!!! Trump tells @steinhauserNH1 that he is proud of his birtherism!: "I tried and I was able to do it so I’m very proud of that." pic.twitter.com/V0yLJqF2U9
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) September 29, 2016
Adam Gopnik, in the New Yorker, “The Problem with Trump Isn’t His Debating Skills“:
… Talking, again, about President Obama’s birth certificate, he displayed not only the usual pathological inability to admit to an error—any error, ever—but an underlying racism so pervasive that it can’t help express itself even when trying to pass as something else. There was, after all, never any doubt or controversy about Obama’s being born an American—never any actual “controversy” about his place of birth, any more than there is about Trump’s or Clinton’s. (And Clinton never said there was.) It was a settled matter from the time Obama began running for office. What there was was a racist conspiracy theory, invented by various people on the fringe right, that Trump brought into the center of attention. By 2011, Trump had simply succeeded in making this racist conspiracy theory so prevalent that Obama, who had released his birth certificate three years earlier, concluded that it was more efficient to end it for all time by asking Hawaiian officials for special permission to let him give out the “long form,” archival version than to let it go on. What Obama may not have realized was that in Trump’s world, since he is never wrong, it couldn’t end.
Yet Trump continued last night his self-congratulations for compelling the President to do this, along with the grotesquely racist notion that it was “good for him” (i.e., for the President). It slowly dawned on the listener that this was all of a piece with the rest of Trump’s racial attitudes: he believes that, as a rich white man, he had a right to stop and frisk the President of the United States and demand that the uppity black man show him his papers. Stop-and-frisk isn’t just a form of policing for Trump; it’s a whole way of life. The idea that he had a right to force a black man to go through what Obama rightly saw as the demeaning business of producing his birth certificate showed his fundamental contempt for any normal idea of racial equality. It was of a line with his equally bizarre notion that owning a country club that doesn’t actively discriminate against black people is not a minimal requirement of law but a positive achievement of the owner. This isn’t the case of someone misarticulating an otherwise plausible position; it was just a case of someone repeating, once again, not only a specific racist lie but also the toxic underlying set of assumptions that produced it…
… His cruelty to Alicia Machado was unleavened by any apparent respect for her as a human being in any role other than as an envelope of flesh—an attitude he only doubled down on the following morning by complaining that she presented what he saw as an obvious problem as a reigning Miss Universe: she had gained “a massive amount of weight” (by Trump standards, that is). Again, this wasn’t a problem of how he chose to present his beliefs; the problem is with the beliefs. This wasn’t a question of preparation. It was that the things he actually believes are themselves repellent even when coherently presented. This was not a bad performance. This is a bad man.
Major Major Major Major
Nice. Bookmarked to read.
amk
birther of a nation.
Betty Cracker
Can’t sleep because I am excited about my upcoming vacation, which starts after tomorrow!
redshirt
@Betty Cracker: Where are you going?
Some Guy
Once a racist always a racist
Damien
I’ll say this as a credit to Trump: he’s making the strongest case I’ve seen the Republicans come up with the justify voter suppression
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Shorter read: as Rudi Giuliani helps lead the attack on Hillary Clinton as the wife of a guy who slept around, Joe Conason reminds us of the details of the end of Rudi’s second marriage
Betty Cracker
@redshirt: Renting a houseboat and cruising around in the wilds of Northern FL.
cmorenc
Aside from just being a bad man to others, Trump is massively self-deceiving to himself and thin-skinned resistant to taking critical advice from others – dangerous flaws in a world leader. His strong inclination to shoot off the top of his head from his gut rather than put in the effort to substantively educate himself about matters any deeper than brief power-point level is outright dangerous in a President, irrespective of his political ideology. His obvious lack of any disciplined or sustained preparation for the first debate is more troubling even than his loutish personality.
jl
Probably time I take another few days off from following the campaign. I keep reading ‘birtherism’ as ‘bullshitterism’. It’s like my eyes are playing tricks on me.
jacy
@Betty Cracker:
Happy vacation!!
Ruckus
This is the crux of Trump. This has always been the crux of Trump. He is a fucking asshole. On every level. It is the same for the people he has aligned himself with.
jl
@cmorenc: We should be thankful that he is using his massive character flaws to do so much damage to his own campaign.
Shouldn’t be complacent. Everyone should give money or do some GOTV work. But we can forge ahead with some confidence that Trump will man up and do his part to blow it.
redshirt
@Betty Cracker: Is the houseboat nice? That sounds interesting if so. Like your own floating hotel room.
jl
@Betty Cracker:
” Renting a houseboat and cruising around in the wilds of Northern FL. ”
Good luck and have a great time. I’m looking forward to pix and Cracker art work inspired by the adventure.
Mnemosyne
Did my conference call with the campaign and got all the deets for the weekend. It’s mostly going to be voter registration, not door-to-door canvassing, since NV registration closes on 10/8. Six hours on Saturday, six hours on Sunday (with a 45-minute break after 3 hours each day). On Saturday, we’re supposed to get done around 7 pm, so I moved my dinner reservation to 8 pm just in case.
Interesting tidbit in the volunteer packet: they recommend that you start drinking extra water at least 24 hours before you arrive in NV just to be sure you’re fully hydrated even before you get there.
Things to do for tomorrow: dig out my various traveling bags, laundry, get cash, assemble knitting supplies.
Ruckus
@cmorenc:
from his gut
It’s about 5 ft farther down the intestinal tract than his gut that he thinks with. Which is where all his thinking takes place. Such as it is.
Villago Delenda Est
@Ruckus: Concur on all counts.
Mnemosyne
@Betty Cracker:
Do you need a shotgun for the alligators or are you pretty sure they’ll leave you alone?
Redshift
@jl:
Or you’re developing superpowers and have “truth vision”!
Eljai
@Mnemosyne: Awesome! I’m taking a bus from San Francisco on Saturday to help register voters in Reno. Solidarity!
Mnemosyne
@Eljai:
Were we just on the same conference call? I was not one of the (few) people who asked their questions live.
I’m in So Cal, so it’s Las Vegas for me. I always forget that it’s a mere 5-hour drive if traffic is good.
Betty Cracker
@redshirt: It’s not fancy, but it has all the mod cons. Kinda like a floating RV. I’m hoping to NOT wedge it under a bridge!
Dmbeaster
His whole schtick about his birther nonsense is as much of a lie as his crap about winning the debate. This guy loves to peddle outright lies and insist they are truth. Apparently, the thing that pissed him off the most about the debate was his own people suggesting to the media that he needs to do better. For him, that means they are disloyal since they will not genuflect for the lie, thereby making it harder to sell the lie that he won the debate (which was “rigged”).
I dont see him improving for round two since every fiber of his being is devoted to servicing the lie, and he will figure that he needs to be more angry and agressive since allegedly pulling punches allowed people to falsely see Hillary as the winner. He will be his volcanic charming self for round 2.
He reminds me of a line about the manipulation of rageaholics, which is what he is. Its called “worship the volcano.” Like south sea islanders, those in his circle must pay homage and offer sacrafice to the volcano to keep it from exploding. He wants to explode, and probably thinks it hurt his show to be restrained.
redshirt
@Betty Cracker: I’m intrigued. There’s a shower I assume. Hot tub? How big is the kitchen?
SFAW
Something I have been thinking about, a question really:
Assuming Hillary wins, will this whole campaign have been worth it, if it: results in Trump getting indicted/convicted, his business closed permanently, and Uday and Qusay end up losing their inheritance, resulting in them having to do actual work, from which they’ll get fired? (I didn’t mention Lolita, because she doesn’t seem quite as vile as Uday and Qusay, but that may just be because she’s less obvious about it.)
Although the vindictive part of me says “Yes, it will have been worth it,” the quasi-rational part of me says that Trump has done so much damage to the political sphere, that it wasn’t.
I’m actually being serious for a change. My tiny brain thinks it’s an interesting thought exercise, but it’s not as if I have the best brain.
ETA: To clarify: the “worth it” does not refer to Hillary getting elected; the “it” refers to the depths to which the campaign has sunk.
Eljai
@Mnemosyne: I was on that call! I didn’t ask a question live either. I was actually listening to the call and multitasking a few things at work, so I’ll be free on Friday to organize my backpack and start drinking. Water, that is.
SFAW
@redshirt:
You forgot to ask if there are guest rooms, and do we get to stay with Betty for free?
Betty Cracker
@Mnemosyne: I’m sure I’ll see tons of gators, but I’ll do my best to stay out of their reach. I plan to do some snorkeling, but only in springs where visibility is good.
Major Major Major Major
@Betty Cracker: well that sounds fun! Can’t wait for all your updates.
Soylent Green
Trump will win if his no-college white base turns out to vote in force. But there is great news: historically, a big segment of this group’s registered voters don’t show up at the polls, and even better, there is no big upswing in voter registration by people loudly claiming to support him. On our side, people newly registering to vote outnumber his. And Trump has no ground game to boost his registered-voter totals. Let’s hope this pattern holds.
Pest Bog Mummy, Frakensteinbeck
@SFAW:
Vengeance is never worth it and serves no purpose other than emotionally salving cruelty. Punishment as a method of behavioral modification can be worth it. Trump getting indicted/convicted would probably prevent him from destroying other lives with his chiseling business scams, so that would be a good thing. Punishing him will not teach the people he voted for anything at all, unfortunately.
Ruckus
@SFAW:
I’d say not worth it. Yes Trump should be held accountable for all his bullshit business crap, his taxes, etc. But worth it for all of us to have to have our political system, our government, ourselves put into this much actual danger? No, not worth it. Trump having to pay would be the least that he could do, though that is in keeping with the vile shitstain that he is.
JGabriel
Adam Gopnick via Anne Laurie @ Top:
I don’t know why no one ever seems to mention the most likely reason that President Obama released his long form birth certificate: He released it on April 27, 2011 – just a few days before the the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner, while the President and several writers were already preparing his Trump roast (and, of course, also while the President was laying the final touches for the military to go and get Osama bin Laden).
So releasing the birth certificate just days before the WHCD was most likely to set up self-appointed head-birther Trump as the buffoon he is, before tearing him to shreds in the monologue.
redshirt
@SFAW: I assume there are a couple of extra rooms. I mean, a house boat has to be at least 3 bedrooms, right? One master bedroom and two small rooms.
Mnemosyne
@Eljai:
Yep, I am also taking tomorrow off work as a prep day for the trip. In addition to laundry and hydrating, there will also be napping and knitting. My boss is in Europe this week, so the trip couldn’t have been more perfectly timed for my schedule.
PeakVT
Possibly previously posted: Farenthold has another important scoop.
SFAW
@Ruckus:
I tend to agree with your comments re: not worth it. But I’m still ruminating.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@Mnemosyne:
I agree on the hydration. When I started spending time in Las Vegas I wondered why I kept seeing construction guys and “outside” workers getting bucket-sized Icees or Slurpees at the mini-marts. My brother explained: hydration, cold, and flavor helps when you’re drinking huge volumes.
rk
@SFAW:
It will be worth it if the republican party is shattered. Trump getting indicted and his brats losing everything will be a bonus. I have no charity for evil.
SFAW
@JGabriel:
Don’t know how close to reality that scenario is, but if it’s the actual reason — wow.
Oldgold
Of all the millions of words spewed forth analyzing the debate, the 11 words in the last 2 sentences of the New Yorker piece nailed it.
Ruckus
@Pest Bog Mummy, Frakensteinbeck:
It might teach them to double down and hate even more, if that is possible.
In some ways this election is probably good for our country, even though it is highly dangerous and not at all fun to experience. We must have a discussion, at the very least, about bigotry in this country. We are supposed to be a country founded on equality, if of nothing else, opportunity. We all are so obviously not considered equal in so many ways by so many people that we have to find a way to get this out in the open, and not just for the people obviously affected. It does none of us well. This election has brought a lot of the problem front and center. We will never make it better without that, as hard as it is.
redshirt
@rk: Amen. Shatter the Republican Party. They are too evil to allow to exist.
SFAW
@rk:
That’s a really big “if.” I tend to think it won’t be.
Betty Cracker
@redshirt: No hot tub, but it does have a full size fridge and range, plus a BBQ grill.
@SFAW: Interesting question. I guess there’s some value in knowing what percentage of our fellow citizens are either bigots themselves or so indifferent to the fate of non-whites, women, Muslims, etc., that they might as well be. We’ll have that data point shortly.
Mnemosyne
@Steeplejack (tablet):
The weather prediction is currently hotter than originally predicted — high 80s/low 90s instead of high 70s — so I will be bringing my nice insulated water bottle with me after all.
Mai.naem.mobile
I cannot believe none of this foundation stuff,the Cuba stuff and all the other stuff didn’t come out during the primaries. Maybe if Chuckie Cheese Todd and Joe Scarborough weren’t making gazillions and they could put that money towards a few basic reporters they could get these stories.
SFAW
@Betty Cracker:
Have a great time, by the way! And watch out for the
‘Nolesgators.SFAW
@Mai.naem.mobile:
Always with the jokes.
redshirt
@Betty Cracker: Do you have a flat screen TV on board?
patroclus
Gopnik’s article is quite good, but if you go to the site to read it, you’ll also see Andy Borowitz’s pieces on Gary Johnson promising to get tough on “East Korea” and naming “Obi-wan Kenobi” as his favorite foreign leader, which are hilarious.
Joyce H
@Dmbeaster:
This isn’t just Trump, it seems to be all Republicans. When Democrats lose or fall behind, they get all analytical and draw in as much info as possible to make a decision on what to do differently. Republicans don’t do that. They immediately and always go straight to – I wasn’t aggressive enough, I wasn’t mean enough, I didn’t attack enough. Again and again, their go-to is to double-down, even though it never seems to work.
You can see and hear and feel that he’s determined to go after the Clinton marriage, and he’ll probably feature that prominently in the next debate. That would never work in any venue, but will be particularly disastrous in the next debate, which is the town hall format. This is the venue specifically designed for the candidates to display their concern for average voters or at least their ability to feign such concern, and I’d be darn surprised if Trump even tries.
Mobile craigie
@SFAW:
I’ve always assumed that timing was deliberate
redshirt
Actually at this point Betty could you just give us a tour of the houseboat? It can be quick, but just please tell us all the rooms and decks.
Ruckus
@SFAW:
But I’m still ruminating.
Different story altogether. I am as well. But also as @Pest Bog Mummy, Frakensteinbeck: said about vengeance, it isn’t right. The death penalty falls under the same category, it’s vengeance. Sure there is a penalty component to it but that is just as well served by time as by death. So the death is just vengeance. It doesn’t serve us well to be vengeful. Racists are being vengeful, trying (and way, way too often succeeding) to extract a penalty for something that exists in their minds, but has no basis in reality.
SFAW
@Mobile craigie:
I used to be really cynical. I guess I’ve lost my edge, because it had never occurred to me before now.
SFAW
@Ruckus:
Under the right circumstances, I could probably be vengeful without losing too much sleep. At least, not initially. But I guess I need to ruminate about that, too.
hilts
@SFAW:
Ivanka is vile enough. Donald Trump is a malignant carcinogen who has debased our politics and our culture beyond my wildest imagination. As far as your question is concerned, I believe it will not have been worth it, but I’d still love to see him go bankrupt.
I’m also keeping my fingers crossed that puke stain Marco Rubio can be defeated and that his fellow puke stain Ted Cruz can be defeated when he’s up for re-election.
patroclus
@Joyce H: In Trumpian logic, the town hall forum is only about “feeling the pain” of the constituents because that’s the way Bill Clinton did it in 1992. He could set a brand new paradigm where the town hall is instead for a 90-minute shoutfest about prior adulterous relationships by the candidates or their spouses in front of horrified citizens.
Ruckus
@patroclus:
Wow. Johnson really, really is just in it for the weed. And seemingly what ever else he can lay his hands on.
Keith P.
Wow, Farenthold has been just incredible in his targeting of Trump Foundation transgressions. Easy choice for Pulitzer, I would think. Turns out the Foundation isn’t even certified There’s just no way it survives past 2017. Probably not even this year. Rigged!
redshirt
@Ruckus: State sanctioned murder is still murder, no matter how bad the person.
The death penalty is state sponsored murder, but many people love it so it’s not going away.
scav
@SFAW: The current election is just revealing what the actual electorate actually is: what they value, what they will compromise / jettison in pursuit of power or comforting illusion, what they will do in pursuit of same. It’s not exactly a question of “worth it” or not to my mind at least — it’s just what is, with elements of it certainly appearing earlier. The Repubs as an organization (defined loosely so as to include the metastasizing TeaParty sects) seem to have been well on their way to splintering and festering before this — in no state to cope with a parasite that knew how to push all the easy buttons and fan the flames on a whim for personal amusement.
Whatever happens to Trump afterward seems more to do with his judgement (for lack of a better word) about how much public scrutiny his life, career and business practices could actually take.
patroclus
@Ruckus: Well, I think Borowitz is being satirical and Johnson really didn’t say those things, but they do sound like something he plausibly could have said.
piratedan
@rk: @SFAW: Well, part of this is that as Dems who’ve watched this shit show progress over the last two decades with W and the behavior of the GOP post the election of Obama I’m starting to get to the point where I think that an example needs to be made.
I think the GOP has been essentially butt hurt ever since Nixon. One of their got his ass caught and while some members of the GOP were truly outraged and repentant regarding the actions condoned by Nixon while he was in office, there remains a very significant portion of that group that felt that what happened to Nixon was too harsh because they see that the office of the President is supposedly above reproach, even more so when a GOP person inhabits it.
As such, they’ve been in witch hunt mode for decades and a cadre of folks have seen to it since the Nixon days to do the following:
Control the media to ensure that the town stays wired for the GOP
call into question the legislation proposed by the Democrats.
Undo the new deal and the civil rights acts
While embracing the flag and wrapping themselves as the party of Lincoln, while essentially working to make the confederacy ascendant.
Part of me says which is best… fumigate the national political house and call these asshats on the carpet.. at what cost? How will this be spun, because you can rest assured that the media will spin the ever loving shit out of it.
Or do we keep on working the system, despite the goal posts being moved knowing that demographics are on our side and that justice will eventually be served unless these guys manage to get control again and roll everything back by further rigging the system.
amk
donnie dick’s new hero?
Villago Delenda Est
@redshirt: The GOP needs to go the way of the NSDAP and the CPSU. Oblivion.
hilts
@Mai.naem.mobile:
Your comment reminds me of Gandhi’s response to the question what do you think of Western civilization to which he replied, “It would be a good idea”. In theory, I think cable news is a good idea, but in reality it’s mostly bread and circuses infotainment.
A few weeks ago, CNN aired a report on AC 360 describing 3 instances in which Trump refused to pay some contractors. It included powerful testimony from people who’d been stiffed by Trump and my reaction was why the fuck could CNN have not run this story 4 weeks after Trump announced his candidacy.
Ruckus
@SFAW:
That’s why we have to keep a constant check on our worse traits. We are human, animals, we are, at the base, survivalists. Many of us haven’t figured out that with 6 billion people on the planet we are in this together, we have to help each other out or we have to kill off enough of those 6 billion to make the place less crowded. We can now provide food without having to forage 15 hrs a day, homes mostly without rain coming in, we can survive past middle age. But to do all of this we have to work together at least some what. The other day the train I had waited for, I should say the second train as the first was full, wouldn’t move because it was overloaded. The driver had to plead with people to get off and wait the whole 7 minutes till the next train. I was standing in the middle of the car, people in my way to either door and no one moved. I said fuck it, I’ll get off and wait, if we don’t we’ll be waiting anyway. I had to force my way through. It took 5 min to get enough people to get off the train. I got on the next one and even got a seat. We are in this together, like it or not, we have to work together to make the country better, to make us better humans. Many of our fellow citizens just want to kill those they don’t like. Fuck that.
hilts
Trump Scandal Cheat Sheet
h/t http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/09/donald-trump-scandals/474726
SFAW
@Ruckus:
Thanks very much for the thoughts. If I didn’t have to be up in like 3 hours, I’d probably want to debate you on this (not in antagonistic way, truly). But my energy level is dropping fast, so …
But, really, thanks very much. Gives me lots to think about.
Ruckus
@redshirt:
It has gone away in many states. Some states like CA still have the dp the last execution was in 2006.
From the net
On November 8, 2016, California’s people will vote on two competing initiatives about the death penalty: Proposition 62 which would repeal capital punishment, and Proposition 66 which would retain it and streamline the appeal process in capital cases. Both proposals would require the affected convicts to work in jail, something they are currently exempted from.[5] California Constitution provides that when two contradictory initiatives are adopted the same day, the one which have received the highest affirmative vote prevails.[6]
Ruckus
@patroclus:
Didn’t read close enough and notice that you said it was Andy. He does parody so well, sometimes it’s hard to tell if it’s true, sort of like the Onion can’t match real life.
ETA Should notice that Johnson really isn’t smart at all, so pretty much anything stupid that he is supposed to have said has a not zero chance of being true.
Davebo
@Betty Cracker: Having grown up on a Houseboat and lived in N Florida (though not on a boat) I don’t know what to say.
I’m jealous!
Helen
@Keith P.: @PeakVT:
This is a big deal. And if I were the NY Attorney General and the IRS I would also go after the people and organizations that gave money to the Foundation. Who gives money to a 501c4 without asking to see their audit and their 990 (their tax form)? Anyone who gave money to the Trump Foundation should be investigated to see if they deducted the contribution. If they did they are in big trouble with the IRS.
Sorry for the people and orgs who meant well and trusted Trump, but it needs to be made clear that he is absolutely TOXIC.
Brachiator
It may not end up shattered, but it is definitely rocking and rolling. Has there been a thread yet about the effect that newspaper endorsements are having on conservatives?
First of all, it has to be admitted that not only do many Republicans have principles, but that some conservative newspapers are doing what the Republican Party cannot do, repudiate Trump and acknowledge that Hillary is the best, the rational choice. And papers like the Arizona Republic, unlike the progressive lunatic fringe, also understand that Clinton is not just the same as Trump, nor is she the lesser of two evils.
The latest stories reveal that the worst core of Trump supporters cannot deal with this revelation, and like their leader, are responding with furious denial and increasing anger and hostility.
It will be interesting to see what papers, if any, endorse Trump, and how they justify their position.
Meanwhile, I would almost like to see Clinton cancel any further debates, and simply declare that Trump’s candidacy is illegitimate.
Can the GOP admit it’s mistake, or will they, like Trump himself, double down on lies and self delusion?
Davebo
@Helen:
Of course they deducted the contribution and there’s no way they’ll face any liability for doing so.
It’s the IRS’ job to vet tax deductible charities, not the donors.
amk
@Helen: If the IRS didn’t do its job properly, then why the donors should be punished? This guy has been running his ‘business’ and ‘trusts’ in the most possible dubious ways for decades. What the fuck was IRS doing all these years?
Brachiator
@Ruckus:
I haven’t received my voter guide yet. Wouldn’t Prop 66 possibly result in the execution of innocent people because it seeks to shorten the time between conviction and execution and ultimately limit appeals?
Brachiator
@redshirt:
No, it is state sanctioned killing. Not all killing is murder.
Ultimately I favor the abolition of capital punishment, because I don’t think that it can be administered fairly, and innocents have likely died because of errors, malice and incompetence.
And yet, there are some vicious killers who I think deserve a brutal death.
hilts
@Brachiator:
As of this date, Trump has still not received a single newspaper endorsement. Great timing by the Detroit Free Press with their endorsement of Gary Johnson.
Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]
@Brachiator: That’s probably a feature, and not a bug, for the people who are pushing Prop 66
sigaba
@Joyce H: “The great conservative vice is disgust, the great liberal vice is guilt.”
Ruckus
@Brachiator:
I think you have it correct. Prop 66, IMHO is crap. It might save the state some money but really it is the work around this:
On July 16, 2014, federal judge Cormac J. Carney of the United States District Court ruled that California’s death penalty system is unconstitutional because it is arbitrary and plagued with delay. The state has not executed a prisoner since 2006.
The backers of 66 don’t want to protect people from being killed by the state, they want to make it easier, cheaper and faster to kill them.
By the way I know someone who was on death row for a heinous murder (is there any other kind?) and who was taken off death row by the 1972 decision about it being unconstitutional and is still in prison although they may be paroled. But I see no compelling reason that this person needed to die. It would not return any victims to life and as the only concept I can see as prevailing here is eye for an eye, I think the death penalty is bullshit. It’s beneath us as humans to kill for revenge, which is all that an eye for an eye is, revenge.
Geoduck
@Brachiator: Clinton cancel debates? No. Bad, horrible idea. The resulting tsunami of negative press would put Trump right back in the race.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@amk:
Uh, being understaffed and underfunded by the GOP? Plus being accused of partisan witch hunts when they did go after a few bad apples.
Ruckus
@Brachiator:
Deserve it? Maybe they do. But it’s still not right. We can jail them for the rest of their natural lives. It is cheaper, it is better for us to not be in the murder business – and I do disagree here, it is murder, it is unnecessary, it is, as you say, very arbitrary and it really serves only as revenge. Just because the state/citizens say it is not murder, it still is. It can not readily be made less arbitrary or fair, or reasonable in it’s workings because humans are involved. It doesn’t work to stop or reduce crime, which would be it’s only redeemable function so it is a waste of our energy and resources to keep it.
amk
@Steeplejack (tablet): All these years? Not buying it.
Villago Delenda Est
@hilts: Impressive. Most Impressive.
amk
Guess who said this.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Ruckus: Judge Carney was one hell of a football player.
Brachiator
@amk:
Yeah, all these years. The GOP pretends that the IRS is evil, but Congress, not the IRS, writes the tax laws. During the Bush administration, IRS staffing levels were kept low, and the number of audits of wealthy people decreased. During the Obama administration, IRS funding and staffing was kept low in a deliberate attempt to prevent the IRS from executing their responsibility for the Affordable Care Act. Customer service suffered, modernization efforts were dramatically slowed, and again audits and investigations decreased.
But because the general public hates the IRS, little attention is paid to this.
ETA you also had the GOP dominated Congress wait until the last minute to pass tax legislation, which also had a negative impact on IRS operations. There were a few years when processing of tax returns were delayed because the IRS did not have sufficient time to react to last minute legislation. The IRS commissioner even wrote to Congress warning about potential problems, but was told to fuck off.
But again, the average Joe doesn’t follow any of this, and even loves it when some congressional dope talks about abolishing the IRS. Look ma, no audits!
mike in dc
@amk:
Impressive. Of course the acid test is whether the WSJ editorial board declines to endorse Trump. I don’t expect them to endorse Clinton, but the news and opinion section are supposed to be independent of influence by News Corp, their owner. If that’s true, I could see them declining to endorse Trump.
amk
@Brachiator: But he claims, may be falsely, that he is under audit all the time. If it is true, they must have caught something in all these years. Heck, unknown journos are finding out his frauds and tax dodges almost every day for the past month. methinks, they dropped the ball, staff shortage or not.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@amk:
Defunding since 2010.
Blast from the past (1998).
The IRS has been under siege by the Republicans for decades. So, yeah, when you look at any one foundation, including Trump’s, chances are it has not received stringent oversight.
You’re shocked, I know.
Brachiator
@Ruckus:
Gotta sign off, but I have to correct you about “an eye for an eye.” This was just vivid, poetic language to demand that Justice be proportional with respect to the offense. In the ancient near East (and elsewhere), the rich could exact more punishment against poor accused persons, and tribal code demanded that an entire family or tribe be punished for an offense against a single individual. An eye for an eye is not about blind vengeance, but a requirement that the administration of justice be fair and reasonable.
Helen
If anyone is interested MSNBC is showing the Peres funeral live right now.
amk
@mike in dc: yeah, wsj editorial endorsement of she-devil might be the final nail in the punk’s political coffin. fingers crossed.
Origuy
@amk:
As I understood the article, the law violated by the Trump Foundation was a New York state law. They could have had their 1040, 990, and other 501(c)(3) documents in perfect order. The IRS probably didn’t look to see if any state laws were being violated. Where was NY state?
amk
@Steeplejack (tablet): Thanks. Wonder how many millionaires and billionaires have gotten away with their tax dodges with such staff shortage.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@mike in dc:
You realize that the WSJ‘s editorial page is to the right of Attila the Hun? Their straight news reporting is still pretty good.
Brachiator
@amk:
Trump lies or overstates the case with respect to his personal situation. Just like he lies when he says he could not release his tax returns until an audit was completed.
And as I noted, congressional pressure on the IRS was written about, especially in the financial press and business section of newspapers and web sites. The average Joe could not be bothered to read about it, or maybe felt that the evil IRS was getting what it deserved.
amk
@Origuy: That was just the latest tax dodge. If that wapo reporter is to be believed, he has been laundering money through his trust or charity or whatever fuck for personal enrichment while paying zero or negligible taxes all these years. If he goes down on rico charges a la al capone, may be then there is a god after all.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@amk:
The foundation is a different tax entity from Trump personally or his various corporations. An audit of one does not automatically involve the others.
Mai.naem.mobile
@amk: Dorothy Rabinowitz is a nasty nasty woman. Ugh. She used to come on the Wall Street Journal Show that used to come on CNBC before the WSJ cut ties with NBC after being taken over by Murdoch. Imagine older version of a hybrid Jennifer Rubin/Mona Charen.
Brachiator
@amk:
One more thing. Some employers get away with deliberately under paying workers, or illegally treating them as contractors rather than full time employees because the IRS is too understaffed to investigate this exploitation. The IRS set up whistle blower procedures to help with reporting these violations, but is too backed up to follow up.
Ruckus
@Brachiator:
Even if you are right, and I certainly don’t think that most people use your meaning or would even believe it, tell me what justice is fair and reasonable to cause the additional death of the person thought to be responsible?
I’ll answer my own question, none.
Chris T.
@Mnemosyne:
Yes, but you’re in So Cal, so traffic is never good. :-)
Gretchen
@Betty Cracker: I’d love to see pictures/report of what that’s like.
Laura (formerly of PDX)
@JGabriel: I think I saw on Frontline’s “The Choice” on Tuesday night that Trump had called together a press conference on April 27, 2011 to announce his own plans to run for President. Just as he was getting ready to make his big announcement, Obama stepped up to the podium in the WH press room to announce he had released his long-form birth certificate. NO ONE saw or ever heard about Trump’s announcement – all news channels had tuned to the President’s announcement, and it was the story for the next few days, right up to the WHCD.
m.j.
When is Trump going to start asking for Clinton’s birth certificate?
jayboat
Have fun, Betty! Houseboats are such useful vessels… and a fantastic way to see the sights.
My friend had a little 21 footer on Lake Lanier- so cute, painted yellow and white with green astroturf on the roof.
Happy trails!
rikyrah
@Betty Cracker:
Have a good time!
rikyrah
@Mnemosyne:
Be safe and thanks for this work.
nominus
@patroclus: The town hall style could be a disaster for him, depending on the crowd they get. In Trump’s world, audiences are only there to bask in his awesomeness, he’s just there to show them how awesome he is and offer up whatever stupid shit that falls out of his head as sage advice. It won’t play well if he pulls that in front of a crowd that thinks Trump is there to earn their favor. Clinton (and any experienced politician) understands that, but rallies, tv shows, and general unmerited ass-kissing have taught Trump the exact opposite.
RE: birther BS
My favorite part of all this is that the asshole still hasn’t connected the right proper ass-beating he got at WHCD to his racist bullshit. He hasn’t connected the dots and deduced that his racist bullshittery results in savage mockery from any and all quarters. He still thinks his treatment is unmerited by those inferior people, he’s doing public service and everyone is just too dumb to appreciate it.
Wally Ballou
@hilts: It’s the Detroit News that endorsed Johnson. The Freep may be a shell of what it once was, but I still wouldn’t want folks confusing it with that RW fishwrap.
Zinsky
I think the author nailed it. Trump is just a bad person. The media seem unable to say it in so many words but Donald Trump is a nasty, nasty piece of work, and ignorant too! The more that comes out about Trump’s insistence that only attractive women work at his hotels and casinos, tells me he is nothing but a brutal, heartless womanizer. If the allegations in this lawsuit are to be believed, Trump repeatedly raped a 13 year old girl! Sadly, I have trouble doubting it. The man is a monster.
Emma
@patroclus: A one-person shout-fest that will make him look worse than ever. Because I guaranfuckingtee you Hillary’s already prepping for it.
evodevo
@cmorenc: In a country that twice elected W to the presidency, I have no problem believing this piece of dreck can be polling in the 40+% range. What is wrong with Americans? Where do you go when ~half the country is crazy and ignorant?
Uncle Cosmo
@SFAW: I was about to axe if there was deck space to spread a sleeping bag or 4, but then yinz had to remind me about the gators.
Hm. Wonder if there’s a market for a houseboat gator-shield? Something like a chainlink fence with attached posts that could be rolled up & stored during the day but unrolled at night & screwed or bolted into fittings along the gunwales at night? How high could wunna them thar large-toothy amphbians climb something like that?