May the fourth be with you.
Fortunately, it's Friday! ?#StarWarsDay pic.twitter.com/UTf5aiGqUR
— DW Science (@dw_scitech) May 4, 2018
Were it not for the whole aspiring-agoraphobe thing, I would *totally* show up for this, and I don’t even drink. (But I do love quilt shows, although technically I don’t much quilt, either. ) The Washington Post reports:
Jay Milton, one of the organizers of the inaugural “Run for the Rest of Us race” in Boerne, Tex., wants to make sure of one thing: the air quotes.
Everything about this “race” screams air quotes, in the best ways possible. This event, an affectionate parody of road races everywhere, begins at 11 a.m. Central time Saturday in the town of about 10,000 outside San Antonio and is billed as a 0.5K. Like those air quotes, that decimal is awfully important. This an un-race, a nonevent, a thing for people who like to have a good time and don’t take themselves too seriously. It’s a “race” that will cover 546 yards, running from brewpub to brewpub and, because it’s important to have a sustenance station, there will be a spot to grab coffee, eat a doughnut and maybe smoke a cigarette.
Did we mention free beer? Like, good craft beer and not swill?
The course begins with a free pint at the Dodging Duck Brewhaus at one end of a linear city park in Boerne (pronounced “Bernie”) and ends with another free pint at Cibolo Creek Brewery at the other end. There, organizers write on Facebook, participants can “relive the experience, brag to our friends, compare times, and take selfies to post on social media “I DID IT!!! I AM A FINISHER!!!”…
The idea took off like a bolt, probably unlike most of the participants in this “race,” and the 225 spots, available for a $25 entry fee, quickly were snapped up. Because the event has gotten a lot of national attention, Milton said they could have had at least 500 entrants “if not 1,000.” That would have stressed the brewpubs, though. Milton and his friends focused on finding a charity that worked locally and settled on Blessings in a Backpack, an organization that supplies weekend meals to children who might otherwise go hungry.
There will also be a VIP entry level. For an extra $25, folks can choose not to run, riding instead in one organizer’s restored 1963 VW bus. That organizer also happens to play the bagpipes and will help kick things off Saturday with a rendition of “Amazing Grace.” Another organizer, who is a keyboardist, will play the “Chariots of Fire” theme.
And of course there will be participation awards, medals — or “woods,” as Milton says — that are crafted by another organizer. “This is 2018,” Milton said. “Of course, everyone gets a participation trophy because what would their parents think?”…
Other goodies (we had you at free beer, we know) besides the “wood,” include a T-shirt and a deeply ironic 0.5K oval sticker to proudly affix to your vehicle. The race is being held on Cinco de Mayo, a date that was chosen “as an accident” because it was a good spot on the city’s busy calendar, and “you don’t want to have a race in Texas in the summer,” Milton said. That goes for a “race,” too. There also happens to be a quilting festival that day…
Upgrade for next year: Maybe if enough people pay for a special “eardrums” package, the bagpiper will not perform? At least not until after the beers have been consumed?
SectionH
Is this the new RHPS wannabe? Lacking the spontaneity obviously.
rikyrah
Good Morning Everyone ???
raven
Mt Kīlauea is erupting.
raven
Maybe the morning people will appreciate this hilarious doggie video!
EveryDayIHaveTheBlues
@rikyrah: ‘Morning!
sukabi
@raven: where are you Tasha?
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
raven
@sukabi: I don’t know, maybe it’s just me . . .
Murmeltier
Good morning.
That is my kind of race. I don’t care about the beer either.
JGabriel
Anne Laurie @ Top:
Sometimes I feel like I’m the only person in the world who likes bagpipes.
Sigh.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@JGabriel: I think the bagpipes in this song work quite well.
Sab
@JGabriel: I like bagpipes a lot.
OzarkHillbilly
@JGabriel: I was going to complain about her insult. Bagpipes are GLORIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OzarkHillbilly
@raven: Too funny.
Quinerly
@raven: I watched it three times last night. Loved it.
Jeffro
Morning everyone!
Taking the day off for all sorts of appointments (car, me, home, etc) and errands. Trying to decide whether or not a midday nap should be on the agenda…
Quinerly
@rikyrah: Tail wags and waves from Pine Knoll Shores, NC. Poco is taking me on a campaign beach walk in 5. Have a great day!
WereBear
I like bagpipes. Like all instruments, better when played well.
Sab
@raven: I need new glasses. I had to watch it three times before I got the joke.
Jeffro
Interesting read: What A Legal War Between Mueller and Trumpov Will Look Like
Nickel bet that even this SCOTUS says he does have to abide by it. And TPM (in this article, at least) has not taken into consideration the drip-drip-drip of more continuing to come out all the while…
HinTN
@raven:
I’ll go find the link in a minute. They let us walk toward it until the ground was hot in ’87. We could see the steam where it hit the ocean.
That picture of your stuck truck … is that a ’63 GMC? Beautiful, whatever it is.
Immanentize
@raven: Tasha is a good puppy.
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
JGabriel – I love bagpipes. My dad had a bunch of old 33 1/3 records he used to play when I was a baby. It may have warped me for life.
Sab
@raven: Hint:watch the flowerpot.
JPL
@raven: It’s funny unless you have a dog that behaves the same way.
rikyrah
@Quinerly:
Morning to Poco and the tribe ??
OzarkHillbilly
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Jeffro: A midday nap is always on the agenda.
Also, I’m going to vote with the bagpipe lovers here. And hearing a piper playing a slow Amazing Grace at a funeral always gets me.
Baud
More allegations against Charlie Rose. I guess this is a prelude to his new show interview the men of #metoo.
Baud
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: It’s the perfect way to cap off a morning nap.
Luthe
@WereBear: Which is why everyone but the bagpiper should be allowed that beer…
MomSense
@raven:
That was really cute.
HeartlandLiberal
I have to quibble with you on the bagpipes. I LOVE bagpipes. That would be a highlight. And I am not even Scottish. At least I don’t think so, although there is much English blood in my veins, my forefathers came over from England about 1649, we have it traced back that far, but are uncertain about which of two candidates is the Richard that came to Maryland. Maybe I have some genes somewhere that respond to bagpipes.
OzarkHillbilly
@Luthe: Or why everyone else needs to drink more.
Sab
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: My BIL funeral had a piper playing “Coming home” from New World Symphony. How American is that? American piper playing song by Czech composer referencing African American gospel music on Scottish instrument.
I cried at the time, and I get teary eyed every time I remember it.
SiubhanDuinne
@JGabriel:
I love bagpipes. You are not alone.
Steve in the ATL
@JGabriel: bagpipes played well are great. Bagpipes played anything less than well are…well, I don’t want to use that kind of language this early in the morning
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
Bagpipes are best at a distance.
WaterGirl
@raven: Once Omnes tipped me twitch the planter, I thought the video was hilarious!
WaterGirl
@Baud: He should have left it alone – what sane person would do something cavalier like floating the idea of that show? It’s just asking for more people to come forward.
rikyrah
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady):
???
Jeffro
@SiubhanDuinne: bag pipes are great if by “bagpipes”you mean the “dropkick Murphys and several beers”
Steve in the ATL
@Jeffro: great live band! Doesn’t translate well to not live….
Baud
@WaterGirl:
Sounds like a story for BJ After Dark.
Steve in the ATL
@Baud: or BJ Middle English
Baud
@Steve in the ATL: Good call. Definitely Chauceresque.
raven
@OzarkHillbilly: I have a friend in Safety Bay near Perth. He and his brother built a replica the USS Lanikai. Thirty years ago his brother went to sea in the catgut and was never heard from again.
Frankensteinbeck
@Jeffro:
I didn’t get out of the boat, but that excerpt seems fishy to me because it suggests the Trump ‘strategy’ is, was, or will be rational and consistent. For example, isn’t it Trump’s legal team trying to hold Trump back from testifying? As you may have noticed from his recent Fox appearance, he’s an arrogant dimwit who craves the chance to rant and believes he can talk his way out of anything.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Think I’ll register that domain.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@raven: Sounds like Safety Bay ain’t all that safe.
raven
@?BillinGlendaleCA: They think he was lost somewhere off Queensland.
MomSense
@JGabriel:
You are definitely not alone. I love them.
Steve in the ATL
@raven: that’s rather depressing. Unless he had recently purchased a large life insurance policy and was faking his death to get away from a nagging wife, loan sharks, and a pack of angry dingos.
satby
@raven: I laughed!
Jeffro
@Frankensteinbeck: Yup. That and the fact that he continues to vent his spleen on Twitter a dozen times a day.
I can’t wait for the obstruction report to drop. I hope it drops with tens or even hundreds of other indictments against Don Jr., Jared, Stone, etc. “THIS is obstruction, and THESE are just hundreds of the charges we have already prepared, so DON’T EVEN try to say ‘it’s not obstruction if there’s no underlying crime, asshole’ “
Jeffro
@Steve in the ATL: True…not really even good road trip music.
satby
@rikyrah: Good morning ?!
The stupid dogs woke me up at 3:30, kept me up to 4:30, and even though my coffee was brewing, when they got settled I went back to bed too. Now I’m up and having my reheated coffee while the miscreants lounge in the sunlight.
satby
@JGabriel: I love bagpipes. I think you almost have to have Celtic ancestry though.
Elizabelle
Good morning jackals.
Friday, but every day is news dump day now, is it not?
opiejeanne
@raven: Is a “catgut” a boat?
GideonAB
Is anyone here following the Dean Heller campaign closely? Is he active in Nevada?
kindness
You had me at the free beer.
opiejeanne
@satby: I got your shampoo bars yesterday. Tried it out last night and my hair is squeaky clean. Smells nice, too. I’m giving each of my daughters a bar.
Is a shampoo bar a new thing? Or have I just led a sheltered life?
scuffletuffle
@JGabriel: you are not alone, I got a bagpiper for my mother’s funeral and hope someone will do the same for me someday…
zhena gogolia
I can’t imagine what it’s like to be Mueller right now.
rikyrah
@opiejeanne:
satby:
Tried out the shampoo bar on Peanut’s hair. Peanut’s hair really took to it. I have an argon oil based conditioner that I use in conjunction with your bar.
First time I heard of it was on youtube a couple of years ago. I think I’ve been sheltered like you :)
Yarrow
@raven: I watched the doggie video several times and kept laughing each time. That pup is a riot. It took me more than one view to figure out what I was supposed to be looking for, but once I did…hilarious.
raven
@opiejeanne: It’s an autofill but I can’t even remember what I was putting there!
raven
@Yarrow: Me too!
Yarrow
@raven: I wish they’d used the zoom feature on the video so we could see the dog better. After a few times you pretty much knew what the pup would do. I would have love to see the dog’s face. I bet she was having the best time.
Old Dan and Little Anne
Bagpipes ate kickass. Had one at my wedding.
Baud
A mixed bag.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-unions-insight/democrats-target-union-workers-who-regret-trump-vote-idUSKBN1I5181
rikyrah
Kay,
did you miss yesterday where I posted that Kucinich was doing phucking interviews with RT!!
RT!!
Phuck outta here!
rikyrah
@Baud:
Couldn’t send me out to talk to them, because I have no sympathy and would only tell them that they are responsible for what we’re going through now.
I told you…NO FORGIVENESS for those who made our current situation possible.
Baud
@rikyrah: If you’re a Dem candidate in those areas, you have to talk to them. And if those districts want to elect Dems in 2018 and 2020, I’m happy to work with those Reps to put the country back on track.
satby
@opiejeanne: sorry, I walked away for moar coffee and to let the beasts out.
Lush made shampoo bars popular, but soapmakers have made them for a long time. They weren’t well known and didn’t sell before Lush made them a thing. Same with bath bombs.
Tilda Swintons Bald Cap
Don’t be fooled, Zuckerberg is a bog standard Republican:
at Wonkette
satby
@rikyrah: @opiejeanne: I’m really glad you both like them, BTW!
Jerzy Russian
@JGabriel:
It depends on how you cook them.
Anotherlurker
@raven: Could you have meant “Catboat”?
Ella in New Mexico
Catching up on the news this morning I missed working two 14 hr shifts in the ICU and OMG what the fuck is Giuliani’s evil plan here? Or is he fucking senile? He’s talking exactly like a dirty fourth-tier mob attorney and he’s representing the President of the United States. Jesus H. Christ he was a USA in SDNY for fucking sake-these were supposedly the crimes he was prosecuting there.
Switched the TV to FOX to see what The Folks Back Home in Pennsylvania ® were being told about this situation and was reassured to see they were hearing NOTHING to upset their happy little Trump as Persecuted Hero worlds. No discussion about the possibility that they have been lied to over and over by Mr. Drain the Swamp, no sir. Just victimhood on ‘roids.
In case y’all missed it, apparently the Deep State is working hard to sink all his good works by taking down his high quality hires. Oh, and the FBI watchdog is going to issue a report completely DESTROYING THE LIES OF JAMES COMEY AND ANDREW MCCABE AND DON’T FORGET THOSE TWO LOVERS WHO SECRETLY MOCKED DONALD J. TRUMP IN CELL PHONE TEXTS THEY’RE ALL OUT TO GET HIM
Actual facts and news about shit going down in the real world is never, ever going to get in to these people’s orbits. Which is why it’s gonna be a huge fight to take these bitches down.
And even if some of those bitches are my in-laws, it’s gonna be awesome.
Baud
@Ella in New Mexico:
Fixed.
rikyrah
1,100 economists warn that Trump is repeating one of the biggest mistakes of the Great Depression
Bob Bryan
Over 1,100 leading economists sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging the president to reverse course on recent trade tactics — lest the US repeat one of the biggest mistakes of the Great Depression.
The letter, organized by the conservative-leaning National Taxpayers Union, warned that recent tariffs and trade protectionism were harmful to the US economy. The economists cited a 1930 letter that warned Congress against passing the Smoot-Hawley Act, a large package of tariffs that many studies cite as a major reason for the depth of the Great Depression.
“Congress did not take economists’ advice in 1930, and Americans across the country paid the price,” the letter says. “The undersigned economists and teachers of economics strongly urge you not to repeat that mistake. Much has changed since 1930 — for example, trade is now significantly more important to our economy — but the fundamental economic principles as explained at the time have not.”
rikyrah
Giuliani ends any question of why Donald Trump fired James Comey
Rachel Maddow points out that Donald Trump’s new lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said on Fox News that Donald Trump fired James Comey over the Russia investigation, and wonders what happens now that there is such an overt admission on the matter.
rikyrah
Attainable goal: Every high school in America has a voter registration drive on or before May 29th. Sign up here: https://t.co/nHxB2AiJKD
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) May 4, 2018
satby
@Baud: you read my mind.
Ella in New Mexico
@Baud: Yessir. :-D
Yarrow
Saw this yesterday:
They’re going all in for Trump. It’s a cult.
Yarrow
@Ella in New Mexico:
Giuliani has been corrupt for a long time. He’s got ties to the corrupt NY FBI field office, which has long been tied to the Russian mob. He’s acting exactly how I’d expect someone like that to act. As you said, dirty fourth-tier mob attorney. Yep.
debit
So, Donny is so unpopular he has to hire people to come to his birthday party. I could almost feel sorry for him if he wasn’t such a loathsome little shitstain.
LAO
@rikyrah: It seems to me that Giuliani (and Trump) are relying on the argument that Trump has the power to fire anyone and is entitled to fire Comey for any reason, including an arguably wrong reason.
KithKanan
@rikyrah: I was hoping we were targeting them for drone strikes, or at least massive public shaming and re-education camps. Sadly, I think the others are right that we actually do need their votes, but I sure as fuck don’t have to LIKE it.
LAO
@Ella in New Mexico:
That made me laugh, just yesterday my law partner was bemoaning the fact that Rudy really seemed to have lost the plot and said the following: “you know, Rudy was always in the service of evil, but he used to be so good at it. What the hell has happened to him?”
rikyrah
Pritzker, Mendoza demand Rauner, Senger apologize to Duckworth for vets email
Tina Sfondeles @TinaSfon |
05/03/2018, 06:20pm
Democrats J.B. Pritzker and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza on Thursday demanded that Gov. Bruce Rauner and his policy chief issue an apology to Sen. Tammy Duckworth for an email that suggested blaming the decorated war hero and former veterans’ affairs manager for a deadly Legionnaires’ outbreak in downstate Quincy.
Despite the political pressure, Republican comptroller candidate Darlene Senger — Rauner’s policy chief — isn’t backing down on the blame game.
Mendoza faces Senger in her re-election bid come November. And while the problems at the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy where 13 have died have been campaign fodder for months, an email obtained by WBEZ this week revealed Senger suggested blaming Duckworth, who ran the state agency under former Governors Pat Quinn and Rod Blagojevich.
“We can maybe tie this back to Duckworth,” Senger wrote in a Dec. 13 email.
Senger’s campaign on Thursday said the “point” of her email was to show that there’s a need to understand how problems in the home started in order to find solutions.
“If we choose to ignore the past, systemic failures to fund our veteran’s programs, then we are destined to continue to face these challenges in the future and that was the point of my comment,” her campaign said.
Pritzker was joined by Mendoza and two state representatives who also are veterans — Linda Chapa La Via, D-Aurora, and Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego — at the Plumbers Hall in the West Loop. He said they were outraged that Duckworth would be blamed for the deaths.
Duckworth, an Iraq war vet, lost her legs and shattered her right arm when her Black Hawk helicopter was shot down in Iraq on Nov. 12, 2004.
Mendoza implored Senger to apologize to the families of those affected by the Legionnaires’ outbreak and to Duckworth. She also blamed the administration for trying to hide the outbreak.
And she denied politicizing the issue; that, she said, is Senger’s doing.
“Darlene Senger is the person who chose to try to pin the deaths of 13 war heroes on an actual wounded war hero. It’s not me,” Mendoza said. “Darlene Senger disqualified herself as a person that could be trusted by this state the minute she decided to put the governor and his reputation ahead the personal safety of those veterans and the grieving families that were impacted by the deaths.”
Mendoza said she’s doing a “public service” in highlighting the issue “so that the people of Illinois don’t get conned for a second time” — referring to Rauner’s re-election bid.
And Pritzker focused his efforts on trying to pin the blame on Rauner.
“Shockingly the person that they tried to blame is U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a combat veteran, an advocate for veterans rights who embodies the spirit and courage of this nation,” Pritzker said. “Gov. Rauner, Sen. Duckworth deserves an apology. She doesn’t deserve the blame that your administration is placing upon her, but instead thanks for her sacrifice and her service.”
LAO
@Yarrow: Come on. I may fucking hate him, but he’s a sitting president. Did you actual expect the RNC to work to fielding a candidate to challenge a sitting Republican president?
Baud
@LAO: Trump’s person on Chris Hayes said that explicitly. I can see it working as a legal matter. Still impeachable, and hopefully politically disadvantageous for them.
Baud
@LAO: My reaction too.
rikyrah
DOJ gets wise to GOP effort to tip off Trump on Mueller probe
Rachel Maddow shows how the Department of Justice is resisting requests from Republican members of Congress for details of the Mueller investigation as the New York Times reports suspicions by the FBI and Rod Rosenstein that GOP members of Congress are wanting to use their access to information to tip off Donald Trump about the investigation.
schrodingers_cat
@LAO: If he becomes toxic, then its possible. I think it won’t happen because elected Rs are afraid of their base aka T supporters.
trollhattan
@debit:
As long as they’re the best people–not rapists, murderers, drug dealers and such.
Here’s hoping they demand pay in advance.
schrodingers_cat
In the photo that Adam put on the FP, the orange one seems to be expanding like a gas giant. Will he go super nova or will he become a white dwarf?
D58826
Maybe I missed something important here but the news yesterday was wall to wall Stormy and hush money. Now I realize there might be a campaign law violation in all of this and it shows again that Trump is a scumbag but seems unlikely to be prosecuted for any of this.
In the meantime:
1. Trump is about to blow up the Iran deal
2. Bibi is chomping at the bit to get the US to attack Iran
3. Kim is probably playing Trump like a bad fiddle
4. Pruitt is ripping the tax payers off for his personal pleasure, not to mention destroying the environment
5. Ben Carson wants to fund his office furniture by tripling public housing rent
6. Zinkie wants to turn public land/parks/etc over to developers
7. and I’m sure there are a few more.
The WH must be happy as a pig in S**** at the misdirection play
D58826
@Baud: she is the other half of the joe degenova team. I remember her from the Clinton era. At the time if Bill ordered extra fries with his Big Mac it was an impeachable offense if not a crime against humanity
rikyrah
Did Trump or Cohen break any laws with the Stormy Daniels payoff?
Did Rudy Giuliani implicate Donald Trump or Michael Cohen in any crimes with his new story of how money was juggled in the course of paying off Stormy Daniels? Danny Cevallos, defense attorney, James McGovern, former federal prosecutor, and Mimi Rocah, former assistant U.S. attorney help Rachel Maddow understand in a new edition of TRMS Law School.
Baud
@D58826: We stopped doing the distraction thing several months ago.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@D58826: Yes, they’re oh so clever. Meanwhile we are paying attention to all of it, and filing away receipts.
rp
@LAO: They’re conflating the issue of whether Trump had the authority to fire Comey from a bureaucratic standpoint, and whether firing him constituted obstruction of justice because of the impact of the firing on an ongoing investigation. Those are two very different issues. If Trump took office and immediately fired Comey because he didn’t like Comey’s haircut, that would be fine.
Whether they’re conflating these issues deliberately or because they’re stupid is an open question.
Baud
@D58826: I’m sure she a hypocrite and a scumbag, but that legal argument has a chance in court under the current state of the law.
LAO
@rp: I understand. IMO, it’s deliberate and not a terrible defense in the court of public opinion. It just won’t fly in a real court.
rp
This is kinda similar to a retaliatory firing. As a general matter, the US is an employment at will system, so employers can fire employees for any reason or no reason. But federal law prohibits an employer from firing an employee who has reported the employer’s potentially illegal activity and/or is participating in an investigation.
rikyrah
How were prosecutors monitoring Trump confidant Michael Cohen?
What was the legal nature of the monitoring of Michael Cohen ahead of the raids on his office, home, and hotel? Danny Cevallos, defense attorney, James McGovern, former federal prosecutor, and Mimi Rocah, former assistant U.S. attorney help Rachel Maddow understand in a new edition of TRMS Law School.
rikyrah
Did Giuliani admit Trump obstructed justice in firing Comey?
When Donald Trump’s new lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said on Fox News that Donald Trump fired James Comey over the Russia investigation, did he essentially admit that Trump obstructed justice? Danny Cevallos, defense attorney, James McGovern, former federal prosecutor, and Mimi Rocah, former assistant U.S. attorney help Rachel Maddow understand in a new edition of TRMS Law School.
Yarrow
@LAO: I think that given how things are going with Trump that they might want to or need to change that decision. The 2020 election still over two years away and we haven’t even had the 2018 election. In normal times I’d understand it, but now? Seems premature at best. They are definitely sending a message that they are all in for Trump.
Frankensteinbeck
@LAO:
Hate makes you stupid. You get addicted to the rush of venting irrational emotions, and train yourself to stop thinking critically. We’re seeing extreme cases, but then, a black man WAS elected president.
germy
@D58826:
McTurtle is loving seeing a bunch of young RW judges appointed.
JPL
@LAO: uh oh The judge seems upset with Mueller
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/hearing-motion-to-dismiss-manafort-virgina
JPL
@JPL: This is another article questions the prosecutor about intent of the trial.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/manafort-to-appear-in-virginia-court-in-bid-to-have-fraud-charges-dismissed/2018/05/03/c3b0acb0-4ca2-11e8-b725-92c89fe3ca4c_story.html?utm_term=.a4368889aafd
Brachiator
@Frankensteinbeck:
Fixed that for you. Obama’s election evoked blind, unthinking rage, in a core of voters. But very fair point.
ETA: Originally tried to do a “strikethrough” effect, but somehow got it wrong.
Immanentize
@JPL: I saw that — how weird. It’s none of the judiciary’s business why the government brings a case. He is acting like Mueller is a special counsel (like in the Whitewater investigation) outside the DOJ with a particular remit, not a lawyer appointed to act within the DOJ. But he is a 77 year old Senior status judge appointed by Reagan….
LAO
@JPL: @Immanentize: We’ll just have to see what happens. I can’t count the number of times I’ve walked out of a court room feeling like a winner, only to get crushed with an adverse written order.
Immanentize
@LAO: That is a favorite technique covered in judicial CLEs.
JPL
@Immanentize: It’s seem so crazy, and thanks to you and LAO for commenting.
“We don’t want anyone in this country with unfettered power. It’s unlikely you’re going to persuade me the special prosecutor has power to do anything he or she wants.”
KithKanan
@LAO: Honest question, would this argument have a chance in hell of being taken seriously if the charges in question weren’t “white collar crimes”?
Is “you don’t really care about this low level dealer, you just want him to flip on the kingpin” a defense that actually works and gets low level dealers out of charges?
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@schrodingers_cat: I thought about him going supernova, blowing off most of his mass and leaving a cold core behind.
And that made me think, because my mind is weird, of the mutant character Jocko in Dean Koontz’ Frankenstein update. From the Wikipedia entry:
Aleta
Granted the photos chosen by the press are selective, but in recent ones of Manafort, his sheen of confident arrogance is missing. Small comfort given that he is fighting hard, results unknown, but still something I like.
WereBear
Come sit by me.
LAO
@KithKanan: No, it would not be taken seriously. The difference here, and without really knowing the facts, is that Mueller is a “special prosecutor.” I can kinda, sorta see a Judge saying, pass the prosecution off to the proper district and let them prosecute the charges that are unrelated to your investigation. But as I said, we shall see.
JPL
@LAO: I want what ever you are taking, because after reading some of the judge’s statements, I’m anything but calm.
LAO
@JPL: Relax. Breathe deeply. We shall see what happens.
ETA: I’m not trying to be snarky — I am sincerely telling you not to freak out yet.
TenguPhule
@raven:
Yep. Exciting times. National Guard called out, mandatory evacuation of the eruption zone.
Aleta
@JPL: In case you’re still around:
From the WaPo article you linked, do you think there was some balance to the judge’s questions to prosecutors when he said
There’s also this (quotes below). Hope you’ll excuse me if the following doesn’t apply to your concerns; my understanding is shallow lately, from being overwhelmed by it all:
And related to that memorandum:
J R in WV
@satby:
Bagpipes have been part of many cultures other than Celtic. I’m not gonna try to list them all, because… but the Google can help anyone who wants a list.
I like bagpipes, but I’m full of both Celtic and Scandinavian genes.
satby
@TenguPhule: hope that’s not the area NotMax is in.
Edit, or his elderly mom!
NotMax
@satby
I’m on a different island (as is Tengu). Mom’s in Noo Yawk.
J R in WV
@JPL:
“uh oh The judge seems upset with Mueller ”
Don’t you mean “uh oh The Reagan appointed RWNJ judge seems upset with Mueller” ??