Patterico's Pontifications

7/28/2017

Quick Hits: Skinny Repeal Was Not Repeal; Scaramucci Is Insane

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:24 am



Do I blame John McCain, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins for killing ObamaCare repeal? Why, sure I do! But not for last night’s vote. Rather, for their disgraceful vote against the same repeal bill they voted for in 2015 (with the exception of Collins). Which means I also blame the other people responsible, whom I have already named: Lamar Alexander, Rob Portman, Shelley Moore Capito, and Dean Heller.

I will never forgive them. They are dead to me. And I will work to defeat Heller, who is the next one up for re-election, in the primaries.

But skinny repeal was crap and deserved to go down. Last night’s vote was not the death knell. That already happened a couple of days ago. (And don’t talk to me about just sending a bill to conference. If they can’t agree amongst themselves, how is going to conference going to fix anything?)

Meanwhile, I see some people trying to blame Trump for this. Nah. I don’t see it. He would have signed anything. This is squarely on the shoulders of the turncoats who switched their votes.

Meanwhile, how about that batsh!t insane Scaramucci guy? Ryan Lizza has a piece in the New Yorker that Scaramucci has functionally admitted is accurate, by saying he made a mistake trusting a reporter. The piece makes for delightful reading from start to finish.

“They’ll all be fired by me,” he said. “I fired one guy the other day. I have three to four people I’ll fire tomorrow. I’ll get to the person who leaked that to you. Reince Priebus—if you want to leak something—he’ll be asked to resign very shortly.” The issue, he said, was that he believed Priebus had been worried about the dinner because he hadn’t been invited. “Reince is a fucking paranoid schizophrenic, a paranoiac,” Scaramucci said. He channelled Priebus as he spoke: “ ‘Oh, Bill Shine is coming in. Let me leak the fucking thing and see if I can cock-block these people the way I cock-blocked Scaramucci for six months.’ ” (Priebus did not respond to a request for comment.)

Scaramucci was particularly incensed by a Politico report about his financial-disclosure form, which he viewed as an illegal act of retaliation by Priebus. The reporter said Thursday morning that the document was publicly available and she had obtained it from the Export-Import Bank. Scaramucci didn’t know this at the time, and he insisted to me that Priebus had leaked the document, and that the act was “a felony.”

“I’ve called the F.B.I. and the Department of Justice,” he told me.

“Are you serious?” I asked.

“The swamp will not defeat him,” he said, breaking into the third person. “They’re trying to resist me, but it’s not going to work. I’ve done nothing wrong on my financial disclosures, so they’re going to have to go fuck themselves.”

Scaramucci also told me that, unlike other senior officials, he had no interest in media attention. “I’m not Steve Bannon, I’m not trying to suck my own cock,” he said, speaking of Trump’s chief strategist. “I’m not trying to build my own brand off the fucking strength of the President. I’m here to serve the country.” (Bannon declined to comment.)

. . . .

Scaramucci said he had to get going. “Yeah, let me go, though, because I’ve gotta start tweeting some shit to make this guy crazy.”

LOL. The guy is entertaining, paranoid, not very bright, and completely insane. He reminds me of someone. It’s on the tip of my tongue.

[Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.]

213 Responses to “Quick Hits: Skinny Repeal Was Not Repeal; Scaramucci Is Insane”

  1. Ding.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  2. Scaramouche is ALL Trump tho, eh patterico? (Btw, do I get creds for being first to call him scaramouche?)

    Ben burn (70d425)

  3. Yrs its taken him six months to unwind skybrusgw someone leaks his disclosure statement afterafter he fired top man shorter, first rule if fight club

    narciso (d1f714)

  4. Freeman heller, that was the two faced undercover g man turned mob kingpin prime speranza from smoking aces.

    narciso (d1f714)

  5. The fynctionak result is premiums will continue to go up specially in Alaska and Arizona and Nevada, so they tupolev’d themselves.

    narciso (d1f714)

  6. Drain the swamp.

    NJRob (7f4bec)

  7. I’ve read that in a relationship with a person who has Borderline Personality Disorder, there inevitably comes a time when you ask yourself, “Is he/she crazy or am I?”

    I think this country is now at that point in its relationship with the Trump presidency.

    sauropod (271cbd)

  8. Plus we have news the FBI general counsel, James baker was one of the unmaskers.

    narciso (d1f714)

  9. sleazy corrupt ballerina boy Rahm Emanuel had seven of those scaramucci calls before breakfast when he was servicing food stamp

    the fake news propaganda sluts just never reported it

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  10. ‘Not very bright?’ ‘Completely insane?’

    More crazy like a fox; Scaramucci stands to pocket a cool $90 million if the deal to sell his company, SkyBridge, to China’s HNA gets clear of U.S. gov’t ‘regulatory review.’ And if there’s any hang-up from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), chaired by Treasury Secretary Mnuchin no less, Scaramucci’s news best-butty-to-brown nose, President Trump, has the power to veto recommendations made by CFIUS. Ahhhhh yes, the stink of free market capitalism is strong in this one.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-scaramucci-hna-idUSKBN1A703H

    “I’d hate to take a bite out of you, you’re a cookie full of arsenic.” – J.J. Hunsecker [Burt Lancaster] ‘Sweet Smell of Success’ 1957
    _________

    Today’s Beldar the Bitter ‘Watergate, Watergate, Watergate,’ Words of Wonder:

    “Just remember that once the toothpaste is out of the tube, it is going to be very tough to get it back in.” – HR Haldeman cautioning John Dean about talking to Watergate investigators, 1973

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  11. The GOPe….not your father’s GOP.

    McCain is a self-loathing prick who takes his anger out on, well, anyone and everyone. Ever wonder how his hate metastasized?

    Lenny (5ea732)

  12. 54. Scaramouche…

    ““I don’t like the way he talks about women, I don’t like the way he talks about Megyn Kelly, and you know what? The politicians don’t want to go at Trump because he’s got a big mouth, and he’s afraid he’s going to light them up on Fox News, and all of these other places. But I’m not a politician. You’re an inherited money dude from Queen’s County. Bring it, Donald,” he said.
    Scaramucci, who was a hedge fund manager, was referencing Trump’s comments on Fox News, in which he criticized “hedge fund guys” who “move around papers.”

    Ben burn (b3d5ab) — 7/21/2017 @ 1:52 pm

    Ben burn (70d425)

  13. yes yes McCain’s a nasty piece of work

    just an all-around disgusting individual Mr. Lenny

    but I like Mr. Scaramucci – he brings the party

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  14. Yes,we’ve read bonfire this,iz,how they talk
    .

    narciso (988e3f)

  15. skinny repeal was crap and deserved to go down

    failmerica’s sleazy corrupt congress – particularly the sewer we call mitch mcconnell’s senate

    loves it some filthy welfare

    they’re all basically socialist ohio-trash like John Kasich at heart

    but the one thing they could do is get rid of harvardtrash John Roberts’ mandate

    and that’s what this sleazy pigboy from Arizona prevented last night

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  16. What was more obscene what maverick did not refute in game change or letting those veterans die in tucsin or was it phoenix.

    narciso (48ecae)

  17. I remember when Obamacare was unconstitutional. Now it’s a human right and too big to fail and too centralized to succeed. Senate R’s won’t let it be ripped out by the roots so let’s turn to planting seeds of reform rather than losing the comprehensive reform battle.

    crazy (11d38b)

  18. Daily Beast

    “In his immediately infamous phone call to a New Yorker staff writer, Anthony Scaramucci didn’t just say the White House chief of staff was a “f–king paranoid schizophrenic” or accuse the president’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon, of engaging in autofellatio. He also made a remarkable revelation about his own conduct.
    FBI agents, Scaramucci said, may have committed a crime on his behalf.
    Discussing his anger about White House officials’ propensity to leak to reporters, Scaramucci told the New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza that federal law enforcement officials have actually been leaking to him—about which White House staffers are leaking. Really. “

    Ben burn (70d425)

  19. i been puzzling over this line of limited edition kitchen appliances

    it’s a collaboration between smeg and d&g

    i guess the blender kinda speaks to me if i had a for reals bar to furnish and not just to put in the kitchen

    but not really

    i don’t want anything to do with this stuff

    it’s just stupid

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  20. Meet the new swamp, same the old swamp.

    “Trump” was a repudiation by a growing number of disaffected voters who were long past tired of the set-piece battle between D & R. They didn’t care about abortion, or gender battles or exports to Chile or capital gains rates.

    The just wanted the government’s focus back on America, average Americans and their well-being, a focus that had been long lost.

    So, there was this guy who said he’d do just that, and they put him in office. Think of Trump as they long-prophesied Independent candidate for President. Ross Perot for the modern age.

    Then two things happened. The Democrats, and quite a few Republicans, were upset about the prospect of an outsider running things. Not only didn’t he have any investment in their historical programs, but he was quite likely to empty the skeleton-closets. So they gave him sh1t from day one.

    And Trump has been massively unable to respond to this. A greater man would have pushed this all aside, saying “There you go again” or some such. Trump behaves like a bull in the ring, more enraged after each barb is placed and unaware that the guy with the cape and the sword is in his near future.

    He doesn’t lead, he reacts. What little he does propose are half-baked at best, and the immediate criticism from people whose support he expects enrages him some more. And he reacts.

    Now, he has doubled down with Scaramost. Just so we can see what REAL crazy looks like.

    The center cannot hold. I have said that Trump would not last a term. I am now thinking that Trump cannot last a year. I don’t think he’ll be impeached, and I doubt he’ll resign. The 25th Amendment is a possibility. So is apoplexy.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  21. Yeats said it better:

    Turning and turning in the widening gyre
    The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
    Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
    Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
    The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
    The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
    The best lack all conviction, while the worst
    Are full of passionate intensity.

    Surely some revelation is at hand;
    Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
    The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
    When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
    Troubles my sight: a waste of desert sand;
    A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
    A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
    Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
    Wind shadows of the indignant desert birds.

    The darkness drops again but now I know
    That twenty centuries of stony sleep
    Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
    And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
    Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

    I am not hopeful.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  22. President Trump is indefatigable in his quest to make America better Mr. M

    i love him more every day and the juvenile antics of sleazy dishonest liars like John McCain just makes me love President Trump more and more

    he’s the best thing to happen to Washington D.C. in my whole life

    he’s a lot Toto (lil puppy dog from Kansas), President Trump is

    he’s pulling back the curtain!

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  23. oopers i mean he’s a lot *like* Toto

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  24. The best lack all conviction, while the worst
    Are full of passionate intensity.

    i like to think i’m for sure in column b!

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  25. This is mma Kevin no holds barred combat this is why maverick stands for libyan terrorists, incompetent va employees and trannies

    narciso (988e3f)

  26. Meanwhile, I see some people trying to blame Trump for this. Nah. I don’t see it. He would have signed anything.

    Sure he would have signed anything. So what?

    The reason GOP could not get 50 votes was because some of the handouts/wealth-transfer in Obamacare are popular and many of the costs are hidden. Trump did nothing to move the needle of public opinion and create a groundswell of support for the GOP repeal plan(s) in states he won like West Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee, Alaska, Arizona, etc. He never once explained how and why the GOP plan would make peoples’ lives better, because he didn’t have clue what the plans were about and didn’t care. Contrast that to Obama’s tireless (if deceptive), coast-to-coast campaigning when the law originally passed. Trump is ignorant AND lazy.

    And dishonest too. He repeatedly promised the impossible during the campaign and never delivered anything that remotely resembled it. In fact he never delivered anything at all. He repeatedly raised expectations that repeal would involve no sacrifice, more freebies, cost “a tiny fraction” and be “so easy”. Any real repeal/replace plan could only look like a cruel joke compared to the rainbows and unicorns Trump dishonestly promised.

    Dave (445e97)

  27. Breaking- “Liftoff!” – Pentagon says NK lofted another ballistic missile. Some early media reports from Japan suggest missile may have landed in Japanese territory.

    “Once the rockets are up; who cares where they come down; that’s not my department; says Wernher Von Braun…” – Tom Lehrer

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  28. “This is mma Kevin no holds barred combat”

    Nope. This is WWE improv by clowns who couldn’t follow the script if one existed.

    Rick Ballard (39e1b7)

  29. Scaramouche is ALL Trump tho, eh patterico? (Btw, do I get creds for being first to call him scaramouche?)

    I already upstaged you in the previous thread with “Scaramucci, Scaramucci, can you do the Mandingo?”

    nk (dbc370)

  30. The just wanted the government’s focus back on America, average Americans and their well-being, a focus that had been long lost.

    So true, KevinM. And this opportunity appears to have been wasted. In the ongoing debate on whether all this is just incompetence or three-dimensional chess, I still am in the pure incompetence group.

    Patricia (5fc097)

  31. The only script is the one akmdtchins has sent the congress infinite .monkeys to hammer out.

    narciso (d1f714)

  32. Dave@29
    Amazing how you happened to say all the same things the MSNBC crowd was saying on the eleven o’clock hour. I know because I was listening to them while getting ready for lunch. That and little Chuckie praising the heroism of Arizona John.

    BTW, I claim dibs on Scaramouche
    https://patterico.com/2017/07/21/sean-spicer-resigns/#comment-2017407

    On the music forum I belong to, someone posted a Youtube of Ravel’s Scaramouche right off the bat. So you’re not being original.

    kishnevi (bb03e6)

  33. Here it is.
    https://youtu.be/Wk_sVJZJ9v4

    kishnevi (bb03e6)

  34. Amazing how you happened to say all the same things the MSNBC crowd was saying on the eleven o’clock hour.

    Unlike you, I don’t watch or read MSNBC, but I’ll take your word for it.

    I said the same thing over a week ago. So did National Review.

    Rather than substance-free ad hominem attacks, why don’t you point what I said that wasn’t accurate.

    Dave (445e97)

  35. “Scaramucci, Scaramucci, can you do the Mandingo..”

    Macarena?

    Ben burn (70d425)

  36. Rather than substance-free ad hominem attacks, why don’t you point what I said that wasn’t accurate.

    In fact, the points made were accurate. Even MSNBC gets some things right. It merely amused me to find you spouting the MSNBC meme of the day.

    kishnevi (bb03e6)

  37. Dave@29
    Amazing how you happened to say all the same things the MSNBC crowd was saying on the eleven o’clock hour. I know because I was listening to them while getting ready for lunch. That and little Chuckie praising the heroism of Arizona John.

    BTW, I claim dibs on Scaramouche
    https://patterico.com/2017/07/21/sean-spicer-resigns/#comment-2017407

    On the music forum I belong to, someone posted a Youtube of Ravel’s Scaramouche right off the bat. So you’re not being original.

    kishnevi (bb03e6) — 7/28/2017 @ 10:13 am

    Been saying that from the beginning.

    Thank you.

    NJRob (7f4bec)

  38. Why is it verboten to see what the other side is saying? I find valuable snippets everywhere and I haven’t contracted any STDs….yet.

    Ben burn (70d425)

  39. If course we know robertscare was secured with the cirnhusker Louisiana and sunshine state purchase, plus the Minnesota leg sweep and the alaskan heist.

    narciso (d1f714)

  40. Rip Charlie garden. This is no game.

    narciso (d1f714)

  41. Yes Charlie. No child should be a political football. Rest in peace.

    Ben burn (70d425)

  42. https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm568923.htm

    It’s been 15 years since FDA got regulatory control over tobacco. There were supposed to list harmful ingredients..THIS is what they do?

    Ben burn (70d425)

  43. And back in hamburg another misuderstanding

    narciso (d1f714)

  44. This process started a long time ago, when Republicans stopped running on repealing Obaminablecare to ‘Repeal and Replace’ it. With that promise, they conceded the point I have been saying all along that has been conceded, that the federal government is ultimately responsible for people having health care coverage. Once that concession is made, the option of just repealing Obysmalcare, of returning to 2008, is off the table.

    Of course, they figured that they’d have [shudder!] President Hillary Clinton there to veto any repeal, and they never figured that, oh Hell! they’d be responsible for coming up with a replacement that would satisfy the American people.

    All that leaves is either some form of single-payer, or a private insurance plan similar to Obumblecare. The GOP couldn’t come up with a plan that wasn’t different enough from Obastardcare to gather much GOP support and still keep their promise.

    The problem is simple: about half of Republican voters want Owfulcare just plain gone, because they recognize that it’s nothing but another f(ornicating) welfare program, while another half agree with the concept that health care is some sort of government-guaranteed right; ‘moderate’ Republican politicians exist because there are moderate Republican voters.

    With the option of straight repeal off the table, the only options left are something very similar to the ACA, or single-payer. And the only truly different plan the Republicans could adopt would be single-payer. I told you that this would happen! We will have single-payer either sooner, if the GOP goes for it, or later, when Obuggerycare collapses, and the Democrats are writing the plan.

    The GOP needs to get out in front of single-payer, and include provisions that it not include coverage for elective procedures — abortions, sex change operations, liposuction or non-reconstructive plastic surgery — and that only American citizens and legal residents paying Medicare taxes are covered. Those provisions need to be in the law itself, to keep President Kamala Harris from issuing ‘regulations’ which change those provisions.

    In the end, if you believe that the Republicans will ever reverse the principle that the government is ultimately responsible for to it that everyone has health care coverage, you are lying to yourself! Denying the truth at the beginning is no way to ever come up with a good plan.

    The Dana who doesn't lie to himself (dbcf2c)

  45. It seems another inconvenient missive from south korea

    narciso (d1f714)

  46. In the end, if you believe that the Republicans will ever reverse the principle that the government is ultimately responsible for to it that everyone has health care coverage, you are lying to yourself!

    Especially since Donald Trump campaigned on that position…

    Dave (445e97)

  47. Dana: you should have said ‘single pay, the only way.

    If you think ACA was unsustainable, you should see healthcare in about 5 years.

    Btw. I’m a boy called Sue, too. Dana is a tough name for a guy to live with.

    Ben burn (70d425)

  48. McCan’t, thinking of getting insulted by Trump, mumbles “Payback’s hell, partner!”

    Tillman (a95660)

  49. Tillman

    TRUMP talks tough. Is he?

    If he hadn’t dodged 3 x and qualified as pilot, it’s likely he would have gladly become transgender Saigon Sally in exchange for privileges.

    Ben burn (70d425)

  50. Aren’t there two Dana’s here? One is male and at least part American Indian I think, the other is female. One of them needs to change their handle. Names are primarily for differentiation, you know. “Hi I’m Darryl, and this is my brother Darryl, and my other brother Darryl.”

    Tillman (a95660)

  51. “LOL. The guy is entertaining, paranoid, not very bright, and completely insane. He reminds me of someone. It’s on the tip of my tongue.”

    “(N)ot very bright” is the standard conservative-hating conceit. Just ask a liberal: all us conservatives aren’t very bright. I see no evidence of it in Scaramucci.

    ThOR (c9324e)

  52. The vast majority of necessary surgery is elective, so the technical language will have to be limited to “not medically necessary.” and then that becomes a point of contention.

    Insurers have traditionally labled exclusions for specific procedures to cut off debate, and define categories they won’t cover, such as experimental treatments or primarily cosmetic procedures.
    This leads to battles over disfigurements and occasionally mandates when insurers are intransigent about reconstructive surgeries or effective new procedures.

    SarahW (3164f0)

  53. i think the sleazy fake news propaganda slut he spoke to was duplicitous

    his name is Ryan Lizza and he is no good

    i wonder how it was they came to have this conversation

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  54. 52. He’s all talk Ben. “All hat, no cattle.”

    Tillman (a95660)

  55. Yes. Conservatives said ‘he’s just not that smart’ was a common dismissive. Scaramucci is smart, but shallow. Conservatives don’t like to overthink though.

    Ben burn (70d425)

  56. Scaramucci is Trump’s “Directed Megaphone” in the style of Napoleon’s “Directed Telescope” – the trusted lieutenant sent to the front to gather intel that Napoleon didn’t trust his generals to provide.

    crazy (11d38b)

  57. I see no evidence of it in Scaramucci.

    Really? He told a reporter that Assistant Press Secretary Michael Short was going to be fired, and then told other reporters “the fact that you guys know about it before [Short] does really upsets me as a human being and as a Roman Catholic.”

    Also, publicly accusing the Chief of Staff of leaking a document that was in the public record? Yeah, brilliant.

    Finally, calling up a reporter to intimidate them into revealing the source of a leak about who had dinner at the White House, and complaining of betrayal when the reporter publishes his profane, on-the-record meltdown…

    Spicer was never accused of not being very bright (OK, maybe when he beclowned himself with the “Even Hitler never gassed his own people” thing, but not in general…)

    Dave (445e97)

  58. 59

    Your Bonaparte aside is hilarious in Moscow.

    Ben burn (70d425)

  59. Mr Tillman wrote:

    Aren’t there two Dana’s here? One is male and at least part American Indian I think, the other is female. One of them needs to change their handle.

    That’s why my “handle” always includes some sort of adjective; the much better-looking Dana lways signs simply as Dana.

    Our esteemed host allows me to get away with the various “handles” because there is no attempt at deception or sock-puppetry.

    The Dana who knows who he is (dbcf2c)

  60. A straight repeal and a switch to carrots that favor the consumer of health care delivery, and alteration of the big thumb of Medicare and Medicaid on pricing (and associated shell games) would cut a lot of middlemen out of a currently very lucrative vampirism.

    SarahW (3164f0)

  61. Mr Tillman wrote:

    Aren’t there two Dana’s here? One is male and at least part American Indian I think, the other is female. One of them needs to change their handle. Names are primarily for differentiation, you know.

    No, no American Indian in my background, though we are all, supposedly, at least 20th cousins. John Hitchcock, who sometimes comments here, is part Indian.

    “Hi I’m Darryl, and this is my brother Darryl, and my other brother Darryl.”

    Close, but no cigar. The brothers were Larry, Darryl and Darryl.

    The Dana with a whole vocabulary full of adjectives (dbcf2c)

  62. A trip down memory lane…

    “Everybody’s gotta be covered – this is an un-Republican thing for me to say because a lot of times they say, ‘No, no, the lower 25%, they can’t afford private,’ but … I am going to take care of everybody. I don’t care if it costs me votes or not. Everybody’s going to be taken care of, much better than they’re taken care of now.”
    – Donald Trump

    Dave (445e97)

  63. 62. Thanks Dana who knows who he is. So you’re a “he” and the other Dana’s a female who is at least in part American Indian, and who posts occasionally? (I’m a tiny fraction American Indian btw.)

    Tillman (a95660)

  64. Conflating “not very bright” with other qualities you object to – and I’ll grant you, Mooch has plenty of those – doesn’t advance your argument and it adds a note of elitist condescension that reflects poorly on the character of the bluenose critic.

    ThOR (c9324e)

  65. i wonder how it was they came to have this conversation

    Because Scaramouche called up Lizza to demand the name of whoever told Lizza about his dinner with Trump. Scaramouche, it seems, forgot to say “this is off the record”, and Lizza decided to take advantage of that oversight.

    Memo to Scaramouche: if you plan on fighting backstabbers, don’t be surprised if they attempt to backstab you.

    kishnevi (bb03e6)

  66. Could be worser. We could have George Foremans boys commenting..

    Ben burn (70d425)

  67. If anything sent a message that Trump is “What have you done for me, lately?” guy, it was his attacks on Sessions and his embrace of Scaramucci.

    Sessions was the first Senator to endorse him and campaigned with him through the primary. According to Trump, now, he only jumped on the bandwagon when he saw how much Alabamans loved him.

    Scaramucci went first with Walker and then with Jeb, and badmouthed Trump on television. Now, he’s there because “Trump prizes loyalty”. For real?

    nk (dbc370)

  68. This is why we have ‘nics’

    Foreman has five sons: George Jr., George III (“Monk”), George IV (“Big Wheel”), George V (“Red”), and George VI (“Little Joey”

    Ben burn (70d425)

  69. Mr Burn wrote:

    Btw. I’m a boy called Sue, too. Dana is a tough name for a guy to live with.

    OK, picture this: an eight year old boy is introduced, in March of 1961, to the third grade class he has just joined, in Mt Sterling, Kentucky. Prior to this, he lived in Antioch, California and Portland, Maine. He is the tallest, skinniest kid in the class, and the only one wearing glasses. He has a girl’s name, and then he opens his mouth . . . .

    The Dana who had many 'experiences' while growing up (dbcf2c)

  70. Interviewer: “The uninsured person…”

    Trump: “Right.”

    Interviewer: “… is going to be taken care of how?”

    Trump: “I would make a deal with existing hospitals to take care of people. And you know what? This is probably…”

    Interviewer: “Make a deal? Who pays for it?”

    Trump: “The government’s going to pay for it, but we’re going to save so much money on the other side.”

    Anybody remember those tough negotiations between Trump and “existing hospitals” that were going to save us so much money while taking care of everyone much better than they’re taken care of now?

    Yeah, me either.

    Dave (445e97)

  71. “OK, picture this: an eight year old boy is introduced, in March of 1961, to the third grade class he has just joined, in Mt Sterling, Kentucky. Prior to this, he lived in Antioch, California and Portland, Maine. He is the tallest, skinniest kid in the class, and the only one wearing glasses. He has a girl’s name, and then he opens his mouth . . . .”

    Me too. Kind of army brat. 3 years in one town is enough. Made me secure in myself to exclusion of others. Mostly good for me.

    Ben burn (70d425)

  72. 70. nk (dbc370) — 7/28/2017 @ 11:37 am

    Sessions was the first Senator to endorse him and campaigned with him through the primary. According to Trump, now, he only jumped on the bandwagon when he saw how much Alabamans loved him

    Trump relied on Sessions for legitimacy. He adopted his immigration policy. Trump sent his proposal to Sessions for approval.

    Now this was a little bigger than Sessions but Sessions represented the hardest of hardline positions. That was how Trump started his campaign. He also to it also anti-terrorism.

    As for the crowd, Sessions got that crowd for Trump. Trump didn’t get that crowd or why wasn’t it another state? He didn’t endorse him right away because he wanted to maintain some neutrality, that is true, but he had to endorse him rather early because the Alabama primary was early. `

    Now, he’s there because “Trump prizes loyalty”. For real?

    Trump is indeed a “What have you done for me, lately?” guy. When Trump says loyalty, maybe he means current aznd future loyalty.

    It might be that Trump is really taken in by flattery. Who could be more loyal than someone who overpraises you?? To Trump, maybe nothing but loyalty can explain that.

    Also maybe Trump has a bad memory, or a short one.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  73. Also maybe Trump has a bad memory, or a short one.

    Or maybe he’s just a psychotic prick.

    Dave (445e97)

  74. Trump is indeed a “What have you done for me, lately?” guy. When Trump says loyalty, maybe he means current aznd future loyalty.

    It might be that Trump is really taken in by flattery. Who could be more loyal than someone who overpraises you?? To Trump, maybe nothing but loyalty can explain that.

    Also maybe Trump has a bad memory, or a short one.”

    Maybe, might be? What happened to eleventy dimensional chess genius?

    Ben burn (70d425)

  75. So Chuckie goes and talks deal with Lamar!! and Murkowski and Collins and hey presto he’s majority leader of the Senate – then he cuts a deal with his good friend Donny and the Dems are back in power and there’s no more talk about Russia.

    Jerryskids (cfad51)

  76. Trump’s health care bill tweets today:

    http://www.newser.com/story/246417/trump-time-to-change-senate-rules.html

    First tweet, 9:46am: If Republicans are going to pass great future legislation in the Senate, they must immediately go to a 51 vote majority, not senseless 60…

    Second tweet, 10am: …Even though parts of healthcare could pass at 51, some really good things need 60. So many great future bills & budgets need 60 votes….

    That would sound like that trump thinks a bill could be written to get 51 votes if only they weren’t limited by the budget reconciliation rules.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  77. Right thats why fusion gps spent all that money from Venezuelan sources who are 2 Kevin bacon away from Russia and iran..

    narciso (82af23)

  78. So why did the dc police pull a,lambrakis re lesin?

    narciso (82af23)

  79. But in the meantime nothing has yet gotten to 51….

    BTW, Trump got elected as the Great Dealmaker, the Great CEO, the Great Salesman.

    He hasn’t gotten close to a deal on health care or much else, he seems unable to manage his staff in a way that keeps their arguments and influence games out of the papers, he doesn’t really even try to sell GOP programs to people who aren’t already sold on them…

    He can’t even figure out how to fire people, it seems.

    kishnevi (bb03e6)

  80. The skinny bill was an attempt to hit a sacrifice bunt, with one out, to advance the runner at first base (the House bill) in an attempt to keep the inning from ending. It could never have produced a score, but at least it would have improved chances for the next at-bat.

    Instead it was a pop fly that didn’t advance the runner.

    Those who condemned the skinny bill wanted to just resign the game, as best I can see. The perfect has indeed been the enemy of the good.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  81. meanwhile

    despite making himself the center of attention for several weeks there

    looks like all harvardtrash Ted’s figured out how to do is to emote to a tv camera in a quasi-human-like manner

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  82. And I repeat: Those who’ve disassociated themselves from the GOP are going to be substantially less effective in trying to enforce consequences on those who’ve broken party discipline than those who actually claim to be Republicans.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  83. You can’t tell a loyal party member without the required costume.

    Assymetric political identity..

    Ben burn (70d425)

  84. Mr. Beldar i take that to mean that having the stench of nevertrump on you isn’t gonna help you get your way in the future and that in fact it may prove to be a significant impediment to achieving your political aims and goals

    i guess we’ll just have to wait and see

    but me I’m a smell like fresh-cut roses!

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  85. 83. kishnevi (bb03e6) — 7/28/2017 @ 12:14 pm

    But in the meantime nothing has yet gotten to 51….

    Nothing that folllows the budget reconciliation rules. I don’t know if the report of a conference committee would be exempt from them.

    http://thefederalist.com/2017/05/11/need-know-budget-reconciliation-senate/

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  86. Reconciliation is allowed only for bills meeting certain budget-related criteria.

    I don’t think conference committee changes any of that. If it did, the filibuster would be a complete nothing-burger.

    Dave (445e97)

  87. Political Identity politics is the fulcrum for division.

    Processing every subtle quaver of sound and each pixel scoured for purity makes for a sterile medium. Great for mushrooms, though.

    Ben burn (70d425)

  88. Those who condemned the skinny bill wanted to just resign the game, as best I can see.

    The argument I heard was that the nay votes didn’t really trust the conference to produce anything workable.

    kishnevi (bb03e6)

  89. they’d be hard-pressed to produce anything less workable than cowardly liar John McCain’s beloved obamacare

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  90. Those who’ve disassociated themselves from the GOP are going to be substantially less effective in trying to enforce consequences on those who’ve broken party discipline than those who actually claim to be Republicans.

    Eh, our votes count the same and our money spends (or doesn’t spend) the same.

    I’ve donated to the GOP in just about every election cycle going back to Y2K (prior to that, I was an impoverished student or living in Europe). That includes donations to out-of-state people like Mia Love, Tom Cotton and Joni Ernst, to name a few. A couple times I’ve even capped out on the individual limit.

    The last time they got me on the phone, a few months ago, I laughed in their face (they opened the call by thanking me “for all you did to help get Donald Trump elected last November” – not the best ice-breaker) and told them not to waste my time until Trump was gone.

    Dave (445e97)

  91. The argument I heard was that the nay votes didn’t really trust the conference to produce anything workable.

    It’s unclear whether Collins or Murkowski would have voted for anything other than expansion of Obamacare. I never saw them articulate any repeal/reform scenario that they would support.

    From everything I’ve read, McCain’s vote was about the process rather than the substance.

    Dave (445e97)

  92. It was all theater designed to crush conservative opposition to the otherwise bipartisan gravy train. McCain was the designated hero. McConnell’s bottom line after weeks of meetings and negotiation produced a bill that couldn’t pass and ammendments promised a vote that were then ruled non-germane by the parliamentarian and fillibusterable. When it was all over McConnell echoed McCain’s call for “working together” and nobody’s mad at the republican leader? What a joke.

    The dems were smart to convince the health insurance industry that their revenues would rise under Obamacare and smart to recognize they would never willing give up the greater revenues, no matter how bad the insurance product and customer impact was. No wonder republicans talk one way to get elected and vote another way to keep the gravy train going.

    crazy (11d38b)

  93. All that leaves is either some form of single-payer, or a private insurance plan similar to Obumblecare. The GOP couldn’t come up with a plan that wasn’t different enough from Obastardcare to gather much GOP support and still keep their promise.

    This isn’t true. At all.

    An alternative would work like this:

    There are no group plans.
    Everyone is in the same risk pool.
    All plans are must-issue.
    Premiums vary only by coverage, cost of service locally, age, and behavior.
    ..CURRENT smokers pay more.
    ..CURRENT drug users pay more.
    Some coverages are optional (e.g. maternity, sex change).
    Companies may choose to subsidize their employees’ plans. These subsidies are taxable.
    State and federal government may choose to subsidize plans they approve.
    Governments may not ban any plan except for fraud.
    Plans may be sold across state lines.
    Premiums paid are deductible as personal medical expenses.
    Subsidies are deductible by companies as a business expense.

    The problem with Obamacare, and I feel I have to repeat this for the folks who have not experienced it first hand, is that it threw 5 million generally irresponsible households into the same risk pool as 5 million responsible households who were minding their own business. And it paid the premiums of the former and doubled the premiums of the latter.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  94. John McCain says the obamacare is so good for Arizona people maybe you should move to Arizona then obamacare will be so good

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  95. A worthy idea, Kevin M. but they don’t want to reduce cost or premiums. High cost = high revenues = high salaries = big political donations. They’d rather prop up the too big to fail mega-corps and lower income customers with subsidies. Greater dependency = job security for the Beltway’s favor factory.

    crazy (11d38b)

  96. Anthony Scaramucci’s wife files for divorce

    By god, this is a fricking reality TV show…

    Dave (445e97)

  97. General/Secretary Kelly to report for duty as WH Chief of Staff. I wonder if that ambassadorship Priebus was being offered is still available…

    crazy (11d38b)

  98. hiring military weirdos is dicey but Priebus had to go and this guy can’t be any worse

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  99. @101. Looks like he picked Trump over Deidre.

    crazy (11d38b)

  100. Next week’s episode:

    Melania ditches Don and moves in with Mrs. Ex-Mooch?

    (Can’t wait for the pix…)

    Dave (445e97)

  101. Well, Scaramucci is going to learn respect for the Chief of Staff now.

    If not, he’ll get lessons…

    Dave (445e97)

  102. So Reince is out?

    Pinandpuller (ea25a3)

  103. Twitter not being official and all.

    Pinandpuller (ea25a3)

  104. Reince didn’t add any value he was just leaking

    feloniously

    and he looked too much like lucien

    or fagan

    i get them mixered up

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  105. There’s a short video clip up on YouTube, which could be Priebus, Sessions, or any of the other people who’ve gone to work for Trump’s White House, or otherwise put themselves at professional risk, under the misimpression that Trump was playing four-dimensional chess instead of being a four-year-old with a bad temper.

    I’d almost feel sorry for Jeff Sessions except for the fact that he, of all people, should have known better from the outset. Priebus, I don’t feel sorry for at all.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  106. that’s not even real it’s just a cartoon

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  107. hatefulfeet, re #88:

    Please don’t ever try to reinterpret or restate anything I’ve written here. You aren’t authorized; you don’t speak for me. I want nothing whatsoever to do with you, I want no conversations with you, I want no conversations about you, and I don’t want to read anything you’ve written to see whether you’re pretending to “take [something I’ve written] to mean” something which you then project upon me and try to link with my name.

    If you can’t abide by this request — if you persist in pretending to reinterpret what I’ve written here — then I’ll conclude we can’t both be commenters here, and I’ll leave this to be your sewer.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  108. i’m a good interpreter sometimes i do comments using interpretive dancing but mostly for my own comments not other peoples

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  109. If we are down to simple partisanship and its just a matter of changing teams, Priebus could be just the kick in the pants the jackass party needs.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  110. Reince’s next TV appearance will be on the infomercial where the guy seals a screen door with a spray can.

    Pinandpuller (ea25a3)

  111. Mr Nevi wrote:

    He can’t even figure out how to fire people, it seems.

    Reince Priebus was unavailable for comment.

    The Dana who loves irony (dbcf2c)

  112. Beldar, please don’t let happyfeet chase you away. :{

    aphrael (e0cdc9)

  113. Next question
    What inducement did Trump use to get Kelly to become CoS?
    Or did he blackmail him?

    kishnevi (39af22)

  114. national soros radio had it’s ducks in a row with a graphic ready to go for today

    Priebus Served Less Time As A President’s First Chief Of Staff Than Anyone Since WW2

    not really sure what that means but it’s a new record

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  115. I’m not chasing nothing Mr. aphrael i’m just gonna ignore him and make pretend like I don’t even read his comments cause he’s so grumpy

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  116. 116
    Yes, that was written before Priebus was announced as gone.
    Still–at this point we don’t know if Priebus quit or was told to quit.

    kishnevi (39af22)

  117. Its a form of punishment, Kish. Kelly wasnt as firm with the DACA crowd as desired, and being a good cop is fatal in this administration.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  118. here’s another graphic of “shortest terms” that looks at WH staff more broadly

    not sure why they rank it backwards but our friend Mike Flynn holds the record for shortest tenure

    but notice that Donald Rumsfeld is #4 for a relatively short-lived stint under Ford, so you can definitely bounce back from one of these gigs if they don’t work out

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  119. OOPS national soros radio had *its* ducks in a row I mean

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  120. I must say, it’s gratifying to watch as the crooks, fools and opportunists (Flynn, Spicer, Scaramucci, Priebus) who put their faith in Donald Trump gradually lose everything.

    If he finishes the week by firing Sessions I’m afraid I’ll overdose on Schadenfreude…

    Dave (438a0d)

  121. why is that gratifying

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  122. people at Mr. Ace’s blog say Reince quietly resigned yesterday

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  123. 290 While Im not entirely unhappy to see the back of Priebus, Sean Davis pointed out on twitter that the big fights in this administration are between Trumps brats on the one side and Priebus/Bannon on the other.

    Priebus was a big disappointment for conservatives, but when his exit strengthens Kushner and Ivanka, then I’m not quite sure that I wanna cheer this.

    Posted by: Nurse Ratched at July 28, 2017 05:23 PM (QF20p)

    that’s kind of an intensely zero sum way of looking at this

    dynamics don’t necessarily play out so neatly as that IRL

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  124. Trump had said something about wanting a general as Chief of Staff. And people close to him were trying to discourage him. So it is the same general, he earlier appointed as head of Homeland Security? Did he, or someone else have this general in mind?

    Sammy Finkelman (ef51ee)

  125. interestingly our good friend John McCain is on the “Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs”

    AND the CNN Jake Tapper fake news propaganda sluts are already squawking about this dangerous and irresponsible vacancy at Homeland Security

    so i guess maybe we can already identify one of the new sub-plots in this new chapter

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  126. @101 Anthony Scaramucci’s wife files for divorce

    LOL well, when Jared heads to jail, ‘Little Caesar’ can service Ivanka; all one big happy family!

    “Is this the end of Rico?” – Little Caesar [Edward G. Robinson] ‘Little Caesar’ 1931

    __________

    What a coincidence; was stuck in traffic behind a ‘Priebus’ only an hour ago and it didn’t show much get-up-and-go either.

    But John Kelly ain’t showin’ much military intelligence at all.

    “I am a traitor – a traitor to a madman.” – Field Marshall Rommel [Christopher Plummer] ‘Night Of The Generals’ 1967

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  127. … *Committee*

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  128. Scaramucci, Bannon, Conway and the Kushners all report directly to President Snowflake.

    Who is Kelly in charge of – the cooks, maids and janitors?

    Dave (438a0d)

  129. @133. Who is Kelly in charge of – the cooks, maids and janitors?

    Latrines.

    “…how would you like to be Permanent Latrine Orderly?” – Sergeant King [Myron McCormick] ‘No Time For Sergeants’ 1958

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  130. Kelly is like McMasters..no nonsense. But Kelly is in the eye of the cyclonic blustercuck.

    Ben burn (70d425)

  131. “You’d think the latrine was an operating room where the General’s heart is gonna be cut out”

    Ben burn (70d425)

  132. 136. Kelly is like McMasters..no nonsense

    Yet they willingly sell out their integrity to join a nonsensical administration.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  133. Soldiers do or die..the good ones.

    Ben burn (70d425)

  134. If Hillary goes down in disgrace I don’t think Schumer wants to go with her. The Democrats don’t want Fusion GPS to be asked who hired them in June last year. That w probably a Hillary supporter, and maybe illegal co-ordination.

    Sammy Finkelman (ef51ee)

  135. @140. Soldiers do or die..the good ones.

    Given loyalty is a one-way street in this gig, he’s already a dead man marching.

    “Into the valley of death, rode the 600…” and there just might be that many WH personnel changes by 2020.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  136. They take a look at Reince’s computer. Clippie pops up:

    It looks like you’re trying to leak to the New York Times

    Pinandpuller (ea25a3)

  137. What could Kelly do> Defy Trump, and say, no, I’m going to stay at Homeland Security?

    Sammy Finkelman (ef51ee)

  138. Appointed America’s Ambassador to Antarctica: Reince Priebus.

    ‘=quack, quack, quack=’ – The Penguin [Burgess Meredith] ‘Batman’ ABC TV, 1966-68

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  139. Keep your friends close

    Keep your generals closer

    Viva Trump Vegas

    Pinandpuller (ea25a3)

  140. “I’ve donated to the GOP in just about every election cycle…”

    A fool and his money are soon parted.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  141. and McCain’s heroic mission to save Obamacare fades from the headlines…

    crazy (11d38b)

  142. @146- “What do you do with a general, when he stops being a general?”– Bob Wallace [Bing Crosby] ‘White Christmas’ 1958

    Make him Chief of Staff.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  143. @148- Spicer resigned only a week ago and it seems like six months.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  144. I say that at my advanced age I’m often disappointed but seldom surprised. The sheer stupidity of our current body of pols doesn’t surprise me in the least.

    Bang Gunley (5a4596)

  145. He still hasn’t fired Tom Price like he told the Boy Scouts he would at their jamboree.

    “Day ain’t over, yet.” – Curly Washburn [Jack Palance] ‘City Slickers’ 1991

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  146. DCSCA:

    I don’t believe everyone in this admin is evil..misguided and ill-advised for sure. But I think identity politics is a zero sum game.

    Ben burn (70d425)

  147. Price isn’t going anywhere, but moving Sessions to DHS creates an opportunity for an unconflicted AG, right?

    crazy (11d38b)

  148. Obama did not attend the event, citing his opposition to the Boy Scouts’ policy barring homosexual scouts and scoutmasters.

    which raises an interesting question i guess

    or at least it’s a nice segue for an interesting question

    will President Trump attend John McCain’s funeral?

    should President Trump attend John McCain’s funeral?

    if you were President Trump would you attend McCain’s funeral?

    maybe it just dependers

    on what’s going on at the time

    but i been puzzling on who all this florid and zaftig pro-McCain propaganda is aimed at

    and i decided it’s all battlespace preparation for to make a big icky political circus out of John McCain’s death and funeral

    and given the rabid low-class drunk-on-the-smell-of-their-own farts state our CNN Jake Tapper fake news propaganda slut media’s been in

    we’re likely to experience a phenomenon what makes Paul Wellstone’s memorial look classy and dignified

    i’m a think on this some more

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  149. Agree Scaramucci is insane or just an incredible fool.

    New Comm. Dir. and he doesn’t realize everything he says to Lizza will be leaked within seconds???

    Saw him compared somewhere to the Harry Ellis character of “Hans…….boobi!” fame from Die Hard.

    From what little I’ve seen it seems apt.

    harkin (54860c)

  150. There is no need to feel sorry for Priebus. I think he’s come out of this smelling like roses. As GOP Chairman, he got his party’s nominee elected, and did his best to get him off to a good start as President. It was not his fault that a demented buffoon and his inner circle of lickspittles did not let him do his job the way it should have been done. That rant of Scaramucci’s to Lizza was the best thing that could have happened to him: “How could any White House Chief of Staff function properly when the President surrounds himself with clowns like Scaramucci?”, is going to be the consensus I think.

    nk (dbc370)

  151. As Russia expels a large number of US diplomats, Trump’s hopes for better relations appear to crumble
    Washington Post 1h ago

    yawn

    so Russia took out the trash big deal

    i bet you not a damn one of these expelled monkey-flunkydunks was a Trump appointee

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  152. Mr. nk do you really think Reince wasn’t responsible for a good portion of these leaks?

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  153. New Comm. Dir. and he doesn’t realize everything he says to Lizza will be leaked within seconds???

    not even 24 hours after Mr. Scaramucci’s stupid idiot dumb dumb rant

    his number one antagonist gets kicked to the curb like a goddamn Ikea lamp

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  154. I think it was Bannon and he framed Priebus for them.

    nk (dbc370)

  155. that’s a solid theory not gonna say it’s not

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  156. What you have to ask when you look at Trump’s people, one by one, is: “Does this person have an existence independent of Trump?” If the answer is “Yes”, then that person is a worthy person, one who adds value, and good for America. If the answer is “No”, then that person is a toady and a lickspittle, who climbed on the Trump bandwagon for his or her own selfish interests, and probably not even good for spare parts let alone America.

    You can do the rest of the analysis.

    nk (dbc370)

  157. But my original point is that Priebus was not damaged by any of this. His firing, in WWII parlance, is a “million dollar wound”. It got him out of a bad situation which might have eventually destroyed him.

    nk (dbc370)

  158. Mr. nk I are did the analysis!

    brb

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  159. What you have to ask when you look at Trump’s people, one by one, is…

    nonono!

    this is not where we are in failmerica today

    i been beatin my drum and i tell you straight up

    “Trump’s people” aren’t really the point right now

    for the most part Trump is dipping from the same well of sleazy trash obama bush and clinton dipped from

    ivy league trash

    military trash

    goldy sacky trash

    maybe not so much hollywood/journalism trash as clinton and obama

    but ceo trash otherwise yes yes

    throw in a dollop of medical and legal trash

    and whatever

    big deal

    what’s different about the Trump Administration isn’t the staffing

    It’s President Trump!

    He’s setting a tone what lets these wankers transcend who they would have been under a Bush or a Food Stamp.

    Look at this very much under-discussed noozle from today:

    U.S. proposes cigarette nicotine cut, shift toward e-cigarettes

    The U.S. government proposed cutting nicotine in cigarettes to “non-addictive” levels on Friday in a major regulatory shift designed to move smokers toward potentially less harmful e-cigarettes.

    Shares of major tobacco companies in the United States and UK slumped in heavy trading volume after the proposal was unveiled by the head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, with the world’s biggest producers losing about $26 billion of market value.

    I think the fact that this is a paradigm shift is self-evident.

    And it’s not one what would have happened under HillaryJeb.

    And that is very exciting.

    And this is happening every day.

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  160. You think the FDA regulating the nicotine levels in regular cigarettes in order to move people to e-cigarettes is one of the good things that came about from the election of Donald Trump? Cause I’ll tell you, as a smoker, this is Obama policy squared. And it’s fascism cubed. Even Hitler only forbade Eva Braun to smoke in his presence. He did not take away her cigarettes.

    nk (dbc370)

  161. i think it’s a startling paradigm shift

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  162. “Nicotine itself is not responsible for the cancer, the lung disease and heart disease that kill hundreds of thousands of Americans each year,” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said.

    “It’s the other chemical compounds in tobacco and in the smoke created by setting tobacco on fire that directly cause illness and death.”

    The FDA cannot reduce nicotine levels to zero, nor can it ban cigarettes. But Gottlieb said the agency would study regulating nicotine levels with a view toward the “FDA’s potential to render cigarettes minimally addictive or non-addictive.”

    that’s bold

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  163. Mr Feets you’re missing the point.
    It’s like the Feds deciding you can only put so many pepperonis on a pepperoni pizza.

    kishnevi (d097a6)

  164. have you ever quit smoking?

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  165. and btw as i read it they’re not saying they want to regulate the nicotine levels of e-cigs

    “It’s the other chemical compounds in tobacco and in the smoke created by setting tobacco on fire that directly cause illness and death.”

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  166. Maybe you’d like the FDA to order people to cook their steaks well done and have them only with ketchup in order to get them to eat more meatloaf, too.

    Paradigm shift, my ass. The FDA has been overstepping its mandate for decades and this was the kind of sh!t Trump was supposed to put an end to, not accelerate.

    nk (dbc370)

  167. @153- BB- This is where an individual’s integrity is put to a very public test.

    And too many are failing it.

    By now it should be clear that anybody accepting a high level position in this administration is either a fool, a jackass, or a junkie in search of a quick power fix. They sell themselves out; their reputations and self-respect bought off remarkably cheap. Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac but there’s no love lost on these suckers by this salesman who’s first love is himself and will throw them under a Fifth Avenue bus in the blink of an eye. That goes for both civilians and generals alike.

    “I am a traitor – a traitor to a madman.” – Field Marshall Rommel [Christopher Plummer] ‘Night Of The Generals’ 1967

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  168. Notice how we both tried to explain it in Feetsian terms…

    But the paradigm shift is that these will be Made in America cigarettes. They’ll be Great! They’ll be so great you’ll be tired of then being great!

    kishnevi (d097a6)

  169. i don’t agree what he’s doing is gorgeous brilliant

    cigarettes aren’t a consumer product anymore

    i’m a consumer and i certainly couldn’t afford my previous cigarette habit here in ballerina boy’s chicago

    what cigarettes are is, they’re a cash cow for fascist trash like Rahm and Blasio

    applecart?

    upended!

    and honestly i know lots of people what have shifted to vaping from smoking

    my new favorite prospective brother-in-law vapes like a gazelle on the serengeti

    which, i just realized i forgot to tell him last time he was here he didn’t have to go outside

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  170. I know how to read. They want to regulate the nicotine of regular cigarettes, the ones you burn, in order to get people to move to “unregulated” “nicotine delivery devices”. “Nicotine delivery devices” — that’s what the FDA has been calling e-cigarettes since they first came out. And when that’s done, they’ll regulate them like inhalers and Epipens.

    But everything a Trump administrations does is good, in this, the best of all administrations, right?

    nk (dbc370)

  171. President Trump is a noble soul

    and we are blessed to walk in his shadow

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  172. 175
    You underestimate the human ability to fool itself into thinking “it will be different with me!”

    Or they may feel it’s their duty to be the sane person in the room for the sake of the rest of us. You know, the enabler who cooks the breakfast and gets the alcoholic spouse off to work on time.

    kishnevi (d097a6)

  173. @180. No– that’s a weakness of character w/decades of history and all recent evidence and events to the contrary. Betters resist and reject. It’s the seductive draw to power. He will betray any and all if it is in his own interest. It’s as clear as Pittsburgh Plate Glass.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  174. I do not believe for a moment that McCain and Schumer have a clue about this—they are like the “sleepwalkers” in Christopher Clark’s brilliant history of the outbreak of the First World War—but if I were a Russian operative, I would try to invent someone like John McCain, if McCain did not already exist.

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  175. So, what happens when the government forces a cut in nicotine in cigarettes? The people who crave nicotine smoke more cigarettes, in order to get their fix.

    The Dana who set tobacco on his uncle's farm (dbcf2c)

  176. not if vaping is more satisfying

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  177. And take in more of the harmful byproducts.

    But you know what I wonder?

    Shares of major tobacco companies in the United States and UK slumped in heavy trading volume after the proposal was unveiled by the head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, with the world’s biggest producers losing about $26 billion of market value.

    How many millions FDA Commissioner Gottlieb’s family and friends made short-selling cigarette company stocks?

    nk (dbc370)

  178. i don’t know

    5?

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  179. Back in the 1930s, before there was internet that’s how far back, Greece had a capital “F” Fascist dictatorship. Ans that dictatorship made tobacco a government monopoly. (Salt and matches, too, but that’s for another thread.) So my grandfather grew his own tobacco for his personal use. And he would dry the leaves in the barn. And it was my mother, who was just a wee little tyke then, who would look out for the policeman, and if she saw him coming would quickly gather up the drying leaves and hide them until he went away. And she would also roll cigarettes for my grandfather, like Mattie Ross did for Rooster Cogburn in “True Grit”.

    nk (dbc370)

  180. There is no need to feel sorry for Priebus. I think he’s come out of this smelling like roses.

    Priebus bears tremendous responsibility for allowing Trump to hijack the party.

    He did literally nothing to prevent it.

    Give Wasserman-Schultz and the Democrats credit for one thing: they know how to rig a primary.

    Reince, not so much.

    Dave (445e97)

  181. “Nicotine delivery devices” — that’s what the FDA has been calling e-cigarettes since they first came out.

    A drop-dead giveaway. Loss of cigarette taxes is also a big driver of nicotine regulation in cigs- as the number of smokers continues to fall off of a cliff, there is scramble to fill the gap.

    SarahW (3164f0)

  182. but what if we could change all that

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  183. Dave, the difference is that I am frustrated with people who follow all these baseless charges the way saucer freaks converge on Area 51 when there are LOADS of fundamental reasons to dislike Trump.

    Incompetence. Incoherence. Inability to think on his feet or off them. The real problem with all this Russia BS is that he is incapable of coping with it. Bill Clinton, in his dotage, would ahve been done with this by Jan 23rd. Trump? He actually propagates it. When the story dies down, he tweets about it.

    And we have real issues. Norks with nukes. Iran, still. The last administration deserves 17 independent counsel (counsels?). But Trump sure has immunized them all right.

    The problem with Trump is not ethics, or honesty or who did what during the campaign. It’s just silly political screeching. The problem is that the United States needs a government, and we don’t have one. And those that are adding noise to the system about these pseudo-scandals are just HELPING Trump hide the fact that he is incompetent.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  184. If the Libertarian Party has ANY brains, they’ll get 15% in the next election.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  185. A worthy idea, Kevin M. but they don’t want to reduce cost or premiums. High cost = high revenues = high salaries = big political donations. They’d rather prop up the too big to fail mega-corps and lower income customers with subsidies. Greater dependency = job security for the Beltway’s favor factory.

    Large parts of #98 were in John McCain’s 2008 proposal.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  186. #191 is in the wrong thread.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  187. @165 nk

    General Patton should slap Private Preibus around and send him back to the front lines.

    Pinandpuller (165586)

  188. Good grief,t thus garbage has been credence on this very board, as more evidence of thus fraud emerge. The swamp is not concerned with Iran or north Korea or Cuba or Venezuela or robertscare, but there own privileges.

    narciso (d1f714)

  189. “In the end, on Obamacare, Republicans accomplished nothing. Not repeal. Not replace. Not even “skinny repeal” . . .”

    “The outcome, splayed out in the news for all to see over the last several months, was that when the party gained power and it finally came time to legislate, debate, and vote, Republicans had no shared vision, and thus no workable plans to achieve it.”

    – Peter Suderman, Reason

    This reading is far too narrow. The failure of Obamacare replacement was a huge accomplishment, demonstrating the fecklessness and duplicity of an entire class of elected officials. I’m just amazed – and very pleased – that McConnell let this play out as it did.

    So you think Trump is repulsive? These Senators are the same people who portray themselves as President Trump’s betters. How much better are they? In the end, Trump’s original inclination has been proven correct: just stand back and let Obamacare sink under its own weight – who says he’s a political lightweight? I can’t wait.

    If there was one thing Trump was elected to do, it is to bring down the permanent political class. He’s doing it.

    ThOR (c9324e)

  190. that’s a beautiful, perspicacious, and bookmark-worthy comment Mr. ThOR

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  191. Thank you, happy.

    Although I think Patrick should return to the Republican Party, it is not hard to empathize with his repulsion. I’ve always thought Republican voters were the salt of the earth, so where did these sleazeball Republican pols come from? An overly trusting electorate? Decent people who presume political wannabes share their decency? I would think so.

    ThOR (c9324e)

  192. Well what is the point of the republican patty in califirnua, its a rhetorical question about the rest of the country.

    narciso (d1f714)

  193. i’d submit it’s a herding phenomenon

    the sleazy nevertrump movement isn’t only aiming at President Trump – their aim is to assault individuality and iconclasm writ large, and brutally enough such that people are on warning going forward that any failure to uphold and kowtow to ivy league trash ruling class values will be met with similar petty viciousness and with extreme prejudice

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  194. oopsies *iconoclasm* i mean

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  195. @198 In the end, Trump’s original inclination has been proven correct: just stand back and let Obamacare sink under its own weight – who says he’s a political lightweight?

    Um, my memory (admittedly an off-and-on tool) is that Trump’s “original inclination” (and repeated campaign promise) was for better and cheaper healthcare for all. Nothing the Republicans (or He) placed on offer came close to that for millions upon millions of those promisees.

    But not to worry. If you aren’t smitten by Trump’s promise/position #1 on any particular topic, perhaps you’ll be enamored of his #2; and if neither #1 or #2 make your heartstrings sing, Trump will no doubt gaze once again into your lipid and yearning eyes, and – with equal measure of sincerity and affection as before – he will proffer #3 to his beloveds. Win – win! So much winning!

    Q! (267694)

  196. Nothing the Republicans (or He) placed on offer came close to that for millions upon millions of those promises.

    for healthy people getting rid of the individual mandate is the ultimate in better cheaper health care

    President Trump has yet to support a plan what keeps filthy harvardtrash slutboy John Roberts’ odious and fascist mandate in place

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  197. @204

    Coercion is always the preferred route for the all-knowing. For them, there is but one position/promise, which I would describe as: “Make ’em eat cake.”

    What a nasty bunch.

    ThOR (c9324e)

  198. I posted a link and transcription to Trump’s universal health care pledge above @65, and further broken promises from the same interview @73.

    Trump: “Everybody’s gotta be covered.”

    That sounds pretty mandatory to me.

    Dave (445e97)

  199. Dave wrote:

    Priebus bears tremendous responsibility for allowing Trump to hijack the party.

    Really? Donald Trump did what sixteen other Republicans did: he declared his candidacy for President, and entered the primaries. They all tried to stop him, and nobody could, because the Republican primary voters chose Mr Trump.

    The Republican Dana (dbcf2c)

  200. Mr M wrote:

    If the Libertarian Party has ANY brains, they’ll get 15% in the next election.

    The Libertarian Party do not have any brains.

    The TEA party of 2010 was a mostly libertarian Republican response to the porkulus program and Obumblecare, but they had enough sense to realize that, in a two-party system, they had to work within the Republican Party. They did something the Libertarians have never done: they got some of their people elected!

    Ron Paul was a Libertarian, but he got himself elected as a Republican. Rand Paul is a libertarian, but he had enough sense to run as a Republican. The Libertarians could make some serious inroads in the GOP, if they weren’t so purist that they can’t try.

    The Dana who voted for Gary Johnson (dbcf2c)

  201. @209. There’s an ol’style “Buckley Purge” in work…

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  202. 144. Actually, I think Kelly had the choice of accepting or not accepting. Priebus quietly offered his resignation on Thursday, and it was accepted.

    Sammy Finkelman (22331f)

  203. Really? Donald Trump did what sixteen other Republicans did: he declared his candidacy for President, and entered the primaries. They all tried to stop him, and nobody could, because the Republican primary voters chose Mr Trump.

    Yes, but as steward of the party, Priebus had an obligation to prevent it from being taken over by someone so obviously unfit for office, whose values were inimical to those of the party, and whose candidacy would bring great discredit on the party. He failed.

    Dave (445e97)

  204. the sleazy nevertrump movement isn’t only aiming at President Trump – their aim is to assault individuality and iconclasm writ large, and brutally enough such that people are on warning going forward that any failure to uphold and kowtow to ivy league trash ruling class values will be met with similar petty viciousness and with extreme prejudice

    The Presidency is not an icon we should fart on. But that aside, that whole sentence is as nonsensical as anything anybody ever said.

    nk (dbc370)


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