism, but they’re only setting themselves up for the inevitable disappointment when he turns out to be just as Catholic as his predecessors.

    I’m waiting for them to take a similar stance towards ursine toilet habits.

    Milhouse (b95258)

  27. Buzzsawmonkey has been calling Christie the Hindenburg, recalling another gasbag that crashed and burned in New Jersey.

    Milhouse (b95258)

  28. I’ve dubbed him, Stay Puft for similar reasons,

    narciso (3fec35)

  29. GinormousGate… betcha dollars to donuts this shamockery continues for at least another month

    Colonel Haiku (a5463a)

  30. Just think about how bad the traffic would have been if all the unemployed people in the NY/NJ actually had jobs to drive to during the daytime.
    Or something.

    Elephant Stone (6a6f37)

  31. media lapDogs
    you just can’t suck enough eh?
    you blow donkeys too?

    Colonel Haiku (a5463a)

  32. Comment by redc1c4 (abd49e) — 1/13/2014 @ 10:32 am

    when the plan was to make him the GOP candidate, THEN turn on him…

    If that was the plan, that would be the logical plan. It’s probably hard to carry off, at least of the planning begins too far from the election.

    i wonder who triggered the feeding frenzy early?

    The fact that someone could say he is a candidate, maybe the leading Republican candidate, is what made it into a frenzy.

    The type of person who would want to trigger it now would be somebody who supportedor wants to support a different Republican candidate for president.

    Or it could be it is just somebody who is afraid that Chris Christie is just too honest, and no chances can be taken with the idea of him becoming president.

    Chris Christie is not all that intelligent – but he is also unpredictable, and anyone manipulating him cannot count on always being able to do so.

    Sammy Finkelman (e6d54e)

  33. Well, nobody is as intelligent as Barack Obama.
    He’s the smartest person to ever walk the planet.
    Valerie Jarrett says that Barack has spent his life being bored because the things that interest normal people simply do not interest him.

    I thank Allah that he’s President. I also thank low information voters—who are probably not as dumb as we think, since they did have the foresight to see that Barack would make such a wonderful President. Or something.

    Elephant Stone (6a6f37)

  34. No, I think Bill Clinton is pretty intelligent. Also foolish in the end.

    I speculated that the person(s) who set off the frenzy might be for some other Republican candidate. It’s hard though, to think of somebody really dishonest enough, with the possible exception of Rand Paul, or maybe people behind him.

    Well, maybe a virtual unknown at this point.

    This would be sort of what I reconstruct Bill Clinton did to other Democratic candidates for President in 1987. He had been instrmental in creating Super Tuesday – probably just for himself – and he fully intended to run that year, but probably polls showed him his strategy wouldn’t work.

    He could not be the only southern candidate because of Al Gore, and if he wasn’t the only southern candidate, he could never jump out of the pack. This strategy was based in repeating what Jimmy Carter did in 1976, with Jesse Jackson cast in the role of George Wallace – a person to get other southern votes and then turn around and support him after the primaries were over. They were both connected to BCCI.

    In July 1987, Clinton claimed he wasn’t running because of his daughter, later he story was leaked that this was because of possible bimbo eruptions. I think it’s just simply because poll after poll showed him he couldn’t find a way to win if Al Gore was in the race.

    Gary Hart and Joe Biden were both destroyed in 1987, probably due to the machinations of Bill Clinton.

    Gary Hart before Clinton concluded he could not run himself in 1988 because Al Gore wouldn’t bow out, or rather wouldn’t stay bowed out.

    Gary Hart was damaged as a result of something that operated out of Miami, home base of Janet Reno. Janet Reno, I say, was connected or known to Bill Clinton already in 1987. Actually I mean Miami more than Janet Reno.. One of Hillary’s brothers was lawyer in Florida. Anyway, Clinton’s connections to people in organized crime go way back and are deep. I mean, the FOUNDER (according to Jimmy Breslin) was the political boss of Hot Springs, Arkansas till he died in 1965. (with an interruption from about 1948 to the mid-1950s)

    Clinton always intended to nominate Janet Reno for Attorney General in 1993 but he made it look like a third choice, and even then mostly because she was a woman. By that time the Senate was all tired out from hearing about scandals involving Attorney General nominees, and so she got easily confirmed despite all the things that could have been brought up against her.

    I mentioned the cover up of the murder of Don Aronow in my e-mail to the White House on July 19/20 1993 and it probably really hit home.

    Causing Vincent Foster to think everything was known. So he ran to the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, and tried to blackmail him into giving him money for lawyers, but he forgot about diplomatic immunity.

    Then Prince Bandar ran to Preident Clinton and Sandy Burglar for assistance in covering it up, citing who knows what reasons. All this took some years to figure out.

    So anyway I think Bill Clinton knew a lot about Miami, and was responsible for the Donna Rice incident. It was entrapment.

    Joe Biden was destroyed by people in the Dukakis campaign. After deciding he couldn’t run and win in 1988, Clinton’s strategy was to make Michael Dukakis the Democratic nominee (Massachusetts Democrat from the one state George McGovern carried in 1972 – who has a better chance of losing?) and then have him lose, so he could run in 1992. (in 1992 his claim to fame was to be the oly Democrat who had supported the Gulf War – except that that was a brazen lie, but who knew?)

    So I think he had people or contacts inside his Dukakis campaign.

    Clinton got behind Dukakis, and eventually nominated him on the convention floor, and also worked with Jesse Jackson to get Ron Brown Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, where he used his position to help him win the nomination in 1992, and also planted some double agents on the right, like Linda Thompson and Bob Fletcher, to discredit attacks on Democrats.

    In 1993, and 1994, they were both key figures in the militia movement and Linda Thompson was the first person to talk about black helicopters, which nobody else but she (and her husband) saw.

    Sammy Finkelman (e6d54e)

  35. nk @ 17. Is that an adaptation or modernization of Chaucer?

    Sammy Finkelman (e6d54e)

  36. AS I’ve noted elsewhere — Christie’s “star” is sooooo 6 years ago.

    Many things he’s done since then — including sniffing at Teh One’s butt when he “visited” to see what Sandy did — have long since taken the luster off of Christie’s star.

    Let the leftist morons waste time on trashing the image of someone no self-respecting Republican or Libertarian would consider for a moment.

    It keeps ’em too busy to go after someone that might matter.

    Smock Puppet, Gadfly, Racist-Sexist Thug, and Bon Vivant All In One Package (225d0d)

  37. chris christie’s disgusting porky porky pork orgy after sandy was one of the most obscene spectacles failmerica has ever produced

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  38. if we want a trashy fascist slut who spends like obama in our white house we can’t do better than Hillary

    thanks for playing, corn dog

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  39. I don’t know the roots, Sammy. It is an English folk song, and brought to Appalachia that I know of. Those are the traditional lyrics, but there are variants. Like this one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2_6irdJVuo

    I remember Frankie Armstrong singing the traditional very nicely when I was seventeen, but I can’t find that on YouTube.

    nk (dbc370)

  40. WaPo has Crispy remaining frontrunner.

    That and $3.95 gets you a small café Americano at Starbucks, Caribou, Dunn’s, et alia.

    gary gulrud (e2cef3)

  41. Robin Wright has better side bewb than Chris Christie.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  42. Of course WaPo wants damaged goods as the GOP frontrunner.

    nk (dbc370)

  43. Robin Wright has better side bewb than Chris Christie cause Chris Christie is a nasty morbidly obese jerseytrash narcissist

    if he’s the frontrunner it’s cause Republicans are just gross

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  44. Top News Stories: Traffic jams in New Jersey last Fall and FBI does not expect to pursue criminal charges in IRS targeting of conservatives, but mostly traffic jams in New Jersey last Fall.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  45. Well she’s an interesting character in House of Cards, unlike Stay Puft,

    narciso (3fec35)

  46. Get it right, you guys. Robin Wright has “Ooh, boobs”. Christie has “Ew, bewbs.”

    nk (dbc370)

  47. 45. Over land lines it’s hard to tell whether the interviewed subject is sporting a paper bag.

    Allowing blind self-identification would be a significant source of error.

    gary gulrud (e2cef3)

  48. you flatter the neo-fascist propaganda slut candycrowleypig media overmuch with your attentions, some of you

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  49. that’s just an observation I’m not judging

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  50. Doesn’t matter, pikachu, they are all like that,

    http://newsbusters.org/people-and-organizations/martha-raddatz

    Meanwhile, KSM is communicating with kids in Nottingham,

    narciso (3fec35)

  51. that seems very smart

    of course

    it would’ve also seemed smart in the early 80’s, the late 80’s – at any point in the 90’s – or even more recently

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  52. i wonder who triggered the feeding frenzy early?

    Comment by redc1c4 (abd49e) — 1/13/2014 @ 10:32 am

    Remember the story of The Scorpion and the Frog? It’s just in the MSM’s nature. They can’t help but turn on anything close to conservative, even if it’s not conservative.

    Tanny O'Haley (c0a74e)

  53. Maybe Christie should hold a 1,000 Vaginas Not Reproducing celebration like Sarah Silverman to get back in the media and Mr. Feet’s good graces.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  54. needs moar vaginas

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  55. WaPo gleanings on the price Dhimmis paid to claw back some squeester unspendings:

    The agreement is riddled with dozens of controversial policy riders. One would bar funding to enforce the Obama administration’s new standard that would ban the use of incandescent light bulbs. The proposal was an early environmental policy victory for the White House, but the old bulbs remain widely popular.

    The measure would continue a ban on transferring terrorism detainees at the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to sites in the United States. It would also withhold additional funding for the government of Afghanistan until the country agrees to a new bilateral security agreement. And the measure would ban foreign aid for Libya until Secretary of State John F. Kerry “confirms Libyan cooperation” with ongoing investigations into the Sept. 11, 2012, attack at the U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi.

    The measure would also provide new congressional backing for Obama’s strategy of continuing aid to Egypt, despite a law that forbids U.S. military aid to governments that have taken power by military coup, as Egypt’s interim military-backed government did in July.

    Several issues regarding gun control are also included in the bill. The legislation restricts the Justice and Homeland Security departments from establishing programs similar to the “Fast and Furious” gun-tracking effort. In response to allegations that the administration has been stockpiling ammunition for use by federal agents, the measure also requires Homeland Security to provide detailed reports on its purchase and use of ammunition.

    The measure also continues a ban on the use of federal funding to perform most abortions, including abortions in the District and for federal prisoners. But Republicans agreed to jettison other contentious proposals, including a ban on new federal regulations for greenhouse gases and the “global gag rule,” which sought to prohibit U.S. funding for organizations that give women information about abortion.

    This is your Potemkin proscriptions sheeple. This is the GOP guarding you backdoor at night, telling Il Douche’s orcs what is naughty and if they’re caught what news to dump on a Friday evening.

    Dash Republican’s babies heads in, that’s progress.

    gary gulrud (e2cef3)

  56. More news unearthed by the Congressional Tsk Tsk Committee:

    http://hotair.com/archives/2014/01/13/issa-the-atf-is-using-rogue-tactics-to-wage-a-war-on-guns/

    gary gulrud (e2cef3)

  57. “The Night Has a Thousand Vaginas”

    – Bobby Vee

    Colonel Haiku (f6a9d4)

  58. Clothing aggravates scalds. It keeps the liquid concentrated and hot up against the skin. When we butchered our pig, we would drape burlap bags over it and pour boiling water on them. It loosened the hair and the surface layer of the skin almost immediately and they could be scraped off with ordinary knives.

    nk (dbc370)

  59. Wrong thread? Not my fault. Both got to talking about ladies’ naughty bits.

    nk (dbc370)

  60. Christie is finished.

    Maddow posted an irrefutable case with photographic evidence that Christie LIED.

    Irrefutable.

    http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/14/rachel-maddow-chris-christie-lied-about-his-staffs-knowledge-of-bridge-closures/

    Yes (963231)

  61. 67. Comment by Yes (963231) — 1/14/2014 @ 9:37 pm

    Christie is finished.

    Oh, Patterico thought he was finished (for other reasons) on November 5, 2012 after he seemed to engage on Obama-worship (and he definitely engaged in Bruce Springsteen worship) after Hurricane Sandy. I never understood why anybpdy ever thought he had much chances – do they not understand his limitations? They would come out.

    But this is about something else. Not really, or only, Chris Christie’s political career.

    Sammy Finkelman (e6d54e)

  62. Maddow posted an irrefutable case with photographic evidence that Christie LIED.

    Your link doesn’t have any photographic evidence, unless it is in the video. The link is to Raw Story, not a very good source.

    But even this only claims one lie that Christie supposedly told: that his administration was unaware of the four-day closures.

    But Christie didn’t say that. He said that he was unaware of the closures until after it was over.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/transcript-chris-christies-news-conference-on-george-washington-bridge-scandal/2014/01/09/d0f4711c-
    7944-11e3-8963-b4b654bcc9b2_story.html

    Q: But you can tell us that you do not authorize this kind of retribution.

    GOV. CHRISTIE: Oh, absolutely not. No. And I knew nothing about this. And until it started to be reported in the papers about the closure, but even then I was told this was a traffic study…

    At first, in December, he said, or thought – that he first heard of them when the Wall Street Journal story of October 2 was printed (which revealed Port Authority Executive Director Patrick Foye’s memo of September 13, before he reversed the lane closures.)

    Last week he said – basically volunteering it, really, that he thought there was an earlier story.

    There was one on Sept. 17. which merely reported the closure of the previous week and said it was mystery.

    Maybe in December his staff supplied him with that Oct 2 story, so he gave that date.

    The transcript seems to be a litle bit unintelligible at this point. They didn’t always get the reporters’ questions – but the questions seems to be about when he first heard about it – was it when the Foye e-mail was first published? (as he had said in October)

    GOV. CHRISTIE: No, I think it was the — it wasn’t one of Pat Foye’s emails, but I think there was an earlier story than that. But —

    Q: (Off mic.)

    GOV. CHRISTIE: I don’t remember exactly.

    Q: (Off mic) — it was about the traffic, though.

    GOV. CHRISTIE: Something about the traffic, yeah.

    Q: And why didn’t you respond then, especially after the Foye email, around all this stuff about emergency services — (off mic)?

    GOV. CHRISTIE: I — we did. No, we did. And we were told it was a traffic study.

    Q: Yeah, but they tell you it’s a traffic study, but the mayor is saying the ambulances can’t get — (off mic).

    GOV. CHRISTIE: And we were told that they did a traffic study where they did not want a normal flow of traffic to be interrupted so that the traffic study would be a valid one. That’s what we were told. And so we did respond. We asked them, and that’s how we responded. You know, and again, I’m not somebody who’s going to be, you know, getting into the details of a traffic study and whether one is done appropriately or inappropriately, certainly at that time.

    And I can tell you that at that first moment, that’s when I became aware that there was some issue. But I didn’t even at that point delve into it. It was not something that I was personally delving into.

    Sammy Finkelman (e6d54e)

  63. Now there seem to be more people involved in the Governor’s office than Bridget Anne Kelly. There are two oor three other possibilities. (Kelly was of course taking diirection from someone but that could be Bill Steppian who Chris Christie cut ties with just on the question of tone, but there seems to be reason to suspect others.

    Last Thursday, Chris Christie said:

    Prior to yesterday, I believed that if I looked someone in the eye who I worked with and trusted and asked them that I would get an honest answer. Maybe that was naive, but that’s what I believed. So now I’m going and digging in and asking more questions. But I can’t make a warranty on that, Angie (sp). I don’t believe so [that there were other instances of revenge/retribution tactics] but I can’t make a warranty on that, and I won’t, because when I did that four weeks ago I wound up being wrong.

    Now the fact is, there have been a few other accusations, although maybe nothing as bad as this, and also this probably wasn’t the first thing, so he really should suspect there was more.

    But more important here, it looks like he’s still naive:

    Sammy Finkelman (e6d54e)

  64. One of the emails that came from David Wildstein is written the day before David Wildstein resigns.

    On December 5, 2013 at 8:26 am, David Wildstein writes to Mike Drewniak, Governor Christie’s press secretary:

    Thanks again for all your sound advice last night, I always appreciate your friendship. Spoke with O’Toole this morning and he will talk with you later today.

    And Mike Drewniak replies at 8:59 AM:

    Same to you David, and thanks for a great dinner.

    And what did Chris Christie say at his press conference on Thursday?

    GOV. CHRISTIE: I spoke to Mike last night. David, at that time, was considering whether or not to resign, and he made the determination the next day, in the meeting with the administration to resign. But I don’t believe, from my conversation with Mike last night, that that was the main topic of the dinner that night, that the dinner was a social dinner, not a professional dinner. Jenna?

    What did he do? Look him in the eye?

    Now, of course, it might have been about something else, or David Wildstein just touched tangetially on his problems or did not tell Drewniak the truth.

    But there’s another indication, at least that the topic of Wildstein’s resignation was indeed discussed by them:

    At 5:14 pm on December 6 Michael Drewniak sends to Shawn Boburg (a reporter for northjersey.com)
    a statement about Wildstein quitting from his gov.state.nj.us address.

    He then forwards that message to his personal GMail account at 5:17 and from there sends it to David Wildstein at 5:19, with the following preface:

    This was my revised — which I sent to the Gov and he approved (no Maria or Charlie)

    Maria would probably be Maria Comella, who called him early in the morning of Wednesday January 6 and told him about the breaking Bergen Record story that revealed the first emails.

    I think Drewniak is saying there was no interference – he got the Governor to approve a statement, to be attributed to his press Secretary, praising David Wildstein.

    Sammy Finkelman (e6d54e)

  65. This is the New York Times story on the resignation, where you can see the controversy at that time.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/08/nyregion/christie-ally-resigning-from-port-authority.html?_r=0

    It looks like Michael Drewniak gave that same statement he sent to Wildstein to the New York Times on Saturday.

    Note Drewniak had tried to keep out of the official record that he had forwarded it to Wildstein. It could be, of course, he merely considered it inappropriate, or just not part of his job.

    It looks like that Dec 7 story never made the printed paper because the web article doesn’t say when it appeared. If it had, it would have appeared on Sunday, December 8.

    Sammy Finkelman (e6d54e)

  66. Charlie is probably Charles McKenna, Christie’s chief counsel. He was one of the two people whom Drewniak thought might stop that pro-Wildstein statement on December 6, so he’s OK.

    O’Toole doesn’t look like he would be a good guy, judging from the e-mail. He is state Sen. Kevin O’Toole. He is the Republican Minority whip and from the 40th district.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey_Legislative_Districts,_2001_redistricting#District_40

    Meanwhile some Christie appointments are kind of frozen:

    http://nypost.com/2014/01/13/subpoenas-due-for-chris-christies-staffers/

    He has nominated his current chief of staff, Kevin O’Dowd, whose name didn’t come up in the wildstein emails, as attorney general. (There are also Port Authority emails)

    The current acting attorney general, John Hoffman, therefore stays in place, and Christie had to withdraw his nomination for a judgeship.

    And Regina Egea can’t move up to chief of staff from Director of the Authorities Unit of the Governor’s Office.

    Sammy Finkelman (e6d54e)

  67. 69. I found a better quote from the press conference about Christie saying he didn’t know, and I also need to fix a link. The link I gave @69 was broken.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/transcript-chris-christies-news-conference-on-george-washington-bridge-scandal/2014/01/09/d0f4711c-7944-11e3-8963-b4b654bcc9b2_story.html

    …So what I can tell you is if people find that hard to believe, I don’t know what else to say except to tell them that I had no knowledge of this — of the planning, the execution or anything about it — and that I first found out about it after it was over.

    Rachel Maddow claims another statement is also a lie:

    But there is nobody on my staff who had any knowledge of this issue until after the issue was already done

    That would, of course, not include Bridget Anne Kelly whom he fired.

    But that would be the only name of someone who lied to him that Christie he would know.

    Now Rachel Maddow says Regina Egea was contacted by Patrick Foye regarding the possibly illegal shutdown. There could be small window of time after Foye found out before he reversed it, but even so, this is trivial.

    The other she mentions are Mike Drewniak, who might be guilty, but I don’t know what date her proof involves, and Bill Stepien, who 1) was not on the staff 2) Christie broke ties with and 3) he called the mayor an idiot (her proof) on September 18, five days AFTER it was over.

    Here’s another thing from he wildstein e-mails hinting at Mike Drewniak’s nvolvement:

    On October 2, David Wildstein is complaining about the leak of the September 13 Foye memo (Foye says he didn’t do it by the way)

    He writes to Stepian, saying in part:

    Baroni and I are at statehouse this afternoon — need to be sure that all understand that a trash train bringing NYC garbage, east of Brunswick, etc is a very bad idea — and will talk to Drewniak and Bridget while there. So there is Drewniak linked to all four members of the gang of four.

    I don’t know what his NYC garbage thing is.

    Retaliation? Something real and unrelated?

    Wildstein sounds all worried sbout the election in this e-mail exchange.

    Sammy Finkelman (e6d54e)

  68. ‘Irrefutable’ Maddow, those words you are using…

    narciso (3fec35)

  69. That would be a big NO, Yes. If lying was a terminal disease, the Democrats would have ceased to exist over 50 years ago.

    Colonel Haiku (f6a9d4)

  70. Heh, Sammy comment-bombing on a thread called “Offered Without Comment”! Delicious.

    Amalgamated Cliff Divers, Local 157 (f7d5ba)

  71. New York Post: Springsteen, Fallon jab Christie in ‘traffic’ song

    To the tune of Born to Run.

    Bruce Springsteen stopped by “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” on Tuesday:

    Lines: “The highways jammed with pxxxed off drivers with no place left to go, and the press conference, it was longer than one of my own damn shows.”

    “You’re killing the working man, who’s stuck in Governor Chris Christie’s Fort Lee, New Jersey traffic jam.”

    The article notes that Christie is a huge fan of Bruce Springsteen. Obama actually arranged for them to talk.

    Obama Calls Chris Christie, Passes Phone to Bruce Springsteen – ABC Nov 5, 2012 7:22pm

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  72. According to Rich Lowry, Rachel Maddow and Steve Kornacknow have a new theory: Christie aides may have sought to bring a $1 billion development abutting the GWB to a halt.

    At least they know it can’t be the mayor’s non-endorsement..

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  73. Sammy, Springsteen is a no-talent hack and he and the fat man deserve each other.

    Colonel Haiku (e1567e)

  74. 82. It doesn’t make sense. Was there a shorrtage of governent money, so that they couldn’t have bailed out Ford too, sort of (just making sure the UAW pensions got paid, but nobody else’s and no other creditor)

    What the Ford Motor company did, that General Motors and Chrysler did not, is that when the CEO saw (about 2007?) that cash was draining away, he borrowed every penny he could. He paid interest on it, even though he didn’t need the money right then, because he knew he wouldn’t be able to borrow later. And they were able to weather the storm.

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b491)


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