Patterico's Pontifications

11/16/2019

Weekend Open Thread

Filed under: General — Dana @ 7:40 am



[guest post by Dana]

While this weekend’s open thread is, directly or indirectly, all about Trump (because that seems to be what readers want to talk about), feel free to talk about anything you think is newsworthy or might interest readers.

I’ll start.

First news item: President Trump issues pardons in war crime cases, despite Pentagon’s opposition:

President Trump intervened in three military justice cases involving war-crimes accusations Friday, issuing at least two full pardons that will prevent the Pentagon from pursuing future charges against the individuals involved, according to two of their lawyers and a U.S. official.

The service members involved were notified by Trump over the phone late Friday afternoon, said the lawyers, who represent Army Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn and former Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward Gallagher, a Navy SEAL. Golsteyn faced a murder trial scheduled for next year, while Gallagher recently was acquitted of murder and convicted of posing with the corpse of an Islamic State fighter in Iraq.

The third service member involved, former 1st Lt. Clint Lorance, was expected to be released from the U.S. Military Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas as soon as Friday night. He was convicted of second-degree murder in 2013, and sentenced to 19 years in prison for ordering his soldiers to open fire on three men in Afghanistan.

[…]

The calls were made at the tail end of a day dominated by impeachment hearings against Trump, and after days of efforts by some senior Pentagon officials to change his mind, according to three U.S. officials. The officials, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that some commanders have raised concerns that Trump’s move will undermine the military justice system.

Second news item: The U.S. is calling on Japan to pay way, way more than they already do to keep U.S. troops stationed there:

The Trump administration is demanding Japan pay four times its annual fee to keep U.S. troops stationed there, according to a new report by Foreign Policy. The new agreement, which would take effect in March 2021 would require Japan to pay $8 billion a year to keep 54,000 U.S. troops stationed to help protect that country. John Bolton reportedly made the demand during a state visit last summer when he was Trump’s national security adviser, but Japan only recently confirmed the request, calling it “unrealistic.” Negotiations for the new agreement will begin in early 2020, according to a U.S. State Dept. spokesperson, who told Foreign Policy, “The President has made clear that allies and partners should contribute more to their shared defense,” adding that the U.S. commitment to Japan’s defense was, however, “unwavering.”

Third news item: Kevin D. Williamson on American politics and the impeachment hearings:

The contradiction at the center of American politics in Anno Domini 2019 is this: The ruling class does not rule.

The impeachment dog-and-pony show in Washington this week is not about how Donald Trump has comported himself as president (grotesquely) any more than early convulsions were about refreshed Democratic interest in the Emoluments Clause or the Hatch Act. President Trump is a throbbing irritation to the sensitivities prevailing in ZIP code 94957, but even the impeachment fight is only a skirmish in the tribal proxy war that goes back to the founding of our republic.

[…]

The cultural tug-o’-war over the presidency is the great American tribal competition in its most concentrated form. The metropolitan elites see the opposite tribe as backward, uneducated, superstitious, addled by religion and race hatred; the rustics and conservatives see the metropolitan elites as meretricious, decadent, and somehow less than authentically American. The question that has occasioned the impeachment of Donald Trump is not whether the president is legitimate but whether his tribe is legitimate. When the rival tribe is understood as being fundamentally illegitimate, then no government arising from that tribe can be understood as legitimate, either, and neither can the political processes that empower that tribe over its rivals.

Fourth news item: President Trump this morning:

(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)

Have a great weekend.

–Dana

64 Responses to “Weekend Open Thread”

  1. Good morning.

    Dana (cb74ca)

  2. gerbil

    mg (ebf6c2)

  3. Oh the building objected? Why did the Pentagon object? I’ll believe all these MSM reports of “opposition” when we see a name attached to the so-called “officials”.

    rcocean (1a839e)

  4. But whatabout…

    felipe (023cc9)

  5. So Williamson is now playing the “lone sane man” in a country of “tribes” at war with each other. Yawn. Looks like he’s trying hard for another “reasonable conservative” Slot in the liberal MSM.

    rcocean (1a839e)

  6. rcocean (1a839e) — 11/16/2019 @ 8:23 am
    Exactly.

    felipe (023cc9)

  7. Shorter Williamson: Can’t we all get along? We need someone who will unite us, by giving the Left what they want – just not as fast as they wish.

    rcocean (1a839e)

  8. I’ll believe all these MSM reports of “opposition” when we see a name attached to the so-called “officials”.

    OK, how about the Secretary of Defense?

    Esper to urge Trump not to intervene in cases of service members facing war crimes allegations

    Dave (1bb933)

  9. The stock market cares far less about President Trump than it does about President Warren.

    Kevin M (19357e)

  10. The stock market cares far less about President Trump than it does about President Warren.

    Tucker Carlson: Elizabeth Warren’s “Economic Patriotism” Plan “Sounds Like Donald Trump At His Best”

    Dave (1bb933)

  11. Hi, Dave. I missed your hello the other day. I wanted to return it now.

    DRJ (15874d)

  12. I’ll believe all these MSM reports of “opposition” when we see a name attached to the so-called “officials”.

    And then you’ll be outraged that military officers are criticizing the CoC — just as Trumpsters have been accusing Vindman (e.g.) of treachery.

    Radegunda (39c35f)

  13. Looks like he’s trying hard for another “reasonable conservative” Slot in the liberal MSM.

    It’s pretty funny how all the loyal Trumpsters think that any conservative who isn’t uncritically devoted to Trump must be trying to win acceptance from the libs.

    Trumpsters can’t imagine (or admit) that someone exercising independent thought and judgment might actually find fault with Trump.

    Radegunda (39c35f)

  14. I thought the Trumpstera were exercising independent thought and judgment.

    felipe (023cc9)

  15. Rcocean’s take on the Williamson article was different than mine. I can’t imagine anyone admitting him to the strange new respect club over this.

    Basically, Williamson’s argument that the impeachment struggle is just tribal seems to rule out that people might actually think Trump’s actions were improper and merited removal and act on that basis. His argument is really the same as Mr. Trump’s defense.

    Appalled (23799e)

  16. Trump’s pardon of the servicemen convicted of war crimes, over objections, is his way of showing the can pardon anybody for anything at anytime, including any number of his inner circle that have been convicted or are awaiting sentencing. And there are several.

    https://www.axios.com/trump-associates-convicted-mueller-investigations-206295a1-5abc-4573-be25-4da19d9adcc9.html

    What are bank and tax fraud, campaign finance and lobbying violations, failure to report as a foreign resresentative or advisor, lying to Congress and the FBI compared to war crimes?

    Of course, the president has the absolute authority to issue pardons, including preemptive pardons for those under investigation. But those only apply to federal crimes, not state crimes.

    That places Giuliani in a pickle, since he’s under investigation by the SDNY, as in Trump himself. (Kushner is under investigation by the EDNY.)

    Can the president pardon himself? Yeah, I suppose, but it would be egregious. Maybe he’s thinking that if the House impeaches him for abuse of office and obstruction of justice (likely), should the Senate convict and remove him (unlikely), Pence will pardon him, like Ford pardoned Nixon.

    The Republicans are in thrall, and it’s going to come back and bite them in upcoming elections.

    Assume the House moves to impeach and the Senate refuses to convict, along strict party lines. Then Trump loses the election. The Democrats increase their majority in the House and retake the Senate, along with multiple state legislatures and governorships. I’m not making a prediction, just a supposition. What happens then?

    Trump will go ballistic and start issuing pardons like a madman, out of spite and vindictiveness.

    I don’t buy into the conspiracy theory that he would refuse to leave office. I think he’d las out and extract vengeance, on Democrats and Republicans. Yes, he is that immature and unfit for office.

    Gawain's Ghost (b25cd1)

  17. ”Basically, Williamson’s argument that the impeachment struggle is just tribal seems to rule out that people might actually think Trump’s actions were improper and merited removal and act on that basis.”
    Appalled (23799e) — 11/16/2019 @ 10:25 am

    Williamson had no problem going full tribal during the Kavanaugh hearings.

    Munroe (4ae3dd)

  18. Trump’s pardon of the servicemen convicted of war crimes

    Two of them had not even faced trial yet, I think.

    Dave (1bb933)

  19. 50 years ago this weekend- Intrepid times; when America truly was “great”:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFSa6vUix70

    Still a thrill; worth a watch: for a ride that’s literally out of this world.

    [The pictures start at 8:38, Donald.]

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  20. Monroe:

    Pro or anti-Kavanaugh? I don’t remember.

    Appalled (1a17de)

  21. On that note, buyer beware:
    http://www.yahoo.com/gma/brett-kavanaugh-address-conservatives-1st-public-speech-justice-201356506.html

    To be fair, Kavanaugh, Gorsuch and Robert’s will rarely disappoint in tandem, but will be the sole turncoat on distinct issues.

    urbanleftbehind (e1ebc1)

  22. An interesting article I came across last week on corporations, prices, and the free market.

    https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/13/20959216/thomas-philippon-economist-interview-internet-access-vergecast

    Nic (896fdf)

  23. Trump blasts ambassador as she testifies, prompting intimidation warning from Schiff
    Even as ousted U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch warned Friday about the national security risks of publicly undermining American diplomats, President Trump took to Twitter to discredit her, handing Democrats additional ammunition for their impeachment case.
    Yovanovitch, the latest career diplomat to testify publicly in the House impeachment inquiry, largely accomplished what Democrats hoped she would in their second day of public hearings. The State Department veteran, who was recalled in May amid a flurry of unfounded rumors that she was anti-Trump, put a sympathetic face on the investigation as she described her confusion and despair at being abruptly sidelined. …..

    As she testified, Trump went on Twitter to criticize her and defend his right to hire and fire ambassadors at will. He claimed without evidence “that everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad,” disparaging her previous service in Somalia as well as her work in Ukraine.

    Trump’s tweet marked a stark change from his reaction to the first hearing Wednesday, when he was silent on Twitter and said he had not watched. He said Friday he saw part of the hearing and found it to be a “disgrace.” Trump has defended his actions regarding Ukraine and dismissed the impeachment inquiry as politically motivated. …….

    Trump’s attack on a well-regarded career foreign service employee while she was testifying about efforts to stop corruption overseas was immediately seen by some as a misstep. Republicans said privately they did not want to appear to be bullying Yovanovitch because it wouldn’t help their cause.

    “The president kind of blew up any Republican plan to treat the witness with respect,” the former Republican chairman of the Intelligence Committee, Mike Rogers, said on CNN. “It’s really kind of shocking.”

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Former independent counsel Kenneth Starr, who led the inquiry into President Clinton, called Trump’s tweet “quite injurious.”

    “I must say the president was not advised by counsel in deciding to do this tweet. Extraordinarily poor judgment,” Starr said on Fox News.

    Trump’s attack on Yovanovitch not only put him in jeopardy of incurring more charges in the impeachment case, it also risked backfiring politically. The president is increasingly unpopular among suburban women, who have been upset by his track record of attacking women and could be a key demographic in the 2020 election. …..

    Rip Murdock (22ba8e)

  24. Yovanovitch threw hunter and joe biden under the bus and nancy pelosi’s son paul will be next to have been involved in nepotism in the ukraine.

    asset (18403a)

  25. the rustics and conservatives see the metropolitan elites as meretricious, decadent, and somehow less than authentically American.

    Funny (as in funny/strange not funny/ha ha), that’s how I see a certain Fifth Avenue fancy boy who’s had numerous adulterous affairs (that’s what “meretricious” means for you guys in the red hats and duct tape), has a gold-plated 757 to fly to his resorts, golf courses, and casinos, pals around with America’s enemies, and betrays America’s allies.

    nk (dbc370)

  26. I’m still wondering what Hunter Biden’s crime was, and why the DOJ couldn’t investigate him?

    Rip Murdock (22ba8e)

  27. “The question that has occasioned the impeachment of Donald Trump is not whether the president is legitimate but whether his tribe is legitimate.”

    True enough, although the converse is also true, and deserves exploration far beyond a few underused adjectives:

    “Funny (as in funny/strange not funny/ha ha), that’s how I see a certain Fifth Avenue fancy boy who’s had numerous adulterous affairs (that’s what “meretricious” means for you guys in the red hats and duct tape)”

    Did he have those affairs while pretending to be anything other than a billionaire playboy? Any of them while assuming and performing the duties and roles of his office?

    Also:
    mer·e·tri·cious
    /ˌmerəˈtriSHəs/
    1.
    apparently attractive but having in reality no value or integrity.
    “meretricious souvenirs for the tourist trade”
    2.
    archaic
    relating to or characteristic of a prostitute.

    Coming from Kevin Williamson, who’s worked hard to prostitute himself for everyone from National Review to The Atlantic, I’m not really going to bother with his judgments. And Trump’s value has already been proven to people who actually have political positions and ambitions beyond ‘does not offend my sensibilities.’

    “has a gold-plated 757 to fly to his resorts, golf courses, and casinos”

    Which he build himself, in America. Much unlike the people who have to fly to other people’s properties, or who chintz around on Richard Branson’s island or other tax havens and flight areas for those who want to make a lot of money but don’t want to stay around the people they made it off of. This is why the last time a NeverTrumper used ‘rootedness’ or ‘loyalty’ to a place as a non-pejorative description was approximately never.

    “pals around with America’s enemies,”

    In order words, he has conducted foreign policy in a manner in line with every single other American President. I admit seeing him having to be friendly with Democrats still does hurt.

    But for fun, name one declared American enemy he has ‘palled around’ with. Bonus points if Congress actually declared it so!

    ” and betrays America’s allies.”

    See above, in spades. Extra bonus points if you can name an individual from that country who you have personally fought side-by-side in a shooting war with.

    The only thing that truly proves meretricious, in the end, is the rhetoric of the NeverTrumpers, continually butthurt over losing power and influence in a party they never fully liked or supported all that wholeheartedly anyway. I suspect that such adjectives come easily to those who resemble them the most.

    Broko (bd87d5)

  28. AP sources: Jail guards at time of Epstein death reject deal
    Federal prosecutors offered a plea deal to two correctional officers responsible for guarding Jeffrey Epstein on the night of his death, but the officers have declined the offer, people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

    The existence of the plea offer signals the Justice Department is considering criminal charges in connection with the wealthy financier’s death at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York in August. The city’s medical examiner ruled Epstein’s death a suicide.

    The guards on Epstein’s unit are suspected of failing to check on him every half hour, as required, and of fabricating log entries to show they had. As part of the proposed plea deal, prosecutors wanted the guards to admit they falsified the prison records, according to the people familiar with the matter. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to publicly discuss the investigation. …..

    Rip Murdock (22ba8e)

  29. What a morning Paddling and swimming with a few hundred dolphins off the Kona Coast.

    mg (ebf6c2)

  30. I really don’t think this will end well.

    https://hotair.com/archives/jazz-shaw/2019/11/16/border-wall-moving-onto-private-land/

    I really don’t like eminent domain, but I understand it.

    Must have been about thirty years ago, the city wanted to expand Expressway 107, also known as University Drive because it ran east of town, right in front of then Pan American (now UT-RGV). Then it was a simple two-lane expressway with a turn lane. The city planned to develop it into a four-lane expressway, with medians and turn lanes, and extend it further east.

    There was this rancher who owned 20 acres that sued, because he thought the city had no right to seize private property. All the city wanted was to shave 50 feet from the front of his property to widen the expressway, and they offered him fair market value for his sliver of land. He refused and took the case to court.

    So the city organized a group of realtors and appointed my mother as the lead, because she wast the pre-eminent broker. They performed a comparative market analysis, concluded that the county appraiser had over-valued the land involved and recommended a lower price offer.

    That’s the way it works, in Texas at least. The city or county wants to seize land for economic development, the land-owner sues, and the city/county hires realtors to evaluate the property.

    In this case, the city ended up offering less for the sliver of land than they had previously. The rancher threw a fit, but the district court ruled against him. He ended up taking less for his sliver of front property than was originally offered. He wasn’t happy about it, but he had no choice.

    What happened was that, with the expressway expansion, new businesses and restaurants began springing up east of town. And the rancher’s remaining land tripled in value. I don’t suppose he’s unhappy about that.

    To me, that is legitimate use of eminent domain, to promote economic development and prosperity. The rancher wasn’t happy at the time, but he has to be happy now.

    The problem here is that building a wall on private property does not increase the market value of that property. In fact, it lowers market value.

    What land-owner would agree to that? In the case I cited, the rancher should have taken the original offer, because it was higher than the final offer. And he lost his case in court, but the outcome worked out great for him. Now he can sell his property at treble price.

    That will not be the case for other property owners. It was an anomaly. The rancher accepted a lower price, because the court ruled against him. The court ruled in favor of the realtors, who had a more accurate view of market value. He didn’t like it, but ultimately he benefited from it.

    Other ranchers along the Texas border may not feel the same way. This case was about economic development, not some obnoxious campaign promise. These cases are going to court, no doubt.

    Gawain's Ghost (b25cd1)

  31. #10 This CNN report is based on anonymous “Officials” saying the Head of DoD thinks X. Nowhere does it quote the Secretary of DoD, or name names.

    rcocean (1a839e)

  32. Basically, Williamson’s argument that the impeachment struggle is just tribal seems to rule out that people might actually think Trump’s actions were improper and merited removal and act on that basis. His argument is really the same as Mr. Trump’s defense.

    The “Both sides are wrong” is exactly what the MSM wants from a “reasonable conservative”. They want someone who will constantly attack the Right – even if that is coupled with attacks on the Left. What they DO NOT want is someone who will support Trump. Or solely attack the Left, most of the time. That’s why Kevin Williamson is still on the short list for a Liberal Media job.

    rcocean (1a839e)

  33. The reason David French has about six Liberal Media gigs is that he is CONSTANTLY attacking Trump, his supporters, or just random conservatives. Attack Google and Mr. French will attack. Support Trump and Mr. French will attack. Say we need to Drag queen hour, or rollback Gay Marriage and Mr. French will attack. Except for tax cuts for the rich, wars in the middle east, and some 1st amendment issues, Mr. French is either in the middle – or on the liberal side. He’ll be supporting Joe Biden or a libertarian in 2020. He’s the media’s idea of a Conservative.

    He’s now going after michelle Malkin! He’s amazing.

    rcocean (1a839e)

  34. Sondland said he was acting on Trump’s orders, aide told investigators

    Tim Morrison, a top White House national security aide, told impeachment investigators that Gordon Sondland — a U.S. ambassador at the center of the Ukraine scandal imperiling Donald Trump’s presidency — claimed to be acting on Trump’s orders, and in fact was regularly in touch with him.

    Though other impeachment witnesses have suggested Sondland has overstated his relationship with the president, Morrison said he was repeatedly able to confirm that the envoy did speak directly with Trump.

    “Every time you went to check to see whether he had, in fact, talked to the president, you found that he had talked to the president?” one lawmaker wondered, according to a transcript of Morrison’s testimony released Saturday.

    “Yes,” Morrison replied……

    Rip Murdock (22ba8e)

  35. Ah yes, it’s a “scandal” — it says right there in Politico, so don’t even try to deny it.

    Munroe (4ae3dd)

  36. Trump’s pardons were an attempt to show how “pro-military” or maybe “pro-serviceman” he was.

    Sammy Finkelman (fb61e5)

  37. TAC of course, had a negative article on Trump’s pardon by Danial Larison. Who, of course, has been attacking Trump 24/7 for the last 4 years. I think the guy just has a pre-written script for every defense/foreign policy action by Trump and just fills in the blanks and publishes it. He can probably writes his daily “Trump is wrong” column in about 10 minutes.

    rcocean (1a839e)

  38. Trump is ‘Pro Military’ – to his detriment. I think his experience with Lt. Col Vindmann and some other traitorous military types in the white house has changed his opinion of the sort of men who can graduate from West Point. Peeps go into the military for all kinds of reasons, and just because they graduate from West Point or Annapolis doesn’t mean they aren’t partisan democrats, globalists, or “I’ll do anything to get ahead” men of ambition.

    rcocean (1a839e)

  39. @ rcocean, #35:

    The reason David French has about six Liberal Media gigs is that he is CONSTANTLY attacking Trump, his supporters, or just random conservatives…

    Thank you for reminding me that I need to start reading Mr. French. He must be doing something right. Your opprobium is indeed high praise.

    Demosthenes (09f714)

  40. #41 Go for it. He needs the readers.

    rcocean (1a839e)

  41. This CNN report is based on anonymous “Officials” saying the Head of DoD thinks X. Nowhere does it quote the Secretary of DoD, or name names.

    Reading is hard:

    On Wednesday, Esper said he’d spoken to Trump about the service members facing war crimes allegations on Tuesday.

    He said he had “a robust discussion with the President yesterday,” and that he offered “the facts, the options, my advice, the recommendations.”

    Beyond that, Esper said, “we’ll see how things play out,” adding that he has “full confidence in the military justice system.”

    If you’re incapable of putting two and two together about what “a robust discussion with the President” and “full confidence in the military justice system” means then … LOL.

    Dave (1bb933)

  42. Democrat defeats Trump ally in deep-red Louisiana

    Edwards will claim victory in a deep red state Trump won by 20 percentage points in 2016, and against a businessman who closely aligned himself with the President. Trump held two rallies in Louisiana over the past 10 days, but the attempt at a last-minute boost was not enough to carry Rispone over the finish line.

    This is the second Democratic gubernatorial victory in a red state this month, coming after a Democratic victory in Kentucky. Democrat Andy Beshear defeated Republican Gov. Matt Bevin in a state that Trump won by 30 percentage points in 2016.

    Dave (1bb933)

  43. They held off on reporting the NOLA returns until near the end for the drama effect; at 83% of parishes reporting, Rispone led 54-46 (albeit with 800,000 of about the 1,500,000 or so votes counted). At that point, I was small I impressed that Rispone appeared to hold all of the Abraham vote from round 1.

    urbanleftbehind (e1ebc1)

  44. It’s becoming more and more evident that the corrupt criminal traitor who was almost certainly buggered by Roy Cohn has no coattails. His Trumpablican co-conspirators in the low-hanging fruit districts might just find that they were worrying about the wrong primary opponent, and the statewide ones might just find themselves replaced by Democrats.

    nk (dbc370)

  45. If you’re favorably linking to racist websites like VDARE and extolling racist books like Camp of the Saints, chances are that you and Stephen Miller are racists, except Miller is the guy who has the president’s ear on immigration policy more than anyone else in the White House. If you’re saying that there were “good people” at a racist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, chances are that you’re also a racist.
    For those who are going ad hom, saying that SPLC is a discredited and dishonestly partisan organization, I agree, but they have the emails.

    Paul Montagu (00daa1)

  46. https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/11/revolt_of_the_ukraine_desk_bureaucrats.html
    narciso – thanks again for turning me on to Clarice years ago.

    mg (ebf6c2)

  47. Ms. Feldman writes a lot of words with little substance.
    The Yanukovych vote to impeach did fall short but the man fled to Russia to avoid jail and confiscation of the assets he grubbed by his corruption. US policy, not just State Department bureaucrats, was to bring Ukraine into the EU, to move toward more freedom and more democracy. Instead, Yanokovych was bribed by Putin to join his Dictators’ Club, and then he chose violence at the Maidan protests. Why would US actions on the matter be objectionable? Why are so many in Trump’s orbit so objectively pro-Putin, Feldman included?
    Ms. Feldman also mischaracterized Mr. Kent’s testimony, which was this:

    Let me be clear, however: I did not witness any effort by any US official to shield Burisma from scrutiny. In fact, I and other US officials consistently advocated re-instituting a scuttled investigation of Zlochevsky, Burisma’s founder, as well as holding the corrupt prosecutors who closed the case to account.

    Paul Montagu (00daa1)

  48. This could be FakeNews. Or not.

    The White House told reporters Sunday morning that Trump would be remaining at the White House and did not have any public events on his schedule. It is not atypical for Trump, or for any president, to have a Sunday without any public events or departures from the White House.
    Here’s the context behind the chest discomfort tweet, which caused a flurry of attention on social media.
    “#BreakingNews Sources tell me from Walter Reed the President was being checked out for chest discomfort. No other information is available at this time,” Andrew Vernon wrote on Twitter on the evening of November 16, 2019. Vernon’s Twitter page profile says that he is “President & CEO. Opinion Contributor @thehill. @ColumbiaMSPH Alum & @UMaine Alum. @USArmy Veteran. #GoHabsGo.”
    According to an article on him by the University of Maine, Vernon used to work at the VA in the position of “coordinator and cardio-pulmonary rehabilitation therapist with the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service.”

    Paul Montagu (00daa1)

  49. Oh brother. If Trump made a bowel movement, the media would question the timing.

    felipe (023cc9)

  50. @47 The thing to remember about the SPLC is that they have a specific viewpoint. However, their articles generally link their data, usually the primary source, so it isn’t hard to read the article, look at the data, and make your own judgement on whether they were too hair trigger or if they have a valid point. You can’t just nod along, but nobody should just nod along to anyone anyway.

    Nic (896fdf)

  51. Where Trump lies the most: His rallies and anything to do with Ukraine. Yes, I linked to CNN twice. Mr. Dale is well versed in debunking Trump’s incessant lying.

    Paul Montagu (00daa1)

  52. If a 2nd term is in the offing, Felipe, I will wager $100 that one of those BMs is of both a public and involuntary nature.

    urbanleftbehind (4b5db6)

  53. A key takeaway here as to why Trump’s Republican candidates lost the governors’ races in KY and LA.

    Like Mr. Beshear, Mr. Edwards energized a combination of African-Americans and moderate whites in and around the urban centers of his state, building decisive margins in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Shreveport.

    If Trump can’t win the suburbs, he won’t get reelected.

    Paul Montagu (00daa1)

  54. Well that certainly didn’t take long!
    Yesterday, I said:

    I’m waiting for the “they set me up” defense: The Democrats planted false stories and rumors to make [I find it hard to even mention his name anymore] ask Zelensky to investigate them. https://patterico.com/2019/11/15/two-bad-gop-impeachment-arguments/#comment-2278013

    Today I see Devin Nunes (Rodentia rectalis- Calif.):

    The Trump White House became involved in Ukrainian affairs to investigate a smear campaign from Democrats against the president, but the fact-finding mission was twisted and used as an excuse for impeachment, House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said in an interview airing Sunday. https://www.foxnews.com/media/trump-ukraine-devin-nunes-mark-levin

    It is to cry.

    nk (dbc370)

  55. I’d rather read what people think about Bill Barr’s defense on the executive branch (regardless to who inhabits the office)

    steveg (354706)

  56. I agree with Ms. Tumulty. After Bornstein the White waved his stethoscope around and declared the healthiest human being in recorded history, we should probably get a second opinion on his little episode yesterday.

    Paul Montagu (f14d2d)

  57. I said a prayer for the President’s health today. Felt a little more human for having done so.

    JRH (52aed3)

  58. Paul you seem to know a lot, why don’t you check Trumps prostate?

    mg (ebf6c2)

  59. Trump Suffers Landslide Defeat But Still Wins? It Could Happen

    If the election were held today, these polls indicate that Trump would lose by 10 million to 15 million popular votes – a margin even greater than the crushing defeat of Jimmy Carter by Ronald Reagan in 1980. But, unlike Carter, Trump would have about an even chance of winning a majority of electoral votes and becoming president.

    The writer is an advocate of the popular vote compact idea, and thus has an axe to grind, but it’s still a frightening scenario.

    Dave (1bb933)

  60. I would ask Rep. Jim Jordan…. would the Ukrainians have gotten the defense funds without the whistleblower? Perhaps you don’t think they need it.

    noel (f22371)

  61. Who would believe it? Trump, according to this new book, A Warning, apparently asked if we could just get rid of federal judges. Who would believe such nonsense?

    OK. You can admit it. You kinda believe it.

    noel (f22371)

  62. 62.` noel (f22371) — 11/18/2019 @ 4:02 am

    I would ask Rep. Jim Jordan…. would the Ukrainians have gotten the defense funds without the whistleblower? Perhaps you don’t think they need it.

    Once it was public kowledge that the money was put on hold by Predident Trump, it wouldn’t have taken too long to get ott released. he whistleblower complaint may not have been key.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)


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