First, Michael Cohen:
Michael Cohen tells me in first in-depth interview since FBI raids on his home and office that family and country, not President Trump, have his 'first loyalty'https://t.co/7r2aM9Tus5 pic.twitter.com/WyZ6IOyGL8
— GeorgeStephanopoulos (@GStephanopoulos) July 2, 2018
Could he be angling for a pardon? I guess. But given all the material seized from his office, one wonders if there isn’t evidence of state crimes available to prosecutors. A presidential pardon wouldn’t help there. Also, there’s bad blood between Cohen and the Trumps. Via NY Mag on June 20:
Mr. Cohen has frequently told associates in recent months he is frustrated that the president hasn’t offered to pay his legal fees, which he has said are “bankrupting” him, according to one of the people. He has said he feels that Mr. Trump owes him after his years of loyalty to the former real-estate developer, whom he served for nearly a decade at the Trump Organization.
The Trump campaign has already spent nearly $230,000 on Cohen’s legal expenses related to the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference. But it has not shelled out for the probe into Cohen’s business dealings — some of which happen to involve both Donald Trump and alleged money-launderers.
According to the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, the Trump family “feels like it’s being shaken down” — while Cohen’s allies say that the “Trump family is being short-sighted.”
The Trumps shooting themselves in the feet because they’re greedy, entitled shit-stains? Sounds plausible!
In other news, via TPM:
Broidy Breaks Off Hush Money Payments, Claims Breach Of Contract
Top Republican donor Elliott Broidy will end hush money payments to his onetime mistress in a situation arranged by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, claiming a breach of the nondisclosure agreement.
According to a Sunday Wall Street Journal report, Broidy agreed last year to pay Playboy model Shera Bechard $1.6 million in installments in exchange for her silence about their alleged affair.
The deal was reached when Keith Davidson, former lawyer for Bechard and Stormy Daniels, called Cohen, having worked with him in the hush money payments for Daniels and another alleged Trump mistress Karen McDougal. Cohen negotiated the repayment plan for Broidy, his old colleague at the Republican National Committee.
Broidy is saying the deal is off because Davidson talked to the Forrest Gump of Trump scandals, attorney Michael Avenatti. Avenatti won’t confirm or deny the report, but he urged Bechard to tell her story.
And what a story she may have to tell: The Broidy payoff strikes many folks as fishy — that’s a shitload of money for a fairly obscure guy to cough up to hide evidence of adultery. Trump only paid Stormy $130K during a presidential election. There’s some speculation that Broidy may be covering for Trump.
If in fact Trump rather than Broidy knocked Bechard up and subsequently paid for her abortion, that could prove awkward as the Trump administration seats an anti-choice judge on the Supreme Court. I mean, there’s no mass of hypocrisy too large for white evangelicals to swallow in ritual idolatry for their absurd and lumpy Orange Calf, but damn.
Anyhoo, Alexa, order ALL the goddamned popcorn!
?BillinGlendaleCA
Guess I should go to Costco then.
MattF
The catch is, if you’re a spectator, you have to assume that, like Trump, they’re all lying about everything, all the time. Any claim has to pass the ‘Is this even physically possible? Does it obey causality?’ test.
Nicole
This post brightened my morning. Thanks, Betty!
geg6
What I’ve read about the Cohen interview brightened my Monday. He apparently threw Dolt 45 under the bus on the idea that Mueller’s investigation is a witch hunt and that Russian meddling in the election is important to investigate. Oh, and that he has dirt to dish on both the Stormy Daniels and Trump Tower meeting fronts.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Amir Khalid
It would prove awkward to people who are on the right and care about things like scruples and ethical consistency. The white “evangelical” base that supports Trump is driven not by evangelical Christianity but by spite towards the Other. Trump is undeniably a terrible person, but that’s not what they care about. As long as he endorses their spite and puts it into action, they will not abandon him.
westyny
If we survive all this and someone makes a Big Short or All the President’s Men movie about it, I want to see Steve Carell as Michael Cohen. Make it so . . .
Roger Moore
@MattF:
Not quite. You can’t believe all their protestations, but you can believe their actions. We’ll know Cohen has actually sold Trump out when we hear about him reaching a plea deal.
NeenerNeener
You can’t spell evangelical without e v I l and n a g.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
I don’t know. I’m dubious here that he has anything worth much. Mueller and his people already have everything. Everything. What more could he know that they don’t also already know? My guess–and it’s only a guess–is that he’s either hoping for a pardon or for more money to pay his lawyers, and this is his way of drawing Spanky’s attention. It’s true that a pardon wouldn’t help him with any state crimes, but this guy is the dumbest lawyer in America, so what are the odds that he knows that?
Roger Moore
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.):
And important point is the difference between what they know and what they think they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Some of Mueller’s evidence almost certainly comes from intelligence sources he can’t reveal in court or in other ways is either inadmissible or might have a hard time convincing skeptics. Finding a witness who can testify to the stuff will help building a solid legal case.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I think it was Adam Davidson who saying on twitter a couple of weeks ago that we need a Big Short type movie to explain all the trump corruption and what, exactly, money laundering is
geg6
@Roger Moore:
I think it’s coming. The Vanity Fair reporter who has excellent sources in the Cohen camp says his wife is pressuring him hard to dump Trump. I could be wrong but I think this is his first baby step.
Joe Falco
@westyny: SNL has proved to me that Ben Stiller as Cohen and Robert de Niro as Mueller would be the best thing ever in such a movie.
satby
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): @Roger Moore: maybe to celebrate the 4th we’ll get a new round of indictments. That would be worth setting off some fireworks.
It occurs to me it might have been fireworks that spooked Bubba. They were going off last night. Both my downstairs brats are sharing a blanket on the floor, so we have peace in our time at Casa Cray-cray.
MJS
Large quantities of popcorn are a welcome change from last week’s endless buffet of shit.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): Since trump doesn’t use email, I suspect there may be some value in a live witness who will say, “I told him this, he said that”. IANAL and I’m not sure where hearsay (a word I know from television) comes into play, but what if he said, “Slabhead Donnie told me The Beast knew all about it…”, would that carry any legal weight?
Jeffro
Betty, you should publish that idiotic Mark Kern tweet thread so that we can all pile on…I never saw so many straw men in my whole life. I mean, I could work at the straw man FACTORY and not have seen that many straw men in one place…
Dev Null
Interesting post here from a commenter at LG&M:
Who is David Dennison?
YMMV.
The LG&M post lays out why the story makes no sense:
Elliott Broidy’s Excellent Adventure
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
My understanding is that a witness can testify that somebody told him something if the point is that the person said what he said. The witness can’t testify that what the person who told him what he told him is true. Does that make sense?
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
That is to say, I could testify, “Donald Trump told me that Putin told him that he has a tape of him,” if what the lawyer asking the questions wants to prove is that Donald Trump said those words, because I’d have been a direct witness to that. The lawyer couldn’t use my testimony to prove that Putin said that to Trump.
rikyrah
Exclusive: A leaked Trump bill to blow up the World Trade Organization
July 1, 2018 at 9:11 pm EDT
Axios has obtained a leaked draft of a Trump administration bill — ordered by the president himself — that would declare America’s abandonment of fundamental World Trade Organization rules.
The draft legislation is stunning. The bill essentially provides Trump a license to raise U.S. tariffs at will, without congressional consent and international rules be damned.
The details: The bill, titled the “United States Fair and Reciprocal Tariff Act,” would give Trump unilateral power to ignore the two most basic principles of the WTO and negotiate one-on-one with any country:
Dev Null
Via Raw Story, this Bradley Moss tweet highlights a point I hadn’t seen:
IANAL but I’ve seen the statement “no JDA means cooperating with the prosecutors” in multiple venues at various times.
It might even be true!
rikyrah
@Dev Null:
Avenatti said a couple of months ago that Briody was NOT the dude in that case. He all but said that Dolt45 was the one who actually paid for the abortion.
rikyrah
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
A movie will never do this nonsense justice. We really do need a Netflix limited series event of about 15 episodes.
Shell
That must be a first.
Shell
I think for many of them, they’ve been doing a “the ends justifies the means,” kind of dance, praying that its not becomming a bargain with the devil.
Villago Delenda Est
@rikyrah: The FART act.
Perfect.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
So our AC took a giant shit Saturday night, which is apparently my fault from
the moment it happened (overheated menopausal women are super fun to be with when they hate you and can’t sleep). She called their answering service at 4 am, and was promised a call; my further failure to came when I didn’t make a call at 7:00 am when they hadn’t called back. They couldn’t get us on the list yesterday (they were undoubtedly jammed even when she called at 4 am – thermometer was at 100 degrees) and I further failed to berate them adequately at 8 am to get on the list. We opened up the house while keeping a tight watch on cats, turned on every fan, and sweated through the day (ran out of ice, I had to break out ice trays to supplement). Last night, she took infinity minus one cold showers and kept applying icepacks to the groin (was genuinely uncomfortable).
House was 85 when we woke up. AC guys can’t guarantee what time they’re coming – I can live through it, but don’t want another Day of Rage….
rp
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): That’s correct. Hearsay is testifying that “Putin told me he has a tape of Trump” if you’re trying to establish that Putin in fact has the tape. The issue is proving “the truth of the matter asserted.” It’s not hearsay to testify that “Putin told me he has a tape of Trump” if you’re trying to prove that Putin said he has a tape of Trump.
Villago Delenda Est
@Shell: They got Gorsuch, and they are drooling at another hater of the Constitution as written from the Federalist Society on the court.
Fester Addams
@rikyrah:
So, the US-FART Act then?
donnah
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
A movie about Trump’s corruption? So, a film in twelve eight-hour segments? Talk about popcorn sales!
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@rikyrah:
Jeff Flake, Ben Sasse, Susan Collins, Miss Lindsey and Bob Corker will make concerned sounds and serious facial expressions before voting for it.
PPCLI
It will not make one scrap of difference to these cultists.
Recall Scott DesJarlais, Representative from Tennessee who was a) reprimanded by the Tennessee medical board for having sex with (at least) two different patients and in fact had admitted under oath (during a divorce proceeding) that he had had sex (while married) with not just those two patients but three staff members at the hospital he worked at and a drug company representative. b) admitted under oath that his (soon to be former) wife had had two abortions while they were married c) was captured on a taped phone conversation pressuring his mistress to get an abortion.
Not only was DesJarlais subsequently overwhelmingly re-elected twice but he also crushed his primary opponents by enormous margins. He remains in the House.
And that is just some two-bit regional Congressman, not an object of open veneration like Trump is to the Trumpites.
Betty Cracker
@rikyrah: As has been pointed out endlessly on Twitter, the “United States Fair and Reciprocal Tariff Act” would be the US FART Act, which is wildly appropriate.
danielx
@geg6:
The amazing thing is that Cohen was evidently under the impression that Trump would feel some sort of loyalty towards him after decades of carrying Trump water and dealing with Trump dirt. One would think a reasonable and reasonably intelligent person would have figured out well before now that Trump is only loyal to himself and to a lesser degree, anyone else named Trump. Everybody else is a tool to be used and discarded when necessity dictates to or whim strikes Lord Shortfingers. If nothing else, he should have drawn a lesson from Trump’s dismissal of Manafort – hey, he was only with us for a few
monthsdays! Barely know the guy!Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Villago Delenda Est:
Would have been nice to have a great speaker and incisive questioner like Franken in the Senate about now, as opposed to Minnesota’s current junior backbench no-namer.
Mai naem mobile
@rikyrah: that’s the US Fart Act. Trumpov is truly an American FART.
Shell
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Can you get a small window unit, to hold you over till they can repair it? Youd at least have one room you could retreat to.
M4
@rikyrah: no doubt this will be excellent fodder for pieces about how Trump proves that Democrats must be protectionist on trade.
RSA
George Stephanopoulos:
This is bullshit framing. Federal prosecutors aren’t bringing Cohen’s family into the picture; they’re not under investigation. Trump is. It’s not an either-or in any reasonable sense.
Mnemosyne
Nah — abortion is always the woman’s fault, so there will be much rending of garments about how Bechard “murdered” Trump’s baby against his will and then demanded hush money from him.
Gin & Tonic
From the “Everything Old is New Again” file, I bring you the return of punitive psychiatry.
Mnemosyne
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
This is when you should consider getting a hotel room for a few nights rather than have everyone be angry all the time until you get on the AC repairman’s list.
rikyrah
I read stories like this, and my heart is filled with nothing but hatred towards those who have does this. And, for those who read this story and think nothing is wrong with what has happened to these children.
They raid the factories, but don’t bother with arresting the OWNERS? Phuck.outta.here.
After raid, immigrant families are separated in the American heartland
Story by Eli Saslow Photos by Michael Robinson Chavez
JUNE 30, 2018
Dev Null
@rikyrah: Damn network ate my reply after 15 minutes of editing. Grrrr.
OK, “Avenatti”: The identity of David Dennison has been a matter of speculation for months and months, as you know. I thought Campos (front pager at LG&M, writing at NYMag) was the first to go live in a mainstream publication, but perhaps I’m wrong. Not sure why pride of place matters… in any event “pride of place” wasn’t my point.
I posted the link to “Who is David Dennison” because it’s a deep dive analysis – deeper than Avenatti’s remarks, deeper than Campos’ essay at NYMag… and I thought that BJ jackals might find the political analysis interesting.
Whether or not the writer is correct … I dunno. That’s why I said “YMMV”.
That said, I saw nothing in the essay that contradicts analyses I’ve read elsewhere.
MomSense
@westyny:
I don’t know. Ben Stiller has been crushing that role on SNL complete with his sad blue steel face.
rikyrah
President Trump: “Our laws are the dumbest anywhere in the world.”
This is literally something that most criminals in America say.
Our laws are based on our Constitution, that YOU, Mr. President, swore to protect
Talk about “dumbest anywhere in the world”
Look in the mirror!
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) July 2, 2018
ARoomWithAMoose
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: If you have the credit line, make sure you have a backup plan if “A/C won’t be fixed today, that’s a weird make of AC, we need parts from the supplier’s wharehouse, the company BBQ is tomorrow at noon”.
Motel or a small cheap window unit for one room (check lowes/home despot, walmart, sams, cosco). I suggest the latter plan (make sure it runs off a normal 110 VAC wall outlet).
danielx
@rikyrah:
Fuckin’ great.
Other countries have in all likelihood already figured out that there is no “negotiating” with Donald Trump in the normal sense of the word. “Negotiation” implies that both parties get something out of a deal, and in Trump’s twisted world view, any negotiation in which the other party doesn’t get publicly screwed by Donald Trump is a loss and failure. Whether the other party actually does get screwed is immaterial as long as Trump thinks he won, in his own mind*. His history indicates that he regards a signed contract as the beginning of negotiations. Which was reprehensible but not harmful in a national sense when he was borrowing money without paying it back and refusing to pay contractors and the like. Now he’s negotiating for the United States, and people already know his word is not to be trusted.
*See negotiations with Peoples Republic of North Korea; results of.
Roger Moore
@Shell:
A “the ends justify the means” dance is inherently a deal with the devil. It’s like praying that paying someone to have sex with you doesn’t make you a supporter of prostitution.
PPCLI
Maybe at this point I’m just getting dizzy from the hall of mirrors, but I really think the Broidy announcement is a dodge. There is no doubt in my mind that something is completely bogus about Broidy’s initial story, and I think it exceedingly likely that Trump was the guy. (Especially if Cohen and the Broidy lawyer were illicitly collaborating. You can’t get a lower price than seven figures even when you are fixing the negotiation? To keep a secret about an affair with some schlub that nobody has heard of?)
My guess is that something like this is going on: If it was in fact Trump, he and Broidy are aware that the bloodhounds are getting pretty close to their hiding place. Absent some distraction, the story will get revealed. So the idea is to act as if Béchard has been released from her contract and can spill the beans. And to act as if he/they have stopped paying her. She gives an interview with the Enquirer which admits to a bunch of stuff that could be mildly embarrassing for Broidy (to give the story slightly more plausibility) but states flatly that Broidy was the one and the only one. Meanwhile, Broidy has not in fact interrupted the payments at all. A desperate red herring to get the bloodhounds off the trail.
That is my theory, it is mine and belongs to me, and I own it and what it is, too.
Spanky
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
I have to ask – whose groin?
(PS – Alain tinkering again?)
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
@danielx:
See, right there, that’s your problem. This guy is as dumb as a hatful of assholes. He graduated from the worst “law school” in America. And I guess he’s cheap and too dumb to ask a lot of questions, and he’s loyal, and that’s all Trump looks for in his help. And all the people Trump gathers around him, they all think that somehow they alone will be the one Trump cares enough about to look out for.
Dev Null
@PPCLI: There’s an interesting discussion of this point in comments at the LG&M post I mentioned earlier.
As esteemed BJ jackal Chet Murthy says (at LG&M): “One abortion, yeah. Six? I think that might be different.”
You will be shocked to hear that not everyone agrees.
Also too, the “Who is David Dennison” post. Highly recommend a read.
Betty Cracker
@danielx: Cohen doesn’t come across as particularly bright.
rikyrah
@Dev Null:
I welcome others making the intelligence speculation. More folks need to make the speculation. Connect those dots.
efgoldman
@rikyrah:
Chances it will get thru this congress and senate, in an election year, less than zero.
All except the kkkrazy kkkaukkkus can see the wave coming.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
If only we could see this question as to the Smokey Eyed One in a press conference…
“Yes, a question for Mrs Huckabee; while it’s true the President paid a woman to have an abortion, bizarrely there are people who find that inconsistent with The President’s anti-abortion stance, but likely these people who don’t see how The President hiring Hispanics while declaring them a menace to the country is perfectly logical
What do you say people with such absurd beliefs?”
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: LOL. Way too similar to my day.
We had a great afternoon, immersed in pub music at the Irish pub and chatting with the musicians. Let me just put in a free plug for this guy. He is an amazing musician, and so is every single member of his band. He needs to be lots more famous than he is.
Anyway, we got home from the afternoon set at the pub, it was still 95+, we turned on the one and only wall-mount AC in our house, settle in to enjoy the cool, and soon see a river of condensation running onto the floor. I’m guessing there’s a drain line that’s clogged, but I don’t see anything consumer-accessible.
I hauled a couple of old window units out of the closet and started to put them in. My story has a happier ending than yours though, in a way, as I lost my hold on the first unit, watched it plummet to the ground outside (only an 8′ drop fortunately) and scraped the hell out of my arms and hands reflexively grabbing for it as it fell. The happy part is that my injuries got me lots of sympathy and TLC from the wife, so then I could be a hero when I bravely struggled out of the easy chair after a few minutes to finish putting in both units.
efgoldman
@Dev Null:
I read LG&M too, but shilling for them, over here, is not becoming.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Betty Cracker: Cohen doesn’t come across as particularly bright.
Or threatening. Weird that he was T****’s enforcer, doesn’t seem like the guy you’d choose for that job from Central Casting.
danielx
@Betty Cracker:
I would imagine ‘loyal’ and ‘not too bright’ are among the prime qualifications for Trump hires. In Cohen’s case you could add ‘roaring, flaming, screaming asshole’ to the list, judging by some of the threats he made on Trump’s behalf.
LAO
@Dev Null: As a criminal defense attorney, I can state with authority that withdrawal from a Joint Defense Agreement may be a sign of cooperation. A fairly good sign.
Villago Delenda Est
@Gin & Tonic: An old Soviet tradition.
Jager
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
I live with one of those women, I mean I love her, but man does she kick my ass sometimes. Last night, she was pissing around with the remote control and got frustrated when she couldn’t find the right episode of Goliath. She tossed the remote across the room and somehow when I found the correct episode, it diminished her. I shut the TV off and walked away. After she slammed shit around in the kitchen for 10 minutes, she came out on the porch and apologized, halfway through the apology I was turned into an asshole again. Sometimes I wish she would turn in to a guy for 10 seconds so I could punch her out, because there is no talking to her. She still talks nice to the dog, so there’s that.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@rikyrah: They should title it “The Congressional Self Destitution Act” because that’s what it is. Curious if the Republicans are that loony to fall for it since it would mean there is no need for their donars to keep on bribing them.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
as surprising as the sunrise that coincided with the airing of his Saturday show, but still pleasant news
feebog
Michael Cohen is rapidly approaching his fish or cut bait moment. The squabbling over his seized documents is over and he lost biggly. Prosecutors are going through those documents and already have a pretty good idea about the value of the information. Look for a cooperation agreement before the end of the month.
Jeffro
Ok, Cohen aside, here is a funny for you: didn’t Trumpov JUST tell Romney they were going to “do great things together” or some other such middle-school nonsense?
Well, I think Mitt might be thinking about breaking up: “It’s a Little Early” to support Trumpov’s 2020 Re-Election Bid, sez Mittbot!
LOL
So. Much. Hope. in this weasel! He’s praying for a Trumpov heart attack just like the rest of us.
HermanNewticks
“My loyalty is to my family and my country” sounds like a message to his mob connections that he’ll do what it takes to protect them.
Tilda Swintons Bald Cap
You can read about it here.
LAO
@feebog: We’re not going to hear anything from the government side, I expect if there is little to report re: Cohen and his criminal problems in the next month, that will be an absolute signal that he is cooperating. As is standard practice, nothing with be available in the public record until his cooperation ceases. So weirdly, silence is the sign.
BruceFromOhio
@Amir Khalid:
Truth. These two-bit godbotherer’s are too sly to soil their own little paws, that would require facing their own hypocrisy and shortcomings. They’ll happily cheer on those that are willing to wallow in the muck.
Spanky
(Tap tap) This thing on?
Anyway, way back when @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: wrote:
Which prompted me to wonder, whose groin?
Anywacarry on.
rikyrah
On immigration bill, Trump lies, leaves allies ‘in the wilderness’
07/02/18 11:00 AM
By Steve Benen
The same afternoon as Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement, House Republicans failed spectacularly to advance their own immigration bill. Despite the backing of party leaders, the GOP proposal didn’t come close to passing, failing on a humiliating 121-to-301 vote.
Not surprisingly, developments at the Supreme Court eclipsed the legislative fight, and the political world largely ignored the fact that Donald Trump’s ostensible allies had just ignored his instructions on one of the nation’s most pressing issues. But just as the issue started to disappear from the conversation, Trump thought he’d remind everyone of his failure.
This is a tough one to defend. While it’s true that the president gave Congress a series of mixed signals about the bill brought to the floor last week – a bill that was carefully crafted to satisfy the White House’s demands – it was literally the morning of the vote that Trump published an all-caps tweet urging Republicans to vote for it, making the case for its passage.
Now the president’s position is that he “never pushed” House GOP lawmakers to support the plan. The evidence that he’s lying is overwhelming.
BruceFromOhio
On a completely different note, and owing to open threadism:
So long Bea, Katie, Sonia, Django, Emma, Richie, Sasha (you li’l cutie!), Ola, Shadow, Geneva (it’s okay, kitty!), and Franklin. It was fun seeing your every day and getting to know your faces. Maybe see you again another year!
Hello, Madame Curie, Chunk, Enzo, Schrodinger, Georgio you luscious hunk, Buddy, Lightning, George, Precious, and Hagrid. Good to see you!
Ceci n est pas mon nym
Serious Constitutional question, first raised in the Very Serious Movie Dave. If the Orange One suffers a non-fatal stroke and is reduced to gibberish even the most talented TV crews can’t cover up, can we replace him with an impersonator (Alec Baldwin of course) till 2020? I’d enjoy the State of the Union and other appearances so much better then. I bet he’d restart the tradition of attending the Press dinner too.
zhena gogolia
@BruceFromOhio:
Haha, I know exactly what you’re talking about! My husband thought Buddy was Lily from across the room.
James E Powell
@rikyrah:
BernieBros & Naderites now feel totally justified.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Shell:
Screwed over on that. All the windows are long casement windows.
James E Powell
@rikyrah:
And the press/media completely ignored the story.
Dorothy Winsor
@LAO: Is that why we haven’t heard from Rudi Giuliani lately? Please let it be so.
MoxieM
@Betty Cracker: Guardian headline last night said it, “Smelled Bad”. Those wonderful Brits and their in-your-face newspapers. (Even The Guardian!)
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Mnemosyne:
I suggested that. She won’t lock the cats up in a hot house, and worries about the dog.
Jack the Second
You know, I don’t see Trump as the sort of client who tells his lawyer everything he’s got going on. He just drops turd cluster bomb after turd cluster bomb on his lawyer right before it explodes and expects his lawyer to make the problem go away.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Spanky:
LOL – Both. I gained insight into the amount of blood that flows through the femoral artery and how cooling an ice pack applied there can be:
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Dorothy Winsor: Thufferin’ Thuccotash! he has been rather quiet lately, hasn’t he? I know he was busy last week at the big MEK party in Paris. Don’t know if Howard Dean made it this year.
Elizabelle
Power here flickered for about 3 minutes. Richmond, VA. Very hot day. Expect everyone who has it is using air conditioning. Power off and on while what I’m guessing is backup generator strained to kick in. Internet off and on.
Made me wonder about the long hot summer ahead. What happens if we have a brownout? Or an attack on our energy grid. Not like we maintain our infrastructure as well as
otherfirst world nations do.Didn’t Chicago experience a lot of deaths among the elderly in a heatwave a few years ago? I know that France did, maybe the same summer or fairly contemporaneously. The elderly living alone, and other vulnerable (or alienated), are in danger.
Felony Govt
OT I enjoyed reading this quote from a Mexican political analyst, about Lopez Obrador’s victory: “The citizens participated and expressed their outrage and anger”. We can do it too!
Cheryl Rofer
@rikyrah:
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Jager:
If I’m not home, she can’t watch TV, due to the combination of boxes and remotes.
She can’t reset the router, either.
MoxieM
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Me too- no central AC. I have 2 “R2D2” (moveable) units (one up, one down.) I got a sheet of .22 Plexi and cut a hole for the exit hose fitting in each one. Last year I didn’t have the plexi so I just taped a heavy duty clear shower curtain in place. Tacky, but it worked!
It’s not a cheap solution, but it does work. Also, they do make Casement ACs, but very pricey. Very. Cheaper than installing central however.
FWIW, the Black & Decker unit is far superior–quiet & efficient. The Shinco makes cold air, but sounds like a couple of jet engines.
Quoting Adam,
“Stay Frosty” :/
?BillinGlendaleCA
@rikyrah: Oh, you mean the US FART Act?
The Trump folk really don’t think things through.
sdhays
@Mnemosyne:
The only thing I’d change is that I don’t think they’ll bother with pretending it was against Trump’s will. Boys will be boys, so it’s not his fault, even if he threatened to kill her if she didn’t get it. It’s just Trump being Trump. But, of course, she should be imprisoned for murder.
LAO
@Dorothy Winsor: I never thought of that. That would be too funny. I expect, Giuliani’s not cooperating, but that the investigation into the FBI leaks is very problematic for him. It’s in his personal best interest to keep his yap shut and these Trumpers are highly motivated by their own self-interests.
rikyrah
Womp Womp Womp
‘Even the cops don’t like us anymore’: Under Trump, ICE is despised and divided
Brittny Mejia
By BRITTNY MEJIA
JUN 30, 2018 | 9:10 AM
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@rikyrah: Good. Make them uncomfortable. While they’re hollowing out the good people from the federal agencies we need, it would be nice to shed some of the ICE Gestapo-wannabes, encourage them to find other employment. Preferably as rent-a-cops who aren’t allowed to carry firearms or sharp objects.
Spanky
@Elizabelle: Yep, an attack on the electrical grid is about as asymmetric as warfare can get. All it takes is a small group of VERY adept hackers. And while the utilities and govt have put in a lot of effort in defending it, you never really know until someone tries, do you?
Hmmm. I’d better get serious about getting a backup generator. And NOT connecting it to the ‘net.
rikyrah
The Hill (@thehill) Tweeted:
#BREAKING: Kentucky GOP governor cancels dental, vision benefits for nearly 500,000 Medicaid recipients https://t.co/Z6YSpghsa9 https://t.co/kZQ5DMNOCz https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1013805933032558592?s=17
rikyrah
@James E Powell:
Yep, because they wanted to. They don’t want to ask the hard questions.
LAO
@rikyrah: What a POS.
Villago Delenda Est
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: They should be banned from ever being an LEO again.
JoeyJoeJoe
@PPCLI: In 2014, I recall him only winning his re-election primary by 14 votes; some people may care.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@LAO: I imagine Judi is not making things easy for him, either. I’d be surprised if she doesn’t know some shit that could get him in trouble, shit that has nothing to do with trump.
Link to Page Six because Rudi kind of deserves a link to Page Six.
Jager
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
We were binge watching Grace and Frankie a few months ago. Mrs J was attempting to modify her hormonal rage with with a few glasses of Cab. She asked the TV to show “Frank and Gracie” I didn’t dare laugh. Then she tried “Frankie and Grace”…
This woman owns a successful ad agency, deals with clients all day, she’s tech savvy. She must stuff all her frustrations during the day and then takes it all out on me. The convenient target. And don’t get me started on the middle of the night hot flashes when she throws all the covers on me. When I complain about boiling in my own sweat I get, “Now you know how it feels.” I just want this to be over.
burnspbesq
@Amir Khalid:
Both of them?
stinger
@westyny: I thought that too, as I looked at the photo at top!
trollhattan
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
At a minimum, a four-parter. Example title within series: “Big Butt III–Sexytime”
Prentice
@Dev Null:
I’m the guy who wrote that Who is David Dennison post. Glad to see that people find it somewhat convincing.
I promise I’m not a crazy conspiracy person, the only reason I’ve wasted so much time writing stuff about this is to prove to myself that I’m not crazy, and to figure out what I’m missing here.
They are attempting to pull off a major cover-up, the “fall guy” is not even actually participating, this is all happening out in the open, and no one seems to care.
I wrote some thoughts this morning on the stoppage of payments, if anyone is interested.
https://whoisdaviddennison.blogspot.com/2018/07/wsj-elliott-broidy-to-stop-making-hush.html
Dev Null
@rikyrah: Roger that.
To tell the truth, I wasn’t sure what point you were making.
Spanky
@Jager:
Sigh. How can I put is kindly …
Just One More Canuck
@rikyrah: the US FART Act – right up there with the name that two of Canada’s right wing parties came up with when the merged – the Conservative Reform Alliance Party
trollhattan
@rikyrah:
He seems nice.
New Kentucky dental policy: Keep takin’ meth until your teef fall out. Problem solved!
Just One More Canuck
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: send her to the hotel – you sleep in the basement
Jager
@Just One More Canuck:
Mine wants to “get the hell out of this house for a long weekend” I suggested she go to a nice spa hotel in Santa Barbara, by herself. Relax, etc. Of course she turned on me instantly…
Bill Arnold
@RSA:
We don’t know what leverage is being used. And father-in-jail is (usually) disruptive to a family.
geg6
@Jager:
Having recently come out on the other side of what your wife is going through, I say this with the best of intentions. Fuck you. You have no idea how miserable and fucked up in every way menopause makes you feel. I’d do puberty over before I’d do menopause again.
rikyrah
@Dev Null:
I hadn’t made the connection until I heard Avenatti. And, I am still disgusted by the way that the ‘journalists’ sat around there, not making the logical conclusions to what he said.
I guess Stormy Daniels is one thing. But, Dolt45 paying for an abortion is another. That money from Briody was nothing but a bribe – something Briody has been found doing time and time before. \
It was a STANDARD NDA for Dolt45. Meaning, he had done it numerous times before.
I’ll say again…
WHAT IF, this had been 44….
uh huh
uh huh
The curve for Unqualified White Men is REAL.
Dev Null
@efgoldman: So, if I read a post at some other blog that I find interesting, which post I intuit might be of interest to BJ jackals, which post is relevant to the front-pager’s essay, then providing a link is unbecoming?
And here I thought I was familiar with All Internet Traditions™.
Shows what I know.
I tell you what: you needn’t read my comments. That way you won’t be put out when I unbecome, nor will I have to worry whether or not you find me becoming.
Win-win!
Incidentally, the “Who is David Dennison” essay is way too long to quote in its entirety. IMO an excerpt would not do it justice. But then it’s not an LG&M post, so you can’t be talking about that link, amirite? (Frankly, if I’m shilling for another blog – I’m not – I’m shilling to get jackals to read the “Dennison” essay, because I’m curious what others think about the arguments.)
And surely it’s OK to quote esteemed BJ jackal Chet Murthy, even if he’s posting at LG&M rather than here? Or is that another Internet Tradition that I somehow missed?
SiubhanDuinne
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
I actually believe someone on the WH staff (one of the many who, reportedly, have no love for Trump) named it that deliberately, knowing that sooner or later someone would notice the acronym and embarrass Trump by calling attention to it. Trump himself is too dumb and too oblivious to figure it out, assuming he even knows what an acronym is.
Dev Null
@LAO: good-o, thanks for confirming!
rikyrah
Get?the? ENTIRE ? PHUCK ?OUTTA ? HERE ?
NYT Opinion (@nytopinion) Tweeted:
Baffling as it may be to elites on both left and right, Mr. Trump embodies a real if imperfect model of family values. https://t.co/D0AM2Z2T1o https://twitter.com/nytopinion/status/1013599061658820609?s=17
ruemara
@Shell: FYI, they know it’s a bargain with the devil. They fully understand it. They’re hoping it’s a bargain that reaps more permanent benefits.
Jager
@geg6:
I do realize how miserable she is, I live it every day. I don’t say shit to her, I don’t denigrate her. I don’t pick on her, I just try to stay the hell out of her way and keep my mouth shut at all times…does not work. When this started, I tried to learn as much as possible about menopause, so we could discuss it. I got “You Have No Idea” So yeah, I guess I’m fucked, thanks.
Dev Null
@rikyrah: Whoa. I never thought Bevin would be so crazy he’d carry through on his threat.
Sux to be you, Kentucky Trumpkins. Enjoy your rotting teeth.
randy khan
@efgoldman:
Is there some turf war that I do not know about? (Sadly, I am not aware of all Internet traditions.)
MomSense
I’ve got a puppy under my desk humping a stuffed bear. I can’t express how ridiculous he looks. He’s so uncoordinated and his legs are too long for his body so he keeps falling over mid hump.
Dev Null
@rikyrah:
Speaking on the basis of my authority as a White Man, uh… yep.
Not the best judge of (un)qualified.
O. Felix Culpa
@Amir Khalid: From personal acquaintance, some of Trump’s evangelical and fundamentalist supporters are driven by the abortion issue über alles. I’m sure they’ll find some pretzel logic to uphold Trump even if it’s confirmed that he paid for an abortion, but it will make justifying their support for him that much harder. I’m stocking up on popcorn, if there’s any left.
Humdog
@geg6: Thanks for saying this. His wife feels miserable and he wishes he could punch her!?!? Fuckers
Dev Null
@rikyrah: The takedowns on that article have been devastating. I recommend among other hot takes the one at The Blog Which Must Not Be Named™, not because it’s particularly insightful, rather because it winds up with an absolutely GLORIOUS satire vid. A vid which I have already posted on all my private lists, because it encapsulates everything I despise about the Vichy Times.
Alas, it’s the Blog Which Must Not Be Named™. Eat your hearts out, jackals. You’ll never know! ~snark~
MomSense
@rikyrah:
WTAF
LAO
@MomSense: You are having a much better morning than I am. Really.
Jager
@Humdog:
Clarification, I said, “I wish she could turn into a guy for 10 seconds, so I could punch her” This was after said yelled something about ‘clawing my eyes out” for chrissakes! I’m giving her a pass everyday and she won’t take it.
efgoldman
@Jager:
After 40++ years of marriage, I have finally learned that when mrs efg is in a full blown PTSD adrenaline rush I just shut up, no matter what she says or does. Yup, she says and does stupid and hurtful things; later claims she didn’t or I should have known she didn’t mean it. Took me a long time to learn how to deal.
Bill Arnold
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Or it’s some sort of distraction play, or an intra-admin monkey-wrench (few like Peter Navarro), or …
As others have said, it would be DOA in congress, and in the Senate in particular.
Re sanitary and phytosanitary measures in Sec 3(1), who are the power players in the US pushing for such changes? (e.g. is it related to GMOs, and/or chlorinated chickens, or what?)
Mary G
My dumb cat has a skin allergy, apparently to fleas. The vet gave her a steroid shot and told me to be sure to keep up the doses of the flea medicine. Now she has decided she doesn’t want the flea medicine and the bumps and incessant scratching are back. Made an appointment to have the mobile vet come to the house this morning and lured her with treats into letting me pick her up. She fought being put into the cage and finally scratched me, so I had to let go.
AAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Steeplejack
@PPCLI:
Is it going in your newsletter? Asking ’cause I might want to subscribe.
Calouste
@rikyrah: Avenatti’s reasoning was: Cohen testified in court that he only had 3 clients as a lawyer: the shitgibbon, shitgibbon Org, and Hannity. Didn’t mention Broidy. That leaves the shitgibbon or Hannity as “David Davidson” and odds are against Hannity. Or Cohen perjured himself.
Mnemosyne
@Mary G:
It could have been worse — our kitty Annie figured out that the sure-fire way to get G to stop trying to put her in her carrier was to pee on him.
And when that stopped working, she went with poop. ?
Mary G
@Mnemosyne: After I let her go, she hid under the bed. For three minutes. Then she came back and is sitting on the shelf next to my desk less than a yard away from me and daring me to try again. The housemates refuse to help, because she hisses at them when they get too close.
Villago Delenda Est
@rikyrah: The guy is one of these evangelical “intellectuals” which was not disclosed by the NYT.
Jager
@efgoldman:
The last time I said anything to her was when I was blackening a steak in a cast iron pan, I had just turned it after side one was perfect. Her hormones were turned up to 11, she strolled into the kitchen ( I do 90% of the cooking) and turned the burner off and said, “you cook everything too fast” put her hands on her hips and glared at me. I said something like, what the hell did you did you shut the fucking stove off for? It went down hill from there and culminated with, “I ought to claw your eyes out for telling me what I can do in my own kitchen.” I saved the steak, served it with a smile on my face and she said it was delicious and added you still cook with too much heat. I just sat there and chewed. So fuck me.
westyny
@MomSense: Yeah, but that’s broad comedy. Carell will underplay just enough to get at Cohen’s schoolyard pathos.
Doug R
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.):
Supreme Court after 100+ years of precedent is hearing a case related to the Federal/State jeopardy question. We know those “originalists” don’t like keeping to precedent.
hitchhiker
@Jeffro:
I’m not! I’m praying for a stroke … one that leaves him half paralyzed in the face, unable to speak and disfiguring in a way that makes him never want his picture taken again. After that, I hope he lives to 100 and sees former sycophants abandon him until no one is left but paid attendants who are quietly cruel.
Yes, I know. That’s mean.
efgoldman
@Humdog:
I might wish that, too, but I never have.
What did George Carlin say? “The sin is you only have to wanna'”
Dev Null
@Villago Delenda Est: Wait, the credits describe him as an editor – senior editor, I think – at First Times. Much as I despise the Vichy Times, I’m thinking that is sufficient.
Am I wrong?
Elizabelle
Do they have any goddamn editors at the FTF NY Times?
This is the email alert that just came out:
They’re alive! No idea of condition, but rescuers are talking to them.
Now. That alert. Why not: Missing Thai soccer players found alive; 12 boys and coach trapped in cave for 9 days —
The NY Times alert goes through 16 words before getting to the point and truncated the crucial one, at least on my laptop. Could have as easily been found dead.
Would it be that hard to have a human look at their breaking news alerts?
Spanky
@MomSense:
I too am not aware of all internet traditions. I’m having trouble sussing what the “A” means. Help?
MomSense
@Jager:
I’m hearing that you feel scared, confused, and frustrated. I know when I’ve had people throw things in my presence it causes me to feel very scared and physically sets off a strong fight or flight. It is very scary so I understand why you feel the way you do in response. Would your wife be receptive if you told her how much you love her and that you need help figuring out how to be more supportive?
I also think you may want to go talk to a counselor or doctor and if she wants to go with you to offer input you would welcome that. You are telling her you love her and that you want to be a better support for her. I’d consider talking to a counselor to learn how to raise this subject with your wife.
@Humdog:
His wife is throwing things in anger which is a aggressive and intimidating.
MomSense
@Spanky:
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!!!
Tazj
@Mary G: I’ve had to resort to oven mitts and a winter coat with one of my cats to get him to the vet because he scratched me up so much putting him in the carrier. I had a system where I closed all the doors in the house quietly before I would try to nab the two of them, of course he got wise to this. The bigger one would hide and then act like a passive resister when I tried to extricate him from whatever small space he wedged himself into. The smaller one just won’t go in without a fight so I must protect myself. Good luck to you.
efgoldman
@Jager:
Mrs efg, at 63, is way past post-menopausal.
Anything her PTSD perceives as a threat, especially to me (and there have been a lot lately) can trigger her
This morning she yelled at me for something I may or may not have done IN MY SLEEP
Spanky
@Calouste:
Odds are well above zero for this possibility. Still not as high as aborting another Ivanka though.
MomSense
@LAO:
I am loving this puppy underfoot. He sleeps on my feet, plays under my desk, follows me around cheerfully – he’s the best co worker a person could ever have.
Elizabelle
More on the missing Thai soccer players: the FTF NY Times story in full:
And wow, that’s a name on that king.
Please let them all be rescued and healthy. I wonder if they can pipe in the World Cup game audio, while the rescue proceeds.
Elizabelle
@MomSense: Thanks. I’d not seen that acronym either.
Jager
@efgoldman:
Neither have I. I guess we both have to be miserable, as in “What are you so damn happy about?” I’m not allowed to have a good day? I had lunch with my friend Ray last week, we had a great time. I came home feeling good. I got my ass kicked for being in a good mood.
Spanky
@MomSense: Ahhh. “Actual”. Yes, yes. Thanks.
Carry on.
efgoldman
@MomSense:
Sometimes (I had to once, some years ago) you have to call the cops and tell them you’re afraid of her.
In mrs efg’s case, it makes her worse, but at least there are strong, official witnesses who can and will take her away. I never want to do that again.
MagdaInBlack
@geg6:
Thank You
MoxieM
Reading all the misogynist shit about women and their “hormonal emotions” in this thread (because men wanting to punch people ((rage)) is not a “hormonal emotion”), it’s really clear how the Hillary-hating just slipped on in under the door, like a stinky dog fart. Why otherwise reasonable folk voted Bernie (man)–despite his hectoring outbursts–not hormonal, nope, no siree.
heave, sigh.
It’s not really invisible to some of us. Apparently it is to others. Why do people hate menopausal women so much? It’s irrational fear.
Do you (older men) not have any idea of how annoyed your partners probably are with you, hormones not withstanding–years of “refrigerator blindness–“honey, where’s the cream cheese?”, failing to do your share of housework without being asked and managed, etc. I assure you, it’s decades worth, and no, I don’t want to hear the defensive justifications.
Christ on a cracker, give it a break.
edited for crappy typing. I’m 10 years past menopause.
Jager
@efgoldman:
There could be big trouble if you get a nocturnal erection.
Mrs j and I have had a code word for sex for 25 years. “Frisky”. A while back she brought up getting “frisky” one evening. We get groomed, hop in the sack, get things going and she pushes me away saying, “I’m too fat”. She’s 5-6 and weighs 115 pounds.
efgoldman
@MoxieM:
You are generalizing and painting us all with the same broad brush.
I said VERY CLEARLY that mrs efg’s problems come from childhood PTSD, That’s actually more than i care to reveal.
It causes specific and predictable acting out.
I deal/have dealt with it as best I can for forty years without calling down the authorities.
Walk in my shoes (you might as well – I can’t walk anywhere) and then you can criticize
MagdaInBlack
@Jager:
Im sure shed be delighted to learn this whole issue is being discussed on a blog
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
@hitchhiker:
Mean? What’s mean about that? Doesn’t seem mean to me…
MagdaInBlack
@MoxieM:
And Thank You
Jeez
Manyakitty
@BruceFromOhio: Mme. Curie and Schrodinger are mine!
MagdaInBlack
@rikyrah:
Thats lovely..
Now we’re normalizing his effed up family?
Steeplejack
@Villago Delenda Est:
Yes, here is the “centrist” Matthew Schmitz, expert on “purple” family values:
Spanky
Should be the opinion of several posters in this thread. How ’bout we deal with our issues with a friend or counselor face-to-face rather than bringing it up in this here blog where I’d guess the majority are getting a tad uncomfortable?
Really, it’ll actually be more beneficial to you if you discuss it in person with someone you trust.
ruemara
@efgoldman: I’m not that bad but I once called the housemate and yelled at him for being in my dream. And I woke up angry at my ex for something he did in another dream. Does your wife know she’s being unreasonable?
Jager
@MoxieM:
Misogynist shit? I love my wife, I know she’s going through a miserable time in her life. I’m not the bad guy and I’m not pissed at her. But, I am tired of taking the brunt of her misery day after day, we’re going into the 2nd year of this. Yeah, she’s said and done some things, that if she was a man would have gotten her knocked on her ass, I didn’t do it, I did think about it with the the huge qualifier, “if she was a man”. I cut her a ton of slack every damn day. I understand there is no winning here. As the father of two daughters and two granddaughters, if I was some misogynistic piece of shit they would have drawn and quartered me years ago.
MoxieM
@efgoldman: My apologies for the broad brush.
efgoldman
@Steeplejack:
RWNJs never learn from history or how not to overreach. It’s like CA before and after prop 187 never existed.
Something – maybe overturning Roe, maybe a federal ban, some other outrage – is going to energize purplish state voters the way prop 187 did in California. And like CA, when those voters are gone, whether from changing sides or from staying home, they’re not going back.
MoxieM
… sigh.
just. not. gonna go. there.
Feminism is the radical belief that women are people, with full human rights.
zhena gogolia
@geg6:
Haha, I’ve been trying to think of a nice way to say it.
efgoldman
@Spanky:
We have.
I’d be glad to talk w/Jager face to face, but he’s ~3000 miles from here. I wanted him to know that other people were dealing with bouts of unreasoning rage, and how, and why.
And by the way, this on a blog where some regulars give us every damned detail of their medical problems.
And yes, I skip them if I can.
Steeplejack
@Steeplejack:
And Schmitz’s journal, First Things, is published by the Institute on Religion and Public Life, “founded in 1989 by Richard John Neuhaus and his colleagues to confront the ideology of secularism, which insists that the public square must be ‘naked,’ and that faith has no place in shaping the public conversation or in shaping public policy.”
Who could disagree with that? Totally middle-of-the-road, amirite?
What is the reasoning behind the New York Times consistently publishing opinion pieces by right-wing nuts and glossing over, or ignoring, their right-wing origins? Seriously, I’d like to know. There can’t be that many right-wing nuts among the readership.
satby
@Jager: well, I’m a female who went through menopause 10 years ago, and I think that sounds nuts. She needs medication and you need a man cave.
Noskilz
One things puzzles me: shouldn’t Cohen be someone who ought to be able to take a pardon for granted? As Trump’s bagman, pardoning him would be less about helping Cohen and more about Trump helping himself, so this seems like an odd sort of performance unless he just likes messing with Trump these days.
Since Trump started waving around his pardon powers almost as soon as he started, Mueller seems pretty clear that’s a thing that can happen and seems to be planning accordingly, and Cohen seems like someone who has been in the middle of great deal of peculiar money shuffling around. If those antics result in state-level problems, Trump’s pardon may not be very useful to him.
satby
@MoxieM: to be fair, some of what these guys are describing is abusive behaviour and menopause isn’t an excuse to be abusive no matter how much it may feel like it is. If this stuff was directed at children instead of men it would be fairly obvious.
And this blog has always been a semi-safe space for people to vent about problems in their lives.
Marigold
@rikyrah: I’m in tears. I work in that town. There were protests here and at the closest customs office on Saturday.
hitchhiker
@jager, what you’re describing here sounds like it might be more than just menopause. More than a year of abusive and irrational acting out? I’d go talk to somebody … whatever is happening is not right. She hates you b/c you’re an actual misogynist jerk? Needs to be dealt with. Her hormones are so out of control that she’s in a state of temporary insanity? You deserve support. Some unknowable (to any of us!) combination of the above? Still needs to be dealt with, in a professional context.
Take it seriously.
Context: I do peer support for families of newly disabled folks. It’s very common for spouses and kids and caregivers to think their (very real) compassion for their injured loved ones means taking whatever abuse comes their way. But ill and injured people — while they do (and should) get lots of leeway — do not have a license to torment those around them. Your situation is different because the assumption is that this is all a temporary deal that will naturally resolve by itself at some point … but in the meantime I really hope you’ll find someone to talk to.
Mnemosyne
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
They have these things now called “pet-friendly” hotels. You can bring the pets with you.
Jager
@MoxieM:
What the hell are you talking about? Are you implying that I don’t know women have full human rights? About 90% of the time I take my wife’s (or maybe I should say full life, equal partner, because that’s what we are) reactions with a smile and many grains of salt. 10% of the time she scares the shit out of me. Her 75 year old aunt took her aside during a recent visit and told her she’s acting like an asshole. Counseling, we’ve been there. Her doc suggested mood altering medication, she won’t take it because she has to drive and be on her toes with her clients. Wine? She’s fine with two glasses, 3 watch out. And she reads this blog. She knows how I feel and that I love her. I know once she is finished with this she’ll be her old self again. And magically I won’t be treated like her 13 year old son anymore. I got the 13 year son thing from a guy i was in group counseling with. A group of retired executives dealing with the bullshit you go through when you retire and begin the fast slide down the self esteem scale.
sukabi
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): Giuliani wants you to hold his beer.
Gin & Tonic
@efgoldman:
Some even post pictures of them.
Mnemosyne
@Jager:
You may need to get some solo counseling to figure out some strategies for setting up new boundaries with her, because it sounds like what you’re doing isn’t working.
MisterForkbeard
@MoxieM: I get what you’re saying here, but the hormonal adjustments during menopause are a huge thing and several women I know who went through it believe they were sometimes emotional at that time. I don’t see an issue with repeating that.
And yes, some men can stand to be better husbands. Is anyone debating that?
jacy
@Jager:
Has she been evaluated for bipolar depression? I say that because I was recently diagnosed as Bipolar II — which stemmed from PTSD from the life events of 4 years ago. It was something that developed since my ovarian cancer surgery, which put me through instant menopause. Whatever happened with my brain chemicals due to stress, anxiety, menopause, and the other hormonal shifts, let me unable to cope, and my “mania” often exhibited as anger. I would become angry over very small things, and sometimes lash out. And a lot of it was my frustration with my own emotions, which I seemed to have no control over. And that’s with three years of weekly psychotherapy. It took a while to find a drug cocktail that makes my life livable, and even that still needs to be adjusted often. It would be something to consider. Do you have a good GP who she can talk to?
California Stars
@Spanky: I was wondering this too. Am looking forward to the many joys of menopause in my near future, but did not realize that groin pain was one of them.
satby
@Jager: hang in there, and maybe get counseling for you without her. “10% of the time she scares me” isn’t right in any relationship. I get her not wanting to take medication, but it could really make her more comfortable and life less stressful all around. Whether she realizes it or not, she’s probably having anger episodes at the kids or co-workers too. You may think you can tough it out, but what other emotional damage might be going on?
And if your wife is reading: sister, yes, it sucks and makes living in your own skin hell, but help is available and it may be time to reconsider it. No reason for you and your family to suffer.
zhena gogolia
@California Stars:
That’s a new one on me.
Yutsano
@Marigold: My favourite protest story: Antler, North Dakota. Population 27. 15 came out to protest. Now THAT’S something. And it makes me wonder if Heitkamp isn’t all that worried.
California Stars
@zhena gogolia: Finally got it after reading through the thread. Femoral artery=groin=good place to put an ice pack when you’re hot.
Good to know.
Dev Null
Atrios is pushing the vid too:
First push.
Second push.
I guess no one told him.
Dev Null
And two gratuitous bonus links:
Jill Abramson on the “narcissistic New York Times”
and:
Roy Edroso: Because they suck.
Both from last week. Apologies if they’ve already been posted.
Villago Delenda Est
@Dev Null: Without context for what “First Times” is, it’s a non disclosure. At least it does give you a chance to google “First Times” and find out it’s fundie horseshit.
Ruckus
@rikyrah:
Not a family that I want to have any thing/contact with in any way shape or form.
O
If that moron likes that family he needs to be investigated for the sake of anyone he might have any human or animal contact with.
prostratedragon
@Jeffro: Tee-hee, the Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Mike in Pasadena
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: No, it was more important to chase him out of office. Purity, doncha know.
Dev Null
@Villago Delenda Est: OK, I grant you that.
The name was sufficiently familiar that I was pretty sure of the con, but I admit that I went to wiki to make sure.
J R in WV
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
Maybe you should go buy a window AC for your bedroom? A Big one!!??
MoxieM
Allow me to refer you to the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research, an interdisciplinary organization dedicated to “guidance, expertise, and ethical considerations for those interested in the menstrual cycle.”
It might help with some facts about menopause, for those with (and without) ovaries. Me, I have one, TMI.
I also have C-PTSD. (more TMI)
I sincerely consider claims of “I have daughters” etc to be unhelpful in discussions of interpersonal violence, and repeated denigration of a female partner wherein her scary/crappy/annoying/inconvenient behavior is ascribed to hormones. Even if it IS her hormones, it reeks of sexism. Sorry if that’s hard for you to recognize.
I hope you have more comfortable lives; when things reach the rage or suicide level it sure is unpleasant. (Me, I live with chronic pain, trauma, and a bunch of other shit, but I generally keep it to myself. On the other hand, I have Murphy the magical wonder dog in my life. Alas, she can’t drive, yet.) People here often do let loose about their personal lives, but ranting in an aggressive and violent way about somebody who isn’t (here) is shitty.
J R in WV
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
So I want to know the brand name of the AC that still worked OK after being dropped 8 feet!?!?!?!
Seriously, that rocks. Built solid, like a Rock!