Hot Take: The Russia Investigation Is a Good Thing for America
Warning: This post is going to be a little tongue-in-cheek. But only a little.
Robert Mueller’s investigation shows no signs of being over “shortly after the first of the year” as indicated by Ty Cobb last year. After all, it’s March 5, which is not exactly “shortly after” the first of the year. That was another swing and a miss by Cobb, whose batting percentage is surprisingly low. As news has been made public of Mueller’s request for communications among Trump, Carter Page, Bannon, Manafort, Rick Gates, and many others, it appears we will have this investigation for a while.
Here’s my Hot Take: that’s a good thing.
Think about it. This President is, let’s be honest, not exactly a master of policy. We all got yet another taste of his lack of policy chops (to be kind) this past week, when we saw the man unfiltered on guns and tariffs. And yet — if you ignore things like the explosion of the debt and the fact that our foreign policy is subject to the whim of a fool with a smartphone — some decent things have gotten done in Trump’s administation.
And one thing you may have noticed is that the best things were done by other people.
The crowning achievement of Trump’s administration for most conservatives has been his judicial picks, including but not limited to Neil Gorsuch. It’s the main reason to be glad Hillary Clinton didn’t win. And what involvement has Trump had in picking judges? A ceremonial one at best. More than any President in history, he has left the actual selections to the Federalist Society. And that’s a Very Good Thing. It seems true that regulations have been whittled away, and that too is a Good Thing. But do you think Donald Trump reads regulations to decide which are counterproductive? He doesn’t even know how to read a balance sheet.
Trump’s success at policy, to the extent that he has succeeded (and I am still very grumpy about the debt), is not due to his personal engagement with policy. It is owed to the people around him. If anything, when he does get involved in policy, the people around him have to correct his wildly wrong statements. In each case, after stumbling on immigration (“I have no problem. I would like to do that” in response to a request for a clean DACA bill), guns (add your assault weapons ban into the bill, Dianne!), and tariffs (let’s slam Canada with huge tariffs for some reason), Trump has walked his original statements back after the people around him gently explained that he had it all backwards.
This is a man who needs something to do. Ideally, something having nothing to do with policy.
I know! How about having him spend all his time obsessing over some silly Russia investigation!
It’s pretty difficult to believe that Mueller’s investigation is going to uncover much more in the way of “collusion” than has been uncovered already. If you’re cool with Trump Jr., Trump’s son-in-law, and Trump’s campaign manager meeting with someone who represents themselves to be connected to the Kremlin, for the purposes of collecting dirt on a campaign rival, odds are that your mind is not going to be changed much by anything Mueller finds.
But the Russia investigation is a nice shiny laser-pointer beam on the wall, and as long as Trump chases it, he won’t be dealing with policy. Let’s keep this guy preoccupied with personal worries over nothing, and away from substantive policy discussions about gun control, tariffs, single-payer healthcare, family leave, or any of the other lefty programs so near and dear to his heart.
Plus, the Russia investigation provides a little transparency for a fellow who is the last transparent President in modern history regarding his financial dealings. And no modern President has needed sunlight on his financial dealings as much as Trump and the people surrounding him. We have seen recently that Jared Kushner’s company was lobbying the government of Qatar directly for help — and after no help was forthcoming, Kushner pushed hard to support a Saudi Arabian blockade of Qatar that was a humanitarian disaster. We have seen how Trump issued an immigration order that covered various Muslim countries, yet curiously excluded several countries with ties to terror — but also ties to the Trump Organization. To the extent the Russia investigation sheds some light on this President’s financial affairs, I consider that to be a feature, not a bug.
So my Hot Take is: let’s drag this investigation on for as long as it takes. Four years, eight years . . . anything that keeps the kitten chasing the laser beam on the wall.
P.S. I often see people using the laser-beam-on-the-wall metaphor to describe their fantasy about how Trump is a sooper-sekrit genius using his Twitter tirades to distract the press. These people remind me of the credulous folks talking to the President in this clip from the movie “Being There”:
Rationalization is a powerful drug. If you’re determined to treat Trump as a genius, you’re going to find a way to treat him as a genius. The rest of us want to keep the man as far away from policy discussions as possible.
Lock him up. Problem solved.
Dave (8e9246) — 3/5/2018 @ 9:18 amEven agreeing with everything you say, Patterico, it still remains that the Presidency is supposed to be iconic. And Trump is a dirty picture. Impeach!
nk (dbc370) — 3/5/2018 @ 9:30 amQatar has been the real story, they are the seat of the brotherhood and their branches from Ansar sharia to hamas
narciso (48ecae) — 3/5/2018 @ 9:35 amAnd they have long standing ties in Washington from muellers Wilmer firm to Ashcroft to fmr Cruz staffer muzin
narciso (48ecae) — 3/5/2018 @ 9:37 amNo we should spend 7-10 million dollars wasting the time of the govt for a crime conjured up through opposition lawfare.
narciso (48ecae) — 3/5/2018 @ 9:41 amHe served his purpose. He beat Hillary. He’s not necessary to anything anymore. You know he’d do the same thing to anyone he no longer needed. How many of his early supporters hasn’t he already thrown under the bus?
nk (dbc370) — 3/5/2018 @ 9:53 amYou didn’t build that!-another clueless government blowhard
TheBas (3bcea0) — 3/5/2018 @ 9:54 amI don’t think Trump is a genius. However, there’s some phrase the shrinks use for the cognitively-challenged who started hating a comb-over and figure that’s poisoned all policy, whether it works (they fervently hope not) or not.
I suppose the tongue-in-cheek part is about talking to Russians and paying somebody to get dirt on one’s opponent. As in, to avoid people being deliberately obtuse as a way of obfuscating, Hillary! and the dossier. So maybe this post was a metaphor condemning Hillary! Right?
Richard Aubrey (10ef71) — 3/5/2018 @ 9:55 amThe crowning achievement of Trump’s administration for most conservatives has been his judicial picks, including but not limited to Neil Gorsuch. Unless maybe you include the judicial picks in a larger category, that of misgovernment prevented, I would not say so. I would also add the fact that everybody feels free to criticize him.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 3/5/2018 @ 10:13 amWhat he does, not what he says. That is all.
Colonel Haiku (bd4dc3) — 3/5/2018 @ 10:18 amMueller and that bunch can go pound sand.
Colonel Haiku (bd4dc3) — 3/5/2018 @ 10:19 amWell, that quoting got botched up but you can see what I mean.
Charles M. Blow in the New York Times op-ed page today, has this take on Donald Trump: (I put some of what he wrote in boldface) I don’t know if this is all correct.
It comes down to Donald Trump always wanting to prove he is right even when, I think, he knows he is wrong.
Sometimes this takes the form of sticking to something outlandish, which he may have asserted for all kinds of reasons, and sometimes this takes the form of trying to find the middle ground.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 3/5/2018 @ 10:25 amWell if you think tweets are all that Trump has done, you are living in a bubble.
Otto (c00bfe) — 3/5/2018 @ 10:34 amBTW all presidents hereafter will be tweeting.
Why does it appear that the description of DJT offered by Chas Blow (via Sammy) is a pretty good description of nearly every person who holds elected public office, and even a fair number of those who unsuccessfully run. Maybe its just me, however…
Gramps (cecc77) — 3/5/2018 @ 11:20 ammeanwhile harvardtrash Ted’s struggling to raise money to run for what should have been a very safe senate seat
happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/5/2018 @ 11:24 amAlabama was an even safer seat. And who knows how much more damage Trump will do to the GOP? This election season and next. Impeach!
nk (dbc370) — 3/5/2018 @ 11:29 amPresident Trump tried to win Alabama while dirty nevertrump filth like Jeff Flake did everything they could to give it to the abortion candidate
happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/5/2018 @ 11:51 amDog tormenting and employee wife killing romney vouched for the garden 5
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 11:55 amGood news everybody
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/senators-worry-gun-bill-could-fizzle-like-immigration-bill/article/2650628
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 12:06 pmWell except for the obvious how did you like the play:
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 12:12 pmhttps://mobile.twitter.com/ChuckRossDC/status/970738520523509761?p=v
As I have indicated in my prior posts, I view our current President as a narcisstic buffoon who will inflict great damage on the country and the GOP.
But some of your criticisms are off. That he delegates certain functions — like picking nominations for the bench — is neither unique to him nor a valid criticism. Most presidents leave judicial nominations to a committee. The issue is who is on the committee. Had Hillary Clinton won, you can bet her committee would have had a different makeup.
Bored Lawyer (998177) — 3/5/2018 @ 12:14 pmpersonally i think this post lacks depth and nuance
as posts goes on a scale of one to ten this one is not high on the scale
that’s not a criticism it’s a challenge to do more better next time
happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/5/2018 @ 12:22 pm“…a sooper-sekrit genius…”
Gee, this morning Benny-Off-His-Jet praised our Captain as another Harry Truman, for obvious reasons. When the tide turns w/t November Wave, he may just be right.
Keep in mind the ‘sooper sekrit genius,’ ‘idiot,’ and the ‘dunce’ defeated Perry, Walker, Jindal, Graham, Pataki, Huckabee, Santorum, Paul, Christie, Fiorina, Gilmore, Bush, Carson, Rubio, Cruz and Kasich to win the Republican Party nomination. Then won the 2016 general election securing 304 electoral college votes w/62,984,825 of the popular vote beating Hillary Clinton’s 227 electoral college total in spite of her higher popular vote total of 65,853,516. But then, over 200-plus years, sooner or later one of the sicker rats was bound to make its way through the maze to the cheese.
From our Captain’s POV – and his ‘loyal crew’ as well– “you can’t argue with success” – to them the ship of state is steaming along just fine w/him at the helm. But keep your lifejacket close at hand.
______
Stellar meltdown on live television today: ex-Trump aide and Roger Stone pal Sam Nunberg loses it on call-in w/MSNBC’s Katy Tur; announces he’ll defy Mueller subpoena for his emails, says he thinks it will be ‘really funny’ if Mueller arrests him. Then says he thinks they ‘may have something’ on Trump- but doesn’t know for sure.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 3/5/2018 @ 12:26 pm@22. postscript- it’s a roledex meltdown: loses it w/CNN’s Gloria Borger over Trump and Roger Stone as well.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 3/5/2018 @ 12:33 pmAnd that is your opinion and you are entitled to it however, I break ranks with you after “narcisstic buffoon”. I believe significantly more damage would have been done by our alternative choice for president and the political party to which it belongs and have a long, long list of evidence stretching back to The New Deal to substantiate my claim. Similarly, no one can be accused of doing more damage to the Republican Party over the past few decades than The Party itself, it’s candidates, it’s refusal to fight but to remain democrat lite and the fact that Republican politicians have used their position to keep themselves in the minority to enjoy all the trappings of power, prestige and money without doing a damn thing to stop the democrat/communist constant run toward the left.
The Republican Party destroyed (Not destroying) the Republican Party, not Donald J. Trump. George H.W. “Read My Lips” Bush did more to destroy the Republican Party that Donald J. Trump. George W. “I have to destroy the free market to save it” Bush did more to destroy the Republican Party then Donald J. Trump. When so-called Republican presidents institute democrat/communist policies like Medicare Part D and No Child Left Behind and “Quantitative Easing” the Party is o-v-e-r.
Then you get a Donald J. Trump. Be thankful he’s not a Hillary Rodham Clinton with all her brains and baggage.
Rev.Hoagie (66ef0d) — 3/5/2018 @ 12:36 pmHeck I would go Tasmania devil and counterfile for discovery of every contact between Mueller’s staff and the Dnc odd how podesta and qeber who did the lobbying don’t get an indictment
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 12:37 pmSome theorized that Trump would so obsess the Deep State that, like scorpions locked at the mandibles in a martini glass, they’d just sting each other continuously — despite each being immune to the other’s venom.
Me, I’d prefer a POTUS who would not forfeit and waste the rare opportunity created by the GOP controlling the White House and both chambers of the Congress (even subject to the zombie-filibuster rule). But that’s clearly beyond Trump’s capabilities.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/5/2018 @ 1:00 pm@ Bored Lawyer (#20): I didn’t read our host to be criticizing Trump for delegating, but rather celebrating the consequences when he’s delegated to someone competent — as opposed to trying to use his own (disastrous, uninformed) judgment.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/5/2018 @ 1:02 pmYou mean like senator lankford, whose up for amnesty and against even nominal freezes of govt salaries.
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 1:03 pmAs I responded to Bored Lawyer, the only forfeiting and wasting of the GOP controlling anything is being done by the GOP, Beldar. All they have/had to do was fall behind and support Trump our winning candidate from day one and the GOP would be so far ahead right now it would be yuge! But no. They didn’t like “The Donald” cause he wasn’t couth and not sitting at the cool kids table.
The GOP created this mess by not fighting the leftists every-step-of-the-way and by not supporting THEIR candidate when he won. Even now with the crap the crazy leftists are doing from bringing in moslems who hate us to crying “gun control” every time a criminal breaks the law the GOP can’t find it within their soul to fight. And fight like the Republic depends on it.
Rev.Hoagie (66ef0d) — 3/5/2018 @ 1:15 pmI know its an older piece, but it shows the travismockasham
https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/02/the-russians-colluded-massively-with-democrats/
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 1:15 pm@22. Postscript; Nunberg’s call-in rant live on the air w/t respected-by-our-host Jake Tapper is equally entertaining. Jake even offered legal advice to him. Lots of chaff w/plenty of static on the TeeVee but head’s up, Howard Stern, expect a call from the over-caffeinated Sam.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 3/5/2018 @ 1:18 pmOh Gawd – more superficial banalities based on a couple of newspaper stories which rely on anonymous sourcing.
Only an incurious NeverTrumper would look at the exclusion of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Turkey from the Travel Ban and come to the conclusion that its based on existing business ties between various Trump Organization activities and those countries.
Nooooo — there’s no meaningful difference between Yemen, Sudan, Iran, Syria, Libya, and Iraq when compared to the other 4.
One is a NATO member.’
One is a long-standing ally in efforts to bring about peace between Isreal and its neighbors.
One is a long-standing ally in military efforts in various Mideast conflicts.
And the last one hosts more US Navy ships in its ports than any other port on the world outside the US.
And the entire dispute between Saudi Arabia and Qatar really just comes down to Qatar’s unwillingness to lend money to Jared Kushner’s father.
Okey Dokey.
Must have been too rushed on your way out to work this morning to bother with the substance of any of this — too good to check I guess.
shipwreckedcrew (56b591) — 3/5/2018 @ 1:33 pmInteresting there are ties to glenn Simpson here:
https://www.cjr.org/special_report/the-source.php
Kirkpatrick will buy any story re Benghazi, hamas et al all curiously are tied to qatar
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 1:40 pmWarning: This post is going to be a little tongue-in-cheek. But only a little.
Translation: I have a serious point to make, but it makes no sense so I’ll add the “tongue-in-cheek” disclaimer.
random viking (df30e9) — 3/5/2018 @ 1:48 pmYemen, Sudan, Iran, Syria, Libya, Somalia and Iraq were all countries where terrroists operated in or whose governments sponsored terrorism
What they were not were countries were terrrorists came from.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 3/5/2018 @ 1:48 pm* where terrosist (primarily) came from.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 3/5/2018 @ 1:49 pmBreaking…
The chairman of the U.S. Senate Appropriations, Republican Thad Cochran of Mississippi, tells The Associated Press he will resign April 1 because of health problems.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 3/5/2018 @ 1:55 pmI hadn’t made that connection re mcmafia
https://www.thenational.ae/business/travel-and-tourism/russian-tourism-set-to-recover-in-ras-al-khaimah-1.213791
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 1:58 pm“I have a serious point to make, but it makes no sense so I’ll add the “tongue-in-cheek” disclaimer.”
– random viking
It actually does make sense. I’ll simplify it for you:
1. Trump is a moron.
2. It’s good to keep morons from crafting public policy.
3. The Russia investigation is a nice shiny laser-pointer beam on the wall, and as long as Trump chases it, he won’t be dealing with policy. (This part was in bold).
———–
4. The Russia investigation is good.
Leviticus (efada1) — 3/5/2018 @ 2:03 pm72 years ago, was the famous iron curtain speech, in fulton
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 2:04 pmMissouri.
OT, but I choked up just now when I got to the part of this video showing still-colored roundels on the wings of the aircraft still sitting on the deck of the just-rediscovered USS Lexington (CV-2), lost in 1942 in the Battle of the Coral Sea.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/5/2018 @ 2:07 pmEqually tongue in cheek:
https://amgreatness.com/2018/03/05/woman-high-castle/
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 2:20 pmActually, that may be on the sea floor, I’ve concluded after re-watching it, rather than on deck. The comments on the video indicate that this is a Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bomber.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/5/2018 @ 2:26 pmOutright resign!
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 3/5/2018 @ 2:28 pmThad Cochran resigns effective APRIL FOOLS DAY – having some type of medical difficulty
Thad Cochran. Thad Cochran. Isn’t he the “conservative” Republican from Mississippi who paid the NAACP to smear McDaniel?
Yeah. https://www.redstate.com/erick/2014/07/15/confirmed-senate-republican-leaders-paid-for-attacks-against-conservatives/
That’s the [sacre bleu]ing guy.
I’m guessing his “medical difficulty” is poll related. You can’t pay Democrats to cross over and squeek through a Republican runoff twice.
papertiger (c8116c) — 3/5/2018 @ 2:34 pm@41. Interesting piece; aircraft parts might be worthy to retrieve and restore if desired; a recent PBS piece on Dunkirk noted a Brit who salvaged much less intact wreckage of a Spitfire, albeit on land, flown at the battle, and restored it to flight. They can do wonders these days w/restoration efforts for vintage aircraft; Grissom’s Liberty Bell 7 was found back in ’99, recovered and restored; it occasionally goes on tour– it was in fairly good shape. And Bezos recovered and restored elements of Saturn V F-1 engines from Apollo 11, Apollo 12 and Apollo 16.
For space enthusiasts, the one to recover is the Sea King helicopter, number 66, used in the Apollo recoveries. It remained in service, post-Apollo, but was lost in a mishap in 1975 off San Diego. They know where it is and a general idea of its condition; it’s just a matter of resources, motivation and logistics to salvage and restore it.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 3/5/2018 @ 2:34 pmOur host wrote (and I agree):
I’m guessing that also extends beyond policy to comedy: Except for the Titanic joke (which I think I’ve heard from Trump before), I’m pretty sure that someone ghostwrote these one-liners for Trump from Saturday night’s Gridiron Banquet:
I do give Trump credit both for outsourcing this task and then for reading them in front of an audience (even if he did promptly step on a couple of them, by this account).
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/5/2018 @ 2:49 pmthis is completely irresponsible and i abjure this because of the high elevation and mostly the high elevation and the potential for falling down
happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/5/2018 @ 2:51 pmI’ve always found the “a nice shiny laser-pointer beam on the wall” to be a bit inhumane.
I like to think of it as a “Butterfly”.
Just when you think they are smart … “Butterfly” … and off they go.
Neo (d1c681) — 3/5/2018 @ 2:57 pmCharles Blow blows donkeys.
Colonel Haiku (bd4dc3) — 3/5/2018 @ 2:58 pmThank God rapper (back when it wasnt hip-hop) Kurtis Blow (Basketball, The Breaks) is a pseudonym and he’s not related.
urbanleftbehind (b60adc) — 3/5/2018 @ 3:09 pmBetween going to bed late this morning and getting up and about I’m already starting to forget about what’s his name in the penalty box. And so it will be with Trump. Anyone you don’t pay child support to is easily forgotten.
Pinandpuller (880e5c) — 3/5/2018 @ 3:10 pmYou think of the pacific campaign, the Japanese forces struck Almost simultaneous in Malaya in the phillipines and at pearl. The first fell almost immediately the second took longer at corregidor and almost the entire fleet at the last.
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 3:25 pmI support this viewpoint if every president hence gets a governor. They aren’t equally distributed however.
Let’s just investigate and litigate the results of every election!
Pinandpuller (880e5c) — 3/5/2018 @ 3:26 pmYes I was right about that:
http://www.london.gov.au/battles/singapore
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 3:30 pmIf you’re determined to treat Trump as a genius, you’re going to find a way to treat him as a genius. The rest of us want to keep the man as far away from policy discussions as possible.
Trump is not a genius. He’s president.
Every so often, the host lets the mask slip to reveal his utter contempt for the famous William F. Buckley quote:
“I’d rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University.”
random viking (df30e9) — 3/5/2018 @ 4:06 pmWho will investigate the Mueller Crime Family and this Thing of Theirs? All the way up the food chain to teh Capo di TuttiFruitti…
Colonel Haiku (bd4dc3) — 3/5/2018 @ 4:22 pmMeanwhile in the UK, well there’s a reason its a major setting for mcmafia:
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 4:29 pmhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/03/05/alleged-former-russian-spy-critically-exposure-unknown-substance/
That’s what I don’t understand, random viking. It took over 200 years to seriously compromise the validity of The American Experiment and through almost all that time we had “experts” at the helm. Now The Experiment may be entering it’s final phase with the leftists pushing with all their might to “fundamentally change” America and what it stands for. We are now to the point where we have 53 “genders”, can’t decide what rest room pervs should use, allow all sort of people to immigrate here who are 1) unworthy, 2) unassimilable, 3) incompatible and hostile to our culture and now actually listen to 18 year old kids about gun control.
Trump had nothing to do with any of this and neither did the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone book. Professional politicians did. It reminds me of Robert Conquest’s Second Law of politics: Any organization not explicitly and constitutionally right-wing will sooner or later become left-wing. Therefore, everything will become left-wing, including government. And is.
Trump may be the first installment of the push back. Besides, he keeps the leftists so occupied in hating him, protesting him, ridiculing him and crying about him they are unable to cause their usual destruction…..so far. Sooner or later even these bubbleheads will sober up enough to realize “that great big idiot” has fooled them. Maybe. If he doesn’t “become left-wing” himself.
Rev.Hoagie (66ef0d) — 3/5/2018 @ 4:35 pm@58
Putting the “yum” in polonium.
Davethulhu (fab944) — 3/5/2018 @ 4:38 pmYes they have a phrase shmert spionem ‘death to spies’,
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 4:44 pmYada, yada, yada.
ropelight (698a32) — 3/5/2018 @ 4:45 pmMitch McConnell watered down the warning he gave to Putin over election tampering, Obama claims.
Thats why the DNC emails abruptly ended with the murder of Mark Rich, according to Obama.
hah hah
https://www.yahoo.com/news/obama-warning-russia-meddling-apos-220759889.html
papertiger (c8116c) — 3/5/2018 @ 4:46 pmPresident Trump’s a good president i don’t care what anybody says
i waited so long for this and I’m loving it so much
i love it when i wake up in the morning and make my bed and i love it when i drink my coffee out of my coffee cup and i love it when I do whatever it is i do all day and then at night i love it some more and i go to bed feeling happy
happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/5/2018 @ 4:47 pmThere was an Oscar thing last night. Didn’t even notice.
http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2018/03/05/collapse-oscar-ratings-crash-double-digits/
papertiger (c8116c) — 3/5/2018 @ 4:53 pmOddly there are statutory violations here, but no one seemed interested:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/03/05/fbi-agent-peter-strzok-was-told-possible-breach-into-clintons-server-but-didnt-follow-up-sources-say.html
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 4:53 pmTrump is the best President we’ve ever had.
Pat would complain if he were getting a [sacre bleu].
papertiger (c8116c) — 3/5/2018 @ 4:58 pmMy wife sat thru teh Oscars and tells me that Wes Studi was at the podium telling the attendees about serving for 12 months in Vietnam. He received some tepid applause and then asked “anyone else”… a few laughs and then some rather perfunctory applause. The Hollywood assholes stayed glued to their chairs.
However, when Jane Fonda was up there, you better believe THAT got them on their feet.
Colonel Haiku (bd4dc3) — 3/5/2018 @ 5:02 pmAll the good things Trump has done were due to listening to his advisers, right?
Okay. What sense does it make for Mitch McConnell to hold up Trump’s appointments?
Blocking the Potus from all the “good” advice is all it’s doing.
Which not coincidentally is what Mueller’s snipe hunt is doing.
Stupidity. Like sticking your tongue in your cheek and chewing.
papertiger (c8116c) — 3/5/2018 @ 5:06 pmSo to Jimmy Kimmel and all the other geniuses with OCD, fvck you right in your cakeholes.
Colonel Haiku (bd4dc3) — 3/5/2018 @ 5:10 pmType A’s hire Type A’s. It’s why they’re successful.
Lenny (5ea732) — 3/5/2018 @ 5:13 pm
Rev.Hoagie (66ef0d) — 3/5/2018 @ 5:14 pmAs long as good things get done Where’s the Beef? It’s called winning which is so damn rare for our team they don’t know how to handle it.
The corollary is Type B’s hire Type C’s….which explains government.
Lenny (5ea732) — 3/5/2018 @ 5:24 pmAnd you may remember the kerfuffle when Milo Y. made comments about gay sex with minors. So Hollywood makes a movie about the same subject, everybody gets lauded for their courageous stand and Kimmel makes a swinish joke about making movies to upset Mike Pence.
Los Angeles – Hollywood in particular- is evil.
Colonel Haiku (bd4dc3) — 3/5/2018 @ 5:24 pmHere’s the operative part of the Oscars;
Seven of the nine nominees averaged just $47 million at the box office, which means only about 5 million people saw them.
On top of not watching their awards show.
papertiger (c8116c) — 3/5/2018 @ 5:26 pmYes but milo, from his perch in it, noted how londonistan wee becoming inhospitable and he saw that reflection in Orlando, he is more like the late pin fortyn than gert wilders, but they along with hirsi Ali, have the same common enemy.
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 5:28 pmPutting the “yum” in polonium.
More likely, their dealer turned him and his girlfriend on to some too strong Fentanyl. Like the stuff Uma Thurman stole from John Travolta in Pulp Fiction.
nk (dbc370) — 3/5/2018 @ 5:30 pmUma Thurman is dead?
papertiger (c8116c) — 3/5/2018 @ 5:35 pmDavid Carradine’s hoods gunned her down on her wedding day. Her betrothed too. Very sad.
nk (dbc370) — 3/5/2018 @ 5:37 pmJust kidding!
Did you hear the anguished scream in your neighborhood?
papertiger (c8116c) — 3/5/2018 @ 5:37 pmNo her character in the cobalt 60 of sophistication preferred by Tarantino. Thanks to weinstein
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 5:39 pmThe Russian meddling began in 2014, well before Donald J.
Trump’s campaign commenced.
Got to wonder how Mueller missed this critical tidbit of information after a year of investigating his navel.
The Russians promoted Vermont senator Bernie Sanders’s Democratic-primary bid and Green-party nominee Jill Stein’s general-election effort.
More exculpatory evidence that slipped right past Inspector Clouseau.
After Trump won, the Russians organized pro-Trump and anti-Trump demonstrations, once in New York City on the same day.
Must be due to the narrow scope of his investigation {only includes evidence gleened from the New Youk Times, Washington Post, and to a lesser extent, The Huffington Post, headlines.
They also staged an anti-Trump rally in Charlotte.
papertiger (c8116c) — 3/5/2018 @ 5:53 pmAha. How that is juicy. That pantomime of torch marchers protecting the statue of Geddy Lee from the Nazi Brown Shirts, was a Putin operation?
Well done , Vlademir.
What’s he got against the Working Man? [YouTube]
Perhaps because a real conspiracy to deprive was going on re uranium one, rosenstein mccabe it al were running interference, the material was routed from Kentucky through Canada to Europe using trans logistics
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 5:57 pmLike Freddie krueger he can still get at them:
https://www.weaselzippers.us/377185-the-oscars-ripped-conservative-values-all-night-heres-how-many-jokes-were-made-about-harvey-weinstein/
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 6:20 pmWhat I was referring to:
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 6:26 pmhttps://www.clickorlando.com/news/pulse-orlando-shooting/pulse-gunman-was-at-disney-springs-eve-nightclub-night-of-shooting-widows-defense-says
I think you overlooked the fact that I do not criticize his delegation of these functions. I praise it. I want him to delegate more. I want him to delegate everything.
Patterico (115b1f) — 3/5/2018 @ 6:32 pmI had not read this comment when I posted #86, but yes. Exactly.
Patterico (115b1f) — 3/5/2018 @ 6:34 pmThe Post for Dummies.
Which is not to say random viking is a dummy. It’s to say that you have a nice summary there.
Patterico (115b1f) — 3/5/2018 @ 6:35 pmICYMI in a mostly moribund thread:
Ben burn is now banned completely. It’s not just a vacation. Details here.
Patterico (115b1f) — 3/5/2018 @ 6:38 pmgoodbye Mr. burn though i never knew you at all your candle burned out long before your hatred of the best president we ever had our whole lives, President Donald Trump
happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/5/2018 @ 6:45 pmOT, but absolutely worth quoting in full, from our host, on the prior set of comments about the sheriff, where it might now be missed:
May he indeed get the help he needs.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/5/2018 @ 6:45 pmAha. I wrote #91 as our host was writing #89.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/5/2018 @ 6:46 pmYes subaltern burn, was nearing the boiling bunny stage, I did offer warnings but no one listens to zathras.
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 6:48 pmIs this a bit over the top? Honest question.
felipe (023cc9) — 3/5/2018 @ 7:10 pmYou did, but I ban people for things they say on the blog (or crazy emails they send to me).
But you’re right: he will not be ignored!
Patterico (115b1f) — 3/5/2018 @ 7:12 pmA little harsh, Nicholson’s enterpetation seems tame compared to ledgers and letos
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 7:17 pmTrue, and if they have seen further, it was by standing on the shoulders of giants.
felipe (023cc9) — 3/5/2018 @ 7:21 pmWell, there is this if you are a Joker fan.
felipe (023cc9) — 3/5/2018 @ 7:24 pm
nk (dbc370) — 3/5/2018 @ 7:27 pmBestOnly good Batman movie ever. Just the right mix of camp, mawkishness and action, with lots of cool production values. The second one was good too. Tim Burton knows how to make a movie.Wow, I need to expand my television viewing. I had no idea what a zathra was and had to look it up. Minor detail though, I don’t have TV…. I’ll have to find an alternate source. I will have to say that not having any TV is lovely. I highly recommend it for everyone. Now if only I could dump the internet as easily, but then I’d miss all the highly challenging (challenged? lol)discussion from the comments section of this blog.
Off to collude with the Russians.
Marci (e5bb26) — 3/5/2018 @ 7:27 pmRomero, fne (who was Martis grandson) had a much more slapstick version
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 7:27 pmZathras was this minor character, an alien repairman, on Babylon 5 who would issue advice that wasn’t heeded.
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 7:29 pmI had to look it up too, Marci.
nk (dbc370) — 3/5/2018 @ 7:30 pmMarci (e5bb26) — 3/5/2018 @ 7:27 pm
Same here. Internet is my crack cocaine.
felipe (023cc9) — 3/5/2018 @ 7:30 pmAmen, Pat.
I am reminded of a certain Chief Executive who also admired bodacious babes.
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 3/5/2018 @ 7:35 pm
https://youtu.be/NzbhbetwYFU
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 3/5/2018 @ 7:35 pmFor space enthusiasts, the one to recover is the Sea King helicopter, number 66, used in the Apollo recoveries. It remained in service, post-Apollo, but was lost in a mishap in 1975 off San Diego. They know where it is and a general idea of its condition; it’s just a matter of resources, motivation and logistics to salvage and restore it.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 3/5/2018 @ 2:34 pm
Do you want to send the bill to Elon Musk or charge it to the room?
Pinandpuller (d8aedb) — 3/5/2018 @ 7:43 pmThank God rapper (back when it wasnt hip-hop) Kurtis Blow (Basketball, The Breaks) is a pseudonym and he’s not related.
urbanleftbehind (b60adc) — 3/5/2018 @ 3:09 pm
I’ve never been clear as to the difference between a rapper and an MC.
Pinandpuller (d8aedb) — 3/5/2018 @ 7:47 pmIt appears Ben burn had been banned here 8 years ago, for telling me to go **** myself.
Patterico (115b1f) — 3/5/2018 @ 7:59 pmHowever, when Jane Fonda was up there, you better believe THAT got them on their feet.
Colonel Haiku (bd4dc3) — 3/5/2018 @ 5:02 pm
How did she even get to travel there, Diplomatic Immunity? Why did we take her back?
Pinandpuller (d8aedb) — 3/5/2018 @ 8:04 pmDavid Carradine’s hoods gunned her down on her wedding day. Her betrothed too. Very sad.
nk (dbc370) — 3/5/2018 @ 5:37 pm
When they’re in a coma they let you grab ’em by the wagon.
Pinandpuller (d8aedb) — 3/5/2018 @ 8:12 pmTarrantino is a very sick puppy.
nk (dbc370) — 3/5/2018 @ 8:15 pmSo with the life cycle and dissonant chirping Ben could be a member of the cicada family:
Although only males produce the cicadas’ distinctive sound, both sexes have membraneous structures called tympana by which they detect sounds; the equivalent of having ears. Males disable their own tympana while calling, thereby preventing damage to their hearing; a necessity partly because some cicadas produce sounds up to 120 dB which is among the loudest of all insect-produced sounds. The song is loud enough to cause permanent hearing loss in humans should the cicada sing just outside the listener’s ear.
For the human ear, it is often difficult to tell precisely where a cicada song originates. The pitch is nearly constant, the sound is continuous to the human ear, and cicadas sing in scattered groups. In addition to the mating song, many species have a distinct distress call, usually a broken and erratic sound emitted by the insect when seized or panicked. Some species also have courtship songs, generally quieter, and produced after a female has been drawn to the calling song.
Pinandpuller (d8aedb) — 3/5/2018 @ 8:46 pmYou had a good run there, Ben Burn.
papertiger (c8116c) — 3/5/2018 @ 9:16 pmYou know if there were some sort of appliance, like an upside down lampshade to wear around his neck, so he doesn’t chew the furniture [jpg].
Semanticleo from 2007? That’s a long time between comments. I mean to sit on the sideline thinking, “Boy. If I could just get a word in edgewise, those hooligans at PP would be straightened out proper.“
papertiger (c8116c) — 3/5/2018 @ 9:33 pmHe went on sabbatical, everywhere from Ireland to Bhutan, yet didn’t care to speak about it.
narciso (d1f714) — 3/5/2018 @ 9:46 pmhttp://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/03/06/michael-flynn-selling-home-to-pay-for-legal-fees-after-pleading-guilty-in-trump-probe.html
Is it a good thing to ruin a man’s life to keep President Trump on the defensive?
NJRob (b00189) — 3/8/2018 @ 7:17 amMueller will swear out a warrant for Nunberg”s arrest, and Nunberg will go to jail. However, the length of time he is imprisoned will depend on the “value of his alleged testimony to Mueller. I predict about 6 months. After that, the news-cycle value of Nunberg”s “alleged testimony will cease being valuable to Mueller. Plus, this may turn out to be a “trend. Some people are willing to go to jail if they believe in their own personal power to “take a stand. Mueller will “threaten Nunberg with a long prison sentence. But if Nunberg stands against Mueller, there”s nothing Mueller can do. sanjosemike (no longer in CA) order a custom essay
bert (b2173e) — 3/9/2018 @ 7:03 pmBert, you never went up against the established, entrenched federal bureaucracy have you? Nunberg and anyone else will be bankrupt, out on the street, unemployable and ground to sh!t by a thousand cuts by a thousand lawyers before the ink dries on his first defense attorney check.
I’ve gone up against these guys. I once bailed out on a $30 million shopping center for $6 million and was grateful to not end up broke and in prison for breaking some obscure federal law previously unheard of (because it really isn’t a law, it’s a rule established by a bureaucracy with all the power of a law). Trust me, you don’t want your lawyer at $700 an hour fighting the 140 federal lawyers (that you are also paying for). He will lose.
Rev.Hoagie (1b0402) — 3/9/2018 @ 7:15 pmYes the goal is to confess to anything, they see 1984 as a how to manual, glovers novel takes a whole host of experiences like when Orwell was detained by the republics security, excerpts from purge trial snippets from totskys bio to ascertain the sources of the tale.
narciso (d1f714) — 3/9/2018 @ 7:21 pmEngineering students at the university of Texas in the early 60s didn’t have time for politics. I knew some people whose parents were in the anticastro movement at the time, but you could count on one hand thosrcwho were still procastro in 63
narciso (d1f714) — 3/9/2018 @ 7:32 pmWell, that seems fair.
Steve57 (0b1dac) — 3/10/2018 @ 9:56 am