US Politics, February 2018: Our country was founded by geniuses, but it’s being run by idiots

"I'm my own man, really!"

.@VP on Porter (breaking w/ Kelly): "I think the White House could have handled this better and I still feel this way"

— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) February 14, 2018

sorry about more quinn-posting, but so that was THAT john perry barlow she retweeted (sort of):

I retweeted @JPBarlow using offensive language in a sarcastic tweet that was meant to slap back at racists after Obama's first election. Eh, not my best retweet, even if the intentions, both mine and Barlow's, were in the right place.

— Well that was fun. (@quinnnorton) February 14, 2018

I just don't understand how one is friends with an avowed, active neo-nazi. either you are capable of liking avowed, active neo-nazis, or you actively dislike your friends. this isn't about the hiring decision, it's just a thing I don't understand personally

it's nice to know that she has excuses for all the time she said "fag", hung out with a nazi (and talked to him about his racism while doing it), and sarcastically retweeted a racist thing about Obama using the n-word.

she exercises even worse judgment that i do, even, and i'm sitting here in a library unemployed for 2 years trying to put together an application for a job totally unrelated to anything i'm good at or interested in. so maybe she shouldn't get to write for the nyt, just a thought

whenever someone like that is pals w/someone on the extreme right i suspect it's a bit of wanting to seem "down" w/anyone, but extending courtesy and nuance to someone like that is worthless. gives me "but behind the scenes they're all friends with Milo" vibes.

basically let her write on a blog, too bad about the power of the people being wielded haphazardly or w/e

kinda remarkable that it was the revelation of yet another Trump wife-beater/assaulter that is pushing these security-clearance stories, and none of the people caught actually compromising national security

I'm supportive of Karl Malone, NYT Op Ed writer, if that's what's on the table.

w/all this, in the end the hilariously ineffectual Devin Nunes memo was spectaculary ill-timed as well.

Norton wasn't unhired for Nazi friendship or the defense of that friendship, but because her slur tweets violated their civility rules. (This is also why, no matter how Good or Bad my writing or opinions are, the Times will not be knocking on my door.)

— slackbot (@pareene) February 14, 2018

we're probably in a bad place when i see the CNN sidebar "Trump signs sex assault bill" and I'm not sure if the bill skews pro or anti.

slack receipts in response to

https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5a8373182000004d00eaec8a.jpeg?ops=scalefit_720_noupscale

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/new-york-times-diversity-bari-weiss-tweet_us_5a833d4ee4b0cf06751f3f44?jar

xpost

i think i have just as good of a chance at that as this library digitization job i'm totally unqualified for but applying for anyway!

every time i see this thread title i keep thinking of "it's hard to fly with the eagles with you work with a bunch of turkeys"

Pence saying Kelly 'could have handled Porter dismissal better' is just him distancing himself from the guy who is next on the chopping block, while making his criticism mild enough that he doesn't burn any bridges with Kelly or Kelly's sympathizers. iow, Pence has actual experience at being a politician and knows how this stuff is usually done.

every time i see this thread title i keep thinking of "it's hard to fly with the eagles with you work with a bunch of turkeys"

i always think "i was born stupid, but i won't die hungry, videogames forever"

New Gabriel Sherman piece

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/02/as-kelly-twists-a-chaotic-search-for-a-new-chief-of-staff-engulfs-the-west-wing

KM, i may be applying for jobs i'm tot unqualified for soon. Let's start a company!

What a collegial atmosphere:

One reason why Kelly still has a job is simply that it’s been so difficult for Trump to find a qualified person who actually wants to be chief of staff. Mulvaney and Barrack have indicated they aren’t interested. “Mulvaney doesn’t want it. His goal is run for governor or land a corporate gig,” speculated one White House adviser. “And his thinking is, if you’re Trump’s chief of staff, you stain yourself for the future.”

i think i have just as good of a chance at that as this library digitization job i'm totally unqualified for but applying for anyway!

― Karl Malone, Wednesday, February 14, 2018 1:32 PM (fourteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

can i ask where at? np if not

re: ned's link above, i gotta admit to some mixed feelings here

George David Banks, who had served since February 2017 as special assistant to the president for international energy and environmental policy, told POLITICO that he was informed by the White House counsel’s office Tuesday that his application for a permanent clearance would not be granted over his past marijuana use.

i mean, i know the deal with clearances but good lord when does this end.

more on why reporters are getting the vapors over these lies and not the other lies

https://www.buzzfeed.com/stevenperlberg/white-house-reporters-are-more-pissed-off-than-usual-about?utm_term=.wtokZpnyN#.bjP6P7nYO

The groundswell of anti-Kelly leaks coming out of the White House in recent days has demonstrated how some frustrated underlings see this as a good chance to weaken a controlling chief of staff, White House reporters say. There has also been a growing anger recently among some reporters that Kelly has not been an honest broker in dealing with the press.

“This story offers a convenient vehicle to run Kelly over with his own lies and not have it look like it’s driven by reporters’ or a newsroom’s personal frustrations,” one reporter said.

Reporters, who preferred to speak anonymously about the people they have to cover, also say they feel as though they are being gaslit, almost comically, by people who should know better. For all the public talk of “fake news,” White House officials deal with the press daily and, in many cases, have normal working relationships with reporters covering the beat. The media’s reaction to the misleading Porter timeline, some reporters say, has therefore been stronger than something like an errant Trump tweet. “Normals lying is treated normally, as opposed to Trump lying,” said another reporter.

xpost

oh just uchicago. i've applied to several jobs here, never gotten a response. i started with really nice jobs that would be a step up or at least a lateral move, and now i'm working my way down to "physically lays down in mud so that students can step on top of mud specialist to get to where they are going in life"

library digitization jobs can be fun fwiw! good luck! i used to know folks @ uchicago but not anymore

For fun!

Manager for Stormy Daniels told AP that Daniels believes Trump’s lawyer invalidated a non-disclosure agreement by publicly discussing the payment, so Daniels can now talk about alleged sexual encounter with Trump https://t.co/W96OIj3yVa

— Catherine Rampell (@crampell) February 14, 2018

....as opposed to before?

Less cryptically, I guess.

Oh, good, more explicit detail is just what we needed.

On a weirdness tip

In an extremely unusual move, Utah Republican Party chairman slams Mitt Romney and his expected Senate bid. "He has never been a Trump supporter...” https://t.co/uWYmhQPffx

— McKay Coppins (@mckaycoppins) February 14, 2018

As of December, a poll showed Mitt Romney with an approval rating of 69% in Utah (and 81% among the state's Republicans). https://t.co/nfyCJO5ZZe He's an *overwhelming* favorite to win—very strange to see the state party chairman do this.

— McKay Coppins (@mckaycoppins) February 14, 2018

love to hear stories about president alpha he-man being too scared to confront people he wants to fire

Trump’s public search for his next chief has left Kelly isolated and damaged by the drumbeat of leaks. Trump seems to be doing anything he can to needle Kelly. Last week, the president made sure that Kelly heard he had called his predecessor Reince Priebus for advice, a source briefed on the call told me. Perhaps it was a gambit to get Kelly to quit so he wouldn’t have to fire him.

also, trump is relatively unpopular among utahns, right? so it seems weird to criticize romney on those particular grounds. very strange indeed.

Xp If you've signed an NDA and received, say, 100k for doing so, can you not just pay back the 100k and break it? She could crowdfund that in no time.

The NDA probably spells out consequences for breaking it, which are not likely to be confined to repayment of the original hush money.

In New York media, the dedicated columnists who investigate crimes against The Discourse are members of an elite squad known as the Always Victims Unit. These are their stories. DUN DUN. https://t.co/8mZrcd6A3t

— The Outline (@outline) February 14, 2018

...huh.

The Intercept has obtained DMs from a private Twitter group with @WikiLeaks and its most loyal supporters. It includes:

- A desire for GOP to win the 2016 election
- Trolling
- Anti-semitism
- Rampant misogyny, sexist attacks on feminists
- Transphobiahttps://t.co/pYtZqRvVOG

— Micah Lee (@micahflee) February 14, 2018

Massive thread already.

Countdown to Greenwald disavowing that story and/or firing the writers in 3...2...

shocking nobody xp

Glenn Greenwald is shocked, shocked to discover misogyny in this casino

Given Trump's base, I don't think confirming that he had sex with a porn star hurts him at all politically.

Indeed, he should be paying her to say more about it.

Depends- did she have to remove them herself or did he do it all by himself?

Countdown to Greenwald disavowing that story and/or firing the writers in 3...2...

Why?

Given Trump's base, I don't think confirming that he had sex with a porn star hurts him at all politically.

for the portion of his base that is bothered, they literally think that he had a conversion around the time of his campaign and that he's a totally different person now, and should only be judged on his actions since election day (seriously). so this is just more old news that no longer applies to trump because he's a changed man.

A little something from earlier today

HIGH DRAMA among the lawyers at Rick Gates/Manafort hearing this a.m.: Tom Green sauntered into the courtroom as public was exiting (first time we’ve seen him at court or with Gates).
He whisked Gates away to chat privately—without Gates’ trial lawyers. https://t.co/SQxhsG6iQK

— Katelyn Polantz (@kpolantz) February 14, 2018

HIGH DRAMA

Of possible interest

Dear MSM,
You too can read @realDonaldTrump NDA.
So it seems like an appropriate time to re-up this thread, where Sam Nunberg submitted his NDA in a legal filing.
You’re Welcome AND ENJOY
😂👇🏻Stormy w a Chance of Meatballs👇🏻😂https://t.co/fMSX35hJoY

— Alt_SeanSpicer'sMic🎙🤦🏻‍♀️🎙 (@Alt_Spicerlies) February 14, 2018

i can't keep up with any of this shit

Uh, sure.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Environmental Protection Agency has broken months of silence about his frequent premium-class flights at taxpayer expense, saying he needs to fly first class because of unpleasant interactions with other travelers.

— David Eggert (@DavidEggert00) February 14, 2018

unpleasant interactions with the snack boxes served in coach

"Why can't the little bottles be bigger!"