Michael Cohen resigns from as deputy finance chair of RNC…..apparently suggesting it's partly on principle over family separation. https://t.co/J7xDlOoK1a
— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) June 20, 2018
… In his resignation letter to Ronna McDaniel, the RNC chair, Cohen cited the ongoing special counsel investigation as one reason for his departure. ABC News has reviewed the email…
Cohen also criticized the administration’s policy of separating migrant children from their parents at the southern border, the first time he’s distanced himself from the president.
“As the son of a Polish holocaust survivor, the images and sounds of this family separation policy is heart wrenching,” Cohen wrote. “While I strongly support measures that will secure our porous borders, children should never be used as bargaining chips.”
Cohen on Tuesday hired New York lawyer Guy Petrillo to represent him in a federal investigation headed up by the Southern District of New York.
I drafted the post below just last night. Nothing is ever certain in Trumpworld, but it sounds like the Hoarse Whisperer’s tweets at the end might be relevant; if Cohen’s decided that Donald is not really his friend, then the next logical step would be discovering a moral compass…
This is gonna end like Reservoir Dogs isn’t it. https://t.co/EKxCXol5Z2
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) June 20, 2018
It’d be some kind of poetic justice if Trump’s notorious parsimony (to phrase it nicely) with the people who work for him turns out to be what brings him down. From CNN:
Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen has signaled to friends that he is “willing to give” investigators information on the President if that’s what they are looking for, and is planning on hiring a new lawyer to handle a possible indictment from federal prosecutors.
“He knows a lot of things about the President and he’s not averse to talking in the right situation,” one of Cohen’s New York friends who is in touch with him told CNN. “If they want information on Trump, he’s willing to give it.”…
The shift in legal strategy and signals of potential cooperation with investigators come as Cohen feels increasingly isolated from the President, whom he has been famously loyal to for more than a decade. Last week, CNN reported Cohen has indicated a willingness to cooperate to alleviate pressure on himself and his family…
Several defense lawyers say that if Cohen is ultimately indicted, they don’t expect him to be charged with any wrongdoing until the government completes its review of the evidence seized in the raid. The court-appointed special master overseeing the review of material for attorney-client privileged information said it could be completed as soon as June 25…
Cohen complaints about Trump not paying his legal fees are all the more striking because 1) Trump campaign paid $230K of his Russia legal fees + 2) Trump family paid for doc review process after the April raid (as first reported by NYT). https://t.co/l8fr1aVYQH
— Rebecca Ballhaus (@rebeccaballhaus) June 20, 2018
From The Hill:
The Wall Street Journal reports that Cohen has “frequently” complained that the mounting costs of his legal fees are “bankrupting” him, according to one source, and that he is frustrated that the president, whom he feels owes Cohen for years service, hasn’t offered to cover the fees.
Trump told reporters last week that he hasn’t spoken to his former attorney in months, adding that Cohen no longer does any business with him.
“I always liked Michael Cohen,” he said Friday. “I haven’t spoken to Michael in a long time.”…
Afterwards, they’re hurt, shocked and incredulous.
How could they have done this to me after everything I’ve done?!
Then they’re just hurt.
Then they look for comfort in people who have been wronged by the narc as well…
…and those people usually weren’t as loyal.
2/
— The Hoarse Whisperer (@HoarseWisperer) June 19, 2018
Michael Cohen is well on his way to that point…
…and once he gets there and opens the spigot, there will be no holding back what he gives up.
The first turn is the hardest.
Then comes the flood.
Trump is in big, big trouble here.
<end>
— The Hoarse Whisperer (@HoarseWisperer) June 19, 2018
jl
Is saw an interview where Avenatti has said he would welcome Cohen’s cooperation, if it were genuine, and help him if he turned a new leaf in life. That is the IANAL gist. There was legal talk and provisos involved that I did not understand.
efgoldman
The rats are bailing.
It will be ironic if Weasel Face is brought down because he stiffed his own lawyers and “friends.”
Elizabelle
The worm is turning. Stay tuned.
TenguPhule
@efgoldman:
Unfortunately they seem to have a never ending supply of new ones to take their place.
Cohen better get into protective custody fast. Or else he’s going to commit suicide.
debbie
Like he gives a shit about family separation!
Tony Jay
If Trump’s mobbed-up bagman turns snitch about all the money laundering and bribery and sex-trafficking and treason his former client has been involved in…. Yeah, I see the problem.
Good.
Villago Delenda Est
If you pitched this story to a network for a series, you’d be tossed out on your ass for trying to sell utter fantasy as “realistic”.
Mnemosyne
The Hoarse Whisperer knows whereof s/he speaks when it comes to narcissists. Everything s/he says matches up with what I’ve read about narcissists and with my personal experiences.
Once the narc’s spell over an enabler breaks, that’s when things get truly interesting.
trollhattan
Trump represents an ambulatory sunk cost. Do business with even once and you’ve booked a loss. It’s up to you how much deeper a hole to dig, Cohen, as we’ve come to know, is rather thick and hung in there a long damn time waiting for that Big Payday. Hope you’re happy now, Mikie.
I’m unaware of one person happy, whole and wealthy today from having done (legitimate) business with Donald Trump. New Yorkers have known this 30+ years.
zhena gogolia
@debbie:
Inorite
Mnemosyne
@debbie:
He actually might. Everyone has their breaking point, and it can be surprising to see where a particular person’s is.
Remember, the worst thing you can be in a maximum security prison is someone who was convicted of hurting a child, because even stone-cold gang murderers who killed other adults without blinking an eye are going to hate your guts for that and want to make you pay.
Patricia Kayden
Why is Cohen surprised that Trump isn’t paying his legal fees and has pretty much disowned him? How long has he known Donald? I don’t even have a relationship with Trump and know that this is the kind of thing he’d pull. He has no loyalty to anyone except Donald J. Trump. He’ll probably disown the fruit of his loins to keep himself out of the slammer with the exception of his one true love — Ivanka, of course.
jacy
One of the federal attorneys that on all the shows — seems like a smart guy, Goldman, maybe? — said that the fact that Trump wasn’t paying Cohen’s fees indicated that Trump wasn’t worried about what Cohen could give up on him. For a normal mob guy, that might be true, but for a narcissist, that calculation doesn’t come up. The reason that Trump cut Cohen loose isn’t because he’s not worried what Cohen has, it’s because that’s what you do to somebody after you’ve used them up and they can’t give you anything else. You dispose of them, they cease to be any calculation to you. I don’t think Trump can actually even process what Cohen could say about him. He doesn’t understand how anything normal works.
I hope that Cohen wakes up. I don’t really have any sympathy for him, but he’s certainly utterly, utterly pathetic.
TenguPhule
@Patricia Kayden:
He’ll disown her too. After she’s fucked him to try to save herself. Its who they both are.
Elizabelle
@TenguPhule:
No they don’t. Stop making up shit so you can enjoy your gloom porn. I mean it.
Mnemosyne
@Patricia Kayden:
Every enabler thinks that they’re special and different until they get cut off. Then they either realize the truth and get mad, or they go crawling back to the narcissist and beg to be taken back.
TenguPhule
@jacy:
Trump seems to be confident that Cohen isn’t going to be a problem for much longer.
Cohen really should be aware of what he’s eating and drinking. And who is watching him.
TenguPhule
@Elizabelle:
/Silently points at the National Republican Party
Betty Cracker
News from the Trump rally in Duluth:
?
TenguPhule
@Villago Delenda Est:
Fiction is hampered by the requirement to make sense.
Frankensteinbeck
Because that is the only framework in which they can see the world. Someone is ripping off someone else.
ruemara
1. I hope protective custody is on the table. For all his family.
2. If he fully flips, I think the consequences are going to be huge for than just the Trumps.
TenguPhule
@Betty Cracker: 18 months ago that tweet would probably have aroused some condemnation around these parts.
How far we’ve come.
Mnemosyne
@jacy:
Yep. Trump is like a dog that hasn’t developed object permanence. Once Cohen was no longer useful, Trump stopped thinking about him. He assumes that he will always be smarter than Cohen and that Cohen can’t possibly damage him, because Trump’s a narc.
Speaking of which, how did your family court thing go?
Elizabelle
@TenguPhule: What do you think are their absolute numbers?
Because when I hear that even more Republicans approve of Trump, I think that means it’s a shrinking pool and the turds comprise a bigger and bigger share.
Stop thinking the GOP is the default position, and they are superhumanly strong. They are not.
it’s why they have to cheat and lie and steal.
NotMax
Couple of Russia related stories at McClatchy more than worth taking the time to peruse in full.
1) Buyers tied to Russia, former Soviet republics paid $109 million cash for Trump properties
2) Exclusive: ‘Little Russian media project’ tries to turn America against itself
A Ghost To Most
Leopards, faces.
At least we can derive some black joy from the fatalities.
jacy
@TenguPhule:
Believe me when I say that Trump may not even really remember who Cohen is or what he did in a normal sense. He is not in Trump’s immediate vicinity so he ceases to really exist in any meaningful way. It’s a kind of object impermanence that severe narcissists experience. Until you have experienced it, it seems utterly alien and impossible for anybody to be like that, but it it’s true.
Teddys Person
@Patricia Kayden: Every Adolf needs his Eva.
Mnemosyne
@TenguPhule:
Trump is idiotically confident about everything, because he’s a narcissist. Everything will work out in his favor, and if it doesn’t, it’s someone else’s fault. Rinse and repeat.
Elizabelle
Someone is going to get a great movie or series out of this once it’s through. Although it’s so crazy-assed it requires suspending disbelief.
Barbarians INSIDE the Gate, and Barbarians: The Reckoning.
JMG
@jacy: Then comes that grim cold Monday morning when Cohen takes the stand in DC District Court, or in front of the House Judiciary Committee, and all of a sudden, Trump remembers,
Gravenstone
@debbie: dunno. If he is the child of Holocaust survivors, that may have hit a nerve he didn’t even know he had.
Or, it could be a convenient knife to twist in Trump’s belly now the Cohen has toured the underside of the bus.
Thoughtful David
Wouldn’t Trump’s paying Cohen’s legal fees be construed as a part of a cover up, and lead to more charges? And worse than that, since I suspect part of what Cohen’s done for Trump is going to state charges, that would add cover up to state charges he cant pardon himself out of. I would think that both of them are totally screwed at this point. Cohen’s best bet would be to flip, and get into the witness protection program.
rikyrah
All these tweets cracked me up
Patricia Kayden
This thread discusses a lawsuit claiming that migrant children have been injected with “powerful psychiatric drugs”. Huge sigh. Democrats should demand an investigation into what is happening with these children. I don’t trust HHS or DHS to give us a proper accounting.
Frankensteinbeck
@TenguPhule:
You’ve missed the point. Narcissists don’t think like that. Not useful anymore = Garbage to be thrown away. It’s not calculated. It’s a raw, gut ‘What will you do for me tomorrow?’ thing. He calls it being ‘transactional’. Merely greedy people calculate dangers. Narcissists have a more simple, shuttered view of the world, where they’re the only actual people in it.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@TenguPhule:
His suicide method will be spectacular – he’ll stab himself in the back 18 times, shoot himself in the back of the head with a .22 – twice – and hurl himself off a high rise balcony owned by a quiet businessman within a stone’s throw of Brighton Beach after a lovely snack of bliny.
Best part will be when nobody is able to find the gun or knife, and cops notice that his explanatory letter is titled “Cuicide Note”
dmsilev
@Elizabelle: Future generations won’t believe it. Hell, even living through it, I’m not sure I believe what’s happening.
Dave
@Patricia Kayden: I have trouble believing it but I’ve heard Trump can be personally charasmatic or compelling or what have you. So Cohen, being the dumbass he is, buys into the Trump those other losers deserved it but you are my guy for life thing and is now finally catching a clue.
jacy
@Mnemosyne:
Funny how we made almost the same comment at the same time. Not funny — I guess sort of horrifying.
As for the evil ex — it was a meeting between he and I and our youngest child and the child’s therapist, so that Nick could make his wishes known. (The ex lied about what Nick said to everyone, probably even to himself, so we had to have Nick say in front of someone who could testify in court.) I went in very prepared with facts and figures, while the ex muttered and hugged himself and couldn’t make eye contact with anybody. I told that if he wants to go back to court, we will go all the way to trial and he will sit up on the stand and have to talk and everyone will watch him, and watch his older children testify in court against him. He has not replied, and wanted a month to “pray” about it. I’m in the process of getting a lawyer to file paperwork first, and we’ll see if he withdraws. If figure it’s 50/50. But sitting there and watching him hug himself (just like Trump does) I finally saw how small and hollow he was. I got over the PTSD I’ve felt from dealing with the narcissism. He doesn’t scare me any more. So I’ll still probably end up going to court one final time, but it will be on my terms and not his.
Mnemosyne
@jacy:
Yep. Once you’ve dealt with one, you’re surprised at how alike narcissists are (I’ve seen people online like, Is there some kind of narcissist’s handbook that makes them all do the same shit?) but until you’ve seen one in action, it’s hard to believe than anyone could possibly, oh, I don’t know, leave their children alone 2 days after their father dies because they have a chance to go to NYC with their boyfriend.
Doug R
Cohen could be telegraphing he wants a pardon or else, showing some wobble but not singing yet.
trollhattan
@Betty Cracker:
Heh. How many tiny air conditioners will Donny have at the dais so he can keep his nasty blue suit on?
I still remember Skeletor’s debate fan. Thought maybe that stunt would be enough for him to lose, silly me.
Thoughtful David
If you want to see how fucked up Republicans are, go back and read that again: Cohen was deputy chair of the RNC Finance Committee until today.
debbie
@Mnemosyne:
You give him far too much credit. I can’t remember who the person was, but I heard a recording of a phone call between the person and Cohen. He was just as threatening as John Giotti and Vinny the Horse. A person who can speak that threateningly doesn’t have the kind of a heart that has room for small, frightened immigrant children.
Odie Hugh Manatee
“I always liked Michael Cohen,” he said Friday.
Past tense… I hope Cohen notices that…lol!
JPL
@Betty Cracker: lol Please stay that way.
Elizabelle
Another email from FTF NY Times:
Will read the rest of the story for details.
jacy
@Mnemosyne:
Oh, and the funniest thing. This is literally how the ex started his statement to the therapist. “And since everybody is against me, they’ll just call me a narcissist because I want what I want even if nobody else wants it. But it’s what I want.” I almost burst out laughing, but I restrained myself.
Litlebritdifrnt
I remember seeing Donnie Deutch on MJ the other day (he is a close friend of Cohen) and he said in the end Michael will do what is best for him and his family, eventually the loyalty he feels for Trump will be secondary to the loyalty to his family. I think we are getting to that point now. Cohen reminds me of Trumps many wives, and many other wives of serial adulterers (I count myself as one in my first marriage, although I was never the mistress). They have an affair with a married man and said married man then divorces wife and marries them. They are then SHOCKED SHOCKED that said serial adulterer would cheat on THEM, divorce them and get a younger model. It is funny if it wasn’t so damn tragic how many women fall for it.
BTW I played the Maddow vid for my darling husband this evening. My darling loud and proud former USMC husband. He was furious “Why isn’t Congress doing anything?” Anyway after about a 10 minute rant that I must say was quite righteous he ended with “if this shit doesn’t stop I am becoming a British Citizen”, which is something I NEVER thought I would hear him say.
Elizabelle
@Thoughtful David: That amazed me. Absolutely amazed me. I figured he’d stepped down when the Stormy Daniels case first brought Cohen to national notoriety (beyond his laughable cable interviews). But no.
That would have been a constant question, were Mr. Cohen a Democrat. Different rules for different fools.
MomSense
Fuck Fucking trump.
I drove like a crazy person to Portland because oldest kid has two gigs tonight. First just finished and it was beautiful. I’m going to walk around Portland for a couple hours and then go listen to the next performance.
There are so many beautiful, young people and they are going to win. Don’t lose hope.
NotMax
FYI. (WaPo link)
Senate rejects billions in Trump spending cuts as two Republicans vote ‘no’
Gravenstone
@Elizabelle: To the surprise of basically no one. And confirmation that this EO was designed to push back on Flores with intent of overturning. They are who we thought they were.
trollhattan
@NotMax:
Well color me surprised. Collins always folds and Burr? Must be worried about NC going blue.
A win is a win, so good!
Mnemosyne
@jacy:
Yay! As I said before, I’m sure that he’s going to continue to pull shit over the next four years, but just keep reminding yourself that he’s doing it because he knows that he will lose in the end.
My older niece graduated from high school on 6/8 and has already moved into her college dorm to start summer classes at her university next Monday 6/25. She doesn’t even turn 18 until July.
Have I mentioned lately that she is a very smart young woman who clearly knows how to protect her mental health? ?
geg6
@debbie:
I’ve heard some of those recordings, too, and must disagree. He sounded more like a caricature of mobsters he’s heard around Granddad’s restaurant, in Martin Scorsese films and the Sopranos. I think he’s a wannabe, the Fredo. He’s not that tough, really. He’s quite pitiful to me.
germy
The Soul Fire Farm in upstate NY. They are heroes.
http://wnyt.com/news/farm-donates-produce-to-refugees/4956154/
Black-owned farm providing free produce for refugees who live in a food desert.
jc
So Cohen is “willing to give” investigators information on the President … “in the right situation.”
How about the situation where we throw your ass in jail until you start talking.
germy
Here is the Soul Fire Farm website:
http://www.soulfirefarm.org
TenguPhule
@Elizabelle:
Didn’t say they are.
But I’ve been hearing the “rats are bailing from the ship” for almost a year now.
I’m not celebrating until the major assholes get what’s coming to them. And get it good and hard.
Shana
@debbie: Well I think he cares that he’s no longer considered part of the Trump family.
Kay
If the Trump Family are innocent, why were they paying Cohen’s legal bills? Do they pay all their former employees legal bills? Why would anyone who wasn’t involved in the crime do that?
trollhattan
@geg6:
Must remember that he was threatening a reporter and at the time had legitimate power and influence, even if he was putting on a Paulie Walnuts imitation.
Luthe
@debbie: He does when it means he will be separated from his family (by jail bars).
jacy
@Mnemosyne:
Good for her! Loch starts at LSU in the fall, and he’ll live at home at least for a bit. The day he graduated high school, he got his stuff from his dad’s and brought it home. Didn’t make a scene. Didn’t go in for any drama. Even went back for Father’s Day. Three years of therapy has helped, but he’s realized that he’s not going to change him and the best thing to do is just be absolutely neutral with him. (Sort of the grey rock strategy). I was worried the boys would have more problems than they do, but they seem to be coming out of it okay. I just have to remember to not let him push my buttons and I think we’ll be fine.
Ella in New Mexico
@Elizabelle:
Doom Porn shaming might NOT be the best use of all of our time right now ;-)
Brachiator
Trump is rigid and stubborn. And it will be interesting to see if this is his undoing.
Trump demands loyalty, but is not good about repaying it. He is cheap and never wants to pay anything. He enjoys dangling the new toy he has at his disposal, the power to pardon, because pardons don’t cost anything. Except honor, and Trump ain’t got none of that.
At this point, anybody loyal to Trump have got to know that they are on their own if things go bad.
Duane
Cohen’s another RNC finance committee member to go down. The republican party really is a mob operation.
LongHairedWeirdo
Strangely, some people feel more endeared to a person who treats them like crap, in general, because they feel they’ve “gotten through” to a difficult person. There’s some cognitive dissonance that can be resolved by “He’s rough on everyone, but deep down he likes me, because I’m strong enough to take his jibes” .
For people like this, it can take a long time to realize that the crapper-in-chief never really did care, but when they do suss it out, the sense of betrayal is especially sharp. All of those little slights, all of the times they bounced back and gave more, those all get remembered.
Starr spent a lot of time trying to flip people on Clinton. He didn’t get anyone to flip, whether due to lack of anything to flip on, or loyalty. I used to joke “but I don’t think Trump inspires that loyalty. For Trump, flipping might be “I want a guaranteed one day off my sentence – more, if I help you a lot, I want the going rate, okay, but to rat out my bud, I demand one day MINIMUM. And… one of those doughnuts. No, the chocolate creme… okay, I’m ready to talk.”
If Cohen is having that kind of “but he really likes me” dissonance, he might skip the day, the doughnut, or both, once it sinks in. (And it wouldn’t happen to a nicer crapper-in-chief.)
TS (the original)
I just read this – linked on an earlier thread
Senate rejects spending package
He didn’t mind all the other things losing some funding – children’s health insurance, affordable housing investments, infrastructure, rural development and innovative energy programs.
She didn’t like it – but she voted for it.
My best one is this comment – there is no doubt that ALL media supports the GOP
There are NO fiscally-conscious republicans – they gave billions of govt revenue to a few of their friends with their wonderful new tax legislation.
Mnemosyne
@debbie:
You’d be surprised — there are a lot of hardened criminals who have no empathy for adults but do have it for kids, especially if they have kids of their own. It’s not something I would be able to rationalize in my own head, but they do manage it.
trollhattan
Pennsylvania District 5 will be sending a woman to congress, but which one? Hard to believe the state has no women in congress.
Betty Cracker
@jacy: You sound strong and focused. Good! ?
trnc
@TenguPhule: The replacements have to be trained in all of the money laundering, graft, etc to be effective, and that training is, to say the least, difficult without leaving clues.
Kay
Ivanka thinks we should all thank daddy because daddy stopping incarcerating 6 year olds.
We’ve all been hijacked into this fucked up family, where they all thank him for ceasing to do whatever horrible thing he was doing.
I didn’t sign up to be in an abusive relationship. I don’t want to be in their family. It’s poison.
JPL
Good news about Michael Cohen. My dream is for the state of NY to charge Trump with crimes the same day Mueller delivers his report to the house. It won’t happen, but it’s a nice dream.
My morning routine is the NYTimes puzzle, emails and then the news. The Maddow video broke my heart, so I spent hours weeping and eating junk food. I now know the meaning of sick and tired, because I have both.
Thank you to AP for their reporting
jacy
@Betty Cracker:
I had a little dark period there for a while — I went right back to the place I was in before — but I feel better. Still working out of it, and the last couple of days of national news hasn’t helped. I didn’t sleep at all last night fretting about the children on the border. Just have to remember one day at a time and we do what we can do, for all of us.
Mnemosyne
@jacy:
Yep. That’s a narc to the core. I’m not a narcissist, I just want to get my own way! You’re the narcissist for being selfish and not letting me have what I want! ?
MomSense
@jacy:
You’ve got this. You are free now no matter what happens. I am rooting for you!!
Elizabelle
@Kay: “our shared values.”
Yea, right.
NotMax
@Mnemosyne
Courtesy of operetta-ist Victor Herbert, I Want What I Want When I Want It.
MomSense
@Kay:
Daddy created the fucking crisis in the first place. I’m so furious we’ve been dragged into this dysfunctional family drama I could spit.
Dorothy Winsor
Jacy, we’re cheering for you, even those of us doing it silently.
Mike in NC
Hopefully Michael Cohen Esq. will turn out to be quite a songbird.
Mandalay
There’s too much big news happening for this to make the top tier, but it has become blindingly obvious that Wilbur Ross is a crook. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much much bullshit and so many lies squeezed into four paragraphs:
So Ross was personally controlling his investments while acting as our Commerce Secretary? But wait, there’s more!…
Ross makes Scott Pruitt look like an amateur.
WereBear
@jacy: Sounds like you have all your ducks in a row, and some of them have advanced degrees. I’m glad.
Immanentize
@jacy: Yes.
You are on the right track. Stay strong and protect your child(ren). The willingness of the older kids to speak up is so critical. I am sending what meager support I can across the astral plane.
aimai
@Mnemosyne: I take it the Hoarse Whisper is female and lurks or posts on Dealing with the in laws and family of origin (DWIL) because they are the only ones who talk about enablers, narcissists and flying monkeys all in the same breath–though as I understand it flying monkeys are enablers but all enablers aren’t flying monkeys.
Elizabelle
@Mandalay: In any other administration, that would be huge. And disruptive.
As you say, it barely breaks the surface.
Thanks, Comey and especially you, FTF NYTimes and all your masturbating about emails, emails, emails.
JPL
@jacy: You are one brave soul. You go girl.
The best thing that happened to me was my ex called it quits and asked for divorce so he could move to WV on 50 acres. He tried to appeal to my youngest son during the divorce and started crying. It broke my son up, and he said doesn’t that bother you, and I said no because I saw it first after your brother was born. My son was almost thirty at the time, and yeah he doesn’t really see his dad. His own lawyer after the divorce wouldn’t return his calls.
edit sorry to the lawyers but you know the guy was ass when a lawyer will no longer take your calls.
Ella in New Mexico
@jacy:
@Mnemosyne:
Most neuro/bio/psychology folks will tell you that all the Personality Disorders are at least 50%-many think it could be closer to 75-80%%–hardwired personality traits and cognitive processing patterns in the brain. That’s why they all have the same MO for how they deal. Some have a lighter dose of the disorder, some a more complete expression of it, checking off of all it’s features in the DSM. Childhood environments that reinforce the traits and consequences of these disorders make them particularly fully expressed.
Trump’s father clearly was a narcissist with antisocial personality traits. Trump had a love-hate relationship with him: his acolyte on one hand and the target of his abusive, cold rejection on the other. It shaped all that he is today. The healthy part of Trump tried to please his father by doing what he did but even better. It’s what we see in Trump’s egocentric braggadocio and his disrespect for the female, his broken and transactional relationships with everyone he has ever been close to, his willingness to associate with criminal elements and the mob, his ability to stone cold lie and then lie again and say he never lied the first time.
I remember when I used to work with spouse abusers way back when that I really thought we needed to add a category for them, too, to the DSM. They all did the exact same things in the exact same order in their struggle to control their partners and avoid any responsibility, regardless of race, gender, socio-economic status. And while family history was usually a factor, some had perfectly healthy and non-violent upbringings. They literally were just the way they were from the time they were little.
TenguPhule
Meanwhile, on the economic front, Ostriches in the GOP ensure that things are going to get ugly on trade.
The Dangerman
I’m sure Team Mueller (Go Team Go, Rah Rah Rah) knows their stuff, but I wouldn’t trust Cohen further than I could piss him. If he were pissable.
RSA
Yeah, but the torture scene is ongoing in America.
(It took me a long time to learn to like Michael Madsen after that movie.)
sukabi
@TenguPhule: unfortunately for Drumpf Ivanka has kept a very low profile…tits on a boor useful. If she had been more publicly present he’d toss her under the bus faster than you could say feckless c….
JPL
@sukabi: Ivanka protecting the brand.
TenguPhule
@Mandalay:
Scott Pruitt is better at hiding his major transgressions.
i shit you not, the stuff out right now on him is child’s play. He didn’t get that soundproof booth just to order Chinese Takeout.
Elizabelle
@RSA: Stuck in the middle with Trump.
I haz a sad.
Mary G
@jacy: Congratulations! That moment when you see you don’t have to give that person any power over you and see clearly what they are, which is sad, is so satisfying. Sounds like you won to me, but what do I know.
TenguPhule
@trnc:
And this is one of the few bright spots.
Fair Economist
@Elizabelle:
They really aren’t getting new rats. I saw a few days ago that they can’t get interns for the White House even from the Fox News true believers. The only ones they can get now are from fundy degree mills, and they can’t get enough even for that.
Mnemosyne
@aimai:
She could also be familiar with Reddit’s Raised By Narcissists board — that’s where I picked up a lot of the lingo when I was trying to figure out WTF was broken in the Devil Woman.
(I also eventually decided that my other sister-in-law probably has BPD rather than NPD — she just has slightly too much empathy and self-awareness to be a true narcissist.)
MomSense
@JPL:
Botox bitch is the spokesmodel for the trump crime family.
Deep Southerner
I’m changing my posting name. Was formerly Dolly Llama, though I lurk mostly. This is just to get in moderation so maybe FYWP will recognize me eventually, when I’ve got something to add to the conversation.
WereBear
@Ella in New Mexico: I’ve known lovely families where all the children were fine people; except that one who never did anything but con them and break their hearts, one way or another.
Like some other bird laid an egg in their nest.
TenguPhule
Via Wapo. Feels like a Friday news dumpster and its only Wednesday.
NotMax
Lest we forget, more shoes dropping than from a millipede at a nudist colony. Excerpts of a CNN piece talking with Marc Owens, the former director of the exempt organizations division of the Internal Revenue Service.
Fair Economist
@Mandalay:
That reads like an Onion article or a setup for a SNL skit.
I was amused by his reaction when a reporter called him about a business he was working with illegally. After he got the call, he shorted the stock.
Too ludicrous for a cartoon villain.
TenguPhule
Via the FTFNYT.
The Religious Right Stand with him. Fuck em.
GregB
Do you think it may be dawning of Ivanka and a few others that their lives might not be so great in the future as their family becomes the American version of the Somozas?
Elizabelle
@Fair Economist: Yeah, no kidding.
Did anyone see any followup to last Friday’s job fair for White House and administration job openings, pitched to conservative youngs?
They might have had an easier time getting conservatards to ship out to Iraq, when they were attempting to remake that country.
sukabi
@JPL: I know that’s her primary job…put a pretty face on the predation…
Speaking of brands this made me giggle
Duane
@trnc: The downside for others to continue as republicans currently are needs to become a risk no body wants to take. Like becoming a criminal. Oh.
Paula
@Elizabelle:
Exactly!
Mnemosyne
@WereBear:
My other SIL (the one that I’m convinced has Borderline Personality Disorder) is like that. She’s been like that since she was little, and she probably will always be like that.
Interestingly, her sole aunt on the paternal side was also an extreme personality whose husband felt compelled to return to Belize with their only child, leaving no forwarding address, and her mother lied about that daughter’s age on that daughter’s tombstone to make herself seem younger. She also had multiple drivers’ licenses with progressively younger birth years.
So, yeah, there’s something odd that kicks up in that family when two X chromosomes get together. G and his brother are both normal.
There’s a reason so many cultures have a concept like that of the changeling, where a normal child is switched at birth with something unearthly.
NotMax
@Elizabelle
“Exciting opportunities to eat of the fruit from the poisoned tree” ain’t much of a come-on.
:)
Chris T.
@Mandalay: Shorting shares that you own is called “shorting against the box”. It used to be used to manipulate taxes, but no longer has any real function. So that part’s not that bad – the bad part is not divesting or blind-trusting in the first place.
TenguPhule
@NotMax:
Where do I even begin to start with pointing out how completely wrong that use of the phrase is?
Bad Notmax!
Litlebritdifrnt
@Brachiator:
I know my timeline is probably off because everything in Trumpworld is “timey wimey” (ahhhh David Tennant as the Doctor how I miss him so) but wasn’t Donny Dollhands on Air Force One telling reporters that they would have to speak to his lawyer (Cohen) about the Stormy Daniels thing recently? Like last month or so? So all of a sudden we are supposed to believe that he hasn’t spoken to him for months? I know that Trump likes to conveniently forget shit (Manafort was on the campaign for 49 days when in fact it was 150 days or something), but really? Never mind, we are supposed to forget that Monday he said his hands were tied on the immigrant babies thing because of the Democrats and today he signs an executive order. Never mind. I am lost in my own timey wimey stuff.
Gin & Tonic
@NotMax: I spent some time working with a minuscule 501(c)3-qualified organization headquartered in NY. Not in a financial capacity, although I was good friends with the finance officer. When I say “minuscule” I mean we’d fit into a Trump Foundation rounding error. We were scrupulously above-board, although a couple of aspects of our accounting were moderately complex. In the span of six years we were audited twice, once by the IRS and once by the NYS agency that deals with charitable and non-profit orgs. The interactions were professional, but boy those auditors have no sense of humor *at all.* The finance officer was close to shitting her pants after one. What flummoxes me is that for the years (decades?) this grift has been running, they didn’t go through something similar?
Tazj
I know you all we be shocked, but the Trump administration shut down a pilot program that would have kept immigrant families together and out of detention centers. This is a article from the Christian Science Monitor form last year that Chris Hayes has on his twitter feed. It’s not like we needed more proof of Trump’s malice and cruelty but here it is. My link didn’t work, sorry.
Mary G
Just got back with my 14-year-old “employee” and his friend. Still don’t feel like doing the book and Christmas decoration purge I had in mind, so I was going to take them to the Discovery Science Cube in Anaheim. She was excited, but he had been on a field trip before and it was not his cup of tea, and reading the Yelp reviews indicated that it’s sorely lacking in maintenance and lots of the hands-on stuff is broken.
So I found the Hilbert Museum in old town Orange. It’s free to get in and has a lot of rotating exhibits and a permanent collection of California art. Also it’s small so you can see it all before you get tired of looking. They had a big collection of paintings done for Westways, the Auto Club magazine, going back to the 1900s, a collection of art by Eyvind Earle, who designed the backgrounds for Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, Star Wars art commissioned by George Lucas, with his stupid rubber-stamped approvals on the mats, and other stuff. More illustration than fine art, but excellent stuff. Fun and time spent not looking at politics and Twitter. It was fun and when they got tired of looking after 20 minutes, I told them to sit on a bench and play with their phones quietly and took my time looking as long as I wanted.
TenguPhule
The atrocities will continue.
Fair Economist
@Chris T.: At least once (and probably many, many more times) Wilbur Ross was shorting on inside information. I’m going to bet he bought some washing machine manufacturer stock back in January, too.
Gin & Tonic
@jacy:
Good for you!
TenguPhule
Immigrant children forcibly injected with drugs, lawsuit claims
CarolDuhart2
For a long time I worked with someone who had some issues-she was an old friend of an old friend, also her counselor. She was also an activist type. She convinced me that by working endlessly on her projects she would help me get my act together. She held out that there was someone who worked with her that ended up in a professional capacity and did quite well. I ended up working essentially a second job to the point that one night I lost my keys because I was so tired and distracted. I would walk her dog, ended up boarding her elderly cat (miss the cat) and did things that had little to do with the greater good. There were two other assistants who literally died. At the end when we were moved out of a library taken over as an office, I ended up storing a lot of furniture in my unit. The last straws came as a matter of first doubt that the person she talked about ever existed, by wanting to paint said unit, and wanting nights to myself for once. I moved out the furniture, dared her to take back my kitty, and began even having nights off when working.
So I know a little about how Cohen feels. That carrot of both acceptance and a future payoff can be hard to let go of at times.
Also, I too spent money I didn’t really have and time I didn’t really have to spend too.
TenguPhule
Ella in New Mexico
@WereBear:
OMG exactly. Exactly.
Gin & Tonic
@Mary G:
Looked at the link. What a let-down. I was expecting a museum devoted to David Hilbert, and then I’d be sitting here applauding you for going.
Mnemosyne
@Mary G:
How big was the Eyvind Earle portion? I’m wondering if it was the traveling show that was in San Francisco at the Walt Disney Family Museum (and at the Forest Lawn Museum before that), or if it was just the 8 paintings that the museum now owns.
Immanentize
OT. Totally OT.
I find myself headed to Scotland next Friday with my son the Immp. I will be in Edinburg next weekend for events. Then? Five days of jackal advice?
JPL
@TenguPhule: My hope is that the media will pay attention. CBS News has done an excellent job, and hopefully they continue.
magurakurin
@Ella in New Mexico:
especially since I think we all are ping ponging back forth between “the world’s going to end” and “they will all die in prison” a dozen times a day. The range of emotions I am experiencing in any single day is astounding, and I figure others are going through it. We should all give each other a lot of slack, I reckon.
NotMax
@Mary G
Sounds fun. Little, off the beaten path museums can be gems.
Back in the 1970s, there was a Museum of Holography tucked away in a garret in a marginal neighborhood way, way downtown in Manhattan. One could take in the entirety of exhibits in about the time it takes to read half a Tbogg unit of comments here, but it was fascinating.
Gin & Tonic
@Immanentize: I’ve been planning a trip to Scotland in my head for a while now, with visits to Islay and Jura – primarily to sample the local products, of which I am pretty fond. But probably inappropriate for your son.
Ella in New Mexico
@Elizabelle:
I really think this is a key issue that needs to be expanded on to get the fucking media to stop reporting these polls they way they do.
The conventional wisdom is that we’re still roughly equal numbers in this country–but the real #’s for the Republican Party show it is no longer a true major party in America–the majority of people are identifying as Democrats or those calling themselves “independent” or aligning with some small third party.
When we hear that 80% of Republicans approve of Trump I’m guessing it means 80% of maybe 33% of the American electorate. And from what I can see, the older declared Republicans get, the more their numbers are dwindling. That’s definitely a good sign for the future, or so I implore my millennial young adults who are feeling pretty hopeless these days. :-)
zhena gogolia
@magurakurin:
I notice that the days of right-wing trolls showing up here to bait us are pretty much over — I guess Vladimir Vladimirovich quit cutting their checks when he got his guy in the White House. So everyone here is on the same side, really. And we have to avoid sniping at each other as much as we can, even if we’re all filled with rage and terror. It should be pointed in the right direction.
Steeplejack (tablet)
What a feckless tool Chris Matthews is. At the end of one of his blocks a little while ago, he paused to acknowledge one of his executive producers who’s leaving the show after 18 years. Matthews showed a photograph of himself with two other guys—but never managed to mention which of them was the producer—even though he took time to point out the Stanley Cup that he (Matthews) was holding.
Ella in New Mexico
@TenguPhule: Another example of how distilled and concentrated and isolated Trump supporters are becoming. Seriously, who the hell else would be standing in line to listen to the same fucking schtick he’s repeated over and over again?
Reminds me of those people who used to get dressed in costume and go see the Rocky Horror Picture Show 1000 times so that they could stand on the stage and sing along to “Sweet Transvestite”. Without the lighthearted fun.
schrodingers_cat
@Gin & Tonic: I thought so too. Courant and Hilbert’s text is a classic.
TenguPhule
@JPL:
Seconded. Its not close to over yet. Where are the girls?
Peale
@TenguPhule: they are such fucking cowards. Jesus.
Ella in New Mexico
@magurakurin:
Right? Of course I’m susceptible to Doom Porn myself and have a history of being shamed for it here, so maybe I’m not that objective on the subject. ;-)
Ruckus
@Frankensteinbeck:
Yep.
They only see the world in the way they operate. They rip off everyone as to them everyone is trying to rip them off. All they are doing is getting their just rewards. Let’s hope they do get them. dumpf likes orange, I wonder if he likes jumpsuits. I don’t care if he likes them mind you, just wondering.
Elizabelle
@zhena gogolia: Eh, they’ll be back when we get indictments, or closer to midterms election day.
magurakurin
@Ella in New Mexico:
God is giving them a wee little sample of Hell…cause that’s where they are all going.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Thousands of people have packed into the arena, filling the floor in front of the stage and seats. Before they were let in hundreds of people were in the dark in what was described as excruciating heat in the Northwest Passage section of the skywalk as they waited in line this afternoon to get into the rally.
The passage has no air conditioning and some estimated the temperature inside at more than 100 degrees.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NotMax
@Immanentize
May not be your (or his) thing, but here’s a link to some fragrant possibilities.
Peale
@Gin & Tonic: because your org didn’t donate money to candidates. Seriously, it’s kind of time we found some honest people to run the show in New York for a bit.
Ken B
@TenguPhule:
I guess that’s why they’re holding White House Job Fairs, which no other administration has ever had to do?
I agree that Cohen better watch his back, though.
NotMax
@magurakurin
So the temperature exceeded the average I.Q. of the crowd?
;)
efgoldman
@magurakurin:
There are that many racist flying monkey assholes in that part of Minnesota? Shame!
Chet Murthy
@Immanentize: (1) 25yr ago, when I was … 25, I went with a group of grad students up to Arthur’s Seat. Old volcanic crown above Edinburgh. Lovely view. A serious walk.
(2) we got a tour of “Mary King’s Close” — a street that got walled-off back during the Black Plague. Really interesting.
NotMax
@efgoldman
Generally speaking, the jib of those from Minnesota’s Iron Range has a decidedly different cut.
japa21
@efgoldman: And Wisconsin.
Redshift
@TenguPhule:
Well, that’s one area in which they’re actually running together like a business. Specifically, like when a new CEO comes in who doesn’t understand anything about what the company actually does, but has “management skills,” finds programs that sound like they do the same thing (to someone who doesn’t understand the business) and insists they be combined to “cut costs.”
(And yes, I get that that’s still far from the worst statement in that except.)
Ruckus
@Doug R:
He’d probably like a pardon, but he won’t get one. drumpf giving him a pardon gets drumpf nothing. First MC would have to talk, he loses his 5th amendment rights with a pardon, so he’ll end up singing anyway. Might as well cut a deal, really at the end of the day, at his level it’s 6 of one, 1/2 doz other. Second, drumpf has figured, right or wrong, and I’m going with the sure bet, wrong. that MC is no longer the loyal little puppy who will do whatever drumpf says so he for sure isn’t going to give him one of the few actual power things he has.
Don’t make the mistake about drumpf’s thinking process. There is no normal logic. There is drumpf thinking, there is classical narcissistic thinking, that’s the extent of it.
Elizabelle
Poor Britain and Queen Elizabeth are being subjected to a Trump visit on July 13 — it’s a “working visit”, not a state visit, so less pomp, but a lot of Britons are still not happy.
Trump Will Meet Queen Elizabeth II Next Month, His Ambassador Says
I am laughing at the last paragraph in this story in the FTF NYTimes. Can you imagine them having to add them for the Obama visit?
Now she can add Trump to the list. He’s right there, in the company of other kleptocrats including the buff and beloved Vladimir.
Also note that it’s the US ambassador relaying the news, not Buckingham Palace. Photo is of a not-amused QE2 riding in an open carriage. Bet Trump gets to see that face. Kind of long suffering and let’s get this over with.
japa21
@NotMax: And a high percentage of them benefit from government programs, and 99% of them have never seen anybody from Mexico or further south but are convinced those Messicans are coming to rape their women.
Ella in New Mexico
@magurakurin: I feel guilty for feeling a little happy about that. Because really, I feel truly sorry for all the nurses in that town who will have to take care of those heat-stroking rhabdomyolysis suffering assholes in the ED and ICU :-D
Roger Moore
@Thoughtful David:
If they throw out all the crooks, where will their money come from? That’s their basic calculus.
rikyrah
@Immanentize:
You and Little Imma have a great trip ??
Omnes Omnibus
@japa21: Douglas County tends to be Dem.
MisterForkbeard
@TenguPhule: …weren’t those pictures released by the Feds? Christ, these fucking idiots.
japa21
@Omnes Omnibus: I know it does, but a little further south and east it can get pretty conservative, Have relatives in Hayward who are Trumpsters all the way. Also racist as hell. Also gun lovers par excellence. Also, for the most part (there are a couple exceptions) complete assholes.
frosty
@Immanentize: I was in Edinburgh many many years ago and took a day trip to Dunbar (birthplace of John Muir) on the coast, on the advice of my guidebook. Glad I went, even though it was pouring rain the whole time.
mapaghimagsik
@Elizabelle: They could barely get bands to play the inauguration.
Redshift
@Elizabelle:
And even when they can find more rats, each crop is less capable than the one before. Their press shop is the most obvious example, but generally the adminstration started last year with a couple of tiers below the best in the GOP (who mostly wouldn’t work for them), and as there are more and more stories of how horrible it is to work there, the new hires are either utterly evil, or dumb enough to think they can turn it to their advantage.
For example, check out the DHS spokesman on Twitter. Whoever is running the account apparently thinks behaving like a YouTube comment section troll is an effective PR strategy.
Ruckus
@debbie:
Murderers and rapists in jail often have that one soft spot for kids. They often do remember their childhood and how being treated like shit felt. No, it’s not universal but it’s there often enough to notice. Of course you also have those that enjoy treating everyone else the way they were treated. For example, drumpf. That’s not an excuse, unless you have mental growth issues, by the time you become an adult you should have figured it out better. I’ve seen people mad at their parents for decades into adulthood and I’ve asked myself, why can’t they take charge of their own lives and stop being pissed because their parents didn’t like something they said when they were 40. Enjoy your parents approval but it’s your life, not theirs nor the rest of your family. They gave you life, they don’t own nor owe you.
NotMax
@Immanentize
Unless things have changed, there are deals on rail passes which one can get only by purchasing them before arriving in the U.K.
Origuy
@Immanentize: Take the tour of underground Edinburgh. Mary King’s Close is part of that. Edinburgh Castle is a must, of course, especially with a kid. If you have car and can get out of the city, Roslyn Chapel is pretty amazing and not far. Further away, Sterling Castle is probably the best restored castle other than those still lived in. Holyrood House is the Queen’s official residence in Edinburgh, but I don’t think she really stays there. Lots of history there. Balmoral Castle is probably too far for a day trip.
Redshift
@MisterForkbeard:
Apparently there was one picture posted at some point that was actually from a protest and not from a detention center, so now wingnuts are sure they’re all fake.
Mary G
@Mnemosyne: More than eight, but not a lot more. His were the best and since Guillermo del Toro started collecting, getting expensive. They were my favorites – lots of color and a style he described as Gothic/Japanese/Egyptian/Persian. A lot of it was on loan from his family/estate/collectors, none was actually done for Disney.
There are also a few Christmas cards from a company he started after he left Disney. Meh.
On a completely different topic:
The dates are August 11-12 and I imagine there will again be masses of counterprotesters, although perhaps it would be better to let them stew in the heat and humidity of DC in summer.
Litlebritdifrnt
@Immanentize: A) First thing each morning purchase a day bus pass, they cost 4 pounds and mean you can get on and off any bus in the city for 24 hours. B) Wear really comfortable shoes, Edinburgh is a walking friendly city but it is also a walking intense city, so be prepared. C) Take advantage of the free stuff, Edinburgh can be expensive to visit the “paid” attractions but there are lots of things you can do for free, St. Giles Cathedral (on the Royal Mile) is free to go in (they ask for a small donation) and is dedicated to the Saint who saved his pet deer from an arrow (will be a favourite of Balloon Juicers I am sure). There are two indoor markets that are also free to enter, one in an old church at the bottom of the Royal Mile and one at the edge of the Castle Esplanade dedicated to tartan which has a working tartan mill inside it, very interesting. Check out the times of the sunset and make sure to be by the Waverly station exit closest to the Scott Memorial at sunset because that is the best place to get a great shot of the sun setting over the castle. Arthur’s Seat is also free and gives you great views over Hollyrood (where Mary Queen of Scots murdered her husband). Also hop on a bus on Princes Street and go and see the Royal Yacht, it costs to get on the yacht but there is no charge to look at it from the attached shopping center. D) Don’t go to the high end restaurants, eat in pubs outside of the center, they are cheap, friendly and even the lowliest of ones serve great food and for the Scotch enthusiasts they serve about 27 million different varieties. E) Get lost (no I am not kidding) the great thing about Edinburgh is you can hop on a bus, go to all sorts of weird places and eventually get on another bus and end up back on Princes Street, just about every bus goes to Princes Street (the middle of everything), the bus drivers are absolute gems and will put you right even if you have no idea where you are going. Have fun!
JPL
@Immanentize: You might post again in the morning when our Brit friends are awake.
edit .. littlebrit is still up.. so that’s good
frosty
@Origuy: I did my day trips by bus or train. There was NO WAY I was going to try to drive on the wrong side of the road!
benused
@NotMax:
We’ve definitely got our share of trumper cultists up here who are the usual loud, obnoxious deplorables but a ton of normal, rational folks too. I have no doubt that the trumpers in Duluth to see trump came from all over the northern/central part of state.
Brachiator
@Litlebritdifrnt:
I never pay attention to anything that Trump says if I want logic or consistency. He lies all the time.
ETA. Matt Smith’s Doctor was more about the “timey wimey.” A superior Doctor compared to Tennant, too. ;)
Actually, I like all the Doctors and am looking forward to the new Lady Doctor.
MomSense
@Immanentize:
I only know badass knitters there. May not be what you and Immp are looking for. Have so much fun!!
benused
@japa21:
Exactly! I know a lot of these people rarely travel from their own communities apart from sports events in Mpls or gambling in Vegas.
Platonailedit
The ever asskissing courtier maggie is aiming to replace cohen as the traitorous thug’s consigliere?
It’s the traitor and his ‘family’ that is shaking down the whole world maggie, you pos.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@NotMax:
I went to that museum!
Elizabelle
@Mary G: Glad to hear about the Hilbert Museum. Sounds wonderful. Thanks.
Elizabelle
@Litlebritdifrnt: What great suggestions.
Have fun, Imm and Immp!
NotMax
@bemused
“When told the name of the big lake there, the president replied,’So they named it for me?'”
Film at 11 (10 in Central Time Zone).
;)
benused
@NotMax:
Ha.
I just watched a clip of someone escorted out who was holding a photo of trump and Jeffrey Epstein with caption I think, Who is Jeffrey Epstein?
Litlebritdifrnt
@Brachiator: I could be wrong but I thought the first “timey wimey” quote was in “Weeping Angels” when the doctor is trying to communicate through video eggs to the people in the future (past) who the hell knows I could be completely mistaken.
Origuy
@frosty: Generally that’s a good idea, especially in the cities. I had a car because I was going in the country, Speyside in my first visit and the Highlands in my second. Not a lot of public transportation. In Edinburgh, I mostly left the car parked, except to Roslyn. They probably run buses out there, too. I went there before The Da Vinci Code made it world famous. I’m sure the train goes to Sterling.
Driving on the left isn’t hard to get used to, especially on the motorways. It gets trickiest pulling out of car parks, where your habit is to move into the wrong lane. Single tracks are scary, too.
ETA Greyfriers Kirk is pretty interesting, too. Especially the cemetary. And you can see the statue of Greyfriers Bobby.
Original Lee
@GregB: If they knew who the Somozas were, I would still not give them credit for recognizing the similarities. Their whole attitude reeks of “I’m the top of the food chain.”
TenguPhule
@Litlebritdifrnt:
You’re not wrong.
TenguPhule
@Brachiator:
Them’s fighting words.
Platonailedit
Lyrebird
@ruemara: Seconded (or fourthed or whatever) … and I don’t care whether this sticking point for the fixer is logical to anyone else.
If the one remaining scruple in a dyed in the wool crook is what makes him turn in evidence on the monsters he’s been helping, I am thankful for that scruple.
Litlebritdifrnt
@TenguPhule: Lets you and me take him on :)
Steeplejack (tablet)
@Ella in New Mexico:
Ruth Marcus discussed this at the end of Chris Matthews’s show tonight. She cited some recent poll showing that self-identified Republicans have recently (she didn’t say over what period) shrunk from 32% to 28% of the electorate. She also noted that, much like a sauce, the reduced base is much more concentrated and hard-core.
Elizabelle
@Steeplejack (tablet): 28%. Damn close to that infernal number.
And that sauce is sour, sour, sour.
J R in WV
@jacy:
That sounds pretty good. If you’ve got all the kids together, that’s pretty strong. And on your terms, too.
Best of luck!!
arrieve
@Immanentize: Lucky you! Get to the Highlands if you can. Rabbie’s has numerous tours out of Edinburgh that are pretty reasonable. I did a four-day Highland/Isle of Skye tour with them, and it was great fun.
NotMax
@Steeplejack
1% still to go.
Litlebritdifrnt
@Origuy: There are a bunch of things that you can do in Edinburgh but the timeline is the thing. Five days is relatively short to see it all. I lived up there (across the water in Dunfirmline) for two years and I STILL never got to see every thing that I wanted to see. I went back last November which is why my comments were about my most recent visit. When I lived there (88-90) I was able to see so many things that have since been totally ruined by commercialism. A prime example is Camera Obscura, when I lived there it was a brilliant attraction, which focused on the camera and a wonderful display of pinhole photographs and such and the wonderful views that you got at the top of the tower through the camera. Now it has been taken over by the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not company and is a total shithole as far as I can see. It is also incredibly expensive even for someone with a healthy budget, the entrance fees are just outrageous, which is why I was recommending the free stuff. I am a cheap skate, so sue me :)
Brachiator
@Litlebritdifrnt:
No, I think you are right on the money. This was a Stephen Moffat thing, that was used with the Weeping Angels and throughout Matt Smith’s run as the Doctor.
Cohen should get plenty of jail time wimey.
Brachiator
@TenguPhule:
I really liked Smith and Capaldi, but as a rule I say that the best Doctor is the current Doctor.
geg6
@trollhattan:
Having known actual mobsters from Youngstown (and by proximity with them, some counterparts from Pittsburgh), I was less frightened by that call after hearing it. His whole demeanor screams Fredo.
J R in WV
@Ella in New Mexico:
Wife’s mother was a stone cold narcissist, from head to toe. Didn’t relate to any of her children…
So glad she can’t push wife’s buttons any more. And since the siblings blame wife for mother’s insane relationships, they have all shut wife down, so they can’t push her buttons either. Much better for both of us. Glad we never had children, she never had a parent to model child rearing after.
Her mom hated dogs and cats. We have plenty of both.
Steve in the ATL
@Immanentize: drunken, angry brawling
Omnes Omnibus
@Steve in the ATL: So, Balloon Juice After Dark?
seaboogie
@germy: Thank you – we need stories of the good that people are doing out of compassion and generous, thoughtful intention right now.
Ella in New Mexico
@J R in WV: I’m so glad your wife has found that place of peace–it’s such a hard task for those of us who survive dysfunctional childhoods, but it can be done. And i firmly believe that if you’re lucky, you find a fantastic loving person to share your life with who can be there for you when it gets tough. The most important thing loving life partners do for each other is to help each other heal and find resolution for our childhood wounds. Sounds like you and she were a match made in the stars. And being a parent to pups and kitties is a perfect way to extend that and make the world a better place. :-)
Origuy
@Litlebritdifrnt: I know, there’s so much, you can’t see it all. I was in Edinburgh in August, so I did the Tattoo and a lot of the Fringe. It takes longer to get places in Scotland that I would expect, coming from California. The motorways aren’t as direct and the speeds are lower on the A roads, never mind the B roads. Sorry to hear about the Camera Obscura. I would have liked to have seen that. There’s one in San Francisco, and I still haven’t been there after 30 years.
Mandarama
@Immanentize: No good advice, but what a fantastic opportunity! Have a great time.
No Drought No More
Come the day that Trump is finally imprisoned- maybe while he awaits execution for high treason- I propose he be forced to wear an adult-sized replica of the military school uniform he wore when his parents concluded they wanted him gone and shipped the little bastard there.
They obviously tried, at least, back then. They obviously gave it one last shot. They obviously knew he was a monster. They must certainly have considered their decision to ship him out a win-win, too: the little shit would be out of their hair for months at a time, and, who knows? He might even get straightened out in the process.
J R in WV
@zhena gogolia:
I believe that the trolls and tools of Vladimir Vladimirovich will return before November’s election. Wait til the primaries are over and see how many show back up, or new ones appear.
I’ve been wrong before, but just once! I kid!!! ;-)
Jack Canuck
@Origuy: Funny connection, my wife worked as a weaver on restoring/recreating the medieval tapestries that hang at Stirling Castle. Very much worth going to see the whole site, and it’s close to Edinburgh to easy to get to.
J R in WV
@benused:
Epstein is a famous wealthy pederast, who flew friends to the islands to have sex with underaged girls. Convicted, not sure why he isn’t still in prison. He and Donald may have been friends…
Lyrebird
@Immanentize: I can recommend the GNER train to/towards London from Ed. if you and the kid like that sort of thing. Good food, nice views.
J R in WV
@Ella in New Mexico:
Thank you Ella. We’re doing pretty well, a little travel, a hermitage up the hollow in the green, green woods.
japa21
Lynn Sweet’s column in the Chicago Sun Times tomorrow tells it like it should be told.
Platonailedit
Elizabelle
@japa21: Link for the Lynn Sweet column: https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/trump-caves-using-kids-as-pawns-triggered-crisis-of-his-own-making/
Vhh
@Ella in New Mexico: 27%. Crazification factor.
Obvious Russian Troll
@Redshift: Youtube comment trolls were the only people to send in their resumes.
Kay
@Platonailedit:
They’re being drugged. The owner, Clay Deal Hill, has a 15 year history. The company was called “Daystar” before it was Shiloh. They had 4 deaths at Daystar.
sgrAstar
@jacy: well, Rebecca Ballhaus (wsj) said that trump has already paid $100s of thousands for Cohen’s legal expenses. I’d be more worried that Cohen could have one of those unfortunate accidents that so many Russians experienced, when they outlived their usefulness.
Ruckus
@No Drought No More:
Look up Fred, his dad. He was a stone asshole. He may have shipped off little drumpf to military school but it wasn’t to make him better. It was because little drumpf was and is a stone asshole just like dear old dad and two stone assholes in one family is two too many.
sukabi
@TenguPhule: they have no intention of retrieving those kids, they’re hoping we’ll forget.
They’ve got 12000 kids they are holding.p
Robert Sneddon
@Immanentize: Come to Edinburgh, not Edinburg — that’s a town somewhere in the US IIRC.
As for spending time here, hmmm — the Castle is a regular tourist spot but the esplanade is closed while they put up the Meccano (ObUS: Erector set) for the Tattoo watchers to sit in. Go out West past the airport to see the three bridges over the Forth, all built in different centuries and all still in use. The New Town and the old town areas are an interesting contrast, the modern structures built in the 1700s and 1800s look a lot better than the ramshackle original structures. Holyrood Palace and the park below Arthur’s Seat (the other big dormant volcano in the middle of the city) are nice to visit too if the weather’s good. Saying that next week the temps are supposed to be in the 22-24 deg C region. The Botanic Gardens north of Princes street are also worth a visit, not up to Kew Gardens standards but still decent. Plenty of museums in or near the city centre, most have free entry for the regular galleries.
A lot of the city centre including Princes Street is a tourist trap full of tartan tat shops blaring pseudo-Scottish music and selling mass-produced stuff AT DISCOUNT PRICES! There are a few shops that are more traditionally oriented but it can take a bit of time to spot them.
I live in Edinburgh, I don’t do the tourist “thing” here so I’m maybe not the best one to give advice though.
Robert Sneddon
@Litlebritdifrnt: The four pound day ticket for Lothian buses also covers using the city’s tram line although going to and from the airport on the tram costs more (the last stop on the line). The tram line runs through the city centre, past my front door and then out west through the countryside towards Ingliston and the Royal Highland showground near the airport. The Royal Highland Show is being held there this weekend, when the country comes to the city but I think Imm and Immp will miss that which is a shame.
Note that the “day ticket” doesn’t cover the First bus service (blue buses), just the ones marked Lothian (maroon colour). It doesn’t cover the tour buses, airport buses and other coach services that operate through the town. Lothian buses is the biggest bus service in town and goes pretty much everywhere though. They even have electric buses now in service (the number 6 service to Holyrood and the Scottish Parliament is using electric buses at the moment). The buses are clean, modern and prompt in service — sometimes they arrive at a stop too early and have to wait for a minute or two to maintain their posted schedule. If you use buses without a day ticket or a pass they only take cash and don’t give change — currently the adult ticket price is one pound 70 pence IIRC.
David
Probably OT but to me Eggleston is still the best Dr Who. Most likely because I had just got back from a year in Iraq and the part seemed familiar somehow
glaukopis
Thanks to all for the information about Edinburgh here. I’m going there myself for a week in August, during the Arts Festival, but hope to also see as much of the city as I can.
Geeno
@TenguPhule: Those would be the ones they lost. Number sounds right.
Robert Sneddon
@glaukopis:
You and 750,000 other visitors. Me, I’ll be under my bed for the duration pretending I’m not there. Bye.