The Commentariat -- Sept. 19, 2016
Afternoonish Update:
Edgar Sandoval & Jason Silverstein of the New York Daily News: "Authorities nabbed the man wanted in connection with the weekend bombings in New York City and New Jersey after he shot a police officer Monday morning, according to reports. Ahmad Khan Rahami, 28, was the first person identified in connection with the bombings. NBC New York and CNN reported that Rahami was in custody after shooting an officer in Linden, N.J. around 11 a.m. Details about the shooting were not immediately released." -- CW ...
... Marc Santora, et al., of the New York Times: "The man believed to be responsible for the explosion in Manhattan on Saturday night and an earlier bombing in New Jersey, Ahmad Khan Rahami, was taken into custody on Monday after he was wounded by gunfire in an encounter with the police, according to law enforcement officials. The dramatic episode on a rain-soaked street in Linden, N.J., came after the police issued a cellphone alert to millions of residents in the area telling them to be on the lookout for the suspect, who was described as 'armed and dangerous.'... Mr. Rahami, 28, was identified on surveillance video planting the bombs in Chelsea, both the device that exploded and another that did not detonate a few blocks away. He was described as a naturalized citizen of Afghan descent who had been living with his family in Elizabeth, N.J.... Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who said on Sunday that the attack did not appear to have a link to international terrorism, said new evidence might change that thinking." -- CW
Donald Trump: Newscaster Also, something new, media unfair to Trump. Nolan McCaskill of Politico: "Donald Trump on Monday morning claimed credit for accurately calling the weekend's explosion in Manhattan a bombing, even before full details were in, as the Republican presidential nominee attempts to exploit the latest terror threats to boost his campaign. Trump slammed the media for attacking him over his early use of the bomb term and accused them of editing out clips of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton using a similar term...The real estate mogul suggested the media were attacking him ... because polls are tightening." Akhilleus: Trump seems to think that the term newscaster is the same as earliest guesser. Another example of how little factual information penetrates, or matters inside the cramped quarters of the orange dome.
Meanwhile in Putin Land. Sarah Rainsford of the BBC considers the Russian "elections": "This result was a resounding victory for United Russia. The party founded by Vladimir Putin now controls over three quarters of the seats in parliament, giving it the power to change any law or the constitution...As [Vladimir Putin's] 'party of power', United Russia is a constant presence on state television - and not just in the run up to elections. That has a huge influence on voters. But a change to the electoral system has also been key. Single-mandate constituencies were reintroduced for half of the seats in parliament and United Russia had a major "systemic" advantage there." Nonetheless "...significant figures[were] barred from the democratic process. They include Alexei Navalny, seen by many as Mr Putin's most formidable opponent, who is denied access to the main TV channels." Akhilleus: Wouldn't Trump love being able to bar people he hated and feared from the electoral process? One more reason he loves Putin.
Meetings in Jesus Land, D.C. Francine Kiefer of the Christian Science Monitor reports on the growing influence of congressional prayer meetings: "The Senate breakfast and its companion in the House are invisible to the public. Yet that is exactly what makes them so beneficial, say attendees. The confidentiality of the breakfasts allows lawmakers to get to know each other as human beings. They hear about each other's personal struggles and joys, about concern for family members, friends, and staff. That builds trust and friendship. It can even lead to bipartisan legislation. One participant says that it's the only time when a senator is speaking and others are really listening...The meetings have their share of critics, who see them as too clubby, too secretive, and too much religious talk under the rotunda." Akhilleus: Because religion and religious nutjobs in congress, not to mention secret meetings, have been so helpful in solving the problems of the republic.
Christie and the Bridge of Damocles: David Porter of the Washington Post. "A federal prosecutor told jurors Monday that a witness will testify that Republican Gov. Chris Christie was told about a plan to close traffic lanes near the George Washington Bridge as the shutdown was happening, a claim he has contested for years.... Prosecutors said Bill Baroni and Bridget Kelly, two former Christie allies, had sought political revenge against Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich. Baroni was a top Christie appointee to Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Kelly was Christie's former chief of staff. Assistant U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna told jurors that David Wildstein, another Port Authority official, will testify he and Baroni made Christie aware of the plan during a 9/11 memorial in New York City in 2013, three days after the gridlock started. 'The evidence will show that ... they bragged about the fact that there were traffic problems in Fort Lee and that Mayor Sokolich was not getting his calls returned,' Khanna said" -- Akhilleus
*****
Matt Zapotosky, et al., of the Washington Post: "The New York Police Department announced Monday that it is seeking 28-year-old Ahmad Khan Rahami in connection with Saturday's bombing in Manhattan, though the man's role in the incident remains unclear.... Court records show the Rahami family has ties to Afghanistan. New York Police Department spokesman J. Peter Donald announced the development on Twitter. It came after authorities took 'a number of people' into custody in connection with the bombing, and their counterparts in New Jersey worked to render safe 'multiple improvised explosive devices' discovered at a train station in Elizabeth just across from Staten Island." -- CW ...
... Rocco Parascandola, et al., of the New York Daily News: "The FBI took five people with possible links to the Chelsea explosion into custody Sunday night in Brooklyn as authorities shut down a busy New Jersey rail station after finding multiple pipe bombs in a garbage can, police and New Jersey officials said. The weekend trail of terror continued along the Belt Parkway where federal agents nabbed several people of interest with a weapons stash inside an SUV, according to law enforcement sources." -- CW ...
... Jessica Remo of NJ.com: "An improvised explosive device in a backpack detonated near the Elizabeth train station early Monday as authorities were using a bomb robot to examine the item, officials said. The blast occurred around 12:40 a.m. near Morris Avenue and Julian Place. The explosion was not a controlled blast, but happened unintentionally as the robot was cutting the device, according to Mayor Christian Bollwage. No one was injured in the blast, Bollwage said." -- CW ...
... Marc Santora of the New York Times: "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said that a powerful explosion that rocked the Chelsea neighborhood in Manhattan on Saturday night, injuring 29 people, did not appear to be linked to international terrorism, but that it was a powerful bomb designed to kill. 'This is one of the nightmare scenarios,' he said at a news conference on Sunday.... He said all of the injured had been released from the hospital. A few hours after the explosion, the authorities found and removed what they described as a second device four blocks away, raising the possibility that two bombs had been planted in the heart of the city. Mr. Cuomo said the devices appeared to be similar in design." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... New Lede: (With more reporters added to byline): "A bomb that injured 29 people on Saturday in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, and another that failed to detonate, were filled with shrapnel and made with pressure cookers, flip phones and Christmas lights that set off a powerful explosive compound, law enforcement officials said on Sunday. Both bombs appeared designed to create maximum chaos and fatalities -- they also provided a trove of clues even as any suspects remained unnervingly at large."
Presidential Race
Dr. Lawrence Altman, in two articles in the New York Times, evaluates what little is known about the states of Hillary Clinton's and Donald Trump's health. -- CW
John Wagner of the Washington Post: "... Hillary Clinton issued a statement Sunday saying she strongly condemns what she characterized as 'apparent terrorist attacks' in Minnesota, New Jersey and New York. 'Law enforcement officials are working to identify who was behind the attacks in New York and New Jersey, and we should give them the support they need to finish the job and bring those responsible to justice,' Clinton said, adding: 'We will not rest until that happens.'... Clinton's statement Sunday followed remarks to reporters on her campaign plane Saturday night in which she cautioned against rushing to conclusions about the attacks and criticized ... Donald Trump for quickly telling an audience that an explosion in New York was a bomb that served as a reminder for the United States to'get very tough.'" -- CW
If all you're doing is watching Fox News and listening to Rush Limbaugh and reading some of the blogs that are churning out a lot of misinformation on a regular basis, then it's very hard for you to think that you're going to vote for somebody who you've been told is taking the country in the wrong direction.And so, structurally, we already have these divisions and it's going to be hard to overcome those. -- President Obama, at a fundraiser in New York City
Donald Trump has repeatedly invited his followers to commit a terrible act of violence on his opponents.... What kind of a man does that? What kind of a man tries to hurt someone else, or get someone else to hurt someone else? I'll tell you: It's a nasty little bully who can't win a fair fight.... Donald Trump has more support from the Aryan Nation and the Ku Klux Klan than he does from the leadership of the Republican Party. -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren, at a campaign stop in Cleveland, Ohio&
CW Note: As Dave Weigel of the Washington Post laid out, Warren began her speech by talking about economics. It wasn't until Jill Stein supporters interrupted her that she began berating Trump: "For the first time, there were hoots and ovations, and Warren was rolling," Weigel writes. This is what I mean when I say that most voters don't know or care much about policy. Republicans understand that too well; that's why they can say they're lowering taxes when in fact they're lowering taxes only for the wealthy. Democrats need to learn that the average voter needs raw-meat "issues" to sink his teeth into and bumper-sticker slogans to rouse him. It's H.L. Mencken all over again.
Tommy Christopher of Mediaite: "One of the lies being promoted by Donald Trump's presidential campaign, and by Trump himself, is that Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign started the 'Birther' conspiracy, a claim which they now try and back up with another lie, that then-campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle has 'admitted' as much.... While Solis Doyle did say the campaign fired a volunteer who forwarded an offensive email, that email wasn't actually about then-Senator Obama's birthplace at all, and even more to the point, the first time an actual Clinton campaign staffer saw the email, his reaction was this: '... I've gotten this forward before. It's racist and ignorant. I can't believe that people believe this stuff.'... The Trump campaign also likes to point to an internal memo from strategist Mark Penn, one which was never acted upon, that suggested Obama's worldly and diverse image could be used against him.... What hasn't been reported much is that the memo in question actually says this: 'We are never going to say anything about his background.'" -- CW
Samantha Allen of The Daily Beast: "Last Thursday, the Trump campaign issued -- and then quickly deleted -- a rant against the FDA food police, listing it as one of several 'specific regulations to be eliminated' in his new economic plan. Among other things, the campaign whined about the Food and Drug Administration's standards for 'farm and food production hygiene,' safe cooking temperatures, and even 'dog food....' In fact, the Trump business empire has a long and illustrious history of food poisoning cases and safety violations.... In 1992, the AP reported that 'Donald Trump's properties have the worst track record for food-related health problems among Atlantic City's 12 casinos,' citing statements made by city health officials." --safari
D.R. Tucker in the Washington Monthly: "... GQ ha[s] hired Keith Olbermann to discuss the demented dynamics of the 2016 presidential election." Thanks to contributor Nancy for the link. You might want to send the video to your right-wing relatives:
... ** BUT, as Paul Waldman lays out, it likely won't make any difference: "For a while it was reasonable to believe that once people really understood who Trump is, Clinton would win in a landslide. We know now that won't happen. In fact, as we've learned more about Trump and he's been out campaigning longer, it has turned out that he's a thousand times worse than anyone imagined when this all began -- not just a buffoon, not just an ignoramus, not just shallow and cruel and stupid, but a figure as sinister as anyone in contemporary public life.... Yet here we are, seven weeks from election day with the race essentially tied.... Trump's supporters ... cackle in glee and revel in their part in the greatest scam of all. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton's supporters toss and turn at night wondering if she's trustworthy enough because she doesn't rush to inform reporters every time she's feeling sick." -- CW ...
... Jenna Johnson of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump has yet to take questions from reporters about why he finally decided Friday that President Obama was, in fact, born in the United States, forcing some of his top surrogates to answer for him during Sunday morning news shows." CW: The responses of mike pence, Kellyanne Conway & Chris Christie were, not surprisingly, farcical. Maybe Trump figured his minions could come up with something better than he could, but they didn't. Christie at least gave us a preview of what to expect if debate moderators refute Trump when he spouts "his facts." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... On CNN's "State of the Union," Jake Tapper said to Gov. Chris Christie "... Donald Trump did not accept when Barack Obama released his birth certificate in 2011. He kept up this whole birther thing until Friday. That's five years....," hereupon Christie replied, "No, but, Jake, that's just not true. It's not true that he kept it up for five years."
Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post: "A sitting governor goes on national television and when he is called out for an obvious falsehood, he simply repeats the inaccurate talking points over and over.... This is such bogus spin that we have to wonder how Christie manages to say it with a straight face. Regular readers know we shy away from using the word 'lie,' but clearly Christie is either lying or he is so misinformed that he has no business appearing on television. Kudos to Tapper for refusing to let Christie get away with it." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Update: Kevin Drum: "Donald Trump lies practically every time he opens his mouth. That's hardly even notable anymore. What is still notable is the corrosive effect he has on nearly everyone who enters his orbit. His kids lie without compunction. His spokespeople lie without compunction. His campaign manager -- until recently a fairly normal conservative -- lies without compunction.... Everyone who spends any time around him seems to inhale the lesson that in the modern media environment, there's simply no penalty for lying, no matter how obvious the lies are. [Sunday], Chris Christie casually peddled the obvious lie that Donald Trump gave up on birtherism after President Obama released his long-form birth certificate in 2011." -- CW
Okay, Maybe Obama Was Born in the U.S.A, BUT. Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "A top strategist for a super PAC supporting ... Donald Trump said Sunday that there is an 'otherness' to President Obama, two days after Trump acknowledged for the first time that Obama was born in the United States.... Alex Castellanos, a top strategist for the pro-Trump super PAC Rebuilding America..., said on NBC's 'Meet the Press, 'The big question about Obama has been: Has he been -- has he considered himself more of a globalist than an American? There's an otherness to the president, and people have tried to exploit that politically in different ways.'" -- CW
** Worse Than Trump??? Paul Krugman: "Does it make sense to vote for Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate for president? Sure, as long as you believe two things. First, you have to believe that it makes no difference at all whether Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump moves into the White House -- because one of them will. Second, you have to believe that America will be better off in the long run if we eliminate environmental regulation, abolish the income tax, do away with public schools, and dismantle Social Security and Medicare -- which is what the Libertarian platform calls for. Yet..., according to a recent Quinnipiac poll..., [29 percent] of millennial voters ... say that they would vote for Mr. Johnson if the election took place now." CW: Read on. Krugman's column will give you talking points if you know or meet up with any ditzy Johnson voters.
Other News & Views
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: The Supreme Court will hear the appeal of Colorado builder Miguel Angel Peña Rodriguez, who was convicted of three misdemeanors related to sexual assault case. One of the jurors, a former law enforcement officer, allegedly said things during deliberations like, 'I think he did it because he's Mexican, and Mexican men take whatever they want.' The "Court will consider whether Mr. Peña Rodriguez can challenge his conviction based on [juror] H. C's statements. That will require the justices to choose between keeping jury deliberations secret and sustaining the Sixth Amendment's promise of an impartial jury.... The Colorado Supreme Court resolved that tension in favor of secrecy. By a 4-to-3 vote, it said that 'protecting the secrecy of jury deliberations is of paramount importance in our justice system.'" -- CW
Lois Beckett of the Guardian: "Americans own an estimated 265m guns, more than one gun for every American adult, according to the most definitive portrait of US gun ownership in two decades. But the new survey estimates that 130m of these guns are concentrated in the hands of just 3% of American adults -- a group of super-owners who have amassed an average of 17 guns each.... The unpublished Harvard/Northeastern survey result summary ... estimates that America's gun stock has increased by 70m guns since 1994. At the same time, the percentage of Americans who own guns decreased slightly from 25% to 22%." -- CW ...
... AND Count on Those "Super-owners" to Be (at Least) a Little Bit Nuts. Terrence McCoy of the Washington Post tells the eerie story of Jim Cooley, a Georgia man who carries guns everywhere he goes, including the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle he thinks is necessary protection for trips to places like the local WalMart, which he believes is a target for terrorists. McCoy relates that Cooley became fearful & obsessed with carrying guns after he lost his job and went into debt because of serious medical problems.
Kristine Guerra of the Washington Post: "A man who was killed after stabbing nine people Saturday night inside a Minnesota mall was 'a soldier of the Islamic State,' an ISIS-linked news agency said Sunday morning.... In a statement Sunday, Amaq News Agency said the suspect 'carried out the operation in response to calls to target citizens of countries belonging to the crusader coalition.'" -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Jared Goyette of the Guardian: "The Somali American community in St Cloud, Minnesota, condemned on Sunday the mass stabbing attack at a mall the night before, as the immigrant population confronted longstanding tensions and unconfirmed reports emerged of the suspect's identity. Police have not yet named the suspect, who wounded nine people on Saturday night at the Crossroads Center mall, and whose attack is being investigated as 'a potential act of terrorism'. But Ahhmed Adan, a Somali immigrant, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Sunday that police had told him the night before that his son, Dahir Adan, had died the night before." -- CW
Beyond the Beltway
New York Times Editors: "Anyone looking for more evidence that politicians pay no attention to campaign contribution limits will find it in an astonishing trove of documents leaked to The Guardian, which published a report last week about the secret money that has recently flooded Wisconsin state politics. The roughly 1,500 pages of emails, financial records and court filings -- most of which have not been made public until now -- were collected during an investigation of possible campaign-finance violations by Gov. Scott Walker's campaign to beat back a 2012 recall effort.... Memos on checks written to the [ha-ha 'independent,' dark-money] Club for Growth and other groups said 'because Scott Walker asked,' or 'to fight the Walker recall.' Mr. Walker wrote personal thank-you notes to the donors.... Versions of this sad story are playing out across the country, thanks in large part to the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision...." ...
(... CW PS: If you're wondering why I didn't link to the Guardian story [and some others I read last week & thought were important], it's because I didn't have time to write synopses & nobody is helping me.)
Derek Hawkins of the Washington Post: "A 40-year-old black man who was fatally shot by a Tulsa police officer had his hands up and appeared unarmed when one officer Tasered him and another fired at him, according to a local pastor who reviewed footage of the incident Sunday. The department hasn't commented publicly on the video or said whether police recovered a weapon from the scene. Terence Crutcher died in the hospital Friday evening after being shot once, Tulsa police told the Associated Press." CW: Pastor Rodney Goss's account makes the killing of Crutcher sound like cold-blooded murder. ...
... The Tulsa World story is here.
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Reader Comments (25)
That heavily armed and paranoid dude in Georgia is the ultimate expression, the summing up, of one of the Great Republican Experiments. One is the Confederate version of redistribution of wealth: from the 99% to the 1%. They're not quite through with that one though. I know, because when I come home from work at night, I still have a couple of bucks in my pocket. Paul Ryan wants to make sure that money goes to his buddies, the Kochs.
A scarier experiment that has finally come to fruition is their Plan for the Mentally Disturbed. Ronald Reagan deinstitutionalized them and his heirs armed them and Fox keeps them in a perpetual state of anxiety. How's that for social engineering?
But the really scary Confederate plan is coming closer to its Eureka moment every time some Times reporter publishes a "Hillary and Trump: Both Bad" story. That experiment is the Governance by Ignorant Racist Dictator experiment. The beakers in the crazy lab are foaming over and the electrodes are humming. If Trump doesn't make it, they've got Ignorant Racist Dictator 2.0 ready to go. Such enterprising little things, those Confederates.
@Akhilleus: And, as Paul Krugman points out, Gary Johnson, who's polling at 29 percent among younger voters, obviously is taking votes away from Clinton. As I mentioned last week (in a comment, I think), these young voters probably don't know anything about Johnson other than that he's pro-weed. "Let's see, I voted for Bernie in the primaries because he was going to help me get a cheap college education, so now I'm going to vote for Johnson, because he wants to privatize all public schools."
Marie
A few things. Does Christie lie? Are you kidding? Every day. He is mentally the mini-trump.
Health: Clinton's doc made the right decision in not giving her statin for her slightly elevated LDL. Also glad to hear she tested negative for the known causes of the DVT's. That I am sure involves the genetic defect Factor V Leiden. I was wondering about that and it is great to know she is clean (not POSITIVE).
And again, we are missing info on Trump, especially his 'mental state' although I doubt his gastroenterologist is qualified to assess that or anything else.
Lastly as I said the other day, the 'leadership' of the Republican party has disappeared.
And in case you are wondering where the fat Trump statue new home is, it is located on the roof of a low building next to the ramp leading to the Holland Tunnel.
The two stacked ledes in the left column this AM's online NYTimes don't say it all, but they come close:
"How Republicans Lost Their Best Shot with Hispanic Voters" followed by "White Voters Keep Trump's Hopes Alive in Florida."
Want to know why Olbermann's powerful recitation of Trump lies (thanks, Nancy) will make no never mind to the majority?
Because the recitation makes sense. Its power derives from thought.
Racial feelings on the other hand, are are just that: feelings, unmediated by brain, and feelings, not thought, decide most elections, as they determine much of what we do.
The tussle between barbarism and civilization is is not only out there somewhere, far away; it is within us.
....he said, ruefully.
Marvin wonders where has the "leadership" of the GOP gone? To hell, perhaps? Or have they always been there? I think I'm gonna go with number two.
Proof of that likelihood is this latest sniveling admonishment from Confederate cipher and human incarnation of irrelevancy, Reince Priebus.
What's that man up to now, you might well ask. Oooh. He's very scary. He's warning the Never Trump brigade that they had better get on board and start supporting the Orange Headed Bigot and Advocator of Violence Against His Opponent, OR ELSE they will never take a lunch in this town again. Or something. Was that it? No....it was something else....lemme see..won't be able to shit all over the stage at CPAC? No....will have to erase Wayne LaPierre's private phone number from their speed dial list? No....but something like that.....OH! I know. They won't be able to run for president again. Evah!
So there.
This claim springs from the bogus "pledge" that all the 2016 monkeys took in which they promised to support the winning monkey, ie, Donaldo. Never mind that Trumpy took the same pledge and, out of the other side of his mouth, negated it by declaring that there is no promise that he can't and won't break if it's in his best interest to do so.
Ludicrousness never sleeps in the sad sack sideshow that is the GOP. How little Priebus expects to be able to keep guys like Cruz from "Ever running for president again" is a mystery since, as I understand it, this is his last year as party pooper scooper. This time next year, he'll be working at some dingy wingnut "think tank", making copies, collating, and stapling reports on how climate change is a vicious rumor started by gays in NYC to distract from the damage done during the Stonewall riot. Damn gays.
And leave us not even mention the essential anti-democratic nature of such a threat. You can't vote the way you want to now? What ever happened to all that "rugged individual" bullshit the GOP has been slinging for decades?
This guy is sadder than a nubber back to the mound with the bases loaded.
ALL THE RAGE:
John Judis does a terrific job getting into the weeds of American populism––the uprisings they have sparked could topple the established political order (whatever is left of it).
https://newrepublic.com/article/136327/all-rage-sanders-trump-populism
Birther Bozos
In addition to his above mentioned "threat", Priebus is continuing the completely debunked GOP talking point (Chris Prissy also got the memo, maybe something to distract on the eve of a trial stemming from his own hubris), er, I mean lie, that Hillary Clinton, not the Orange Headed Liar, was the source of that awful birther nonsense.
Confederates have finally dispensed with any pretense or affectation of legitimacy. They lie outright. All the time. Whereas before they would try to concoct some bizarre set of circumstances or farcical cover story to hide their hypocrisy and mendacity, they've just gotten tired of that shit.
Why?
Lying works. The press hardly ever calls them on it and TrumpBots expect the lies, and JUST DON'T CARE.
We've come to a sad juncture in national political history when lying, always a kind of back up arrow in the quiver of most politicians, has become Republicans' primary weapon of choice. And they all do it. Mitch McConnell lies at least a dozen times before arriving at the office in the morning for the first of his 8 daily naps. Paul Ryan lies when he looks in the mirror, "Oh, look at you, you handsome dog, you're so smart. Too smart for all those losers out there."
And Chris Christie would never have been elected governor if he had to tell the truth. Reince Priebus? Well.....oops. Watch your step. Ewww...there's a big pile of Priebus on the sidewalk. You almost stepped in it.
When Sarah Palin first graced our political arena and many touted her abilities –-which were few–––that fact didn't seem to matter a whit. She became the butt of jokes, of characterizations on late night T.V., her fans even viewed embarrassing interviews which clearly showed her shortcomings–––Yet–-this somehow didn't faze her followers. And I remember thinking at the time that this was a dangerous harbinger. We've had populists a- plenty (see Judis above) but they were relatively informed. Sarah was not. And many people didn't care.
And obviously they still don't .
Marie,
Gary Johnson, lifetime Republican, is doing the loyal wingnut thing: stealing votes from a Democrat. Gullible kids who vote for him have a lot to learn. I suppose we did as well at that age, but I'd like to hope that I would never have substituted the elation of youthful arrogance for the possibility of endangering the essence of democracy itself by handing over the country to a fucking lunatic.
Gary Johnson, meanwhile is another self-promoting fraud, just livin' the dream. After November 8, it's back to Pallokaville for him. But the rest of us might be in for a four year long Walpurgisnacht.
Oh, don't mind that lie, here's a little truth....OOPS!
The setting: Sunday morning with Upchuck Todd.
The guest: Kellyanne Conway, liar for hire.
The question (at least as I recall it): something, something, something, birther thing, wasn't the location just a way for Trump to tout his new hotel?
The answer (in two parts): Part one (the lie): Of COURSE not. He would never do that. He doesn't care about things like that.
The answer, Part Two (the truth): But then again, why would he do that presser in someone else's hotel and give them publicity? Huh?
It really is a sad measure of Upchuck Todd's hair pulling inadequacy as both a journalist and a celebrity interviewer that he was unable to do more than sit there open mouthed as Conway followed her lie with a small, shining sliver of truth, like a flickering light in the cold dark night of the mole people.
Of COURSE Kubla Trump after his 30 second phony "press conference" did the opening of his pricey pleasure-dome decree. That was the whole point. Bait and switch, yet again. Media with egg on their collective face. "It was a miracle of rare device, A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice!"
These people really are such despicable creeps. Too bad Todd is never up the task of getting around to showing just how bad they are. He's too busy cleaning the poop out of his Batman Superhero undies.
It's going to be very interesting how the debate is going to cover this question of the NY/NJ bombings. It'll have to come up since the story will likely still be trending in the headlines. Surely Trump will pull out his strong man persona and call upon stopping immigration from "those people", whoever that really is. It's far past time to nail down policy specifics at this conjuncture of the race, and I'm very curious to see how Drumpf will align this policy with his purported love for the holy Constitution he and his horde love so much. He obviously has no idea, nor could he be bothered to figure it out. I'm suspecting that, like the bible, they only actually care about the phrases they like, and the rest can be sent to the shredders.
@ Marie re: the Guardian's leaked document on Scott Walker.
That story was indeed highlighted 'round these parts by yours truly. But I agree more help is necessary.
I have a conspiracy theory. Trump hired Rahami to do the bombings to support his anti-Muslim position. I was going to try and spread it on the internet but I think it may be a waste of time. Hillary supporters would pay no attention to something devoid of facts and Trump supporters would think it was a great idea.
@ Marvin
I didn't post it above because I don't want to give the alt-right any publicity unless it's that they're disavowing their ignorance. But, as always in the right-wing cesspool, you're too late to the game, and a little off with your strategy:
"prominent members of the alt-right community began circulating an unlikely online manifesto that credits liberals and the LGBT community itself for the attack."
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/09/18/alt-right-seizes-on-unlikely-manifesto-to-blame-chelsea-bombing-on-crazed-leftist.html
A fact: On Sat. Muslims did not kill a single American. On Sat. Americans, probably all Christians, murdered more than 40 people and of course that is of no interest since it is just a typical day in America.
I love the photo of your true American with his AK47. He has no clue that any one of millions of other Americans could walk up to him and blow his brains out and would not even know it.
And without any theory, I do blame Americas number one supporter of ISIS for the Sat. bombings. His name is Trump. ISIS loves him.
The Jeb! cameo on the Jimmy Kimmel Emmy video was pretty funny. Maybe if he had exhibited a tiny bit of that personality during the GOP monkey food fights we wouldn't have to be worried about an ape in the White House.
On second thought.....naaahh. Jebbers was pretty funny as a limo driver but he still sucks.
Maybe he can help Reince Priebus in that wingnut "think" tank stapling crackpot reports for the next class of liars.
@safari: Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa. I do remember that now. In fact, I felt guilty that I hadn't seen the story before you linked it. But I never did get around to reading it till I scanned it today.
Marie
Kevin Drum at MotherJones links to a long, but interesting, piece at Vox by Zack Beauchamp wherein Beauchamp proffers "How racism and immigration gave us Trump, Brexit, and a whole new kind of politics."
Beauchamp's article is a long read, and like Drum I don't agree with everything in it, but worth the read. Be interested to know what you all think.
Marvin,
"Does Christie lie? Are you kidding? Every day."
Even about Bridgegate, it seems. So disappointing in a leader of the people.
Chicken and egg question: which came first? Lyin' Christie or Lyin' Trump?
Sometimes, irreligious as I am, I wish there were a Hell.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/20/nyregion/bridgegate-trial.html.
Ken,
I comfort myself, at times, by nurturing the idea that those rings Dante wrote about are real and a large percentage (I mean, 99%) of Confederate douchebags are well on their way to permanent residency.
Here's a snapshot of Dante and Virgil rowing past congressional lapdogs of the NRA as the River Styx carries them to their new digs. And over here is the so-called Freedom Caucus. How you hypocrites likin' that fire and brimstone now, eh?
If only.
A little side story. The bomber was taken to University Hospital in Newark. Why? Because the UH trauma center is one of the best in the country. Why? Because when it comes to gun shots, the staff gets to practice multiple times almost every day. Again, welcome to a America.
P.S. UH used to be a first class hospital. Thanks to politics and more it is now a shit hole.
Matt Taibbi has an interesting take on MSM bothsiderism. Would make Mencken proud.
a propos Mencken: Matt Taibbi has an interesting take on bothsiderism.
Whoops, sorry, thought the first had gone astray.
Ready for a chuckle today? Read Calvin Trillin in the New Yorker, written in a Trump voice."A Trumpian Candidate on Trump’s Corset."
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/09/19/a-trumpian-candidate-on-trumps-corset
I'm thinking there's some positive outcomes to the bombs in Manhattan and New Jersey that no one is exploiting. On the law enforcement front, Rahami was caught quickly and preserved as an intel source while other potential detonations were circumvented. The 2nd bomb in Manhattan and one in Elizabeth, NJ were found in a comprehensive multi agency search. The bomb or bomb makings in New Jersey may well have been discarded because of the LE pressure on Rahami.
Calm no rush to judgement from almost everyone (OK news media was looking for HEADLINES), including the guy-on-the-street interviews I saw and city officials. Injuries are never good, but all 29 of the injured were released the same night.
No amount of bluster and stomping on rights is going to find the people who commit random acts of terror. Seems like most, if not all of these individuals or duos are radicalized through social media. They have followed similar pathways to their actions. It makes me frustrated about a solution that doesn't shred the 1st Amendment. Hopefully, far better minds than mine are burning up a mega amount of brain cells on the subject.