Patterico's Pontifications

3/15/2018

When Will Trump *Personally* Accuse Putin of Poisoning Someone on British Soil?

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 9:00 am



Over at Hot Air, my favorite blogger Allahpundit notes yesterday’s strong response from the Trump administration against Russia’s use of a nerve agent on a man and his daughter on British soil. The White House put out a strongly worded statement! Nikki Haley took to the floor of the U.N. and blasted Russia (as Caleb Howe noted here)! These statements have to have been approved by Trump, Allahpundit notes, saying: “I don’t know what else hardcore Trump critics could want rhetorically than what Haley serves up here.”

I’ll tell you what we want. We want to hear it from Trump himself.

And we’re not, as noted by a New York Times article titled Trump, Pressured to Criticize Russia for Poisoning, Leaves Comment to Aides:

Mr. Trump, who was visiting Missouri on Wednesday, has not personally addressed the attack since London assigned blame to Russia and left it instead to aides to express public solidarity with Prime Minister Theresa May after she expelled 23 Russian diplomats, canceled high-level contacts and vowed to impose more sanctions.

. . . .

[F]or whatever reason, Mr. Trump avoided saying so personally in public, much as he has generally avoided condemning Russia for its election meddling. He has allowed top advisers to denounce Moscow for its interference in American democracy, but when it comes to his own Twitter posts or comments, he has largely stuck to equivocal language, seemingly reluctant to accept the consensus conclusion of his intelligence agencies and intent on voicing no outrage or criticism of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, for whom he has expressed admiration.

And I’ll remind you, as I said yesterday: what Trump himself says is really all that matters, as Garry Kasparov explains:

The key words there are “Trump himself.” Trump himself still hasn’t unequivocally accused Putin, using his own words coming from his own wordhole. And that is what matters to Putin. Not what his administration says. What HE says.

As, as I write this, he’s yammering on Twitter about a trade deficit with Canada or some other idiotic nonsense like that.

Let me say it now: I will not be particularly impressed should we get a TelePrompTerized statement, read in that sing-song “someone else wrote this for me” voice . . . and later undercut by off-the-cuff remarks that show he doesn’t believe it. You know: kind of like the way Trump has handled accusations that Putin was behind the hacking of the DNC. There’s the official message — but then there’s the casual “I told Vlad I believed him when he said he didn’t do the hacking” undercutting of that official message.

Somehow, I doubt very sincerely that we will ever get a toughly-worded, unequivocal finger pointed personally by Donald Trump at Vladimir Putin. About this — or anything else, for that matter.

BY THE WAY: It’s been taken as an article of faith among the Trump-supporting right that you are clinically insane if you happened to notice that Rex Tillerson was fired right after taking a harder line on Russia than the rest of the Trump administration. Why, it was all about Iran! The Free Beacon tells us so! Sure, it happened right in the middle of Tillerson’s “sorry my boss called y’all s***holes, Africa!” apology tour, and cut that planned trip short. But anyone who thought that sudden timing odd, and notes that it sends a message of weakness to Putin, needs a stay in a mental hospital!

And yet . . .

. . . and yet there is this, from the New York Times two days ago:

At times, White House officials said, Mr. Tillerson’s behavior verged on insubordination. The administration, for example, was extremely cautious in responding to reports that Russia was behind the deadly nerve-gas attack in Britain. But when Mr. Tillerson was asked about it in Africa, he said, “It appears that it clearly came from Russia.”

His statement infuriated the White House, which had crafted its talking points with lawyers at the State Department to keep the United States in lock step with Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain. Instead, an official said, Mr. Tillerson made the White House look like it was soft on Mr. Putin, which he insisted was not the intention.

So, you see, the White House was, in fact, upset with Tillerson over his Russia statements — just as I have been saying. But their defense is that the White House wanted to be in lockstep with the U.K. Okayyy . . . well, the leader of the U.K. just stood up in front of the world and accused the Russian state of being behind this crime, with no ifs, ands, or buts. You can watch the video of it here.

And the fact that Trump hasn’t similarly pointed the finger at Putin personally (and probably won’t) means that being in lockstep with our ally isn’t really that important to Trump. Which means the administration was not telling the truth in citing the need to be in lockstep. Which means something else was going on.

Of course, Tillerson’s head was on the chopping block for a long time. Iran was part of the reason. But the timing was a smooch to Vladimir Putin. And I think it was meant to be.

Finally: to those who say that Trump is just being diplomatic in refusing to personally criticize Putin, I ask: why doesn’t he have the same compunctions about criticizing the head of state in our closest ally: the United Kingdom? Trump has had no problem personally saying that he would have been tougher than Theresa May on Brexit negotiations, or implying through Twitter that she is insufficiently tough on terrorism. So please: save your “Donald Trump, Master Diplomat” defenses for some chump who’ll buy them. No sale here.

If we’re going to be in lockstep with our ally, Trump needs to call out Putin — directly, personally, without caveat, and in his own words.

Outsourcing it to Nikki Haley is not good enough.

UPDATE: He sounds like a wind-up toy reciting memorized lines because he’s forced to, but this is still a good thing to see:

I guess it’s asking too much for him to sound as upset about it as, say, black football players taking a knee. But hey. Baby steps.

[Cross-posted at RedState and The Jury Talks Back.]

301 Responses to “When Will Trump *Personally* Accuse Putin of Poisoning Someone on British Soil?”

  1. please. would i like for trump to call out putin personally. Sure. but this constant goalpost shifting and refusing to recognize that trump seems to be evolving on russia quicker than the past 2 presidents, is laughable. May herself mentioned putin once in her speech- did not call him out. And can you explain- in your own words- why putin would care if trump called him out personally?

    why coh (dfcedf)

  2. but first let’s review how many of our hapless tatters died utterly senseless deaths when George Butcher Bush called Saddam Hussein out personally

    it was kind of a lot huh

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  3. As pointed out, the statement demands real consequences, sanctions like those imposed today are a joke.

    narciso (d1f714)

  4. i wonder why cowardly incompetent Rex Tillerboobs isn’t clarifying the timeline of how he blundered into getting his useless ass fired like a LOSER, as well as explaining his suddenly super-harsh feelings about his formerly super best friend Vladimir kiss kiss hug hug Putin

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  5. Because he came to see his job as representing European interests nit that of the us, on Iran on Paris accord on the Cuban assault on usdiplomats

    narciso (d1f714)

  6. The White House put out a strongly worded statement!

    the UK’s threatening Russia that bastard Prince Harry and his new royal breeding receptacle are gonna cancel a planned trip to go to Russia to see a soccer game 🙁

    but maybe cooler heads will prevail

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  7. btw does anybody seriously question the observation that poor bumbling and frumpy Theresa May is insufficiently tough on terrorism?

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  8. It looks fairly indiscriminate, with litvinenko it only affected a few people in the tea house:
    https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/932220/Russia-UK-news-Alderholt-dorset-Russia-war-news

    Berezovsky if we assume it was a hit, was rather direct,

    narciso (d1f714)

  9. Yet another strong – and correct – move by Trump fails to “impress” Patterico. Stop the presses – dog bites man ! Trump could fly to Moscow and bitch-slap Putin at the bottom of the Air Force One steps and that wouldn’t be enough for the brain cells marinated in Trump Derangement Syndrome. Sad

    Bill Saracino (78f41f)

  10. People who live isolated from the real world should try this ritual I just invented out.

    I call it : Trumpspringa.

    Pinandpuller (916c3f)

  11. So what would a n arucle 5 breach entail, and what are the consequences for retaliation.

    narciso (d1f714)

  12. For a hundred years the Ruskies murdered millions but now that they are no longer official communists if they take out a couple guys the American left goes batsh!t crazy. Now that all those “patriotic” Red Americans want Russian blood perhaps it’s time to bomb the crap out of them and let the blood flow in the streets like borscht.

    Will our leftist educators, politicians, celebrities and media drive the children into the streets next Tuesday to protest Russian aggression and whatever Trump and the NRA had to do with it?

    Rev.Hoagie (1b0402)

  13. Well, heck, if Kasparov says it, it must be Gospel.

    This is all crypto-conspiracy BS. We know, you see, that Trump is really controlled by Putin, so he won’t bite his master’s hand. And so forth. Never mind that, of the last 3 presidents, Trump has been the LEAST accommodating to Putin and the Russians. But that doesn’t fit the narrative.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  14. If I were Trump and all the people who hate me wanted to put words in my mouth, my response would be “Nuts!”

    Kevin M (752a26)

  15. personally i think our own poop-slimy treasonous CIA collaborated with Rex Tillerboobs on last Saturday when he called in sick and ginned up this whole fake news event

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  16. That’s probably why, mays tenure re the gitmo detainee that she arranged a payout for, the Leicester attackers who were on the BBC, Manchester it al, maybe putin thought there would be little consequence

    narciso (d1f714)

  17. Yet another strong – and correct – move by Trump

    Trump puts more feeling into the personal insults he lobs at random journalists than he can muster to condemn a chemical weapon attack on our closest ally…

    Or at least, they used to be our closest ally, before Trump insulted the mayor of London hours after a terrorist attack and retweeted recruitment material from a neo-fascist hate group.

    Isn’t it odd how he’s only circumspect when it comes to criticizing attacks by Russia on us, or one of our allies?

    It’s almost like Putin has something on him…what could it be?

    Dave (445e97)

  18. it was kind of a lot huh

    Uh, no. We ended Saddam’s control of Iraq in short order and with few casualties. The problem came when we tried to help them “all get along.”

    Kevin M (752a26)

  19. maybe putin thought there would be little consequence

    that’s a hell of a risk to take with your country’s soccer game attendance

    but he’s always been ballsy

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  20. And … Dave proves my point in 6 minutes.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  21. the UK’s threatening Russia that bastard Prince Harry and his new royal breeding receptacle

    Were this my blog, this would get hf a time-out.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  22. The problem came when we tried to help them “all get along.”

    well no this is not exactly how i remember it

    we did a crappy and incompetent job on the invasion – deploying our forces in such a way that the vast majority of the iraqi military was able to melt away

    …only to return to pick off our tatters at their leisure in the months and years to come, to say nothing of providing manpower for the regional terrorism what’s still something of a problem all these years later

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  23. speaking of which Mr. narciso wasn’t that Marcon person particularly weeble wobble about this whole poisoned screwball affair

    let me check

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  24. we did a crappy and incompetent job on the invasion – deploying our forces in such a way that the vast majority of the iraqi military was able to melt away

    Yeah, we should have just driven our 1st army division right through Turkey when they reneged on their agreement to let us after we spent 3 months building up in Turkey for the northern pincer.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  25. This is his way of showing he has a crush on the future princess,
    Admit it pkachu, harry probably won’t kill you with his bare hands

    narciso (d1f714)

  26. *Macron* i mean ok brb

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  27. Britain, the US, Germany, and France issued a joint response to the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and Yulia Skripal on Thursday afternoon, condemning Russia for the “first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War”.

    But on Thursday morning and through Wednesday France had initially appeared more hesitant to line up behind Theresa May’s version of events, with Emmanuel Macron’s government taking a more careful approach.

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  28. Yeah, we should have just driven our 1st army division right through Turkey when they reneged on their agreement to let us after we spent 3 months building up in Turkey for the northern pincer.

    given the thousands of lives and billions of dollars caused by this blunder?

    yeah, maybe

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  29. ugh *cost* i mean

    *cost* by this blunder

    sorry i had Theresa May yammering in my speakers from an autoplay in that last link and it was very distracting

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  30. The Turks were very proactive re the pkk, Islamic state not so much.

    narciso (d1f714)

  31. Russia’s attempted murder of former Russian spy Serge Skripal and his daughter Yulia on British soil is an act of war, isn’t it?

    this is an incredibly silly thing to say

    this is like something what would fly out of coward-ass war hero John McCain’s doddering deranged mouth

    Austin Bay needs to grow up

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  32. C’mon Kevin. Trump happily rushes to judgment about anything and everything.

    His philosophy is self-gratification first, then let somebody else deal with the clean-up/damage control/defense of the indefensible for days or weeks afterward.

    The only actor outside his immediate circle of family and sycophants that always gets the benefit of the doubt with Donald Trump is … Vladimir Putin.

    He will shamelessly lie to the face of friendly world leaders like PM Trudeau of Canada. But he takes Putin’s absurd denials as gospel too sacred to challenge.

    Things happen for a reason – why is Trump always eager believe (and say) the worst about everyone else, yet treat Vladimir Putin like a family member?

    Dave (445e97)

  33. When the ‘green men’, blew a civilian airliner out of the sky, what was the response again?

    narciso (d1f714)

  34. One thing is certain. England is not a healthy place for Russian ex-pats to park and issue forth books denouncing Putin from.

    What the hell happened to James Bond? Their security is for [toosiefruit].

    papertiger (c8116c)

  35. A different perspective…

    “The Red Line shoe is now on the other foot. By issuing a warning against infringing his freedom of action Putin has drawn a Red Line and Haley just threatened to cross it in the most public possible way. Radio Free Europe writes “the United States has said it is ready to act in Syria to end chemical attacks and “inhuman suffering” if Russia, Iran, and Syria continue to allegedly ignore a 30-day cease-fire approved by the United Nations, prompting a warning from Moscow that it will strike back if the lives of its servicemen are threatened”.

    What Russia will do when the clock counts down remains to be seen. The US threat is both asymmetric and strategically calculating. The US has power dominance over Russia in Syria. In almost any scenario except the use of nuclear weapons or nerve gas, Russia is likely to be badly worsted in Syria. Striking at Assad and Iran will be supported by Saudi Arabia and Israel.

    It is dangerous but also profoundly psychological. Vladimir Putin has now been threatened twice by women, Theresa May and Nikki Haley, even as stands for election as the Macho Man. The Kremlin strongman can hardly back down now without immense loss of face, which is perhaps the point. Putin is in a tight spot. He can either eat crow or roll the dice. His first reaction in past situations has been not to yield but double down. This will make the next two weeks extraordinarily dangerous. It’s a big data point. The administration has taken the risk.”

    https://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/fourteen-days/

    Colonel Haiku (33b771)

  36. You should watch mcmafia if you have amc, London is like casablanca with
    With fish and chips, or Miami in the 60s

    narciso (d1f714)

  37. Don’t know if Fernandez plays chess or not, but he usually has a very perceptive take on issues.

    Colonel Haiku (33b771)

  38. His from the phillipines, but he lives in australia

    narciso (d1f714)

  39. @38… note that ConDave hasn’t the slightest interest in the Clinton Crime Family’s provable shenanigans.

    He’s a FauxCon… a Democrat.

    Colonel Haiku (33b771)

  40. As you know, my opinion of our president is very low.

    But in this case, sorry, Patterico, you are grasping at straws. Our UN Ambassador came out very strongly at the Security Counsel — as she has on many other important issues. Don’t see the need for Trump to say something out of his own mouth.

    The reality is, in a week this will have been forgotten. No one is going to war or even do much about this. This is not 1900 when the Royal Navy ruled the seas. It’s all show. For that, the UN Ambassador is enough.

    Bored Lawyer (998177)

  41. You can lose 8 billion in capitalization and walk away with a fine:
    ?
    https://mobile.twitter.com/seanmdav/status/974289273385115650?p=v

    narciso (d1f714)

  42. In the meanwhile a commie from Mexico just the other day was campaigning for el Presidente in the Streets of Los Angeles, as if California were a Mexican Provence.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  43. You can always tell happyfeet is backed into a corner when he dials-up the name-calling to eleven. So far on the scorecard we have:
    Bush
    Tlllerson
    Prince Harry
    May
    McCain

    If we can get him to take gratuitous swipes at Rubio, McConnell, Ryan, Cruz, the Queen, and maybe Henry Kissinger or someone then it will be a full day before noon, Pacific Time.

    JVW (dadb0c)

  44. His on central time now, but taking the proposition seriously

    https://mobile.twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/974316185067098114/photo/1

    narciso (d1f714)

  45. If I were Trump and all the people who hate me wanted to put words in my mouth, my response would be “Nuts!”

    Kevin M (752a26) — 3/15/2018 @ 10:12 am

    Known from this day forward as NeoTeabaggers.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  46. i’m also super hungry and i’m trying to get my head around this goofy “equinor” thing

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  47. Admit it pkachu, harry probably won’t kill you with his bare hands

    narciso (d1f714) — 3/15/2018 @ 10:22 am

    I give that marriage a thousand and one nights.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  48. If Jared’s second wife is Russian royalty his kid’s bedtime story will be The Princess and the Pee.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  49. this is like something what would fly out of coward-ass war hero John McCain’s doddering deranged mouth

    Austin Bay needs to grow up

    happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/15/2018 @ 10:30 am

    Is it any more a casus belli than Kate Steinle?

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  50. Yulia Goolia wasn’t even an arch duchess ffs.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  51. Is it any more a casus belli than Kate Steinle?

    i never understood what the big deal with that story was

    murderous illegal kills citizen in sanctuary state

    this is how you know the system is working

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  52. We want to hear it from Trump himself.

    That may actually be counterproductive; it’s unwise to take anything he says literally.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  53. 47, he’s a damn idiot….Alta California is PRI or PRD a million times over, the PAN is more like the erstwhile DLC, in this context the adapted Texan and Midwesterner’s party and has far more support among the pai’ in both of happyfeet’s lands.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  54. yet treat Vladimir Putin like a family member?

    Dave (445e97) — 3/15/2018 @ 10:40 am

    He owns 51% of The Olive Garden.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  55. So when do we start seeing Limey deserters washing unto the beach or the airports?

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  56. Yes but Vicente fox, has made us cast shade on the whole enterprise, also he believes in basic income so he is basically corker

    narciso (d1f714)

  57. One thing is certain. England is not a healthy place for Russian ex-pats to park and issue forth books denouncing Putin from.

    What the hell happened to James Bond? Their security is for [toosiefruit].

    papertiger (c8116c) — 3/15/2018 @ 11:11 am

    I have a pitch for a new Big Brother. Throw in Salman Rushdie for good measure.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  58. Rushdie used to have game, might be worth dodging fatwa for the double dates.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  59. I think the question of this post is natural from a prosecutorial point of view. Declare guilt and then try and convince the jury

    Meanwhile, the rest of us (and I would include Trump) subscribe to the jurists point of view, the defendant is innocent until there is no reasonable doubt of guilt.

    There is also the realisation that dealing with nevertrumpers is exactly like dealing with progressives, in that giving in to their demands only results in further demands. Even if Trump said exactly what is demanded of him, the next demand would be for even stronger responses until the missiles flew, whereupon Trump would be a warmonger and the demands would be for him to cut out the over the top rhetoric and pursue peace.

    To refine even further, nevertrumpers, excuse me, hardcore Trump critics, are like progressive journalists. Forever doubling down on baseless rhetoric like Trump is a Putin stooge when it’s obviously BS, never realizing why their credibility is shot and blind to the result, that their blatant bias makes everything the say suspect. Whereupon they double down again and attack the skeptics for being skeptical, calling them cultists and such.

    And all this just among people that generally agree on about 90% of the issues, barring who actually sits in the Oval Office. Never mind the Looney left.

    This country has become hopelessly divided, and is close to collapse.

    On the bright side, those surviving the coming helI will have a prepared scapegoat in Trump.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  60. Remember when Patterico claimed we would know the truth about George Bush if he didn’t call out Putin in his own words over the Litvinenko assassination on UK soil by Polonium-210 back in 2006?

    papertiger (c8116c)

  61. nicely said Mr. Bas

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  62. Trump might stay quiet but has the big stick of money, which talks very loud to oligarchs (I know you think so); the reason Putin’s not going to endure after this event is it can’t go unpunished and it will be access to assets and shopping and comforts of the west leveraged to punish.

    Putin’s friends will get him if no one else does.

    “One thing is certain. England is not a healthy place for Russian ex-pats to park and issue forth books denouncing Putin from.”

    That’s what he said. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXbvchNaipw

    SarahW (3164f0)

  63. The above is as much a confession as threat.

    SarahW (3164f0)

  64. This is why one can’t be too cynical:
    https://mobile.twitter.com/davereaboi/status/974343153359650817?p=v

    narciso (d1f714)

  65. no beer is not good for your houseplants

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  66. In the case of the Karen Silkwood murder, I think if Carter never calls out Putin by name, in his own words, then we’ll know the truth about Jimmy.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  67. that video’s super creepy

    you could see CNN doing one saying “climate change deniers rarely live long and happy lives”

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  68. Fortunately, no POTUS is in the business to make his critics happy.

    shipwreckedcrew (56b591)

  69. If we’re going to be in lockstep with our ally, Trump needs to call out Putin — directly, personally, without caveat, and in his own words.

    “Words” from a pathological liar should reassure any and all ‘allies’– foreign and domestic…

    It’s the ‘art of the spiel.’ Our Captain was saluting himself for making up facts in a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He’s in to you, Melania… Marla… Ivana… you too, Stormy.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  70. Of course, Tillerson’s head was on the chopping block for a long time. Iran was part of the reason. But the timing was a smooch to Vladimir Putin. And I think it was meant to be.

    This is LOL stoopid funny.

    Pompeo is an upgrade for Russia over Tillerson??? In what wacky left universe do you read this stuff??

    And John Bolton replacing McMasters as NSC is similarly a “kiss” to Putin?

    High comedy.

    shipwreckedcrew (56b591)

  71. So, you see, the White House was, in fact, upset with Tillerson over his Russia statements — just as I have been saying.

    Yeah, because when I look for facts about the Trump administration, my source is The New York Times. But, I usually wait for CNN to corroborate. LOL

    random viking (f4989a)

  72. It seems improbable, but peterlin vouching for a niac plant high up in foggy bottom seems quietly.

    narciso (d1f714)

  73. Breaking news:

    Today Trump called out Putin — directly, personally, without caveat, and in his own words.

    Reactions are mixed however. One anonymous source, largely echoed by other of the presidents hardcore critics commented on the presidents lack of sincerity.

    “Trump was almost completely unemotional” it was noted. “I expected a sob as Trump spoke of the outrageous consequences of this dastardly deed, but there was no sob. Not even a single tear slid down his cheek.”

    This reporter, especially when remembering America’s days of glory, can only wonder at how far the country has fallen.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  74. Well, Mr. Prosecutor, if the perp won’t elocute, he gets no credit, right? Hell yes! Rich jerks like DJT know precisely why it is such a big deal to admit, or not, anything deleterious to themselves – and more importantly their image.

    ALWAYS trust content from Patterico.

    Ed from SFV (3400a5)

  75. I really don’t understand Patterico’s take, but it’s not the first time and won’t be the last.

    Colonel Haiku (33b771)

  76. Many of us know it is what’s actually done that counts. I like most of what’s been done. This kind of crap is tedious.

    Colonel Haiku (33b771)

  77. The Russians killed by U.S. airstrikes in Syria last month was a definite “smooch” to Putin.

    random viking (6a54c2)

  78. It is, in fact, significant that Trump himself, personally, with his own otherwise-prolifically-free-flapping-yammer-hole will not denounce Russia. He is a coward, of course, and that is part of it. He delegates the more distasteful stuff (like the record-breaking firings) or does it underhandedly-slight-of-handedly by tweet. Not in person. Not man to man.

    But more than that, of course, Russia is Putin and Putin is Russia. And Putin is Fred Trump to DJT. (They even look alike; not a necessary coincidence, but an interesting one.) And Donnie’s not about to criticize his Dad.

    Q! (86710c)

  79. Col – How could you not understand a timing smooch or comparing criticism of Brexit work with sanctioning political espionage murder?

    harkin (df3a15)

  80. So Obama just jawjaw and trump called an airstrike, he let Islamic state fester and trump has taken few good whacks then their is deir Er sour.

    I’m recalling the British 24, in the last few seasons did focus on Russia, including on ryazan type false flag, the chief if the unit the stodgy harry pierce had occasion to do something rash and the Russian retaliated.
    The lead oligarch wasplayed by Stuart Wilson the cop villain in lethal weapon 3

    narciso (d1f714)

  81. Looks like the Trump Side is already getting vindicated:

    https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/03/the-novichok-story-is-indeed-another-iraqi-wmd-scam/

    “As recently as 2016 Dr Robin Black, Head of the Detection Laboratory at the UK’s only chemical weapons facility at Porton Down, a former colleague of Dr David Kelly, published in an extremely prestigious scientific journal that the evidence for the existence of Novichoks was scant and their composition unknown.

    In recent years, there has been much speculation that a fourth generation of nerve agents, ‘Novichoks’ (newcomer), was developed in Russia…No independent confirmation of the structures or the properties of such compounds has been published. (Black, 2016)

    Robin Black. (2016) Development, Historical Use and Properties of Chemical Warfare Agents. Royal Society of Chemistry

    Yet now, the British Government is claiming to be able instantly to identify a substance which its only biological weapons research centre has never seen before and was unsure of its existence. Worse, it claims to be able not only to identify it, but to pinpoint its origin. Given Dr Black’s publication, it is plain that claim cannot be true.

    It’s as true as the piss tape!

    “Given that the OPCW has taken the view the evidence for the existence of “Novichoks” is dubious, if the UK actually has a sample of one it is extremely important the UK presents that sample to the OPCW. Indeed the UK has a binding treaty obligation to present that sample to OPCW. Russa has – unreported by the corporate media – entered a demand at the OPCW that Britain submit a sample of the Salisbury material for international analysis.

    Yet Britain refuses to submit it to the OPCW.

    Why?”

    Because you can’t stop for BORING OLD CHEMICAL ANALYSES when there’s WAR to be had!

    “A second part of May’s accusation is that “Novichoks” could only be made in certain military installations. But that is also demonstrably untrue. If they exist at all, Novichoks were allegedly designed to be able to be made at bench level in any commercial chemical facility – that was a major point of them. The only real evidence for the existence of Novichoks was the testimony of the ex-Soviet scientist Mizayanov. And this is what Mirzayanov actually wrote.

    ‘One should be mindful that the chemical components or precursors of A-232 or its binary version novichok-5 are ordinary organophosphates that can be made at commercial chemical companies that manufacture such products as fertilizers and pesticides.'”

    So much like RUSSIAN HACKING, fingerprinting this immediately as RUSSIAN NERVE AGENTS in the absence of any surety is a fool’s game. Could have been Russians, could have been Ukranians, Tatars, or Jews with Russian citizenship who have a long grudge against Russia for kicking them out and wouldn’t care at all about trying to play ‘Lets you and him fight’ by clumsily imitating a legendary chemical and attacking a dissident they don’t themselves care about.

    Tellurian (a3c41a)

  82. Maybe they picked it because it could be readily made.

    narciso (d1f714)

  83. i don’t understand how they’re still alive

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  84. This post must be some kind of self parody. That, or the host forgot to add his tongue-in-cheek disclaimer.

    Because, if you think the president is a “moron/dimwit/idiot/cretin”, you want to hear what he has to say. And, if he says exactly what you want to hear, you believe it and saunter away satisfied.

    random viking (6a54c2)

  85. i thought this is one of those things so insanely lethal in such small quantities you don’t really get a “light case” of nerve agent poisoning

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  86. Yet Britain refuses to submit it to the OPCW.

    Why?

    Um, maybe because they haven’t refused to submit it to the OPCW?

    [British Foreign Secretary Boris] Johnson also confirmed the UK would provide samples of the nerve agent used in the attack to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

    He said: “We have been entirely in conformity with OPCW procedures … We will be submitting a sample so that they can look at the novichok and make their own assessment. We believe the evidence is absolutely overwhelming.”

    RT must take its readers for idiots. Try again.

    Dave (445e97)

  87. Ott’s act (Kevin Kline) is only amusing for short periods.

    narciso (d1f714)

  88. being in lockstep with our ally isn’t really that important to Trump

    it appears it’s not very important to harvardtrash snot-hole Ben Sasse or cowardpig war hero John McCain either –

    they think we should invoke Article 4 and drag pansy-assed NATO into this mess

    even though the UK hasn’t suggested they want any such action to be taken

    and this is weird

    so who do they write a letter to?

    not the commander in chief

    The letter was sent to Defense Secretary James Mattis, Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan and current CIA Director and Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo.

    ladyboy Mattis certainly doesn’t have the authority to invoke Article 5 on behalf of his incompetent tranny trash military

    the Deputy Secretary of State?

    nope not him either

    Mike Pompeo – who’s currently still slumming it at the corrupt dirty CIA?

    he can’t invoke him no Article 5 all up in it on his best day

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  89. In 2013 the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Scientific Advisory Board reported that it had insufficient information to comment on the existence or properties of Novichok agents,[9] and in 2011 it noted there was no peer reviewed paper on Novichok agents in scientific literature.[10]

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novichok_agent

    The “experts” Mirzayanov, and Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, claim they’ve been making the Novichok in the same place, Shikhany, since 1971.

    Gorbachev opened the chemical weapons factory for UN inspection in 1987.

    Chimera?

    If you were writing a spy novel and you wanted the perfect Batman comic chemical, (like the Joker’s green fog that leaves people with a hideous grim on their corpse) the list of properties would sound an awful lot like the novichok, described on the wiki, but never actually seen or proven.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  90. Meanwhile……

    “FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe has left the bureau under a cloud, but for him there’s a silver lining: his federal pension, which could provide him a lifetime payout of $1.9 million.

    Yet taxpayers will never know for certain how big a pension McCabe gets, nor can they learn about pensions due any other federal employee, including members of Congress. The Office of Personnel Management keeps that information secret, exempting it even from freedom of information requests.

    Adam Andrzejewski, president of the watchdog group Open the Books, said opening pension records to public scrutiny is “the next phase of the transparency revolution.”

    “Citizens should not have to have a search warrant to see how their money is being spent,” Andrzejewski said. Besides, he added, “You can’t reform what you can’t see.””

    https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2018/02/01/government_watchdogs_bristle_at_federal_pension_secrecy.html

    harkin (df3a15)

  91. Yet taxpayers will never know for certain how big a pension McCabe gets, nor can they learn about pensions due any other federal employee, including members of Congress.

    Gee, I wonder who made those rules. Pension recipients?

    Reminds me of the generous payouts to recipients in my state, voted on by a committee composed entirely of pension recipients. Then, after an outcry that recipients were contributing zilch to a pension fund running a huge deficit, they required a 6% contribution but coupled it with a 6% pay raise.

    What could go wrong with a retirement fund paid for by people who aren’t in it, and governed by people who are?

    random viking (6a54c2)

  92. random viking (6a54c2) — 3/15/2018 @ 2:36 pm

    You’re equally outraged by the President’s concealment of his tax returns, right?

    Dave (445e97)

  93. Dave, no I’m not concerned at all with red herrings. What the hell does that have to do with pensions?

    random viking (6a54c2)

  94. What the hell does that have to do with pensions?

    Um. Pensions are paid out of the treasury. Taxes are paid into the treasury. Both involve the transfer of money between the government and individuals.

    You are concerned about people receiving the pensions overseeing them.

    Trump controls the agency that oversees the collection of his taxes.

    Dave (445e97)

  95. 100… what a simpleton take…

    Colonel Haiku (33b771)

  96. There is apossible reason and it may be the sort of way Trump thinks.

    Trump may reason, that if Putin thinks he wants to be friendly, but is prevented by politics, it is good for the United States, and he won’t try such things here. (At this point I don’t think Trump is at all friendly toward Russia – he probably considers Putin a double crosser for one thing.)

    There is a kind of precedent for that.

    Winston Churchill tried to make Hitler think Great Britain might negotiate (although in that case the scenario was the possibility of his being replaced) as part of an effort to avoid an invasion.

    And that kind of totally false information that was somehow gotten over to the Germans through double cross agents etc., was probably responsible for Rudolph Hess parachuting in on May 15, 1941.

    (Rudolph Hess did this on his own. And because of that plane flight, he inadvertently avoided the death penalty at Nuremberg because his association with the Nazi regime stopped before the worst of the crimes had begun, and he was a bit out of favor before. If I am right, he could on;y be convicted of the seizure of power and planning aggressive war, but not war crimes and crimes against humanity, since his participation was totally cut off on May 15, 1941.)

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  97. Novichok was revealed in 1992. It was made in Uzbekistan and the plant was dismantled by the United States starting in 1999. It was obviously discussed with many Russian scientists, but they wouldn’t have wanted to publish too many details..

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  98. Dave… what the Colonel said.

    random viking (3ca06d)

  99. 19. Dave (445e97) — 3/15/2018 @ 10:14 am

    Isn’t it odd how he’s only circumspect when it comes to criticizing attacks by Russia on us, or one of our allies?

    It’s almost like Putin has something on him…what could it be?

    It could be that Trump wants to keep Putin’s hopes up that he could be friendly to him, and is only being stopped by politics, in order to prevent Putin from doing similar things here. Something like this would sound very smart to Trump.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  100. Dave…what the Colonel and random viking said.

    Rev.Hoagie (1b0402)

  101. 47. papertiger (c8116c) — 3/15/2018 @ 11:30 am

    47.In the meanwhile a commie from Mexico just the other day was campaigning for el Presidente in the Streets of Los Angeles, as if California were a Mexican Provence.

    Theer are alot of Mexican citizens in Los Angeles, and theyt’ve been able to vote in the last three mexican presdidential elections (before they couldn’t)

    They usually vote for a conservative party for Mexico, no matter how poor they are in the United States, because their interests in Mexico is that their property and money be protected, but Trump’s conflict with Mexico may reverse this. They may want a Mexican president to stand up to the United States on the issue of immigration.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  102. Rushdie used to have game, might be worth dodging fatwa for the double dates.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 3/15/2018 @ 12:05 pm

    I’m glad to see we are on the same CYE page.

    Since George Tiller is no longer with us maybe Kermitt Gosnell will sign up.

    Big Brother: Fatwa

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  103. It should be noted that while maybe the poison was smuggled in through diplomats, it probably wasn’ta dministered by anyone with diplomatic cover.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  104. I don’t think male children from Queens go for elocution lessons Mr Ed from SFV.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  105. “They may want a Mexican president to stand up to the United States on the issue of immigration.”

    Yes, they might… as if they had a right to disregard our laws and illegally cross the border.

    Colonel Haiku (33b771)

  106. 96 and 97:

    This isn’t really true. The formula for how the pension is calculated is available from multiple sources online.

    But its a formula that is based on the average of the employees “high three” years of salary — usually their last 3. So unless you have the employee’s precise salary, you can’t figure their precise pension.

    But, salary ranges for all federal positions are published by OPM. McCabe, as Deputy Director of the FBI, was in an “SES” position — “Senior Executive Service”.

    Max salary for SES in 2017 was $187,000. You can pretty much bet that the Dep. Dir. of FBI was getting the max salary.

    shipwreckedcrew (56b591)

  107. Colonel Haiku (33b771) — 3/15/2018 @ 3:25 pm

    Yes, they might… as if they had a right to disregard our laws and illegally cross the border.

    Come on. Tnis is man made law that they had no part in making. Therefore there is no consent of the governed. It is self evident taht peole have an unalieanbvle right to the pursuit of happiness. In any case this also concerns what is legal.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  108. swc, thanks for the details.

    But its a formula that is based on the average of the employees “high three” years of salary — usually their last 3.

    3 years? Not surprised. For the rest of us mortals, social security uses the highest 30 years. Naturally, such a disparity was decided by pension recipients.

    A federal worker who maneuvers a late promotion gets a big kiss in the mail for life, regardless of what they did the prior 27 years.

    random viking (6a54c2)

  109. If you were writing a spy novel and you wanted the perfect Batman comic chemical, (like the Joker’s green fog that leaves people with a hideous grim on their corpse) the list of properties would sound an awful lot like the novichok, described on the wiki, but never actually seen or proven.

    papertiger (c8116c) — 3/15/2018 @ 2:13 pm

    Did you preorder Sean Penn’s new thriller?

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  110. A federal worker who maneuvers a late promotion gets a big kiss in the mail for life, regardless of what they did the prior 27 years.

    …what a simpleton take…

    Dave (445e97)

  111. …what a simpleton take…
    Dave (445e97) — 3/15/2018 @ 4:13 pm

    No, that is a completely accurate representation of how it works.

    Stashiu3 (bf667d)

  112. In your haste to return the “gotcha” you received earlier, you made yourself look very foolish.

    Stashiu3 (bf667d)

  113. No, that is a completely accurate representation of how it works.

    I didn’t say it was inaccurate.

    Dave (445e97)

  114. In your haste to return the “gotcha” you received earlier

    LOL. Three people resorting to ad hominem because they can’t refute what I wrote isn’t a gotcha.

    Dave (445e97)

  115. In that case, how is it a simpleton take as opposed to a simple take? Stop digging.

    Stashiu3 (bf667d)

  116. If theirs was ad hom, then so was yours. Don’t claim again in the future that you don’t use ad hom.

    Stashiu3 (bf667d)

  117. Can’t have it both ways.

    Stashiu3 (bf667d)

  118. “Come on. Tnis is man made law that they had no part in making. Therefore there is no consent of the governed. It is self evident taht peole have an unalieanbvle right to the pursuit of happiness. In any case this also concerns what is legal.”

    Sammy Finkelman

    You come on. We are a nation governed by laws, all “man made”, are we not? The have that right there n their country of origin, not one that they illegally entered.

    Colonel Haiku (33b771)

  119. Hi Mr. Stashiu DRJ dropped by and was pleased to see you were back but then she was reading people’s comments and they annoyed her so she went away

    but for a moment there she seemed pleased

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  120. Otto is of the belief that ‘Aristotle was Belgian, and the London underground is a political movement’

    narciso (d1f714)

  121. ConDave… when he ain’t boinkin’ chickens, he’s ad homin ‘em!

    Colonel Haiku (33b771)

  122. 114 — a “High 3” calculation is pretty standard in most pension plans, whether public or private.

    But, there have been efforts over the last few Congresses to change it to “High 5”. As you might imagine, its the public worker unions that go crazy when such changes are suggested.

    shipwreckedcrew (56b591)

  123. Trump — “It certainly looks like Russia was behind it.”

    So where do you want to move the goal posts to now?

    shipwreckedcrew (56b591)

  124. It looks like we have a Russian agent commenting here under the name of Tellurian.

    Hey, Tellurian! Did you also astroturf, tweet and Facebook for Putin during the election? And were you pro-Trump, anti-Trump or both?

    nk (dbc370)

  125. In that case, how is it a simpleton take as opposed to a simple take

    Why don’t you ask the three people who insulted me first the same question?

    Here’s some information that may help your understanding: when somebody uses a childish personal insult to dismiss something I wrote, occasionally I throw an identical or equally childish and insulting one back at them. Since they will naturally find it weak and unpersuasive, my hope is that it will make them recognize that their own, original childish insult was equally weak and unpersuasive. I am shaming them by mimicking their immature style of discourse, or in this case by repeating their exact words.

    In fact, if you recall, I did precisely this the first time you started tossing grade-school taunts at me.

    Dave (445e97)

  126. Dave, there was nothing to refute. Taxpayers should be entitled to know how their money is spent, whether that’s pensions or the president’s salary/pension. If you think every administrator at the IRS, and every lawmaker, and every public employee who touches on tax policy should release their tax returns, your argument would be consistent. If you truly advocate that, I might actually go along.

    random viking (6a54c2)

  127. Mr. Dave thank you for all you do to elevate the discussion

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  128. Dave, asserting that your take was of a simpleton nature is not an ad hominem.

    random viking (6a54c2)

  129. Taxpayers should be entitled to know how their money is spent, whether that’s pensions or the president’s salary/pension.

    Should the medical expenses of every elderly person on Medicare also be open to public examination, then?

    The schedule of pension rates, as SWC noted, is public information, as is the table of salary grades for federal positions. This is why I found your original post silly – you made out like it is some huge scandal that we don’t know to the penny what McCabe’s pension is, when in fact it can probably be estimated to within better than 10% by anyone willing to spend five minutes with Google.

    Working for the government does not mean you give up the personal privacy rights that private sector employees take for granted. Of course, the laws governing federal pensions should not be (and are not) secret. But insisting you have a right to pry into the individual finances of every federal employee does not seem very conservative or very libertarian to me.

    Dave (445e97)

  130. This is why I found your original post silly – you made out like it is some huge scandal that we don’t know to the penny what McCabe’s pension is

    Yes, I believe it’s a scandal when system beneficiaries make the rules governing that system, to the detriment of those outside the system who are required to fund that same system. Note, given this, your example of Medicare recipients is another red herring.

    I don’t insist on prying into the individual finances of any federal employee. How about you? Or, are Trump’s tax returns an exception?

    random viking (6a54c2)

  131. A prominent Russian TV journalist weighs in:

    “Yesterday Tillerson supported Theresa May in her ‘highly likely’ Russian accusation. And Trump immediately fired him. Trump is ours!”

    Dave (445e97)

  132. Dave, given the pension mess in so many states, I think the word “scandal” is inadequate. You disagree? At the federal level, this ties into the national debt discussion. Where did you fall on that?

    random viking (6a54c2)

  133. Yes, I believe it’s a scandal when system beneficiaries make the rules governing that system, to the detriment of those outside the system who are required to fund that same system.

    Do you think McCabe had anything to say about the Federal pension rules?

    There are something like 2M full-time federal employees, from what I could determine. Probably not all of them are eligible for pensions, but the pension laws are made by only 536 out of those ~2M. The overwhelming majority have no say whatsoever, apart from participating in the political process the same way everyone can, about what the pension rules are.

    Who should make the laws governing federal pensions, if not congress?

    Dave (445e97)

  134. Mark Levin is calling out Ben Sasse and Jeff Flake:

    Ineffective Backbenchers

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  135. If you guys feel about Trump like I feel about Jeff Flake then I get it. I really do.

    I ******* hate Jeff Flake.

    I hope Anthropogenic Global Warming dries up Lake Havasu while he’s in the middle of a backflip off of a houseboat.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  136. Votevets, the folks who tried to whitewash the va scandal, when it broke?

    narciso (d1f714)

  137. Dave, I never asserted that McCabe devised the pension rules, only that the rules were devised by pension recipients. You cannot deny this so don’t resort to more red herrings. Given this, full disclosure is in order. This is just good governance. Googling and doing estimates may be sufficient, but prohibiting even a FOI request is, yes, indicative of how scandalous the system is.

    random viking (6a54c2)

  138. CBS tentatively sets March 25 for airing ‘60 Minutes’ interview with Stormy Daniels. Huzzah! That should be good for a personal DJT denouncement. Against advice of counsel, no doubt, but very stable geniuses don’t kowtow to no counsel.

    Q! (86710c)

  139. Breaking – WAPO reports Trump decides to remove NSA H.R. McMasters.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  140. You disagree?

    I disagree that any uncertainty about the exact amount of Andrew McCabe’s pension is a scandal, yes.

    At the federal level, this ties into the national debt discussion.

    Just doing some more research. The current retirement system, FERS, was signed into law by Ronald Reagan and went into effect in 1987. It applies to employees hired since 1984. The previous system was called CSRS, and still applies to employees hired before 1984. FERS provides the annuity that we’ve been discussing, based on the highest three years of an employee’s salary.

    To quote a 2015 whitepaper by the Congressional Research Service:

    “FERS annuities are fully funded by the sum of employee and employer contributions and interest earned by the Treasury bonds held by the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund (CSRDF).”

    In other words, the FERS pensions are not paid out of general revenues. The government and employees contribute to the fund while the employee works, and the government’s contribution is counted as part of the employee’s overall compensation. So it does not, in fact, tie into the national debt discussion, except to the extent that current employee compensation costs include the employer contribution.

    The report notes:

    “The federal government makes supplemental payments into the CSRDF on behalf of employees covered by the CSRS because employee and agency contributions and interest earnings do not meet the full cost of the benefits earned by employees covered by that system.”

    So the government is still on the hook for obligations to employees hired before 1984, because the previous system wasn’t set up to fully fund itself. It also notes:

    Because CSRS [i.e. old system] retirement benefits have never been fully funded by employer and employee contributions, the CSRDF has an unfunded liability. The unfunded liability was $785.0 billion in FY2013. According to actuarial estimates, the unfunded liability of the CSRDF will continue to rise until about FY2025, when it will peak at $834.8 billion. From that point onward, the unfunded liability will steadily decline and is projected to be eliminated by FY2090. Actuarial estimates indicate that the unfunded liability of the CSRS does not pose a threat to the solvency of the trust fund. There is no point over the next 80 years at which the assets of the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund are projected to run out.

    It sounds like the current system set up in the 1980’s was pretty well-designed.

    Also quite surprising, in light of the recent discussion, is the fact that everyone pays into the system. Employees in the FERS system hired before 2013 contribute 0.8% of their pay, but this has gone up considerably for employees hired since. Employees hired in 2013 pay 3.1% of their pay, and those hired after 2013 contribute 4.4% of their pay.

    Employees who don’t reach the required years of service and/or age get NOTHING in return for their contributions.

    The total contributions (employee + employer) add up to about 14.0-14.2% of the employee’s pay, with the government’s contribution making up the difference from whatever the employee contribution listed above is.

    Dave (445e97)

  141. @142. Missed getting his distemper shots today.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  142. Quimby!

    Colonel Haiku (33b771)

  143. Oops just another bad spate of timing:

    Ihttps://mobile.twitter.com/dicktofel/status/974415827939348481?s=21

    narciso (d1f714)

  144. Against advice of counsel, no doubt, but very stable geniuses don’t kowtow to no counsel.

    I actually read the sooper-seekret NDA last night.

    It is pretty clear from the wording that Ms. Daniels has (or had) texts, emails, photos and other physical/electronic documentary evidence of her relationship with President Dennison. A vast amount of verbiage in the NDA was devoted to the transfer and/or destruction of these physical items.

    The NDA used false names, but there was a “side-letter” that said who everyone really was, with some agreement that the side-letter would somehow be even more sooper-seekret than the NDA itself. Trump’s real name appears to be on the side-letter in several places, but is redacted in the version of the document posted online. There is also a line on the side-letter where he was supposed to sign the document, but didn’t.

    Dave (445e97)

  145. Dave, thanks for the details and your research. Very informative. I would only say that the prediction that there is no threat of insolvency is not unlike the projections regularly heard in my state, as well as other states with pension messes. They, and the paper they’re written on, will allow one to wipe their behind. The “employer” (I.e, the taxpayer) is always the fallback so, yes, there will never be a lack of funds. There is nothing in the history of governance that lends credence to such projections. I’m willing to consider examples, if you have any.

    random viking (6a54c2)

  146. This is LOL stoopid funny.

    Had you asked me to support what I said, I would have said several things. In my view, it was more about Tillerson than Pompeo. And Tillerson had only recently expressed his view that we could never partner with Russia. Pompeo, while currently something of a Russia hawk, did welcome Wikileaks hacking during the campaign; is an ambitious political actor who is unlikely to buck Trump (unlike someone who called Trump a fucking moron and refused to lie about it).

    But you didn’t ask. You said my opinion was “stoopid.”

    Take a week, at least, to consider how you can improve your tone. I reserve the right to make it longer, and will be watching the filter for reasons to add extra time (or, in the case of true contrition, which is something I think you incapable of, subtract it). If you think my opinions are stupid, you may find a different blog. I’ll not allow myself to be treated this way any longer, however.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  147. Yes it was mire about tillerson, who seemed reluctant to dismiss boa.a holdovers, who let shape the policy on the climate accord on Iran, who dithered over the direct attack on us diplomats in Cuba. Pompeo is more in keeping with the administrations posture on all these issues.

    narciso (d1f714)

  148. It sure looks like Russian agents were behind the poisonings in the UK.

    But why try to goad Trump into sticking his nose into their business? That’s tantamount to a game of Let’s you and him fight.

    Our plate is full, and since we don’t yet have a dog in the fight let’s see the next few cards before we go off half cocked and get embroiled in a tarbaby situation.

    There’s still plenty of time for Uncle Sam to climb on a white horse and play Rescue Ranger.

    ropelight (b18030)

  149. Yes it was mire about tillerson, who seemed reluctant to dismiss boa.a holdovers, who let shape the policy on the climate accord on Iran, who dithered over the direct attack on us diplomats in Cuba. Pompeo is more in keeping with the administrations posture on all these issues.

    Pompeo may be a better choice. I’m not saying Tillerson was doing a good job. But, as Washington Consensus guy Erick Erickson pointed out, the timing sends Putin the wrong message.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  150. When would have been the right time, a year from now when Iran has for the bomb I would say he’s been too patient

    narciso (d1f714)

  151. In fact, if you recall, I did precisely this the first time you started tossing grade-school taunts at me.
    Dave (445e97) — 3/15/2018 @ 4:42 pm

    Well, that’s some selective memory on display.

    Stashiu3 (466cdf)

  152. So if it pans out, should we go to war over this, this doesnt involve a few dozen nuclear weapons as in North korea

    narciso (d1f714)

  153. Do you guys know anything about a mini indoor shuffleboard game that uses cornmeal on the playing surface? I just saw one tonight. Maybe the cornmeal makes it an indoor tabletop curling rink.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  154. Pinandpuller,

    When I was young they used sawdust where I lived, but yes, I’ve seen them.

    Stashiu3 (466cdf)

  155. For the second time in two weeks a guy from New York asked me where to buy cocaine.

    Why, because I’m white!!!???

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  156. Yes the guardian the post and the times, had no problem when assuange was burning allies, and programs, yet when it came to their favorite source of rizzotto, now it’s personal

    narciso (d1f714)

  157. Pinandpuller,

    When I was young they used sawdust where I lived, but yes, I’ve seen them.

    Stashiu3 (466cdf) — 3/15/2018 @ 7:06 pm

    Whatever it’s called has to be three steps above Corn Hole.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  158. The cornmeal is so the biscuits don’t stick. It’s a good game if you play jelly-side up. BTW, you must clean the surface often with a Dyson battery powered squeegee.

    Rev.Hoagie (1b0402)

  159. @163. For the second time in two weeks a guy from New York asked me where to buy cocaine.

    Was his name Larry?

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  160. UPDATE: He sounds like a wind-up toy reciting memorized lines because he’s forced to, but this is still a good thing to see:

    I guess it’s asking too much for him to sound as upset about it as, say, black football players taking a knee. But hey. Baby steps.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  161. @161. Do you guys know anything about a mini indoor shuffleboard game that uses cornmeal on the playing surface? I just saw one tonight. Maybe the cornmeal makes it an indoor tabletop curling rink.

    If you’re serious, yes, seen them. A mini-electronic bowling game in a bar.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  162. @169. Dress for success; a pocket garnish makes the man.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  163. A mini-electronic bowling game in a bar.
    DCSCA (797bc0) — 3/15/2018 @ 7:19 pm

    This is absolutely not the same thing. Not electric, not bowling… shuffleboard. Usually a ball-bearing in a plastic or rubber ring that you roll towards a triangular diagram at the other end while trying not to go off the end (and some games have gutters on the sides so you can’t play bank shots.)

    Stashiu3 (466cdf)

  164. After the has attack on Syria, didn’t you chose him for acting too much out of emotion, that’s not what he was elected for?

    narciso (d1f714)

  165. @172. No going to argue w/you; the one at the bar in Meadville, PA, a way back in the day, was a bowling game w/a steel puck and a shaker full of cornmeal along side the game for the patrons to use. Whether the owner kept it there to absorb beer spills or such, who knows. But that was the set up and it was a quarter a game.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  166. No going to argue w/you; the one at the bar in Meadville, PA, a way back in the day, was a bowling game w/a steel puck and a shaker full of cornmeal along side the game for the patrons to use. Whether the owner kept it there to absorb beer spills or such, who knows. But that was the set up and it was a quarter a game.

    Sounds like probably for use on hands, perhaps to help with grip and/or release.

    Talcum powder is often used in real bowling.

    Dave (445e97)

  167. Our plate is full, and since we don’t yet have a dog in the fight
    We do have a dog in this fight. In fact, a whole Iditarod teamful of dogs.

    BTW, I don’t usually agree with SWC, and I never agree with his style, but I do agree with him about Bolton. I don’t like Bolton, but my problems with Bolton stem from the fact that he’s hawkish on everything. I don’t think you can call him soft on Putin.

    Kishnevi (3e3b90)

  168. 175. It was a very old game– mechanical but plugged in for the lights and counter when the mechanism recorded the puck going over the ‘pins.’ Early 70s in an old bar- game had to be 30 years older still– the corn meal, which we never game much thought to other than it seems a little granular for the ‘alley’– added to the sweep up after closing and was tossed around when beer was spilled- the steel puck was heavy and could be banked off the sides to pick up spares. Spent wayyyyyy too much time and money renting beer playing that w/frat bros through college.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  169. Re. 169, did I call it or what (@#78)?

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  170. BTW, I don’t usually agree with SWC, and I never agree with his style, but I do agree with him about Bolton. I don’t like Bolton, but my problems with Bolton stem from the fact that he’s hawkish on everything. I don’t think you can call him soft on Putin.

    Correct. Which is why I never said anything about Bolton. Not one word.

    See, you’re paying attention to SWC’s mischaracterizations of what I wrote instead of what I actually wrote. And it’s people’s tendency to do that, that causes me to get annoyed by the persistent mischaracterizations.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  171. That might be something else for him to think about during his one-week-minimum vacation from this blog.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  172. Do you guys know anything about a mini indoor shuffleboard game that uses cornmeal on the playing surface? I just saw one tonight. Maybe the cornmeal makes it an indoor tabletop curling rink.

    Like Stashiu3, I have seen it with sawdust. Not cornmeal.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  173. Spent wayyyyyy too much time and money renting beer playing that w/frat bros through college.

    We spent our time playing El Dorado.

    Dave (445e97)

  174. @182. LOL Wow, D, — hate to admit it, but that game is too new for my era. Pinball games never lasted – perpetual ’tilt’ and inevitably the top glass got cracked. Same w/candy vending machines. Only thing that seemed indestructibly durable– and truly missed– is a old, red Coca-Cola machine, about chest high, that dispensed those smaller, nickel bottles of Coca-Cola and Fanta. Just the right size for those hangover Sundays. Amazed in retrospect the local bottler managed to pick up the empties in wooden crates provide refills w/those smaller sized bottles into the mid-70s. No cans. Only bottles. Such was the life in W. Pa, back in the day.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  175. i decided to quit my job and join the army and take up arms against the russian hordes

    would one of you guys please to feed my turtles?

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  176. Good…ness. Pin asks about shuffleboard, DCSCA replies electronic bowling machine, I say these are not the same, and DCSCA doubles-down with electronic bowling machine while saying he’s not going to argue. If there is a clearer example of a disconnect from reality by him, please don’t share it.

    I know there are electronic bowling machines DCSCA, I’ve played them in the past. Yes, they are exactly as you described. No, that is not what Pinandpuller asked about, so your answer made as much sense as Dart Board or Cherry Pie. A shuffleboard is not a bowling game. That’s all I was saying.

    By the way, the sawdust (and I expect cornmeal would serve a similar purpose) was explained by my friend’s father, who had a shuffleboard table in the basement next to his bar, as helping keep the thin balsa wood planks dry and inhibit warping. I don’t know if that’s the official reason or if it was just a custom that had no purpose.

    Stashiu3 (466cdf)

  177. Re. 169, did I call it or what (@#78)?

    Thanks for playing! (@#7)

    🙂

    Dave (445e97)

  178. Like Bill Murray in stripes, out to invade czechoslovakia?

    narciso (d1f714)

  179. they pissed me off Mr. nraciso

    and now they have to pay the price

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  180. oops Mr. narciso I mean

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  181. Correction: Trump’s Pick to Head CIA Did Not Oversee Waterboarding of Abu Zubaydah
    ProPublica erred when it reported in 2017 that Gina Haspel was in charge of a secret prison in Thailand during the infamous interrogation of an al-Qaida suspect.”

    https://www.propublica.org/article/cia-cables-detail-its-new-deputy-directors-role-in-torture

    harkin (df3a15)

  182. @185. Actually, what drew his attention was the corn meal. But do babble on.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  183. Pinball games never lasted – perpetual ’tilt’ and inevitably the top glass got cracked.

    Eh, ElDo was a tough customer.

    It was in the lobby of a dorm housing over 1000 kids, and we were far from gentle with it. Even so, it was probably working at least 95% of the time.

    Dave (445e97)

  184. Like Bill Murray in stripes, out to invade czechoslovakia?

    That’s the FACT, JACK!

    Dave (445e97)

  185. I think they got her confused with the one based on ‘maya’ who Valerie Plame, outed.

    narciso (d1f714)

  186. @192. That’s truly impressive. We had just one very, very old pb game on campus- small college- and it had everything from matchbooks to slivers of wood under its feet trying to keep it from tilting. Hence the trek to the off campus for variety. Then the early home ‘Pong’ game hit the market. $175 if memory serves. Set one up in the frat house– survived three semesters.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  187. Kririkaou, was one of the named sources, he gave up the names of his colleagues to the detainees defense team, which also means it put the lives of their families in danger, this only serves to discourage anyone who would actually come up with data that prevents the next attack, and we’ve seen plenty of small scale examples in the last few years.

    narciso (d1f714)

  188. @157. Since he’s shaking things up via gut check, might as well check your cable teevee listings for any potential personnel. That appears to be the last best hope for recruitment.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  189. Like Linda Douglas at his, Richard stengel (a favorite of morning joke) at state, Eric laws at justice, and at least a dozen others.

    narciso (d1f714)

  190. @198- Trump likes to fast track his favorite fillies, narciso, and Nauert’s career has legs: just promoted to acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, replacing Goldstein. Read a prompter w/headlines in heels and morning eye candy gives you a future w/t Foreign Service in Trumpland. Rex shudda tried Nair.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  191. The cornmeal is so the biscuits don’t stick. It’s a good game if you play jelly-side up. BTW, you must clean the surface often with a Dyson battery powered squeegee.

    Rev.Hoagie (1b0402) — 3/15/2018 @ 7:14 pm

    Can happyfeet use rice cakes? I think he’s gluten free.

    Pinandpuller (efb6e4)

  192. Was his name Larry?

    DCSCA (797bc0) — 3/15/2018 @ 7:15 pm

    Larry…Tony…Donny…any one of the Backstreet Boys.

    Pinandpuller (efb6e4)

  193. According to an alert posted Thursday by the Department of Homeland Security, Russia has been targeting our energy and other infrastructure with cyber attacks for at least the last two years:

    Russian Government Cyber Activity Targeting Energy and Other Critical Infrastructure Sectors

    Since at least March 2016, Russian government cyber actors—hereafter referred to as “threat actors”—targeted government entities and multiple U.S. critical infrastructure sectors, including the energy, nuclear, commercial facilities, water, aviation, and critical manufacturing sectors.

    A vast amount of technical detail follows.

    Dave (445e97)

  194. Show no mercy, Happyfeet!

    Dave (445e97)

  195. This is absolutely not the same thing. Not electric, not bowling… shuffleboard. Usually a ball-bearing in a plastic or rubber ring that you roll towards a triangular diagram at the other end while trying not to go off the end (and some games have gutters on the sides so you can’t play bank shots.)

    Stashiu3 (466cdf) — 3/15/2018 @ 7:28 pm
    A five foot long, maybe an 18 inch wide “court” with gutters on each side. What are the pieces called, pucks? The size of a mini bagel. Lots of cornmeal. I could have slapped out a great pie for sure.

    Pinandpuller (efb6e4)

  196. @202. Give it a plug. Generate interest. Spark controversy.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  197. @176. I don’t like Bolton, but my problems with Bolton stem from the fact that he’s hawkish on everything. I don’t think you can call him soft on Putin.

    But you can call him ‘president’…

    Ambassador John Bolton – The President of Red Eye:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQDRHqTD6WQ

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  198. “It looks like we have a Russian agent commenting here under the name of Tellurian.

    Hey, Tellurian! Did you also astroturf, tweet and Facebook for Putin during the election? And were you pro-Trump, anti-Trump or both?”

    Laugh it up, fuzzball, you have nothing to refute the fact that NO ONE HAS ANY CONFIRMED RUSSIAN SAMPLES TO COMPARE THIS CHEMICAL AGENT TO.

    The dude I linked is British himself, and he’s had plenty of smarter interlocuters than you:

    https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/03/bothered-by-midgies/

    Note that Britain has ‘promised to submit’ samples, hasn’t submitted them already.

    It’s a big nothing that Trump will vaguely go along with to get along with before he rightly drops it for lack of any sustained interest in declaring war on a large nuclear power.

    Tellurian (a3c41a)

  199. I like this comment that lays our more likely suspects:

    “1. Russian dissident oligarchs: loads of money; baleful influence and financial tentacles extend into the very heart of the UK establishment; all sorts of dodgy connections in the former Soviet Union; zero scruples; hate Putin.
    2. Ukraine: fascist regime; involved in a war with Russia already; just as likely to have access to old Soviet Novichok (if it exists) as Russia; just as capable of manufacturing it as Russia if it doesn’t; zero scruples; hate Putin.
    3. Turkey: angry because they’re losing a proxy war with Russia in Syria; already have their own chemical weapons programme; perfectly capable of manufacturing this stuff; previous in targeted assassinations; zero scruples; hate Putin.
    4. Saudi Arabia: angry because they’re losing a proxy war with Russia in Syria; loads of money; baleful influence and financial tentacles extend into the very heart of the UK establishment; happy to export or facilitate terrorism anywhere in the world including their supposed ‘allies’; zero scruples; hate Putin.
    5. Anti-Trump forces in the US: Demented in their obsession with ‘Trump-Russia’ collusion; angry because they’re losing a proxy war with Russia in Syria; already have access to Soviet Novichok (if it exists); perfectly capable of manufacturing it if it doesn’t; previous in targeted assassinations; zero scruples; hate Putin.
    6. Israel: angry because they’re losing a proxy war with Russia in Syria; probably the best military/scientific capability in the world; certainly capable of manufacturing this stuff; previous in targeted assassinations; zero scruples when pursuing what they believe to be their own best interests; hate Putin.”

    Tellurian (a3c41a)

  200. I saw T Graham Brown’s tour bus in a Target parking lot tonight. That either means his house is in Branson or he’s homeless. He’s got a lot in common with John Bolton I think.

    T Graham Brown and Tanya Tucker Don’t Go Out

    Pinandpuller (efb6e4)

  201. @208. A non-denial denial. Dining tip: try the ice cream made from non-homogenized milk peddled at GUM Department Store.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  202. “A non-denial denial. Dining tip: try the ice cream made from non-homogenized milk peddled at GUM Department Store”

    Since I’m not actually a Russian agent with full knowledge of the event and you’re not actually a Noble FBI Investigator conducting an Exciting Third Act Interrogation, how about you drop the pathetic TV movie act and actually research what chemical signatures exist that PROVE Russia is the one who did this.

    Or, for that matter, how exactly the poisoning happened:

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5507959/Thirteen-days-detectives-know-spy-poisoned.html

    “Finally: to those who say that Trump is just being diplomatic in refusing to personally criticize Putin, I ask: why doesn’t he have the same compunctions about criticizing the head of state in our closest ally: the United Kingdom?”

    The UK administrative state was close allies with US leftists and neocons in their various hare-brained foreign policy schemes. Neither of them are favored in the current administration, given all the money and lives they wasted on dubious causes with little to no long-term profit for anyone but neocons and leftists.

    “Trump has had no problem personally saying that he would have been tougher than Theresa May on Brexit negotiations, or implying through Twitter that she is insufficiently tough on terrorism.”

    Don’t be dense, this thinking is 2000s-tier. Terrorism and Brexit negotiations are in fact clear and present existential threats to the UK as a nation, possible-maybe retaliation against possible-maybe Russian spies are not. Looking weak to a large Muslim population in your own cities and to your immediate trading and business partners, to say nothing of your own voters, is YUGE. Looking weak to a guy whose net trackable effect has been negligible compared to the clear and present dangers in your own country is NBD.

    Tellurian (a3c41a)

  203. @212. Recommend the vanilla.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  204. “Agents” are the low-level operatives. The ones tasked with stealing information or diseminating disinformation. Like Snowden or Manning. They aren’t allowed to know much in case they’re caught. They just do what they’re told. Most often, they’re traitors like the aforementioned sissy-boys. Strange the affinity Putin has for that type. Sissy-boys.

    nk (9651fb)

  205. No, if you’re asking that question, I would think “Yes He Took It Up the…”, but that’s probably the Russian Foreign Service equivalent of CPD rooks starting in Harrison or Englewood out of the academy.

    urbanleftbehind (ddcc04)

  206. It’s amazing how poorly Trump is doing. He just can’t lead his administration. A powerful office like the presidency has a lot of delegation, a lot of brilliant people, a lot of ego, and a need for strong leadership. We’re just not seeing any.

    Trump has done great passing the responsibility for judicial nominations. He is a capable follower. That’s the consolation prize and it’s a big one, but he’s just not a leader. None of his people actually respect him. Defending him requires a self-mocking display of contradictions and nastiness like Happyfeet offers, or constantly mischaracterizing what you’re criticizing.

    Compare Reagan’s honesty about Russia to Trump’s simpering, ingratiating weakness. Trump is afraid of offending Russia instead of being the American President that Russians have to contend with. It’s very instructive that he’s the man with the big button when he’s talking to failed states like North Korea, but when it comes to global powers like China or Russia, his demeanor changes completely.

    And Trump’s critics in the GOP explained this a couple of years ago. The guy with the gigantic gold name on his plane, and the constant need to surround himself with sycophants is weak. We should have nominated a ham sandwich.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  207. 6. Israel: angry because they’re losing a proxy war with Russia in Syria; probably the best military/scientific capability in the world; certainly capable of manufacturing this stuff; previous in targeted assassinations; zero scruples when pursuing what they believe to be their own best interests; hate Putin.”

    Tellurian (a3c41a) — 3/16/2018 @ 1:29 am

    A lot of hidden paranoia and dumb crap in this one. Yeah, the Jews killed Putin’s critic in their devious Jew schemes.

    Nice troll at least. Everyone knows Putin has been killing people for years. No one who denies it is here in good faith. It’s a discussion about what to do about it, not whether it happened.

    The fact that we know Russia pays dumb people to troll the internet only makes these comments a little more interesting.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  208. poor doddering Reagan wasn’t honest about Russia at all

    he was honest about the Soviet Union

    the Russia what we see today’s just a withered husk of what it used to be a part of

    it’s just another corrupt dirty petrostate like Saudi Arabia

    nevertrump demeans failmerica greatly by elevating Russia to the status it does

    and our slutty tranny trash mattis military goes along with this cause they love having a distraction from the North Korean problem they’re entirely unprepared to confront

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  209. Going to California Leaving California by Led Balloon

    In younger days had a goal in my mind
    Teh hippies around me didn’t know to schiff
    or go blind
    But made up my mind to make a new start
    Leavin’ California with a raging in my heart
    Most folks vote and put the Dems in power
    This place is a mess and it’ll soon be
    our darkest hour
    Put my stuff in a moving van
    Flip teh bird to Grandpa Moonbeam
    teh crazy man
    The sea was blue and the sky was too
    Paradise lost and all due to this Crazy Crew
    The mountains and the canyons started to tremble and shake
    But teh children of the sun just got baked
    Seems that the wrath of the Gods
    Ain’t enough to wake up
    To even let it sink in
    Throw us a line, you know we’d do it for you
    We’ll meet you some place where the path
    Runs straight and true

    Colonel Haiku (33b771)

  210. poor doddering Reagan wasn’t honest about Russia at all

    he was honest about the Soviet Union

    Bwahahahahaha

    That’s funny even for you, and you’re funny.

    There’s not that much difference between the two names for one country that brutally concentrated wealth and power in the hands of the elite and corrupt.

    the Russia what we see today’s just a withered husk

    Economically this is true, but Trump has really helped boost Russia on the world stage. He’ll go down as the worst president in American history, easily.

    our slutty tranny trash mattis military

    Yeah yeah yeah, Romney is a pedophile, women you don’t like are slutty oozing coozes or whatever it is you say, and our military is as horrible as you can imagine. We get it. You hate America, plain and simple. You are not our friend and we do not like you.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  211. how exactly has President Trump boosted Russia?

    he slaughtered their minions in Syria

    he’s expanded American oil and gas production to historical highs

    he’s arming Ukraine

    and he’s gamely trying to redirect the focus of our incompetent military from climate change to national security

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  212. Seeing as they shutdown nukes in 1999, the original test site, who knows what has been going with sikhany, all these years,

    The soviet union was a terrifying power with a vast occupying army not only in eastern Europe, but in south east Asia with proxies in africa.
    Central America, et al. It truly was an evil empire.

    narciso (d1f714)

  213. Of course back then, they were throwing the Vietnam card about central America, in southern africa the outgoing warlord zuma was head of the umkhonto du ziswe, mugabe was the beneficiary in part of the west turning away from the elim massacre, related in Griffiths the axe and the tree, of which I’ve linked earlier.

    narciso (d1f714)

  214. What happened in the past soviet union, was thanks to summers and Sachs who let the komsomol junior bureaucrats and oprichniki (security and military) become the oligarchs and the siloviki, by appropriating the country’s wealth. Putin with a very minor functionary in drezden, sechin in Mozambique,

    narciso (d1f714)

  215. Democrats and simpatico #NeverTrump assist Putin and Russia in a very big way.

    They do it:
    1) by demeaning both the Prez and the office
    2) by sowing the same sort of dissension and discord the Russians hoped to achieve in the run-up to the election, only difference is that the Democrats, #NeverTrump and the Media have done so much of it after their dreams were dashed on the rocks in November 2016.
    3) by maintaining a level of energy as they do this crap with a remarkably hate-filled exuberance.

    Colonel Haiku (33b771)

  216. Their thinking is summarized by one of their chief intellectuals and strategists…

    “But resist we much… we must… and we will much… about… that… be committed.”

    Colonel Haiku (33b771)

  217. Its just the total lack of perspective that galls.

    narciso (d1f714)

  218. A plague on all their houses…

    Colonel Haiku (33b771)

  219. Louise Slaughter appears to have died

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  220. 1) by demeaning both the Prez and the office

    bwahahahahahaha

    yeah we really made Trump look less like the sterling man of patriotism and honor.

    LOLOLOLOL

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  221. in terms of patriotism and honor President Trump contrasts very favorably with a treasonous war hero coward like John McCain who collaborated with the Russians in a bizarre scheme to use a discredited dossier to blackmail the duly elected president of the United States

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  222. Dustin, that last bit really did make my head spin, after 8 years of Obama, and the way that people wrote about him, here.

    I just wish there would be less vulgarity and nastiness here, but that ain’t never gonna happen.

    Trump is really a mirror held up to the Right, I think.

    I would like to think that this mess would make all parties think about the kinds of people that merit support for President. But that is wishful thinking. The Powers that Be like us all fighting and sniping and not looking up.

    Nice to see your comments.

    Simon Jester (ca9668)

  223. And this applies to much, much more than windows:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broken_windows_theory

    In fact, it explains what has happened here, in my opinion, and many other places.

    Simon Jester (ca9668)

  224. they’re not even real windows they’re just metaphor ones

    this is why you can’t trust wikipedia

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  225. 231… there’s no doubt Trump’s a special case and – more often than not- his own worst enemy. However, that does not negate what I’ve stated, that is exactly what has happened and is happening still.

    Colonel Haiku (33b771)

  226. So if interested in the issue of “collusion”, there’s your collusion.

    Colonel Haiku (33b771)

  227. This is all such nonsense. One minute Trump is accused of being a warmonger, the next of being in the dictator’s pocket. It is all so stupid and endless.

    I get it. You hate Trump. We get it. Sheesh. Guess what, I don’t like Trump either. Yet you don’t see me getting silly about it.

    Ever apologize to someone, and because you didn’t use exactly the right codes words, in exactly the right sequence, it “doesn’t count”. Don’t we think people like that are…well…have a lot more issues than whether someone did them wrong?

    George Orwell's Ghost (a815b9)

  228. And if some folks think we’re no better off now than after 8 years of 0bama, they’re wearing blinders.

    Colonel Haiku (33b771)

  229. A lot of backyards in need of cleaning…

    Colonel Haiku (33b771)

  230. everyone who says you hate President Trump I’m writing your name down in my notebook

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  231. Trump – kills Russians in Syria, arms Ukraine, smashes oil prices, gets Nato to spend more on defense = in Russia’s pocket.

    Obama – reset button, colludes with Russian spies, will have more flexibility after the election, drops sanctions, does not act on election interference = wise and fair leader.

    George Orwell's Ghost (a815b9)

  232. And if some folks think we’re no better off now than after 8 years of 0bama, they’re wearing blinders.

    I think most everyone knows we’re better off, only for some it was done by a candidate they didn’t support —and for that offense, Trump can never be forgiven.

    random viking (6a54c2)

  233. Two Million Americans Got Off Food Stamps In Trump’s First Year

    this is good because being on food stamps is shameful and degrading to where everyone knows you’re a loser 🙁

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  234. From Mueller on down, this is a schiffshow.

    Colonel Haiku (33b771)

  235. And stay safe out there, Dustin.

    Colonel Haiku (33b771)

  236. Thanks, Simon and Haiku. Best wishes to you guys.

    I am no better than anyone else in that I do compare Trump to the alternatives. I think Trump’s judicial appointments (which are much better than anticipated) make it clear he was a better choice than Hillary and his impact will be better than Obama’s. But that doesn’t really mean Trump is acceptable and I love my country too much to just let partisanship lower the bar.

    Both parties need to get their crap together. The democrats could move to being a party of freedom and restraint and wipe the floor with the GOP, but they push leftward as far as they can. I have no idea what the GOP is about these days.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  237. Dustin, I think they are about opposite. You know?

    Simon Jester (c8876d)

  238. Lessee,

    One commenter, who is usually quite constructive in his arguments, calls the host’s post “stoopid funny” and is given a time out.

    Another commenter, who rarely posts anything of interest, posts a gratuitous sexist (and probably racial) slur about a woman unconnected to anything under discussion (“new royal breeding receptacle“) and nothing is said.

    Sometimes I just don’t understand the world.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  239. I don’t understand your second point, either, Kevin M. But it’s not our site.

    I wish everyone was civil, but that’s me. Other people don’t care.

    Again, not my site.

    Simon Jester (c8876d)

  240. some people are public figures for example race car drivers and tv chefs and throne-sniffing breeding receptacles

    these people are “the talk of the town” as they say

    but if you circumscribe the talk of the town it’s not the talk of the town anymore it’s just narrative 🙁

    (i abjure the ascendancy of narrative over authenticity)

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  241. So, it looks like the Flynn case has serious problems. The now-recused JUDGE who accepted Flynn’s guilty plea was friends with — and apparently had ex parte communication with — now-fired FBI agent Strzok whose testimony was the sole support for the charge Flynn pled guilty to.

    The judge was also recently appointed to the FISA court and there are emails between Strzok and Page colluding on how to approach him to discuss cases, apparently with input from the judge himself.

    http://thefederalist.com/2018/03/16/revealed-peter-strzok-had-personal-relationship-with-recused-judge-in-michael-flynn-case/

    Flynn’s guilty plea was accepted in federal court by Contreras on December 1, 2017. The New York Times reported the next day that Strzok, who left the FBI to work for special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, had been removed from the case by Mueller due to inappropriate text messages between Strzok and another federal official, now believed to be DOJ attorney Lisa Page. On December 5, 2017, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote a letter to FBI director Christopher Wray demanding text messages from Strzok as well as any notes he took regarding his interviews with Flynn. Contreras was recused from the Flynn case on December 7, 2017, and the case was reassigned to Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, according to federal court documents.

    Neither Contreras nor federal judiciary officials have publicly indicated the reason for Contreras’ removal from the case. Contreras’ office declined to comment on inquiries asking about his relationship with Strzok, or why he was not recused from the Flynn case until after he had accepted Flynn’s guilty plea.

    The pre-existing relationship between Strzok and Contreras and Contreras’ mysterious recusal from the Flynn case, forced or otherwise, raise serious questions about whether Flynn’s case, among others, was properly conducted.

    The text messages that show Page and Strzok conspiring to meet with Contreras were originally hidden from Congress. In records provided by DOJ to Congress, the exchanges referencing Contreras, and plans to meet with him under the guise of a cocktail party, were completely redacted by federal law enforcement officials. The exchanges obtained by The Federalist include information that was never turned over to Congress.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  242. Simon, our host certainly has the right to insist that people are civil towards him, and him alone. I just wish there was a little less latitude than there is, particularly with respect to commenters the host himself has on his ignore list.

    Happyfeet clearly thinks women are lesser beings — his misogyny is frequent and well-known. I cannot see why it is tolerated though, again considering how little else he brings.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  243. Bringing it to the attention of our host with an email containing a link might be in order. Considering his longevity here, and history of making similar comments (I still remember when Sarah Palin’s daughter became pregnant), this is something outside my scope as moderator. As Simon Jester said, not my site and I have to be careful about forcing what I view as acceptable upon it. I’m not as nice as Patterico and would probably have given myself a timeout or two for comments of my own.

    Stashiu3 (466cdf)

  244. i love women very much and indeed I often exalt them for example i like the ones who are smart and funny

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  245. 252… veddy interrrestinnnnk! The plot – and it is a PLOT – thickens…

    Colonel Haiku (33b771)

  246. Dustin, Dave, etc:

    Question: Do you accept that Trump was duly elected President?

    Kevin M (752a26)

  247. the utter demolition of whatever respect these FISA clowns may have once enjoyed is part of food stamp’s legacy of corruption Mr. Colonel

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  248. How Russia delivered the nerve gas maybe:

    http://matzav.com/russian-nerve-agent-was-planted-in-suitcase-of-spys-daughter/

    The Russian nerve agent used to poison former spy Sergei Skripal was planted in his daughter’s suitcase before she returned from a trip to Moscow, British investigators said in a report.

    Senior intelligence sources told the Telegraph UK they believe the lethal toxin Novichok — Russian for “newcomer “– was placed in an item of Skripal’s clothing, cosmetics or in a gift that was opened in her Salisbury home — to target her double agent dad.

    Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia Skripal, 33, were found slumped over on a bench in Salisbury, UK, on March 4 and remain in stable but critical condition at a local hospital.

    If so, the intention would have been for all this to occur in private.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  249. LOL. So talking about the possibility of arranging dinner with an old friend, with no indication that any such get together ever happened, much less that anything improper took place, is now “conspiracy” and “collusion”.

    But a meeting between family and campaign staff with Russian agents, set up with the express, stated purpose of illegally transferring information from the Russian government to aid the Trump campaign, isn’t.

    George Orwell, call your office.

    Dave (445e97)

  250. Question: Do you accept that Trump was duly elected President?

    Yes.

    Dave (445e97)

  251. LOL. So talking about the possibility of arranging dinner with an old friend, with no indication that any such get together ever happened, much less that anything improper took place, is now “conspiracy” and “collusion”.

    “[REDACTED] suggested a social setting with others would probably be better than a one on one meeting,” Strzok told Page. “I’m sorry, I’m just going to have to invite you to that cocktail party.”

    If “Contreras” leads that sentence then, yes. Hard to see why any other name would be redacted. Contreras was pulled off the Flynn case 2 days after Grassley asked for Strzok’s text messages, which had originally been withheld and/or redacted.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  252. @219. the Russia what we see today’s just a withered husk of what it used to be a part of… nevertrump demeans failmerica greatly by elevating Russia to the status it does

    There’s a McDonald’s in Red Square, Mr. Feet. We won.

    And our Captain will feel right at home on his next visit.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  253. yes yes and there’s Nashville hot chicken in LA!!!

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  254. @219. Correction to 263, Mr. Feet! Oh my. The big, bad Soviet Union said da to the Big Mac. But Russia has said nyet and closed the Golden Archs. Is Vlad a vegetarian or a Burger King!?

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  255. oh that’s interesting Mr. DCSCA

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  256. @266. It’s an act of war, Mr. Feet!!

    Moskva News Agency: Russian Lawmaker Wants to Label McDonald’s a ‘Foreign Agent’

    ‘Less than 72 hours after pushing through legislation that could see international news outlets branded “foreign agents,” Russian lawmakers are reportedly setting their sights on American fast food chains. Parliament overwhelmingly passed amendments this month that allow the government to label news outlets funded from abroad “foreign agents.” The bill, which President Vladimir Putin is expected to sign into law, is a response to Washington requiring Kremlin-backed media to register as a “foreign agent” in the United States. State Duma Deputy Boris Chernyshov, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) said the same label should apply to McDonald’s, KFC and other American fast food restaurant chains operating in Russia. Chernyshov told the RBC business portal on Friday that he had sent a letter to Russia’s food and media watchdog proposing that ads for the fast food chains be marked as belonging to a foreign agent. The next step, he suggested, would be to include fast food chains in the foreign agent registry. “Research has shown that food sold by American fast-food restaurants is damaging to people’s health,” Chernyshov said. “But ads show only the positive side of consuming these products.” Chernyshov was cited by Russian media on Friday criticizing the chains for contributing to the decline of Russian cuisine.

    Vodka, borscht and Chicken Kiev for the masses, Mr. Feet!

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  257. i love Russian Tea Time here – there’s no end to that menu

    but i have no idea how authentic it is

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  258. Dustin, Dave, etc:

    Question: Do you accept that Trump was duly elected President?

    Kevin M (752a26) — 3/16/2018 @ 11:58 am

    Of course.

    But consider the evidence that it was not. The man in charge, Donald Trump, told us that the 2016 presidential election was not reliable, and in fact was “rigged.” He spent years questioning Obama’s election, demanding proof of his eligibility for office. Trump also questioned his primary challenger Cruz’s eligibility, even associating his dad with assassination plot conspiracies.

    I’m just some average joe here. I don’t have Donald Trump’s access to how presidential elections work, or his phalanx of lawyers and election monitors. If President Trump says the 2016 election was rigged, I suppose that should give me some pause.

    Do I need to point out I’m being sarcastic?

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  259. @268. Oh my, Mr. Feet, like father, like son: Donald Jr., and his better half have filed for divorce. Can an ex-wife testify against her ex-husband in court?!

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  260. Dustin (ba94b2) — 3/16/2018 @ 1:02 pm

    Damn. Now I’m not so sure anymore.

    Another thing the man in charge told us was that millions upon millions of illegals aliens voted.

    How do we know for sure who they voted for? Donald Trump is the true friend of the downtrodden, minorities and ESPECIALLY Hispanics – he told us so himself. How do we know that Hispanics didn’t return the love, and that a plurality of these millions of illegal votes didn’t go to him, accounting for his razor-thin margins of victory in PA, WI and MI?

    I afraid we don’t.

    Dave (445e97)

  261. *I’m

    🙁

    Dave (445e97)

  262. Thats possible, but more likely he used his boxing and sports world bling connections (and tributary connections to black Cali gangs) to encourage blacks to stay home or blank the top of the ballot.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  263. Mrs Trump jr might be filing for divorce to protect herself and the kiddies from assasination per Benjamin Linus s5 Lost.

    Pinandpuller (bbb069)

  264. Donald Jr., and his better half have filed for divorce.

    actually she filed for divorce

    she’s another one of those idiot bimbos what would rather make a spectacle out of herself than hang in there until the timing’s better for the kids

    see also Deidre Scaramucci

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  265. but yes all the evidence we have suggests divorce is hereditary

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  266. actually she filed for divorce

    she’s another one of those idiot bimbos what would rather make a spectacle out of herself than hang in there until the timing’s better for the kids

    see also Deidre Scaramucci

    see also Donald Trump (filed for divorce from the First Lady when Eric was 7, and the Second Lady when Tiffany was 5)

    Dave (445e97)

  267. cowardpig war hero John McCain had a dab hand at divorce as well

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  268. but yes all the evidence we have suggests divorce is hereditary

    happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/16/2018 @ 1:44 pm

    I got mine from my mother.

    Pinandpuller (0a7cbe)

  269. So, two “Yes, but…” which means “No.” Good to know. As Hillary said, questioning that is beyond the pale.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  270. Happyfeet clearly thinks women are lesser beings — his misogyny is frequent and well-known. I cannot see why it is tolerated though, again considering how little else he brings.

    Kevin M (752a26) — 3/16/2018 @ 11:51 am

    I don’t think that’s quite fair. Calling a woman a harridan and a shrew isn’t necessarily misogynistic.

    Bouncer: What if he calls my mother a hoooor?

    Dalton: Is she?

    Pinandpuller (0a7cbe)

  271. she’s another one of those idiot bimbos what would rather make a spectacle out of herself than hang in there until the timing’s better for the kids

    Five babies in 12 years says she paid her dues. The realm has an heir and it is time for her to move on, with her well-earned booty.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  272. P&P, I remind you who made it so you had to spell it “hoooor.”

    Kevin M (752a26)

  273. I don’t know if it totally fits the subject header but I’m watching a Christopher Lambert movie where some ninjas fail to murder him when he witnesses a supposedly Japanese Joan Chen get beheaded.

    He asks the police how it is he survived these ruthless killers and the lady police officer says.”Even monkeys fall from trees.”

    Pinandpuller (0a7cbe)

  274. P&P, I remind you who made it so you had to spell it “hoooor.”

    Kevin M (752a26) — 3/16/2018 @ 2:39 pm

    Lol fair enough but grade school teacher isn’t the only profession dominated by women.

    Pinandpuller (0a7cbe)

  275. shipwreckedcrew’s week of vacation is now a week and one day.

    My guess is that it will continue to go up.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  276. the whirl was created in less time

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  277. Some people accrue vacation more generously than others. Like that McCabe guy.

    Pinandpuller (0a7cbe)

  278. if we did a march madness bracket of people with punchable faces i bet we’d end up with David Hogg vs. Andy McCabe in the final bracket and it would be very controversial because you’re not supposed to do march madness brackets of people with punchable faces

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  279. “yes yes and there’s Nashville hot chicken in LA!!!”

    Guess we know where ConDave is heading…

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  280. What’s special about Nashville fried chicken

    narciso (d1f714)

  281. Nashville Cats Hens

    Nashville hens, they clean as country water
    Nashville hens, they wild as mountain dew
    Nashville hens, been playin’ since they’s babies
    Nashville hens, workin’ streets before they’re two
    Well, there’s thirteen hundred and fifty two
    chicken hookers in Nashville
    And they can walk more streets than the number of ants
    On a Tennessee ant hill
    Yeah, there’s thirteen hundred and fifty two
    chicken hookers in Nashville
    And any one ConDave picks out
    Gonna give ‘im nothin’ but cheep thrills
    Yeah, he was just thirteen, you might say he was a
    sexual proverbial knee-high
    When he saw a couple young-lookin’ birds on the tube
    And they was makin’ his mouth dry
    And the chicken pimpin’ man said every one’s a buncha fun
    and teh price it ain’t real high
    And up north there ain’t nobody buys them
    ConDave said, “But I Will”
    And it was
    Nashville hens, they clean as country water
    Nashville hens, they wild as Mountain Dew
    Nashville hens, been playin’ since they’s babies
    Nashville hens, workin’ streets before they’re two

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  282. Garry K coos w/Coop on CNN this evening; promos ‘Putincom.com’ and when asked about worries over his personal safety, quips, ‘over the years many people ask why I chose NY over London [to live]… they don’t ask anymore.’

    Trust a chess master to make a wise move.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  283. they don’t ask anymore

    This is what we call “tempting fate”.

    Dave (445e97)

  284. @294. No doubt he ‘checks’ over his shoulder a lot anyway.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  285. @293. It’s up on the web already… Patterico might find this engaging…

    KASPAROV-COOPER, ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEW, CNN, 3-16-2018

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF31Dtc1mjk

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  286. Kasparov’s pitch is for:

    https://www.putincon.com

    His advice via CNN to Sarah Huckabee Sanders:’… stop watching Fox News.’

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  287. What’s special about Nashville fried chicken

    narciso (d1f714) — 3/16/2018 @ 5:28 pm

    Long lines with no real payoff. It’s kinda overrated. You can get the same effect if you keep hot sauce in your purse.

    Pinandpuller (868107)

  288. My advice to Kasparov: If you think CNN is your friend, you’re in for a rude awakening.

    random viking (6a54c2)

  289. “A lot of hidden paranoia and dumb crap in this one. Yeah, the Jews killed Putin’s critic in their devious Jew schemes.”

    Funny you should jump on this versus the first five, wondering if there’s like a personal interest there, but to educate you, they’re called Israelis, they have an actual country with an actual history. And not all Israelis are Jews, bigot. (Many are Russian, though, some of them quite nice!)

    “Nice troll at least. Everyone knows Putin has been killing people for years. No one who denies it is here in good faith. It’s a discussion about what to do about it, not whether it happened.”

    Not particularly relevant. The question is: “Do we think it likely that Putin had a strong motivation to kill THIS GUY AND HIS DAUGHTER, over various other international financiers and money-launderers interested in starting conflicts for fun and profit who actually DO live in Britain and would have better contacts and infrastructure to both commit the attack and blame it on Russia?”

    “The fact that we know Russia pays dumb people to troll the internet only makes these comments a little more interesting.”

    I hear the Russian word for paid Internet trolls is ‘hasbara’, you should check it out sometime.

    Dysphoria Sam (a3c41a)

  290. I guess it’s asking too much for him to sound as upset about it as, say, black football players taking a knee.

    Classy, Pat. You sound more and more like Hillary Clinton as time goes on.

    Like the “bitter clingers” who voted for him (and forced the brainless li’l women in their lives to vote for Trump when their lady parts were screaming “No, vote for Hillary!”), Trump just hates black people. Putin on the other hand is a blond of the pale persuasion.

    Raaacism! It’s a desert topping, a floor wax, and it explains the universe.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)


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