US Politics, October 2019 — I guess statement you could say with thread. I made a thread. The thread was PERFECT.

hmmm, maybe. but have you ever considered the possibility that everyone except trump and his small circle of advisors is lying? because that's what you'd have to believe, in order to think that trump is innocent. and that's what i believe #maga

Am I wrong in remembering that this tendency only really began with Trump responding in a Trumpian fashion to military-adjacent critics of Trump (eg the Khans, McCain)? And that prior to that the military (at least in terms of their public commentary) was pretty much sacrosanct among the GOP?

Well, sacrosanct as cudgels to use against Democrats. They don't give a shit about veterans.

Dead veterans they like.

yeah can't remember the GOP ever knocking John Kerry

xxpost Yeah, which is why I specified their public commentary. I mean, I don't think they actually give a fuck about farmers in the heartland, either, but they somehow refrain from voicing their true opinions about that gaggle of hayseeds.

it really is a tough judgment call to make: is this lifelong con artist self promoting sleazebag pathological liar lying, or is the whole of the leadership ranks of the military and intelligence agencies lying because they are jealous of said lying con artist. Lol jk it's not a tough judgement, haters gonna hate, we all know this.

At any rate, it'll be fun if the GOP manages to well and truly alienate any of the agencies/institutions they've traditionally aligned themselves with, all for the sake of shielding the fragile ego of a ochre-hued rascal who only switched over to their side so he could let his racism find its full flourish.

Oops.

Source familiar with Vindman’s closed doors deposition says he has testified that he took notes during the July 25th phone call, and made two or so recommended edits to the summarized call transcript that weren’t used in the end (ie using company in place of Burisma)

— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) October 29, 2019

jeez - so he was trying to help trump cover his tracks, and they ignored his advice?

These people are so smart.

What is wrong with these mush-brained wastes of space that the lock-him-up WS chanting was anything other than an OBVIOUSLY ironic repurposing of the original

Fucking idiots

I think the tweeter worded this poorly

I was going to make a crack about it being a mistake to challenge the great and unmatched wisdom of Donald Trump even when it's in the service of obfuscating his hamfisted malfeasance but then I remembered that he's a septuagenarian life-long criminal who managed to scam his way into becoming POTUS and is likely to never face any substantive punishment for his many misdeeds and, well, that sure shut my mouth.

you are sadly correct

He honestly might as well have made a public statement that he was preparing to do crimes just before all of the times he did crimes. It's perfectly within the remit of the president to do so AFAICT.

kinda hope that troop worship (obv in the abstract, not in any material sense) may go the way of the zomg deficit and fambly values as an increasingly weak cudgel for the Right, but it probably won't

lol wtf am i saying the other two will be back front and center the minute a democrat dares take the oath of office

I’m also ok with troop worship In the material sense going the way of those things tbh

Most veterans don't give a fuck about veterans being shat on by Trump

yeah i'd be interested to see what support for trump is among (white) veterans and active duty. i'm guessing just shy of cop territory?

a fair number of the vietnam era vets i work with have expressed, shall we say, extreme dislike for trump but they're also more likely to be in more tenuous social situations (lots of medical and psychiatric problems, no money, POC, etc). the only maga hats i tend to see around the hospital are being worn by white boomers that appear to be doing pretty well, financially etc

obv all completely anecdotal

my fave patient (RIP) was this grumpy old retired criminal defense lawyer who refused to speak his name and would spit when i'd ask him who the president was (a standard orientation question)

Someone I know went to an Army-Navy game recently and reported that support was at a fever pitch among military families. /shrug emoji

(Non-rich) GOP voters have typically put more stock in the utterances of those who claim they have the utmost respect for their constituents' homes and belongings than in the actions of those same people as they torch their constituents' homes and belongings, but maybe even a disingenuous gesture of respect is becoming optional.

'Fuck you, dipshit, vote for me' (dipshit hurtles to the polls)

McConnell smells things

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday he has not decided whether to hold a floor vote on a resolution condemning the House impeachment process, adding that he is waiting to see the Democrats' plan for proceeding with their inquiry.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday is slated to outline her plan for proceeding on impeachment, which is expected to include a vote to formally launch the process and give Republicans and President Trump's legal team more power to participate.
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“We’ll have to take a look at what the House produces later today and see if it passes the smell test of providing the kind of due-process protections that the president and his team are certainly entitled to, just like President Nixon was and President Clinton was.”

The Senate GOP resolution condemning the House impeachment process has 50 Republican cosponsors. Three GOP senators — Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Mitt Romney (Utah) — have not signed on, meaning Vice President Pence might have to cast the tie-breaking vote if the resolution comes to the floor.

“We haven’t made a decision on that yet,” McConnell told reporters, adding “the next step” will be “to take a look and see whether the House is now going” to “try to handle this in a more transparent way that meet basic standards of due process that every American would be entitled to.”

Asked if he viewed the House impeachment inquiry as illegitimate, McConnell responded: “Impeachment, as a practical matter, is whatever a majority of the House decides it is at any given moment.”

last line gives the game away dunnit

IMPORTANT: Dems putting House Intel in charge of public hearings means most of Trump's best defenders are sidelined when the inquiry goes public -- Jordan, Meadows, Zeldin.

Intel also has the fewest # of GOP members of all committees: 9.https://t.co/PHFNsnXfQU

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) October 29, 2019

Man, is he ever going to get raked over the coals, and then subsequently slathered with the finest ointments and tinctures by the Senate before they rock him into a soothing slumber and kiss him gently on the forehead.

"how does trump end?" is a scary speculative thread imo, must already exist right

"how does trump end?"

https://i.redd.it/8g04gvo0nsa11.jpg

Scarier than I could ever have speculated.

every picture of his body makes me feel like sideshow bob rubbing pattie's bunions

Many of them look like someone hastily cobbled together several photographs of the same moment without concerning themselves overly much with whether the various body parts lined up correctly.

https://miro.medium.com/max/974/1*6-MPRi55oBECO6mrZEQfAg.png

Our first cubist president.

will hurd (relatively moderate and already announced his resignation at the end of this term, and a plausible candidate to vote yes on impeachment) is one of the republican members of the intelligence committee, which might be interesting when they start public hearings.

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/FlimsySourAfricanclawedfrog-size_restricted.gif

take sides: kevin mccarthy vs. louie gohmert

McCARTHY: "A due process starts at the beginning. It doesn't affirm a miss, sham investigation all the way through. If you were in the legal term, it'd be the fruit from the poisonous tree." #wut pic.twitter.com/P8P4eybvXG

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 29, 2019

words, how do they work

this Rolling Stone review of Tap Root Manuscript is uh worth reading:

Side Two is the Artistry, open to question. This is The African Trilogy (a folk ballet). It's a varied and ambitious work. Here is the written introduction:

"When rhythm and blues lost its sensuality for me I fell in love with a woman named gospel. We met secretly in the churches of Harlem and made love at revival meetings in Mississippi.

"And loving her as I did. I found a great yearning to know her roots. And I found them. And they were in Africa. And they left me breathless.

"The African triology is an attempt to convey my passion for the folk music of that black continent."

I know you're laughing. The strange thing is, it's not that bad a piece of music. It's certainly far less pretentious than its introduction. The worst of it has been identified as: "wimoweh" off-key, the "Missa Luba" by Doc Severinsen, or the sound track to Elephant Walk. In its better parts, though, it's quite charming children's chorus, interpretations of African music and the like. The only trouble is, I haven't any idea who would want to listen to it. Certainly not the audience he has. No one interested in African ballet. Freaks leave the room when it's on. But then again the Moody Blues got rich off stuff that's sillier than this. If somebody gives you a copy, listen to it, but I wouldn't recommend your blowing your dope money on it.

words, how DO they work?

hahahaha shit

While I certainly agree that "ride my seesaw" is silly, is this the thread for it?

in other news, Senator Jeffy wants back into the Senate, by golly! He would probably win tbh.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/467971-jeff-sessions-calling-alabama-lawmakers-about-2020-senate-bid

Neal Diamond 4 President

senator burr is concerned that black people might make money

If college athletes are going to make money off their likenesses while in school, their scholarships should be treated like income. I’ll be introducing legislation that subjects scholarships given to athletes who choose to “cash in” to income taxes. https://t.co/H7jXC0dNls

— Richard Burr (@SenatorBurr) October 29, 2019

who will stand up for the ncaa sports programs?!!?

I am really mad that Shakey didn't end that post with "this, far and away"

impeachment hearings can open with up to 90 minutes of questioning by staff counsel (45 per side)

This is actually also a good development. The five minutes back and forth BS has derailed too many other hearings. But while the Dems definitely have enough questions to go a full 45 minutes, the GOP flailing with nothing for 45 minutes a stretch won't be nearly as effective for them as throwing little fits every few minutes. Though I'm sure they'll do that, too.

house votes, a century later, to recognize the armenian genocide, 405 for, 11 republicans against, 3 present

ataturk is gonna be pissed

Israel also gonna be pissed