Weekend Open Thread
[guest post by Dana]
Feel free to talk about anything you think is newsworthy or might interest readers.
I’ll start.
First news item:
Harry Reid meh about a brokered convention:
Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday said it was possible the crowded Democratic primary race was headed toward a contentious convention fight and downplayed the political dangers of a scenario many party leaders are dreading.
“I don’t think we’ll have one, but we could have one,” Reid told The Associated Press in an interview days before the Democratic caucuses in his home state of Nevada. “We’ve had brokered conventions before, and we’ve always come up with good candidates. It’s not the end of the world. It just slows the process down.”
More here, including thoughts on Bernie Sanders:
“Let’s say that he has 35 percent. Well, 65 percent he doesn’t have, or that person doesn’t have. I think that we have to let the system work its way out. I do not believe anyone should get the nomination unless they have 50-[percent]-plus-one… A lot people in the race still, but they’ll be dropping off quick, because the money is running out. So I think you’re going to have the field winnowing fairly quickly. And you have most of the people who are not Bernie Sanders, are people who are moderates, and maybe they’ll work something out to get together and try to find that one person who can come up with the number of delegates… I just don’t think you can give the nomination to somebody who has 65 percent of the people that made a different decision.”
Second news item:
No wonder a woman can’t get elected to the presidency: Elizabeth Warren, who has railed against Big Money in politics, now blames men for accepting Big Money donations to her campaign. :
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) changed her tune on the nefarious influence of super PACs just days after receiving the backing of a newly formed PAC, telling reporters on Thursday that because “all of the men” in the race refused to rely entirely on individual donors, she shouldn’t be expected to either.
“It can’t be the case that a bunch of people keep them and only one or two don’t,” she said.
Warren, speaking to reporters in Nevada, tried to square her past disavowals of super PAC funding with her refusal to disavow a new PAC that made a $1 million television ad buy on her behalf this week. She argued that because she failed to convince other candidates to commit to her proposal of no PAC funding, she was forced to accept PAC support.
“The first day I got in this race, over a year ago, I said ‘I hope every presidential candidate who comes in will agree — no Super PACs for any of us,” Warren explained. “I renewed that call dozens of times, and I couldn’t get a single Democrat to go along with me.
Third news item:
An indictment against public education? An endorsement of Sporcle?
Fourth news item:
USC begins to waive tuition costs for some students:
USC announced Thursday that it will be waiving all tuition fees for any student who comes from a family that makes less than $80,000.
Starting with students entering their first year this fall, not only will students from households with an annual income below $80,000 be able to attend tuition-free but also owning a home will not be counted when determining a student’s financial need.
“We’re opening the door wider to make a USC education possible for talented students from all walks of life,” University President Carol Folt said in a statement. Folt was brought in in March on the heels of the “Varsity Blues” scandal, where dozens of wealthy parents were charged with illegally influencing undergraduate admissions decisions at top American universities including, most famously, at the University of Southern California.
Fifth news item:
Spurred by a police chief, Minnesota lawmakers launched a drive Thursday to remove from the state constitution a clause allowing slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for crimes.
St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell, who had been bothered by the language for some time, made it his new year’s resolution to get it deleted. He found a sympathetic ear in St. Paul Democratic Rep. John Lesch, who will get a hearing Tuesday on his proposal asking voters in November to remove the offending language from the constitution.
The bill of rights in the 1857 Minnesota Constitution says “there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the state otherwise than as punishment for a crime of which the party has been convicted.” The amendment would strike the punishment exception, leaving a total ban in place.
“It’s inappropriate that language mentioning slavery still exists in our constitution, even if’s narrowly constructed and, some would say, obsolete,” Lesch said at a news conference…
What, was there no Republican “sympathetic ear” to be found? Oh, wait, let’s read the last two paragraphs:
The proposal seems likely to win support in the Democratic-controlled House. It’s being sponsored in the Republican-controlled Senate by Sen. Bobby Joe Champion, an African American from Minneapolis, who is hopeful he can persuade Senate leaders to take it up. No organized opposition has emerged.
GOP Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka said at a separate news conference Thursday that he’s “certainly willing to take a look at it.”
Have a great weekend.
–Dana
A friend of mine did the Leno segment where they “found the idiot”. She said they specifically went to the tourist areas and would film for 2-3 days, 8 hours a day, to get 5 minutes of idiot takes. She was actually pretty impressed with most folks, but the dumb ones were REALLY dumb, and they’re not always the toothless hillbilly, she’s from Louisville (Luhvul) and knows her hillbillies. Tech and Energy execs were notoriously stupid.
Colonel Klink (Ret) (5cde89) — 2/22/2020 @ 7:35 amSt. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell, who had been bothered by the language for some time,
Pick a little poke salad, Chief. So … courts will be able to impose community service as a punishment, either directly or indirectly as a choice between that and jail?
nk (1d9030) — 2/22/2020 @ 8:22 amwill *not* be able
nk (1d9030) — 2/22/2020 @ 8:31 amOh, it’s Minnesota! Never mind.
nk (1d9030) — 2/22/2020 @ 8:31 amYeah, brokered conventions.
The last one was 1968, where the (surviving) anti-war candidates who had driven LBJ out of the race were shunted aside in favor of the sitting VP, Humphrey. Lost to Nixon by 120 EVs.
Before that, there was JFK in 1960, narrowly on the first ballot, and several southern states refused to put him on their ballot. Might have beat Nixon, might have not.
Or 1952, where they selected Adlai Stephenson (aka Merkin Muffley), who lost twice to Ike.
My favorite is 1924, where they selected John W Davis on the 103th ballot. He came in a distant second (to Coolidge) with 29% of the popular vote. Davis, a stalwart racist, later claimed fame as the losing lawyer in Brown v Board of Education.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 2/22/2020 @ 8:31 am*103rd. Yikes.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 2/22/2020 @ 8:33 amThe best way for Bloomberg to win the presidency is for Trump to replace RBG first. Given that, the 2nd Amendment is secure, without that Trump gets 10 million extra votes.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 2/22/2020 @ 8:36 amUSC announced Thursday that it will be waiving all tuition fees for any student who comes from a family that makes less than $80,000.
There are a number of reasons I’m upset with my alma mater (Harvey Mudd), notably a political-correctness fetish, but one thing I am proud of is they always meet the financial needs of accepted applicants. Nobody leaves with $100K in debt despite the $60K/year posted price.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 2/22/2020 @ 8:41 amEver since Putin decided to slice off a piece of the Crimean region of Ukraine and called it his own, and then launched a massive propaganda campaign to blame Ukraine and the US for his invasion and ongoing war, I’ve been acutely sensitive to that kind of disinformation and dishonesty being spread by the dictators and his tacit allies. Trump is part of that disinformation continuum.
Timothy Snyder has an excellent piece that provides clarity to what actually happened at the Maidan and the disinformation onslaught that followed. Bottom line, what happened in February 2014 was a popular revolution. Ukraine wasn’t taken over by fascists or neo-Nazis (although they do exist and played small roles in the new administration); the real fascist in this equation is Putin himself. The US didn’t foment or start this revolution.
Yanukovych violated his country’s constitution by shutting down protesters, and he fled to Mother Russia to avoid prison, abandoning his office. His corruption was made known to the world shortly thereafter, and made further known when the “black ledger” was revealed.
Putin’s propaganda efforts were not so different in our 2016 election cycle. This NY Mag piece is lengthy, but it lays out how the Russian dictator executed his “sweeping and systematic” effort to use social media to spread his propaganda to his advantage, and it’s called the Gerasimov Doctrine. Here’s one little piece.
Moving to present day, McKay Coppins has a piece on the current Disinformation War. The waded into the Trump political ecosystem by signing up for a Facebook and clicking on Trump-friendly links.
All three links are lengthy but they’re worth full reads, IMO. In today’s media environment, it’s all the more difficult–and all the more important–to check the facts and check the sources so as not to get chumped by propagandists.
Paul Montagu (ae8832) — 2/22/2020 @ 8:44 amBoth Warren and Klobuchar seem to be running on a sexist appeal. Imagine if a candidate, even Trump, ran an anti-woman message.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 2/22/2020 @ 8:44 amOn my frequent visits to Childrens Hospital in Boston I notice political signs and bumper stickers.
mg (8cbc69) — 2/22/2020 @ 8:45 amMore burnee than the rest of the dem nit wits put together. Pretty much a toss up between burnee and orange man bad.
I did see a very faded Kerry/Edwards on a old subaru wagon!
About that no-brainer, the US Constitution has the same language in the 13th Amendment. After this passes someone who is sentenced to community service is going to sue.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 2/22/2020 @ 8:52 amI did see a very faded Kerry/Edwards on a old subaru wagon!
You will see Hillary stickers on new cars in Santa Monica.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 2/22/2020 @ 8:54 amWill Chamberlain has a good video about scumbags in the intelligence community leaking a story about Bernie’s campaign being helped by the Russians, right before the Nevada primary. This is the same sort of thing the IC pulls a lot, such as releasing the Comey briefing about the B.S. Steele dossier, to turn that into a political news story.
The IC should be brought to heel; but then, it’s best not to be assassinated by them, so not sure how much the President can do.
Are there white hats in the IC? Sure. But many of them are slime.
Make America Ordered Again (23f793) — 2/22/2020 @ 9:00 amBy the way, his point is this will be a Democrat or Never Trumper in the IC who is trying to stop Bernie from winning the primary, to benefit the Democrats’ chances in the general.
Make America Ordered Again (23f793) — 2/22/2020 @ 9:02 amHow do you or Chamberlain know the IC leaked it? The White House leaked the story about the House briefing by Maguire’s minion, and that briefing included information about Putin preferring Bernie on the Democrat side.
Paul Montagu (ae8832) — 2/22/2020 @ 9:16 amAlong similar lines, Trump now has a 29-year old Director of Political Cleansing, with no HR experience. If you don’t bend the knee or demonstrate sufficient loyalty to a certain person, you’re fired.
Only the
best peoplebiggest suck-ups!Leigh Ann Caldwell
@LACaldwellDC
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As Nevada heads to caucus today —>
Harry Reid: Iowa and New Hampshire ‘have done so much damage’
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Holly Otterbein
@hollyotterbein
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Jeff Weaver, a senior adviser to Bernie Sanders, told us the Nevada Democratic Party hadn’t yet released all the early vote data they’d said they would.
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POLITICO
@politico
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Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez warned earlier this week that results from Nevada’s caucus on Saturday might not be released the same day — an apparent attempt to lower expectations after the meltdown in Iowa https://politico.com/news/2020/02/21/nevada-braces-for-caucus-after-iowa-116661
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Dillon Greer
harkin (b64479) — 2/22/2020 @ 9:24 am@Duval_Dillon
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The early voters will be kept comfortable while the Party and the campaigns have an informed discussion.
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Trump has done nothing for gun rights. Zero, zip, zilch, nada.
He has done things against gun rights, by executive order, after the Las Vegas shooting.
Worse, his corrupt New York Sewer Depth DOJ is going after the reloader who sold the shooter some ammo on a trumped-up charge of being an unlicensed ammunition manufacturer. Not only reloaders should worry. “Reasonably regulating” ammunition has been a gun-grabber Plan B for a long time.
nk (1d9030) — 2/22/2020 @ 9:25 amChamberlain’s follow-up point is that this leaking of classified info for partisan political reason is pernicious and can’t be tolerated. It’s the IC (probably) interefering with the electoral process.
Trump should call for a no-holds-barred investigation, including grand journeys going “Scooter Libby” and subpoenaing reports at the NYT and WP, to find out who leaked it and prosecute them. That this leaking is worse than Assange and Snowden, in a sense, because while the amount of classified info leaked was less, it was leaked more narrowly, to try to choose the next President.
This is dangerous and wrong.
Surely if Trump DID call for such an investigation, as he should, this could be supported by all well-meaning people.
Make America Ordered Again (23f793) — 2/22/2020 @ 9:27 am*juries, although a grand journey could be nice
Make America Ordered Again (23f793) — 2/22/2020 @ 9:30 amhttps://www.mediaite.com/tv/anderson-cooper-calls-bullsht-on-rod-blagojevich-in-heated-interview/
Cooper often swings and misses, but he was knocking the cover off with the sleeze-ball that the OTHER sleeze-ball let off only to come out and claim he was a “political prisoner” “robbed of my freedom”.
Gutsy call, Mr. President…
Ragspierre (d9bec9) — 2/22/2020 @ 10:11 amTrump has done nothing for gun rights. Zero, zip, zilch, nada.
Gorsuch. Kavanaugh. That’s two by my count. Then there are lower court judges from the Federalist Society list.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 2/22/2020 @ 10:15 amBut maybe the Democrats will be more sympathetic.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 2/22/2020 @ 10:16 amState’s Rights advocates in the ACLU say different. “California has passed a Nullification Act, so the sheriff is breaking the law.”
OK, maybe not that last part, exactly.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-sheriff-ice-subpoenas-jail-records
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 2/22/2020 @ 10:19 am@9 Paul, “censorship through noise” what an apt description of what is going on more and more across social media….as voluntary and unwitting trolls add more and more confusion about what are facts and what is idle speculation. I believe you are correct when you note that team Trump is part of this growing disinformation and dishonesty continuum….feeding us theories and villains to continually distract us from reasoned conclusions…or at minimum…some healthy skepticism about those in power. We are always told to go look in this or that dark corner….and aha…..there’s the bad guy…ie, the one going against the party line. One can’t read a blog comment section today without being innudated by poorly-sourced and weakly-reasoned propaganda….designed to make us hate and distrust the other side…paralyzing our democracy….and leading many to excuse bad character and bad behavior….and claim bad character is actually required….preferred….and better that it is out in the open….because we know all of them are bad. Keep finding interesting analyses….hopefully some will take them to heart!
AJ_Liberty (165d19) — 2/22/2020 @ 10:22 amThe courts have done very little for gun rights, except in Chicago and DC (and not more than the barest minimum in DC). All the gun rights nationally that people enjoy today, compared to, let’s say 1980, have come from state legislatures, with Congress lagging furlongs behind and the courts barely out of the starting gate.
nk (1d9030) — 2/22/2020 @ 10:23 amThat’s nothing, I saw a Dole Kemp 96 sticker on a light pole on a street in my neighborhood for 20 + years after that election.
urbanleftbehind (d470bd) — 2/22/2020 @ 10:32 amBut maybe the Democrats will be more sympathetic.
Democrats passed the Illinois concealed carry law and defeated the recent proposed gun ban in Virginia. You’ve been praising New Mexico’s gun laws. Who controls the legislature? Who is governor? (Rhetorical questions.)
Gun rights are grassroots, not trickle down, and it’s one reason top-down gun-grabbing by jerkoffs like Bloomberg keep failing.
nk (1d9030) — 2/22/2020 @ 10:35 amDebate questions I would like to hear:
“President Trump: We understand that you do not drink. How then do you explain your late night tweets?”
“Senator Sanders: Are you now, or have you ever been, a Communist?” Follow-up: “Do you renounce Marx and all his works?”
“Vice-President Biden: “Where are you? What year is it? Who is the President of the United States?”
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 2/22/2020 @ 10:42 amYou’re packing a lot of assumptions into one short paragraph, MAOA. You don’t know if “classified info” was released, but it probably wasn’t classified because this same story was reported last August. The only difference between then and now is that Putin had a hard-on for Gabbard last summer.
Paul Montagu (ae8832) — 2/22/2020 @ 10:46 amBecause you don’t know who leaked, you can’t know the leakers’ motivations or whether it was done for “political partisan reason”. And because you don’t know if it came from the IC, you have no basis for concluding that the IC is “interefering with the electoral process”. What we do know is this story initially blew up because of the exchange between Trump and Maguire in the White House, and the White House leaks like Mrs. Montagu’s sinuses.
You’ve been praising New Mexico’s gun laws. Who controls the legislature? Who is governor?
The new governor and her legislature passed new gun-transfer laws and a red-flag law. They also signed tiny NM up to the Popular Vote Compact, potentially losing its residents considerable clout.
Virginia’s law was defeated because they have a mere 1-vote majority in the legislature. It wasn’t the Democrats who were voting no. Maybe a a few, but not the party.
Gun rights are utterly dependent upon the US Supreme Court, and they have a ways to go. It is unconscionable that a passenger diverted to a NY or NJ airport can run into legal problems with their legally checked handgun.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 2/22/2020 @ 10:47 amIt should be noted that 30 of 33 counties in New Mexico are now 2nd Amendment sanctuaries. The other three counties (Bernadillo, Santa Fe and Doña Ana) are the cities, although Sandoval County (where I live) is also well-populated but not yet socialist.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 2/22/2020 @ 10:54 amIn keeping with AJ Liberty’s remarks, Duh Donald is busy vilainizing poor Neil Cavuto for the crime of having guests on who are not sufficiently worshipful of His Grace (pbuh).
T-rump…pitiful man-child and liar extraordinaire…accused Cavuto of being a ratings failure who has “fake guests” (?!) on his show.
Oddly, Cavuto’s ratings are excellent. His guests all appear to be quite genuine.
Ragspierre (d9bec9) — 2/22/2020 @ 10:55 am@10 Um. Er. Yeah. Lets imagine that Trump said and did anti-woman things. Just imagine.
Nic (896fdf) — 2/22/2020 @ 10:56 amThe courts have done very little for gun rights, except in Chicago and DC (and not more than the barest minimum in DC).
One more vote on the Supreme Court and Heller and the 2nd Amendment would have been gutted and limited to the National Guard.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 2/22/2020 @ 10:56 amI thought Wilt died
mg (8cbc69) — 2/22/2020 @ 10:58 amLets imagine that Trump said and did anti-woman things.
Sure, he’s a pig. But he’s not RUNNING on that. He’s not advocating voting for him because he’s a man.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 2/22/2020 @ 10:58 am“Putin doesn’t want me to be the nominee. Donald Trump doesn’t want me to be the nominee.” – Joe Biden
Wellllllll, call me Orange Ivan Glasnost; I don’t want you to be the nominee; millions of Americans, including squeaky white Iowans, New Hampshire voters- and the ghost Corn Pop, too- don’t want you, an aging, gaff-prone, lying plagiarist and two-time looza to be the nominee, either.
“Here’s the deal, man”—– you’re too damned old.
Idiot.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 2/22/2020 @ 10:59 amGun rights are utterly dependent upon the US Supreme Court,
Sigh. According to the US Supreme Court there were no gun rights until 2008 (Heller v. DC), but 48 states already had carry in public in one form or another in 2008. DC still doesn’t. The courts are followers, not leaders, on the Second Amendment.
nk (1d9030) — 2/22/2020 @ 11:01 amOne more vote on the Supreme Court and Heller and the 2nd Amendment would have been gutted and limited to the National Guard.
It was, since 1937, as far as the Supreme Court was concerned. The states thought differently.
nk (1d9030) — 2/22/2020 @ 11:03 am1937? Miller (1939)? It’s not clear that settled anything.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 2/22/2020 @ 11:17 amIf you live in CA, NJ, NY or HI you have no 2nd amendment rights.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 2/22/2020 @ 11:18 am@37 He’s not saying “Vote for me, I’m a man.” but he does make gendered statements that imply it makes him better.
Everyone runs on their demographics, to a certain extent. That’s what all those cowboy boots were about with Bush and what all the “I’m a Christian” stuff is in general. With JFK, some people voted for him specifically because he was Catholic and there’d never been a Catholic President (and there hasn’t been one since, either.) Some people voted for Obama just because he’s black. If you have a unique or interesting demographical situation that’s going to probably cause you to lose votes, there’s no reason not to try to turn it into a positive and gain some with it.
Nic (896fdf) — 2/22/2020 @ 11:18 amYou are on fire, today, nk. On all threads. Long may you wave.
felipe (023cc9) — 2/22/2020 @ 11:25 amThis is news. The former mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, the guy who supported Trump in 2016, is now endorsing Bloomberg.
Paul Montagu (ae8832) — 2/22/2020 @ 11:42 amBTW, I saw The Mule a few weeks ago, and it was impressive how an 89-year old fella carried the film. Also impressive is how he made his best films after he turned 60.
Paul Montagu (ae8832) — 2/22/2020 @ 11:42 am
That is amazing, Montagu. Once Bloomberg drops out, Clint will go back to endorsing Trump and you’ll go back to hating him and his films.
Munroe (dd6b64) — 2/22/2020 @ 12:23 pmBloomberg isn’t going to drop out.
Make America Ordered Again (23f793) — 2/22/2020 @ 12:26 pmLaura Barrón-López
@lbarronlopez
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NSDP party officials are telling campaign representatives that there’s a deficit of volunteers across the state, and so they are asking representatives of campaigns to act as precinct chairs, per multiple sources on ground
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Laura Barrón-López
@lbarronlopez
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Per Dem source: “I’m at Spring Valley High School and a lot of the Nevada Dem Party volunteers did not show up. They are worried about the precinct chairs showing up as well.”
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Little Saint James PAC
@beardiful4
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I am legitimately curious how much this is related to requiring volunteers sign last-minute NDAs
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A Sentient Pile of SpaghettiSpaghetti
@spagritty
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So they spring a last-minute shady AF requirement to sign an NDA on the volunteers and surprise, surprise, they can’t get enough volunteers
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Global Yokel
@GlobalYokel
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Democrats are running the risk of looking so incompetent that we won’t be able to convince voters to trust us with healthcare, foreign policy, etc.
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Chicago_Dad70
harkin (b64479) — 2/22/2020 @ 12:27 pm@KSfan4life
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Wow. Who knew Putin had THIS kind of sway?!
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“Bloomberg isn’t going to drop out.”
Make America Ordered Again (23f793) — 2/22/2020 @ 12:26 pm
With his dough, maybe not.
I’ve watched none of the debates. Did any questioner insist on the Dem candidates making a pledge to support the nominee coming out of the convention, like they did for Republicans in 2016?
I’d like to see both Bloom and Bernie make that pledge. Of course, they can always lie through their teeth like Jeb(!).
Munroe (dd6b64) — 2/22/2020 @ 12:41 pmIronically, he stunk up the joint in epic fashion, really, legendary, in his first debate, coming in utterly prepared for what he ought to know would be the questions and attacks.
He let himself down by relying on his money and self-image rather than tenacious, emotionally-challenging debate prep. He will do better in the next debate.
Make America Ordered Again (23f793) — 2/22/2020 @ 1:01 pm*unprepared
Make America Ordered Again (23f793) — 2/22/2020 @ 1:02 pmProjection. Is there any basis for the accusation that Paul bases his opinion of filmmakers on whether or not they love Donald Trump?
Radegunda (39c35f) — 2/22/2020 @ 1:05 pmMost people don’t view everything and everyone through a Trump-centric lens, though Trump fans have certainly shown a tendency to divide good from bad along the lines of pro-Trump vs. anti-Trump or Trump-critical.
I can vouch for that.
NJRob (d9a8fc) — 2/22/2020 @ 1:08 pmLooking at the number of people who say they wont vote for anyone that didn’t support Trump’s impeachment and removal and I’ll disagree. Same with those who are no longer Republicans because “Trump.”
NJRob (d9a8fc) — 2/22/2020 @ 1:11 pmInteresting point, Radegunda. I have been talking with someone who filters everything through a Trump-centric lens: if it’s not pro-Trump, it’s not good. That covers everything from filmmakers to businesses to media outlets and obviously, to pundits. They are creating their own acceptable small world to operate within. With that, I’m working on a local political campaign to defeat a disastrous measure going before voters. The Tea Party has aligned itself with the grassroots campagin to defeat the measure. They are very big Trump people. As such, it has been necessary to remind people that our campaign has absolutely nothing to do with the Trump cause. We are unifying because of the Measure, not because of political alignments. If Trump support were the delineation point, then our side of the issue would lose major support.
Dana (4fb37f) — 2/22/2020 @ 1:13 pmSays someone in the 4% of people on the right who don’t approve of Trump, not the 96% who do.
You are masterful at projecting!
Make America Ordered Again (23f793) — 2/22/2020 @ 1:15 pmAnother celebrity for Bernie:
Consistency and unwavering tenacity are laudable. There’s far too little of either with our politicians. However, obviously with Bernie, the problem are the beliefs he stubbornly clings to, no matter any evidence to point to the folly of the system he espouses.
Dana (4fb37f) — 2/22/2020 @ 1:18 pmOK, they are creating their own acceptable world in which to operate. Better? The point is, the more insular one’s world, the more myopic one’s view of the world becomes. With that, the greater risk of an inaccurate take on things, especially as they are measured against a faulty and corrupt indivdiual.
Dana (4fb37f) — 2/22/2020 @ 1:21 pmYes. I think some of the Republicans who latch on to Trump are just tribal and not really thinking things through.
Also, same with many of those who support whatever. We’re mostly tribal as a species and few people think for themselves much.
Make America Ordered Again (23f793) — 2/22/2020 @ 1:26 pmI know old family Hawaiian military families going back to camp tarawa that are well armed and will never give up the right to lock and load.
mg (8cbc69) — 2/22/2020 @ 1:29 pmOf course, I don’t accept your 96% to 4% comparison. If you can cite something, I’m happy to read it. However, if it is true about the percentage being 96%, then I’m happy to be in the meager 4%. I’m not going to bend to the prevailing winds simply because everyone else is willing to hold their noses and support their view of the lesser of two evils or go knowingly full-throttle into Trumpland.
Dana (4fb37f) — 2/22/2020 @ 1:31 pm“The point is, the more insular one’s world, the more myopic one’s view of the world becomes.“
Dana (4fb37f) — 2/22/2020 @ 1:21 pm
Dana, it is quite literally impossible for someone to live a normal life and exist in a pro-Trump bubble.
Whereas, not is it only possible for Trump critics to live in an anti-Trump bubble, most do.
Munroe (dd6b64) — 2/22/2020 @ 1:31 pmRasmussen’s approval rating polling.
Make America Ordered Again (23f793) — 2/22/2020 @ 1:31 pmUnion members now support medicare for all even though they have union health insurance. They say they vote bernie because they worry about healthcare for their children. Its over as shocked msnbc and cnn sanders derangement syndrome pundits realize they can’t win attacking bernie on medicare for all because union voters like everyone else are worried about healthcare for their children.
asset (d8610a) — 2/22/2020 @ 1:37 pmYes, while Bloomberg’s debate performance was so awful and he was attacked in so many more effective ways, his answer that no one wants to lose the health insurance they love overlooks the fact that many don’t love it and while they don’t want to lose medicare/medicade/private insurance entirely, they’re OK with a different plan taking over.
Make America Ordered Again (23f793) — 2/22/2020 @ 1:45 pmRasmussen has Trump at 49 approve overall, and 86 republican according to the platinum polling.
Colonel Klink (ret) (dcbd22) — 2/22/2020 @ 1:46 pmSays someone in the 4% of people on the right who don’t approve of Trump, not the 96% who do.
You are masterful at projecting!
Now, THERE is the pot calling…
While, again, invoking the fallacy of popular opinion.
Ragspierre (d9bec9) — 2/22/2020 @ 2:16 pmNo, you’re mistaken and you should read again for understanding.
It’s entirely possible and happens all the time, I’m sure, that a given minority is right about something and the majority are wrong. In fact, I could easily point out several big things where I am quite sure the majority are wrong, and not just about politics. I’m not making that argument that a majority are right because they’re the majority and it is inaccurate of you to say I did.
I’m only saying that the word “small” here is out of place, when one is themselves in a much smaller group (at least on the right): “They are creating their own acceptable small world to operate within.”
Dana conceded my point, which was good of him or her. Likewise, and in a similar spirit, I acknowledged that many Trump supporters, sure, have not really thought through their reason for supporting him and are doing it for essentially tribal reasons; this is a common sort of behavior and not limited to support of Donald Trump, by any means.
So, if I can be intellectually honest about that, and Dana can, would you correct your error and join us?
Make America Ordered Again (23f793) — 2/22/2020 @ 2:25 pmDon’t make sh*t up, Munroe. Here’s how much I hated him almost ten years ago.
Paul Montagu (ae8832) — 2/22/2020 @ 2:26 pmhttp://www.theforvm*dot*org/diary/bird-dog/clint-eastwood-turn-80
And this was my hate-speech against Eastwood in the comment thread.
Clint’s a good director and at least his support of capitalist-Bloomberg over commie-Bernie is explicable. Bloomberg had one turd of a night in his first debate, but at the same time has a track record of success, for sure in business and, arguably, in governmental leadership.
Make America Ordered Again (23f793) — 2/22/2020 @ 2:28 pmEastwood has probably been a Republican longer than Trump and Bloomberg combined, but his leanings are generally libertarian. However, there’s some dissonance between his libertarian leanings and Bloomberg’s gun-grabbing.
Paul Montagu (ae8832) — 2/22/2020 @ 2:33 pmI wouldn’t discount the importance of this endorsement. He’s been supportive of a lot of GOP candidates for prez, including Trump.
Indeed.
Make America Ordered Again (23f793) — 2/22/2020 @ 2:34 pmFair enough, but nothing makes up for Froggy’s use of horizon blue fatigues even into WWII: http://www.npr.org/2020/02/21/808333569/study-finds-century-old-combat-helmet-superior-shield-against-brain-trauma
urbanleftbehind (fb5354) — 2/22/2020 @ 2:47 pmSo, if I can be intellectually honest about that…
I don’t find it credible that you CAN, having read you.
For instance, I don’t see anywhere where Dana “ceded” your BS.
I did see where you attacked with the “projection” canard.
Ragspierre (d9bec9) — 2/22/2020 @ 2:48 pmI was certainly a lot closer than Dana in which group is larger.
Make America Ordered Again (23f793) — 2/22/2020 @ 2:54 pmpoor clint sounds like an empty chair
mg (8cbc69) — 2/22/2020 @ 2:54 pmhe played a good mule
I almost feel I have to defend Clint Eastwood here.
Sure, I want him to endorse Trump. However, endorsing Bloomberg makes a lot more sense for President than DRJ’s plan (paraphrasing) to vote for Biden because, while corrupt, he’s weak and ineffective and bumbling and allegedly can be controlled better.
At least Bloomberg is unlikely to destroy the economy.
Make America Ordered Again (23f793) — 2/22/2020 @ 2:56 pm*vote for Biden in the Texas Primary
Make America Ordered Again (23f793) — 2/22/2020 @ 2:57 pmOr go on, while President, in public about children wanting to stroke his leg hair.
Or stroke children’s hair in public, for that matter.
Make America Ordered Again (23f793) — 2/22/2020 @ 2:58 pmMy question was whether there is any evidence for the charge that Mr. M. has based his judgment of a filmmaker and his work on how that filmmaker feels about Trump. Unless someone can show me that evidence, it is simply projection of the Trumpist ethic in which every judgment of value must be measured around Trump.
Making political decisions on the basis of a candidate’s actions with respect to Trump is an entirely different matter. It is not irrational.
Radegunda (39c35f) — 2/22/2020 @ 3:00 pmwonder if nevada democrats have enough fingers and toes to figure out the caucus results?
mg (8cbc69) — 2/22/2020 @ 3:01 pmif you hate large sodas and guns by all means vote for the little bag of poop
mg (8cbc69) — 2/22/2020 @ 3:02 pmI’ll take that as a no. I’m not suprised, but I was hoping to be pleasantly surprised, I admit.
Make America Ordered Again (23f793) — 2/22/2020 @ 3:24 pmThat set of BS didn’t work the first time you tried it.
It won’t get anywhere the third, either.
Ragspierre (d9bec9) — 2/22/2020 @ 3:27 pmWhen did 96% of “people on the right” start approving Trump? Even his own polls show it’s “people who identify as Republicans to pollsters”. How many is that in the first place, and how can you be on the right and call yourself a Republican these days in the second place?
I can imagine that 96% of the roughly 14 million who voted for him in the 2016 primary still approve of him. Congratulations! Clap … clap ….. clap. Yay.
nk (1d9030) — 2/22/2020 @ 3:33 pmWe may all be lucky to survive the lick-spittle Richard Grenell’s “service” to His Thuggishness (pbuh).
You can’t gut entire essential institutions like T-rump is doing.
Ragspierre (d9bec9) — 2/22/2020 @ 3:35 pmLooking like the communist is running away with Nevada. The Soviets have taken over one party and it isn’t the Republican one.
NJRob (4d595c) — 2/22/2020 @ 3:37 pmessentially rigged institutions for all you elitist
mg (8cbc69) — 2/22/2020 @ 4:01 pmHeh! Thanks, NJRob. I just remembered. Bernie is the most pro-gun Democrat since John Wesley Hardin. Harry Reid had an NRA A+ rating, too. Vermont and Nevada are both very pro-gun. I don’t think Vermont has ever had any gun control at all, as a matter of fact.
You hear that, mg? Bernie is probably more pro-gun than you, you Hawaiian!
nk (1d9030) — 2/22/2020 @ 4:04 pmWhy is the MSM treating Harry Reid like he’s some VERY IMPORTANT PERSON. He’s an ex-Senator. Who cares what he thinks?
And Good that people in Minnesota are wasting time on slavery. It might make a comeback. Right after the Redcoats invade Boston again.
rcocean (1a839e) — 2/22/2020 @ 4:13 pm90 Year Old Clint endorses 78 y/o Bloomberg for President.
Damn – will these old farts just shut up and retire.
rcocean (1a839e) — 2/22/2020 @ 4:14 pmBernie is 78 years old, too. And the dots are starting to connect. If you’re a 78-year old gunsel, you should want free medical care.
nk (1d9030) — 2/22/2020 @ 4:18 pmOk, Harry Reid’s last NRA rating was B. Still not bad. And he remained pro-life. I like this sentence for the quote in the post:
win·now
nk (1d9030) — 2/22/2020 @ 4:27 pm/ˈwinō/
verb
gerund or present participle: winnowing
1. blow a current of air through (grain) in order to remove the chaff.
I didn’t concede your point, MAOA. I said: OK, they are creating their own acceptable world in which to operate. Better? The point is, the more insular one’s world, the more myopic one’s view of the world becomes. With that, the greater risk of an inaccurate take on things, especially as they are measured against a faulty and corrupt indivdiual.
I then followed it with: Of course, I don’t accept your 96% to 4% comparison. If you can cite something, I’m happy to read it. However, if it is true about the percentage being 96%, then I’m happy to be in the meager 4%. I’m not going to bend to the prevailing winds simply because everyone else is willing to hold their noses and support their view of the lesser of two evils or go knowingly full-throttle into Trumpland.
Dana (4fb37f) — 2/22/2020 @ 4:34 pmDoes anybody here, in their most charitable mood, believe that Trump could formulate such a sentence?
nk (1d9030) — 2/22/2020 @ 4:36 pmnk – as an unenrolled voter in Ma. I will ask for a democrat ballot and vote burnee in the primary. No difference between republicans holding office in Ma. and burnee. 27 years of voting republican in Ma. only twice did my guys win. mittens and scott brown. face meet palms.
mg (8cbc69) — 2/22/2020 @ 4:45 pm92. nk (1d9030) — 2/22/2020 @ 4:18 pm
But he;s got it, as a member of Congress and would continue to get after he leaves, having been there long enough. Besides that, he’s got Medicare.
One fallacy Bernie makes is he argues that virtually every other highly industrialized country spends per capita (government and private) about half of what the United States does. He does that as a kind of an argument that his plan wouldn’t cost so much. But they don’t all have “Medicare for All.”
They have variety of different systems. Nobody, not even Bernie projects that converting to “Medicare for All” would actually save 50%. He doesn’t know and he doesn’t tackle what causes the difference.
As a guess, it would be that hospitals, doctors and nurses unionized nurses get paid less, not just pharmaceutical companies, and there is also probably less treatment.
Drug costs are high in the United States because of patents and regulations, which create monopolies, and prices have risen to accommodate the expenses of bringing a drug to market. A lot of innovation is prevented (anything that can’t be patented and anything that the wrong company controls the patent of and anything that won’t have large quantities of it sold, like a new antibiotic) and even more would be with more cost pressure and regulation.
You could at least buy up patents of worthy drugs every year.
Sammy Finkelman (f2d620) — 2/22/2020 @ 5:15 pmI think a lot of people were too hard on Scott Brown. Where did he “deviate” to your disapproval, because he seemed to say the right things/vote the right way on immigration.
Shouldn’t play the same purity games in MA as in TX with Cruz; that backfired on McSally and could pose a threat to McConnell where Bevin boys and those who think hes not enough of a populist nationalist conservative might sit out like the Ward and Arpaio factions.
urbanleftbehind (fb5354) — 2/22/2020 @ 5:17 pmBut that’s what happened with George McGovern in 1972, Jimmy Carter in 196 and Bill Clinton in 1992.
I do think that that can’t happen so easily if someone finishes the primaries with less than 35% of the delegates.
Sammy Finkelman (f2d620) — 2/22/2020 @ 5:17 pmnk @2 and 3
I think it is voluntary servitude if the person convicted can choose to go to jail rather than do the community service. They also usually have a much freer choice of what work to do and when.
Sammy Finkelman (f2d620) — 2/22/2020 @ 5:23 pmYMMV, but usually not a good idea to mess with a Noo Yawk Vowel (unless they’re a Cuomo)…
http://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/fox-news-host-neil-cavuto-doesnt-back-down-trump-tweets-him-during-the-show-052516770.html
urbanleftbehind (fb5354) — 2/22/2020 @ 5:28 pmAn indictment against public education?
Lest you forget, a ‘private education’ may not be anything to brag about either:
Trump reportedly doesn’t know what happened at Pearl Harbor
https://news.yahoo.com/trump-reportedly-doesnt-know-happened-182600170.html
President Trump may need a history tutor.A Very Stable Genius, a new book by Washington Post reporters Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig based on hundreds of interviews, alleges Trump seemed to know next to nothing about the events of Dec. 7, 1941 when he visited Pearl Harbor in Hawaii for a private tour.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 2/22/2020 @ 5:31 pmWonder what the DNC rules are on delegate reallocation are if a 78 year-old front runner drops dead of a heart attack on the campaign trail– or worse, once they get the party nom?
Does Trump run against himself?? He might lose. 😉
DCSCA (797bc0) — 2/22/2020 @ 5:36 pm14. Make America Ordered Again (23f793) — 2/22/2020 @ 9:00 am
I am not so sure whom Bernie blames for that, but he seemed to think it is notable that the story appeared in the Washington Post.
https://freebeacon.com/politics/sanders-takes-aim-at-washington-post-for-timing-of-russia-story
I think this in indeed a red herring, and it’s not because Jeff Bezos wanted Michael Bloomberg to run for president. The connection is the leak machine – people who plant stories, but I don’t think it’s quite exactly “the intelligence community” or Obama people.
But they must have some other preferences for president, who is not Trump and not Bernie Sanders.
This is the same sort of thing the IC pulls a lot, such as releasing the Comey briefing about the B.S. Steele dossier, to turn that into a political news story.
The IC should be brought to heel; but then, it’s best not to be assassinated by them, so not sure how much the President can do.
Are there white hats in the IC? Sure. But many of them are slime.
Sammy Finkelman (f2d620) — 2/22/2020 @ 5:44 pmThere might also be several different types of leakers. If connected, I’d say they were pro-Clinton but I am not sure who that would make them for this year.
Sammy Finkelman (f2d620) — 2/22/2020 @ 5:46 pmBrown was mittens rump swab. Brown had his tee pee burnt to the ground by lieawatha in a disastrous run campaign. Mittens people.
mg (8cbc69) — 2/22/2020 @ 5:48 pmBrown was to bipartisan to get conservatives in Ma. to vote. Voting for dodd frank, etc, etc.
IIRC, Brown was the crucial vote in the Senate that momentarily killed ObamaCare, forcing the Deemocrates to outright break the law to ram to the American people.
Ragspierre (d9bec9) — 2/22/2020 @ 5:55 pmIn the last debate, Bernie Sanders came close to blaming the Russians for doing bad things.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/full-transcript-ninth-democratic-debate-las-vegas-n1139546
Then she goes on talk about what the issue is between Senator Sanders and the Culinary Union. “There are 149 million Americans that would lose their current health insurance under Senator Sanders’ bill. That’s what it says on page 8.” (of his bill)
Sammy Finkelman (f2d620) — 2/22/2020 @ 6:09 pm107. Ragspierre (d9bec9) — 2/22/2020 @ 5:55 pm
Scott Brown came into the Senate too late. He meant the Democrats could not defeat a filibuster. What that meant is that the House had to pass the Senate bill unchanged, without going to a conference committee.
They later on actually did pass some changes, getting rid of the Cornhusker kickback for instance, through some procedure, but kept the language about states setting up exchanges, because they didn’t want to raise the CBO estimate of the cost of the bill and assuming every state would do it saved money on administrative costs. I think they figured they would fix it in the next Congress, when the changed cost estimate wouldn’t matter, but they lost control of the House of Representatives in the 2010 election.
Sammy Finkelman (f2d620) — 2/22/2020 @ 6:17 pmBloomberg released 3 people from NDAs and says that as long as he is running his company, there won’t be any more.
Sammy Finkelman (f2d620) — 2/22/2020 @ 6:46 pmNew Fox drinking game; take a belt every time one of their droids barks ‘socialism!’
You’ll be hammered and sickled within an hour.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 2/22/2020 @ 7:29 pm@1. SOP. It wouldn’t be particularly funny nor entertaining to produce a comedy segment where some one knows all the answers. There’s already a popular show for that— Jeopardy!
DCSCA (797bc0) — 2/22/2020 @ 7:44 pmTrump has flipped the 9th Circuit — and some new judges are causing a ‘shock wave’
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-02-22/trump-conservative-judges-9th-circuit
harkin (b64479) — 2/22/2020 @ 10:57 pmOne intelligence official said that lawmakers were not told that Russia was working to directly aid Trump. But other people familiar with the meeting said they were told the Kremlin was looking to help Trump’s candidacy. The people spoke on condition of anonymity to discussed the classified briefing.
Both things can be true.
President Donald Trump said Sunday that he has never been briefed about Russian efforts to help Bernie Sanders win the Democratic presidential nomination and he accused the Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee of leaking election security information from a classified briefing.
Now THAT strains credulity. T-rump was never briefed, but he knows that someone leaked information that he was never provided.
Ragspierre (d9bec9) — 2/23/2020 @ 10:40 amNumber three could be true, too. That it’s all dezinformatsiya. That all Putin did was plant stories about influencing the election, letting the dog food and toilet paper salesmen (a/k/a the media) sow the chaos and cast doubts on the legitimacy of our elections.
nk (1d9030) — 2/23/2020 @ 10:57 amnk, I get the whole thing EXCEPT how T-rump knows about information he was not provided being leaked by anybody. What information?
Ragspierre (d9bec9) — 2/23/2020 @ 11:15 amTrump feels pretty confident that the leak came from the House Intelligence Committee. He also feels pretty confident the leak is a lie because people working for him told him they told the HPSCI no such thing (they didn’t say Russia is supporting Trump))
Sammy Finkelman (f2d620) — 2/23/2020 @ 11:34 amhttps://www.axios.com/trump-memos-deep-state-white-house-ce5be95f-2418-433d-b036-2bf41c9700c3.html
“Groundswell”, huh.
Sounds pretty deep-state-y to me. But, hey, it’s T-rump so no biggie, right?
Ragspierre (d9bec9) — 2/24/2020 @ 5:52 amIt sounds tertiary syphilitic-ey to me. But, hey, I thought he had avoided those “land mines”, you know, the ones that carry STDs.
nk (1d9030) — 2/24/2020 @ 6:10 amI thought he had avoided those “land mines”, you know, the ones that carry STDs.
I’ve seen where he bragged about tromping on those land mines with both feet…
especially the married ones…
Ragspierre (d9bec9) — 2/24/2020 @ 6:51 amJustin Trudeau’s mistake wasn’t that he brown-faced on his official visit; its that he didnt get the shade quite right: http://www.yahoo.com/news/crowds-gather-greet-trump-hours-044438470.html
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 2/24/2020 @ 7:03 amThis orange talk has got me thinking…Curious…does anyone remember when Mitt Romney was orange?
https://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/News/mitt-romneys-tan-draws-media-fire-makeup-artist/story?id=17290303
Or John Boehner?
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/john-boehner-tanning-bed_n_736897
Or when it was only Trump’s hair that was orange?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/monteburke/2013/03/25/as-ivanka-trump-enters-her-prime-she-has-never-been-more-important-to-the-family-business/#3c20677c6f9e
Personally, I like Orange especially when combined with Blue.
PTw (894877) — 2/24/2020 @ 7:33 amSo we asked the man who saw it first hand — makeup artist Lazz Rodriguez, who applied powder and concealer to the candidate’s skin that night. The verdict?
“When he walked in, I remember thinking, ‘Wow this is tanner than I thought he was,’ but I think he’s just been outside a lot lately for his campaign,” Rodriguez noted. “It was definitely a real tan.”
Rodriguez has been a makeup artist for 25 years, and has applied cosmetics to hundreds of famous faces, including many celebrities and politicians, and a handful of presidents.
“Clinton was definitely the fairest-skinned of politicians I’ve worked with,” he said. “But Romney was a lot darker than I expected,” he said.
Rodriguez says that his makeup of choice for the evening was MAC NW30, a medium-range loose powder that he applies to “cut the glare” of stage lights.
So you chose Wonkette over the make-up guy for Univision?
Figures
Ragspierre (d9bec9) — 2/24/2020 @ 10:01 amHouse passed much needed legislation (Not)
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/484742-house-passes-historic-legislation-to-make-lynching-a-federal-hate-crime
You think they would want anyone else to take the credit?
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 2/26/2020 @ 2:11 pmThis blog about Patterico’s Pontifications > Weekend
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