Officials in at least 4 countries (UAE, China, Israel, Mexico) have privately discussed ways they can manipulate Jared Kushner by taking advantage of his complex biz arrangements, financial difficulties and lack of foreign policy experience, WaPo reports. https://t.co/mwt9wsNlS2
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 27, 2018
What I’m hoping is that this is the arc of the story where the Mad Baron’s lower-level minions have deserted or been killed, his enemies have the castle surrounded, and his courtiers start picking each other off, either in retaliation for past betrayals or in hopes of currying favor with the invaders. Watching the Young Prince get thrown off the tower, preferably in front of his old man’s eyes, comes right before the final battle…
Officials in at least four countries have privately discussed ways they can manipulate Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, by taking advantage of his complex business arrangements, financial difficulties and lack of foreign policy experience, according to current and former U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports on the matter.
Among those nations discussing ways to influence Kushner to their advantage were the United Arab Emirates, China, Israel and Mexico, the current and former officials said…
H.R. McMaster, President Trump’s national security adviser, learned that Kushner had contacts with foreign officials that he did not coordinate through the National Security Council or officially report. The issue of foreign officials talking about their meetings with Kushner and their perception of his vulnerabilities was a subject raised in McMaster’s daily intelligence briefings, according to the current and former officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Within the White House, Kushner’s lack of government experience and his business debt were seen from the beginning of his tenure as potential points of leverage that foreign governments could use to influence him, the current and former officials said.
They could also have legal implications. Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has asked people about the protocols Kushner used when he set up conversations with foreign leaders, according to a former U.S. official.
Officials in the White House were concerned that Kushner was “naive and being tricked” in conversations with foreign officials, some of whom said they wanted to deal only with Kushner directly and not more experienced personnel, said one former White House official…
He’s not a ‘traitor’ traitor — he’s just ill-informed and over his head! Sure, that’ll work.
Huh. Having top presidential advisor in a desperate financial straights and desperate for money turns out to be more than a notional problem.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 27, 2018
Government life was always going to be a challenge for Kushner, seeing as his biggest qualification for his current position is “I am married to the President’s daughter.” https://t.co/5LtTh2z6kG
— Jane Coaston (@cjane87) February 27, 2018
Olivia Nuzzi, at NYMag, “Jared Kushner Loses His Right-Hand Man Just When He Needs Him Most”:
… Axios broke the story that Josh Raffel, a press official who is considered the personal spokesman of Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, would be resigning. Raffel, who is 33, is a Democrat who was still donating to Hillary Clinton as of October 2016, according to BuzzFeed. But whatever his political leanings (Kushner is the son of a prominent Democratic donor, and Trump himself was previously a Democrat), Raffel is centrally defined as a PR professional…
A senior communications staffer resigning — or being fired, or self immolating, for that matter — is not unusual in this White House, where, in just over a year, there have been three communications directors and two press secretaries. But Raffel’s performance itself was unusual, especially judged against the tumultuous backdrop of the summer, when the mood in the West Wing seemed almost cannibalistic.
With the press, Raffel was generally responsive and professional — if not particularly helpful — in a way that set him apart from the Mooches or Spiceys or scowling underlings in the press office. And unlike the others who shared his senior status, he hardly made headlines himself. If he wasn’t making things better for the officials he served, he at least wasn’t actively making them worse. For Ivanka and Jared, losing him is a significant blow — one they hardly seem able to afford…
When you assume that people only do things for money, you end up surrounded by people who regard you as just another asset, to be discarded when your value erodes — or implodes.
With Jared Kushner losing access to Top Secret data, he's out of luck — I mean, unless people in the White House are indifferent to the rule of law, suspicious of restrictions on their power and discretion, and cavalier about security issues.
— DontPeekJaredItsSecretHat (@Popehat) February 27, 2018
but does Jared Kushner still have access to the president’s most trusted source of top-level information, days-old broadcasts of Fox and Friends?
— Alexandra Petri (@petridishes) February 27, 2018
Kushner gets invited to high stakes poker games and thinks it’s because he’s a shark. pic.twitter.com/AyJ7RRuGoC
— Jamez Harriz (@JaZarris) February 28, 2018
Meanwhile…
Our building has low vacancy and needs work. Midtown rents are flat or down. Can't use foreign/EB5 money. Plus intense political scrutiny. Who's in? https://t.co/ZjVhF0pTOx
— Jonathan O'Connell (@OConnellPostbiz) February 27, 2018
.@yayitsrob: "They scooped Politico by four hours" https://t.co/nut5E0UV5c
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) February 27, 2018
Mezz
Really starting to seem like the hysterics (‘This is the greatest political scandal in the history of the American republic!!‘) might not be so out-there after all. If Mueller’s probe all plays out and presents a nice, coherent narrative – considering he’s a consummate pro and patriot – even some of the Republicans may be compelled to act. Cut off his pardon powers immediately, and frog-march each and every one of these traitorous asses to prison.
Oh, and TAKE ALL THEIR SHIT. Confiscation, bitches.
One hopes, at least.
ETA. Wow – I am trying like hell to avoid grading essays. First and everything.
MattF
I think The Onion has it right.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mezz: The only way to cut off his pardon powers(they’re a Constitutional prerogative) is to impeach him.
MattF
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Impeach and convict.
Waldo
I guess the only question now is who will be judged the worse hire, Subway Jared or Beltway Jared?
raven
Just in case Tybee stops by,
Democrat John Barrow Is Proud of GOP Endorsements
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
So Kushner’s ugly building, with the mark of the beast/false prophet (666), is right next door to St Patrick’s Cathedral.
How fitting – one corrupt enterprise next to another.
oldster
Wow–interesting tidbit about Josh Raffel.
Interesting because I have never heard his name before. So he was either irrelevant, or he was actually good at his job.
Certainly *someone* throughout the last hellish year has been able to get good press for I & J, no matter how bad everyone else looked. I always assumed that it was I & J themselves who were doing the strategic leaking (“…but Ivanka strongly objected to the plan, say sources inside the WH…”).
But I guess I was giving them too much credit. Kids that stupid, spoiled, and pampered have someone else do the hard work for them, even when it’s just the hard work of pretending you’re not complicit.
So long, Josh. Now go find a conscience, and a lawyer.
Baud
The secrets have already been sold.
OzarkHillbilly
@Waldo: Hands down, it’s trump.
rikyrah
Good Morning,Everyone ???
HeleninEire
WOO HOO. The east coast of Ireland is expecting the snow storm to end all snow storms. Just got an email saying I’m off work till Monday!
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
Gretchen
@HeleninEire: Till Monday? It’s only Wednesday! Nearly a whole week off?
Baud
@HeleninEire: More time for Balloon Juice!
Stay safe.
HeleninEire
@Gretchen: Yeah. They really panic here. They so rarely get weather like this. Last “big” snow was 2010.
Litlebritdifrnt
Totally OT but if anyone would like a good chuckle this morning check out this site, it has an interactive map of all the snow ploughs and gritters currently operating on Scottish roads. The really fun part is that you can search for one by name. Sir Andy Flurry is my favourite but Plougher of Scotland has to be a close second. You’ve got to love the Brit’s way of making something so mundane funny.
http://scotgov.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=2de764a9303848ffb9a4cac0bd0b1aab
Brachiator
Doesn’t this apply to Trump himself as well as Kushner?
Some Democrat needs to stick it to Trump, mocking his inadequacy. The resulting Trumpian Twitter storm would be hilarious.
Mezz
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Indeed, I’m aware – I made the point badly. The idea would be to advance his impeachment and removal under (if it is possible, which IANAL) sealed indictments, so he can’t try to pardon himself and/or the other flunkies. I really really want to see some of these folks in prison where they belong. Starting with all the Fredos.
Bruce K
The best-case scenario in my mind involves historians arguing for the next hundred years over whether Nancy Pelosi technically counts as the first woman President of the United States, on account of neither having won election or succeeded from the role of Vice-President, because the Constitution and laws don’t say whether people farther down the line of succession than the Vice-President actually become President.
That plus every member of the Trump crime family (except for Barron and maybe Tiffany) dying in jail in utter disgrace, while the country tries to decide whether vilification is a more appropriate fate for them than damnatio memoriae.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Bruce K: The same argument was made for the first Vice President to become President upon the death of the President.
Gin & Tonic
It’s almost as if pissing off the entire intelligence community were a bad idea.
Betty Cracker
@oldster: Ha, I had the exact same thought about Raffel: Someone maintained the fiction about Javanka’s alleged “moderating influence” on their monstrous father/FIL long after it was obvious that they were either indifferent to steering policy in a humane direction or utterly incompetent at it.
Baud
@oldster:
Well, he is a Democrat.
Baud
This appeared on my RSS feed.
I’m glad I don’t listen to NPR.
Kay
This is how I imagine everyone in the Trump Administration talks:
NorthLeft12
You could replace “top presidential advisor” with “the president” and I think you would have a better idea of what an effed up mess you have.
debbie
It’s gotta burn Jared that Israel was scheming to take advantage of him, his financial difficulties, and his inexperience; basically, Israel is laughing at him behind his back. Et tu, Bibi?
MattF
@Gin & Tonic: It’s almost as if having a lot of generals on your staff will raise sensitivity about classified material.
Bruce K
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Yeah, it was assumed but not codified until the 25th Amendment was ratified. Everyone just assumed the obvious. (And oddly enough, it wasn’t until then that there was any provision for what to do if the office of Vice-President became vacant – more than once the country went more than three years with no Vice-President at all…)
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Bruce K: Yup, Tyler and Truman.
Kay
I’m starting to wonder if no one objects to Trump hiring his entire family because nepotism is rampant in these circles and if they raise the issue they’d all be hypocrites:
OzarkHillbilly
@debbie: That presumes a sense of self awareness in Jared that I see no sign of.
aimai
@MattF: It took them long enough. I would not say the generals did anything we should thank them for.
Baud
@aimai: Maybe if they turn state’s evidence.
Kay
@MattF:
I’m taking a wait and see. It could be an outright lie or they have some kind of work around. We’re taking Jared’s word that he won’t use Trump’s ability to get around the rule, right?
SiubhanDuinne
@Baud:
I still do listen to NPR, but I detest that weekly “Ask Cokie” segment.
debbie
@OzarkHillbilly:
That’s just his poker face. ;)
debbie
@Gin & Tonic:
I for one am grateful to them for doing this.
JGabriel
WaPo via Anne Laurie @ Top:
“For instance, Mr. Kushner, did you also set up, or attempt to set up, communication back channels through the Chinese embassy, as you did with the Russian embassy? ”
“Did you set up, or attempt to set up, communication back channels through the Israeli embassy?”
“Did you set up, or attempt to set up, communication back channels through the UAE embassy?”
“Did you set up, or attempt to set up, communication back channels through the Mexican embassy?”
“How many cell phones that were not registered under you name, colloquially known as burner phones, did you use to communicate with foreign officials or foreign business leaders, and what were their phone numbers?”
Bruce K
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Plus according to Wikipedia, there were a number of cases where the elected Veep died and wasn’t replaced until the next election…
debbie
@Baud:
Whether she’s annoying or not, she does have knowledge. She discussed the rise of civil rights, and she said that legislators in fact listened to their constituents on issues.
rikyrah
He is absolutely a traitor.
There is nothing naive about him.
OzarkHillbilly
@Kay: Let’s just assume they’ve already done that on the principle that we know it’s only a matter of time.
rikyrah
@JGabriel:
Yes
Those are questions we need answers to.
rikyrah
@Kay:
Of course, Kay. But, now, it’s.fully established that he is a national security risk.
OzarkHillbilly
@debbie: Huh. And all this time I thought it was his clueless face. ;-)
rikyrah
@Mezz:
Take all their shyt.
LOL ???
rikyrah
@Baud:
Uh huh
Uh huh ??
rikyrah
@HeleninEire:
Ireland?
Snow?
Almost March?
different-church-lady
“We’re going to build the wall and his son in law is going to pay for it!”
satby
@rikyrah: Good morning ?!
@HeleninEire: hope you have enough bread and milk ?! Enjoy the unexpected vacation.
OzarkHillbilly
@HeleninEire: @satby: And that they quickly clear the sidewalks to Helen’s local pub.
HeleninEire
@rikyrah: YUP. It’s crazysauce!
rikyrah
@Gin & Tonic:
I know…right?
Their hair has been on fire since 2016.
But, now they see a way to bury Kushner, where they didn’t see it before, so they reveal the information.
different-church-lady
@Mezz: It was never hysterics. It was always stone cold sober reality, from the very beginning. Denial was the only thing making it look hysterical to some.
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@Mezz: As an English teacher, I can say grading essays is the pits.
HeleninEire
@OzarkHillbilly: No joke. I just texted them to see if they’ll be open tonight. They are attached to a hotel, so they never close. Whew!!!! Was worried about how I was going to fill the time. All sorted!!
Just one more canuck
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: its’s not so much ugly as just a very non-descript 60 year old building that needs a lot of work to make it appealing
Kay
@OzarkHillbilly:
It just happens so often. They say something or other, get credit for it, and then it isn’t true or they don’t do it. They just did it with guns. Trump said he would consider regs raising the age to purchase, that got a ton of press and they mumbled their way out of it. Bump stocks is probably bullshit too. I don’t think they can do that without Congress.
Trump “arming teachers” is also bullshit. If that happens it will happen at the state level. That’s the easiest thing in the world, for the President to push some position that has to happen at the state level. It’s a dodge but they all acted as if it was Trump’s contribution. All Presidents could do that. “My solution for this national problem depends on 50 governors and 50 state legislatures and then state education agencies and school boards and then also individual district superintendents”. Oh, okay. Glad we got that off your desk. He’s not the mayor of America.
OzarkHillbilly
@HeleninEire: That was a close call!
Kay
@rikyrah:
True. I also think it’s fully established that Kelly has it in for Ivanka and Jared, which in this family business probably means Kelly eventually gets canned and the nepotism twins keep their jobs.
clay
@raven: I was in Athens when Barrrow ran for Congress. He was a well-thought-of liberal councilman (or whatever). I phone banked for him. We had high hopes. And then we watched him turn into the bluest of Blue Dogs.
This was early 2000s, at the height of Bush-era “Democrats are traitors” bullshit, but still, I’ve never seen anyone tack so rightward, so hard and fast. Except maybe Zell fucking Miller. But Barrow still remains the most disappointed I’ve been in a politician (non-scandal division).
different-church-lady
@debbie: Anyone who trusts Bibi gets what they deserve.
The Pale Scot
@JGabriel:
Like he’d remember
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@Bruce K: I enjoy the scenarios in which Pelosi becomes president, but that would involve Trump and Pence being taken out of the picture more or less simultaneously. If the vice presidency is vacant, whoever is president nominates a new vp, subject to congressional ratification.
OzarkHillbilly
@Kay:
Nope, he’s the greatest most presidentialest president EVER!
Bobby Thomson
@raven: I’m old enough to remember when GOS raised money for him to be elected to Congress.
OzarkHillbilly
@different-church-lady: State contracts?
Kay
This is just the craziest story:
You have to wonder- is someone directing this? Why would you make “discrediting CNN” your personal goal? It’s one layer past “pro gun reg or anti gun reg” – it’s “anti-CNN”. THAT’S kind of an odd political position.
It would be perfectly in keeping with what we see over and over, too. The claim is CNN is fixing the debate so of course the reality would be that the people claiming that are themselves fixing the debate. That’s daily now, in opposite world.
cintibud
@Waldo:
No contest. Subway Jared was a successful pitchman who sold a lot of subs. When the scandal hit Subway cut their losses quickly. Justice was served about as quickly as it goes for a high profile individual (IIRC). Beltway Jared: Strong sustained success at first? – Ha! Quick action once scandal hit? – Sadly no. Justice quickly served? We have been watching the turd circle the toilet bowl for what seems like forever.
Amir Khalid
@Mezz:
If the indictments against Trump are sealed, can Mueller show them to Congress? If not, it would be hard to use them to make the argument for impeaching den Scheißgibbon.
NotMax
@HeleninEire
A favorite old Russian proverb applies.
Matt McIrvin
@Bruce K: I’ve always thought it was amazing that there was never a case of the Presidency becoming vacant while the Vice-Presidency was also vacant before the 25th Amendment. The succession line past the Vice-Presidency was theoretically much more important in those days, but it was never actually activated, by happenstance.
And then, when the 25th was passed, a situation where both the Vice-Presidency and the Presidency were vacated in close succession happened just a few years later! Without that amendment, House Speaker Carl Albert, a Democrat, would have become President instead of Gerald Ford.
Humdog
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): Dems will have the House and Senate in order for any impeachment scenario to work. Why not not let temporary prez Pence appoint a VP? The House has to approve his pick and they can approve nobody and then work in impeaching temp prez pence.
In my dreams, this works, so don’t ruin my dream!
...now I try to be amused
Would that be light treason?
cosima
Can we fast-forward to the part where Arya takes off her face and tells Donald that he’s been eating his children?
cosima
@Kay: But now he’s admitted to doctoring them. Can you imagine what a pariah his son will now be? Is that going to be the new line that he pushes, that his son is being ostracised by his peers b/c he’s a gun-lover & t-supporter? Poisonous person with poisonous spawn. Ugh. If only the average American were able (or inclined) to get out and about enough to see that the rest of the world does not function/act like that! The average citizen of other countries — hell, the majority of citizens of other countries — do not trivialise the mass slaughter of children, they do not attack victims, they do not value their guns more than their children, and they are not shouting ‘fake news!’ American exceptionalism is killing America.
Matt McIrvin
(I actually dislike that the House Speaker is third in line, rather than an executive official, because it means that in certain situations someone could effect a party transfer of power with a double assassination. The law probably shouldn’t facilitate that.)
brettvk
@Litlebritdifrnt: “Sir Salter Scott.” Scotland deserves independence.
cosima
@Litlebritdifrnt: The kids are off school today, and I have a house full of girls acting insane. I would send them out sledging again, but the weather is sunny & blue for 5 minutes, then white-out blizzard for 5 minutes, repeat over & over. It’s a seriously weird weather day. We were supposed to get 2 feet of snow today, which would be awful, as it’s lambing time right now, and not a good time for a lot of snow, could be tragic for the ewes & lambs.
Little C is supposed to go on a school ski trip Fri-Mon, and, ironically, they are probably going to cancel it because of too much snow. Not able to get to the outdoor centre where the kids will stay. high winds & low temps on the slopes. Mr C and I had made plans to go to Edinburgh for our anniversary (18th) for the weekend, and now it will likely be a romantic weekend for 3…
low-tech cyclist
@SiubhanDuinne:
I gave it up after the 2016 GOP convention. The guy they brought in to summarize it that Friday morning was asked for his three quick takeaways. They were about (a) what a great job Manafort was doing, (b) how impressive Trump’s kids were (neither of those has aged well, have they?), and (c) something that was so forgettable that I almost instantly forgot it.
No mention of “I alone can fix it” or “LOCK HER UP!!!” or anything like that.
I’d been finding NPR harder and harder to stomach, but that was the lead weight that broke the camel’s back.
danielx
Suppose a President Hillary Clinton had appointed Chelsea and an idiot son-in-law to high policy-making positions with an ill defined portfolio. Then further suppose the idiot son-in-law was in desperate financial straits and had access to top secret information for a year with an interim security clearance.
I can only imagine the outrage that would be displayed by congressional Republicans and the wingnut wurlitzer. Hearings would go on for years and subpoenas would be raining on anyone remotely connected to such an administration. But hey, since it’s Trump, it’s all good, and who really cares about all that classification stuff anyway?
Tenar Arha
@Litlebritdifrnt: @brettvk: I agree ?? SIR GRITS-A-LOT
SiubhanDuinne
@low-tech cyclist:
I hear you, but I’m not sure what my alternative is. My NPR station is pretty decent on local news (without ever resorting to the more typical “If it bleeds, it leads” of other local radio stations), and I don’t own a TV. And for all the Cokies and Mar-a-Liassons and commenters like the guy you heard, NPR has a lot of really interesting and well-produced features on topics that are rarely covered elsewhere.
So I read BJ* each morning, with WABE on in the background, and if either of them mentions something I want to know more about, I can look it up immediately.
*(Also Gin & Tacos, Hullaballoo, and Wonkette. Charlie Pierce and BooMan later in the day. I try to be careful with my limited free clicks at WaPo and FTFNYT.)
Tenar Arha
@low-tech cyclist: I stopped listening on the car radio, but I still donate to my local public radio stations bc of Code Switch & some other NPR podcasts.
I suppose that’s a little weird since I avoid their broadcast now like it’s a plague. They’re also probably the only thing keeping rural radio from being just Clear Channel owned stations up & down the dial. At least that’s what I tell myself each year as I struggle with the decision to renew.
Amir Khalid
@SiubhanDuinne:
The trick where you open the story in a private window still works at both sites. With Firefox, anyway. (Don’t tell’em I said that.)
J R in WV
@SiubhanDuinne:
“I still do listen to NPR, but I detest that weekly “Ask Cokie” segment.”
Not me. I would ask her where the men’s room was, for example. Or how to get back out of the brownstone. Directions to the Mall…. things like that, with objective truth available.
Tenar Arha
@Kay: @cosima: I feel so bad for that boy. He will be without support by the people he needs the most. (That is if he wasn’t already odd man out).
He likely is some combination of not raised right or messed up by a RWNJ father, & now this shooting happened to him. How does he process that without going further down the rabbit hole or losing his family when he lets himself realize their ideology almost got him dead & did get his friends killed?
SiubhanDuinne
@Matt McIrvin:
Were you a West Wing fan? With the parties switched, this happened in a story arc in Seasons 4-5 (just a few episodes but a season-ending cliffhanger stretched out the time and emotional impact). The VP had resigned/been forced out a few episodes earlier; then Bartlet’s daughter was abducted and he was too distraught to do any presidentin’ so he invoked the 25th and stepped down. The Speaker/new POTUS* was a Republican.
*John Goodman in one of his best acting jobs ever.
SiubhanDuinne
@J R in WV:
Or whether Hawai’i is a state.
J R in WV
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady):
“If the vice presidency is vacant, whoever is president nominates a new vp, subject to congressional ratification.”
Yes, but! If the congress is in turmoil, and if they don’t confirm the nomination of the russo-president, which why would they? then whoever is elected Speaker will be the de facto VP. Could happen, esp right after a wave election.
SiubhanDuinne
@Amir Khalid:
Safari here (I use iCrap products), and I don’t believe it’s an option. But thanks; I’ve noted it for such time as I upgrade.
cosima
@Tenar Arha: He’s in for a rough time, and not likely to weather it well. His only saving grace would be to go to a counsellor/therapist. However, I see the stars aligning to push him further toward his RWNJ dad…
frosty
@SiubhanDuinne: Interesting. If you swap out Hullabaloo for TPM, those are my bookmarks too.
J R in WV
@SiubhanDuinne:
Hawai’i … or Hawaii ???? Now we got her cornfused~!
You all know Cokie is the daughter of Hale Boggs, high-ranking Republican member of the House of Reps, who presumably died in a plane crash in Alaska, right? When did Cokie leave her father’s party? Did they ever find Hale Boggs’ plane? I think not…
SiubhanDuinne
@J R in WV:
Hale Boggs was a Democrat! A Southern Democrat, it’s true, but not a Republican.
SiubhanDuinne
@frosty:
I often follow stories or links to TPM, but haven’t had it on the regular morning checklist. Maybe I should consider that.
Yutsano
@SiubhanDuinne: Hey if Hawai’i adopts jus soli upon independence I’m a dual citizen. And I’m moving. Hawai’i was almost to universal health care before ACA.
TenguPhule
@Yutsano: Hope you have three quarters of a million to buy a house here.
LAO
jimmiraybob
I think that it’s clearly time to re-litigate and rehabilitate Benedict Arnold, just a poor confused, naive city boy from south Norwich on a midnight train to anywhere payin’ anything to roll the dice. Coulda been anybody’s mistake. It was his first American Revolution. He wasn’t a politician. The sun was in his eyes. On and on and on and on……….
EthylEster
@Amir Khalid: Safari, too! So on my iPhone I just close browser and re-open.
EthylEster
@SiubhanDuinne: see comment above
Procopius
@Brachiator: I wondered why they didn’t do that with the “mystic orb” thingy. What the hell was that supposed to be about, anyway? I saw photos of it but never sawan explanation. Some kind of spiritual blood brotherhood? Eternal trust and friendship?
Procopius
@Bruce K: It’s an iterative thing, isn’t it? There’s an explicit chain of something like fifteen or twenty offices. Doesn’t each one move up one step when the Vice President assumes the Presidency? I honestly don’t remember from Nixon’s resignation. Who became Vice when Ford moved up, and how was it done? I know I should google it, but I need to take a nap.
Procopius
@aimai:
Of course not. It’s much more important to them to promote hot war with Russia and Iran first, thus demonstrating they do not believe what we were told about nuclear war for forty-five years. They are well aware that 90% of the highly classified stuff is common gossip and the rest is wrong, so it’s really no threat to America to have the information sold to other nations. When the situation attracted attention Kelly just took advantage of the wider awareness to stick a shiv in Jarvanka.