This was all over my facebook page this a.m.:
Even on vacation in Italy, our Angry Black Lady is killing it. Miss her here, glad I can follow her on twitter.
Meanwhile I’m thinking about all our BJ jackals in Florida. Stay safe and keep checking in with us over the weekend.
Open thread..
Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)
Since this is an open thread: fucking no
Mr Stagger Lee
Oww! That had to hurt!
Ohio Mom
Janet Yellen also comes to mind.
At best, Ivanka is in third place.
dedc79
This is not the first time the MSM has run an “_____ is the most powerful jewish woman” story. It’s an offensive premise for an article. Period, And it’s made far worse by CNN filling in that blank with Ivanka’s name.
Ohio Mom
And Elena Kagan.
Ivanka is now down to the participation trophy level.
cleek
what has Ivanka Trump ever done ? using her Daddy’s name and money to put her own name on things isn’t really an accomplishment.
ThresherK
@Ohio Mom: One participant trophy, coming up!
Ohio Mom
@dedc79: I dunno. As a Jewish woman, most of the time I am happy to see my teammates highlighted. But yeah, a different hook, rather than “most powerful,” would be better.
Butch
@cleek: I want to barf every time I see her described as an “entrepreneur.” Using daddy’s money on a venture that involves absolutely no risk to you whatsoever is not an “entrepreneur.”
satby
I miss ABL too, and Zander. Follow them both on Twitter though.
Iowa Old Lady
I’m listening to Last Word from last night and Jonathan Capeheart just referred to the “Fresh Hell Friday” news dump. Made me laugh.
Hunter Gathers
The only person Villagers have a bigger hard on for is Paul Ryan.
Just One More Canuck
I was scrolling through her twitter feed. What does DSA refer to?
satby
@Butch: I’m an entrepreneur. Ivanka is a dilettante.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
This is one of Cillizza’s regular pleas for access, isn’t it?
I’m not her biggest fan, but Dianne Feinstein comes to mind, too
VOR
Nailed it, ABL! Miss your stuff.
Ohio Mom
@ThresherK: That is a very inspired piece of mixed-media, site-specific art.
Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)
@Hunter Gathers: I actually thought at the time that his wife recognition as a lying liar who lies during the 2012 campaign would’ve killed off his wonk reputation for good. In my defense, I was 17.
Snoopy
Debbie Wasserman Schultz?
Now we’re just playing for points…
Amir Khalid
@cleek:
Ivanka is supposedly a moderating influence on President Daddy. But I have not heard of her successfully moderating anything he said or did.
Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Actually, it’s Maeve Reston & Betsy Klein.
Frankensteinbeck
@satby:
Ditto. I learned an enormous amount from ABL. She really shaped my view of racism in America. Why DID they leave? I know Cole was filtering out huge numbers of overtly racist hateful comments every time ABL posted.
trollhattan
@Iowa Old Lady:
Caught that too and laughed openly. Day is yet young, so trepidation for several hours still.
Another Scott
@Just One More Canuck: I assume the Democratic Socialists of America.
The woman on Twitter – surfbordt – who trolled us about Verrrit a few of days ago has a pointer to them in her “about me”, also too.
HTH.
Cheers,
Scott.
SFAW
@Amir Khalid:
I heard she got him to cut back on ice cream from three scoops to two. That’s pretty impressive.
trollhattan
@Amir Khalid:
She has less influence on his decisions than whomever tailors his lumpy suits. It’s still “daddy’s” world.
Another Scott
@Just One More Canuck: I assume the Democratic Socialists of America.
The woman on Twitter – surfbordt – who trolled us about Verrrit a few of days ago has a pointer to them in her “about me”, also too.
HTH.
[eta:] Repost to get out of the dungeon for the bad word…
Cheers,
Scott.
scav
She’s had minimal if any influence on her father’s actions. But then, being a pretty blond, daughter to a rich man, wife to another, a mother to at least something, sitting in some board meetings (Putin’s desk!! and whatever that EU thing was!!) can’t hurt if restricted to visuals and, critically, appearing on telly, is all the POWER required (or desirable) in once-again great “merka.
(doen want that mean mommy that yells and makes one pick up things. mean voice. shill voice want boofer lady. no frighten the economically anxious white man that will not be replaced.)
tobie
Let’s not forget Sarah Silverman!
Hunter Gathers
@Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD): He’s young-ish, doesn’t foam at the mouth, has mastered ‘concern face’, acts like he knows what he’s talking about (he doesn’t; he sounds like a software vendor selling you a solution you don’t need) and is always available for a TV interview. He’d be number one, but doesn’t have Ivanka’s rack.
Josie
I fail to see how Ivanka is powerful. She has no influence over policy or legislation. She oversees nothing of importance. She is quite visible, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to powerful.
Aleta
@Butch: Oh come on. Her spa offers “curated rituals.” She’s not just an entrepreneur, she’s an architected one.
kindness
All that rain is going to make for some grumpy hens.
I’m hoping that’s the worst that comes of it.
randy khan
The notion that Ivanka Trump is “powerful” is borderline hilarious. I don’t think I’ve read a single story about any policy issue where’s she’s reported as having done anything more than urge her father not to do what he ultimately did. She has less power over U.S. policy than I have other whether my cat jumps in my lap.
Mike in DC
ABL blocked me on Twitter. To be fair, i had no pic and very few followers, so I assume she thought i was a bot.
Amir Khalid
@Aleta:
Ivanka has delusions of being Gwyneth Paltrow?
SFAW
@Aleta:
WTF?
When I’m declared God-Emperor of this country, use of phrases like that will be grounds for immediate, painful execution.
Kay
Kobach is lying about voter fraud in New Hampshire. It’s already spread all over Right wing sites (including Fox News) and the lie was then endorsed by a Pence hire. The Pence hire probably doesn’t know anything about voting but Kris Kobach does- he is deliberately misleading people.
Individual voters will have to do the work of protecting their own voting rights against attacks by Trump hires.
Check your registration well prior to the next election If some poor quality Trump hire has somehow purged you from voting rolls you will need to personally appear at a county elections office and protect your right. It’s inconvenient and obviously one shouldn’t have to volunteer to undo the shoddy, half-ass, poor quality work of these Trump people, but you’ll have to.
SFAW
@randy khan:
Oh, bullshit. She recently let it be known that she was OK with unequal pay for the wimmins, right? A clear break with Lying Littledick’s polic- uh, never mind.
Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)
@SFAW: The FTFNYT Style columnists go first.
Kathleen
@satby: I do too. Anyone know why they don’t post here?
Iowa Old Lady
Calling Ivanka “powerful” draws on an old belief that women achieve power by acting through their men. They’re the power behind the throne. It’s offensive. A woman like Ginsberg or Kagan has achieved power on her own. I think some people are less able to see women like that as women and forget about them.
Gin & Tonic
@Kathleen: Because of racist trolls.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Kay: I give Weigel credit, I think the trump phenomenon has shocked him a bit, but the lack of coverage of voter suppression is a rolling media scandal. Matt Yglesias a while back was using his twitter feed to point out the lack of real diversity in the media, I wish he, or someone, would get back to that.
Smiling Mortician
@Amir Khalid: Now that you mention it, the two of them have pretty much blended in my mind.
Spanky
@Josie:
And here I think we have an answer. To a Villager, visibility IS power. And of course, power gains you visibility. See John McCain for Exhibit A.
Marmot
@SFAW:
You can count on my vote!
Kay
Just to add insult to injury, when Kris Kobach launches idiotic unfounded allegations against lawful voters, be aware that we’re all paying him for this garbage “work” he produces.
It literally wouldn’t pass muster if an ordinary poll worker was this stupid and uninformed about voting and they make 90 dollars a day. Trump is paying much, much more than that for Kobach’s phony “commission” – you’re all paying for this low quality effort.
Why can’t Donald Trump find at least nominally qualified people to hire? He’s wasting our money. Any random pollworker could do a better job than these people, for less than a hundred dollars.
Just One More Canuck
@Another Scott: thanks – the first thing that came up on google was Doula Services Association and I wondered how ABL offended doulas
hitchhiker
Ivanka has a freakishly long neck and a pretty good stylist. She’s trained to find the light in any photo opportunity.
These are her skills.
Competent women everywhere despise her for being stupid enough to think she’s earned a place at any table where significant things get done.
Marmot
@Iowa Old Lady:
As weird and alien as that seems, I can think of no better explanation for the fawning coverage Ivanka gets.
It’s clear she has zero power and no influence. But she’s perennially in the news!
Kathleen
@Gin & Tonic: Thanks. That is a shame.
Another Scott
@hitchhiker: She also knows to check in on Daddy when he’s having important meetings, to make sure he doesn’t, say, declare war on Qatar or Venezuela before Mattis says it’s Ok. And to make sure the conversation veers off to talking about the last dinner party in the Hamptons, or something…
:-/
Hey, given the times, it’s an important skill!
Cheers,
Scott.
Amir Khalid
@Smiling Mortician:
Well, they’re both blond, rich, and Jewish. But even if her parents were well-known in show business, Gwyneth made her own way as an actress and online New Age maven; we don’t think of her as merely Bruce Paltrow’s or Blythe Danner’s kid. Whereas Ivanka is a mere dabbler in business who rides on her family name and connections.
Kay
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
It is 100 times better than it used to be. Compared to the period prior to 2012 it’s excellent.
I was suspicious of Weigel because he used the term “ballot security” once. There are sort of code phrases in far Right voting rights literature and that’s one of them. Anyway. He’s better now :)
I think it became impossible to ignore, which is usually when something gets their attention, right? North Carolina and Texas went so far they gave the game away. Even federal judges are taking notice, and they’ve been asleep at the switch for a decade on this.
It’s a real bad mark on Justice Roberts record. He was not only dead wrong, he was shown to be dead wrong almost immediately. There isn’t usually that sort of “cause and effect” connection. He unleashed a wave of suppression.
I think it’s an example of REAL elitism, as opposed to eating arugula or whatever. They cannot imagine not having a bank account or not boarding a plane or having a driver’s license that is suspended for lack of reinstatement fees. That just doesn’t exist in their world. I always think municipal court judges should be making these decisions. They understand low income people and ID. It’s a CONSTANT in their courts. The Texas law was an example of this. It is really hard for low income people to travel- it’s having a car and child care and gas money and time off hourly work. It’s complicated. They’re setting up a hoop they can’t jump thru.
Sab
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Diane Feinstein isn’t Jewish. Her husband is, her stepfather was, but she is Russian orthodox.
Butch
@Aleta: What would that be in English?
Ceci n est pas mon nym
Forecast from Weather Underground for my sister’s coastal town on Sunday:
I think the way WU words their predictions, precipitation is cumulative. So that’s 8-13″ cumulative rainfall in 24 hours. Plus storm surge.
Nevertheless, they’re still home. They have a hotel reservation, but she says she’s concerned about going the wrong way if the storm comes in from the Gulf. Plus getting stuck in traffic.
Yeeeaaargh! OK, I’ve never lived through a hurricane, but it seems to me you should not be in your home right now on Friday afternoon if the 90% probability projections put you smack in the middle of Irma on Sunday.
Ladyraxterinok
Isn’t it sorta weird someone thinks the ‘most powerful Jewish woman’ is a woman who did not grow up as Jewish? Seems pretty odd.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Sab: I’ll be damned. I say for nth time that I learn things all the time on this blog. Thanks
Kay
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
The laws are impossible to defend when one delves into the details:
It’s ludicrous. States like Texas are showing up with 2 cases of voter fraud and trying to use that to justify disenfranchising 600K AA and Latinos. They are transparently and obviously discriminating. You could ignore it for a while but the evidence is so piled up now after a decade of this that you have to be a hack to deny it. It’s overwhelming.
Frank McCormick
@Snoopy: It’s now a question on “Family Feud”!
schrodingers_cat
@Butch: In English, it means crap I like.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Spanky:
It’s that weird “famous for being famous” thing we have in our culture. I don’t know if it’s uniquely American, perhaps mostly a Hollywood creation, or if other countries have it too. But every once in awhile one of these people swims into my consciousness and I puzzle once again why they’re supposed to be famous and why I’m supposed to care what they ate for breakfast or who they’re dating.
Last one that broke into my consciousness was Caitlyn (formerly Bruce) Jenner. I followed [his] decathlon win in the 1976 Olympics, but was completely bewildered by why a 70s athlete was suddenly everywhere in pop culture. Eventually I learned that it’s because Jenner swims in the Kardashian circle, but that just made me wonder again why the Kardashians are everywhere in pop culture.
schrodingers_cat
@Ladyraxterinok: The same way that Cultsi Gabbard is the first Hindu Congress Critter, IIRC her parents are Hare Krsna.
West of the Rockies (been a while)
@Hunter Gathers:
He’s dreamy….
:-(
Frankensteinbeck
@Marmot:
Villagers do no research on whether anything they’re told is true, beyond checking if it conforms to their prejudices. They desperately want Republicans to be a serious daddy party not run by racism, while being too superficial themselves to know what seriousness is. This model explains Ivanka, Ryan, and McCain’s popularity.
chopper
just heard Tampa’s zone A is under a mandatory evac.
Gelfling 545
@Ohio Mom: And, actually, what power does she exercise beyond that of any very wealthy person? Yes, she has Trump’s ear but there’s no sign that he actually pays any attention. She has accomplished exactly nothing with all this supposed power. I’d be willing to wager that there are any number of women in Washington of the Jewish faith with more actual power to affect the course of events.
mai naem mobile
Now now, you guys are puncturing poor wittle Vanka’s self esteem bigly. She’ll tell daddy on you guys and he can send you a nasty tweet.
TriassicSands
If by powerful they mean Ivanka can influence her father, I’d say no way. From what I’ve seen, Ivanka has virtually no influence over her father at all — if by influence we’re supposed to think she has a moderating effect on him.
I’ve read a number of stories about her failure to get him to do what she wanted and none about her actually getting her way. She wants people to think she’s the great force of moderation. It’s now part of her brand.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Hunter Gathers: @West of the Rockies (been a while): he’s the Randian Eddie Haskell. The difference is that Ward and June, unlike Chuck and Wolf et al, saw their smarmy little fuck for exactly what he was (that is a reference to a sixty year old Tee Vee show, for you younglings)
Amir Khalid
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
The Kardashians seem to be celebrities who are celebrated for their celebrity. It’s an achievement I don’t quite understand.
Frankensteinbeck
@TriassicSands:
The Villagers WANT a great force of moderation. Badly. So very, very badly. They are inches from having to admit that Republicans knowingly, even deliberately voted for an idiot white supremacist as president. On the other hand, “Semi-figurehead whose hot temper is balanced by the cool deliberation of his aides” they can handle. They can even think of it as a balanced system where all sides come together to prove Republicans are right, which is their golden image of democracy.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
keeping their one-man base riled up
Josie
@Amir Khalid: Nor do any of us who live in the real world.
StringOnAStick
@schrodingers_cat: OK, so I buy a brand of tea called Tulsi and the boxes tell me that “tulsi” means “holy basil” in India and it is in all their teas. Does this mean that Tulsi Gabbard is actually Holy Basil Gabbard?
HRA
@Sab:
This is from Wikipedia.
“Feinstein was born Dianne Emiel Goldman[1] in San Francisco, to Betty (née Rosenburg), a former model, and Leon Goldman, a surgeon. Feinstein’s paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Poland. Her maternal grandparents, the Rosenburg family, were from Saint Petersburg, Russia.[6] While they were of German-Jewish ancestry,[7] they practiced the Russian Orthodox faith as was required for Jews residing in Saint Petersburg.[6][8]”
Villago Delenda Est
CNN is full of shit.
But you all knew that.
burnspbesq
@Kay:
With all due respect, that’s crap. Judges only get to decide the cases that are on their dockets, and after Marion County, (which was an own goal), there weren’t cases for a long time. It took truly egregious actions by emboldened legislatures to re-open the spigot.
amorphous
@satby: Sheesh, John has really employed a lot of people posting at this little old blog since the old days. I’ve probably forgotten half.
burnspbesq
@StringOnAStick:
Holy Crap Gabbard seems a better fit.
Sab
@HRA: I did not know that whole background. Thanks.
mai naem mobile
Anybody see this yesterday? I just saw it on twitter. The wife of the ethics lawyer that was hired the Trump Organization was arrested for having sex with a prison inmate in the backseat of her car. The lawyer is also one of the high ups at Crossroads GPS. The inmate was one of those who was allowed to work in the prison complex outside the cells.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/trump-lawyer-wife-arrested-alleged-sex-inmate-article-1.3478274
Jeffro
@Kay:
Kay, sometimes it costs a lot of money to get the counter-factual results you want.
schrodingers_cat
@mai naem mobile: Real Housewives of T-Regime.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
this is nuts
“any drone time left”– this is a White House Counsel, not trump’s personal lawyer. And he let Manafort and Flynn know they’re going under the bus, if they hadnt’ figured that out
scav
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Horrors!! Louise Linton was also passed over — the conspiracy of opression is pervasive and vast!!
CarolDuhart2
@Marmot: They (mostly men) think she’s powerful because she makes them hard. What else can it be? She’s never had even a minor mediocre achievement. She’s never worked a job that wasn’t given by Daddy, she has no causes she champions. I don’t think she’s even lived anywhere but NYC. Real power for women usually comes with wrinkles, stretch marks for babies, and the look that comes from hours of poring over documents. You may be attractive (Michelle Obama, Nicola Sturgeon), but you don’t look like Barbie all grown up. And even if you do, there’s a depth to the eyes that hint of substance.
Jeffro
Been so distracted these past couple of days that I missed all this good news:
GOP moderates retiring/fleeing party as Trumpism takes it over (headline mine ;)
Such language! “Inmates”? LOL
schrodingers_cat
@StringOnAStick: Indeed for Vaishnavas (Devotees of Vishnu, Gandhi was one too) Tulsi is sacred. Most traditional Hindu homes have tulsi growing in their courtyards. Tulsi is too bitter to be used in cooking but has many antiseptic properties.
Frankensteinbeck
@CarolDuhart2:
She claims to do a job they desperately hope someone will do and constantly make up stories about who the latest person is they think might do it.
randy khan
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
People have been famous for being famous for as long as people have been famous.
gene108
@Kay:
Kris Kobach is very well qualified at voter suppression, which is what he’s been hired to do.
Frankensteinbeck
@Jeffro:
IE, the people who want to pass horrible laws that will cause death and suffering, but at least are trying to pass some laws. The “at least it’s an ethos” wing.
EDIT – @gene108:
Thankfully, he has not been hired at voter suppression. He has been hired to cheerlead voter suppression. The actual suppression is still up to the states, who need no encouragement. I am continually grateful that Kobach’s position is entirely ceremonial.
gene108
@Kay:
I believe all Republican appointed judges are pure partisan hacks. Period.
They do what is good for the Conservative Revolution. They are the vanguard of the Revolutionary Tribunal, whose goal is not to weigh the merits of a case or decide what is just, but to find out how each case can further the Revolution.
This is pretty fucking clear from Roberts (expanding the scope of Citizen’s United) all the way down to the local traffic court judge.
Kay
@burnspbesq:
The key change from the early state laws to the more egregious laws was photo ID. They should have made that distinction, instead of allowing the noose to tighten. They weren’t diving in, asking for specifics, they started with a general assumption that asking for ID was reasonable and then applied that to the next group of states. The details of ID laws matter a lot. Ohio’s is MUCH less restrictive than Texas. That change can mean half a million people. Small change, big effect.
There’s supposed to be a concept in election law that the harm, once done, can’t be remedied as to that voter and
that race. That’s why there are so many emergency processes available. A Voter doesn’t get an appeal – the election is over. That’s why Ohio puts a county court judge in place in each county until the polls close. It has to happen fast.
trollhattan
@SFAW:
I support this action by our new god-emperor. I beseech you to simultaneously ban leaf-blowers. Thx, GE!
SFAW
@Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD):
OK, but schrodinger’s_cat might disagree with you. I think she wants more than just the Style group to get it.
Of course, you may be OK with that.
@Marmot:
It’s not an elected position, but thanks for the support.
schrodingers_cat
Since this is an open thread, can I count the ways I love Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. What a voice.
Kaisa Yeh Isq Hai, Ajab sa Risk Hai ( Love is a strange Risk), from Mere Brother ki Dulhan (My Brother’s Bride)
ETA: I also like the parody of Khwaja me Khwaja. Love the splitting tea as a sign of love!
Jeffro
@Frankensteinbeck:
Exactly! It’s sort of like the difference between chaotic evil/demons and lawful evil/devils. ;)
(h/t D&D)
SFAW
@trollhattan:
Jesus H. Christ, am I going to have to start making a list, checking it twice? Well, as they say, no rest for the weary God-Emperors
trollhattan
@mai naem mobile:
I like this tidbit.
“I’m the lawyer’s lawyer?”
“Do you also have a lawyer?”
“You mean the lawyer’s lawyer’s lawyer?”
“Triple yes.”
trollhattan
@SFAW:
Step #1, appoint GE’s note-taking minion.
Step #2, unleash the decrees!
Kay
One of my sisters wasn’t politically active until Trump and she just sent me the 2017 fall congressional guide. I don’t even know what that is.
Diving right in there! She was always a hard worker. I love the anti-Trump newbies. They’re earnest.
germy
@trollhattan:
MAGA
My Attorneys Got Attorneys
(I can’t remember which balloon-juice commenter came up with this, but all credit to whoever he/she is)
scav
@SFAW: They didn’t warn you about the writer’s cramp involved?! You’re going to love the repetative stress injury in your favored smiting arm.
Mike R
@Butch: My grandfather once told entrepreneur is French for thief, he must have had the Trump’s in mind.
Tenar Arha
@Mike in DC: Me too. I just put it down to Twitter newby pains of hitting reply when I shouldn’t & treated it as a learning experience.
ETA took my first month or two, but on Twitter mostly it’s better to learn when to STFU in other people’s mentions.
germy
@mai naem mobile:
There’s a screenplay waiting to be written.
Quaker in a Basement
@Mike in DC: Me too, also. No idea why.
The Lodger
@StringOnAStick: So she’s named after a 51-year-old Batman joke?
germy
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
the reflected, long-lasting glow of the O.J. Simpson saga? “Journalists” made their careers with that one.
Spanky
And in this installment of “Rush Limbaugh is a Lying Liar, and a Fucking Idiot to Boot” ,,,
germy
@Spanky: legally impossible?
Amir Khalid
@Mike R: @Mike R:
How can that be? One of your Presidents said the French don’t even have a word for entrepreneur!
trollhattan
@germy:
“Dear Penthouse advisor,
“I never thought this would happen to me, but I’m serving 24 months for vehicle theft (which I totally didn’t do) when in she walked….”
Peale
@germy: LOL. I think he means if he makes his production assistants drive through the storm to get to his house, he might be liable when they die. Or he doesn’t want to have a sleepover in the mansion. I’m sure there are enough rooms to house everyone, but he’s worried that they might open the drawers and find – ummm – things that even a tabloid would be ashamed to reveal about him.
rikyrah
Traci Blackmon @pastortraci
Leaked DOJ memo recommends making rape victims’ sexual history fair play in campus hearings
Hungry Joe
Ivanka is more powerful than Natalie Portman? NOBODY is more powerful than Natalie Portman.
And what about Naomi Klein? (She’s Canadian, but it says “America’s” most powerful woman) Barbara Boxer? Fiona Apple? (I like Fiona Apple.)
Aly Raisman? NOBODY is more powerful than Aly Raisman.
Another Scott
@rikyrah: Of course. DeVos and the Trumpsters are monsters. Of course they recommend that.
Grrr….
WHTFTESD.
Cheers,
Scott.
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
@tobie: Well if we’re going celebrity edition I’d like to point out that Babs is still alive.
TenguPhule
@Kay:
Which is why only Republican hacks are elevated as judges by Republicans.
TenguPhule
@rikyrah:
Of course.
Making campus hearings just like jury proceedings.
Remind me again the conviction rate for sex assaults at the state level? //
trollhattan
The boy king worries his is shorter.
The Moar You Know
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Melania dresses like a fucking street hooker. Not a high-dollar escort, knew a couple of those in my musician days, they dress nicely. You could take them to church and nobody would bat an eye. Most women dress better than Melania, in part because if you dressed like she does you’d get run in for soliciting.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
So can CNN remind us what branch of government are the president’s adult children? Is this the fabled fifth branch, after Cheny’s Vice President’s forth branch?
Frankensteinbeck
@Kay:
The impression I’m getting is that Trump lit this fire, but congress’s ‘kill the ACA’ session was the fuel that’s made it rage. The newly awakened aren’t just pissed at Trump. They have the whole GOP in their sights. Thank goodness.
@The Moar You Know:
…which brings us back to the Kardashians.
trollhattan
Ya think?
SgrAstar
@Ohio Mom:
Ivanka is not even on the chart. There are countless Jewish academics and philanthropists who squash any pretensions to position that Ivanka might cherish. She has no accomplishments. Total loser.
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: What the fuck is wrong with these people?
NorthLeft12
I’m not sure what their definition of powerful is. I don’t think she can deliver on anything you ask of her, unless it is something that she wants herself. And I don’t mean that fake wanting that she keeps going on about……you know…world peace, competent government, justice and equality, etc. Yeah, you know, all that stuff that the poors and libs want.
SFAW
@trollhattan:
Umm, given that it’s Rushbo, you might want to re-think your choice of pronouns. Or did you think that all the 13-year-old boys serv(ic)ing him in the Dominican were just bringing him Perrier or Evian or some such?
germy
Tonight at 8:00, all three major networks will be showing a live broadcast of XQ Super School Project?
What is this? Another attempt to end public education? Since November I’m suspicious of everything.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@The Moar You Know: That’s an interesting question why is Melania so badly dressed, most American designers love for the First Lady to show off their work. Perhaps it’s because those designers are in NYC and NYC knows the Trumps all to well?
Yutsano
@schrodingers_cat:
Huh. Maybe the Thai use a different kind because ผัดกระเพราไก่ (Pad kaprow gai) uses rather copious amounts of tulsi.
bemused
Ha, Ha, gotta love ABL! Immediately also thought of NYT Lindy West piece on Ivanka.
The entire family thinks they are perfection, just because.
Media still playing into giving that family some strokes is pathetic.
trollhattan
@SFAW:
We were riffing off this, not the sexually ambiguous Limbaugh. I know it’s hard to untangle them all!
NorthLeft12
@Spanky:
Jabba the Limbaugh
Legally? If being under five feet of water is illegal in Florida, then he is probably correct. I am surprised this fine example of conservative principles and courage does not take a stand against BIG Government and decide to stay in his seaside broadcast booth. That would show us!
blackcatsrule
@germy: Google this WaPo article titled: False narrative behind a glitzy live TV show about school reform.
schrodingers_cat
@Yutsano: Yes it is a different variety of basil. Green leaves but tinier than the Thai or the Italian basil.
germy
@blackcatsrule: Interesting article. Thanks.
ruemara
@Iowa Old Lady: I honestly think it’s youth and beauty giving her that pass. Like the way your idiot male friends can find a vapid pretty 20 something to be intellectual and spiritual – as long as they believe they have a shot in hell of getting into her pants. trust me, I’ve been in creative fields all my life. Plus a smart lady, not a pretty lady.
Ohio Mom
@Ladyraxterinok: The traditional Jewish approach is to discourage would-be converts. If they are undeterred, it is very bad form to mention they are coverts once all the um, paperwork is completed.
Uncle Ebeneezer
@Frankensteinbeck: Me too. I paid very little attention to racism until I started reading ABL here, which prompted me to start listening to TWiB, read more Black writers, etc., etc. The shitty way Imani was treated here, was actually one of the first times I realized that racism is just as much of a problem on the left. A realization that sadly has been supported by continuing examples, ad infinitum all over the Left Blogosphere ever since.
Ohio Mom
@Gelfling 545: I’m not interested in Ivanka — I was reacting to dcde79 saying he/she didn’t like the “most powerful Jewish woman” angle as applied to anyone, ever.
I wouldn’t be offended if that tact was used in a story about someone/just about anyone else but of course it’s beyond sloppy reporting to use it for Ivanka, for all reasons discussed in this thread.
Ah, the inevitable misunderstandings created by hastily typed comments!
PlaneCrazy
I miss ABL too. The last time I followed Twitter with anything like attention was when she and John went to the convention together. Those were some epic posts and tweets. Sigh.
Getting old, we all are. (I guess I’m channeling Yoda now?)
Honus
@burnspbesq: there are federal courts other than scotus.
Ohio Mom
@SgrAstar: I was just riffing on ABL’s tweet.
The only accolade I’d ever give Ivanka is “woman whose personal style is most reminiscent of Barbie.” Though Melania might also be in the running. Both of them do not look like real human people to me, I find them downright creepy.
SFAW
@trollhattan:
Shit. I guess I just aced myself out of the running for G-E.
Too bad, I was going to name you as Keeper of Lists, too. Sorry for letting you down.
debbie
She’s not even a freakin’ Jew!
No One You Know
@dedc79: I find myself feeling a little touchy about “powerful Jew” narratives. Haven’t we seen this movie already? I for one didn’t like the ending…And I wasn’t even born,then.
ExpatDanBKK
@schrodingers_cat: Point of contension, Mr Cat. Tulsi/holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum) aka ga-prao (กะเพรา), is a staple in Thai cuisine. So it is most definitely used in cooking. In fact, I had some tonight for dinner!
ExpatDanBKK
@Yutsano: Nope, you are correct. It is the same plant.